Just Call Me Brother Xue

"An unfamiliar ceiling."

Su Yuntian muttered, then instinctively looked around and found himself in a fairly spacious room.

The furniture and furnishings were not luxurious, but they were quite refined, if slightly old.

From his observations, the most crucial thing Su Yuntian could confirm was that this was neither Spirit Hall nor his home.

He was lying on a bed, and beside it sat a pretty maid, propping up her head with one hand as she dozed.

...Was I rescued?

Su Yuntian suddenly recalled what had happened in the early hours of yesterday morning.

At the time, he and his brother Su Yuntao had been powerless to resist the mysterious black-clad assassins. But then a young woman in a long dress with flowing hair had flown over and instantly turned the tide.

There had been three black-clad assassins in total. The one called Old Blade had been killed by Su Yuntian and his brother working together. The assassin wielding a Short Spear had been slapped to death by the young woman, while the last assassin, who used a sword, seemed to have escaped.

Su Yuntian still remembered the stunning impact of seeing that girl's true face for the first time, but what had happened afterward?

How did I pass out... and where was my brother?

With that thought, Su Yuntian struggled into a sitting position on the bed.

The sound immediately woke the maid. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the older girl said, "You're finally awake. You've been asleep for more than a day and a night."

In fact, Su Yuntian had been placed in this room yesterday morning. Nearly twenty-six hours had passed since then. If his unconsciousness before dawn was included, he had been asleep for over thirty hours.

Su Yuntian merely asked, "Where am I? Where's my brother?"

The maid smiled. "This is the Post House in Nuoding City. You have a brother? Why didn't he come to see you?"

...This is bad.

Su Yuntian had a terrible feeling.

This maid had never seen Su Yuntao, which meant his brother had likely been separated from him since the early hours of yesterday morning.

Where was he?

The maid stood up just then. "After sleeping for so long, you must be hungry. Wait here, I'll get you something to eat."

With that, the maid swept out of the room like the wind, leaving Su Yuntian alone again.

Worried about his brother Su Yuntao, Su Yuntian struggled out of bed and changed into a clean set of clothes that had long been placed beside it.

Even now, his limbs still felt weak and his body utterly drained. It was probably because activating his Angel Martial Soul yesterday had consumed too much Soul Power.

Before long, the maid brought over a wooden tray with four dishes and a soup, inviting Su Yuntian to eat.

The maid was several years older than Su Yuntian and gave off the feeling of an older sister.

Su Yuntian knew she probably bore him no ill will, but as he looked at the food before him, he could not help wondering whether it was poisoned.

The maid urged, "Hurry and eat while it's hot. Only when you're full can you grow properly. This is exactly when you need nutrients."

...Forget it. No point overthinking it. Eat.

Su Yuntian did not hesitate for long. He picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began wolfing down the food.

To be honest, the flavor of these four dishes and soup was far inferior to the eight great cuisines of later generations, Western food, or Japanese cuisine. But Su Yuntian was truly starving.

Half an hour later, the older maid looked at the bowls and plates Su Yuntian had wiped clean and said in surprise, "I didn't expect someone so small to have such a huge appetite."

After the maid took away the dishes and returned to the room, Su Yuntian immediately asked who she was and what exactly had happened to him.

The maid introduced herself as Da Xue, the personal maid of Xue Qinghe, the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Da Xue was seventeen this year, three years older than the First Prince, and had served him for nearly ten years.

According to Da Xue, yesterday morning, First Prince Xue Qinghe had found an unconscious boy by the roadside and brought him back, instructing Da Xue to care for him.

In the end, that boy slept for more than a day, nearly worrying everyone to death.

That boy was undoubtedly Su Yuntian. But what puzzled him was that the person who had brought him back to Nuoding City had actually been Xue Qinghe, the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire?

Shouldn't it have been that long-haired young woman in the flowing dress?

And... most importantly, where had his brother Su Yuntao gone?

"Big Sister Da Xue, when your master—I mean, His Highness the Prince—found me, was I really the only one unconscious by the roadside?"

Faced with Su Yuntian's earnest question, Da Xue nodded honestly.

"If you don't believe me, ask His Highness yourself when you see him later."

Su Yuntian could not help smiling. "I'm merely a commoner. It's not as though I can see the First Prince whenever I want."

The moment he said that, Su Yuntian suddenly thought of Xue Qinghe.

He had not paid much attention earlier, but now that he considered it carefully, why would First Prince Xue Qinghe save him when he had been unconscious by the roadside?

More importantly, Xue Qinghe was not truly Xue Qinghe, but Qian Renxue of Spirit Hall.

If Qian Renxue had truly saved him, what could her motive have been?

Just then, the door creaked open and someone entered.

"A prince is not some exalted status. Among all living beings, everyone is equal." A handsome youth stepped into the room and said to Su Yuntian, "I'm Xue Qinghe. Haven't we met now?"

Upon seeing Xue Qinghe enter, Da Xue hurriedly rose and curtsied.

Su Yuntian also clasped his hands in greeting. "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life."

"No need to be so polite." Xue Qinghe walked to the table and sat down. "And there's no need for formalities. Both of you, sit. This isn't Heaven Dou City, so don't worry about all those empty rituals. Just call me Brother Xue."

After closing the door, Da Xue sat down at the table with a grin.

Su Yuntian gave Xue Qinghe a hurried glance and sat down as well.

After looking at Xue Qinghe, he had even more questions.

...According to the original Douluo novel, Xue Qinghe was replaced and impersonated by Qian Renxue. In other words, this handsome prince before me might actually be a woman.

Yet when he recalled what had happened in the early hours of yesterday morning, Su Yuntian simply could not connect Xue Qinghe with that long-haired girl in the flowing dress.

Their appearances and temperaments were far too different.

Although Xue Qinghe could be called handsome, he was not particularly outstanding. His speech was elegant, and his temperament was as gentle as jade. He was a refined gentleman, but compared with the girl's peerless beauty that could topple kingdoms and cities, they were not even on the same level.

Having never had the chance to carefully read the original Douluo novel, Su Yuntian had fallen into a misconception. He had no idea that Qian Renxue possessed exceptional transformation abilities and could perfectly disguise another person's build and appearance. The human-skin mask Qian Renxue wore was also far more exquisite than Su Yuntian could imagine.

In other words, although he knew it, he genuinely could not tell that "Xue Qinghe" was a woman.

Nor did he think that "Xue Qinghe" was the girl who had saved him last night.

That raised another question: who was the girl who had rescued him?

Where had she gone?

Xue Qinghe noticed Su Yuntian's obvious confusion and smiled. "Little brother, is there something you wish to ask me?"

"May I ask, Your Highness, when you found me, did you see my brother? He is a level twenty-seven agility-attack Battle Soul Master, and his martial soul is Lone Wolf. There was also a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old, very beautiful, with long hair and a long dress."

Xue Qinghe merely shook his head. "I only saw you, lying quietly beneath an old pine tree."

Su Yuntian frowned.

What exactly had happened between the time he lost consciousness and the time Xue Qinghe rescued him?

Note 1: "An unfamiliar ceiling" and "the same ceiling as always"—those familiar with me know I like using this reference. It comes from Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the official censored version can be watched on Bilibili.

Note 2: "Just call me Brother Xue" ("Just call me Alyosha").

Note 3: Original character: Da Xue. Xue Qinghe's maid. She had already been Xue Qinghe's maid before Qian Renxue assassinated Xue Qinghe. Because she was called Da Xue, Qian Renxue was called "Xiao Xue." She is three years older than Qian Renxue and six years older than the protagonist.