Chapter 135: Wuyou Tang

Sometimes opportunities come to those who wait. Other times, you have to make them yourself.

Bai Yun’an watched as his second brother took a few copper coins and headed down the street to buy some candied fruits for their mother and younger sister.

Seizing the chance, Bai Yun’an found an excuse to slip out of the house and quietly tailed after him.

After analyzing things over the past two days, he was fairly certain that Second Brother had been replaced too. But as for who had taken his place, he still couldn’t be sure.

Now, finally, he had a chance to test things out.

Juanjuan was playing with some neighborhood girls nearby when a figure flashed in the corner of her eye. She turned her head.

“Was that my brother just now?”

She asked one of the girls beside her.

“I didn’t see anyone!” The girl was too caught up in playing to notice.

Juanjuan frowned and thought for a moment. “I’m going home for a bit.”

She ran back in a hurry.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she saw her father bustling around the kitchen and her eldest brother sitting in the courtyard teaching their mother how to read.

“Did Third Brother go out?”

Jiang Dai looked up at Juanjuan, who had suddenly run back and was now asking about her third brother.

Though he didn’t quite understand what was going on, he still answered, “Your second brother went out to buy candied fruits. Your third brother… probably went with him.”

Juanjuan, who more or less guessed what Third Brother was up to, couldn’t help but feel worried.

Both Eldest Brother and Third Brother were incredibly capable.

Last time, when Eldest Brother rescued her, he had practically summoned wind and rain.

Third Brother could go toe-to-toe with Eldest Brother, but Second Brother…

Second Brother couldn’t summon wind and rain. What if Third Brother accidentally hurt him?

“Are you looking for Third Brother for something?”

Bai Yunqi put down the book in his hand and looked at his little sister, setting the stage for his next move.

Juanjuan shook her head.

“Then do you have something to do?”

She didn’t quite understand, but still shook her head honestly.

Satisfied, Bai Yunqi nodded and stood up, handing the book to her. “Perfect! I’ve got something to take care of. You can teach Mom to read!”

Juanjuan: ?

“Mom, Juanjuan is super smart. She’ll have no problem teaching you!”

With that, Bai Yunqi happily ran out the door. His excited voice floated back on the wind, “Time to go have some fun…”

Wandering the streets, picking up treasures, absorbing spiritual energy!

Learning to read in school was already enough. Coming home to teach Mom too? He’d rather go out and look for hidden treasures.

That way, if anyone tried to bully his family, he could secretly take care of it!

He’d said it before—once your brain works and your fists are strong, that’s the true path to power!

Watching her brother disappear like a gust of wind, Juanjuan blinked in confusion.

What was going on now?

Jiang Dai was also a little speechless. She looked at her daughter and said, “So, Juanjuan, you’ll teach Mom?”

Juanjuan looked at the book in her hands and nodded, though something still felt off in her little head.

In the alley.

Bai Yunxing had already bought the candied fruits and was heading home.

He had walked this path countless times before, but today, something felt off.

He glanced behind him but saw no one.

Was he just imagining things?

That thought had barely formed when a sharp sound of something cutting through the air came from behind.

Before his mind could react, his body instinctively dodged to the side and turned to look back.

There was no one. No movement.

Just the sound of a small stone hitting the ground.

It was a smooth, round pebble—not large, but the angle it came from meant that even if he hadn’t dodged, it would’ve only grazed him.

Was it an accident, or intentional?

If it was deliberate, the control over force and angle was precise. It didn’t seem meant to injure, just to test.

But… what about him was worth testing?

Bai Yunxing couldn’t figure it out.

Neither could Bai Yun’an. His big brother was like a piece of clingy gum.

Feeling the presence relentlessly trailing behind him, Bai Yun’an could only quicken his pace and head home.

The best place to hide is in plain sight.

As long as he wasn’t caught red-handed, even if Big Brother had suspicions, that’s all they would be—suspicions.

Not long after, Bai Yun’an saw his big brother appear.

“Big Brother.”

He greeted him naturally, as if nothing was amiss.

Though not a professional actor, Bai Yun’an had been tempered in the apocalypse. His psychological resilience was top-tier.

Bai Yunqi looked at his third brother. “Did you see anyone suspicious?”

Bai Yun’an tilted his head, looking puzzled. “Someone suspicious?”

Looking at his harmless, sweet-faced little brother, Bai Yunqi sighed inwardly.

Right. That person was like a ghost. Even he couldn’t catch them. How could his brother have seen anything?

Bai Yunqi waved it off with a carefree smile. “It’s nothing. Just a sneaky little rat.”

Bai Yun’an’s smile grew even brighter.

Seeing his brother’s carefree grin, Bai Yunqi felt the weight of responsibility settle even heavier on his shoulders.

“Don’t worry! Your big brother will protect you!”

Bai Yun’an: ?

【Does this guy have an overactive imagination or what?】

【Still, no matter how wild his guesses are, as long as he can’t catch me in the act, who would ever suspect me?】

Meanwhile, Bai Yunqi was still deep in thought. Who could that person be?

【Could they be after our parents?】

【They haven’t made a move against the family. Maybe they’re just observing from the shadows? But now that they’ve seen what I can do, if I expose myself… would that scare Mom and Dad?】

【After all, in this world, cultivators are like gods—feared and revered by everyone!】

【No, no, better not make a big deal out of this. Mom and Dad are doing just fine now. If they found out what I’m capable of and started treating me differently, that’d be awkward.】

【I’d better keep things hidden. Protect the family quietly. And while I’m at it, keep searching for spirit stones in secret.】

“Big Brother! Third Brother!”

A familiar, childish voice called out. Not far away, Juanjuan poked her little head out, her round eyes looking at her two brothers.

Big Brother really could talk forever. His words just kept pouring out without a single pause. She was getting dizzy just listening.

“Juanjuan, why are you out here? Weren’t you teaching Mom to read?”

Bai Yunqi asked the little one.

Juanjuan looked at her brothers. “Dinner’s ready. Dad told me to come get you.”

Just then, Bai Yunxing appeared from another street.

The four siblings headed home together. On the way, Bai Yunxing shared the candied fruits he had just bought with his little sister.

Feeling someone’s gaze, he turned and saw his younger brother looking at him.

“Want one?”

Bai Yun’an nodded and took a piece.

As he thought back to Second Brother’s reaction earlier, it matched his expectations almost exactly.

【As expected, Second Brother is different from me and Big Brother. He doesn’t have any special abilities. Otherwise, in the face of danger, it’d be hard not to react instinctively.】

Bai Yun’an had already mentally prepared for this possibility.

【Second Brother wakes up early every day to train and exercise. Clearly, he focuses on physical fitness.】

【Last time, when Kang An sent people to kidnap Juanjuan, Second Brother had already left but didn’t help from the shadows. Instead, he ran off to get help the old-fashioned way.】

【Based on those two things alone, there’s a high chance Second Brother is just an ordinary person without any special powers.】

【But where exactly this “ordinary person” came from… I still can’t say for sure.】

Juanjuan sucked on her candied fruit, cheeks puffed out.

She thought to herself, Third Brother really is amazing. He could figure all that out just like that.

Night fell, swallowing the last traces of light. The moon cast a soft glow over the darkened earth.

In a small, unremarkable tavern in Jingcheng called Wuyou Tang, a child stepped through the door.

The shopkeeper looked up at the sudden arrival, about to ask if the child was there to buy wine for an adult.

But before he could speak, the child walked up to him, stood on tiptoe, and quietly handed him a sealed envelope.

“Someone asked me to give this to you.”

With that, the child turned and ran off.

A nearby patron started to rise, but the shopkeeper gave a small cough.

The patron sat back down and resumed sipping his wine in silence.

The shopkeeper examined the envelope carefully. There were no hidden seals or markings, so it likely wasn’t from the Mu Family’s main branch.

But Wuyou Tang was only known to a few core members of the Mu Family.

A letter delivered by a child, out of the blue…

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, then decided to open it.

The letter slowly unfolded, and the moment the shopkeeper saw the chaotic scrawl that looked like ghostly runes, his heart seemed to stop for a beat.