"I'm sorry, big sister... you aren't the one who made me cry."
Kokomi sobbed softly, but still lifted her tear-streaked little face and forced back her grief. "I just remembered my brother who passed away. Just a few days ago, I was still living with him."
"My brother barely managed to support us by writing books, but just a few days ago, he... was accidentally hit by a carriage and killed!"
"After that, I was the only one left at home!"
"When you asked me those questions just now, I couldn't control my emotions... I'm sorry! Please don't blame me, big sister!" As she spoke, Kokomi threw herself into Bibi Dong's arms again and wailed.
Bibi Dong felt utterly guilty. Naturally, she failed to notice the little hands roaming around her waist or the face rubbing against her snowy peaks. She merely thought the little girl had finally met a gentle, understanding big sister like herself and was seeking comfort.
Bibi Dong had, of course, come looking for trouble!
As the Holy Maiden, Bibi Dong usually had a packed cultivation schedule, and she also had to learn Spirit Hall's operations and the ways of the world. She was so busy her feet barely touched the ground.
Naturally, she couldn't possibly have spare time to read some dirty little book.
Even if it was a wildly popular piece of smut. But a while ago, while handling a local city lord's corruption, bribe-taking, and deliberate lawbreaking in her capacity as Holy Maiden, she had unexpectedly obtained that book from him-"I Fix Pipes at Spirit Hall."
It was nothing short of a naked, malicious attack and slander against her!
Bibi Dong had flown into a rage on the spot, swearing to teach that lecher a lesson!
Spirit Hall had only recently announced to the public that she was its Holy Maiden!
Yet this book had immediately appeared! And the Holy Maiden's face and appearance were described as exactly the same as hers!
It was simply unbelievable!
Bibi Dong was both shocked and furious!
Ordinarily, since the current Supreme Pontiff was blond, wouldn't people assume Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden was blond too?!
Even if she wasn't blond, how could anyone's guess veer all the way to her purple hair?!
And Bibi Dong's subsequent investigation revealed that the book had actually been out for several years!
Bibi Dong strongly suspected that this man had been plotting against her for a long time! How old had she even been back then?! That disgusting, sleazy, perverted bastard had already dared to indulge in obscene fantasies about her!
He had to receive the ultimate punishment!
Bibi Dong didn't want her teacher, Qian Xunji, to know she had secretly read such a dirty book. The innocent Bibi Dong simply couldn't bring herself to say such things aloud!
As the Supreme Pontiff's sole disciple, Bibi Dong naturally had little trouble persuading the local Spirit Hall to find someone for her.
She had now reached the Soul Emperor rank, and was confident she was invincible in this remote little city. After finishing her morning duties, she had hurried over under cover of late night!
She would arrest this shameless lecher on the spot!
Yet she had never expected that the man would turn out to be dead, leaving behind such a pitiful little sister. The kindhearted Bibi Dong couldn't bear it.
Considering that her lecherous brother had only been trying to put food on the table, Bibi Dong could only silently forgive him.
Rather, he was already dead. What could she do even if she refused to forgive him?
"Big sister, did you know my brother?" By now, little Kokomi had finally had her fill of taking liberties with Bibi Dong. She raised her head and looked at her with a cautious expression.
"A lot of people have come to the house lately, asking me for money, so it's a little messy. I'm sorry..." Kokomi apologized timidly again.
Bibi Dong's heart clenched. Naturally, she knew what Kokomi meant.
With her brother, the pillar of the household, gone, the neighbors and townsfolk had only one thought now, no matter how friendly they had been before: to gobble up everything this little girl had left. After all, if they didn't, someone else would.
In the end, this little girl probably wouldn't be able to hold on to the money her brother had left her.
"Little Kokomi, do you know what your brother wrote?" Bibi Dong suddenly asked.
At that, Kokomi naturally put on a suitably embarrassed expression. "I-I know, but my brother had no choice. He had zero innate soul power and a trash martial soul. This was all he could do..."
"Oh? So you know!" Bibi Dong's expression was inscrutable.
She held the petite Kokomi in her arms with one hand and said softly, "Then did you know that I'm the heroine of that novel, little Kokomi?"
"Th-the heroine is you? Big sister, you're...?!" Kokomi's clear, watery eyes suddenly widened. Instinctively, she slipped out of Bibi Dong's embrace, her tiny body retreating half a step as she tilted up her little face and stared blankly at the pure, gentle young woman before her.
Her little face was filled with shock and bewilderment!
Seeing the girl's deeply stunned expression, Bibi Dong felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction quietly well up inside her.
She turned slightly aside, seemingly casually avoiding Kokomi's direct gaze and leaving her with only half of an exquisitely beautiful profile.
Her long purple hair fell over her shoulders, concealing the fleeting triumph in her eyes. Her brows held just the right measure of helplessness and faint sorrow, her lips pressed lightly together. Her expression was languid and forlorn, her cool, sacred bearing laced with a deliberately cultivated air of noble distance.
She looked utterly helpless and secretly troubled, as though vexed by the thought, How did my secret identity get exposed?
"Big sister, you're the wife of the Clear Sky Sect's sect master!" Kokomi cried out involuntarily!
Bibi Dong: ...
Seeing Bibi Dong's reaction, Kokomi tapped her cherry-red lips and added, "Could you be the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Bibi Dong: ...
"No, let me ask you something! Isn't that book called 'I Fix Pipes at Spirit Hall'? Does it have those characters in it?"
Only then did Kokomi look enlightened. "Ah! That was my brother's first book! It's already out of date!"
The corner of Bibi Dong's eye twitched. Just how many dirty books did that bastard write?! Besides fantasizing about me, how many other people did he fantasize about?!
Bibi Dong had instinctively assumed that he had only written that one book about her.
With stars sparkling in her eyes, Kokomi gazed at Bibi Dong in admiration. "Y-you're Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden! I-I'm sorry! I was so rude to you before!"
"Please, Holy Maiden, big sister, be magnanimous and overlook my brother's wrongdoing! Spare her!"
Kokomi hugged Bibi Dong's smooth arm, gently shaking it as she wheedled. Hearing that soft, clear girlish voice and seeing the beautiful girl pleading so pitifully, Bibi Dong's mood brightened too.
Bibi Dong flashed a radiant smile. "That won't do! As they say, an elder brother is like a father, and a father's debts fall to his children. Naturally, little Kokomi will have to repay this debt!"
"From now on, you can be my maid and look after me for the rest of your life! I'm Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, after all. I won't mistreat you!"
Bibi Dong gently stroked Kokomi's soft, dewy cheek, her smile growing wider. Although she hadn't caught the lecherous brother, getting his little sister as compensation wasn't bad either!
Of course, Bibi Dong wasn't a lesbian. She simply intended to find a pretext to take the little girl away. Otherwise, the girl's inheritance would soon be devoured down to the last scrap.
She might as well use her brother's offense against her as an excuse to make the little girl her maid. With her looking out for the child, she could ensure that she never had to worry about food or clothing.
Little did she know that this lecherous brother was currently wearing the guise of a beautiful girl, putting on an act of coy resistance right before her.
Where Bibi Dong couldn't see, little Kokomi likewise curled her lips into a wicked smile.
The sweet, naive Holy Maiden Bibi Dong is even easier to fool than I imagined.
Before you continue