Chief, don't hit me in the face

Chapter 2: The Beautiful Older Sister

A crowd of neighbors had gathered to watch. “Sister!” Xia Ye rushed over in a panic, lowering his head as he prepared to charge into the house. “Quick, stop him! Don’t interfere with my son’s cultivation breakthrough!” A woman screamed. Under normal circumstances, no one would pay any attention to Aunt Xia, but times had changed. If Xia Qi succeeded in breaking through, he would reach the Body Tempering Realm, qualify to live in the main city, and lead a life of privilege. If not now, when else would be the time to curry favor with Aunt Xia? A dozen or so hands reached out brutally toward Xia Ye. “Don’t hurt my brother!” Just as Xia Ye was about to lash out, he heard his sister’s voice from behind. He ducked his head, twisted his body like a fish, and slipped out of the crowd. Xia Lingyue stood by the side of the street, unharmed. “Sister!” A smile crept across Xia Ye’s face. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Xia Lingyue looked worried. “What’s going on?” Xia Ye frowned and looked at their thatched cottage: “Why is Xia Qi trying to break through a cultivation level right here at our place?” Vital energy is a form of energy. There is a certain type of person who can sense it and, by using secret techniques to draw it in, can continuously temper themselves and enhance their life potential. These people are known as sorcerers. The first step in harnessing Yuan Qi is to strengthen the body—hence the term “Body Tempering Realm.” As a sorcerer advances through the ranks, their power gradually increases until they reach the terrifying level of one thousand shi, at which point their inner breath flows ceaselessly and their exhaled breath shoots out like an arrow, capable of inflicting injury! During this same period, a sorcerer must also practice certain secret arts to hone their spiritual awareness. When they become impervious to all evils and untouched by impurity, they reach the Great Perfection of the Spiritual Awareness Realm. Thereafter, the body and spiritual awareness harmonize and resonate, fusing into a single entity—this is the “Hunyuan Realm.” The most obvious change for a sorcerer at this level is an extended lifespan. In this era of harsh survival, the average lifespan of an ordinary person is no more than forty years, yet a sorcerer at the Hun Yuan Realm can easily live to seventy, and their prime years can be extended by a full half. Not beginning to age until the age of sixty—this is something anyone would dream of. Above the Hun Yuan Realm lies the Hero Realm. Heroes are the backbone and very foundation of every tribe; the number of heroes directly determines a tribe’s strength. Xia Lingyue wore a bitter smile. “My son Qi is training to advance his cultivation at your place—that’s a sign of respect for you!” Aunt Xia eyed Xia Lingyue with disdain, finding her more and more objectionable the longer she looked. “Then get lost!” Xia Ye was annoyed. “Xia Ye, how dare you speak to your elders like that?” The neighbors chimed in one after another, criticizing Xia Ye’s behavior and praising Aunt Xia for raising such a fine, upstanding son. “Hmph!” Flattered by the crowd’s fawning, Aunt Xia grew even more haughty. With her sharp chin held high, she was just about to lecture the siblings again—to teach them how to address her properly—when she saw Xia Qi stride out of the thatched hut with the confidence of a tiger. “My brilliant son, did you succeed?” Aunt Xia, her face beaming with ecstasy and pride, threw herself into her son’s arms. “Mm-hmm!” Xia Qi showed no trace of smug satisfaction; he merely gave a curt reply before his gaze swept the area and settled on Xia Lingyue, who stood by the side of the street. She wore a long hemp dress—patched but freshly laundered—and her long hair was tied back with a rattan cord, yet on this girl, the outfit exuded a natural, unadorned beauty. “I just can’t get enough of her!” Xia Qi marveled. Standing there, Xia Lingyue—with her gentle eyes and soft brows, her murmuring lips, and that serene, unassuming aura—was like an elegant little song, singing of a half-moon shrouded in mist on an autumn night! “Ling Yue, I’ve done it—I’ve reached the Grand Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm!” Xia Qi straightened his back, placing one hand behind his back in an attempt to project an air of strength, though his gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the hem of Xia Lingyue’s skirt. Though she wore a pair of straw sandals, the young girl’s slender feet, damp with rain, were snow-white. Xia Lingyue furrowed her dark brows slightly and took a step back. Xia Qi laughed carefree. He had deliberately chosen to break through at Xia Lingyue’s home precisely to let her witness his excellence. He smoothed out his clothes, struck his most dashing pose, and walked toward Xia Lingyue, coming to a halt about ten meters away from her, his gaze fixed intently on her. “Xia Lingyue, I’ve come to marry you!” Wow! The neighbors gasped in surprise—no one had expected Xia Qi to propose at that moment. Especially the young women of marriageable age, whose eyes brimmed with envy and jealousy as they looked at Xia Lingyue. But that wasn’t all! Xia Qi pulled a small wooden box from his pocket, opened it, and a bronze ring immediately came into view. Tick-tock! Raindrops fell, wetting the ring, but it remained completely undamaged; on the contrary, the patterns became even more beautiful and dazzling. “Why not me?” The girls cried out in despair; they felt that if they had been the ones proposed to in such a way, they would have fainted from happiness long ago. “Qi’er!” Aunt Xia’s voice trembled. This ring was exquisitely crafted and magnificently designed; on the market, it would easily fetch fifty dao coins. That was a fortune—enough to buy half a year’s worth of food for a family of two! To think it had been given to Xia Lingyue just like that—she simply couldn’t accept it. “Ling Yue！” Xia Qi paid no heed to his mother’s words, instead gazing tenderly at Xia Lingyue. In that moment, he felt as though he were the very embodiment of a romantic hero—so cool he could make a whole crowd of young girls swoon. The long street fell silent; everyone was waiting for a beautiful story to unfold. Some were even already wondering if the Xia Qi family would throw a wedding banquet. “I’m sorry!” Xia Lingyue refused. “Given how stingy Aunt Xia is, I’m afraid there wouldn’t be much meat on the menu!” The neighbors’ daydreams were suddenly interrupted. One by one, they looked up in astonishment at Xia Lingyue, their expressions as if they’d just seen a mouse snatch away a juicy piece of meat right from their mouths. Xia Ye, who had remained silent the whole time, let a faint smile play at the corners of his mouth. “Why?” Aunt Xia shrieked, her voice high-pitched and shrill, brimming with anger and bewilderment—like a madam who’d just seen a young prostitute she’d trained for over a decade suddenly lured away by a man. The atmosphere turned awkward, especially for the neighbors gathered around Aunt Xia to offer their congratulations—it was as if they’d been slapped hard across the face. “What?” All the lines Xia Qi had prepared were stuck in his throat, leaving his mouth gaping wide like a catfish floundering on the shore, on the verge of death. He had no idea how to respond. “I’m sorry, I can’t marry you!” This time, Xia Lingyue’s voice was much louder, and it carried a resolve as unyielding as metal or stone, leaving no room for doubt: “Xiao Yezi, let’s go home!” “You worthless woman, how dare you be so ungrateful!” Aunt Xia lunged forward, one hand twisting toward Xia Lingyue’s face and the other grabbing her hair; she felt her finest son had been humiliated. Xia Ye stepped forward to block the woman. “You’re nothing but a good-for-nothing—what’s there to be proud of? The fact that my son would even look at you is a blessing you’ve earned over ten lifetimes!” Aunt Xia launched into a tirade, spit flying everywhere. She disapproved of this marriage, but that didn’t give Xia Lingyue the right to refuse! “Hey!” Xia Ye was fed up. “Don’t fight!” Xia Lingyue grabbed Xia Ye’s arm, worried he’d get the short end of the stick. “What? You want to fight me? Go ahead! My son is at the Grand Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm—and you? You’re nothing but a good-for-nothing!” Aunt Xia puffed out her chest, her triangular eyes brimming with contempt: “Pfft, the Xia family’s two good-for-nothings—just as I thought, you’re a lost cause!” “Don’t hit him!” Xia Lingyue clung tightly to Xia Ye’s arm. She knew her brother’s temperament—he might not care how badly he was insulted, but the moment it involved her, he’d get furious. Snicker! Someone burst out laughing. “The Xia Family’s Two Good-for-Nothings”—that was the most common perception people in the slums had of this sister and brother. Xia Lingyue was the daughter of Xia Wu’an, once the greatest hero of the Xia Tribe. Yet she herself was a “blank slate”—not a single trace of vital energy could be sensed in her. It was a complete waste of her bloodline, which is why some people joked that she might actually be the child of Old Wang from next door, dragging Xia Wu’an into a situation that was both troublesome to handle and even harder to resolve! Although this was a frontier expedition and the vanguard troops were unfamiliar with the Wasteland, water sources, mineral veins, and arable land were all hotly contested areas. Consequently, many vanguard troops built tribes in these locations, leading to bloody conquests and battles. Only the ultimate victor would be entitled to raise the tribe’s totem banner! There were more than a dozen clans near the Xia Tribe. Setting aside the fighting between these Pioneers of different surnames, even within the Xia Tribe itself, unity was far from guaranteed. When hundreds of people pour into the Wilderness to compete, even if Xia Lingyue has the utmost faith in her younger brother’s talent, she would still welcome an additional ally. “I could even introduce him to Xia Jie!” Xia Qi chuckled lightly, then dropped another bombshell. A wave of gasps swept through the crowd! Xia Jie was the youngest son of Clan Chief Xia Song. Possessing outstanding talent, he was hailed as the future of the clan. Anyone who could serve under him would undoubtedly become a key figure in the Xia clan in the future. For her younger brother’s sake, Xia Lingyue was willing to sacrifice herself, but just as she was about to speak, Xia Ye took a step forward and stood in front of her. “You—of all people—dare to claim you’re protecting me?” Xia Ye curled his lip, then, without another word to Xia Qi, took Xia Lingyue’s hand and led her toward the thatched hut. The warmth of his body seeped through her fingertips, soothing her heart. Watching her younger brother’s imposing, towering figure recede into the distance, Xia Lingyue pressed her lips together. At a time like this, a man must take charge! Watching the girl he loved walk right past him, her eyes fixed only on his younger brother, Xia Qi could no longer bear such contempt and humiliation. He roared. “You’ll regret this!” Xia Lingyue paid no heed; she had a big secret she couldn’t wait to share with her younger brother!