Brother, from now on, I'll be here with you

Xu Fan picked up his chopsticks again and spoke as he ate:

"Didn't Qian Xunji die later? What happened there was actually pretty complicated."

Qian Renxue's back stiffened slightly. Was there more to her father's death?

Although she had heard since childhood that her father had been gravely wounded by Clear Sky Douluo's hammer and died from his injuries.

But as Xu Fan's older brother, she obviously knew nothing about any of this.

Besides, she desperately wanted to learn more of the truth, so she played along and asked:

"How did he die?"

"Well, the novel mentioned something that happened in the past."

Xu Fan tried hard to recall what he had read.

"Back then, Qian Xunji led a group of Spirit Hall experts to hunt down a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Blue Silver Emperor, named Ah Yin.

Tang Hao ended up fighting them to protect Ah Yin."

"What happened next?"

"Then Ah Yin sacrificed herself on the spot.

Tang Hao's strength soared because of it, and he severely wounded Qian Xunji in the fighting that followed.

Qian Xunji was badly injured and eventually returned to Spirit Hall."

He paused.

"But Tang Hao wasn't the one who actually killed him."

Qian Renxue raised her eyes, a flash of shock passing through them.

But Xu Fan's next words made her forget to breathe for a moment.

"It was Bibi Dong."

He did not notice anything unusual about the person beside him and simply continued:

"According to the novel, after Qian Xunji was severely wounded, Bibi Dong seized the opportunity and killed him herself."

The chopsticks struck the rim of the bowl with a soft clink.

Qian Renxue looked down, only then discovering that her fingers had grown so stiff they were almost numb.

"You're saying... Bibi Dong killed Qian Xunji?"

"Yeah."

Xu Fan gave her a somewhat puzzled look.

"What, does that surprise you?"

Qian Renxue did not answer.

Of course she was surprised.

She had always thought she knew enough.

About her father's death, those rumors, those evasive accounts-she had pieced them together and accepted them.

Yet today, someone was telling her that was not the truth.

My own mother killed my own father?

She wanted to argue, to ask what made Xu Fan so certain, only to find she could not come up with a reason to challenge him.

Xu Fan sighed and continued:

"That's why I said Qian Renxue was pretty pitiful. There was so much resentment and conflict between her parents, but she couldn't do anything about it."

Qian Renxue's breathing gradually grew uneven.

She forced herself to sit steadily, trying to keep listening as though nothing were wrong, just as she had before.

But every word Xu Fan spoke seemed to tear open wounds she had never seen, then scatter cumin over them like mad.

In the shadows, the two hidden Titled Douluos were as silent as cicadas in winter, seemingly frightened out of their wits, not daring to make the slightest movement.

Xu Fan glanced at her, thinking his older brother was distressed by what he was hearing.

He hesitated, then could not help saying:

"Luckily, Qian Renxue's grandfather, Qian Daoliu, did care about her."

"Grandfather?"

Qian Renxue heard her own voice, even stiffer than she had imagined.

"Did he know about all this?"

The question came too quickly.

Only after speaking did Qian Renxue realize it was inappropriate, and she immediately added:

"I mean, did the novel say?"

Xu Fan did not find it strange.

"I can't say for certain about that either."

He gave it some serious thought.

"But readers generally believed he knew the cause of Qian Xunji's death."

Qian Renxue watched him quietly.

Xu Fan continued:

"So the readers all thought Qian Daoliu arranged for Qian Renxue to go undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire because he wanted to keep her away from Bibi Dong.

After all, staying in Spirit City wouldn't necessarily have been comfortable.

Who knew if Bibi Dong might go mad one day and kill her?"

Xu Fan thought for a moment, then added:

"At least in this matter, Qian Daoliu did consider her well-being. Her grandfather genuinely cared about her."

Qian Renxue's lips trembled slightly.

Grandfather.

She had known since childhood that her grandfather had high hopes for her.

And precisely because of that, she had always believed she had come to the Heaven Dou Empire

for Spirit Hall's future, to complete that important mission.

But what if there was some truth to Xu Fan's speculation?

If Grandfather really did know things I didn't,

then had he sent me away from Spirit City solely for the mission, or had there been other considerations too?

She dared not follow that thought any further.

Xu Fan, however, seemed to have finally sorted out this complicated background and let out a breath of relief.

"Anyway, this family's affairs really are a tangled mess."

He glanced at Qian Renxue and found she still had not spoken.

"Brother?"

No response.

Xu Fan called again.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Qian Renxue parted her lips.

She had originally had so many questions to ask.

But when they reached her lips, all the questions crowded together, leaving her unsure where to begin.

In the end, she only managed to force out one question:

"Everything you said... who exactly told you?"

Her voice was no longer as calm as before.

Xu Fan froze.

"Huh?"

He looked at Qian Renxue, then at the nearly finished noodles in his hands, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Didn't I tell you? It was all written in the novel."

Qian Renxue said nothing.

Her breathing was still somewhat rapid, her fingertips were icy, and at some point a faint redness had appeared around her eyes.

She did her utmost to restrain herself, keeping her emotions from spiraling completely out of control.

I can't keep asking.

Xu Fan had done nothing wrong.

He was merely sitting there, recounting the story of a novel.

But to her, those so-called stories might be truths she had never touched all this time.

"Brother?"

Xu Fan's voice rang out again.

Qian Renxue looked up, only then realizing he had set down his chopsticks and was watching her with some concern.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

She paused.

"No... I'm not."

"Then why are your eyes red?"

Xu Fan was somewhat at a loss.

He had only wanted to tell his older brother about a novel. How had his brother ended up seeming even more upset than Qian Renxue as he went on?

Could it be because Qian Renxue's background was so tragic?

Xu Fan looked at his older brother, unsure what to say.

He was not good at comforting people.

In the end, he simply called softly.

"Brother."

Qian Renxue slowly raised her head.

The boy sat on the bed, his legs still unable to move freely, his face still bearing the pallor of someone recovering from illness.

Yet there was not a trace of perfunctoriness in his gaze as he looked at her.

"Brother, it's all right. From now on, I'll be here with you."

Qian Renxue suddenly froze.

The words were simple.

There were no earth-shaking promises, nor any deliberately polished turns of phrase.

Xu Fan did not even know why she was upset.

He merely thought she had been moved by the tragic events in the novel.

Yet those utterly ordinary words opened a tiny crack in Qian Renxue's unguarded heart.

Ever since she was little, she had grown used to having high hopes placed on her, used to accepting harsh demands,

and used to facing alone the things she could not speak of.

She had always been trying to prove herself.

As for sadness and grievances, none of that mattered.

Seeing that she did not answer, Xu Fan thought his attempt at comforting her had not been good enough.

He could not help taking Qian Renxue by the shoulders and adding:

"Although my legs aren't working properly right now, and I can't help you much,

once I get better, I'll be able to do something."

He paused, revealing a somewhat sheepish smile.

Qian Renxue finally turned her face away.

She pressed her lips tightly together, forcing back the moisture in her eyes.

Only after a long while did she answer softly.

"Mm... I'm going out for some air."

With that, she walked out of the room, her steps somewhat unsteady.