I Was the Sun Before I Became an Immortal

"M-Master?!"

Li Tiezhu scrambled to his feet using all four limbs, not even bothering to dust off his backside, and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.

"Master! It's me! Tiezhu! Don't you remember me?"

He spoke frantically, waving his arms in exaggerated gestures, terrified that Si Chen might not recognize him.

Of course Si Chen hadn't forgotten — he simply had a stronger impression of the title "Immortal Emperor." He watched the boy's flustered, panicked display and found it faintly amusing.

"Get up. I remember you."

At that moment, Heishan and Chifeng walked over. Heishan's wide, bell-like eyes swept left and right. "What's going on? Where's someone? Brother, who are you talking to?"

They could hear Si Chen's voice, but they couldn't see Li Tiezhu, who was concealed by the System.

Si Chen didn't explain. He simply gave a casual wave of his hand.

The concealment effect that Li Tiezhu had paid 5,000 points for — plus steep interest — instantly collapsed.

A fully grown person materialized out of thin air, still kneeling on the ground.

Heishan lurched back in shock and bellowed in his rough, booming voice, "What the — where the hell did you come from?!"

Chifeng's brow furrowed slightly as well. He had sensed absolutely nothing of the boy's presence until just now.

And of all people — it was this kid?

Li Tiezhu himself was equally dumbstruck. He screamed inwardly at the top of his mental lungs: "You lousy System! Didn't you say absolutely no one would detect me?! What is going on?!"

Inside his mind, the System played dead with complete and utter commitment.

"M-Master..."

Li Tiezhu scratched his head and hurried to explain. "I — I just happened to be nearby... I saw someone trying to harm you, so I thought I'd see if I could help somehow..."

Those words made Heishan and Chifeng exchange a glance. The wariness in their expressions eased a little.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator who knew the danger and still dared to stay — that kind of loyalty was genuinely rare.

Si Chen knew the boy meant no harm. He gave a small nod and was about to say something when he suddenly lifted his gaze toward a spot not far away.

"My, how alert."

A woman's voice, laced with amusement, rang out from nowhere.

Everyone turned toward the sound. In the air not far away, a slender silhouette had appeared at some unknown moment.

It was a woman dressed in a long ink-black gown, her sleeves drifting in the breeze. Her features were strikingly beautiful yet carried a faint air of lethal sharpness, and she was gazing at Si Chen with a smile playing on her lips.

"Who are you?!"

Heishan and Chifeng snapped to attention instantly, positioning themselves one on each side in front of Si Chen. This woman had appeared without any warning whatsoever — they hadn't sensed her approach at all!

The woman didn't spare them so much as a glance. Her eyes remained fixed on Si Chen, a teasing smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"Little Chen, look at you — all grown up. It's only been a few years and you've already stirred up this much trouble across the entire Eastern Region."

Si Chen studied her face — vaguely familiar — and something in the long-forgotten corners of his memory suddenly lit up.

He remembered now.

When he was small, still living with the clan, Si Shuo — his Third Uncle — would occasionally have a few women around him. The one before him now was among them.

But unlike the other gentle, soft-spoken ladies, this one was... particularly fierce.

His clearest memory of her was the image of her chasing Third Uncle around the courtyard with a sword, while Third Uncle dodged and still had the nerve to tease her with his mouth, which invariably earned him an even worse beating.

Young Si Chen had found the whole scene entertaining back then. He hadn't quite understood human emotions yet, and had simply thought this game of chase looked like great fun — he'd often perched on top of the courtyard wall, watching with rapt delight.

"Auntie Mu, it's been a long time."

Those words stunned everyone present.

Heishan, who had been on the verge of cursing the woman's entire ancestral line, froze mid-expression.

A-Auntie?!

Mu Qianqian herself was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, her beautiful eyes brimming with warmth.

"Good boy — you do have a conscience after all. Your auntie didn't hold you for nothing when you were little."

She stepped forward, completely ignoring the two dumbstruck demons and the equally stunned human beside her, and reached out to ruffle Si Chen's hair.

"You were so adorable as a child. Look how big you've gotten."

Si Chen didn't resist the affectionate gesture — she'd done it plenty of times when he was small.

Red Bean poked her tiny head out curiously from his shoulder, studying this unfamiliar woman with wide eyes.

Mu Qianqian glanced at Red Bean, then looked back at Si Chen, her tone carrying a trace of reproach. "Your Si Clan, honestly — such a good child, and they just tossed you out into the world alone. If you'd come with me instead..."

She left the thought unfinished, letting out a soft sigh. Then she reached into her sleeve and produced a jade pendant, jet-black all over, engraved with a single bold character: "Night."

"Take this. If you ever run into trouble you can't handle, go to any Night Rain Tower branch. Show them this jade token and they'll treat you as if you were me in person."

Si Chen wasn't entirely sure of the pendant's full significance, but he accepted it with both hands. "Thank you, Auntie Mu."

Beside him, Li Tiezhu sucked in a sharp, horrified breath.

Night Rain Tower! The largest and most powerful assassin organization in the Eastern Region! Just what kind of background does this master of mine have?!

Mu Qianqian smiled with satisfaction — clearly very pleased by that word "Auntie."

She cast a glance at Heishan and Chifeng, who were still on high alert, and said lightly, "I'm leaving. Take care of yourself, and remember to come find your auntie if anything comes up."

Before her words had even faded, her figure dissolved into a wisp of green smoke and vanished into the air.

Only after she had completely disappeared did Heishan let out a long breath. "Brother, what's the story with your auntie? Old Bear here didn't dare breathe the whole time she was here."

Chifeng nodded in full agreement. "Her aura was completely suppressed — she came and went without a trace. At minimum, she's a great powerhouse above the Soul Transformation Stage."

Si Chen looked at the jade token in his hand, lost in thought.

This auntie of his was clearly no ordinary person. He wondered what the other aunties were like.

He recalled meeting no fewer than five of them when he was young, and each one had been remarkably distinctive.

Si Chen put the jade token away. "Let's go."

Heishan immediately perked up, cracking his knuckles eagerly. "Right, right, right — let's find somewhere to have a proper meal! Brother, you successfully condensed the Nascent Soul — that's a momentous occasion! We have to celebrate!"

Si Chen nodded, then looked over at Li Tiezhu, who was standing awkwardly to one side. "You're coming too."

"Me? Really?" Li Tiezhu pointed at himself, overwhelmed with surprise.

Heishan looked Li Tiezhu up and down, then glanced back at Si Chen, and said bluntly, "This kid's only at Foundation Establishment — he flies at a crawl. How's he supposed to keep up?"

Si Chen said nothing. He simply rummaged around in his Storage Ring for a moment.

Shortly after, a faint shimmer of light swept across the open ground, and a flying vessel materialized silently — its hull gleaming with a soft silver radiance. One look was enough to tell it was no ordinary Magical Artifact.

"Whoa!"

Heishan's bell-like eyes lit up instantly. He circled the flying vessel, poking here and touching there.

"Brother, what kind of treasure is this? Old Bear has never seen such a beautiful ship in his life!"

Even the usually composed Chifeng couldn't help clicking his tongue. "Tsk, tsk — Si Chen, your collection of valuables never fails to surprise."

Li Tiezhu stared with his eyes practically glazed over. Since transmigrating here, he hadn't even laid eyes on a Magical Artifact this expensive, let alone ridden one!

"Get on." Si Chen stepped aboard the flying vessel first.

Heishan and Chifeng followed, still brimming with curiosity, examining the vessel's interior construction as they went.

Li Tiezhu snapped out of his daze and scrambled aboard on all fours.

The interior of the flying vessel was considerably more spacious than it looked from outside.

Li Tiezhu was still reeling from everything that had just happened — the sudden appearance of the Night Rain Tower Master, the mysterious jade token, and this priceless flying vessel. There was simply too much to process, and his mind was struggling to keep up.

He carefully found a corner to sit in, but his eyes kept sneaking glances at Heishan and Chifeng, who were studying a map.

After a good while, seeing that Si Chen was calmly meditating with his eyes closed and the two demon kings had already moved on to discussing food, Li Tiezhu realized this was a prime opportunity to get in good with some powerful figures.

He sidled over shamelessly and flashed Heishan a fawning grin. "Uncle Heishan, where are we headed?"

"Who's your uncle?!" Heishan shot him a glare. "Don't go around claiming relatives you don't have, kid!"

He shuffled over to Chifeng next. "Uncle Chifeng..."

Chifeng didn't even lift his eyelids — he simply flicked his tail. The meaning was unmistakable.

Go away.

Li Tiezhu slunk back, thoroughly rebuffed, and sheepishly shrank into himself.

Just then, Si Chen's voice drifted over from deeper inside the cabin. "Li Tiezhu, come here."

"Huh? What is it, Master?" Li Tiezhu immediately trotted over eagerly.

Si Chen looked at him and asked with a hint of curiosity, "That thing inside your head — what is it?"

The expression on Li Tiezhu's face went through a spectacular transformation: first shock, then panic, and finally a strained smile forced onto his face.

"M-Master, what are you talking about? There's nothing in my head except my reverence for you and my grand ambition of becoming an Immortal Emperor..."

Si Chen said nothing. He simply looked at him, calm and steady.

Li Tiezhu's knees buckled. He dropped to the floor, grabbed Si Chen's leg, and wailed dramatically. "Master! I'll come clean about everything!"

"I didn't mean to hide it! This thing latched onto me on its own!"

"And it's a loan shark! It called me an idiot! I'm the victim here, Master!"

He launched into an incoherent tirade against the System's many "crimes" — from the forced binding to the predatory interest rates, from the absurd missions it issued to the way it always failed him at critical moments — spilling everything in one breathless torrent.

Just as he was rattling on, selling the System out with great enthusiasm, a furious voice exploded inside his mind:

[Li Tiezhu, you son of a —!]