An Early Morning Invitation

Early the next morning, in Tang Yao's room.

"Knock, knock, knock-" A knocking came at the door.

She had only closed her eyes an hour ago. Who was this oblivious?

Fighting her drowsiness, Tang Yao went to open the door-

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen stood grinning outside. "Brother Yao, come on, let's go have some fun!"

Tang Yao actually wondered whether she was hearing things.

Go have fun at what time? Now?

Good grief, did the original owner used to "clock in on schedule"? What decent person headed out at the crack of dawn to be a street loafer?

Tang Yao was just about to send him away when she realized he looked familiar. With a puzzled "Huh?" she began studying his face, trying to recall something.

Seeing Tang Yao staring at him, the boy's face flushed for no apparent reason.

Tang Yao: ? What the bubbling teapot are you blushing for?

"You were there at the restaurant last time too!" Tang Yao patted his shoulder. "Your name is..."

"Tang Yi'an!" the boy hastily supplied.

"Cousin! How could you forget even me?!" Disbelief covered his face. "We grew up playing together and getting beaten by the Lineage elders together!"

Tang Yao looked at him thoughtfully, then frowned. Those clothes were... a little too shabby.

There were even several patches on the lower part of his robe?

"Um... Yi'an." After looking Tang Yi'an up and down, Tang Yao asked awkwardly, "Give it to me straight. What's our Household's situation these days? Is this what the direct line wears...?"

At that, Tang Yi'an's face flushed again. So anxious that he stammered, he said, "N-no!"

"This robe of mine is a defensive Law Artifact. Some parts couldn't be restored after it was damaged, so I put on a few patches to cover them."

Tang Yao: "Then why not buy a new one?"

Tang Yi'an: "...Brother Yao, one costs five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones."

Tang Yao: "..."

Five hundred high-grade Spirit Stones? Why not just rob people??

She instantly felt that, ignoring those patches, Tang Yi'an's clothes were actually pretty decent?

Looking at the boy before her, Tang Yao gave a thoroughly fair assessment-he didn't look too bright.

At the restaurant that day, the original owner had gone with three other people.

If it wasn't Tang Yi'an, then it was one of the other two at the restaurant who had deliberately steered Tang Yao toward Jiang Yueyan.

"Let's go! Let's have some fun. Bring along... hmm, Tang Nan? Tang Wan?" After speaking, Tang Yao glanced at Tang Yi'an. It seemed she had remembered their names correctly.

"Brother Yao, you remember their names! But you forgot mine! When have those two ever licked your boots as much as I have?!" Tang Yi'an looked utterly indignant, then wounded. As though a dark cloud hung over his head, he trailed listlessly behind Tang Yao.

The two arrived at a courtyard whose gate was tightly shut. Clearly, the owner was still sleeping. Tang Yao turned her head and signaled Tang Yi'an with a look. "Call him. Loudly."

"Call... what?"

Tang Yao: "Call him out of bed! Weren't you pretty good at it when you called me just now?"

Seeing Tang Yi'an looking so timid, Tang Yao was a little bewildered.

Tang Yao: ? Wait.

He dared to wake her, but not Tang Nan?

Gritting his teeth, Tang Yi'an began pounding on the gate. Bang, bang, bang-

He pounded for half an incense stick's worth of time, but there was still no response. Tang Yi'an instinctively looked back, but when he saw Tang Yao's murderous gaze, he pounded even harder, not forgetting to shout, "Brother Nan! Brother Nan, wakey-wakey!"

"The sun's about to scorch your backside!"

An angry voice suddenly rang out from inside the room: "Scram!!"

Tang Yi'an looked aggrievedly at Tang Yao, his eyes seeming to say, See? Look how rude he is.

"Keep going." Tang Yao patted his shoulder in affirmation.

With Tang Yao backing him up, Tang Yi'an decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Brother Nan, sleeping in is bad for your health!"

"A day's plans begin in the morning!"

"Look, you're the oldest of the Lineage's younger generation. You can't slack off! You have to work harder! Set a good example for us!" Tang Yi'an was getting a little carried away. Usually, because Tang Nan had a bad temper, he avoided provoking him as much as possible. Today, he finally got his fill!

"Bang-" The room's door was flung open, and an irritable voice rang in his ears. "I told you to scram!!"

A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy wearing only his inner clothes appeared, anger blazing in his eyes, looking determined to beat Tang Yi'an to death.

Sensing trouble, Tang Yi'an hurried backward and slipped behind Tang Yao. He swallowed, avoiding eye contact.

"I told him to call you." Tang Yao stood smiling at the gate.

Tang Nan looked toward the voice, the anger still lingering in his expression. Once he saw that it was Tang Yao, he forced a smile. "Oh, it's A-Yao."

"There must be something urgent, then."

Tang Yao's smile deepened.

"No."

"Want to go out and have some fun?"

Tang Nan: ? Who went out to have fun this early in the morning?

On the surface, however, Tang Nan remained polite. "Sure! It's been ages since us brothers last saw each other! We should have a proper get-together this time!" With that, he returned to his room, saying as he closed the door, "Wait for me. I'll change."

Before long, Tang Nan emerged again, no longer in his inner clothes but in a white robe with gold patterns embroidered along its flowing edges. He looked every inch the elegant young gentleman, with no trace of his earlier fury.

Seeing that Tang Nan was ready, Tang Yao took the opportunity to ask, "What about Tang Wan? Is she coming?"

The corner of Tang Nan's mouth twitched. Spare his little sister.

He waved a hand. "Xiao Wan? She's probably still asleep. Let her sleep. Just us will do." Then he turned his head to ask, "Right, where are we going?"

Tang Yao grinned and spread her hands. "No idea."

Hearing this, the boy's face turned red with pent-up anger. He kept taking deep breaths, yet managed not to utter a single word of abuse at Tang Yao.

After spending quite a while composing himself, he finally smiled. "Then let's go to the usual place."

"No problem."

"No problem with me either," Tang Yi'an immediately added.

The three set off. Along the way, Tang Yao noticed Tang Yi'an kept looking at Tang Nan's clothes, practically wearing the word "envy" on his face.

Tang Yao: "Want one?"

Tang Yi'an immediately nodded nonstop. "Brother Yao, are you going to give me one?"

Tang Yao helplessly patted his shoulder and sighed.

"Your brother's pockets are cleaner than his face. But..." Then, changing tack, she lowered her voice. "You have to think of it this way. His looks good, but it isn't practical!"

"Yours... ahem, but yours is practical!"

Hearing this, Tang Yi'an grew even more dejected. He muttered, "His is a defensive Law Artifact too."

Tang Yao: *?*

"Did you forget? A few years ago, his grandfather found a spirit mine in some remote wilderness."

"Half the Tang Household is being supported by that Spirit Vein now."

Just then, Tang Nan leaned in from behind them, "smiling." "Are you two done discussing me?"

The two slowly turned their heads, smiling awkwardly.

Tang Yao carefully thought back. Tang Nan's grandfather was the Lineage's third elder.

Besides, how could finding a spirit mine be that easy? If it really were that easy, wouldn't she become the richest person around just by wandering aimlessly through the nearby mountains every day?