People: Xu Moli (Part 1)

"I hate my brother the most!"

Blackstone City.

Winter.

A fierce wind howled, carrying snowflakes that formed a silver-white abyss, devouring everything between heaven and earth, obscuring all vision.

At the door of a small wooden hut.

A young figure dashed out.

Running while wiping away tears.

Ignoring the loud calls of protest behind her.

Xu Moli cried pitifully, her sobs full of grievance, and soon she disappeared into the blizzard, swallowed by the swirling snow.

She didn’t understand.

She had been so well-behaved, waiting at home for her brother’s return.

Yet instead of praise, she received only harsh scolding.

"Brother is so mean!" The young girl wept bitterly, the gale roaring behind her like a beast, threatening to consume her.

As she cried,

Little Moli began to feel afraid.

Tears welled in her eyes as she glanced around the dark path, but nothing looked familiar.

The snowstorm was too heavy.

It had swallowed everything.

She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear.

Only the fear in her heart grew clearer.

Her tiny feet shuffled hesitantly in the snowy night, trembling with uncertainty.

In this dim, lightless world, little Moli started to regret running so far. She missed home, missed being held in her brother’s arms.

"Brother will come take me back…"

A gust of wind snapped a branch.

It crashed down beside her.

Startled, she shrank into a corner, trembling, waiting for her brother to bring her home.

But after crouching for a while,

She decided she couldn’t just wait helplessly.

So, little Moli mustered her courage and retraced her steps, carefully feeling her way forward through the endless snow.

"What is everyone looking at?"

Xu Moli was delighted.

She had found her way home all by herself.

Pleased with herself, she decided she would brag to Xu Xi about how capable she was once she saw him.

But on the way back,

A crowd had gathered ahead.

They murmured and shook their heads, sighing as if lamenting something.

"……"

Little Moli stood confused, curious yet uneasy as she approached.

Her small, frail body lacked the strength to push through the wall of people.

She could only widen her eyes,

Straining to peer through the gaps, catching glimpses of what lay within.

[A carriage stopped in the middle of the road]

[A pool of crimson blood on the ground]

[A scattering of cheap, hard candies]

"Bro… bro…"

Her breath hitched.

Her eyes welled up.

The girl collapsed into the snow, her lips trembling as she tried to utter the full word, but fear stole her voice.

Then—

A familiar pair of hands reached from behind.

They lifted the limp little Moli,

Cradling her in an embrace.

His voice was urgent, weary: "Moli, where did you run off to? I couldn’t find you anywhere."

"I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have scolded you like that."

The crowd slowly dispersed.

Xu Moli finally saw what they had been staring at.

A stray dog had been struck by the carriage,

Its body mangled, blood staining the snow.

She turned away, burying herself in Xu Xi’s arms, sniffling in grievance. "Brother, I want to go home."

"Alright, alright."

Xu Xi soothed her softly,

Carrying little Moli back toward the wooden hut.

Their home.

……

……

After settling into life at the Heavenly Sword Sect,

Little Moli noticed something.

They were rich now.

She and her brother had become wealthy.

"Wow~~~"

Her eyes sparkled like stars as she watched Xu Xi pour out piles of spirit stones and various mystical artifacts whose uses she couldn’t even name.

"Do you like them?" Xu Xi asked with a smile.

"Yes! I love them!"

Xu Moli nodded eagerly, gathering the heavy spirit stones in her arms and scurrying to stack them in her room, muttering to herself:

"With so much money, Brother won’t have to chop wood or scavenge coal anymore."

"I’ll manage the money for Brother."

"Money makes money, interest piles up—Brother will never have to worry about food or clothes again!"

Her ambitions were grand.

She knew she had no spiritual roots for cultivation.

But she could still help her beloved brother in other ways.

"Go, Xu Moli!"

Pumping her tiny fists, she huffed and puffed as she hauled another pile of spirit stones inside.

But before long,

Little Moli burst into tears again.

Seeing her struggle, Xu Xi gifted her a storage pouch that required no magic—just a thought to store anything.

In comparison,

Her efforts felt wasted.

She was heartbroken.

……

……

After some time in the Heavenly Sword Sect,

Xu Moli began to adjust.

Though she couldn’t cultivate, leaving a faint regret in her heart, she found warmth among the kind souls of Forest Sword Peak.

"How do I make Brother happy?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, little Moli, you’ve come to the right person."

Inside the smoke-filled Pill Hall,

Dozens of cauldrons stood, their surfaces scorching red as disciples formed hand seals to refine pills.

Amid the rising medicinal mist,

In a corner of the hall,

Little Xu Moli clutched a book titled 108 Ways to Capture a Man’s Heart, gifted to her by a senior sister from the Pill Hall.

The senior sister flicked her hair confidently.

"Follow this book exactly, and no man can resist you."

Xu Moli’s eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course."

Before parting, the senior sister made her swear secrecy—no one could know the book came from her.

"Okay!"

Xu Moli agreed.

Her brother was her closest person.

He didn’t count as "someone else."

"Thank you, kind sister!"

Clutching the book, she dashed back to their cave abode, flopping onto the bed, kicking her legs as she flipped through the pages.

She gasped, frowned, and nodded in turns.

Later,

The senior sister was punished with three months of fire-tending duty—for stepping into the hall with her left foot first.

When Xu Moli visited,

The kind sister’s face was blackened from smoke.

Moli couldn’t bear it.

"I’ll ask Brother to go easy on you!"

"Wait, no—!"

Her sentence was extended to six months.

……

……

The New Year approached.

Xu Moli counted the days on her fingers.

This was their first New Year in the Heavenly Sword Sect—a momentous occasion worth celebrating grandly.

So while Xu Xi was in seclusion,

She took it upon herself to prepare everything.

She dragged a huge sack of decorations back to the cave,

Ordered ingredients delivered,

And was about to showcase her culinary skills on a spirit fish larger than herself—when a familiar hand grabbed the back of her collar.

"Moli, I told you, leave these things to me."

"Ah…"

Her enthusiasm deflated.

She had just wanted to help.

But her disappointment faded quickly as the flavors of the New Year’s feast danced on her tongue, filling her with excitement.

And love for the brother beside her.

"I thought Moli hated me?"

"Not at all, I adore you the most, brother!"