Chapter 98: Deep Affection Between Sister and Brother

1:00 AM—

Xiaoxiao went downstairs to get water and passed by the door.

2:00 AM—

Taozi was running around outside.

3:00 AM—

Someone outside was setting off fireworks; it was almost the New Year, and there were always people who didn't follow the beaten path, wanting to be the only fireworks in the night sky.

4:00 AM—

Chen Shu's breathing grew heavier, and his eyes began to move beneath his eyelids; the duration of the medicine's effect seemed to be shorter for him than for others.

5:00 AM—

Chen Shu began to make occasional small movements.

At the same time, Xiaoxiao went to the bathroom and was discovered by the Night Watch Officer, Taozi Daren. The human and the cat engaged in a battle—one side perfunctory, the other intense—and in the end, Taozi Daren successfully chased Xiaoxiao, who wasn't sleeping properly, back into her room.

Then Taozi began doing parkour outside.

6:00 AM—

Chen Shu turned over to sleep on his side, and one hand naturally wrapped around his own waist.

By this time, the room's lights had long been turned off, and the house was pitch black. Ning Qing opened her eyes in the darkness, reaching out to move Chen Shu's hand away; her hand even hovered above Chen Shu's arm, but she hesitated for a moment and pulled it back.

Just let him hold it for a while.

Anyway, he wouldn't know.

7:00 AM—

The sky over Bai City was just beginning to brighten, and faint movements could be heard from outside the courtyard; the little girl had also gotten up, and her footsteps sounded outside the bedroom door from time to time.

Chen Shu opened his eyes.

The curtains were not thick enough, and a faint light filtered in; the room was slightly dim, but the Table Lamp by the desk in front was on, casting a warm, eye-protecting glow. A slender figure sat quietly with her back to him, holding A Book in her hands.

The scene was very quiet and beautiful.

"Mmm~~"

Chen Shu groaned and stretched.

Then he opened his mouth and said to Qingqing:

"Morning, Qingqing."

"Morning."

Ning Qing's faint response came from the front, but she continued reading, not turning her head.

Chen Shu moved his limbs, feeling no lack of coordination, and checked the state of his brain; it seemed fine, though it was hard to say for sure—if there were a problem, it would be hard for him to notice, and even if someone pointed it out, he might not necessarily believe it.

His body was no longer in pain.

His Spirit Sea was also more than half repaired, no longer feeling torn or bloated, and it was basically able to function normally; his current Spirit Power content was about 70%, neither more nor less.

Some hazy memories flooded his mind.

Chen Shu pondered for a few seconds and said to Qingqing, "I think I held you last night... was that a hallucination, or was I dreaming?"

Ning Qing looked down at her book and did not respond.

Chen Shu scratched his head, lifted the quilt to get out of bed, and asked:

"Have you washed up?"

"I have."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Hot and sour rice noodles; I bought sweet potato and pea starch."

"Hot and sour rice noodles again... I told you that needs a pot of rich broth to be good, preferably with pork intestines, knotted tripe, and tender bean sprouts. If we start preparing it this morning, we won't be able to eat until at least noon," Chen Shu said helplessly. "How about I go back and simmer the broth at noon, and you come eat in the evening?"

"Mm."

"By the way—"

Chen Shu had already walked behind her and grinned, revealing a bright smile: "Your waist is so soft, so comfortable..."

Qingqing pursed her lips tightly and turned the page.

"Haha..."

Chen Shu laughed and walked toward the bathroom.

At this moment, Ning Qing's voice came: "The faucet in my bathroom is broken; go use the one downstairs."

"Got it."

So Chen Shu walked out of the bedroom.

A long-haired white cat was squatting in the hallway outside, looking up at him, its eyes suddenly turning blank.

"Morning, Taozi."

"Ah~"

"Didn't expect me to come out of your owner's room, did you? I told you already, I'm your real owner, but you didn't believe me..." Chen Shu said to it while giving it a light kick, then headed downstairs. "Better start sucking up to me, or I'll make things difficult for you later."

"Woof!"

Taozi's gaze followed him, full of confusion.

He arrived downstairs.

The TV was on, playing a documentary.

The little girl was sitting on the sofa; hearing footsteps, she turned to look at him and blinked, but there was still no expression on her face. It took two seconds before she greeted him:

"Morning, brother-in-law."

"Morning."

"Where is my sister?"

"She's in her room."

"She's not awake yet?"

After the little girl finished speaking, she pressed her lips tightly together; usually, her sister woke up very early in the morning.

The world of adults is truly complicated.

The little girl's gaze followed her brother-in-law's figure, watching him walk into the bathroom, close the door behind him, then she heard him let out a loud cry of Surprise, followed by a clatter as he opened the door and ran upstairs, his figure disappearing from before her eyes.

The little girl continued watching the documentary.

The documentary was about things from a hundred years ago.

A hundred years ago, the Ninth Stage was different from how it is now.

Nowadays, the militaries of major countries possess the power to confront a Ninth Stage without deploying a Ninth Stage, though ordinary major countries only possess the power to confront one.

For example, a carrier strike group equipped with a large number of Hunting Fighter aircraft, possessing high-intensity Defense Barrier, and configured with a large amount of targeted weaponry. Various types of ships working in coordination can, with high probability, defeat a Ninth Stage head-on at sea, but this is only established under the condition that the Ninth Stage is discovered and a direct confrontation occurs.

If a Ninth Stage hides their tracks and fights a guerrilla war, or avoids the fight, there is nothing you can do.

Only superpowers like Yiguo and Lan Country possess the military strength to actively discover, track, and hunt down Ninth Stage Cultivator.

And there is more than one way.

Take Yiguo for example; at least the major fleets at sea and the deep-sea fortresses can defeat a Ninth Stage, but they are the same—they only possess the strength to defeat a Ninth Stage head-on and do not possess the strength to actively hunt one down. But besides that, there is the Air Force's Sky Aircraft Carrier; once a Ninth Stage is discovered on land, do not expect to be able to outfly a Hunting Fighter formation designed specifically for you.

These Hunting Fighter aircraft are designed specifically for flight and are naturally more agile than the human body; with the development of technology, they have also become faster than a Ninth Stage can fly.

They also have thick Defense Barrier, engraved with various types of Defense Rune, and carry powerful Spirit Power attack weapons. If the target of the hunt is a Ninth Stage, they will also carry Zhan Lue Wu Qi designed and improved based on the strongest lethal Secret Technique of the various ancient systems.

Most importantly, there are many of them—

If hunting a Ninth Stage, it is at least a hundred aircraft.

I ask you, are you afraid?

In essence, this is the collision between the collective power of a large number of modern mid-to-high-level Cultivator and the individual martial power of a Ninth Stage Cultivator; the scales of victory have slowly tipped toward the former as time has passed, and the gap is bound to grow ever larger.

It is not that fighter aircraft defeated the Cultivator, but that the collective defeated the individual; it is the new era defeating the old era.

But a hundred years ago, it was not like this.

At that time, the only thing in the world that could defeat a Ninth Stage was another Ninth Stage.

Yet, under such circumstances, after the end of the Third World War, the then Emperor of the Ming Sect, as one of the strongest Ninth Stage in the world, used the prestige of victory to suppress opposition from different classes across the country and took the initiative to change this seven-hundred-year-old empire into a constitutional monarchy.

He should have reached the pinnacle from this, yet he voluntarily laid down his power.

This is a remarkable thing.

But he succeeded.

And facts have consistently proven his correctness.

The little girl was watching very intently, her eyes flickering, but the voice of her brother-in-law coming from the top floor gradually stole her attention:

"Why have you become so naughty?

"Drawing so much on me! And drawing it so ugly?

"I can't even wash it off!

"Hurry up and come help me wash it!

"Scrub lighter!!"

The little girl clenched her fists, her expression serious, hoping her brother-in-law would give her sister a beating!

……

Chen Banxia curled her whole body up in the quilt, revealing only her head, her face round and puffy, her skin snow-white and delicate, her eyes fixed on the balcony; she couldn't help but think again about a question she had been pondering for the past few days but would forget as soon as she got out of bed—

Why do these Sausage and Cured Meat have to be hung on my balcony?

As soon as you open the window, all you smell is the scent of meat!

There are clearly so many other balconies in the house!

Chen Jiaoshou and Wei Lvshi didn't contribute any effort at all, so they should be hung on their balcony instead, let them smell this odor!

Or hang them on Chen Shu's balcony.

He is young, so he should be bullied.

I am clearly the older sister, why is it that every time I encounter this kind of thing, I am the one being pushed around? When I get up later, I must reason with him; the order of seniority and the distinction between superior and inferior must be firmly established!

By the way—

My younger brother went out after lunch yesterday and seems not to have returned all night; where did he go? I sent him a Feixin message last night to ask, but he didn't reply at all.

Ah……

Chen Banxia felt as if a cat were scratching at her heart.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from outside.

Chen Jiaoshou and Wei Lvshi should still be in the process of paying New Year's calls to friends and won't be back until the afternoon; it must be that impolite younger brother who has returned.

Chen Banxia scrambled up, wearing her pajamas, opened the door, and poked half her body out.

The house was incomparably quiet, with only her younger brother walking in.

"You didn't come back last night?"

"I came back."

"Liar!"

"Then why did you ask."

"I was testing if you were honest!" Chen Banxia immediately accused him, then instantly transformed into a gossiping expression, arching her eyebrows, "Where did you go last night?"

"Adult matters, children shouldn't interfere."

"Adult... child..." Chen Banxia was directly angered to death on the spot, "Have you gone stupid!?"

"What's wrong?"

"I am the older sister!!"

"Alright, alright..."

Chen Shu glanced at this older sister with a round face and big eyes, who looked no more than two years older than Xiaoxiao, and asked casually:

"Have you eaten breakfast?"

"No."

"I bought steamed buns and soy milk."

"Oh! You're still considered filial!"

"Where are Chen Jiaoshou and Wei Lvshi?"

"They went to visit friends for the New Year. It's already the 29th today; they originally planned to take you, but you didn't come back all night, and I didn't want to get up..." Chen Banxia took the steamed buns while speaking, then paused, "Right, you didn't come back all night! Were you at Qingqing's place?"

"I went to the arena to pull an all-nighter."

"Liar!"

"Then why did you ask."

"Ah! My younger brother has grown up..."

"What are we eating for lunch?"

"I don't know, I'll eat whatever you make." Chen Banxia bit into a steamed bun, "The meat left over from the stir-fried Sausage before was so delicious."

"Don't even think about that, we only have that once a year."

"But it's delicious!"

"Next year we'll roast it; it's also especially delicious roasted." Chen Shu thought for a moment, "How about I boil some bone broth for lunch? How about I make you hot and sour glass noodles for dinner? You said a few days ago that you wanted to eat hot and sour glass noodles; as your younger brother, of course I have to spoil you."

"When did I say I wanted to eat hot and sour glass noodles?"

"A few days ago."

"Did I?"

"You did!"

Chen Banxia frowned and thought about it strangely, but didn't pursue it further: "Fine, fine, I'll count you as filial for remembering what I wanted to eat..."

"It's only right."

"Tsk!"

Chen Banxia felt a bit moved again.

While feeling moved, she also felt a bit strange, as if there was something else she had forgotten.