To Tang Yin, the matter with Yu Xiaogang was nothing more than a small interlude in his life.
The junior Soul Master Academy had a very relaxed schedule. Theory classes were held in the morning, while the rest of the day was left free for meditation and cultivation.
That was precisely why Tang Yin had settled their new home near the academy, making it easier to balance their daily cultivation and studies.
After collecting their uniforms and textbooks, they returned home.
Tang Yin handed the belt and treasured sword to Tang San Niang.
"Little San Niang, this Soul Tool has twenty-four separate storage compartments, perfect for storing your hidden weapons and medicines. This sword is incomparably sharp, too. Just the thing for defending yourself."
"Brother, you should use such a fine Soul Tool yourself. I already have one."
Tang San Niang's watery blue eyes were filled with sincerity.
Tang Yin smiled and ruffled Little San Niang's hair.
"You're standing on ceremony with your own brother now? This Soul Tool will be most useful in your hands. There's no need to keep such careful accounts between siblings. Be good and take it."
Hearing those words, Little San Niang felt as though her heart had been steeped in honey, happiness filling it to the brim.
Wrapping her small hands tightly around her brother's waist, Tang San Niang buried her head against his chest.
"Thank you, Brother. I'm so glad I have you."
"Silly girl, what are you saying all that for?"
Tang Yin patted her back.
Little San Niang lifted her head, her eyes sparkling.
"Brother, I'll make the very most of this Soul Tool. I won't let you down."
The lonely, desolate days of her previous life were still vivid before her eyes.
The Tang Sect was a place where the weak were meat for the strong. The hierarchy between inner and outer disciples was sharply defined, and human affection ran cold.
As an orphan, she had been subjected to strict discipline from an early age.
The Tang Sect's teachings had always instilled the principle that the ruler governed the minister, the father governed the child, and the husband governed the wife. Disciples were taught never to defy their elders' authority and to remain absolutely loyal to the sect.
As a woman, Tang San Niang had possessed no standing whatsoever within the sect. This had also shaped her withdrawn, cold disposition. She had spent her days immersed in hidden weapon research, coming and going alone, indifferent to worldly affairs.
Perhaps it was precisely that focus that had allowed her mastery of Tang Sect Hidden Weapons to scale the summit and reach its absolute pinnacle.
But compared with her former life, Tang San Niang undoubtedly preferred this journey, with a brother who loved and protected her.
Tang San Niang tightened her small hands around her brother's waist.
With her eyes curved into happy crescents, she looked just like a little girl clutching a treasure.
Xiao Wu blinked her pink eyes and threw herself at him as well.
"Brother, I want a hug too!"
"All right, all right. You aren't little children anymore. Aren't you embarrassed?"
"But I am a little child," Xiao Wu said, pouting.
Tang Yin smiled helplessly.
He also found it strange. His younger sister had been attached to him when she was little, but never quite this clingy.
A little girl's thoughts really were hard to fathom.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Little San Niang, top-quality Storage Soul Tools are very rare. Why don't you give it a name?"
Sure enough, those words diverted his younger sister's attention.
Tang San Niang thought for a moment.
"Green hills lie hazy, the waters stretch afar; autumn ends south of the river, yet the grass has not withered. On a bright moonlit night by the twenty-four bridges, where does the fair one teach the flute?"
"Brother, how about calling it Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moon Night?"
"A fine name."
Tang Yin voiced his praise.
Tang San Niang smiled sweetly, then removed the silver Soul Tool from her wrist and transferred everything out of it.
Then she handed the silver Soul Tool to Tang Yin.
Tang Yin slipped it onto Xiao Wu's wrist and said with a smile, "Now all three of us have our own personal Soul Tools."
Xiao Wu giggled, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed Tang Yin on the cheek.
"Thank you, Brother!"
Tang San Niang froze.
This...
She glanced at Xiao Wu, then at her brother.
After a moment's thought, Little San Niang gathered her courage and pecked Tang Yin's cheek as quick as lightning.
"Brother, I'm going back to my room to cultivate."
A little deer bounded wildly in Tang San Niang's chest, her heart pounding without pause. She turned and ran.
Her Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated madly, and she pushed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limit.
Like a little whirlwind, she rushed back to her room and shut the door with a bang.
Tang San Niang covered her burning cheeks, even the tips of her ears tinged pink.
Her barely budding chest rose and fell.
Little San Niang leaned against the door and closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
So this was what it felt like to act spoiled?
A smile spread across her exquisitely beautiful face, like a cat that had successfully stolen a tasty morsel.
This feeling...
Wasn't bad.
"Xiao Wu, come to the Training Room with me."
Tang Yin had not noticed anything unusual about Little San Niang.
There were far too many things in this household that required his attention.
After more than a week, Xiao Wu's body now showed very little rejection when he infused his internal energy into her.
It was time to help Xiao Wu absorb the whale brain.
After all, Xiao Wu's disposition was not yet settled. If he rashly let her absorb the whale brain directly...
He feared they would end up reenacting the sort of mess that had happened between Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao in Sea God Lake ten thousand years later.
"Young Master, Third Miss." Two maids approaching them in the corridor bowed respectfully.
Living expenses and wages were both very low in Nuoding City, so Tang Yin had simply hired five young local commoner women as maids to handle everyday chores.
Only the private areas belonging to the three siblings were left for them to clean themselves.
For instance, no one besides the siblings was allowed into Little San Niang's medicine room or Poison Room.
Young though they were, they were Soul Masters. Those young maids would never dare overstep their bounds.
Xiao Wu followed Tang Yin with a skip in her step.
The rabbit-shaped pendant crafted from crimson sun stone hung at her waist, swaying gently with her movements.
"Brother, why are we starting cultivation so early today?"
"The old man prepared a gift for you. I've been keeping it safe for you until now. Today's the right time to take it out and let you use it."
At that, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"Wow! Godfather is so good to me!"
Xiao Wu was absolutely delighted!
She felt as though she had been enjoying one stroke of good fortune after another ever since deciding to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
Da Ming and Er Ming had always told her how treacherous human society was, nagging so much that her ears had nearly grown calluses.
And what had happened instead?
She ate her fill, slept soundly, and had people who loved and cherished her. It was goodness knew how many times better than staying in the Star Dou Great Forest. What bliss, what bliss!
With such happiness here, who could miss the old kingdom of Shu?
"What are you grinning about? Be serious."
Tang Yin tapped Xiao Wu's smooth forehead in exasperation.
Having been taken in by their family while still in the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Wu was far better off than she would have been wandering to Nuoding City on her own along her original path. With little exposure to outside influences, her nature remained as pure as a child's.
Both Tang San Niang and Huo Wu liked her very much.
In the Training Room, Tang Yin opened the box. The enticing fragrance instantly made Xiao Wu's eyes widen and her mouth water.
Xiao Wu looked eagerly at Tang Yin.
"This is an ingredient used to temper the body. Remember to keep your mind steady. Don't let your body's instincts drive you."
"Got it, Brother." Xiao Wu nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.
"Good. Eat it."
Unable to wait any longer, Xiao Wu grabbed the whale brain and put it into her mouth.
The next instant, a fierce surge of heat rose from her lower abdomen.
Xiao Wu's gaze immediately grew unfocused, and her delicate body trembled.
A crimson flush spread over her soft, rosy skin.
An involuntary, strained murmur escaped her lips. "Brother, it's so hot..."
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