But Because of You, I Am Here

Su Luo showed a kind smile and said, "Little sister, are you alright?"

"I... I'm fine," the little girl replied, still trembling with fear.

"That's good. Do you know how to get back home?"

The little girl nodded blankly.

"Alright then."

Su Luo and Little Yu began to walk away.

The little girl stared at her surroundings in disbelief, unable to believe she had been rescued so easily.

But soon, she thought of something and called out to them, "Wait! Big brother, big sister... could you help me kill some people?"

Su Luo replied, "Hiring us to kill isn’t cheap. What can you offer?"

The little girl searched her pockets and pulled out everything she had. "This is all I have..."

They were just worthless trinkets.

Su Luo glanced at Little Yu. "What do you think?"

Little Yu pondered for a moment before asking, "Who do you want dead?"

"They’re demons! They robbed our entire village!"

The little girl began explaining.

After hearing the gist of it, Su Luo understood—a cultivator bullying the weak just because he was stronger.

"Fine, I’ll take a look first," Little Yu said, deciding to assess the situation before acting.

"Thank you! Thank you!" The little girl clung to Little Yu as if she were her last hope.

Little Yu picked out a small fruit from the girl’s belongings—just an ordinary piece of fruit—and accepted it as payment.

"Let’s go," she said.

"They’re over there!" The little girl hurriedly led the way.

Su Luo had no objections to Little Yu’s decision.

As they walked, Little Yu remarked, "Su Luo, this reminds me of when you saved me back then."

"Oh? Well, to be honest, I just happened to save you on a whim."

Though Su Luo knew how to phrase things more romantically, he decided against it—Little Yu wouldn’t mind either way.

But unexpectedly, Little Yu pouted and said, "Couldn’t you say something nicer?"

Su Luo was taken aback—he had never seen this expression on her before.

"Little Yu, since when did you start caring about sweet words?"

She used to be fine with whatever he said. Was this her rebellious phase?

"Because someone refused to promise they’d never leave me, so I have to make up for it by hearing more nice things from them."

"......"

Definitely a rebellious phase.

But swearing to never leave for a lifetime? That was too heavy a commitment.

At this point, the little girl chimed in, "Big brother and big sister are really close, huh?"

"Of course," Little Yu replied.

They escorted the little girl back to her village, though the place was in shambles.

An elderly man spotted them and immediately warned, "You should leave quickly! Those bandits are still around!"

Su Luo nodded. "Yeah, we know. Cultivators, right?"

"No, it’s worse than that! Their leader is a Golden Core expert, infamous for his cruelty in these parts!" the old man insisted.

Cruelty? How cruel exactly?

Little Yu asked, "Compared to the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

Just then, they were surrounded.

The leader, Hu Lang, a Golden Core cultivator, burst into laughter. "We can’t compare to the Heavenly Demon Sect. What, do you know people from there?"

"Something like that," Su Luo answered.

"In that case, could you introduce me? Honestly, I’ve always wanted to join the Heavenly Demon Sect."

At the mention of the sect, Hu Lang’s eyes gleamed with ambition. Even though the sect wasn’t doing well lately, joining now might give him a better shot at obtaining high-level cultivation techniques.

"You might barely qualify, but... too bad."

"Too bad for what?"

Little Yu drew her sword and finished Su Luo’s sentence. "You’re all going to die here."

Hu Lang roared with laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke. "You? Kill me? Don’t make me laugh!"

He unleashed the full pressure of his Golden Core cultivation.

"What a shame. I’m a Golden Core expert—I almost admire your guts for daring to say I’ll die."

Su Luo and Little Yu exchanged a glance.

They struggled to hold back their laughter.

The audacity wasn’t even angering—it was just ridiculous.

Hu Lang scowled. "What’s so funny?! Kill them!"

But his lackeys stood no chance against Su Luo and Little Yu.

In an instant, they were all dead.

Hu Lang froze, then snarled in fury. "You brought this on yourselves! You could’ve died painlessly, but no—you had to make it difficult. I’ll make sure your deaths are slow and agonizing!"

He lunged forward, but Su Luo merely flicked a glance.

A deafening explosion blew off Hu Lang’s lower half.

"AAAAARGH!" He howled in agony.

Su Luo walked over leisurely and looked down at him, sprawled on the ground. "Question: If you’re trying to torture someone, but they not only refuse to cooperate but also insult you, what do you do?"

Hu Lang, gritting through the pain, spat out, "I—I won’t let you call him uncooperative!"

His survival instincts had never been stronger.

"Good answer. Too bad—try to be more careful in your next life."

BOOM!

The Golden Core expert was reduced to ashes.

Just like that.

Su Luo scanned the area—no stragglers left—and turned to leave.

"Your request is done," Little Yu told the little girl.

Then she followed Su Luo away.

It had been a trivial matter, and neither of them planned to linger.

"Thank you, big brother and big sister!"

The little girl bowed deeply in gratitude.

Little Yu waved back warmly before turning to Su Luo. "Su Luo, doesn’t she remind you of me back then?"

"How? Your circumstances were completely different."

"She suffered misfortune too. Without you, who knows what would’ve happened to her?"

"You were here too. I know you would’ve stepped in."

"True. But I’m only here because of you."

Little Yu slowly reached for Su Luo’s hand.

Then, testing his reaction, she inched closer until she was clinging to his arm.

She rarely did this before—holding hands was usually the limit.

Su Luo studied her. "You really have changed. What happened when we were heading to the Nightshade Forest?"

"I’m not telling."

Little Yu had intended to explain—it wasn’t something she wanted to hide from Su Luo—but the words caught in her throat at the last moment.

Would telling him change his mind?

Probably not right now.

So instead, she resolved to keep Su Luo through actions. Step one: learning to refuse him.

Being too obedient wouldn’t sway him—she knew Su Luo well enough to understand that.

"You’re actually saying no to me? My heart is broken."

"Ah! Are you really upset? Fine, I’ll tell you—" Little Yu panicked, nearly forgetting her plan.

"I was joking."

Su Luo didn’t intend to force her. She’d speak when she was ready.

"Then I won’t say anything." Little Yu pretended to sulk but tightened her grip on Su Luo’s arm.

The two continued their journey toward the Thousand Peaks Mountain.