The Family Bug Bit Me

"Holy Soul Village?"

"Yeah, that's where my home is."

Xiao Wu looked at Jiang Jiu, leaving the decision to him.

She didn't mind either way. Wherever Xiao Jiu went, she would go too.

"Would we be imposing?" Jiang Jiu glanced at Xiao Wu, then asked.

Tang San had invited them himself. Jiang Jiu had nudged him toward it with a few well-chosen words, but the important thing was that it had worked.

Whether or not they became sworn siblings afterward, a visit wouldn't take up much time. It would also be a chance to grow closer.

"Not at all, not at all. My house is pretty big."

Only then did Tang San start to feel awkward. It had just occurred to him that his father, Tang Hao, had a rather bad temper. He might have been wearing too strong a rose-colored glasses filter when it came to his own father.

Whatever. He'd deal with it when they got there.

In Tang San's eyes, even if Tang Hao had a foul temper, he, Jiang Jiu, and Xiao Wu were all Soul Masters. Nothing could go wrong.

"Then it's settled?"

"Mm." Now it was Tang San's turn to smile bitterly to himself.

On the first morning of their holiday, Jiang Jiu and the others met up and set off together for Holy Soul Village.

Holy Soul Village wasn't far from Nuoding City. It would take half a day on foot, and Jiang Jiu and the others could naturally make it even faster.

"Woohoo, Xiao Jiu, come catch me!"

Leaving the little city behind for the countryside, Xiao Wu seemed to have let herself loose. She darted through the fields like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

"Do you even know which way you're going? You're just running around blindly."

"Actually, I guess I don't! Ah! Xiao Jiu, you cheated again!"

Xiao Wu was caught in a surprise lock by her excellent apprentice. She looked deeply indignant, cursing herself for stopping when Xiao Jiu told her to. He'd caught up with her in an instant. How humiliating!

"Once we get there, you can play as much as you want."

"You said it!" Xiao Wu began looking forward to what came next.

Jiang Jiu tapped her silly little head and dragged her back onto the right path.

It seemed Xiao Wu still hadn't realized how fast he'd been just now.

After starting strength training, Jiang Jiu had naturally adjusted his running regimen.

Though he wasn't increasing his long-distance running mileage anymore, his explosive speed had improved by leaps and bounds, both off the starting line and at full tilt.

She couldn't run circles around him like she had a year ago—not so easily, anyway.

"It's fine if we take our time." Tang San wasn't quite sure how he felt about it anymore.

He'd once been envious, but now he seemed almost used to it. Maybe it would only feel strange if those two ever stopped being so attached to each other.

Sometimes, seeing them like this even made life feel more interesting. What a strange feeling.

"You were the one who couldn't wait to get home."

Tang San smiled without denying it, and continued down the road.

After walking for a while longer, Tang San pointed toward a small hill ahead.

"Holy Soul Village is at the foot of that hill."

The closer he got to home, the more excited Tang San became. Without even realizing it, he quickened his pace.

"Is this what going home feels like?" Seeing how different Tang San was from usual, Xiao Wu rested her head on Jiang Jiu's shoulder.

Luckily, she'd met Xiao Jiu. Now she had a home of her own in Nuoding City, too.

"After all, it's been a year since he went back."

Xiao Wu suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

She hadn't been home in a year either, and she'd almost forgotten about Daming and Erming.

Well, cultivation was important. Sister Xiao Wu just loved cultivating too much.

Besides, it hadn't been easy to leave the Star Dou Forest and come all the way to this tiny Nuoding City. Who knew whether the trip back would go smoothly? She couldn't even escape from the Soul Beasts near the forest's outskirts now.

Xiao Wu made up her mind without a care to put off her return to the Star Dou Forest for some uncertain number of years.

The two of them slowly followed in the direction Tang San had run off in.

Things were somewhat different from what Xiao Wu had expected. She didn't see the happy reunion between father and son that she'd imagined. Instead, Tang San stood in silence, holding a letter and looking utterly dejected, while an old man tried to comfort him.

If Xiao Wu really saw the scene she'd imagined, though, she'd be the one whose legs turned to jelly.

Xiao Wu looked at Jiang Jiu, and he silently got to work.

He set down the bag he'd been carrying, full of Iron Essence, and began helping to tidy up the house.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to earn goodwill.

If Tang San had been a girl, Jiang Jiu's harem progress would've surged forward by a huge amount.

But Tang San was a man, and Jiang Jiu had no interest in getting with guys.

He could only hope that when Tang San thought back on this someday, he'd give his buddy a better Immortal Herb.

Spending half a year with Old Poison was something Jiang Jiu, at least, couldn't imagine himself doing.

With Jiang Jiu's help, they quickly cleaned up the dusty Blacksmith Shop. After all, Tang Hao had only been gone for two days.

He'd done most of the housework himself, as usual. Xiao Wu, meanwhile, was still doing her best to learn.

"Brother Jiu, Xiao Wu..."

Xiao Wu glared at him.

"...Sister Xiao Wu, thank you both."

"Try to look on the bright side. Your father is safe. You'll get to see him again someday."

Jiang Jiu offered a few words of comfort.

Tang Hao really was something else. He'd practically treated Tang San like a vegetable.

"I just... miss him a little." Tang San took out the Forging Hammer he'd just bought. It was a gift for Tang Hao, but now he had no one to give it to.

"Why be so sentimental? He's not dead! Xiao Jiu and I can't even see our fathers again, no matter how much we want to!"

Jiang Jiu hurriedly covered Xiao Wu's mouth.

This wasn't something to compare.

Xiao Wu did get downhearted over her parents sometimes. Tang San simply hadn't reached the point where he could bring out her empathy.

Though the three of them had spent time together on plenty of occasions, it was clear that without Jiang Jiu between them, Tang San and Xiao Wu wouldn't have much to say to each other.

If it had been Jiang Jiu, Xiao Wu would've hugged him tight long ago. Unfortunately, she'd never found the chance, and so she'd come to sincerely believe Jiang Jiu was a strong and imposing person, even though he was so pretty.

Yet Xiao Wu's words worked surprisingly well. After she said them, Tang San's reaction seemed even more affected than he'd been by Jiang Jiu's comfort.

Tang San's expression trembled. "Brother Jiu, you two... really..."

"I've never seen my parents, not once in my life. I don't know about Xiao Wu."

Tang San's reaction was decent enough, at least. He was more considerate than Tang Ya.

"Both my parents passed away, too." Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and turned her face aside.

Looking at Jiang Jiu, who was "putting on" a carefree front, and Xiao Wu, whose painful memories he'd brought to the surface, Tang San felt an inexplicable urge rise within him.

"Brother Jiu, Sister Xiao Wu, let's become sworn siblings! Let's be family to each other!"

Tang San's heart surged with emotion. He looked at the two of them, full of anticipation.

"Sworn siblings? Like brother and sister?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.

"Exactly. Once we've sworn ourselves to each other, we'll be closer than real siblings." Tang San gazed at Jiang Jiu and Xiao Wu with burning eyes.

Right now, he truly wanted a new family. Without one, he felt as if he'd wither away and die alone. It didn't matter if Xiao Wu barely knew him.

"I don't want to be siblings with Xiao Jiu!"