Chapter 034

Chapter 34: Otherwise Senior Sister Will Hold It Up All Day

Ye Wan Wan knew her seniority would rise sooner or later, and she knew one day she would be a senior sister. But like many only children who hate it when siblings show up to take the love that used to be theirs, she also hated the idea of suddenly getting a junior sister. Because of the shadow Ye Qian left in her heart, she hated it even more.

But now, it was not a junior sister.

It was a junior brother.

Still, it felt the same to her.

Annoying.

Shen Nan Zhou stood near a huge boulder. When he heard Xun Yin call, the boy looked over. His face was cold and proud, with a keep-away air. Yet under the gazes of Xun Yin and Yan Ju, he still walked over, lifted his chin toward Ye Wan Wan’s group, and gave a small nod. It counted as a greeting.

Li Wan Zhi muttered with a frown: “So arrogant for a junior brother.”

Fang He An glanced between them and puffed his cheeks: “What a high and mighty junior brother.”

Li Wan Zhi clearly disliked Shen Nan Zhou already and grumbled under his breath: “What is that attitude? What junior brother greets his senior brother like this?”

Bai Jian did not mind. She quietly ate her Snowfruit. The junior sister had grown these in Purple Spirit Cave Abode, and Ye Wan Wan brought her two bags when they came down the mountain. The fruit was crisp and sweet, perfect for a snack. Bai Jian treasured them and only ate one every hour. When she saw the new junior brother, her eyes fell to the bag. Maybe she should give him one.

Fang He An asked with some doubt: “Senior uncle, is this our junior brother?”

Xun Yin chuckled: “He is the new disciple Elder Qingfeng accepted.”

Fang He An’s eyes widened: “The fifth junior brother?”

Li Wan Zhi and Ye Wan Wan remembered at once. There was a fifth who had a slot but had not formally entered the sect. If it was that fifth, then maybe Ye Wan Wan could accept it.

Xun Yin stroked his beard and smiled kindly: “It is him, but we cannot count him as fifth. He joined later than you. We arrange by your current seniority. He will be sixth. Little Six, these are your senior brothers and senior sister. Get familiar with each other.”

The smile Ye Wan Wan had just tried to put on faded again. A junior brother? Would it be so bad if he were a senior brother instead?

Shen Nan Zhou frowned. He looked unhappy, but as if something crossed his mind, he still offered a greeting: “Shen Nan Zhou.”

Seeing that this person would not say more, and seeing the sour looks on Li Wan Zhi and Ye Wan Wan’s faces, Fang He An stepped in to ease the mood. He pointed around and said: “I am your Third Senior Brother, Fang He An, this is Second Senior Sister, Bai Jian, Fourth Senior Brother, Li Wan Zhi, and Fifth Senior Sister… Wan Wan junior sister.”

Shen Nan Zhou looked at them one by one and, finally stopping on Ye Wan Wan, asked in a flat voice: “Senior sister?”

Ye Wan Wan pressed a fist to her palm in salute and said seriously: “Senior brother was chosen by Elder Qingfeng a year before me. Your seniority should be higher. You can call me junior sister.”

Shen Nan Zhou said calmly: “The old man said I rank sixth.”

Ye Wan Wan answered at once: “No. Senior brother is a hero among people and should not be the youngest. Senior brother, you should be fifth.”

Fang He An and Li Wan Zhi looked back and forth between them.

Xun Yin and Yan Ju had already left with the Dark Nether Sect Elders to open the secret realm. Only the five of them were left, watching Ye Wan Wan and Shen Nan Zhou push the title at each other.

Shen Nan Zhou said evenly: “Senior sister, there is no need to be so polite. Since senior uncle said you are fifth, then you are my senior sister.”

Ye Wan Wan insisted in a steady tone: “Senior brother, he only said that to comfort me. I sincerely admire senior brother’s conduct and free spirit. The title of senior brother should be yours.”

Everyone could tell Ye Wan Wan did not want to be a senior sister.

She only wanted to be the youngest.

Shen Nan Zhou noticed too. The girl before him always stayed at the back of the group with no presence at all, her bored face as calm as a mountain. No matter what others said, she looked like it had nothing to do with her. Even yesterday at the inn, she was like that. But when she heard the words senior sister, her expression would crack for a moment and twist, as if she truly hated those two words, as if they reminded her of something disgusting. Even with a veil today, he could still see the resistance in her eyes when it came to senior sister.

So she really hated it?

Then he would call her that even more.

For him, a title was just a label. Senior brother or junior brother, it did not matter. He had joined Heavenly One Sect just to have some fun. But now, he suddenly felt stubborn about this one title.

He leaned a little closer and asked with a teasing look: “Senior sister, do you dislike having a junior brother?”

Ye Wan Wan clenched her back teeth and turned her head away, acting like she had not heard. Shen Nan Zhou’s lips curved as he came closer and said in a soft voice: “Senior sister, you look very unhappy.”

“Senior sister…”

A snow white fruit reached in from the side. Shen Nan Zhou paused and looked up at the girl holding it. Bai Jian said in a gentle voice: “Junior brother, take it.”

Shen Nan Zhou stared at Bai Jian for a long moment but did not take it. Bai Jian also did not pull her hand back.

Fang He An urged with a helpless smile: “Junior brother, you should take it, otherwise senior sister will hold it up all day.”

Shen Nan Zhou finally reached out and accepted it.

The fruit was about the size of a longan, white as snow, with faint gold veins. Juice flowed inside it and looked like it would spill out with one bite. It was a Grade Two spirit fruit.

Shen Nan Zhou was surprised. A small junior disciple of Heavenly One Sect used a Grade Two spirit fruit as a snack. This was the kind of fruit that could restore a Qi Refining Stage disciple’s strength in an instant. Even those in Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage would benefit from it.

Heavenly One Sect seemed different from what he had imagined.

After he took it, Bai Jian’s eyes arched in a smile. She looped her arm through Ye Wan Wan’s and repeated each word with care: “Junior sister, you are the junior sister.”

Ye Wan Wan’s face grew warm and gentle as she nodded: “Mm.”

No matter how many new disciples Heavenly One Sect added, Ye Wan Wan would always be Bai Jian’s junior sister.

A breeze rose high in the sky.

Light bloomed open in front of them.

With the combined power of the Dark Nether Sect Elders, the entrance to the secret realm opened. A blue robed Elder gathered his breath and spoke loudly: “Illusory Dream Star Marsh opens once every fifty years. Each opening lasts one month. For this month, you may explore freely inside. But there is one thing Dark Nether Sect must remind you of. Though Illusory Dream Star Marsh has shrunk to a Third Rank Secret Realm and the highest Demonic Beasts are only third rank, the dangers in the deep forests are beyond counting. Anyone who enters must sign the Pact of Life and Death.”

He ended with a solemn line: “Life and death follow fate.”

Sheets of gold paper appeared before everyone. Ye Wan Wan saw them clearly. A contract. She stretched out her soul power and signed her breath upon it. The contract took, and two hundred gold sheets flew back to the Elder from Dark Nether Sect.

The Elder smiled politely: “Dark Nether Sect wishes you all a rewarding journey.”

He raised his palm and called out: “Now, the entrance opens!”

At his words, people flew in one after another and vanished from sight. Ye Wan Wan’s group was not among the fastest. Before they set off, Ye Wan Wan handed one brocade pouch to each of them.

Li Wan Zhi asked while weighing his pouch: “What is this?”

Ye Wan Wan answered simply: “A protective charm.”

Everyone knew Ye Wan Wan liked to draw talismans, so they put the pouches away without a second thought. None of them guessed that these Talisman Arts would save their lives at a key moment.

Fang He An lifted his hand and called: “Go.”

He and Bai Jian led the way. The group flew into the secret realm. Ye Wan Wan thought of something and glanced back. Shen Nan Zhou followed calmly five steps behind her. When he saw her looking, he gave her a meaningful smile.

Ye Wan Wan’s palm tightened. [Does this person… have memories from the last life?]