5 #4- Big Brother!

Explanations for certain terms:

1. Lord Black Fox is a nickname others have given Xu Yun for his terrifying power. Otherwise, he should have be known as Lotus Young Lord instead. Xu Jin(his father) would naturally be Lotus Lord.

"Jin'Er!"Xu Yun cried out, devastation plastered on his face. He went on a month-long trip to a neighbouring country to establish power, only to be greeted with the news of his sister's 'death' when he returned. Grief-stricken, he galloped on his fastest horse, the Dark Knight, to the Lotus Manor, hoping that what he had heard was untrue.

However, as soon as he arrived, he saw his sister standing in the middle of the floating garden, a peaceful smile plastered on her face and her body seemingly glowing, and he couldn't help but cry.

As the position Jin Ning stood, had completely blocked out their father, Xu Yun could only see his sister. In addition, the glowing lantern that Xu Jin was holding onto had perfectly illuminated Jin Ning, and created an illusion that a halo of light was surrounding her.

Xu Yun hastily jumped off the horse, and stumbled towards Jin Ning.

"Oh my dear Jin'er,"He sobbed, as he extended his arms to embrace Jin Ning tightly. "Why did you do this? Why do I return home only to see your soul? You are dead, and we are suffering!"

Never once did Xu Yun stop to think why he could embrace a ghost, and continued to bawl endlessly. He also didn't notice the darkening look on Jin Ning's and Xu Jin's faces.

Suddenly, he felt his head being smacked, and he angrily turned around.

"Who-!... Father?"

Xu Jin pursed his lips unhappily as he glared at his son. "Idiot! Are you trying to curse your sister? She's still alive!"

Xu Yun frowned upon hearing his words. However, his overactive mind misunderstood his father's words as him being unable to come to terms with his sister's death and was simply thinking that she was still alive. He felt bad for his father, and pointed at Jin Ning.

"Father, I can't accept this as well, but Jin Ning's soul is right here,"He sobs, his finger trembling as he tugged on Xu Jin's sleeves. He shut his eyes, and sniffs, "I don't know how much time she has left, but we must treasure every single second..."

Jin Ning's face grew darker by the minute.

Was this really the so-called awesome, valiant and confident Xu Yun? The perfect Lord Black Fox¹ as others call him? She really couldn't see him as it!

Jin Ning grabbed onto Xu Yun's hand and explains, "Brother, I'm alive! I didn't die. See, I'm well and dandy."

He turned to his father and asked hesistantly, "Father, did you....just hear Jin'er talk?"

Xu Jin rolled his eyes at his son, "Of course. What did you think? Your sister is really well and alive!"

Xu Yun was both happy and embarrassed. His lips twitched in shame and he let go of Jin Ning. He gently touched her face, and carassed it. Upon realising that her face was indeed warm and not ice cold, Xu Yun burst into tears of happiness.

"Oh Jin'er! Don't scare brother like this anymore!"He says as he ruffles his beloved sister's hair. He only had this one little sister, and he really adored her!

"Don't worry, Brother. I've seen through him...and now, I want revenge! ",Jin Ning says , and this assured the father and son duo.

"Good! That's great! Return that bastard the karma he deserves! Jin'er, feel free to ask brother if you need any help!"Xu Yun says happily, patting his chest with pride.

Great, he could finally take revenge on that idiotic Prince without his sister begging him not to!

Unbeknownst to Xu Jin and Jin Ning, he had already been plotting ways to torture the Prince. The Prince would likely wish he was dead instead!

"Thank you, Brother. Now, let's all go and eat the porridge Mother cooked. It smells heavenly!"Jin Ning exclaimed hungrily, as the fragrant and tempting smell of various dishes wafted to her nose. She quickly rushes in the direction towards the smell, and both Xu Jin and Xu Yun laughed before following her.

When Jin Ning reached the kitchen, she saw Chen Xi sitting at the table, her eyes shining upon seeing the feast.

Xu Ning had whipped up a century egg porridge, deep fried chicken cooked with spicy sauce, spinach with chicken stock and lotus root soup. She stood by the table smilingly, guiding her daughter to sit as Xu Jin and Xu Yun quickly pulled out chairs to sit down. She then seats herself between Jin Ning and Chen Xi, and giggles,"Stop drooling at the food. Pick your chopsticks up and eat them!"

As soon as everyone heard her words, they picked up their chopsticks and grabbed as many of the food as they could. Chen Xi, whilst chewing on a chicken, exclaims,"Wow, Madam Xu! These are so good! I wish my mother could cook as well as you!"

Xu Ning laughs, touching Chen Xi's arm endearingly. "Madam Chen will be unhappy to hear this. Her dishes are really good as well!"

"Yes, but I love your dishes more! Madam Xu, can I drop by tomorrow to eat your dishes again?"She asks excitedly, as she does not forget to stuff more food into her mouth. Xu Ning nods her head while laughing.

"Tsk, tsk. Look how you are eating! No wonder you can't find the perfect husband yet!"Xu Yun comments disgustedly, as Chen Xi shot a venomous look at him.

"You don't have to worry about that! I have many concubines by my side who can fufill my every need!"She retorts, as Xu Ning stares amusedly at the bantering two.

"Aiya, you two... Since young, you've always fought with each other! Even now, when you two are grown adults!"Xu Jin shakes his head disapprovedly.

"Father, you can't blame me. She's so irritating!"

"Hey! You are more annoying!"

The two fought for the rest of the meal, and hearty laughter could be heard until the late of night. Jin Ning, feeling tired, decided to excuse herself and headed straight to bed.

However, that wasn't the only reason. The Black Jade that she had slipped into her robes was starting to heat up. Concerned, she quickly took it out as soon as she was in the safety of her own room, and gently tapped on it.

"Hey, Black Jade! Are you alright?"She whispers, as Black Jade jerked a little, and suddenly flew up into the air. It hesistantly exclaims, "...I'm sensing someone from your past life."

Jin Ning was surprised.

"You know about my past life?"She questions it, shocked. Black Jade pauses, and suddenly started glowing brightly. Red flames erupted from it with great power, and Jin Ning felt a sudden phase of dizziness.

She fainted, and by the next time she woke up, Jin Ning found herself in a grassland, with various shining swords and shields. She was pleasantly surprised, especially when she noticed that one of them was the Sword Of Nirvana, a legendary sword that had been lost centuries ago!

It was reputed that its previous owner was the fiance of a famous Lord that shook the mainland back then with his unimaginable power. However, the Lord was very protective of his lover, and never revealed her identity.

"Woah..."Jin Ning exclaims absent-mindedly, until a tap on her leg woke her from her reverie. She instinctively looked down, and saw a adorable boy looking up at her with dewy, large eyes.

How cute!

The little dumpling tugged on her robes, and waved his hands.

"I'm Black Jade!"He tells her proudly, as Jin Ning slowly squatted down and observed him. She then pinches his chubby cheeks and cooed, "I didn't expect you to be so cute!"

His face turned bright red, and he folded his arms.

"Of course, this jade here is the most handsome and outstanding one out of all the other jade!"

Jin Ning laughs silently, and patted his small head. "Yes,yes. But for now, tell me, how did you know about my past life?"She asks him, as he takes a deep breath, and confesses.

"I'm a divine artificact that grants people with reincarnation. Apart from that, I can sense people that was around you when you died in your past lives. However, I cannot tell how your past life is like."

Jin Ning was greatly shakened.

Such a powerful artifact is actually in her hands! What would happen if powerful cultivators out there were to hear of this?

She couldn't help but shudder at those thoughts. She was so powerless now, anyone could easily rip her apart. The thought of getting strong to be able to protect herself and her family was once again imposed in her mind.

Hence, she anxiously questioned Black Jade, "Do you know who's that person?"

If the person was an ally, it would certainly be great!

"Well, this..."

Black Jade hesitantly spoke, before shaking his head.

"I can't tell. This person's cultivation level is simply too strong."

Jin Ning shuddered. She really wished that he didn't mean her any harm. Otherwise, she would never have another chance at life again!

Upon noticing her grave expression, Black Jade hastily tugged on her robes with his small hands, and comforted her, "Don't worry! I can vaguely tell that he doesn't mean you harm."

Hearing that, Jin Ning sighed in relief. However, she knew that she still couldn't relax. She needed to get stronger! Harbouring these thoughts in her head, the exhausted Jin Ning went to bed to rest, while placing Black Jade on her dresser.

As a result, she didn't notice that Black Jade started to glow a bright red again, and it seemed to bounce about frantically, before landing back onto the dresser with a soft thud.

A/N:

Hi everyone! Apologies for this extremely delayed update :") I hope you enjoy the story till thus far(this is my first time writing a novel, so I'm rather inexperienced xD). Thank you so much for the power stones and comments that you guys have given!! I was quite surprised because I thought no one would ever see my novel ahahah, but thank you so much! (*＾▽＾)／