After Changing To The Ruthless Way The Brothers Cried And Begged For Forgiveness Chapter 496

[ … words ]

Xiu Yu called out with bright cheer as the planet’s silhouette came into view: “We’re about to see my big sister, so would you two please look a little happier?” The two men exchanged a look, then, after great effort, squeezed out wooden smiles. Satisfied, Xiu Yu sped ahead toward the world before them.

Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist sighed in unison, their breaths thin and weary. Seeing this, Yu Zhao could not help her curiosity. The star ahead was the Lingxiao Realm that Xiu Yu had mentioned, and it was where her big sister lived. The three seemed familiar with one another, so why were the two old hands forcing smiles? Yu Zhao chose a roundabout approach and asked with a smile: “Ancestor, how did you and Senior Xiu Yu’s big sister first meet?”

Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist both sighed again, the sound steeped in the flavor of memories best left undisturbed. Yu Zhao’s curiosity only grew as her eyes fixed expectantly on them. Old Black Daoist waved a hand and raked irritably at his hair: “Sui Bian old man, you tell it.”

Ancestor Sui Bian took the thread, eyes drifting as he sank into recollection: “Her name is Ling Long. We actually met her first and only later got to know Xiu Yu through her. That time, Old Black and I heard there was a place that might be connected to the cultivation world. We went to check it out and blundered into an ancient ruin. We nearly lost our lives. Just when we thought we’d die there, Ling Long appeared and saved us, but the price was ten years here in the Lingxiao Realm as her sparring partners. There was no room to refuse, so we agreed.”

Yu Zhao understood at once. If Senior Ling Long could rescue Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist in an ancient ruin, then her cultivation clearly surpassed theirs. Acting as her sparring partners must have been bitter work. She braced herself for a tale of blood and tears, but Ancestor Sui Bian could not help chuckling: “Heh. I don’t know whether to call it good luck or bad, but I was using this split body back then and my cultivation was mediocre. I wasn’t much fun to hit, so Ling Long lost interest in me. Old Black, though, was different. He came in his true body, stronger than me, and he’s a sword cultivator. Ling Long took quite an interest in him.”

Old Black Daoist’s face darkened at once. He had not planned to speak, but his pent-up grievances would not be held back. He ground his teeth and said: “Those ten years were the darkest of my life. Ling Long was mercurial; when she was pleased she dragged me off to drink tea and chat, and when she was not she took a whip to me. And it wasn’t an ordinary whip. When it struck, the pain sank straight into the bone, and yet it never caused true damage. She wouldn’t even give me the excuse to go heal. Worst of all, she never hit anywhere else, only…”

Old Black Daoist stopped short, unable to continue. Ancestor Sui Bian pounced on the opening with a laugh: “Only his backside. Ling Long had a singular fondness for Old Black Daoist’s backside. She wouldn’t touch any other place, only laid into his behind until he howled.”

Yu Zhao froze for a heartbeat: [!]

Old Black Daoist, flushed with shame and anger, snapped: “What are you laughing at? As if you never got whipped there yourself!”

The two of them delighted in dragging each other’s skeletons into the light. In no time at all they had spilled everything, whether fit to repeat or not. Yu Zhao found herself harboring a sudden, respectful awe for this Senior Ling Long she had yet to meet.

Before long, the Lingxiao Realm unfurled in full before them. Just as everyone relaxed, a blurred lash of light split the sky and streaked straight for Old Black Daoist. Whether because his reflexes were quick or because long years had conditioned him, he had already drawn the sword on his back before the lash landed. With a snap of cloth, the pitch-black blade swept an arc through the air and met the vicious strike head-on.

He had no time to exhale. A second lash slipped in from a cunning angle and cracked across his backside. Old Black Daoist yelped and leapt into the air.

“Little Black, you’ve grown slow,” a clear female voice remarked.

Little Black? Yu Zhao’s mouth twitched. She followed the sound and saw a woman in a crimson-violet palace dress standing in midair, a pale-lilac whip coiled in her hand. The whip’s gloss gleamed like oiled leather, the patina of countless battles.

Xiu Yu’s face bloomed with a smile as her voice chimed: “Big sister.”

Senior Ling Long nodded, eyes settling on the grimacing Old Black Daoist with a hint of displeasure: “Little Black, after all these years, your reactions are slower than before. Life has been too soft if you can’t even dodge my whip.”

“Come on, Ling Long,” Old Black Daoist said with a bitter face, “it’s been ages. Meeting me at the door with a beating is going a bit far, isn’t it? At least give a man time to brace himself.”

Ling Long snorted, flicking her wrist so that the whip cracked crisply in the air: “Brace? When the two of you abducted my younger sister out of the Lingxiao Realm, did you leave me time to brace?”

Old Black Daoist’s retort died on his tongue. He turned to glare at Ancestor Sui Bian. The ancestor forced himself forward to smooth things over: “Immortal Maiden Ling Long, we were in the wrong back then, and didn’t we make amends later? Besides, Old Black has never stopped praising you. He says your whip technique is unmatched and that he misses those days in the Lingxiao Realm. No need to hold it against him now.”

Old Black Daoist’s eyes bulged. He would have clapped a hand over Sui Bian’s mouth if he could. Ling Long’s smile did not reach her eyes: “Your tongue has grown slick, Sui Bian. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you were the ringleader who led my younger sister away. You dare bring yourself to my door? Your courage has grown, if nothing else.”

Ancestor Sui Bian gave two dry laughs and wisely fell silent, wary of old debts and new being tallied together.

Yu Zhao watched, wide-eyed. Senior Ling Long was more domineering than she had imagined. In front of her, Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist scarcely dared breathe.

Ling Long seemed finally to notice Yu Zhao. She looked her up and down. Yu Zhao bowed at once and said with proper respect: “Junior Yu Zhao greets Senior Ling Long.”

“Yu Zhao? What are you to them?”

“This humble one is from the Five Elements Dao Sect, junior of the same lineage as Ancestor Sui Bian.”

Senior Ling Long nodded: “So you’re the ones the Earth Clan put a bounty on. Not bad. You at least know your manners, which is more than those two old fools can claim.”

Seeing the three a little stiff, Xiu Yu smiled: “Big sister, don’t scare them. It’s been so long. Meeting and swinging your whip right away will frighten the junior.”

Ling Long relented, coiling the whip away as she said coolly: “I only tested their hands to see whether they had improved. I overestimated them.”

Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Black Daoist both cried out inwardly. From the sound of it, the days ahead would not be easy.

“Since you’re here, come back to the Lingxiao Realm with me,” Ling Long added without inflection. “I’ve been bored and happen to be short a few sparring partners.”