As Jian Yumei reminisced in the cave, recalling the moment when he and his master had just returned to the master's home, he felt a warmth enveloping him.
Having recently lost his own kin, he had now gained new family.
His apprentice sister was adorable, and henceforth, he was never lonely.
She always pestered him with tales of the outside world, and in turn, he regaled her with many stories, especially those from books.
Jian Yumei enjoyed reading comic books and novels. Every time he passed through cities with his father, he liked to buy some books. The magical worlds of those novels brought him as much joy as his martial arts practice did.
He recalled that among the novels he bought, there were also some foreign ones, which he had once narrated to his apprentice sister.
Every time, she listened with rapt attention.
"Sister, when do you think we'll go abroad for a trip?" His sister asked.
"Well, when we grow up and start earning money, we can roam around everywhere!" Jian Yumei replied.
"Great! Can we go plunder the tombs abroad?" His sister asked.
Upon hearing this, Jian Yumei's first reaction was to roll his eyes, and his second was to acknowledge his sister's extraordinary nature.
"Sister, you are indeed exceptional. I never thought of plundering foreign tombs! Alright then, besides learning what our master teaches us, let's also learn things from foreign lands. Let's aim to plunder foreign tombs someday!" Jian Yumei said.
His sister was not simple; her mind was exceptionally active, and she learned things quickly.
Jian Yumei remembered his master mentioning that his sister's learning speed was roughly a third faster than his own.
However, the master also said that once he mastered something, his performance would likely surpass his sister's by more than a third.
"You two are making progress together. Linli learns quickly, while Mei'er has a stronger capacity for understanding. Keep learning from each other!" The master said.
This mutual learning often led to competitions between them.
Like this time's contest of lightness skill. Linli and he had been learning the "Stairway to the Sky" together for only a month, yet Linli was already challenging him. He knew he wasn't a match for her.
But he was indeed steadier than her, so in the end, he saved her.
Jian Yumei thought about these things as Linli roasted her clothes.
When Linli finished roasting her clothes and prepared to change, "Brother, don't you dare peek!" she said.
"Alright, I won't look back!" Jian Yumei replied.
"But what if another snake comes?" Linli asked.
"What do you think? Either you change at the entrance, and I'll stand here blocking the view, or I'll face the cave." Jian Yumei said.
"Alright, Brother! Thank you!" Linli said.
As Jian Yumei turned around, facing the cave, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.
He didn't know where this feeling came from, but he always felt like there was a mysterious world waiting for him inside.
At this moment, Linli exclaimed again, and Jian Yumei turned around hurriedly.
Unfortunately, he saw Linli's beautiful, unclothed body again, and his face flushed. Linli had already rushed into his arms.
Then, Jian Yumei saw the cobra peeking from the top of the cave entrance, staring at them.
Jian Yumei was startled.
"Sister, put on your clothes first and then come to my side!" Holding Linli's naked body, Jian Yumei felt embarrassed.
The problem was, he wasn't wearing much either. Both of them embraced each other, feeling very embarrassed.
Linli blushed. "What if it bites me, Brother!"
"I'm in front of you; it shouldn't. Sister, put on your clothes first. If you don't, my thoughts will run wild, and I won't be able to focus!" Jian Yumei said.
"You little rascal! You treat me like your mother! You can see my body, and you still think about things!" Linli said.
"It's different, Sister. You're not my mother. Your body is so fair; it's making me dizzy!" Jian Yumei said.
"You, you... Brother, you're quite the lecher! You're saying my body is fair!" Linli said.
"With you standing there undressed, how could I not see? I'm not blind!" Jian Yumei said.
Linli blushed instantly. This blush seemed to overcome the tension caused by her fear.
"Brother, what if there's another snake behind us?!" Linli said.
"Well, then, who knows? But you can't always do this!" Jian Yumei said.
"You're taking advantage of me and then blaming me! You rascal!" Linli said.
Jian Yumei laughed. Seeing the snake and the beauty before him at the same time was indescribably funny.
"You're still laughing. I'll go change my clothes at the back!" Linli pouted. She glanced sneakily at the snake behind her and then slipped away to the back.
Jian Yumei intended not to look at his sister's body, but he had to carefully observe the movements of the snake. Yet, his sister's body was fully visible.
"Ashamed!" he whispered quietly.
But then, there was another problem. He heard Linli scream again.
Jian Yumei turned around, following his sister's gaze.
Sure enough, another cobra appeared in the cave.
We're surrounded! Jian Yumei thought as Linli once again threw herself into his arms.
Faced with the encirclement of two cobras and his sister's delicate body, Jian Yumei felt like a real man at that moment.
Jian Yumei looked at the two cobras and realized their strangeness.
He saw that the top of their heads was golden, as if they wore two golden crowns. Jian Yumei squinted and indeed saw that the crowns on the heads of the two cobras were different.
It was evident that the crown on the head of the snake in front was larger, presumably a king's crown, while the crown on the snake coming out of the cave was smaller, indicating a lesser crown.
Jian Yumei nodded. He knew these were two extraordinary snakes. If humans had placed golden crowns on their heads, they must have been raised by humans.
Otherwise, artifacts created by humans wouldn't appear out of thin air!
Since they were raised by humans, Jian Yumei thought, there probably wasn't much danger.
But he also discreetly felt the small knife in his boot.
Jian Yumei thought that if necessary, he would fight them!
However, gradually, he noticed that the eyes of these two snakes didn't have fierce intentions. From their behavior, he could see they were quite friendly.
This feeling was strange!
"Sister, put on your clothes. I think they mean no harm. Let's put on our clothes and see what they want!" Jian Yumei said.