Stay and be my little sister

Tang Wulin did not know how much time had passed before he slowly emerged from that quiet, heavy state.

When he opened his eyes, it was already dark outside.

The room was much dimmer than before, and he could just make out the last traces of sunset beyond the window. But what startled him more was Tang Ziran sitting not far from his bed.

"Dad?" Tang Wulin sprang upright, his eyes full of surprise. "Why are you home so early?"

Tang Ziran smiled.

"It's not early. It's almost dark," he said. "You've been sitting there for quite a while."

Tang Wulin froze.

He looked down at himself, then moved his hands and feet. His whole body felt indescribably light and relaxed. It was completely different from the heat, heaviness, and restlessness he had felt that afternoon. Now it felt as though something warm and gentle had washed through him, even leaving his mind much clearer.

"Dad, I think I really learned how to meditate just now," he said excitedly. "I felt something really, really fine entering my body, and then my Soul Power started moving. I think there's even a little more of it than before."

A flicker of surprise crossed Tang Ziran's eyes as he listened.

One day.

This was only his first day of class, yet the boy had already reached the threshold of true meditation.

Lin Ximeng's good teaching played a part, but without the aptitude to match, he could never have grasped it so quickly.

"Yes, that's what meditation feels like." Tang Ziran nodded, generous with his praise. "Looks like my son has quite a gift for understanding things."

Tang Wulin immediately smiled so broadly that his eyes curved into crescents.

Praise from his father always made him especially happy.

But before he could bask in it for long, Tang Ziran's smile faded a little, and his expression grew serious.

"Still, there are two things Dad needs to talk to you about."

Seeing his father turn serious, Tang Wulin immediately sat up straighter too.

"What is it, Dad?"

Tang Ziran looked at his son and asked his first question.

"When you stopped those bad people on the street this afternoon, did you think you were being brave?"

Tang Wulin paused, then nodded honestly.

"Mm... a little."

"Being brave is good," Tang Ziran said slowly. "But bravery needs wisdom beside it. You're only six. Even with your Martial Soul and Soul Power awakened, you're still nowhere near capable of confronting truly dangerous people head-on. You managed to scare them away today partly because you revealed that you were a student in the Soul Master class, and partly because people around you had already noticed. But what if they'd been more vicious, or you'd been somewhere more secluded?"

Tang Wulin went still.

Earlier that day, he had only thought that he could not stand by and watch those bad people take Na'er away. None of this had occurred to him.

Tang Ziran continued:

"If you know you can't stop them alone but charge in headfirst anyway, that isn't bravery. It's recklessness. True bravery doesn't mean having no fear of danger. It means knowing when to step forward, and when to first find an adult, a patrol, or someone nearby who can help."

Tang Wulin lowered his head and thought carefully for a long while before giving a small nod.

"Dad, I know I was wrong."

Only then did Tang Ziran's expression soften again as he looked at his son.

"As long as you understand." He reached out and stroked Tang Wulin's head. "A man can make mistakes, but he can't keep making the same ones."

"Okay!" Tang Wulin nodded firmly.

Tang Ziran finally smiled again.

"Good. Now, the second thing."

Tang Wulin blinked.

"There's a second thing?"

"Of course." Tang Ziran deliberately put on a stern face. "Only six years old, and you're already bringing little girls home. Playing the hero rescuing a beauty, too. Pretty impressive, aren't you?"

Tang Wulin stared blankly for a moment, then his little face turned bright red.

"Dad!" he explained anxiously. "It's not what you think! Na'er was alone on the street, and those bad people almost took her away. That's why I brought her home."

Tang Ziran finally could not hold back his laughter.

"Then tell me, what do we do now?" he asked. "Your mom took her to the Administrative Officer to check, but they couldn't find any registration information or any matching missing-person reports. If no one can be found, the rules say she'll most likely have to go to an orphanage."

"An orphanage?" Tang Wulin's eyes flew wide open.

"Yes." Tang Ziran looked at him. "So Dad wants to ask you what you think we should do."

Tang Wulin hesitated.

He did not really understand everything an orphanage meant, but just hearing the word made him instinctively feel that it could not be a good place to go.

Na'er was so quiet and so small, and the bad people had only just frightened her today... If they sent her somewhere completely unfamiliar now, would she be even more scared?

At that thought, Tang Wulin blurted out almost without hesitation:

"Dad, let her stay with us for now, okay?"

Tang Ziran looked at him with a hint of a smile.

"Stay with us? This isn't as simple as keeping another kitten or puppy. There'll be another mouth to feed and another bed to sleep in. Taking care of someone takes more than words."

Tang Wulin grew anxious at once.

"I can take care of her!" he said quickly. "I can keep her company after school, and I can share my things with her. Besides... besides, she doesn't have anywhere else to go right now."

Seeing how earnest his son was, Tang Ziran's eyes filled with a little more warmth.

"Come out and eat first," he said. "Your mom and Na'er are both outside."

Tang Wulin immediately jumped off the bed and hurried toward the living room, almost forgetting to put his shoes on properly.

The moment he stepped out of his room, he saw Na'er sitting at the dining table.

She was back to the quiet way she had been during the day, her hands resting neatly on her knees and her head lowered, lost in thoughts he could not guess. Hearing his footsteps, she looked up and met Tang Wulin's delighted gaze.

"Na'er!"

Tang Wulin immediately ran over and naturally took her hand.

Na'er's hand was still cool, but this time, the faint, elusive burning in Tang Wulin's palm subsided a little more noticeably than it had during the day. He remained unaware of it, though. Just seeing that she was still there filled him with an inexplicable happiness.

Lang Yue was bringing the last dish to the table. Seeing her son come out, she sighed softly.

"The Administrative Officer couldn't find any records for this child," she said. "According to the rules, if we can't find any more leads, we'll have to send her to an orphanage for now."

"No!"

Almost without thinking, Tang Wulin immediately spread his arms and stood in front of Na'er.

"Mom, please don't send her to an orphanage, okay?"

His little body was not broad enough; even with his arms spread, he could not completely shield Na'er. Yet that small gesture left her frozen in her chair.

She looked up at Tang Wulin's back, a thin veil of tears slowly gathering in her large purple eyes.

Lang Yue looked at her son and deliberately asked, "Then what do you suggest? We can't just keep her here forever without asking any questions, can we?"

Tang Wulin hurriedly turned to Na'er.

"Na'er, would you like to stay at my house?" he asked earnestly. "My mom makes really good food, and my dad is really nice too. You can stay here for now. I'll take care of you."

He paused, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, and his eyes lit up.

"And I've always wanted a little sister," he said with particular solemnity. "Stay and be my little sister, okay?"

The room suddenly fell quiet.

Na'er stared at him, as though she had never expected to hear those words.

When she did not answer, Tang Wulin began to grow nervous again.

"I-I mean it," he quickly added. "I'll protect you from now on. I protected you today, and I can do it in the future too. If you stay here, you'll be my little sister."

Na'er looked at him. The tears trembling in her purple eyes finally became impossible to hold back, and her eyes reddened.

But she did not cry. She only nodded very, very softly.

"Mm."

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then leaped into the air.

"Yes! I have a little sister!"

Watching their son look so happy he could almost take flight, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged a glance. Both saw helplessness and tenderness in the other's eyes.

It was not really that simple.

For a family like the Tangs, raising another child had never been something a simple "okay?" could settle. But Na'er truly had nowhere else to go right now, and their son had clearly made up his mind to shelter this little girl.

In the end, Lang Yue sighed softly.

"Then she can stay for now," she said. "At least until we find her family, she can live with us."

The moment she said those words, the atmosphere in the room warmed.

"Mom, you're the best!" Tang Wulin immediately threw himself at Lang Yue and hugged her arm.

"All right, all right. Eat first." Lang Yue smiled and patted his head. "If you don't, the food will get cold."

As it turned out, children sometimes really could not control their own appetites.

Lang Yue had deliberately prepared extra food that evening, thinking that with another child in the house, she ought to make sure there was enough. But once they actually began eating, she realized she had still underestimated the two little ones.

Tang Wulin's appetite had already grown enormously because of the changes following his awakening. After such an eventful day, he ate like a little bottomless pit.

And Na'er, despite looking so small, thin, and quiet, ate no more slowly than he did. Her table manners were not unpleasant; they were even quiet and delicate. Yet she finished bowl after bowl at an astonishing speed.

By the time all the food on the table, along with the lunch Lang Yue had prepared for Tang Ziran for the next day, had been wiped clean, the couple could only stare in utter astonishment.

"You two..." Looking at the empty bowls on the table, Lang Yue momentarily found herself at a loss for words.

Tang Wulin rubbed his stomach and glanced at Na'er, still wanting more.

Na'er happened to look up too, glancing at the empty rice bowl before looking at him.

Their eyes met, and each could actually see a trace of "I don't think I'm quite full yet" in the other's gaze.

The sight left Tang Ziran and Lang Yue torn between exasperation and laughter.

"Looks like we'll have to buy rice more often from now on." Tang Ziran rubbed his temple helplessly.

The house had only two rooms. Since Na'er was staying for now, they naturally could not have her sleep with the adults. In the end, Tang Ziran and Tang Wulin put together another simple little bed in the small room, more or less solving the sleeping arrangements.

As the night deepened, the house finally grew quiet.

Na'er seemed truly exhausted and soon fell asleep. She remained very quiet in her sleep, her breathing almost inaudible. Her short silver hair spread beside her pillow, making her look like a little pool of moonlight.

Tang Wulin, however, did not go to sleep right away.

He sat on the edge of his little bed, looked at the sleeping Na'er, then lowered his gaze to his own hands.

Today, he had learned to meditate.

Today, he had also gained a little sister.

At that thought, a sense of contentment unlike anything he had ever known welled up inside him, along with a thought clearer than any he had had before.

Before, he had wanted to become a Soul Master because it had been his dream since he was little.

Now, it seemed he had one more reason to grow stronger.

The moment that thought appeared, it became unshakably firm.

Tang Wulin carefully crossed his legs, afraid of waking Na'er, and murmured to her sleeping form:

"I'm going to meditate."

"I'll protect you from now on."

Only after saying that did he close his eyes again, doing his best to sink into that quiet, heavy world.

And this time, he understood more clearly than he had that afternoon why he needed to keep moving forward.