Murim's Weakest Princess

Mingshen was almost exactly how Anji envisioned him to be. However, dare she say he appeared even more feminine than before? Strangely enough, he was starting to resemble some of Hong Nian Niang’s husband.

Personally, Anji did not really care if her second brother was into wearing dresses and face powder. She had seen way weirder things in the memory crystals and in the Mystical Qilin Sect. Growing up in a brothel meant she was no longer an innocent child, not that Anji was keen on any romantic relationships at her age. She was far too old mentally and far too young physically. Heck, Doctor Yun was teaching her about her monthly menstrual cycle before she left the sect, just in case it happened.

Mischievously, she wondered how her brothers would react when her first bleeding happened. She had some measures in place should it occur, and the first time would most undoubtedly be the most embarrassing, as it would stain her clothing before she realised it. Not to mention, Lizi would be with her and Gu Ying would already be familiar with the drill. But not her brothers. At least not Yihao. He might even think she was poisoned or something.

"Would you be sad if I told you how I was too busy to miss you?" she asked with a small grin, returning the hug in a proper manner this time.

Instead of bristling at the cheeky comeback, Mingshen chuckled and lifted Anji off the ground mid-hug. The girl squealed in his arms as he lifted her high into the air by her pits. Even at ten years old, Anji was still the wee sister he remembered.

"I don’t know," he replied wryly. "Would you be mad if I carried you like this everywhere we go?"

If Anji was as cheeky as a cat, then Mingshen had to be as crafty as a fox. There was no winning the master of manipulation and information. Despite his feminine sense of fashion and a very pretty young scholar demeanour, Mingshen definitely grew up well like a bamboo. She thought Yihao was tall. However, Mingshen was still slightly taller at seventeen.

"Brother Mingshen, have mercy!" Anji squirmed in the hold. "Don’t you know that a gentleman would only use his words and not his fists?"

As if on cue, Yihao, who had just finished his bath, returned to the scene and instantly flew into rage, throwing the first punch right at Mingshen.

"Hands off! How dare you kidnap my sister in broad daylight! You must be tired of living."

Anji paled when Yihao struck with a qi-condensed fist aimed at her second brother. Although he was holding back, it was obvious in a battle of strength between the two who would be victorious.

Strangely enough, Mingshen did not even flinch. For a split second, Anji saw his eyes turn cold as she was abruptly placed onto the ground. It happened so quickly that Anji thought she was hallucinating. If not for her second vision skill, she would have taken much longer to figure out what Mingshen did.

With a small spark connecting the path of contact between their hands, Mingshen sent Yihao flying towards the window Anji had been staring out of earlier. The momentum was so great that the muscular martial artist could only blink in surprise when his body flew past the window ledge.

The chaotic entrance and unexpected ending had Anji reeling mentally for two seconds before she remembered they were residing on the top floor of this pagoda-like tower inn.

"Brother Yihao!" she screamed in panic, scrambling for her feet to move.

Behind her, Mingshen only opened his paper fan and hid the grin behind it. It was taking all his self-control to burst out in laughter. After all these years, Yihao was still as dumb as a rock. That surprised face was enough entertainment to last him a few months now. More amusingly, his younger brother, who had grown up with him, had mistaken him for an actual kidnapper on his turf. Suddenly, he was looking forward to this sibling reunion. With two endless sources of entertainment, the long journey to Chang’an won’t be boring.

"Relax," he calmed his sister, who happened to lean a little too far out the window ledge. The walls might be reinforced with talismans, but there was nothing he could do to prevent falling children. "Yihao won’t even get a scratch from this height. Bai Dajin made sure he learned the Iron Skin skill by ambushing him repeatedly in his sleep until it triggered automatically. There’s no need to worry about that brute. If anything, I’m the victim."

Victim? After throwing someone out of the top-floor window?

Anji blinked until she saw how Mingshen’s wrist that made a spark in the brief contact was starting to swell. Her medical knowledge immediately kicked in to diagnose it was a mild sprain. Compared to Yihao who was simply rolling his shoulder after the fall and walking it off like nothing happened below, that sprained wrist looked more serious.

Leaving her third brother along for now, Anji stepped back from the window. The surprised reactions of passers-by and the hole in the ground made by her third brother’s fall were not as important.

Examining the sprained wrist, Anji frowned. Something wasn’t adding up. However, before she could prob further, the main door slammed open loudly.

"You bastard! Couldn’t you have cleared up the misunderstanding in a friendlier manner?! I almost crushed the melon seller below because of you!"

Storming in, Yihao’s face was red with fury but Mingshen only donned his poker face.

"How is it my fault that you attacked me after mistaking me for a kidnapper? I only did what I had to do to defend myself. See this? Thanks to someone who threw a punch without holding back, I’m going to need a split for a few days."

Wisely, Anji kept silent about the nature of the injury for now. Instead, she focused on appeasing her third brother and thanked the heavens when Gu Ying entered with Lizi.

"It’s been many years," Anji clapped her hands joyfully. "Shall we have a feast to celebrate the reunion? I’m craving osmanthus cakes. Do you think we can get any here?"

Successfully distracted, Yihao dropped the argument and bragged that he would buy them since he saw several patrolling street vendors earlier when he fell down the window. Mingshen remained strategically silent and smiled politely at the ladies who just entered.

Between greeting Lizi and sharing stories, Anji snuck a few glances at her second brother’s direction while he discussed something with Gu Ying in a low voice. That injury was not recent. However, she would hate to dampen the vibes of their long-awaited reunion.