Brother and Sister

"I've been busy all day mentoring my disciple, and she's been cooped up all day at your Prime Minister's Manor's Gewu Academy, so naturally we haven't met," Old Man Luo said nonchalantly. As he spoke, he naturally asked in return, "Why bring this up all of a sudden?" A glint of mischief surfaced in Xu Yuan's eyes. With keen interest, he said, "Yet I heard from my father that you were apparently planning to take that 'disciple' of yours out to travel the world?" Old Man Luo's brows furrowed slightly at his words. "Brat, what are you getting at?" "What do you think?" Xu Yuan shrugged, curling his lips into a smile. "Our Prime Minister's Manor has an endless supply of cultivation resources. Does that 'disciple' of yours really have any need to go wandering out in the world?" At this point, Xu Yuan chuckled softly. "So this sudden urge to go traveling—are you really not just trying to avoid someone?" Old Man Luo's cheek twitched. Averting his gaze, he snorted coldly. "Me? Avoid her? Why would I avoid her?" "You're truly not avoiding her?" "Hmph. Throughout my life, I have always acted open and aboveboard. Why would I need to hide from anyone?" "All right." Xu Yuan nodded, clapped his hands together, and smiled. "Sworn Sister, won't you come out now?" Silence fell over the wing room as his voice dropped. Little by little, Old Man Luo turned his gaze toward Xu Xinyao, who had brought him here, his eyes filled with bafflement and shock. Xu Xinyao quietly averted her eyes and whispered, "Xinyao needed Senior Xiran's assistance to set up Third Brother's array." "..." Old Man Luo was rendered speechless. A few breaths later, a soft voice gently rang out: "Brother, long time no see." "..." Old Man Luo's soul body turned his head with visible stiffness. As he turned, an elegant woman in a pale blue court dress had already coalesced in the room from the black silk fungal carpet. Seeing this figure from the deepest recesses of his memory reappear before his eyes, Luo Daofan felt as if his heart had skipped a beat, even though he no longer possessed a physical body. Ten thousand years had passed; everything had faded with time. Yet she was still alive. That smug little girl who used to follow behind him everywhere... Nervousness spread uncontrollably. Luo Daofan opened his mouth, but in the end, all he could do was grin awkwardly. "Ah... Xiran, long time no see." Luo Xiran's gaze as she looked at Luo Daofan's soul body was rather chilly. Seeing this, Xu Yuan quietly took Xu Xinyao—who was preparing to mediate—and pulled her over to sit on the edge of the bed, ready to enjoy the drama as a spectator. The aberrant ghost characteristics his body possessed made his senses toward the black silk fungal carpet extraordinarily sharp. Because of this, he had sensed Luo Xiran's presence the moment Xu Xinyao stepped through the door. He had barely sat down and had yet to properly enjoy the show when he caught Old Man Luo's pleading gaze. Evidently, this disreputable old geezer could not handle his own younger sister. In response to that gaze, Xu Yuan merely smiled and mouthed at him: *This is between you siblings; count me out.* "..." Old Man Luo. Amidst the silence, Old Man Luo cleared his throat, his tone turning very solemn and serious. "Xiran, actually, you can listen to my explanation." Luo Xiran tightened her fists slightly. "Explanation? Explain what?" Old Man Luo's expression did not waver in the slightest. "Whatever you wish to hear, this elder brother can explain." Luo Xiran sneered coldly. "Explain the words you just said? Or explain why you betrayed the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion ten thousand years ago? Or perhaps why you kept hiding your strength back then, misleading me?" "The letter I left for you should have already explained why I chose to betray the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion." "Then what about what you said just now?" "..." Old Man Luo fell silent. Luo Xiran glared at her brother, who still bore the appearance of a middle-aged scholar, and repeated word for word: "'What does that woman's life or death have to do with me?... "'Seeing that woman reduced to such a pathetic state was what brought me the greatest joy...'" Old Man Luo's eyes began to dart around the room, finally landing on Xu Yuan and Xu Xinyao, who were busy watching the show. He cleared his throat lightly. "Ahem. Xiran, we can talk about this later. Let's not make a spectacle of ourselves in front of outsiders." Luo Xiran glanced at Xu Yuan, who was struggling to hold back his laughter, and snorted coldly. The corners of her thin lips curled upward, and her eyes curved slightly. "Outsiders? Where are the outsiders? Can your young friend and my sworn brother be considered outsiders?" "..." For the first time in a very long while, Old Man Luo felt a cold sweat breaking out. From childhood to adulthood, when it came to this girl, he had always treated her like precious porcelain—afraid of dropping her if he held her, afraid of melting her if he kept her in his mouth. Yet make him, someone who had lived for ten thousand years, admit fault to this girl? Admit fault? Never. Not in this lifetime. "Senior Xiran, Senior Luo is merely saying one thing and meaning another. Before this, he even had someone inquire about you at the Gewu Academy," Xu Xinyao's gentle voice suddenly chimed in the quiet room. Hearing this, Xu Yuan, who was thoroughly enjoying the show, turned his head and glared at Xu Xinyao. Seeing an old geezer like Luo Daofan get utterly humbled was prime entertainment—why on earth was she helping him out of it? Meeting Xu Yuan's gaze, Xu Xinyao pursed her lips, lowering her voice a bit. "Older brothers are all like this—saying one thing with their mouths while doing the opposite..." "..." Xu Yuan felt called out. He wanted to retort, but felt that protesting would only make him look defensive. Well, whatever. He wasn't the girl's only older brother. She was definitely talking about Xu Changge, that ice-faced domineering boss. Standing in the center of the room, Luo Xiran's cool gaze shifted slightly upon hearing this. After a brief silence, she snorted coldly. "Forget it. That's who you've always been anyway; ten thousand years haven't changed you in the slightest." Hearing this, Old Man Luo let out a long breath of relief. Having finally smoothed things over, he cast an appreciative look at Xu Xinyao, then shot a cold glare at Xu Yuan before speaking in a low voice: "Xiran, I haven't asked you yet: how have you survived these past ten thousand years? Where were you hiding? Ever since the Great Calamity of the Aberrant Ghosts, I never heard a single word of your whereabouts." Hearing this, a trace of doubt surfaced in Luo Xiran's eyes. "You didn't know?" "Know what?" Old Man Luo was equally puzzled. "..." After meeting his eyes for a moment and seeing that her brother's bewilderment did not seem feigned, Luo Xiran whipped her head around toward the brat sitting on the bed enjoying the show, her gaze turning sharp. "I was in the Silent Crypt the entire time. Brother, you really didn't know about this?" "..." At those words, Xu Yuan instantly sucked in a sharp breath. Uh-oh. The siblings were about to reconcile their accounts. Back in the crypt, he had blamed a whole bunch of things squarely on Old Man Luo. Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Yuan immediately looked toward Old Man Luo. "?" Old Man Luo was puzzled for an instant, but his swift thoughts quickly pieced everything together. This brat knew certain things even better than an old monster like him who had lived ten thousand years; he had probably pinned a bunch of things on him again. Meeting Xu Yuan's gaze, Old Man Luo locked eyes with him for a brief second. Then, He tilted his head directly up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle. There was no way he was taking the fall for this.