Chapter 38: Brother, Are You Attracted to Her?
Ever since you returned from that battlefield, you had never deliberately practiced martial arts again.
You practiced only for self-preservation, not for fame or achievement.
You simply focused on living your life; when you felt like eating, you would go to the Xianzhou market to buy ingredients.
Then you would cook them according to your own ideas.
The ingredients of Xianzhou were quite different from those of Blue Star, but after several years of experimentation, you still managed to recreate traditional dishes with flavors close to those of Huaxia cuisine.
This taste, so different from the Xianzhou style, was greatly loved by your junior sister…
You watched Fu Xuan eat with relish; at this point, there was no longer any need to add the prefix "little."
Aside from her slightly shorter stature, the girl was no different from an adult.
However, having watched her grow up, she felt few restraints in front of you.
Look at how she eats…
Ahem, it's rather cute.
"Senior Brother? Why are you staring at me instead of eating?"
The girl's cute face flushed slightly; being watched while eating still made her feel a bit…
Embarrassed.
"Hm, seeing my junior sister whom I raised gives this senior brother a great sense of accomplishment…"
"Hmph… It's all Senior Brother's fault; now I don't want to eat anyone else's cooking…"
She muttered with her mouth full, yet she was very happy.
After dinner, she took care of clearing the table; that small courtyard inside the academy felt like her home as well as yours.
Of course, she mainly came to freeload food…
And to listen to stories; your repertoire of stories had been told for more than ten years without repetition.
Listening to your stories was also a rare moment of relaxation for her.
As the saying goes: "Full stomach, empty mind"…
The plump girl, listening to those magnificent tales, soon fell sound asleep on the stone table.
You were not startled; as always, you draped a coat over her and carried her home on your back.
Just like that little girl back then.
On the way to Fu Xuan's residence, in a place you did not notice,
the girl on your back quietly opened her eyes, her cheeks flushed. How could someone be carried around for so many years and never realize it?
But you had no special thoughts; it was simple—you just didn't want her to catch a cold.
However, you overlooked one thing: long-lived species do not have minor troubles like catching colds…
That was not important.
You carried the girl along a path you had walked countless times, sending her home.
In your eyes, Fu Xuan was no different from two years ago, except that she was a bit heavier.
You were nearly forty; although you had taken medicines to extend your lifespan, your appearance no longer possessed the youthful vigor of the past.
Sometimes, when you met acquaintances on the road, some strangers even mistook the girl on your back for your daughter rather than your junior sister.
Whenever this happened, you would simply smile without saying anything.
The lives of Xianzhou people are always very long.
Thus, there is not the same urgency toward marriage as on Blue Star; long-lived species do not believe much in love…
After all, a long road tests a horse's strength, and long time reveals a person's heart.
As years pass, partners who can maintain their passion are, in the end, only a minority.
Most loves do not last as long as the lives of Xianzhou people.
The reason love is mentioned is that over the next two years, your life did not experience many fluctuations.
Aside from teaching, you spent time with your junior sister.
And before the lie you told your junior sister years ago was exposed…
There was a small incident that left a deep impression on you:
It was night, and the light within the cavern-sky had dimmed. You and Fu Xuan, engrossed in a game of Monopoly adapted from Xianzhou culture, had played until then.
Seeing that night had fallen, you were about to send your junior sister home.
However, a matchmaker led a foxian girl into the academy.
"Mr. Su, would you like a wife?"
She went straight to the point and asked whether you wanted a wife…
Even with your quick mind, caught off guard, your brain froze for a moment.
"This Lady Juan is a famous beauty in Xianzhou… If you just say the word, tomorrow will be your wedding night."
You scratched your head and looked at the young and pretty foxian woman who, upon hearing the matchmaker's words, blushed and lowered her gaze.
You felt no inner stirrings; love was not a necessity of life, and you were perfectly content alone.
Moreover, you were not alone.
You were just about to think of a polite reason to refuse…
But then you heard the matchmaker say, "Lady Juan, although this gentleman is short-lived, his family is wealthy, and he is talented and handsome… Moreover, Mr. Su has never married…"
Hearing this, the foxian girl gently lifted her gaze, her watery eyes casting a soft look at you.
You swore you only looked at her a couple more times out of curiosity—after all, you had never closely observed a foxian before…
"Dad…"
Suddenly a voice came from behind you; you were sure it was your junior sister's voice.
Then you felt a pair of small hands tugging at the back of your clothes.
The matchmaker stiffened, eyes wide open, muttering "bad luck." "Who said this young man was chaste? His daughter is already so grown…"
She then grumbled and led the foxian girl toward the door.
You looked at the girl behind you in surprise.
The girl's face instantly turned red; she seemed to realize she had overreacted.
When did I have such an adult daughter? If Grandpa Fu heard this, wouldn't he be furious…?
"Hmph, let him hear it."
The girl turned her flushed face away, not daring to meet your eyes, yet her words remained very direct.
"Or maybe my senior brother actually wanted to find me an elder sister, and that foxian woman just now was to his liking…"
The girl's tone carried the sourness of plum juice from dinner.
"Uh… not really. This senior brother never had such thoughts."
You scratched your nose, a little embarrassed, but truly you had no such intentions…
"Hmph, that's good then…"
When the girl crossed her arms and let out a "hmph," she exuded a powerful aura, making you see the shadow of the Great Diviner with the Dharma Eye upon her brow.
You couldn't help but feel a little dazed…
After that, as usual, you sent her home.
After all, during wartime, it was uncertain whether spies or similar threats had infiltrated.
Compared to later events, this small interlude was merely a trivial occurrence in daily life.
When you recalled it later, it still remained vividly clear.
That year, Fu Xuan should have been around twenty-one…
Her divination abilities had reached an unparalleled level, and her predictions were extremely accurate—enough for her to graduate from the Commission of Divination.
But that day…
Once again, you did not wait for the girl who would normally rush straight to your academy after returning from the Commission of Divination.
Instead, once again, you saw Fu Xuan crying by the Ancient Sea in your Precognition.
You rushed over and asked what had happened…
"Senior Brother… it turns out… you were lying to me."
"Master will still die because of me…"
You froze; paper cannot wrap fire forever—this day was destined to come.