Chapter 57: Eloping with Senior Sister? A Dilapidated Home

The interior of the house was no different from the rest of the village. Anything of value or utility had been stripped away long ago, leaving behind only decay and thick curtains of spiderwebs draping from the beams.

Xiao Yifeng moved quietly, tidying up the debris. But when his gaze fell upon the walls and the floor, his heart seized. There, stained into the wood and earth, were patches of dried, blackened blood.

He had thought that living two lives had steeled him against the concepts of life and death. He thought he had made peace with his parents’ passing. Yet, standing here now, waves of bitterness crashed against his resolve.

With a heart full of mixed emotions, he forced himself to clean the room.

He couldn’t bear to look at those dark stains for long. Every glance pulled him back to that night—the tragedy of the Demon Wolf packing into the village, the screams, the utter helplessness of his parents and neighbors…

His mind drifted to Liu Hanyan, the woman who had saved him back then. Was she still the same person? Was she still the wife who had once been willing to abandon the cultivation world to live in seclusion with him?

After finishing his cleaning, Xiao Yifeng sat on the doorstep, just as he had done countless times as a child. He stared blankly at the desolate, overgrown village. Only this time, no one would come out of the kitchen to call him for dinner.

Lost in his melancholy, a sharp whistling sound suddenly cut through the air.

“Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng, are you down there?”

The familiar voice snapped Xiao Yifeng out of his trance. He stood up in surprise, looking toward the horizon.

A figure was flying toward him, a colorful ribbon wrapped around her snow-white arm, trailing behind her like a celestial banner. She descended with ethereal grace, looking for all the world like an immortal maiden descending to the mortal realm.

Who else could it be but Su Miaoqing?

As soon as he moved, Su Miaoqing spotted him from above. Her face lit up with delight, and she immediately banked her flight, landing softly beside him.

“I knew you’d be here!” she chirped.

“Senior Sister?” Xiao Yifeng stared at her, bewildered. “Why are you here?”

Su Miaoqing tossed her hair, looking immensely proud of herself. “Naturally, I begged Mother to let me travel down the mountain! I guessed you would come here first. Though… it was my first time leaving the sect, so I got a little lost…”

A faint blush dusted her cheeks, but she quickly recovered. “Luckily, I’m clever! I asked for directions at a nearby village. Otherwise, I might have missed you entirely. Come on, let’s travel the world together! With me around, no one will dare bully you!”

Xiao Yifeng frowned deeply. “Senior Sister, knowing Master’s temperament, there is absolutely no way he would agree to let you descend the mountain.”

Su Miaoqing’s beautiful eyes widened in a glare. “Are you saying I’m lying? I begged Mother all night before she finally agreed. How else do you think I got out?”

“But…”

“Fine!” Su Miaoqing puffed up her cheeks, looking aggrieved. “You, Xiao Yifeng, you don’t even believe me anymore. Hmph! Fine. You take your broad road, and I’ll take my single-plank bridge. I’ll go travel on my own!”

She turned on her heel, making a show of preparing to leave.

Xiao Yifeng didn’t believe for a second that she had permission. But he also knew he couldn’t let her wander off alone. If she got lost or hurt, Master Su Qianyi and Mistress Lin Ziyun would skin him alive. Having her by his side was dangerous, but letting her leave his sight was suicide.

He hurriedly grabbed her sleeve, forcing an apologetic smile. “Senior Sister, Senior Sister! I was wrong. I believe you! I absolutely believe you!”

Su Miaoqing stopped, keeping her back to him as she huffed coldly. “No, you go your way, I’ll go mine!”

“Don’t be like that,” Xiao Yifeng pleaded. “You know your Junior Brother has meager skills. If I travel the world alone, I’ll probably get tricked or sold into slavery within a week. Senior Sister, your cultivation is formidable. Wouldn’t it be safer if we traveled together?”

Hearing his flattery, the corner of Su Miaoqing’s mouth twitched upward. she quickly composed herself, turning back with a stern expression.

“That’s more like it. Since you’re my little Junior Brother, I’ll protect you. But let’s set three rules right now: on this trip, you have to listen to me!”

To stabilize the situation, Xiao Yifeng nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, whatever Senior Sister says.”

Su Miaoqing’s eyes darted past him, landing on the dilapidated structure behind him. Her voice softened. “Is this your home?”

Xiao Yifeng nodded.

“Well? Aren’t you going to show me around?” She smiled, her curiosity piqued. “I’ve never seen the inside of a mortal’s house before.”

Xiao Yifeng stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.

Su Miaoqing stepped across the threshold. The smile froze on her face.

She saw the broken walls. She saw the ruins. But most of all, she saw the glaring, blackened bloodstains on the floor, and the three sticks of incense burning quietly in the main hall, their smoke curling up into the stagnant air.

She looked back at Xiao Yifeng. His expression was calm, but the profound sorrow in the depths of his eyes was impossible to hide.

Although she loved to tease and bully him, Su Miaoqing wasn’t heartless. She realized immediately how heavy this moment was for him.

She looked at the bundle of incense on the floor, then reached out her hand. “Do you have any more? Give me a few.”

Xiao Yifeng blinked, caught off guard. “Senior Sister, what for?”

“Idiot.” She reached out and lightly tapped his head. “I’m already here. Of course I’m going to pay my respects to your parents.”

Xiao Yifeng silently handed her the incense and lit it for her.

The fiery, spirited girl in red fell silent. Her expression turned solemn as she held the incense between her palms. She murmured a quiet prayer, bowed three times with perfect form, and placed the sticks in the makeshift burner before the empty hall.

She turned back, dusted off her hands, and flashed a brilliant smile that seemed to banish the gloom of the room.

“Xiao Feng, don’t be sad. You still have us!”

The radiance of the young girl seemed to light up the broken home. Xiao Yifeng felt a lump in his throat dissolve. He smiled back, a genuine warmth spreading through his chest.

Father, Mother, do you see? I am not alone.

“Senior Sister,” Xiao Yifeng said, breaking the silence. “You must be hungry. Shall we go into the city to eat? If we wait any longer, it will be dark.”

Su Miaoqing’s eyes lit up instantly. “Wangtian City? The place Mother and Senior Brothers talked about? The one with all the excitement and beautiful clothes?”

“The very same,” Xiao Yifeng nodded. “Let’s go, or the gates will close.”

“Let’s go, let’s go! I’ve wanted to visit for ages, but Mother never let me!”

Su Miaoqing didn’t walk; she floated into the air, her ribbon unfurling toward Xiao Yifeng to wrap around his waist and tow him along.

Xiao Yifeng chuckled and shook his head. He took one last, deep look at his dilapidated home, imprinting the image into his heart. Then, he turned away.

With a thought, he summoned Falling Rainbow. He leaped onto the crimson blade, hovering effortlessly.

“Senior Sister, I’m not a child anymore,” he grinned. “I can fly on my own now. In fact… you might not be able to keep up.”

Before she could react, he surged forward, blasting into the sky and rocketing toward Wangtian City.

Su Miaoqing stood stunned for a split second before her competitive streak flared. “Stinky Xiao Feng! Don’t you dare run!”

She shot into the air, pushing her speed to the limit. As she pulled up alongside him, she stared at the high-quality flying sword beneath his feet, her jaw dropping.

“Incredible… simply incredible,” she marveled, eyeing his gear. “Two Middle Grade Immortal Artifacts and a Top Grade Spirit Weapon? Who is the real child of the Su family here? How can Father and Mother be so biased? Did Father actually empty the treasury for you?”

Xiao Yifeng shook his head, laughing over the wind. “Don’t talk nonsense, Senior Sister. Maybe Master was just afraid I’d get robbed by bandits and lose face for the sect, so he lent them to me.”

Su Miaoqing pictured her father’s stern, stone-faced demeanor and burst out laughing. “That sounds exactly like him! But enough about that—Xiao Feng, let’s race! First one to the city wins! The loser is a puppy!”

Two long rainbows streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of silver laughter echoing through the clouds.