Chapter 277: Brat

Seeing the girl’s happy expression, Xue Wei smiled as well, reaching out a hand and offering it the girl who hesitatingly placed her small palm in his.

“Big Brother, where are we going?” She asked with a timid voice, her words causing Xue Wei to smile slightly, and feel that this girl who was calling him ‘Big Brother,’ was rather cute.

Even if she was an old monster, her mind was still a child’s, and thus she had cast all her hope, reliance and dependence on Xue Wei in the belief that he would look after her.

“We are leaving this place,” Xue Wei smiled as he turned around and started walking out the house and towards the tall wall once more.

Xue Wei had single-handedly made all the decisions about what they were to do. He had decided to bring the girl with them out; he had also decided that they would be her family— everything that had happened this night was decided by him.

Although the others felt rather confused and slightly unsure of why Xue Wei had made this decision, no one was against it. Even the King, who was supposed to be in control of the continent, had no opinion about this strange man abducting this small child out of the forbidden area.

In fact, her eyes were shining with excitement. She could not help but feel that something exciting was finally happening, and she also felt as if Xue Wei was much more humane than she had first thought.

As they reached the wall, Xue Wei took the girl into his arms and sprung high into the air, jumping to the top of the wall and quickly down again.

Quickly, the others followed after him, all jumping up the wall and down again before anyone was able to notice them.

It was still the middle of the night. The moon was hidden behind the clouds in the sky, and the stars could not be seen. Although the roads were illuminated by street lamps, there was mist all around in the still night’s air, and thus the visibility was rather low.

Although a few students were walking around the academy grounds, no one was close to the Forbidden area to arouse any suspicion. As they landed on the ground, Xue Wei put down the child-sized person, but he continued to hold her hand as they walked hand-in-hand like a pair of siblings. A smile soon sprouted on her face that she could no longer hide.

She felt warmth in her heart, a warmth that she had no place to hide; she was feeling so happy and relaxed after leaving the forbidden area, and even a bit giddy. She could not believe she had actually left, it was like a dream come true, but at the same time, she was also still slightly scared.

Scared of the unknown that was all around her, scared of being left alone in this world so foreign to her, and scared of suddenly being abandoned by the one person who was treating her as their family.

As a result, her palm was starting to turn sweaty, and she gripped Xue Wei’s hand tightly, fearing that he would let her go.

Sensing her unease, Xue Wei once more scooped her up and let her rest on his arm. She was a small child, and so he treated her exactly like he would a child. It felt exactly like having a smaller sibling, and from the moment that she had called him ‘Big Brother,’ it was cemented that he would treat her like his little sister, a girl that he would protect with all his heart.

Being lifted up and feeling the warmth from Xue Wei, the girl felt much more at ease, and she started to curiously examine her surroundings. She saw many students coming and going, but their clothes were all different from what she was used to, and their faces appeared filled with questions when they looked at Xue Wei and his group.

The houses were another style of architecture than she was familiar with too. The houses had been rebuilt since the last time she had left the forbidden area, and now everything was much more advanced than it was before.

As they walked, Xue Wei checked behind him, only to see that the King had vanished at some point along the way. She was nowhere to be seen, but he was not too surprised or worried by this. If she was noticed by the common students, things would become quite troublesome, not only for her and the academy but also for Xue Wei.

They went straight back to their courtyard, where Bai Tianyi was awaiting them. He had not returned into the house itself but was standing in the front yard, leaning against a tree and looking at the entrance as he was waiting for them to return.

His eyes widened when he saw the small girl in Xue Wei’s arms, and his pupils contracted when he felt a very familiar scent envelop him.

“Where’d you kidnap this kid?” He asked curiously as he looked at Xue Wei, whose face turned rather black when he heard those words.

“I did not kidnap her,” he defended himself, “I saved her from the forbidden area.”

“She was in the forbidden area?” Bai Tianyi was rather shocked when he heard that a small girl was all alone in the middle of the area that no one had entered, and when he saw Xue Wei nodding his head, he displayed an expression of surprise.

“Then you did a good deed,” he continued. “Also, she smells like the most delicious meal. Do you think I can eat her soul?”

“No.” Xue Wei answered immediately, and it was clear from the sternness in his words that there was no place for negotiation.

Sensing this, Bai Tianyi just shrugged his shoulders. It was just a question; after all, he had not harbored much hope of success.

“Big Brother, who is that brat?” the girl asked as she looked at Bai Tianyi with a condescending gaze.

“Brat?!” Bai Tianyi was insulted and instantly lost all composure. “You call me brat once more; and I’ll beat you so badly that not even your mother will recognize you!”

“Brat, you can’t beat me,” the girl giggled as she continued to taunt Bai Tianyi. Her timid image of a shy, apprehensive young girl was completely forgotten; instead, she was mischievous and cocky, and it was definitely enough to infuriate anyone who listened to her venomous tongue.

“Kids should behave,” Lin Xiao finally said to the two of them as he strode into the front yard of the courtyard, knowing full well that neither of them were truly kids.

“Both of you are going to be family from now on, you will both be friendly and should not argue,” he continued with a smile as he tried to placate the two old monsters who appeared to be children.

Xue Wei felt a headache coming his way. The two oldest in the entire group were Bai Tianyi and this small girl. Both of them were monsters who had lived for thousands of years, but at the same time, they were also the most childish amongst them—and not just in appearance, it seemed. Seeing them behaving even more immaturely than the relative babies they were, at a tiny fraction of their age, caused Xue Wei to feel rather amused.

“Enough,” he said with the hint of a smile on his face, “it is time for us to get some rest. We have to find some more information tomorrow,” he said and headed into the courtyard.

He made Mo Er prepare a room for the girl, and after settling her inside, Xue Wei returned to his own room to contemplate the new development that had occurred this night.

He had a nagging feeling that things were about to get serious, and that something big had happened, now that they had taken the girl out of the forbidden area, but as to what exactly would happen, he would have to wait and see.

The girl was clearly a very old entity, so she could not be a normal cultivator. She had somehow reverted to a child, and it was likely that she had sustained serious injuries, which had caused her body to revert into a child’s shape and her mind into the consciousness of a child.

This reminded him of Bai Tianyi. “He has a body created from spiritual energy and soul power.” Xue Wei mused to himself, “when he gains too much injury, he will slowly become younger and younger. The younger the body, the less energy is needed to sustain it. As a result, he now looks like a kid.

“Could it be that this girl is the same? A body made from spiritual energy and soul power? A body that was slowly becoming much more childlike as it gets wounded?

“If she was really a five-year-old child, then she would not have been able to live for thousands of years. Neither would she have been able to sustain herself within the forbidden area without food and water for so long.

“So what I need to figure out is why and how she got injured I guess.” Xue Wei was contemplating what to do, and what leads he had.

The sky was slowly brightening while he was busy contemplating, but suddenly he heard a lot of noise from the outside. It was clear that something major had happened at the academy, loud bells were ringing, telling all students to gather at the central square of the academy.

Xue Wei was not dumb. Last night he had taken the small girl with him from the forbidden area, and now bells were calling all to gather. It was obvious that something had happened because of it.

Had they noticed that she had gone away, or had their interference caused something to happen at another part of the academy when they removed her from the forbidden area?

There was no way to know without going to the square, but Xue Wei was unsure if he should bring the girl with him.

After taking a moment to think it through, he decided to bring her. No one had visited her for so many years in the forbidden area, so knowing what she looked like should be impossible.

It was not only Xue Wei who had heard the ringing of the bells; everyone within the courtyard had washed their faces and freshened up before they exited their rooms and gathered in the front yard.

Some of them looked rather nervous, but Xue Wei was as carefree and casual as always, his entire being radiating a calm and collected aura that made the others calm down instantly as well.

“Let us go join the fun,” Xue Wei said with a snicker, his words catching them all by surprise.

“All of us?” Hei Gou could not help but ask as he looked at the young girl they had picked up last night. The moment she had stepped out of the house and saw Xue Wei, she had run to his side and held his hand intimately like a scared child would with their family.

“Of course,” Xue Wei smiled as he reached down and picked her up. This child was so adorable that he really felt as if he was doting on a smaller sibling.

“No one has seen her for so many years, do you really think she will be recognized?” Xue Wei asked curiously, and after hearing the question, the others felt much more at ease.

It was correct, no one knew exactly what she looked like and had probably even forgotten anyone was living there at all, so they should be safe. As such, they headed towards the academy’s central square to find out what the commotion was.

Xue Wei was walking at the front with the small girl on his arm. “I am so happy that I have a family now,” the girl said with a great smile on her face, she looked adorable with two small dimples as she laughed, and Xue Wei could not help but ruffle her hair in a doting manner. It was a good feeling to look after this cute little child.

“Give me a name,” she suddenly requested as she looked at Xue Wei with her big eyes glistening with anticipation. “I forgot my name so long ago, I want a new one now,” she demanded.