Chapter 19: We Are Sisters

Qin Guan soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.

A series of stone steps wound upward like a coiling dragon, twisting and turning all the way to the summit.

At the base of the steps stood a wooden sign bearing four characters: "Know Your Limits."

Know Your Limits.

Qin Guan glanced at the sign and stepped onto the first stair.

The moment he did, an invisible pressure surged up around him, as though a massive boulder had been placed on his shoulders.

"So it's a gravity field."

Qin Guan smiled faintly. This level of pressure was nothing more than a tickle to him — after all, he used to do squats while carrying an entire small mountain on his back.

He moved quickly up the steps and disappeared around the first bend in no time at all.

Meanwhile, every other participant occupied a space identical to Qin Guan's, though the gravity pressing down on them was far lighter than what he faced.

One hour later.

Halfway up the mountain, Nan Qiao and Nan Rou climbed one behind the other, each step a visible struggle. Their faces had gone deathly pale, and every bone in their bodies ached under the crushing weight.

Not far behind them, two young men dressed in blue robes crept along furtively, glancing back over their shoulders every so often.

"Brother Long, I think we should forget it," said one of them — a scrawny youth — with a nervous edge to his voice.

"There's no one around for miles. Miss this chance and it won't come again," the one called Brother Long replied in a low, firm tone.

"Those two girls are top-tier, no question — but one of them is Qin Guan's woman and the other is his sister-in-law. If he finds out, he'll kill us."

The scrawny youth swallowed nervously.

Brother Long slapped him across the back of the head.

"You spineless coward. Men like you never get to taste anything good in life. Qin Guan has already made an enemy of Spirit Sword Academy. Once this Secret Realm closes, not only will he be finished — the entire Nan Family will be wiped off the map. We do this, get out of the Secret Realm fast, and leave no trace behind. Understand?"

The scrawny youth hesitated. "So we're not going to explore the Secret Realm at all?"

"Idiot. We're already halfway up and barely holding on. You think you can make it to the top?"

"Fair point!" The scrawny youth's eyes lit up, and then a lecherous grin spread across his face. "Brother Long, one each, right? One girl each?"

"One each? Why not share and swap? Wouldn't that be more fun?"

"Ha! Brother Long always knows how to have a good time. Just thinking about it gets me going!"

"Damn it, keep your voice down."

The two young men finished their scheming and quickened their pace up the mountain.

Before long, they had closed the gap and were right behind Nan Rou and Nan Qiao.

Brother Long smiled and called out, "Ladies, you've still got nearly half the mountain left to climb. The pressure only gets worse the higher you go. If you push yourselves too hard, you could end up with damaged meridians."

Nan Rou and Nan Qiao both turned to look back down at them.

"Thank you for the warning," Nan Qiao said, cupping her hands politely toward the two. She had recognized them as disciples of Yunlan Sect.

"Cultivation is a hard road. Why don't the four of us climb together? We can look out for each other," Brother Long said with a smile.

"Right, right — climbing together makes it much easier!" The scrawny youth nodded eagerly, his face practically broadcasting his ill intentions.

"Motherfucker…"

Brother Long ground his back teeth together. The scrawny idiot might as well have written "I'm here to cause trouble" on his forehead.

"No need. My sister and I will be heading back down shortly," Nan Rou said, her guard immediately up at the pair's obvious bad intentions.

"What a coincidence — we were thinking of calling it quits too. Why don't we find somewhere to rest? Maybe give each other a little massage to loosen up?"

Brother Long dropped the pretense entirely and began advancing toward Nan Rou and Nan Qiao as he spoke.

"Shameless! Get back!"

Nan Qiao drew her sword immediately, forcing the two back.

"Feisty — I like feisty. That one's mine. You take the other one!"

Brother Long's eyes raked over Nan Qiao's figure, and he swallowed hard.

"Deal!" The scrawny youth lunged at Nan Rou — though the gravity slowed him down considerably.

"Stay away from me!"

Nan Rou had no combat experience whatsoever. Panicking, she swung her hand wildly at him, but the scrawny youth sidestepped it with ease.

He reached out to grab Nan Rou's arm — but from the side, Nan Qiao suddenly slashed downward with her sword. Had the scrawny youth not reacted quickly, his arm would have been severed clean off.

"Brother Long, keep your spicy girl in check!"

Furious at having his fun ruined, the scrawny youth snarled.

"This one's got some fight in her. Both of us — take her down first!"

Brother Long pointed at Nan Qiao and barked the order. He hadn't expected Nan Qiao to hold her own against him even under this crushing pressure. As an outstanding disciple of Yunlan Sect, failing to subdue a young miss from a third-rate clan was genuinely embarrassing.

The two of them rushed at Nan Qiao together.

"How dare you bully my sister!"

Bang!

Seizing the chaos, Nan Rou snatched up a rock and smashed it hard against the back of the scrawny youth's skull.

"Aaagh!"

The scrawny youth howled in pain, spun around, and kicked Nan Rou hard enough to send her crashing into a tree.

"Get back! Don't come any closer!"

Nan Qiao swung her sword frantically as she retreated step by step.

Soon, Brother Long and the scrawny youth had her cornered with nowhere left to go.

The scrawny youth lunged at Nan Qiao's chest with an open palm. She slashed at him with her sword — but it was a feint. He darted back quickly, and her strike cut through empty air. In that same instant, Brother Long seized the opening and grabbed at Nan Qiao's chest.

Nan Qiao twisted sideways in a panic to dodge.

Riiip!

Brother Long tore her outer robe away, exposing her smooth, delicate shoulder.

"Help! Someone help!"

Nan Qiao screamed and kept swinging her sword desperately. Brother Long and the scrawny youth circled her like hunting dogs on a prairie, striking whenever they saw an opening.

Rip! Rip!

More of Nan Qiao's clothing was torn away. She clutched her chest tightly with both hands, her eyes wide with terror.

"Mmm, she smells wonderful…"

Brother Long leaned in toward Nan Qiao and inhaled deeply, letting out a vile laugh.

"Let me have a sniff too!" The scrawny youth craned his neck forward and closed his eyes, ready to breathe in.

But just as he did, Nan Rou came charging back and slammed her palm into his back.

Thud!

The scrawny youth's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Nan Rou's strike sent him staggering forward, spitting a mouthful of blood.

"Qiao'er, are you all right?!"

Nan Rou rushed in front of Nan Qiao, shielding her.

"Motherfucker, you little bitch — I'll violate you before I kill you!"

The scrawny youth flew into a rage and drew his sword. Beside him, Brother Long had already produced a sharp blade of his own.

The two of them advanced slowly toward Nan Rou and Nan Qiao like wolves baring their fangs.

"Back off — if my husband finds out about this, he'll kill you both!" Nan Rou stood her ground in front of Nan Qiao and warned them.

"Ha! I don't scare that easily!" Brother Long threw his head back and laughed.

"Stop right there!"

Just as the two were about to strike, a furious shout rang out from behind them.

Two soldiers in black armor from Wei Kingdom had appeared.

The two black-armored soldiers strode forward quickly.

"What's going on here?" the larger of the two demanded in a stern voice.

"Please, help us!" Nan Rou cried out to them the moment she saw them.

"I'd advise you two to stay out of this," Brother Long said, narrowing his eyes. "Otherwise, Yunlan Sect will be paying Wei Kingdom a visit to settle accounts."

"Big words. You think threats work on me?" The burly black-armored soldier let out a cold laugh.

"Fine. Yunlan Sect will remember this. Ah Liang — let's go." Brother Long snorted and turned to leave.

"Thank you so much!"

Nan Rou hurried over to the two soldiers and bowed her head in gratitude.

"No need for thanks, miss. Just be more careful — there are all sorts of people in a place like this." With that, the two black-armored soldiers turned and walked away.

"Qiao'er, are you hurt?" Once the soldiers were gone, Nan Rou rushed to Nan Qiao's side and draped her outer robe over her shoulders.

"I… I'm fine." Nan Qiao shook her head. But thinking back on how close she had come to being violated by those two men, a wave of lingering dread washed over her.

"Let's go quickly. We'll follow those two soldiers — it'll be safer that way!" Nan Rou said, and immediately took Nan Qiao's hand and hurried after the black-armored soldiers.

Nan Qiao watched Nan Rou's retreating figure with a complicated look in her eyes. This was the sister she had always looked down on most within the Nan Family — and yet just now, she had thrown herself into danger without a second thought to save her. A storm of conflicting emotions churned inside Nan Qiao, and all the prejudices she had harbored over the years crashed through her mind like waves.

In her memories, Nan Rou had always been unremarkable — quiet, unassuming, perpetually sickly — a stark contrast to Nan Qiao's own brilliance and the attention she had always commanded.

She had mocked Nan Rou countless times in her heart, dismissing her as someone the Nan Family could do without. Yet now, that frail but resolute silhouette had shattered everything she thought she knew.

After a long silence, Nan Qiao summoned her courage. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Why did you save me? You could have run."

Nan Rou turned her head slightly and looked at Nan Qiao. She said softly, "Because we are sisters."

Such simple words — yet they struck Nan Qiao like a hammer blow to the chest. She bit her red lip, her eyes growing misty. "Thank you… Sister."