Chapter 218: The Heroine of the World
Ban Ying sat in her room, peering through a small crack in the window at the light spilling onto the desk.
The sunlight slowly slanted from morning to evening, retreating as it moved toward dusk.
Big Brother should have returned by now. She wondered how things were at the Exorcism Bureau. Would those people spare Big Brother?
With Pei Wenjue and the teachers from the Divine Academy involved, perhaps Big Brother’s punishment could be reduced.
Worry weighed heavy on Ban Ying’s heart, leaving her without appetite. The food on the table remained untouched.
She had been confined for two days. The door was locked from the outside, guarded by over a dozen servants.
Her father was furious about her causing trouble by sneaking out and had scolded her harshly. Her mother, on the other hand, had held her tightly, crying as she begged her not to anger her father again and to stay home quietly, preparing for marriage.
Ban Ying had never wanted to marry into the Zhen family, not before and especially not after everything she had experienced during her months of training outside.
But she had compromised. She told her father that if he could help reduce Big Brother’s punishment and ensure his safety, she would willingly marry into the Zhen family as promised.
This day felt unbearably long. Ban Ying felt as though she was living through years instead of hours. By the time dusk arrived, there was still no news.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside. Ban Ying thought she recognized Wu Jin’s loud voice and many other familiar ones.
They were her companions from the past few months, the ones she had spent so much time with day and night.
“Ban Ying! Ban Ying, where are you?”
“Hurry up and come out! We’ve come to get you!”
“Damn it, don’t tell me they locked our Miss Ban in that room!”
“Move aside! Let me break that lock!”
Ban Ying sprang to her feet and rushed to the door.
The sound of chains hitting the ground came from outside, and Ban Ying eagerly pushed the door open.
Outside, the clouds were painted in hues of dusk, and the setting sun cast a radiant glow across the courtyard. Ban Ying saw her companions gathered there, arms slung over one another’s shoulders. Some bore fresh bruises on their faces, but everyone was grinning ear to ear.
Behind the lively group, standing by the doorway, was their big brother—the person she had been worried about for so long. He was in the middle of a conversation with her father.
Her father, who usually exuded authority and pride, looked uncharacteristically pale and subdued in front of her brother.
She couldn’t hear what Big Brother was saying, but he gave her father a friendly pat on the shoulder—so forceful that her father froze mid-motion, his expression twitching slightly.
Noticing that Big Brother showed no signs of having been punished, Ban Ying finally felt the tension in her chest ease.
Unable to hold back, she broke into a wide smile. Big Brother noticed her as well and waved. “Xiao Ban, Big Brother’s here to bring you home.”
“That’s right! That’s right! Everyone’s there except for you, so we all came to get you,” Wu Shan said cheerfully, despite the black-and-blue circles around his eyes.
Ban Ying felt a sting in her eyes and nearly cried, but the corners of her mouth lifted involuntarily. “Everything’s okay now?”
“Of course it is! With Big Brother here, what could possibly go wrong?”
Pei Wenjue, wearing a torn silk robe with one sleeve shredded, chimed in, “Come on, let’s go! We’re going to feast tonight and celebrate properly.”
Ban Ying stepped out of the room and into the circle of her companions, listening to their lively chatter.
She still didn’t know exactly what had happened, but from their excited and chaotic explanations, she pieced together bits of today’s events. The more she heard, the harder it was to believe her ears.
“Wow, Big Brother was incredible today! You should’ve seen it—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
“And he even picked up the ancestor’s spear! Who knew that thing could even be lifted?”
“It’s such a shame you weren’t there! You missed out on the most epic thing ever!”
“Big Brother! Woooo! Aaaahhhh!”
Ban Ying could only stare in astonishment, her heart swelling with warmth as their voices overlapped in a chaotic symphony of admiration and relief.
Ban Ying was surrounded by her excited and happy companions as she walked past her father, whose expression was still dark and unsmiling.
Her father simply watched them without stopping her, not even muttering a harsh word or issuing a single threat.
It felt like a dream to her as she easily walked out of the small courtyard that had confined her.
“Sister.” As she passed the courtyard, a little girl came running from the side of the door.
“Wow, what a cute little sister! Is this Ban Ying’s younger sister?”
Ban Ying was embraced by her sister, and she gently patted the girl’s head, her expression softening.
“Yes, this is my sister, Ban Xi.”
Among everyone in the family, she was closest to her sister, and Ban Xi was the one who depended on her the most.
During the two days Ban Ying had been confined, her sister had knocked on her window every day to talk to her.
“Sister, are you going with them?” Ban Xi clung to her, rubbing her cheek against her sister’s leg, “Sister, will you come back to see me?”
Yu Guang and the head of the Ban family caught up with them, and they also saw Ban Ying’s little sister.
This time, without the system’s prompt, Yu Guang immediately remembered the girl’s identity.
This was the heroine of the world, Ban Xi, still a chubby-cheeked, round-eyed little girl who was on the verge of tears because she couldn’t bear to see her beloved sister leave.
In the original fate, Ban Xi had witnessed their father push her sister to her death, Ban Ying, when she was young. From then on, she resented her father and, as she grew up, severed ties with the family, becoming a cold, ruthless swordswoman.
She was incredibly talented, even surpassing her sister by a considerable margin.
“We’re going to eat. It’s fine if you bring the little one along to play; you can send her back tomorrow.”
Yu Guang waved his hand, and, with a look of silent fury from the Ban family head, he took both of his daughters with him.
Ban Ying held her sister’s hand as they walked out, both of them a little dazed at first. But soon, their faces—one large, one small—both broke into smiles.
…
They were on their way to the Yugong Tower for a big feast, courtesy of Master Pei.
On the way there, Pei Wenjue walked beside Ban Ying and recounted the events of the day.
“At first, I was really worried. But then, hahahaha, Big Brother handled everything by himself. I’m so happy today!”
“And as for you, I didn’t see you at first, so I figured you must’ve been locked up at home. I really thought they were going to force you to marry into the Zhen family. I almost thought about sacrificing myself—having my father propose to your family so that I could marry you, just to get you out of there.”
Ban Ying’s expression softened for a moment before turning cold. “No need. Neither of us wants to marry. If I were to marry anyone, it would be Big Brother.”
Pei Wenjue was stunned. “What? You actually like Big Brother?”
Ban Ying replied, “What’s so strange about that? Every girl in our class likes Big Brother. He’s so wonderful—who wouldn’t like him? It would be weird if someone didn’t like him! Don’t you like Big Brother?”
Pei Wenjue blinked in confusion. “Of course I like Big Brother! Wait—no, I don’t like men! What I feel for Big Brother is admiration!”
Ban Ying chuckled and exchanged a few more words with him, then her gaze softened as she looked ahead at Yu Guang’s back.
“Everyone likes Big Brother, but we also understand that there’s no possibility between us and him.”
Rather than loving Big Brother like a man, it felt more like worshiping a hero from a distance.
Ban Ying joked, “Look at Big Brother—he’s not the type to be involved in mundane affairs of the heart.”
“We’ve encountered several girls who liked Big Brother while we were out exterminating evil spirits, but Big Brother didn’t notice a single one. He’s sharp about everything else, but completely clueless when it comes to feelings.”
Pei Wenjue was shocked. “What? Several girls liked Big Brother? How come I didn’t notice?”
Ban Ying sighed internally. Maybe it wasn’t just Big Brother who was clueless—it seemed like all these men were wooden blocks, or perhaps even stones.
…
The group reserved the second floor of the Yugong Tower and filled several round tables. Some of them were shouting for more wine to be brought.
“Big Brother, let’s drink until we’re all drunk today!”
“I’ll pass on the drinking,” Yu Guang replied, as usual, sitting beside Yu Yin and picking up his chopsticks.
After such a long journey and intense battles, he was starving.
It was surprising, though, that someone as tough as Big Brother would refuse alcohol. The young man who had spoken earlier froze. “Big Brother doesn’t drink? I thought Big Brother could drink endlessly without getting drunk.”
Yu Guang replied, “Let’s talk about it in a couple of years. I’m only sixteen now, so I won’t be drinking.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Yu Guang quickly finished off a bun and took a bite of vegetables, glancing at the blank-faced younger brothers beside him. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Yin, who was even younger, let out a muffled laugh.
“N-nothing, we just… didn’t remember that Big Brother is younger than us.” The boy who had been encouraging the drinking looked awkward.
The group was stunned for a moment, but soon recovered, resuming their eating and drinking, occasionally howling like monkeys to express their astonishment at what had happened today.
At the table with Yu Guang sat the third youngest, Yu Yin, as well as the second and youngest, Shi Bai and Ban Xi, collectively known as the “kids’ table.”
Ban Ying, Pei Wenjue, and the others finished their drinks and eventually sat down at the same table.
When the topic of Ban Ying’s marriage to the Zhen family came up, everyone burst into joyful laughter. “The Zhen family is already in Big Brother’s hands—they’re finished.”
“Yeah, the head of the Zhen family almost died from anger today. If that poisonous young master of theirs still wants to marry you, Big Brother will just toss him away!”
“If Big Brother uses all his strength, he could throw a person pretty far. I saw it today. If I had Big Brother’s strength, how great would that be?”
Ban Ying couldn’t help but feel that her companions had become even more direct and crude in the few days she hadn’t seen them.
Yu Guang buried his head in his food, letting the constant praise and chatter pass by like the wind. Occasionally, he’d reach over and serve some food to the younger boys sitting beside him.
Yu Yin, who wasn’t wearing his usual cloth headband, revealed his eyes. His gray-eyed cat, like a shadow, crouched beside him.
Noticing that the cat’s tail was being secretly tugged and petted by someone, Yu Yin glanced to the side.
Through the cat’s eyes, he saw a lively little girl retracting her hand from petting the cat, flashing a charming smile at him.
Yu Yin recognized her immediately—Ban Xi, just like Shi Bai, was one of the team members who had caused him no small amount of trouble.
“Big Brother, you’re so handsome, and your cat is so cute,” the little girl said in a soft, innocent voice.
Yu Yin: “…”
It felt almost absurd. In their past lives, they had seen him as their mortal enemy, trying every possible way to eliminate him, while he had driven puppets to chase after them, taking pleasure in their suffering.
They had been locked in an endless battle of enmity, with nothing but deep hatred between them.
And now, here they were, sitting together, eating in harmony.
“Big Brother, is this your cat? It’s so cute! Can I hold it?”
“…”
“Big Brother, what’s the cat’s name?”
“…”
In his past life, the cold-faced woman with sharp sword skills had been annoyingly talkative as a child. Yu Yin lowered his gaze in frustration and slowly set down his chopsticks.
Shi Bai, sitting next to Ban Xi, noticed the subtle shift in Yu Yin’s expression and actions, suddenly growing tense.
He quickly swallowed the meat in his mouth and grabbed the slow-moving little girl, pulling her away to the side.
“Don’t bother him, he’s about to get angry! If you keep bothering him, he’ll tie you up and hang you from a tree,” Shi Bai whispered with a warning tone.
The two children whispered to each other as they moved aside. Yu Yin could hear how Shi Bai was exaggerating about him, but he didn’t care to engage with him.
“Are you full?” came a voice beside him. His big brother, in the middle of stuffing his own face, didn’t forget to check on him. “You’ve only eaten this little.”
Yu Guang raised his hand to scoop some soup and casually placed it in front of Yu Yin. “Have some more soup.”
The gray-eyed cat beside Yu Yin tilted its head, eyeing the empty bowl and plates in front of Yu Guang. It placed its paw on Yu Guang’s arm and spoke into his mind.
“I’ve never seen you eat so much. Haven’t you been eating enough usually?”
“I’m full, but today’s consumption was greater.”
“You really surprised me today.”
“Why surprised? Didn’t Big Brother already tell you that I’m pretty strong?”
“Yu Guang, you’re even more impressive than I thought.”
“Call me Big Brother. Want to be as strong as Big Brother? Wake up early tomorrow, and I’ll take you for some training!”
Yu Yin withdrew his hand, regretting even bringing it up.
“Speaking of training, you’re trying to run,” Yu Guang said, wrapping his arm around his younger brother’s neck and pulling him toward himself. “You can’t escape now.”
Yu Yin’s neck was trapped by his big brother’s arm. The arm wasn’t particularly thick but was strong, with a layer of taut, smooth muscle that perfectly constrained his neck.
In the dimming light, the golden glow surrounded him tightly, radiating an overwhelming heat that seemed to bake him from the inside out.
Suddenly, Yu Yin felt that the golden, flowing energy around him was far more tempting than the ordinary food on the table.
But he knew that if he truly consumed it, it would burn through his fragile body like molten lava.
“He’s really petty. He’ll tie people up with black ropes and even eat them!” Shi Bai and Ban Xi muttered from the side, hiding.
Without warning, Yu Yin opened his mouth and bit into Yu Guang’s arm.
He could feel the muscle twitching under his bite.
“Big Brother, Shi Bai’s telling that little girl I’ll eat people,” Yu Yin said, releasing his bite and leaning against his big brother’s arm, pointing out the mischief.
