Vol 4. Chapter 165: Elder Sister and Younger Brother

"Long time no see, stupid little brother."

As a quiet, gentle female voice reached his ears, Pipi found himself pulled into an embrace before he could even figure out what was happening.

A gentle breeze swept past, suddenly blowing the hood off the black-robed figure's head. Her flowing, honey-colored hair danced in the wind, revealing an exquisite yet sickly face.

When that familiar face appeared before him once more, Pipi's brain practically crashed.

Since the two were roughly the same height, their embrace somehow gave off a warm, affectionate atmosphere reminiscent of two sisters reuniting.

Of course, that was assuming one ignored the rather conspicuous pale greatsword in Pipi's hand.

After standing there in a daze for several seconds, Pipi finally recovered slightly from his stupor. He mechanically turned his head toward the honey-haired woman beside him—his one and only elder sister.

The Demon King-class Abyss Demon known by the codename "Red Spider Lily"—Youlan.

"S-Sister?"

To tell the truth, the moment the honey-haired woman embraced him, Pipi felt a comforting warmth and an indescribable sense of nostalgic affection.

After all,

Back when he had first become a Demon King-class Abyss Demon, the only people by his side had been his mother, the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, and the perpetually unsmiling Youlan.

During those days, Youlan had practically been inseparable from him. In the daytime, she took him hunting and taught him how to control the Shadow of Silence Power. At night, he would curl up in his elder sister's arms and fall asleep inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

Even though he had now grown up into a strong, independent man, Pipi still missed those warm and wonderful days terribly.

The warmth of his sister's embrace and her delicate floral fragrance were things Pipi had never been able to forget.

Feeling that familiar presence once again, Pipi couldn't help wondering whether he was dreaming.

Sister Youlan, whom he hadn't seen in a hundred years, had actually appeared right in front of him?

The purple-haired maid unconsciously lowered his greatsword. He even wanted to wrap his arms around his sister's slender waist, just as he had done when they slept together all those years ago.

However,

Just as Pipi raised his hands to embrace his sister, his dark-purple pupils suddenly contracted.

His rationality seized control once again.

Alongside those beautiful memories, the cruel scenes of the past flashed rapidly through his mind like a slideshow.

The scars covering his delicate body began to ache faintly, completely snapping Pipi out of his daze.

The confusion and hesitation in the purple-haired maid's eyes vanished, replaced by intense fury and overwhelming fighting spirit.

"You bastard! You actually dare show your face in front of me again!! What are you plotting this time?!"

With an angry roar, Pipi grabbed his sword hilt once more.

Dark-purple Shadow of Silence Power erupted violently, and the resulting shock waves howled toward Youlan.

Clearly,

After recovering from his initial shock, Pipi intended to enter his Power Liberation Mode again and attack the elder sister who had betrayed their mother.

Raising his greatsword, the purple-haired girl bared his teeth and let out a ferocious roar.

"AAAAAAAHHH!! Take this! Eat my—?!! Huh?!!"

However,

Just as Pipi was preparing to release his power and launch his attack, Youlan spoke coldly.

"Calm down."

The moment those words left her lips, the honey-haired woman extended the index finger of her right hand and thrust it toward Pipi's waist and abdomen with the speed of a lightning bolt.

As the eldest daughter of the family who had practically raised Pipi, Youlan understood her younger brother's body extremely well.

She knew every single one of his weaknesses.

Before he could release his complete form, before his entire body became enveloped in dark-purple lightning armor, Pipi's greatest weakness was his exceptionally sensitive waist and abdomen.

As long as that area was struck with sufficient force, the Shadow of Silence Power circulating through Pipi's body would be abruptly disrupted, weakening the momentum of his attack.

And when Youlan's slender finger viciously jabbed into Pipi's abdomen like a mighty dragon charging across a river, the purple-haired maid reacted exactly as she had predicted.

A delicate cry escaped his lips, and his entire body convulsed violently.

His attack came to an immediate halt.

"Awoo!"

After that vicious poke, Youlan's right hand moved before Pipi's eyes with lightning speed.

Before the purple-haired maid could recover, she delivered a resounding flick to his little forehead~

"Pia~"

Accompanied by a crisp sound almost resembling a cracking skull, Pipi couldn't help letting out another adorable "Awoo!" before stumbling backward several steps and raising his hands to cover his poor little head.

If those powerful individuals who regarded the Sword Demon as the nightmare of their lives witnessed this scene—saw the terrifying Sword Demon being effortlessly suppressed by a single finger—they would probably be so shocked that their jaws would hit the ground.

They might even begin questioning the meaning of their existence.

"..."

Forget those human powerhouses.

Even Youlan °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° herself couldn't help narrowing her eyes slightly upon witnessing this scene. She shook her head helplessly and, in a rare departure from her usual behavior, offered a few words of criticism.

"It's been hundreds of years. You still haven't overcome that weakness?"

"Uuuu..."

Having finally recovered, Pipi alternated between clutching his forehead and holding his abdomen, casting the honey-haired woman a somewhat resentful look.

He gritted his teeth indignantly and tightened his grip on his sword hilt again.

An invisible suit of lightning armor slowly began forming over his body.

After suffering such humiliation, Pipi was practically bursting with impatience to regain his dignity.

Seeing this,

Youlan let out a long sigh.

The next instant,

Enveloped in a faint, ghostly blue glow, the black-robed Youlan flashed directly in front of Pipi.

She immediately seized his right wrist, while countless thorns burst from the ground and firmly restrained his "Pale Moon Thunderclap Sword."

"Stop. I didn't come here to fight you, and I have no hostile intentions. I only want to discuss something with you."

Youlan spoke directly.

Her voice remained as cold as ever, but there seemed to be a faint hint of concession in her words.

And when Pipi heard that subtle concession, his agitation gradually subsided.

The intense dark-purple light in his eyes slowly faded, and he seemed to calm down.

He looked warily at the honey-haired woman standing right in front of him.

After confirming that there were indeed no signs of her mobilizing her Shadow of Silence Power on a large scale, Pipi gradually relaxed.

After all, his elder sister genuinely didn't seem to have come looking for a fight.

Although he was extremely dissatisfied with this traitor who had run away from home, Pipi ultimately decided to respect their bond as siblings.

He listened to Youlan and temporarily abandoned his combat stance.

"Discuss something? What?! You came looking for me at a time like this... Don't tell me you're planning to stop me from obtaining the Saint Dragon Heart and killing the Child of Destiny?!!"

"...=-="

At that moment, Youlan felt an overwhelming urge to slap a hand against her forehead.

Ever since leaving the Great Winter Forest, she felt as though she hadn't sighed this many times in a single day for ages.

Sigh.

That's my little brother, all right.

You just casually reveal your entire plan like that? No wonder Little Na and the others trick you every single day. And you've even let some insignificant Fifth-Tier woman wrap you completely around her little finger...

After sighing once again, Youlan shook her head and directly rejected Pipi's speculation.

"No. I have no intention of stopping you. I simply want to discuss postponing your operation. Now isn't the right time to act."

"Postpone my operation?"

Pipi tilted his head in confusion, simultaneously clenching both fists warily.

If Youlan couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation, he wouldn't hesitate to attack her again.

"Why?"

"Because doing so would be more beneficial to both you and your beloved mother."

"Hmm???"

...

...

--

Several minutes later, taking advantage of the fact that nobody was around, Pipi, still dressed in his maid uniform, was rapidly darting through the dense forest and gardens toward the distant girls' dormitory.

By this point, Pipi had already agreed to Youlan's proposal and changed his original plans.

Since he no longer intended to demolish the entire Yexinlian Royal Academy right now, there was naturally no reason for him to remain near the forbidden grounds and risk being discovered.

Thus, Pipi hurried toward Lingluo's dormitory.

As he traveled, Pipi couldn't help narrowing his eyes slightly, recalling the conversation he had just had with Youlan.

Although his mother had warned him repeatedly that he must never trust his elder sister's words, Pipi had ultimately hesitated before deciding to cooperate with her this once, for the sake of their past relationship.

It definitely wasn't because she'd promised not to tell their mother and younger sisters about him dressing as a girl!

Besides,

To tell the truth,

From Pipi's perspective, Youlan's proposal was actually quite attractive...

Using the Saint Dragon Heart as bait to wipe them all out in one fell swoop, huh... Perhaps that really is a pretty good idea...