JUN LAN

"Is this the hand that hurt her?!"

The voice resonated in the empty space, the brutal edge to his tone making the time cease and the surroundings to come to a halt.

The deep bass like voice resounded in Kai's ears, breaking him out of his murderous stupor. As the haze in his eyes disappeared, Kai felt a sharp pain in his wrist as the cracking sound of the bones echoed throughout his body. The stinging pain made Kai lift his head up forcefully and soon he found himself regretting his earlier actions.

For, he found himself reflected in the blood red orbs which were staring down at him with an expression so hostile that he couldn't decipher the level of hate hidden behind such gaze. The red of the intruder's eyes were bewitching, but the same red reminded him of death and bloodshed.

Seeing his prey rendered speechless, a mocking sneer spread on the man's face. Parting his lips, he spoke "I couldn't even bring myself to use harsh words on her, but, you hurt her. You must not have done it. You will regret this action of yours."

As soon as the man's words ended, Kai felt a strong force on the back of his neck and he soon found his surroundings turn dark and his body go limp. Cracking his knuckles, the man stared at the unconscious Kai as if contemplating what to do with the body. After a while, the man waved his hands following which Kai's body disappeared from everyone's sight.

Yujin, who had originally wanted to interfere was now staring at the happenings in his front with a dumb-founded expression. His mind had blanked out at the intruder's voice, but, as the haze cleared bit-by-bit, the secret behind how the man broke through his magic barrier puzzled his heart. Before his mind could search the answer, the scene of Kai being taken down and disappear right before his eyes made his body and mind go immobile.

His magic was not of an apprentice level, which anyone can break through. But, the man entered in without attracting much attention- unnoticed and calm, like a snake. Yujin concluded that the man must be a magician at the least, which was quite a rare sight in these mortal lands. It can be said without doubt that the man was quite powerful.

Though the man cannot rival their lord, making unnecessary enemies was something they avoided. Wanting to negotiate, Yujin stepped forward contemplating as of what to say to appease the man. But, all the words stopped in his throat as the man had turned around without sparing even a single glance at him.

Jun Lan who laid disheveled on the ground stared at the man who stopped Kai with a single move, now staring at her with his unfathomable eyes- those which undulated with anger, tension and, care?

There was no fear in her clear eyes, if there was a person before whom she could relax completely, then it would be the man standing before her. The man before her looked both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

He had the same almond eyes like her- the eyes which they inherited from their father. That was the end to their similarities. While she was the splitting image of their father, he was the embodiment of their bewitching mother.

There was no helplessness in the man before her, there were no traces of tiredness either.

He truly resembled the stunning man from before their downfall...

Jun Lan thought of various scenarios as of how she would meet with her brother, but, never in her dreams did she imagine their meeting to be like this- her lying in a pool of blood and him rescuing her.

Jun Ling stared at his little sister, the girl who acted all mighty and tough to cover up the vulnerability inside of her. As his eyes trailed down, he saw her hand clutching her clothes, covering the wound with her bloodied hands. Pursing his lips, he crouched down and lifted his eyes to her tiny face. Placing his thumb in the area between her brows, Jun Ling started to pump in his qi healing her wound in the process.

Jun Lan felt a warm current pass through her body, the pain in her body dissipating slowly only to be replaced by a numbing sensation. Soon, she felt the wound beneath her palm closing up completely.

She was not a cultivator and the blood loss weakened her fragile body greatly. As much as she wanted to speak with her brother, her parched throat said otherwise.

How could Jun Ling not notice her predicament?

"Open your mouth..." he said, gently.

Following his words, Jun Lan parted her lips and a bitter taste assaulted her mouth. Her original reaction was to spit it out, but, a strong palm took hold of her chin and soon a series of threats sounded near her ear.

"Drink it completely, if you do not, then I will feed you ten such potions...''

"And, there will be no sweets for you an entire year..."

What?!

Ten bitter potions plus restriction of no sweets...

No way!

The words had the required effect as Jun Lan found herself gulping down the entire potion, not spilling even a single drop in the process. Looking at his completely obedient sister, Jun Ling nodded in satisfaction.

Throwing away the empty bottle to the ground, Jun Lan let out a deep breath in exasperation.The potion seemed to work instantly as her pale cheeks were now ruddy making her whole complexion look healthy. Wanting to let out her frustrations, Jun Lan lifted her face filled with complaints. But, a single glance at her smiling brother was all it took to make her eyes sore.

She had a thousand things which she wanted to say, but nothing came out of her mouth as she felt an invisible force squeezing her heart. Taking a deep breath, she tried to clear her mind of all the images from their past life. But, the attempt was futile as she felt a wetness in her eyes.

Hot tears rolled down her pale cheeks, with quivering lips, she called out in a hoarse voice "Big brother..."

A deep sigh sounded above her, and the blurry image before her eyes soon turned into darkness as she felt a cloak covering her body entirely.

Now left in only his simple inner robes, Jun Ling scrunched his brows and spoke in distaste "Too ugly, don't want to see..."

Ugly?

Don't want to see...

The shock of his words was so deep that Jun Lan found her tears abandon her as if sharing the same astonishment which she was subjected to. The shock soon faded away as unrestrained laughter escaped from her lips. What her brother meant was that her tears were too ugly to watch, the truth being that he couldn't bare to see her cry. Jun Lan knew that his sharp and blunt words were the best form of comfort he could ever offer.

Harsh on outside, but warm and soft on the inside.

Hmm, no wonder I didn't have a sister-in-law in the past...

Jun Lan chuckled in her heart not knowing that she unknowingly voiced out her inner thoughts out loud. It was only when she felt her surroundings go incomparably cold, did she realize her folly.