“You really understand me—it is a Spirit Furnace.”
Bai Xi nodded with a smile, her eyes curving into crescents, clearly delighted.
She had obtained a Spirit Furnace. Although the process had been strenuous and somewhat dangerous, the reward was immense because this Spirit Furnace of hers was far from ordinary.
Long Haochen, however, was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected his guess to be correct.
“But aren’t those things extremely rare? Teacher said we aren’t qualified to possess one yet.”
“That’s because he’s always underestimated us.”
Bai Xi instinctively replied. She disliked Long Xingyu.
Because Long Xingyu disliked her too.
Bai Xi was highly sensitive to others’ emotions. She knew that during their year together, whenever Long Xingyu looked at her, it always seemed as if he was seeing someone else through her.
That person must have been an enemy, because whenever Long Xingyu faced her, he always carried a suppressed sense of disgust.
Naturally, Long Xingyu hid his emotions quite well. Unfortunately, Bai Xi was extremely perceptive. No matter how well he concealed them, it was useless—he couldn’t fool Bai Xi.
“Xi Xi.”
Long Haochen felt a little conflicted. He deeply respected Long Xingyu, believing that Long Xingyu had changed his life.
But his younger sister Bai Xi was also very important to him.
So, after only a moment of hesitation, he sided with Bai Xi and began convincing himself inwardly.
“Xi Xi is still a child. What does a child understand? Teacher, you wouldn’t hold it against her, right?”
After persuading himself, Long Haochen smiled and praised Bai Xi.
“Our Xi Xi is just too outstanding.”
As he spoke, Long Haochen helped Bai Xi up. By now, the sky was already bright.
“We should head home. Teacher gave us two days, and it’s only the second day now. If we hurry back, we can still spend some good time with Mom.”
“But first, we need to submit the mission in Haoyue City, then change into new clothes so Mom won’t be sad when she sees your condition.”
Though he claimed to be worried about Bai Yue’s feelings, Long Haochen himself had reddened eyes the whole time.
“Okay, okay! Let’s both get new clothes. I want a sapphire-blue dress—you buy it for me.”
“Alright, I’ll buy it for you.”
Supporting each other, the two made their way toward Haoyue City.
From their location, returning home required passing through Haoyue City before heading to their home outside Odin Town.
“Haochen, Xi Xi, are you injured?”
As soon as they neared the Adventurers’ Guild, they heard a familiar voice.
It was Li Xin. Her pink hair was truly eye-catching.
“Huh? We’re not injured. Why would you think we’re hurt? We’re here to submit the mission. What are you doing here? What a coincidence.”
The siblings spoke in unison, their words and tone exactly the same.
“It’s no coincidence. I was specifically waiting for you to return.”
Li Xin strode over, leaning in to examine them closely for a moment.
“You still say you’re not injured? What happened to your clothes? They look like they’ve been soaked many times, and yours has marks from a sharp blade.”
“And your complexions—nothing like the healthy rosiness from yesterday…”
Surprisingly, Li Xin was remarkably observant, pointing out each difference in their appearance.
“We just encountered a little danger, that’s all. It’s nothing serious. See, we returned safely, didn’t we?”
Bai Xi smiled sweetly, looking easily capable of softening hearts.
Li Xin didn’t believe it was just a minor injury, but seeing that they wanted to keep it hidden, she didn’t press further, silently noting the matter in her heart.
She even inwardly complained about their teacher.
“Who knows how heartless their teacher is, actually letting two ten-year-old children go out alone on a mission without worrying about something really happening.”
“Although training is necessary, if something truly unexpected happened during it, he’d regret it too late.”
The very person Li Xin was complaining about was currently holding a beauty in his arms, in an extremely cheerful mood. Even though he sneezed several times in a row early in the morning, it didn’t dampen his good spirits.
“Go turn in your mission first, then I’ll take you to change clothes, have a meal, and rest properly.”
Li Xin was truly warm-hearted, taking care of the two in every way, no different from a real elder sister.
Li Xin generously picked out many clothes for them. For Long Haochen, she mostly chose blue and gold combinations, but for Bai Xi, she selected pink and blue.
“My taste is indeed good. You look even cuter in this color, so soft and sweet at first glance.”
Looking at Bai Xi, who was now dressed in her new outfit, Li Xin was extremely satisfied.
Bai Xi looked at her reflection in the mirror—innocent-looking, pink, soft, and delicate—and felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.
She actually preferred darker colors and was wearing such a soft, pink shade for the first time.
But Li Xin’s enthusiasm was truly hard to refuse.
Not only did she pick out a pile of clothes for them, but she also insisted on paying for everything herself, not allowing them to spend a single coin.
“Now that the clothes are picked, let’s go eat. I’ll treat you to the best restaurant in the city.”
This time, they had to refuse, even if it was difficult.
“Thank you for your kindness, sister, but let’s meet up next time. Our teacher gave us a tight schedule this time, so we have to hurry back now.”
“Sorry, sister, we really don’t have time this time.”
Long Haochen and Bai Xi spoke one after the other.
In truth, they did have time to stay and have a meal with Li Xin, but Bai Xi had a mysterious feeling urging her to hurry home.
It was as if they would regret it if they didn’t return immediately.
Thus, they could only let down Li Xin’s kindness.
“Is that so? Then let’s meet up next time.”
Although Li Xin was a bit disappointed, she wasn’t angry and even personally escorted the two out of the city.
After leaving Haoyue City, the two headed straight home.
On the way, they played their little game of who would get home first, though in reality, no matter who was ahead, they would stop and wait for the other.
From start to finish, they traveled together.
Even if one of them took a shortcut to get ahead faster, they would eventually return to the same path, because their destination was the same.
“Earlier at the clothing shop, I secretly bought a dress for Mom. We’ll be home soon, so we must give her a surprise.”
As they approached home, Bai Xi was visibly happy.
This was the first time she had been so far from home, and she had brought a gift for her mother, Bai Yue.
The joy she felt now would soon turn into anger and pain.
“For Mom, seeing us return safely is already a joy.”
As Long Haochen spoke, another idea popped into his mind.
“But since you want to surprise Mom, let’s sneak back quietly. Help me hide our presence.”
“When the time comes, we can push the door open suddenly—maybe we can even give Mom a scare.”
The siblings decided to act on it immediately, but they didn’t expect what would happen next.
The one startled when the door opened was not Bai Yue, but rather the two of them, who were infuriated by the scene inside.