Brotherhood can bring people closer, unite them to face external challenges, and seek greater benefits together.
Shui Miao was well aware of why everyone wanted to form a brotherhood with him. He had experienced one miraculous encounter after another, his cultivation had advanced rapidly, and he was growing stronger day by day. To them, he was a dark horse with immense potential.
As for Shui Miao himself, having more friends meant more support; the more friends one had, the smoother the path ahead.
However, deciding how to establish the brotherhood became a real headache for everyone.
Shui Miao suggested ranking by age, with himself being the youngest and thus naturally placed last.
But everyone insisted on ranking by strength instead, believing Shui Miao was the most powerful and thus deserved to be the eldest brother. If someone less capable were chosen as the eldest, it would surely bring ridicule and shame.
Moreover, Golden Toad and Xiaohei firmly refused to participate, stating they would only acknowledge Shui Miao as their master and dared not dream of brotherhood.
Under Shui Miao’s insistence, everyone reluctantly agreed to follow his suggestion.
Thus, Bai Feng, the eldest in age, became the eldest brother!
Second was Old Cai.
Third was Old Qin.
Fourth was Sima Zongheng.
Fifth was Zhuge Suopan.
Sixth was the fox spirit, Qi Mei.
Seventh was Shui Miao.
Golden Toad and the Black Snake Demon refused to take part in the brotherhood and were thus excluded.
That night, everyone knelt in a line, with heaven and earth as witnesses, swearing brotherhood and vowing not to share the same birth date, but to die together on the same day.
After the ceremony, everyone feasted and celebrated heartily.
At dawn, everyone dispersed.
Sima Zongheng returned to the Yellow Spring Sect.
Old Qin and Old Cai went back to the City God Temple.
Bai Feng and the fox spirit Qi Mei entered the Holy Yuan Ring to focus on cultivation.
Zhuge Suopan was assigned two assistants by Shui Miao—Black Snake Demon and Golden Toad—and together they entered the Holy Yuan Bracelet to refine pills.
Shui Miao exhaled in relief. With everyone settled, now all he needed was for Bu Lu from the Chi Clan dwarves to come find him and tell him about the thousand-year-old ghost Bai Niangniang in the Immortal Realm.
The sun had just risen halfway when Xiao Tudou and Xiaomei finally emerged from the tent.
After a long night, the rice had long been cooked into porridge. Seeing Shui Miao, both of their faces turned bright red with embarrassment.
Shui Miao laughed heartily and exchanged a few words with Xiao Tudou.
He reminded Xiao Tudou to live well from now on—perhaps build a factory in Xiaomei’s hometown, plant some fruit trees around a mountain, and always keep in touch by phone. Having tasted the delights of love, Xiao Tudou no longer yearned for cultivation and readily agreed to Shui Miao’s suggestion.
Xiaomei was also deeply grateful to Shui Miao.
Seeing the two so sweet together, Shui Miao couldn’t help but feel envious.
With half a day left, Shui Miao left Jing Shui Village, recharged one thousand yuan of credit on both his grandfather’s and his own phone, and then took a taxi toward Linhai Hotel, calling his grandfather on the way—but no one answered.
At Linhai Hotel, Shui Miao met Da Shuang.
Da Shuang was still the same—working daily, handling the hotel’s accounts and small matters.
“Shui Miao, where have you been training lately? You look even thinner,” Da Shuang smiled warmly, sitting beside Shui Miao on the office sofa. Since their last meeting, her attitude toward him had become warmer, now clearly treating him as a very close friend.
Shui Miao smiled slightly, “Would you believe me if I said I hibernated for three months?”
“Of course I would! Ever since I saw you burn those assassins with fire, I’ve believed everything about you,” Da Shuang suddenly raised her eyebrows. “By the way, Shui Miao, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you—can you explain it?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Shui Miao blinked, sensing from Da Shuang’s smile that it wasn’t a serious question.
Da Shuang paused, then said, “I’ve been wondering—why didn’t you use that fire technique when those assassins were chasing us? And you happened to know there was a coffin to hide in. When we were squeezed together in that coffin, you still didn’t use it. What were you thinking then?”
Her smile hid a sharp edge, almost like she was accusing him.
Shui Miao felt instantly awkward. After a pause, he looked at Da Shuang and said, “If you think I’m a pervert trying to take advantage of you, just say so. But I can clearly tell you—I didn’t know I could use fire that well back then. To be precise, I suddenly gained insight and learned it on the spot.”
“That explanation is acceptable, I guess.”
Da Shuang smirked, half-smiling, “Then why are you here today? Don’t tell me you’re trying to take advantage of someone else?”
Oh no!
Hearing this, Shui Miao realized his image in Da Shuang’s mind was completely ruined.
“You really are a little pervert!” Seeing Shui Miao stunned, Da Shuang pointed at him with her finger and shook her head. “Forget it, no need to explain. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Let’s just move on to serious matters.”
“…”
Shui Miao suddenly noticed something odd about Da Shuang today, so he subtly focused his mind to sense her thoughts.
As Shui Miao stared at her, Da Shuang’s face flushed slightly, and she coughed, “Shui Miao, what exactly is going on between you and Lin Jie?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Shui Miao casually asked.
Seeing that Shui Miao was still staring into her eyes, Da Shuang suddenly felt a chill in her forehead, shivered involuntarily, and exclaimed in alarm, “Shui Miao, what are you doing? You’re not trying to hypnotize me and take advantage of me, are you?”
Her alertness was indeed no ordinary thing.
“…”
Shui Miao lowered his head and continued sensing Da Shuang’s thoughts.
Seeing his silence, Da Shuang bit her lip and softly asked, “What exactly is your relationship with Lin Jie?”
※※※
Women truly were complicated!
Shui Miao’s heart stirred. Slowly opening his eyes, he had already fully sensed Da Shuang’s thoughts.
Since their last meeting, she had been thinking of him constantly. Over time, her thoughts had developed into a one-sided infatuation!
Da Shuang was a very innocent girl—she had never had a boyfriend or even held hands with a man.
She was also quite conservative. It was precisely because of that previous awkwardness that she had remembered him.
But she dared not express it. She kept asking about his relationship with Lin Qing’er, secretly hoping to hear him say that he and Lin Qing’er were just ordinary friends.
She outwardly resisted his advances, yet inwardly longed for a perfect love.
After a pause, Shui Miao murmured, “Da Shuang, you’re a good girl. Whoever marries you will be the happiest person in the world. But I’m not worthy of you—I’m not perfect enough to give you perfect love.”
“What… are you talking about?”
Hearing this, Da Shuang’s heart was thrown into chaos.
Suddenly, Shui Miao grabbed Da Shuang’s hand, startling her.
Then, looking into her eyes, he gently said, “Close your eyes…”
“Ah? No… what are you trying to do?”
Da Shuang’s chest heaved violently, her face instantly flushed red. She tried to back away but was already at the edge of the sofa.
Indeed, she thought Shui Miao might kiss her—an iconic scene from many movies.
“Thank you for liking me.”
With a slight smile, Shui Miao leaned closer.
Da Shuang curled up like a little lamb. As Shui Miao approached, she quickly shut her eyes…
But Shui Miao didn’t kiss her.
He placed his hand on her temple for a moment, then withdrew and stood aside silently.
Da Shuang slowly opened her eyes, already forgetting what had just happened. Slightly confused, she blinked and asked Shui Miao, “Oh right, Shui Miao, wasn’t it something about Lin Jie you came for?”
“Yes, right, Da Shuang Jie.”
Shui Miao nodded.
Da Shuang returned to her seat, “Lin Jie left you a letter. I don’t know anything else. Would you like some coffee?”
Her attitude toward Shui Miao now was just like that toward a regular colleague.
“Haha, thank you, Da Shuang Jie. I have something else to attend to, so I won’t disturb you.”
Shui Miao took the letter, said goodbye, and turned to leave.
Da Shuang said, “Take care,” the door already closed. She shrugged, as if nothing had happened, and continued working.
Leaving the office, Shui Miao took the elevator and communicated with Bai Feng through his mind’s eye, “Bai Jie, your technique really works—it erased those memories instantly.”
“It’s nothing really. But I think you should think carefully—some feelings are hard to come by, and you should cherish them,” Bai Feng was sitting cross-legged inside the Holy Yuan Ring, cultivating rapidly amidst the abundant spiritual energy.
Shui Miao didn’t want to discuss this topic, “By the way, Bai Jie, if this technique can erase someone’s memory, how would one implant a false memory instead?”
“I don’t know,” Bai Feng gently shook her head. “Perhaps the Dream Demon Baby could, but it hasn’t hatched yet.”
“Oh…”
Shui Miao stepped out of the elevator, withdrew his mind’s eye, and thought to himself, “Changing fate isn’t hard after all! Just erase unnecessary memories, and troublesome issues are easily resolved. I can use this technique on Xiao Tang Jie and Xiao Xifu in the future, saving them from unnecessary worries and helping them live peaceful lives.”
“What a beautiful day today!”
In a cheerful mood, Shui Miao walked out of the hotel, opened Lin Qing’er’s letter under the sunlight.
After reading its contents, Shui Miao was instantly stunned. Lin Qing’er wrote that she had seen the man she deeply loved in her dreams, and that man had been urging her in dreams daily to join him in the underworld!
She was emotionally exhausted and no longer wanted to live.
But before her death, she wanted to see Shui Miao one last time.
“She’s been waiting for me in Jing Shui Village all along!”
Putting down the letter, Shui Miao hurriedly ran to the roadside and stopped a taxi, urgently saying, “Quick, to Jing Shui Village—I’ll pay extra!”
“Are you Shui Miao?”
The driver turned his head—it was none other than Shui Miao’s godfather, Wang Yong!
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