Hongyu stood in a seemingly relaxed, almost careless stance.
Across from him, Shuo was already drenched in sweat.
Holding his breath and concentrating intently, Shuo carefully watched for an opening.
The moment he spotted one, he launched a powerful punch straight toward Hongyu.
Hongyu shifted his body ever so slightly, avoiding the strike by the narrowest possible margin.
The wind generated by Shuo’s fist swept through Hongyu’s long, slender strands of hair.
In the same movement, Hongyu caught Shuo’s extended arm and pulled him forward, disrupting his footing and throwing him off balance.
“Bind.”
Hongyu pressed his index and middle fingers together and lightly tapped Shuo’s side.
Instantly, Shuo felt something resembling an electric current spreading from his waist throughout his entire body.
His muscles locked up.
He couldn’t move.
Hongyu’s fingers came to a stop barely an inch from Shuo’s eyes.
And with that, the outcome of their sparring match was decided.
Once again, Shuo had lost.
“Alright, alright!
The match is over!
We have a winner!”
Ling, who had been watching from the sidelines, immediately began urging Hongyu to leave once she saw Shuo frozen in place.
“Yu!
Hurry up and take me out to play!”
“How many times have Big Brother and Sir sparred over the past few years?
I don’t think I can remember a single time Big Brother actually won…”
Wang, who had also been watching the match from the sidelines, made a remark that was rather damaging to Shuo’s confidence.
“Honestly, I don’t understand why Big Brother decided to practice martial arts in the first place…”
Ling absentmindedly played with her tail as she watched Shuo sitting helplessly on the ground.
“And why does he insist on sparring with Yu every single day?
Yu already sealed away his divine authority, so how could he possibly beat that monster?”
“At this point, Big Brother’s practically asking to get beaten up.”
‘Why do I get the feeling you’re only saying Big Brother deserves it because he’s taking up the time you could’ve spent with Sir…?’
Wang found the whole situation rather strange.
After all, back when Ling was still a dragon bubble, Sir had done quite a few…
questionable things to her.
Granted, Ling had usually been the one to misbehave first, and there was no guarantee she even remembered those incidents.
But why was it that, after taking human form, Ling had become so incredibly fond of spending time with Sir?
“Third Sister, would you like to play chess later?”
Curious about the matter, Wang figured he might be able to get some answers out of Ling over a game of chess.
Unfortunately, his plan was doomed from the start.
“Nope.”
Ling rejected him without hesitation.
“I’ve never beaten you at chess, Second Brother.
I’m not a masochist like Big Brother.”
“I’d much rather have Yu take me down the mountain so we can have some fun in the city.”
‘Tch.’
Wang clicked his tongue inwardly and fell silent.
Meanwhile, Ling rested her chin on her knees, staring expectantly toward Hongyu and Shuo as she waited for Hongyu to take her out.
On the other side of the training ground, Hongyu grabbed Shuo’s hand and pulled him to his feet.
As he did so, he began summarizing Shuo’s performance in their latest match.
“…You’ve been improving remarkably quickly, Shuo.
Perhaps soon…
even I won’t be able to defeat you anymore.”
“Sir.”
Just as Hongyu was about to point out a few of Shuo’s remaining weaknesses, Shuo suddenly interrupted him.
“I intend to leave and see the world.”
“I want to travel across the lands of Great Yan.”
“Hm?”
Hongyu froze.
“I want to see the world as a giant beast.
I want to experience it under my own name…
as Shuo.”
Shuo looked directly at Hongyu’s face as he repeated his intentions.
Over the past few years, several of the Sui fragments had gradually taken human form.
As for Ling, Shu, and Nian, who had awakened somewhat later, they currently looked like young girls around thirteen or fourteen years old.
Though perhaps within another few years, they too would grow into the appearances Hongyu remembered.
During this time, Hongyu occasionally took some of them down the mountain on little excursions.
However, their outings had largely been limited to Great Yan’s capital.
As for Shuo’s declaration that he intended to leave, Hongyu wasn’t particularly surprised.
He had once taken Shuo to Great Yan’s border.
At the time, the expression in Shuo’s eyes had struck Hongyu as unusually complicated.
Over the years, Hongyu had gradually become familiar with the personalities of the Sui siblings.
He had always known that sooner or later, Shuo or one of the other early-awakened fragments would decide to leave.
It was just…
A little sudden.
‘Now, if I understand this correctly…’
‘Shouldn’t I be acting a little angry right about now?’
With that thought in mind, Hongyu deliberately made his voice sound more serious.
“You want to leave?”
His tone changed abruptly.
At least, that was how it sounded to Shuo.
Sir always spoke in a lazy, carefree manner, regardless of the circumstances.
Even when attending imperial court, he rarely behaved with any proper sense of decorum.
Yet the moment Shuo mentioned leaving, his tone had changed.
“Yes.”
Shuo continued looking directly at Hongyu, seemingly determined to demonstrate that he was serious about his decision.
Seeing this, Hongyu merely sighed and waved his hand.
“Let’s talk about that once you can beat me.”
“For now, I’m taking Ling out.
That girl’s been waiting for us for ages.
She’s probably already cursing you by now.”
“Why only me?”
Shuo pointed at himself in confusion.
In response, Hongyu gave him a rather peculiar look.
Although Shuo couldn’t see Hongyu’s eyes, he somehow felt as though Sir was looking down on him.
It was almost as if that expression were saying:
‘Ling likes me more, obviously.
Of course she’s only going to complain about the guy who’s taking up my time.’
‘Seriously?’
‘I’m her eldest brother, you know.’
Scratching his head, Shuo decided not to dwell on it.
Instead, he accepted Hongyu’s condition.
“Defeat you in martial arts, Sir?
Very well.
I accept.”
Hearing his answer, Hongyu gave a satisfied snort before walking over to Ling.
Ling immediately took his hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world and eagerly dragged him away.
“Wang, let’s head back.”
Shuo walked over to his younger brother.
“Shu is probably already preparing breakfast.
Since Sir and Ling have gone out, I doubt they’ll be coming back to eat.
We should let Shu know.”
“Heh.
Those two are probably going to get another lecture from Shu…”
Wang waved his hand dismissively and began walking alongside Shuo.
“Hey, Big Brother.
Haven’t you noticed that Ling seems to be getting more and more attached to Sir lately?”
“Has she?”
Shuo scratched his head in surprise.
“Really?
Hasn’t Ling always been like that?”
“Come on, you’re supposed to be our eldest brother!”
Wang spoke with the exasperation of someone who had expected better.
“Before, Sir was always the one seeking Ling out.
But now Ling’s the one actively going to see him.
Haven’t you noticed?”
“…Before, huh?” Find the original chapter at g.com.
Shuo thought for a moment.
“Didn’t Sir always say something like, ‘A beautiful daughter is worth showing off more than a handsome son,’ whenever he took Ling out?”
“That’s not the point!”
Wang pressed a hand against his forehead.
“The point is that Ling has started seeking Sir out on her own!
She even takes his hand without being asked!”
“So Ling is…”
Shuo fell into deep thought.
After a moment, both brothers suddenly spoke at the same time.
“Starved for affection?!”
“Going through puberty!”
“…”
“…”
Wang covered his face in despair.
Alright.
Trying to discuss something like this with a man whose brain was filled with nothing but martial arts had clearly been a mistake.
Even worse, he had somehow managed to pique the curiosity of this socially oblivious brute.
“What?
Puberty?”
Shuo suddenly turned toward Wang, looking thoroughly shocked.
“Wait, does that mean Ling has developed feelings for Sir?!”
Wang had already lost all interest in explaining anything further.
“Let’s just go find Shu.”
With a sigh, Wang decided to abandon the conversation entirely.
“Hey!
Second Brother!
You can’t just leave it at that!”
“What do you mean Ling’s going through puberty?!”
“Hey!”
At a Sui family gathering…
“I think Elder Sister…
might have some rather unusual feelings toward Sir…”
Ji approached Wang, who was hiding off to the side playing chess against himself.
He spoke somewhat awkwardly, clearly hesitant to bring up the subject.
Wang glanced at him.
Then he silently turned away without saying a word.
His reaction practically screamed that Ji’s information was several thousand years out of date.
“You’re only realizing that now?”
Chongyue happened to approach carrying several bottles of wine.
Hearing the conversation, he looked at Ji with an expression of surprise.
“Huh?”
Ji froze.
Then, after a moment, he suddenly grabbed Chongyue by the shoulders as though he’d just heard something earth-shattering.
“Big Brother!
Big Brother!
What do you mean I’m only realizing it now?!”
“Don’t tell me Sister Shu has been…
even back then…?!”
“Ahem.
Well…”
Chongyue clearly had no intention of answering his question.
“Second Brother, how about we play a game of chess?
I brought some wine too.
We can have a drink together.”
With that, Chongyue sat down opposite Wang, deliberately avoiding the subject.
“Hey!
Big Brother!”
“You can’t just leave it at that!”
“What do you mean I’m only realizing it now?!”
“HEY!”