Tang Xiaoyu saw Xiao Wu and the others, and their deep embraces made passing ladies giggle incessantly. Only Xiao Wu and the others always treated Tang Xiaoyu as a brother, without any other ideas.
At first, Tang Xiaoyu only considered them as friends for wine and meat. But it was these people who protected him time and time again in battles, saving his life repeatedly. If they were not Tang Xiaoyu's brothers, then what were they?
After exchanging feelings with everyone, Tang Xiaoyu politely declined their enthusiasm.
"Xiao Wu, I will remember your friendship in my heart. If there is an afterlife I will still want to go to the battlefield with you."
"Brother Tang, are you really leaving today?"
"Yes, there are no more ties or regrets in my heart. It's time for me to be on my way back."
"Well, then!"
After saying goodbye to Xiao Wu and the others, Tang Xiaoxue rushed into Tang Xiaoyu's arms.
"Brother, I miss you so much!"
Tang Xiaoyu looked at his sister who was one size bigger: "Xiaoxue has grown into a young lady. Brother feels reassured now. You still have to keep working hard on your cultivation!"
Tang Xiaoxue pouted: "I'm obviously very strong already, okay? It's just you, brother, looking down on me."
Tang Xiaoyu smiled bitterly: "Alright, alright, our Xiaoxue is the most powerful."
Seeing Tang Xiaoyu's appearance, Tang Xiaoxue's tears fell again: "It's all because Xiaoxue is useless, making brother suffer so much."
Tang Xiaoyu comforted: "It has nothing to do with you. This is just my fate, you can't decide it."
"Brother is leaving. Xiaoxue, you have to take good care of yourself. If anything happens, go to Qingshan Town under the Yinming Sect governed by Tianxuan Sect and find me at Qingshan Daoist Temple."
"Brother, are you leaving again? Why are you always in such a hurry?"
Tang Xiaoyu stroked his sister's head: "You've grown up now. You have your own life, and I have my own path to take. Brother is just a passerby in your life."
Saying so, he turned and left: "Take good care of yourself, don't send me off, don't think of me."
Watching Tang Xiaoyu's lonely back, Tang Xiaoxue shouted: "Brother, you have to take good care of yourself too!"
"Alright."
Hearing this simple reply, Tang Xiaoxue could no longer hold back her tears: "Why are you always wandering everywhere? Why can't you stop and rest your feet? Why can't you ask them just once?"
"Just ask them once, only once. Then you won't have to wander everywhere, you can just live a stable life. Why do you have to be so stubborn and refuse to lower your head?"
By the end Tang Xiaoxue was a little out of control, shouting loudly: "Why is this?"
Tang Xiaoyu did not look back. He just strode steadily toward the city gates until his figure could no longer be seen. Only then did Tang Xiaoxue slowly calm her emotions.
"Who is that person? How can he make Senior Sister Tang act like this?"
"Shhh—be quieter. That is Senior Sister Tang's brother. The person Senior Sister Tang admires and respects the most is him, her brother."
"So that's Senior Sister Tang's brother? He looks so ordinary! They don't look like siblings at all?"
"Quick, stop talking. Senior Sister Tang is coming."
Tang Xiaoxue walked up to the crowd and said coldly, "What were you just saying?"
Without waiting for anyone to answer, she directly beat the few who had just been speaking several dozen meters away.
"You bunch of muddleheaded things. You think my brother is someone you can casually gossip about?" Having said that she turned around and left.
Only when Tang Xiaoxue had gone far away did the others dare to go help prop those people up.
"Senior Sister Tang who is usually so amiable and always smiling—what was up with her today?"
"You don't know? Because of her brother!"
"So from now on, let's discuss her brother's matters less."
"Right, less discussion."
Old Zhou watched the situation here unfold clearly and murmured, "This is the prelude to becoming devilish! I must discuss with fellow disciples and seniors and see what to do."
Tang Xiaoxue didn't understand and couldn't understand—how her brother who was willing to trample his dignity and pride underfoot, especially spineless and loved to concede, could not lower his body to ask others.
"Previously, I felt that Heaven was very unfair to our siblings. Later I found that Heaven was only unfair to you."
"Since you are unwilling to lower your head, I will make all human beings beneath your feet. Whoever dares to block my path, I will kill them."
The formerly low-profile, easygoing girl was already gone, replaced by a powerful, cold, and arrogant Tang Xiaoxue who had stepped onto history's stage.
Did Tang Xiaoxue's transformation blame Tang Xiaoyu? What wrong had Tang Xiaoyu done?
But some people didn't see it that way. They pushed all the responsibility onto Tang Xiaoyu.
Tang Xiaoyu had said that we can admit defeat, but should not lose courage. This contains a lot of meaning, depending on how one understands it.
But Tang Xiaoxue would neither understand nor try to understand it.
That is a story for later.
As for Tang Xiaoyu now, he currently felt light and carefree, even his steps seemed to ride the wind. There were no more ties in his heart, and everything he saw was beautiful.
Walking on the road back, his mind contemplated how to trick a few decent saplings back.
Arriving at a village, just about to ingratiate himself into a household, he heard a little girl crying.
He traced the sound, and saw two 11-12 year old girls walking toward him.
So Tang Xiaoyu went over and gently asked, "What's the matter with you two?"
"Uncle, I'm so hungry. Am I going to starve to death?" said the smaller girl, crying.
The bigger girl comforted, "Sister will not let you starve to death. We'll walk one more day, then we can reach White Tiger City where the immortals uncle and auntie mentioned have a lot of food. They will definitely give us some alms."
"At that time, sister will go work for people again, earn a lot of money, buy you clothes, buy a big house."
"If there's a chance, sister will even send you to cultivate, then in the future you'll be able to protect sister."
How familiar these words were, what a similar scene. Tang Xiaoyu lamented, "Reality is always so similar, yet destinies are completely different."
"Are you two willing to cultivate with me? I can't make you immortal, but I can make sure you have enough to eat."
Hearing they could eat their fill, the two girls' eyes lit up at once. "Uncle, can you really make sure Wenwen and sister have enough to eat?"
"I can. So are you willing to cultivate with uncle?"
Wenwen said, "Willing, willing! As long as we can eat our fill, we're willing to do anything."
Tang Xiaoyu looked at the older girl, "Are you willing?"
"If I cultivate with you, will I be able to get revenge in the future?"
"What revenge?"
"Vengeance for our village's massacre."
"By who?"
"A bunch of bandits, and an immortal."
Tang Xiaoyu was a little puzzled. Since there were cultivators, how did they escape?
"Then how did you two escape?"
The girl said, "We didn't escape, we were set free."
Tang Xiaoyu was even more confused.
"Why did he let you go?"
"Because that immortal gave us a chance for revenge, so he didn't kill us."
"What did that immortal look like? Do you still remember?"
"He wore black robes with a mask on his head, couldn't see his appearance. But that figure, those eyes—I'll never forget them."
Tang Xiaoyu thought inwardly: [Doesn't even understand the logic of nipping trouble in the bud? Hmph! It's better there's more of these half-wits.]
"You will definitely have your revenge in the future. As for the bandits' revenge, I can help you accomplish that now."
The girl knelt down. "Disciple Hao Shanshan pays respects to Master."
Wenwen also copied her sister's manner, "Disciple Hao Wenwen pays respects to Master."
Tang Xiaoyu only wanted to be an abbot, he didn't want to be a master. "I am your abbot. Your master is Xiao Hei. But that said, you can be considered my disciples too."
"Get up now!"
"Yes, Master."
"Call me Abbot."
"Yes, Abbot."
Tang Xiaoyu was very satisfied. Two disciples had finally fallen into his hands.