Bright white moonlight shone through the cracks in the window, coating the wooden floor of the room in a silvery glow.
Drip drip drip---
Ye Anping woke up with a jolt, his eyes filled with panic as the scene in his dream was still vivid in his mind.
--- Sorrowful wailings sounded everywhere in the Hundred Lotus Sect, and Kong Yulan, who was covered in wounds, was pulling him to the back mountain gate, shoving a storage bag in his hands. "Ping, go to the back mountain and find a place to hide. I will follow you soon..."
--- "Mom, Sister Pei is..."
--- "I will bring her to you in a moment, Ping... you go first, trust me, have I ever lied to you?"
...
This was an extremely real nightmare, so real that Ye Anping felt that it was not a dream, but a memory that had actually happened.
Even now, fully awake from the dream, he still had lingering fears.
Only when he felt the warmth in his left hand, his throbbing heart gradually calmed down.
The warmth that was spreading from his palm to his mind came from the small hand of his sister.
His sister was now lying next to him, holding his left hand tightly and sleeping with a sweet smile on her face.
The moonlight streaming in through the cracks of the window shone on her face, illuminating her delicate skin with a faint glow. The tips of her hair plastered to her cheeks undulated with her slow breathing.
Watching his sister's peaceful sleeping face, Ye Anping gently sidled over and smoothed her hair behind her ear, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Usually, she liked to act spoiled toward him, and he would always say to her, "You are already a big girl, why do you still act like a spoiled baby with me?"
Perhaps she always felt that she was relying on her big brother.
But Ye Anping felt that he was the one relying on his little sister.
Whether it was the matter of 'Wu You slaughtering the Hundred Lotus Sect' or the fact that he had chosen the wrong cultivation method that caused him to have excess yang, he was fortunate to have his sister with him.
If his sister hadn't been there, he probably wouldn't have done the 'ten years of preparation' to kill Wu You at that time.
Ye Anping still remembered how he reacted at the age of three when he awakened the memories of his past life and learned that the Hundred Lotus Sect would be destroyed in the hands of a demonic cultivator named Wu You ten years later.
---Despair and helplessness.
He was so panicked in those days that he even cried and yelled at Ye Ao, telling him about the tragedy that was about to happen to the sect in the future.
Ye Ao thought he was possessed by an evil spirit at the time, so he took him to the Black Star Sect without saying a word. He spent a lot of money to find Dr. Zhou to give him a diagnosis. The final result was 'Convulsions that led to nightmares'. He prescribed some soothing medicine and told Ye Ao to take him back to the Hundred Lotus Sect to recuperate.
Looking back on this matter, Ye Anping also felt that he had been too panicked back then.
If he hadn't been so shocked and explained to Ye Ao calmly and seriously, maybe he would have believed him.
That feeling of being overwhelmed by the knowledge of the future lasted until the day his little sister was brought home by Ye Ao.
...
It was a beautiful, sunny day, a peaceful spring scene in the Hundred Lotus Sect.
Ye Anping sat in the waterside pavilion next to the lotus pond, thinking about what he should do with a depressed look on his face. Xiaodie accompanied him, cracking walnuts for him with walnut pliers.
Click-click-
"Young Master, eat some walnuts. The doctor said that walnuts can replenish the spirit. You won't have nightmares after eating them."
"I don't have nightmares! What I said is true, why don't you all believe me? There really will be a demonic cultivator..."
"Sure, sure." Xiaodie responded with a smile and stuffed the walnut kernels into his mouth, then asked, "Are they sweet? Today's walnuts are particularly sweet."
"..."
---"Anping."
Ye Ao's voice came from the end of the water pavilion corridor, and hearing it, Xiaodie hurriedly got up and retreated behind Ye Anping.
When Ye Anping heard the voice and looked over the direction of the voice, he saw a little figure following behind Ye Ao.
The little figure had a double bun and was just as tall as Ye Ao's thigh. It was now holding on to his father's pants and hiding behind him, looking very afraid of strangers.
Ye Ao walked into the pavilion with the little one, patted her shoulders with his big hand, and pulled her from behind him. "Anping, this girl's name is Pei Lianxue. She is a girl from a family of ordinary farmers that I met when I went out this time. Because she has spiritual roots, I brought her back with me. From now on, she will be your little sister, and you must take good care of her. Do you understand?"
With that, Ye Ao looked down at Pei Lianxue and said, "Little Pei, this boy's name is Ye Anping. He is my only son, one year older than you. He will be your big brother from now on. You must get along well with him, do you understand?"
Pei Lianxue pursed her lips and replied in a mosquito-like voice. "...Yes, Master Ye..."
Ye Ao patted her head and smiled. "Say hello to your big brother."
"...Oh." Pei Lianxue looked at Ye Anping and clutched Ye Ao's pants again. "Master... Big brother, hello..."
"..."
Ye Anping didn't answer, just stared blankly at Pei Lianxue.
Seeing that he hadn't said anything for a long time, Ye Ao was a bit puzzled and called out his name. "Anping! What are you doing? Little Pei said hello to you..."
Before Ye Ao finished speaking, Ye Anping stood up from the stone chair and ran to Pei Lianxue, then grabbed her hand and asked with wide eyes, "Pei Lianxue?!"
Looking at Ye Anping's face in front of her, Pei Lianxue pulled her neck back in fear. She suddenly sniffed, and two big tears squeezed out from her round eyes.
" Sniff ---Whoo...Whoo...Woooaaahhhhhhh---"
With a helpless look, Ye Ao raised his hand to knock Ye Anping on the head.
"Ping, you scared your little sister!"
"Ah..."
"Little Pei, stop crying, he is just too excited." Ye Ao rubbed Pei Lianxue's head, then looked at Xiaodie. "Xiaodie, you will also take care of this girl from now on."
Xiaodie covered her mouth and nodded with a smile. "Yes, Patriarch."
"Alright, you take them to play. I still have matters to deal with."
...
Thinking back to this, Ye Anping couldn't help but smile and sigh in his heart. The little crybaby in his memory had now become a grown-up woman.
He couldn't stop himself from gently sliding his fingers over Pei Lianxue's cheek.
"..."
"Woo..."
Pei Lianxue frowned slightly as if she had been disturbed by him, and her eyes squeezed open a slit.
"Hubby?"
"Did I wake you?"
Pei Lianxue looked at Ye Anping in confusion, and then she turned over and squeezed into his arms. She hugged his waist with force and buried her face in his chest.
"Hug~~"
Feeling a little helpless, Ye Anping shook his head and placed his hand on his sister's back and his chin on the top of her head. He then caressed her hair, softly thanking her. "Little sister, it's so nice to meet you."