Tang San's Little Sister, Why Are You a Girl?

Tang San sat cross-legged on that old stone, facing east, purple light flowing through her eyes.

This was a task she had to complete every morning. To cultivate the Purple Demon Eye, she had to absorb the purple qi that came from the east at sunrise.

"Tang San's little sister! Tang San's little sister!"

Gu Qing pushed through the bushes on the back hill and spotted the petite figure sitting on the stone in the sunlight from far away.

Gu Qing was six years old this year, tall for his age, handsome, with bright, lively eyes.

Holding half a raw sweet potato, he wiped it on his clothes, took a bite, then came over and plopped down on the stone beside Tang San.

"Third Sister, you're here sunbathing again this early in the morning."

Tang San ignored Gu Qing, her eyes still fixed on the east.

"You're even darker than I am." Gu Qing chewed the raw sweet potato and said indistinctly, "If you keep tanning like this, what if you can't get married in the future?"

The corner of Tang San's eye twitched violently several times.

"Oh, right. That cultivation manual we found last time—I've already reached the peak of the first level."

Gu Qing stuffed the last bite of sweet potato into his mouth and brushed the crumbs from his hands. "But I just can't break through to the second level. What about you, Third Sister?"

After saying that, Gu Qing sighed deeply to himself.

Five years!

A full five years!

Do you know how I spent those five years?!

From the age of one, Gu Qing had known that he had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent.

Holy Soul Village, Old Jack, Tang Hao—he knew those names better than anyone. But Gu Qing had been too young then. He could only lie there and wait to be fed, unable to do anything.

Once he could walk, Gu Qing immediately went looking for Tang San.

Gu Qing's plan had been simple: latch onto a powerful backer. Tang San would become the Sea God and the Asura God in the future. As long as he built a good relationship with her, his life would be secure.

But then there was a problem.

Tang San was a girl!

The first time Gu Qing realized this, he froze completely. The Tang Sect genius from the original story, who had leaped off a cliff and transmigrated with hidden weapons and poisons filling his mind, had become a little girl with a ponytail.

It took Gu Qing several days to come to terms with that fact.

A girl was a girl. Tang San was still Tang San, and changing her gender would not stop her from becoming a god.

After that, Gu Qing got over it. Since he was already here, he might as well suck up to her.

Tang San opened her eyes, and the purple gleam in her pupils vanished in a flash.

"I'm also stuck at the peak of the first level. I can't break through."

Tang San sounded slightly puzzled when she said it, but she was thinking of something else.

Tang San had not been used to transmigrating into a girl at first. In her previous life, she had been a male outer disciple of the Tang Sect, still clutching the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus when she jumped off the cliff.

Yet when she opened her eyes, she had become a baby girl!

That feeling was... difficult to describe. You know what I mean, right?

But Tang San's strength of character was far beyond ordinary people. So what if her gender had changed? It did not affect her cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, her practice of techniques, or her rebuilding of the Tang Sect.

So she had not dwelled on the matter for long.

Gu Qing, on the other hand, had taken Tang San somewhat by surprise.

Ever since he had learned to walk, he had kept sticking close to her. He had followed her around for five years.

At first, Tang San had wondered whether this guy had feelings for her. Later, she realized that he merely treated her as a younger sister. "You're just my little sister."

He talked too much and had thick skin, but he knew his limits. Moreover, he truly bore her no ill will. Most importantly, Gu Qing's natural aptitude suited Tang Sect cultivation methods very well.

That was why she had taught him the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

But Tang San had not expected Gu Qing to cultivate even faster than she did. He had reached the peak of the first level in only half a year.

"You're stuck too?" Gu Qing scratched his head. "I thought you were better than me, Third Sister."

"Brother Gu Qing..."

Tang San had barely begun to speak when Gu Qing waved a hand. "Don't call me Brother. Just call me Qing-ge, or Brother Gu. Pick one."

Tang San glanced at him and did not argue over the form of address. "You came to find me so early. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, right." Gu Qing stood and patted the dust off his backside. "Grandpa Jack asked me to come get you. A Lord Soul Master came to the village today to awaken the martial souls of us six-year-olds."

Tang San rose from the stone.

"Let's go."

The two headed down the mountain one after the other.

Walking behind her, Gu Qing looked at Tang San's petite back and began considering the matter of martial soul awakening.

If I awaken some powerful martial soul, then from now on, "I don't eat beef."

If I awaken a useless martial soul...

It's fine. Third Sister is here, after all.

As her only big brother—self-proclaimed, admittedly—she can't possibly watch me fail to become a god, right?

There was nothing shameful about latching onto a powerful backer.

When the two quickly reached the entrance of Tang Hao's Blacksmith Shop, the clanging of hammering came from within.

Bare-chested, Tang Hao swung a heavy hammer and struck the red-hot iron again and again. Sweat ran down his sturdy back, and his gaze was focused. He looked nothing like the drunkard from the original story.

Watching this scene, Gu Qing clicked his tongue in amazement.

Sure enough.

A daughter was her father's little cotton-padded jacket, while a son was roadside grass.

Just because Tang San had become a girl, Tang Hao had actually quit drinking and worked earnestly at the forge every day to support the family.

If Tang San had still been a boy like in the original story, Tang Hao would probably be lying around somewhere drinking right now.

Double standard! What a blatant double standard!

"Uncle Hao! Uncle Hao!" Gu Qing shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm taking Third Sister to awaken her martial soul!"

The hammering stopped, and Tang Hao raised his head.

Tang Hao's gaze landed on Gu Qing and swept over him from head to toe.

That look made Gu Qing uncomfortable all over.

How should he put it? Tang Hao looked like an old father who had seen some yellow-haired punk pull up outside his house on a flashy motorcycle and grin as he said, "Uncle, I'm taking your daughter out for a ride."

There was vigilance, scrutiny, and a hint of, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."

Gu Qing's heart skipped a beat.

What the hell did that look mean, Uncle Hao?

Am I that kind of person?

I treat Third Sister like my real little sister!

I may not be your biological son, but Grandpa Jack raised me, and Grandpa Jack is from the same village as you. Rounding it up, we're practically half-relatives.

Is it appropriate to look at a relative's child like that?

Tang Hao looked at Tang San, and his expression visibly softened.

"Be careful on the road. Come back early after the awakening."

"Got it, Uncle Hao!"

Gu Qing grabbed Tang San by the wrist and ran outside.

Once they left the Blacksmith Shop, Gu Qing let go of her hand, took a deep breath, and began working himself up emotionally.

Tang San walked beside him without saying anything.

Gu Qing cleared his throat.

"Third Sister."

Tang San turned to look at him.

"Don't worry." Gu Qing looked at the road ahead, his tone serious. "If I awaken a powerful martial soul later, I'll protect you and Uncle Hao for the rest of my life."

After saying that, Gu Qing silently gave himself a thumbs-up.

That line, that tone, that expression—perfect. Once Tang San became the Sea God, she couldn't possibly deny this big brother who had promised to "protect her for the rest of his life," right?

Tang San stopped walking.

Gu Qing turned back to look at her. Tang San's expression was complicated.

How should he put it? There was a hint of embarrassment in her shock, and a hint of wary suspicion in that embarrassment, as though she were thinking, I treated you like a brother, but you actually...

The corner of Tang San's mouth even twitched slightly.

Gu Qing's smile froze on his face. He understood Tang San's expression.

She was not moved. She was absolutely not moved.

It was a misunderstanding!

Tang San had misunderstood!

Gu Qing screamed in his heart, Fuck!

Bro, you don't think I like you, do you? Aren't you overthinking this?

I just want to latch onto you! You're the future Sea God, a dual-god-position holder. There isn't a thicker thigh to cling to in this world.

Fine, I admit that line about "protecting you for the rest of my life" was a little easy to misunderstand, but I meant it in the sibling sense! Purely sibling affection!

Gu Qing took a deep breath, ready to explain.

But Tang San had already withdrawn her gaze and continued forward.

"Let's go."

Gu Qing opened his mouth, then swallowed his words again.

Forget it. The more he explained, the worse it would sound. He would talk about it later.

Neither of them spoke again. They walked in silence until they reached the temporary martial soul awakening site at Spirit Hall in the village.

It was a temporarily requisitioned wooden house. Several children from the village were already waiting outside. Old Jack stood nearby with his cane, maintaining order. When he saw Gu Qing and Tang San arrive, his face broke into a smile.

"Come, hurry inside. The Lord Soul Master is already here."