The First Day of Missing My Junior Brother!

The four of them ran from the pawnshop into the large residence behind it. Jing Tian desperately sprinted toward the side rooms, so exhausted he could barely catch his breath.

"This kid’s missing a screw! We already told him we’re not bad people!"

"You look so fierce. Who wouldn’t be scared of you?"

"Li Xiaoyao, say that again and I won’t go easy on you!"

"Bring it on! Who’s afraid of who!"

Xu Changqing finally could not take it anymore. His expression darkened as he snapped, "If you two keep making trouble, go back. I can find the Five Spirit Orbs on my own!"

Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru instantly fell silent. It was their first time seeing Xu Changqing this angry.

Hearing Xu Changqing lose his temper behind him, Jing Tian ran even faster, continuously crying for help.

Xu Changqing used the Sword Control Technique, sending his flying sword out to stop Jing Tian. But the next instant, a strangely shaped sword flew in from nowhere and slammed into it.

"This sword carries such heavy demonic energy…"

Xu Changqing frowned and controlled his flying sword as it battled the Demon Sword. He had no intention of hurting Jing Tian, yet the Demon Sword had actually flown out on its own to protect him.

It was Xu Changqing’s first time seeing a sword that possessed both demonic nature and spirituality, and he could not help growing curious.

Jing Tian glanced back at the sword the "red-haired monster" had given him. He felt that running away by himself was somewhat disloyal, even if the other party was only a sword…

So he stood where he was, nervously watching the sword that could fly by itself.

After a while.

The two swords collided in midair, then each flew back toward its master. The Demon Sword plunged directly into the stone tiles beside Jing Tian’s feet.

"Take a look for yourself. Is that sword normal?" Lin Yueru shouted furiously. "Do you still think we’re lying to you?"

Jing Tian scratched his head awkwardly and gave an embarrassed laugh. "Big brother, big sister, I’m sorry. Your little brother here hasn’t seen much of the world, so I misunderstood you all."

Only then did Xu Changqing relax, smiling as he said, "As long as Brother Jing believes us. Will you come with us now to search for the Five Spirit Orbs?"

Jing Tian looked troubled. His life at Yong’an Pawnshop could not exactly be called good, but it was not bad either. Living quietly like this for the rest of his life seemed perfectly fine.

There were so many demons outside now. Some even dared to swagger through the streets and kill people. How could he dare wander around in such chaotic times?

Even having Shu Mountain disciples accompany him could not erase his fear.

Jing Tian asked helplessly, "Hero Xu, why does it have to be me? You saw it just now. I’m just an ordinary person."

Xu Changqing did not know how to explain it either. Junior Brother Chu Yang had not given him many hints, only instructed him to make sure Jing Tian came along.

Lin Yueru suddenly spoke up. "Brat, you said just now that you wanted to open a pawnshop someday, right?"

At the mention of a pawnshop, Jing Tian could not help grinning foolishly. He nodded. "It’s my lifelong dream. I’ve been interested in antiques since I was little."

Lin Yueru smiled confidently. "As long as you come with us, whether we find the Five Spirit Orbs or not, I’ll pay to open a pawnshop for you!"

Jing Tian stared at Lin Yueru in astonishment. Was this heroine really this generous upon their first meeting?

Before Jing Tian could speak, Lin Yueru took a jade pendant from her person and tossed it to him. Then she said, "This jade pendant is extremely valuable. Consider it a deposit. You don’t need to worry that I’m deceiving you. My name is Lin Yueru, and I’m the daughter of Martial Arts Alliance Chief Lin Tiannan."

"Lin… Tiannan?!" Although he lived in Yuzhou, Jing Tian had still heard of the Martial Arts Alliance Chief’s great name. He lowered his head to inspect the jade pendant in his hand, and his breathing immediately quickened.

It was more than merely valuable. It was practically priceless, enough to buy this entire Yong’an Pawnshop!

"It must be real. How could anyone possibly spend this much just to deceive me?"

Jing Tian clutched the jade pendant tightly, his entire body trembling with excitement.

Li Xiaoyao stretched lazily with his hands behind his head and said listlessly, "Wouldn’t it have been easier to mention the money from the start? You made us waste all this time."

Xu Changqing turned to Lin Yueru and said, "Miss Lin, Shu Mountain will repay this money later. Please rest assured."

"Oh, Brother Xu, don’t be so polite." Lin Yueru waved her hand grandly. "Just consider it an investment. Maybe the pawnshop will thrive in the future, and I won’t have to ask my father for money anymore."

She winked at Jing Tian again. "Is it enough? If not, I can add more."

Afraid she would change her mind, Jing Tian hurriedly nodded. "Enough! It’s enough!"

Li Xiaoyao hooked an arm around Jing Tian’s neck and laughed. "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and pack your things."

Jing Tian beamed. "There’s nothing to pack. We can leave right away."

As long as the money was in place, everything was negotiable.

The Demon Sword suddenly flew out from the ground and landed beside Jing Tian, seemingly intending to go with him.

"Tsk, tsk. This sword is really spiritual. Since it’s only worth one coin anyway, how about selling it to me?"

Li Xiaoyao said to Jing Tian with a face full of envy.

"No. It’s something a customer pawned. The pawnshop can’t touch it before the deadline. What if… he comes to redeem it someday?"

Jing Tian shook his head firmly, refusing on principle.

"I thought you were the kind who only cared about money. Didn’t expect you to have principles. Not bad, you suit my tastes."

"Hehe, you flatter me, hero."

Li Xiaoyao and Jing Tian were birds of a feather. After only a few exchanges, they had become close friends, making Lin Yueru cry out in disgust.

Jing Tian strapped the Demon Sword to his back and left Yong’an Pawnshop with Xu Changqing and the others.

Since neither Jing Tian nor Lin Yueru could control swords, while Li Xiaoyao had only just begun learning and could not carry anyone, the three of them could only travel by water to Lei Zhou first.

Fortunately, Lei Zhou was not far from Yuzhou, so traveling by water would not take long.

The Shu Mountain Sect had its own ships, and quite a few of them at that. Large and small, they came in all sorts of styles and were all docked at the pier southwest of Yuzhou City.

Many disciples who had yet to master the Sword Control Technique took these ships whenever they descended the mountain on errands.

Xu Changqing chose a small boat, its cabin spacious enough for four or five people to rest in.

When Jing Tian saw how the dock manager bowed and scraped before Xu Changqing, his final doubts disappeared.

After traveling by water for a day, they stopped to rest at a riverbank called the Dadu River.

With nothing to do, Li Xiaoyao began teaching Jing Tian martial arts, the exact same content Chu Yang had taught him.

First came the Nine Swords of Dugu as a foundation, followed by the Nameless Swordplay.

Lin Yueru listened from the side for a while before her head started spinning. She could not understand a word Li Xiaoyao was saying.

However.

Jing Tian nodded repeatedly as he listened, looking as though he understood.

At first, Lin Yueru thought Jing Tian was merely pretending to understand. But after Li Xiaoyao demonstrated, Jing Tian perfectly replicated his sword techniques.

Only then did she understand that some geniuses could not be measured by ordinary standards.

Watching one teach happily and the other learn eagerly, Lin Yueru grew increasingly irritated and said indignantly, "These two aren’t human at all!"

Xu Changqing smiled. "Now I understand why Junior Brother specifically named Brother Jing. Perhaps he has even more secrets yet unknown…"

Before he finished speaking, cries for help suddenly came from the distance. Xu Changqing stood up and looked out, just in time to see a young woman being chased by terrifying monsters.

"Why won’t these things stop chasing me?!"

Tang Xuejian was fleeing for her life. Seeing the monsters about to catch up, she was so anxious she nearly cried. Thinking of how her grandfather’s fate was still unknown made her heart ache even more.

A few days ago, she had overheard someone plotting to murder her grandfather Tang Kun in a secret passage beneath Tang Family Fort. The villains discovered her, and she escaped, intending to investigate the matter. Yet she had never expected to provoke this group of monsters.

The monsters had once been Thunderbolt Hall disciples. Their hall master, Luo Ru Lie, had learned demonic arts from the Evil Sword Immortal, and that was how they came to be.

When humans forcibly cultivated demonic arts, their bodies would gradually become demonic until they completely turned into monsters.

The people secretly plotting against Tang Kun were also Luo Ru Lie and Tang Kun’s own son, Tang Yi. Their goal was to seize Tang Family Fort’s family fortune.

Because of this, Tang Xuejian had also been excluded and would find it difficult to ever return to Tang Family Fort for the rest of her life.

The more Tang Xuejian thought about her desperate situation, the sadder she became. Gradually, she stopped running and no longer called for help. In such a remote wilderness, who would come to save her? She might as well leave this filthy world and accompany her grandfather.

Tang Xuejian closed her eyes, resolved to die.

Waves of whistling filled her ears, along with the roars of the demonized Thunderbolt Hall disciples. Tang Xuejian shuddered and clenched her fists tightly.

After waiting for a while, the pain she imagined never came. Tang Xuejian opened her eyes and suddenly found several figures standing before her.

Three men and one woman.

One of them was even someone she knew.

"Aren’t you the young clerk from Yong’an Pawnshop?"

Tang Xuejian looked at Jing Tian in surprise.

"What a coincidence, Miss Tang. I didn’t expect to run into you here too."

Jing Tian greeted her with a simple-minded grin.

Then he seemed to remember something and took a purple clay teapot lid from his robes.

"The lid you asked me to repair is already fixed. You haven’t come to collect it these past few days, so I’ve been carrying it with me."

Jing Tian handed the teapot lid to Tang Xuejian. He had thought she would accept it, but instead she stared blankly at the lid before suddenly bursting into tears.

"Don’t cry! If you think I didn’t fix it well, I’ll adjust it again. It’s easy!"

Tang Xuejian’s sobbing made Jing Tian think he had failed to repair the lid properly. He became anxious and kept trying to comfort her.

As a girl herself, Lin Yueru noticed something unusual about Tang Xuejian’s emotions. It reminded her of her younger self, when she had been just as heartbroken after her mother died.

"Xiaotian, let her cry for a while!" Lin Yueru stopped Jing Tian from trying to comfort Tang Xuejian. She understood that the girl simply needed to vent her feelings.

Li Xiaoyao and Xu Changqing quickly dealt with the demonized Thunderbolt Hall disciples. However, Xu Changqing noticed something strange about the two of them, so he crouched down and began carefully examining the corpses.

Li Xiaoyao asked curiously, "Brother Xu, what’s wrong?"

Xu Changqing did not answer immediately. He frowned and examined them for quite some time before saying in confusion, "They were clearly humans. Why did they become monsters? Half of what is inside them is human, and half is demon."

"It seems like they suddenly changed from people into monsters…"

Li Xiaoyao’s scalp went numb as his expression turned ugly. "Is it some kind of illness, or…"

"It is unknown for now." Xu Changqing shook his head, cast a spell to burn the two demonized corpses, then turned and walked toward Tang Xuejian.

After venting her emotions for a while, Tang Xuejian’s eyes were still red, but she no longer seemed despondent.

Xu Changqing cupped his hands and said, "Miss, do you know where these two monsters came from?"

Tang Xuejian took a deep breath and said softly, "They were disciples of Thunderbolt Hall. At first, they looked human, but then they suddenly became monsters."

"Thunderbolt Hall…" A cold glint flashed through Xu Changqing’s eyes. "Once this matter is settled, we must investigate that den of filth."

"Are you a Shu Mountain disciple, Daoist?" Tang Xuejian found Xu Changqing’s attire and manner of speaking familiar. He resembled those Shu Mountain disciples who often descended the mountain to eliminate demons.

Xu Changqing nodded. "I am Xu Changqing of the Shu Mountain Sect."

Tang Xuejian dropped to her knees with a thud. "Daoist Changqing, please save my grandfather! He was harmed by Luo Ru Lie, the hall master of Thunderbolt Hall. Xuejian begs the Shu Mountain Sect to seek justice for my grandfather…"

Before Xu Changqing could speak, Jing Tian scratched his head and said, "Miss Tang, the Daoist and the others have urgent matters to handle, so they may not be able to help you. Besides, Shu Mountain is in a difficult situation right now."

Along the way, Li Xiaoyao had explained to Jing Tian why Shu Mountain needed the Five Spirit Orbs. He had also made Jing Tian understand just how heavy the burden on his shoulders was.

Hearing this, Tang Xuejian immediately looked up at Xu Changqing, her eyes filled with hope.

Xu Changqing found himself in a difficult position and could only shake his head with a sigh. "Miss Tang, I truly cannot help with Elder Tang’s matter at present. As Brother Jing said, Shu Mountain can barely protect itself now…"

"I can wait!" Tang Xuejian said resolutely. "I can wait until the day Shu Mountain’s crisis is resolved, as long as Daoist Xu agrees to help me!"

Other than relying on Shu Mountain, Tang Xuejian had no other option at this moment. Xu Changqing was the only lifeline she could grasp.

Since she had put it that way, refusing would be too heartless. Thus, Xu Changqing nodded in agreement.

Having saved her, the four intended to continue by boat toward Lei Zhou. But when they reached the side of the boat, Jing Tian heard something behind him. Turning around, he saw Tang Xuejian following them hesitantly.

"Miss Tang, don’t tell me you want to come with us?"

"Of course I’m coming with you. Who knows whether you’ll keep your promise after completing your mission?"

"They’re heroes from the Shu Mountain Sect. How could they possibly deceive a little girl like you? You’re overthinking it!"

"What business is it of yours? You can follow them, so why can’t I? My martial arts are much better than yours!"

"Hehe! Hero Xu personally invited me, and he even said I could save all living beings!"

"Pah! You expect me to believe that? I’d sooner believe you’re a reincarnated immortal."

The two argued until they were red in the face. Xu Changqing felt a strange sense of familiarity and could not help turning back to look at Li Xiaoyao and Lin Yueru.

Good heavens!

They were practically cut from the same cloth!

Thinking about how these four would bicker for the rest of the journey made Xu Changqing’s head ache. He suddenly had the urge to stop caring about all living beings.

Forget it. Destruction would be better!

Junior Brother, where exactly are you? Hurry back. Your senior brother really can’t hold on much longer.

Xu Changqing’s eyes reddened.

The first day of missing his junior brother…

Meanwhile, Chu Yang had already flown toward the capital on his sword, searching for the spider demon’s whereabouts.

The Thunder Spirit Orb might be on her, or it might not. But to Chu Yang, it made no difference. The spider demon’s thousand years of cultivation were his true target.

In a birch forest outside the capital.

A butterfly fluttered gracefully through the woods, only to accidentally fall into a spiderweb and become trapped.

A jade-eyed spider as black as ink crawled over from the other end of the web, slowly approaching the beautiful, tiny butterfly.

The butterfly trembled within the web, despairingly waiting for misfortune to descend.

Just then.

Sword light fell from the heavens, radiating majestic heavenly might.

A black ancient sword pierced through the black spider, pinning it firmly to the ground.

The spiderweb collapsed.

The butterfly spread its wings and flew high into the sky.