Nineteen days later.
“Senior Brother, can you hurry up a little?”
A slightly complaining voice rang out. Lin Shengyu stood on a patch of barren land on Western Peak, with Yun Hao in white following behind her. He was carrying a large bundle of saplings, walking slowly.
For the past several days, the two of them had been living together. During the day, they usually spent half the time with each other—sometimes chatting idly, sometimes with Lin Shengyu taking him around to wander. The remaining half of the day was spent cultivating.
In all this time, neither of them had brought up why Yun Hao wasn’t returning to Sect Master Peak. Yun Hao himself didn’t want to recall those painful memories, while Lin Shengyu acted as if she didn’t care at all. As long as he stayed by her side, everything was fine.
Over these ten-odd days, the youth had gradually regained control of his emotions. He temporarily buried his senior sister deep in his heart and stopped thinking about her, slowly covering the wound inside.
At the same time, Yun Hao was moved by his junior sister’s thoughtfulness. After all, anyone would be curious, yet Yu’er never asked. She always tried to make him feel as comfortable as possible, which made him feel that he should treat her even better.
However, her lively and mischievous nature had recently resurfaced. The gentle and graceful demeanor from that day seemed to have been an act. As a result, the slight shyness Lin Shengyu had shown in the previous days had completely disappeared. She was once again like she had been two years ago, before Elder Lin passed away—lively, active, and full of clever mischief.
“Yu’er, I already told you, who plants peach trees in winter? Let’s wait until spring next year.”
Yun Hao’s voice carried a trace of helpless exasperation. A few days ago, while chatting with her, he had accidentally sparked her desire to reorganize Western Peak. She felt the mountain looked too desolate. Now that Yun Hao was living here with her, the cave abode needed more life. The entire Western Peak should feel more alive too—otherwise, it was too bare and ugly.
She hadn’t had this thought before. The idea only came into being because of her senior brother, but she was too embarrassed to say it directly. In the end, she simply acted willfully—she was going to plant them no matter what.
Lin Shengyu listened to him with a hint of grievance. Why was her senior brother so dense? She was doing all this for the two of them. In nine months, she would turn eighteen. After that… they would get married. Even though there were only the two of them on this mountain, this would be the only wedding she would ever have in her life. She still wanted to marry him in a grand and proper way. Although she still didn’t know what her senior brother was thinking… she was going to marry him anyway. The marriage document was right there.
“I’ll water them with spiritual power every day. They’ll survive,” she said, somewhat dissatisfied.
Seeing his junior sister starting to throw a small tantrum, Yun Hao could only feel helpless. He slowly caught up to her.
“Yu’er, I already said we should plant the saplings properly first. Watering them with spiritual power every day would be troublesome. Besides, although these peach trees bloom beautifully, they’re still not as lively as ones that grow naturally.” He tried to explain patiently, but Lin Shengyu simply ignored him.
“Senior Brother, do you think I’m annoying? Are you saying you can’t stay here anymore because of me…?” She deliberately picked at him, her tone carrying a trace of girlish annoyance.
She knew her senior brother well—he was soft-hearted. As long as she acted a little weak and pitiful, he would feel sorry for her. She even blinked her eyes a few times, squeezing out a few tears for good measure.
Lin Shengyu had grasped Yun Hao’s weakness perfectly. He truly couldn’t stand seeing his junior sister being bullied. Even if he wasn’t the one bullying her, seeing her like this still filled him with guilt and made him want to give in. Yun Hao was helpless. He realized that sometimes, his junior sister really had him completely wrapped around her finger.
“Yu’er, why are you saying such nonsense again? I was just trying to remind you.” After a pause, he sighed and gave in with a trace of resignation. “Fine, fine. We’ll plant them.”
He gently set the bundle of saplings down, preparing to plant them right there.
(Hmph~ Senior Brother is still completely under my control.)
The girl felt pleased with herself. She had been genuinely happy these past few days. Her senior brother had been staying by her side the whole time. Lin Shengyu was secretly delighted that Yun Hao didn’t scold her for it. She dropped her pitiful act and suddenly smiled. While murmuring to herself, she cherished this moment with him even more.
“I knew Senior Brother was the best.”
Hearing that, Yun Hao smiled indulgently and said nothing more.
Lin Shengyu looked at the terrain and decided this spot was good. Once the peach forest grew out in the future, it would probably be the most beautiful sight here. Then she could lead her senior brother to lie down together in the peach forest for an entire day.
The more the girl thought about it, the more excited—and shy—she became. But she didn’t forget what she was supposed to do now. She walked over to her senior brother, gently squatted down, and took out one of the saplings.
Just as she was about to use her spiritual power to dig a hole, Yun Hao gently stopped her. She looked at him in confusion. What was wrong with him?
Before she could ask, Yun Hao spoke in a gentle voice, “Let me do it. You’re a girl. It’s not convenient for you to do this kind of work.”
Lin Shengyu felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Even though her senior brother knew she had recovered her cultivation, he still treated her like a delicate girl. She was happy about it. After all, what girl wouldn’t like being cherished by the person she loved? She didn’t feel that he was looking down on her. Instead, his concern made her happy.
She smiled shyly and suddenly leaned close to Yun Hao’s ear. Her voice was soft, yet carried a strange hint of allure. “Senior Brother, you’re so good to me.”
Then she stared straight at him with her beautiful eyes. Yun Hao panicked for a moment, but quickly forced himself to calm down. He silently looked away, avoiding her gaze.
These past few days, his junior sister had been making these sudden intimate gestures more and more often. He was somewhat defenseless against them.
He steadied his expression. “It’s fine. I’m a man. I’m naturally stronger than a woman. This kind of work should be done by me.”
After that, Yun Hao took out an iron hoe and began digging holes one by one.
While watching her senior brother work hard on the land, Lin Shengyu didn’t stay idle either. She took out a piece of cloth and a lunchbox from her qi sea. She spread the cloth neatly on the ground, placed the lunchbox in the center, and then sat there, gazing at Yun Hao in a daze.
She had long wanted to experience this kind of life with her senior brother—he working, she taking care of him. Just the two of them, living a peaceful, carefree life. And in the future, they would have a few children and live happily as a family.
At that thought, Lin Shengyu’s face turned red again.
She remembered the feeling when her senior brother had helped her dispel the poison back then. That burning sensation had come wave after wave, making her heart race… If they were going to have children in the future, they would have to do that kind of thing… If Senior Brother was too intense, she might not be able to handle it… She hoped he would be gentle with her when the time came.
Lin Shengyu’s face grew even redder. “Ahh, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. Why do I keep thinking about these things every day?” She had thought of some indescribable scenes and felt far too embarrassed. She quickly stopped herself and instead turned her head, staring dreamily at Yun Hao as he worked. “Senior Brother is really handsome… Our children will definitely take after him.”
Lin Shengyu’s gaze tenderly stayed by Yun Hao’s side, unwilling to leave even for a moment.
She hoped these days would continue just like this.