Chapter 140: Loot Drop, Shards

Perhaps it was because he had thought of that ruthless man from the Northern Barbarians today.

For the first time in a long while, Bai Yunxing had a dream.

In the dream, the world was strange and dazzling. The clear river beneath his feet gradually turned into a crimson stream, reeking of blood.

Severed limbs and chunks of flesh floated downstream. Amid the drifting gore, familiar faces surfaced one by one, gliding silently past him.

He turned around. The wildflowers that had once bloomed across the mountains were now twisted into faces full of hatred and agony, screaming his name as they surged toward him.

Instinctively, Bai Yunxing reached out, trying to fend them off, trying to tear away the vines wrapping around his body.

“Bai Yunxing!”

“Bai Da Mao!!!”

The faces were blurry, but Bai Yunxing could feel the anguish and resentment radiating from them. Their mournful cries echoed in his ears, suffocating him.

The overwhelming sense of suffocation jolted him awake.

And then, he found himself staring into a face almost identical to his own, eyes burning with suppressed fury.

Wasn’t this his twin brother?

His mind was still foggy from sleep, his face stung a little, and beside him sat their eldest brother, grinning as he leaned over to watch the drama unfold.

At that moment, he realized…

“Bai Da Mao! Can you let go of my hair already?!”

Bai Yun’an was shaking his second brother by the shoulders, trying to pry his hair free from the death grip.

“Oh, oh.”

Bai Yunxing quickly let go, awkwardly glancing down at his own hand that had been clutching his brother’s hair with surprising force. Then he looked at his shoulder, a little embarrassed.

“Can you let go of my shoulder now—”

“No!”

Bai Yun’an cut him off without hesitation, giving him a few more frustrated shakes for good measure.

No one knew how devastated he was. He’d finally had a good dream—a rare one—where his Favorability Points maxed out, and he was enjoying a blissful life with Spatial Storage, Little Juanjuan, and their mother.

But before he could savor any of it, a sharp pain yanked him awake. He turned his head to see which lunatic was pulling his hair and then—

Ha!

No, he didn’t dare turn his head. It would only hurt more.

He was seething with resentment, but seeing that Bai Yunxing had clearly just had a nightmare and wasn’t as tough as their eldest brother, Bai Yun’an chose to “gently” pat his second brother’s face a couple of times and then “lightly” shook his shoulders.

But in Bai Yunqi’s eyes, it looked very different.

He’d been woken up by the disturbance—or more accurately, by the wave of resentment so thick it could tempt even a demonic cultivator.

Let it be known, Bai Yunqi was a proper cultivator, not a demonic one.

But that resentment? It was pure. So pure that he thought something terrible had happened at home.

He sat up in a hurry, only to see his second brother caught in a nightmare, clutching their younger brother’s hair in a death grip.

And their youngest brother? Clearly furious after being rudely awakened.

That usually innocent little face was now cold and stern, his hand rising and falling as he “gently” patted their second brother’s face.

Bai Yunqi couldn’t help but click his tongue silently. His usually cheerful face creased into a frown.

The youngest was ruthless.

“Da Mao, what kind of nightmare did you have? Tell your big brother?”

As he spoke, Bai Yunqi moved forward to play peacemaker, trying to separate the twins.

Bai Yun’an glanced at his meddling older brother, then at Bai Yunxing, who still hadn’t fully recovered from the nightmare.

In the end, he said nothing, just rolled over and pulled the thin blanket over his head, tugging it closer to his side with a sulky huff.

“Nothing. I can’t really remember…”

Bai Yunqi nodded. “That’s fine. Nightmares are better forgotten anyway. Go back to sleep.”

Then he couldn’t help teasing, “Want big brother to cuddle you to sleep?”

Already lying down, Bai Yun’an rolled his eyes. “Go to sleep.”

Bai Yunxing: …

“No need, big brother.”

The room fell quiet again, though only the three of them knew what was truly on their minds.

In any case, aside from Bai Yunqi, the other two hadn’t slept well. It wasn’t until just before dawn that they finally drifted off.

The door creaked open slightly, and a small head peeked through the crack. Curious eyes scanned the room, and a soft voice asked,

“Second brother, are you awake yet?”

The voice was quiet, barely a whisper, but to those already awake—or just barely asleep—it was loud enough.

Bai Yunqi, who had slept soundly, and Bai Yunxing and Bai Yun’an, who had only just fallen asleep, all heard it.

So Juanjuan saw one of the figures on the bed suddenly sit up straight, like—

Like the “corpse rising from the grave” in the storybooks her mother read?

Juanjuan blinked and looked at her second—

Just then, another person turned over and opened their eyes to look at her.

Two nearly identical faces stared at Juanjuan.

Juanjuan: ?

Wait a minute, which one is second brother?

She looked back and forth between the two before realizing it was third brother who had suddenly sat up like a zombie.

【So annoying!!! Can’t get a decent night’s sleep at all!!!】

Juanjuan heard third brother’s inner scream and gave an awkward little smile before quietly closing the door and slipping away.

It’s fine!

Third brother was just yelling in his head.

Second brother had heard and was awake now, so she didn’t need to worry about him being sick or something.

Maybe he was just tired and overslept, like Mama and Papa sometimes did.

With second brother not around, Juanjuan still followed the training routines her brothers had taught her.

From clumsy flailing at the start to over two months of consistent practice, she might not be completely transformed, but the improvement was obvious.

Now her movements had form and structure. Her face was still youthful, but her eyes were bright with determination and vitality.

Bai Yunxing stood quietly at the door, watching the upright little figure in front of him. For some reason, a sense of pride and hope welled up in his chest.

A rest day.

As the acting “junior leader” of Shiwei Restaurant, Bai Tian headed out again, and Bai Yunxing went with him.

Juanjuan stayed home with their mother, and Bai Yun’an, hoping to win over his little sister, naturally stayed behind as well.

That left Bai Yunqi, who had once again run off to play. Of course, Juanjuan knew he was out looking for spiritual energy.

She had long since gotten used to the strange dynamic in their home, where everyone had secrets and their own quirks.

A gentle breeze rustled by.

Jiang Dai leaned against the window, reading a storybook.

Beside her, a small figure sat at the desk, diligently practicing her calligraphy.

Juanjuan focused on her writing, occasionally sneaking glances at her mother. This was something she had once only dreamed of.

The moment she noticed her mother about to look over, she quickly ducked her head and pretended to concentrate.

Just as she was trying to settle back in, a sharp scream rang out from the courtyard next door.

Startled, Juanjuan’s hand jerked, nearly spilling ink on her clothes.

Jiang Dai immediately set her book aside and called out, “Shall we go take a look?”

“Mm!”

Juanjuan never said no to her mother’s invitations.

“Come on, Yun’an, let’s go see what’s going on outside.”

As they stepped out, Jiang Dai called out to her third son, who was sunbathing in the yard.

The moment they exited the gate, they were greeted by the sight of a black dog.

Jiang Dai recognized it—it often roamed the neighborhood.

The children liked the dog and would sometimes sneak it a piece of their snacks.

But in front of the dog…

Jiang Dai’s sharp eyes caught it instantly. She covered Juanjuan’s eyes, stepped in front of Bai Yun’an, and muttered under her breath,

“Oh, hell no!”

Who could blame her?

Lying in front of the dog was a disturbingly familiar piece of human flesh.

A severed half-hand, with only two fingers remaining.