Why do you want to leave me?

With that match over, the Sect Tournament officially came to an end.

After a few days of rest, the top ten would enter the Nine-Layer Heavenly Profound Pavilion to choose their treasures. By the time they finished, the Qianyuan Secret Realm would be ready to open.

Ning Ke ultimately chose an Osmanthus Jade Hairpin.

He also had Lou Yunxiao feel it carefully and memorize its design.

Then Lou Yunxiao personally pinned up his hair and put it on him.

Lou Yunxiao pressed his lips together and said, "Although I can't see, I'm sure this jade hairpin looks wonderful on you, junior brother."

Ning Ke looked at himself in the mirror.

The human form this tail of his had taken was actually what he looked like in the real world.

It differed from the original owner's appearance as a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, though their features shared some similarities.

What it lacked was that seductive charm and demonic aura.

"Brother! Senior brother! The sect master wants us to gather and head to the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion!"

Ning Xiaoxiao's voice rang out from outside the door, interrupting Ning Ke's thoughts.

"Let's go, senior brother." Ning Ke took Lou Yunxiao's hand and led him outside.

Ning Xiaoxiao looked at the two of them with a mischievous grin.

Only after Ning Ke glared at her did she rein it in.

The sect masters joined forces to open the doors of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

"Children, the treasures inside the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion are limited. Each of you may take only one item. If you take more than one, you will be thrown out of the pavilion, so do not be greedy."

Naturally, the disciples agreed.

The instant Ning Ke entered, he heard a notification from the system, Xiao Yuan:

[Host, there is a heaven-grade pill inside the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion that will allow Lou Yunxiao to use your eyes. Otherwise, even if you gouge them out, it will be pointless if he can't use them.]

Ning Ke froze, then asked, Which floor is the pill on?

[It should be on the fifth floor. You'll have to look for it.]

Ning Ke acknowledged that he understood.

Yet he couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.

If he had to put it into words, it was like the reluctance an actor felt when his role was about to wrap up.

His mood suffered as a result, and when Zhuang Yusheng came over to talk to him, he merely gave a few perfunctory replies.

He watched everyone finish choosing what they wanted.

Ning Xiaoxiao chose a Talisman Brush, Lou Yunxiao chose a Remnant Scroll, and Zhuang Yusheng chose a magical artifact.

"I'll take a look on the fifth floor," Ning Ke said.

Lou Yunxiao followed close behind him.

After hesitating several times, he finally asked, "Junior brother, is something troubling you?"

Following Xiao Yuan's directions, Ning Ke rummaged through the boxes and cabinets until he found the pill and took it in his hand.

Hearing Lou Yunxiao's question, he smiled. "I'm fine."

"No, something's wrong."

"..." Ning Ke sighed helplessly.

"I was just thinking that nothing lasts forever. If one day I leave you, senior brother, I hope you won't be sad."

"..." This time, it was Lou Yunxiao who fell silent.

Only after a long while did he ask, "Junior brother, why do you want to leave me?"

Lou Yunxiao had never considered such a question before.

The days he had spent with Ning Ke had made him feel certain that his junior brother would always accompany him on his future path of cultivation.

After all, his junior brother was so gifted, and they belonged to the same sect.

They were sure to spend a very, very long time together.

So now that Ning Ke had suddenly brought it up...

He couldn't help panicking.

"It's just... some personal matters." Ning Ke was startled by Lou Yunxiao's tone.

The tremor at the end of his words almost made him think Lou Yunxiao was about to cry.

Something occurred to him, and he quickly smiled and waved his hand. "You remember I mentioned going home, right? I might go home someday, so naturally I wouldn't be able to stay with you anymore."

His answer made Lou Yunxiao breathe a sigh of relief.

"Then once I've avenged myself, I'll go to your home to find you. We'll definitely have a chance to meet again."

At that, Ning Ke rubbed the box holding the pill twice, then put it into his Storage Ring.

"Mm," he replied to Lou Yunxiao.

By the time the ten of them emerged from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, all fifty disciples selected through the Sect Tournament had gathered.

The entrance to the Secret Realm opened.

Since only disciples at the Nascent Soul Stage or below could enter, the other elders and sect masters were barred from going inside.

They could only warn the disciples to be extremely careful. The rest would depend on each person's fate.

The Secret Realm teleported them to random locations.

Ning Ke closed his eyes, then opened them, and both Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao had vanished from his side.

He found himself in a forest, where he could sense several powerful demonic beasts nearby.

He stood still, sorting through the plot in his mind.

In the plot, Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao would spend an entire year in the Qianyuan Secret Realm.

He himself, however, would die in six months.

In the plot, after A Ke died, Lou Yunxiao and Ning Xiaoxiao would care for and support each other, and their feelings would deepen...

Fuck!

I'd only just remembered that!

If I die, that pig of a male lead will go after my sister!

Does that mean a simp like me ends up being the glue that brings them together?

No, no, no! I absolutely won't let that happen!

With that thought, he summoned the Red Cloud Sword, cut his finger, and separated a wisp of his divine soul to store inside it.

That way, even if this tail of his died, he could still observe Lou Yunxiao's every move through the Red Cloud Sword!

He would keep a close watch on Lou Yunxiao and make sure he didn't make a move on his sister!

[Host, are you sure you're doing this only for your sister?]

Xiao Yuan's voice made Ning Ke pause.

...Yes. It's for my sister.

[But the female lead only looks like your sister. She isn't your actual sister. Besides, you know what kind of person Lou Yunxiao is. Even if the two of them got together, there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, should there?]

"..."

[Or is it that you can't bear to let Lou Yunxiao be as close to anyone else as he is to you?]

...Enough, enough. Keep talking and I'll start wondering if I'm gay.

[Aren't you?]

Just shut up already!

Ning Ke felt that this was nothing more than possessiveness.

It was like a child buying a toy. If another child asked him for it, he would hesitate for a while, reluctant to hand it over.

That was how he felt about Lou Yunxiao, too.

Besides, his ultimate goal was to go home.

For that reason alone, he could never offer Lou Yunxiao any genuine response to his feelings.

Meanwhile, Lou Yunxiao walked alone through the vast desert.

Ning Ke was no longer beside him, nor was anyone else.

All that remained was the howling wind and the sand it whipped into the air.

He had clearly experienced far greater loneliness back in the Demon-Sealing Pagoda.

Yet now... he found it somewhat difficult to adjust.

"Fuck! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Lou Yunxiao heard a voice nearby.

If he could see, he would have noticed a young woman emerging from the sand, clutching a constantly struggling sand rat.

It was Ning Xiaoxiao.

"You little brat! I was kind enough to save you, and you dragged me under the sand! Lucky for you I got out, or I'd have slaughtered you for dinner!"

Lou Yunxiao said nothing.

Ning Xiaoxiao scolded the sand rat until it trembled and no longer dared to struggle.

Then she looked up and spotted Lou Yunxiao. Quickly adopting the demeanor of a well-behaved girl, she waved. "Eldest senior brother! What a coincidence!"