210 Brother & Sister

210 Brother & Sister

2

10 Brother & Sister

After casting enough Cleanse spells, my little sister had finally calmed down.

We sat atop the rooftop, our legs dangling over the edge as the night breeze ruffled our hair. The stars above shimmered in the velvet sky, twinkling like distant jewels. But to my refined eyes, they were far more than that. Formations. That was what they truly were. Vast, intricate runes drawn across the heavens, feeding into the greater workings of reality. I had confirmed this with the Destiny Seeking Eyes, though it was not an entirely new revelation. Nongmin had mentioned the same thing before offhandedly and casually, as if it were as obvious as breathing. Still, it was different seeing it with my own eyes.

Da Ji exhaled, her voice hushed and trembling. “Brother, there’s something wrong with me…”

I didn’t respond right away. My gaze stayed fixed on the constellations, pretending I could still find an answer hidden in their alignment. But the truth was, my realm was still insufficient. The Destiny Seeking Eyes were powerful, sure, but I lacked the cultivation base to run them at full capacity. It was like having the best software in the world, but running it on a potato of a machine. I glanced at her and asked, “What do you want to hear? A hurtful truth… or a pretty lie?”

She fell silent for a moment, clearly torn. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her robe as if trying to gather her thoughts by clutching them into her palms. Eventually, she whispered, “A pretty lie… I think I’ll want a pretty lie tonight.”

I gave a slow, exaggerated shrug and offered one with a smile. “You can be happy without having a baby with Enlai.”

She blinked, looked away, and then back at me with a pout. “Are you jealous, brother?”

I let out a low chuckle. “Jealous? Of course not. A proper big brother only has two valid reactions to a sister getting married… either being happy, or mildly pissed that someone else gets to deal with her nonsense now. Jealousy? That’s for dads when they realize they’re losing their baby girls.”

Da Ji squinted at me, suspicion flaring in her gaze. “You’re thinking something rude again, aren’t you?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the ‘p’ with practiced innocence. Then I leaned back on my elbows and added with a smirk, “But seriously. Don’t make a baby. It’s not like that’s the only way to enjoy life with your partner.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why? What does me and Enlai not making a baby have to do with anything?”

I looked away, toward the horizon, and sighed. “Do you really want to know? Because if you do, then I can’t keep feeding you pretty lies.”

She paused again, then said, “So the hurtful truth is just that terrible… Hmmm… You know, this Divine Sense of mine… it has its limits. It can detect lies, yes, but not if something’s hidden behind an absolute command. That’s how I figured out that something about you was strange. I never imagined it was because you were not Wen Yuhan all along.” Her voice softened. “Still. What does this have to do with anything?”

I answered quietly, “The end of this world.”

She didn’t say anything at first. Her eyes lingered on me, but there was no anger in them, just confusion that slowly gave way to resignation. Then she nodded. “Okay… so no babies. If you say so, brother. But that just means you’ll have to give our parents grandchildren.”

I gave her a look. “I’m gone, remember? Missing. Officially and very legally. They even built a shrine.”

“A shrine that you built,” She clicked her tongue. “So you have no plans to tell them, huh?”

“Nope.”

Da Ji’s voice turned mischievous. “Maybe you’re just scared to have a baby? Or… maybe you haven’t done it yet?”

“W-what?” I stammered. I hated that she got a rise out of me. Of course, I hadn’t done it in this body. That would be insane.

Her grin widened. “Brother, being a woman is awesome. And being a pretty one? Even better. You’re wasting that body!”

I groaned, rubbing my face with both hands. “You’re saying that because you’ve never given birth before, idiot. I have. Or at least, Wen Yuhan did, and I got to remember all of it. It’s not pleasant.”

Da Ji tilted her head, her expression softening for a moment. “There’s nothing shameful in giving life, brother.”

I sighed. “You sure are enjoying teasing me tonight.”

She beamed, her voice light and playful. “I mean, come on… I’ve got a twin sister now! You don’t expect me to be normal about that, do you?”

Despite myself, I laughed.

“So what’s the hurtful truth then?”

Da Ji’s voice carried no edge, just quiet insistence. But the moment she asked, the laughter died in my throat. We had been bantering just seconds ago, caught in the warmth of siblinghood and starlight. And yet her question dragged me back into the pit where truth festered like an old wound. I didn’t meet her eyes right away. Instead, I gave her something that skirted the boundary of a lie, dancing along the rim of comfort.

“You will end this world,” I said, half-smiling, as if it were a joke. “But hey, no need to get scared over it. I’ve been there, done that… I got you covered.”

She narrowed her gaze, trying to judge if I meant it, if her Divine Sense would tug at the edges of my words and call it a lie. “Really?” she asked again, this time slower.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. She sensed something, though what exactly, I wasn’t sure. Whether it was truth, evasion, or just my own resignation bleeding through, I couldn’t say.

Then she asked the harder question. “Who are you, really, brother? I always knew you were a special child…”

The way she said special child, I could tell she meant it both endearingly and mockingly. A poke at my ego wrapped in sibling affection. But her eyes were serious, her tone threading that line between awe and fear.

“To think you might be some old monster…” she muttered, pulling her sleeves tighter. “It terrifies me.”

And then she asked it, the one question I’d avoided even asking myself.

“Tell me, brother… are you a bad person?”

For a moment, I thought about lying. But the Divine Sense would catch me… or wouldn’t it? If I believed the lie, would it still be a lie? Of course, the Divine Sense would know, but that was only true when I still had my Paladin Legacy with me. In the end, I didn’t know. And more importantly, I didn’t trust myself to know anymore.

“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “Well… I’ve been scamming people lately. With religion. In my defense, it’s really well-organized and borderline beneficial. But still, a scam’s a scam. So… yeah. Bad man, I guess.”

She laughed. Not mockingly, not out of disdain… but genuinely. “Yeah, you’re a bad man,” she echoed. “But… in the end, it’s not a scam if no one finds out. And even if they do, people believe in lies all the time, especially when the lies help them get through the day.”

She pulled her knees to her chest and stared out at the stars. “It’s hard to believe in something real, brother. But when a lie makes life bearable, why not believe in it? It’s like reading a novel… You know it’s fiction, but you cry, you laugh, you take something from it. People believe in horoscopes and superstitions not because they’re true, but because they remind them to be careful, to hope, and to smile. What’s wrong with that?”

Since when had Da Ji become so wise?

She didn’t notice the way I looked at her then… equal parts stunned and proud. When did this little sister of mine grow up like this? I’d been gone for five years in her life, and she’d somehow become a woman of depth and thoughtfulness. She used to chase butterflies and cry when I left her behind. Now she was speaking of truth and illusion as if she were some sagely philosopher from a Daoist fable.

“In the end, brother,” she continued, “while you are a bad man, you can be a good man too. It doesn’t always have to be one or the other. It can be both… or neither… or something else entirely. People are strange like that.”

I exhaled slowly, my shoulders sagging. “Sorry,” I said. “For not being there. For you. For Mom and Dad. For disappearing like that… for five damn years.”

Da Ji looked down, her fingers playing with the loose fabric at her wrist. Then she smiled. It was faint, but real.

“The only regret I have,” she said softly, “was you not being there at my wedding.”

That hit harder than it should have.

“I’ll be there,” I told her, grinning, “if Enlai ever leaves you.”

It was meant to be a joke. Just some light teasing between siblings, but the moment I finished the sentence—smack!—she hit me squarely on the head.

“Not funny, brother…”

“Copy that,” I muttered, rubbing the sore spot.

The stars above didn’t flinch. The heavens never did. But here beneath them, everything between us had shifted somehow… like the warmth of reconciliation had finally settled in, letting the unspoken finally take form. Yet I didn’t expect her next question.

“Should I leave Enlai?” she asked.

I turned to her, more serious than I meant to. “There’s no need to.”

“But won’t it be better if I did just that?”

She said it with such emptiness, like she was rehearsing an idea she’d carried for far too long. A choice that wasn’t hers to make, but one she’d claim anyway just to make things easier.

“If it costs you your happiness,” I said, “then no… it wouldn’t be better.”

“I can give it up.”

Those five words made me flinch, not outwardly, but deep in the ribs where breath becomes tight. I frowned.

“You know,” I said slowly, “you are being arrogant right now.”

I knew how easily those lines could be misused. How people traded away their joy for someone else’s peace, only to find regret blooming like weeds later on. So I pressed on.

“That’s just irresponsible. And what about Enlai’s happiness?”

“I think he’ll understand,” she whispered.

“So what?”

She blinked. “What?”

“I mean,” I clarified, “I won’t be happy if you’re unhappy. Mom and Dad won’t be happy either. Everyone loses. So no… There has to be a way out. There’s always a way out. Of course, it won’t be pretty. But it’ll be real.”

She went quiet again, then nodded slowly. “I want to help.”

I looked at her, really looked at her. Her eyes still held that flicker of instability. That shadow behind her pupils that the Cleanse spell only briefly dispersed. It was growing stronger each day, and I feared what she might become if left unattended. I activated the Destiny Seeking Eyes again, searching, scanning, and trying to trace a path forward from the knots of fate. There wasn’t much, but a direction began to take shape.

“I’ll raise my cultivation to the Soul Recognition Realm soon,” I said. “After that… I’ll have to venture outside the territory to hunt a certain perverted skull.”

Her brow twitched. “What kind of skull?”

“The annoying kind,” I muttered, waving it off. “But while I’m gone, I want you to protect the Sacred Groves.”

“I can do that, brother. But I’m not confident… in my skills… or my sanity.”

“Then we’ll train,” I said. “For the next week or so. Hard! We’ll polish your techniques, your mind, your body, your spirit. You won’t fall… not on my watch.”

She hesitated, then let a faint smile creep in. “If only there were a convenient way for me to feel better…”

She didn’t know, of course. I’d been secretly casting Cleanse on her every time she slipped. Whenever her smile dimmed or her voice took that eerie edge, I’d done it instinctively… like brushing off dust before she even noticed it was there. But it wasn’t working as well anymore. The darkness in her wasn’t just a smudge… it was a seed.

“I have an idea,” I said.

“What is it, brother?”

“Let me inside you.”

“Eeek! PERVERT!”

“No! No no no, not like that!” I waved my hands frantically. “Divine Possession! Divine Possession, okay?! Wait, you did that on purpose, didn't you?”

She was still glaring at me, cheeks red, but I could see the corners of her mouth fighting not to smile. This lass shared my mischief. She’s my twin sister for sure…

I coughed. “It’s a sacred technique. It allows me to inhabit your body for a limited time. I can help stabilize your mind and ward off the corruption more directly. I’ve done it before… well, sort of… But it will work. That’s a win.”

Da Ji’s face softened. “So… you want to borrow my body to fight off the darkness inside me?”

“Exactly. Think of it as… mental surgery. While you sleep, I’ll monitor the corruption and beat the crap out of anything that twitches too hard.”

“Sounds invasive,” she said, but her tone was lighter.

“It is. But you’ll have veto power. The moment you say no, I back out. Simple.”

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she leaned back, looking at the stars again.

“You always show up in the weirdest ways, brother…”

I shrugged. “You’re my sister. Of course, I’d be weird about it.”

She looked at me, eyes glistening. “Fine. You have my permission.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said, sitting cross-legged and cracking my knuckles.

“For now,” she added, “but if I find you snooping around any weird places inside my head…”

“I solemnly swear I will not judge your strange daydreams or questionable tastes.”

She gave me a long look. “Especially not the ones with Enlai.”

I gagged. “Ugh, mental bleach! Too late! I’ve already been traumatized!”

She laughed, and for a moment, the darkness in her eyes seemed to loosen its grip.

Maybe there really was a way out.