Bai Fanlu’s hand fell on Xiao Liu’s shoulder, giving it a gentle pat.

He intended to pull it back afterward, but Xiao Liu turned to look at him, raised his hand, and placed it over Bai Fanlu’s. Bai Fanlu was surprised but didn’t try to pull away, allowing Xiao Liu to hold his hand as he continued to speak.

“After I choked on the fish bone, my brother became even more afraid of eating fish than I was. We were very poor back then, and there wasn’t much food to eat. Fish was the only meat we could regularly get.”

“My brother was too thin, and I didn’t want him to miss out on fish because of me, so I worked hard to overcome my fear. In the end, I did it, but I never expected…”

Xiao Liu suddenly trailed off, his gaze fixed on Bai Fanlu with a glimmer of emotion flickering in his eyes, reflecting the turmoil in his heart.

Before Bai Fanlu could notice, Xiao Liu quickly lowered his head, hiding the sudden change in his expression.

Bai Fanlu had been listening intently, but the abrupt pause made him look over in confusion, only to see the young man bowing his head.

The hand that was holding his own was trembling slightly, and a pang of sadness surged through Bai Fanlu. He realized that Xiao Liu must have been separated from his brother after that incident.

So, this young man named Xiao Liu, with a face that felt oddly familiar and unforgettable, had shared a deep bond with his brother, relying on each other for survival. He had overcome his fear of choking on fish bones for his brother, only to be tragically separated from him…

So many coincidences stacked together—it was hard for Bai Fanlu not to be moved.

Xiao Liu, who are you really?

Are you truly just a figment of my imagination, conjured up as a spiritual comfort within this book?

Bai Fanlu silently questioned himself, but there was no one to provide an answer. All he could hear was the boy continuing to talk about his brother.

“Over the years, I’ve traveled to many places, just hoping to find him, but I haven’t succeeded yet. Even so, I don’t want to give up. I just feel like if I keep searching, I’ll eventually find him.”

Hearing Xiao Liu’s forlorn tone as he spoke of not finding his brother, Bai Fanlu’s heart was filled with complex emotions. No matter how similar they seemed, this boy in the story had his own brother—it wasn’t him.

In this chaotic world, where families were torn apart, perhaps they would never see each other again.

Even though Bai Fanlu knew it was ridiculous to harbor such feelings for a fictional character, he couldn’t bear to let the boy down. He gently squeezed his shoulder and softly reassured him, “You’ll find him.”

Xiao Liu looked up, startled. “Immortal brother…” He stared at Bai Fanlu with bright eyes, his gaze full of light.

Seeing his innocent expression, Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but feel both amused and pained, as a strange, unnameable emotion quietly grew in his heart, compelling him to say something he hadn’t expected to say.

“If you’d like, you can also call me ‘brother’…”

“…”

Xiao Liu’s previously sorrowful and rare mature expression was replaced with a bizarre mix of joy, suppressed laughter, and anticipation, creating an awkward yet endearing look.

Once spoken, words cannot be taken back. Bai Fanlu had no time to regret his words.

What had been a touching and emotional atmosphere took an unexpected turn, leaving Bai Fanlu bewildered as Xiao Liu jumped three feet in the air, spinning around in excitement.

Then he began shouting loudly into the distance, “Brother! Brother! I have a brother again!”

He repeated it over and over, with such enthusiasm that even Zizi lifted its eyelids and rolled its eyes dramatically in disdain.

As they say, when Xiao Liu calls “brother,” he doesn’t stop. Within a short while, he had chanted it around Bai Fanlu’s ears at least a hundred times, driving him crazy and forcing him to push Xiao Liu away.

But Xiao Liu was still delighted, his excitement sharpening his wit. He walked barefoot along the riverbank, suddenly recalling a good idea.

Earlier on their journey, he had noticed an abandoned fishing net. He went back to retrieve it and, finding that the length was just enough to stretch across the narrowest part of the river, tied one end of the net to a large rock. The other end had nothing to anchor it to on the sandy bank, so he unceremoniously pulled Bai Fanlu over to help, “Brother, help me catch some fish.”

When Bai Fanlu saw the torn net, he asked, “What are we catching fish for?”

“To sell for money!” Xiao Liu replied cheerfully.

“Alright.”

Talking about making money piqued Bai Fanlu’s interest since even an immortal couldn’t conjure money out of thin air—real gold and silver had to be earned. Besides, in the real world, he was somewhat of a money-grubber.

“You hold the net, and I’ll drive the fish toward it.” Xiao Liu handed the net to Bai Fanlu and ran upstream.

Xiao Liu dashed along the upstream riverbank, zigzagging as he went. The fish, startled by his movements, leaped out of the water, creating a flash of silver.

Bai Fanlu had a treasure bag that could hold as many fish as they could catch. In half an hour, they had caught more fish than they could count. They headed to the market before it closed, dumped the fish in a corner, and with Xiao Liu’s professional call, soon attracted fish merchants to buy them. They made a small profit.

Experiencing this way of making money for the first time, Bai Fanlu was a bit excited and even considered doing it again, but the night had fallen, so they decided to stop for now.

To Bai Fanlu’s surprise, Xiao Liu handed all the silver they had earned to him, saying, “This is to pay you back. It’s not enough yet, but I can earn more.”

Bai Fanlu had long forgotten about the inn incident, but seeing Xiao Liu’s determined expression, he said, “I also borrowed your horse, so you can keep the rest.”

“But I was earning money to give to you.”

“…I’m an immortal; I don’t need that much,” Bai Fanlu tried to persuade him. “You’re traveling on your own, so you should keep it for your expenses.”

Xiao Liu stubbornly refused to take it back, leaving Bai Fanlu with no choice but to store the silver in his treasure bag, planning to secretly return it to him next time they parted ways, just like Lord Shen had done.

After all the commotion, the sky had turned completely dark. Bai Fanlu lay on the grass, staring up at the stars.

With no trees to block the view and the air fresh and clean, the entire starry sky was laid out before him, a truly beautiful sight.

Xiao Liu lay beside him, turning over to face him. “Can’t sleep?”

“Mm…” Bai Fanlu murmured softly, “Did I wake you?”

“No,” Xiao Liu shook his head. “When I can’t sleep, I like to imagine things. After thinking for a while, I eventually fall asleep. Want to try it?”

“That would keep me awake even more,” Bai Fanlu chuckled. “When I can’t sleep, I like… Hmm… I like listening to someone tell stories. It helps me fall asleep quickly.”

“Listening to stories? Is it your mother?”

Now it was Bai Fanlu’s turn to shake his head. “No, I’m like you; I don’t have parents.”

“Oh…”

Bai Fanlu hurriedly added, afraid Xiao Liu might try to comfort him, “Actually, I don’t even know who that person is. I just liked their voice—it was very comforting and made me feel safe.”

As he spoke, Bai Fanlu paused, wondering why he was telling Xiao Liu this.

Just as he was about to change the subject, Xiao Liu scooted closer to him, “Is it someone important to you?”

Important? Bai Fanlu pondered for a moment. That person was just a figment of his imagination, a comforting presence in a fictional, two-dimensional world. It wasn’t a question of importance, but their voice was crucial for his sleep.

With a smile, Bai Fanlu replied, “Not really.”

“Oh,” Xiao Liu turned back to gaze at the stars. “Brother, you’re important to me.”

Bai Fanlu’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly realized that this “brother” wasn’t referring to him—it was obviously about Xiao Liu’s real brother in this story.

Even with that understanding, a small, unexplainable warmth spread in Bai Fanlu’s heart, and he found himself smiling unconsciously.

Perhaps because Bai Fanlu hadn’t responded to the previous statement, Xiao Liu asked again, “What about you, brother? Do you have someone very important to you?”

This question required careful thought.

He had no parents, so that important person could only be a close friend or a significant other.

In the distant memories of his childhood, there had indeed been such a person. It had nothing to do with love, but they were probably important.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have created a subconscious “phantom” after so many years, something he thought he had long forgotten.

Bai Fanlu glanced at Xiao Liu and shook his head again, “No.”

After those two words, Xiao Liu didn’t ask any more questions.

After a long while, Bai Fanlu turned to look at Xiao Liu, who had his back to him, seemingly asleep.

For some

 reason, seeing Xiao Liu’s slightly lonely back and the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders with each breath, Bai Fanlu felt he might have said the wrong thing.

On the other side, the boy wasn’t asleep. His eyes were open, and his dark pupils had a faint, deep hue, with the cool moonlight casting a thin, blueish glow over them.

If Bai Fanlu could see him at that moment, he would surely notice that these eyes didn’t quite look like “Xiao Liu’s” anymore—they resembled someone else’s.

The next morning, Bai Fanlu woke to find Xiao Liu missing. After waiting for a while, he finally saw him return, panting heavily.

“I went back to the village for a bit. They were selling fish cakes, freshly made this morning. They smelled so good that I wanted to buy some.”

Buying food didn’t require reporting.

Xiao Liu scratched his head and explained, looking a bit pitiful, “We only had a bit of fish yesterday, and I woke up feeling hungry.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Bai Fanlu thought to himself, Was I forbidding him from buying food? What’s with that expression? He couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

Xiao Liu, flustered under his gaze, blushed slightly. “I just realized when I got there that I gave all the money to you yesterday.”

Bai Fanlu couldn’t hold back this time and nearly burst out laughing. “I told you to keep some for yourself.”

He tossed the money pouch to Xiao Liu, who happily ran back to the fishing village. Zizi, from the bag slung over his shoulder, also poked its head out, its energy restored, curiously looking around.

Bai Fanlu shook his head, “This kid, really…”

Not far away, Shan Houxue, with a proud kick of its hooves, snorted loudly, seemingly voicing its strong disapproval of Bai Fanlu’s statement.

At that moment, a flash of blue light in the sky caught Bai Fanlu’s attention. He looked up to see the belated arrival of Qingniao, who fluttered its wings and landed on his shoulder.

To others, Qingniao’s chirping sounded like a bird’s song, but when it entered Bai Fanlu’s spiritual sense, it became a sentence:

“The matter in Yufang is unresolved. Senior Brother, you may proceed to Lingcheng ahead of me; there’s no need to wait.”

Bai Fanlu pondered this message repeatedly, interpreting it to mean that it would be a while before Yun Zhan could join him, so there was no rush on his end either.

Thinking of what might be holding Yun Zhan up in Yufang City, Bai Fanlu immediately thought of the saying, “Heroes can’t resist beautiful women.”

It was just as well. Let him see the world more—maybe he would forget about the grievances and entanglements with the original protagonist.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Bai Fanlu smiled as he saw Xiao Liu running back, which only added to his good mood. He even took the initiative to meet him halfway, using a spell to wipe the sweat off Xiao Liu’s forehead.

Xiao Liu tried to return the money pouch to Bai Fanlu, but this time, Bai Fanlu was firm in refusing.

“If you don’t take it, I won’t accept it.” Xiao Liu was so anxious that his brows furrowed in anger.

Bai Fanlu wasn’t swayed by the display of affection, and this time, he had a good reason for refusing, “You can’t ask me for money every time you want to buy something, can you?”

“Why not?”

“I won’t always be around.”

“…” Xiao Liu clutched the money pouch, the light in his eyes flickering like a flame in the wind, on the verge of being extinguished, “Brother, are you going to leave me too?”

Bai Fanlu was silent for a long time before he finally took hold of Shan Houxue’s reins and said, “Alright.”

“I knew you were the best, brother!” Xiao Liu’s face lit up, and he didn’t miss a chance to flatter.

Bai Fanlu was secretly annoyed at how he always softened his heart to the boy without any principles. He stood on his flying sword, trying to put some physical distance between them to regain a bit of psychological balance.

Xiao Liu mounted Shan Houxue, holding the reins in one hand while leisurely nibbling on his fish cake.

“Brother, do you want some?”

“No.”

“Oh… then I’ll eat it all myself.”

The attempt to tempt Bai Fanlu with food to get him off his sword and onto the horse failed.

But Xiao Liu wasn’t discouraged, humming a little tune to himself: There’s always next time!

Bai Fanlu floated steadily on his sword, following Shan Houxue as it strolled along. Xiao Liu was just ahead of him, giving Bai Fanlu the opportunity to secretly observe him.

But there was nothing particularly special to see. The boy’s focused and serious way of eating reminded Bai Fanlu of the little beggar he had first met, who also called him “Immortal Brother” and said he was “so nice.”

He wondered how that child was doing. Had he gone to the place Yun Zhan had directed him to, or was he still wandering, homeless and hungry?

And where was “he”… now? By his calculations, he should be around twenty-two years old, about to graduate from university.

“Xiao Liu,” Bai Fanlu suddenly called out.

Xiao Liu turned around, quickly swallowing a bite of fish cake, and looked up at Bai Fanlu.

Bai Fanlu said calmly, “Come with me to Lingcheng.”

“Huh? Really!?” Xiao Liu was so excited that he almost choked.

Bai Fanlu kept a straight face, “But let’s make it clear: You have to keep the money pouch, and when we reach Lingcheng, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“Why?” Xiao Liu looked hurt again.

Since it concerned safety, Bai Fanlu wasn’t going to compromise this time, “If you don’t agree, then…”

“I agree! I’ll listen to whatever you say, brother, just please don’t leave me now.”

The boy lowered his head, and from Bai Fanlu’s elevated position, he couldn’t see his face, but the way Xiao Liu’s shoulders slumped made his heart ache.

After some thought, Bai Fanlu added, “Didn’t you want to take me as your master? I’ll teach you some defensive spells along the way. How about that?”