Have You Met My Brother?[Comprehensive Martial Arts + Sword Three] Chapter 12

The kicked-open door swung inward. The first to rush in was a woman in red holding a sword—she looked about thirty, quite beautiful, but her face was currently contorted with anger, lending her a frightening, murderous aura. Trailing behind her was a simple-looking youth who appeared sturdy and mature for his age.

The red-clad woman’s gaze immediately fell upon Guo Xiang, whose eyes were wide with surprise. She spoke instantly: “Well, look at you! You’ve learned to run away from home! And now you’re mixing with these lowlifes! I think you’re itching for a beating!”

Yan Bugui, the “lowlife” in question, raised an eyebrow, holding his saber and watching silently from the side. Chu Liuxiang, the other “lowlife,” rubbed his nose awkwardly. Noticing that most of the people outside the door were busybodies who had gathered to watch the commotion, and realizing that the master who had knocked earlier was no longer nearby, he subtly glanced at the fine gravel on the floor before quietly closing the door, shutting out the prying eyes of outsiders.

Guo Xiang, who had been instantly scolded, blinked rapidly, then threw herself onto the woman in red, seizing the opportunity to press down the hand holding the sword. She said with a cheerful smile: “Big Sister, why are you here? And Little Brother, have you eaten?”

Guo Polu, the little brother, scratched his head and replied, “Just finished eating…”

However, before he could finish, he was interrupted by the woman in red—the one Guo Xiang called “Big Sister” was naturally Guo Fu, the eldest daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. She had intended to strike, but being hugged by her second sister, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed by the girl’s lack of sense. She immediately let out a cold snort:

“Hmph! Why am I here? Of course, you don’t want to see us! You’ve been gone for so many days without sending a single message to say you’re safe! I think your heart has gone wild, and you no longer care about your family! When we get back, Father and Mother should definitely ground you!”

Guo Xiang let out an “Aiya,” as if she wanted to say something, but Guo Fu, seeing that Guo Xiang was intentionally or unintentionally blocking her, grabbed Guo Xiang’s wrist. She glared fiercely at Yan Bugui and Chu Liuxiang, and sternly cut in: “You are coming back with us!”

Guo Xiang stumbled, but quickly stabilized her stance. She tried to negotiate: “Big Sister, you and Little Brother go back first. I’ll catch up after I say goodbye to my friends.”

Guo Xiang’s casual attitude instantly made Guo Fu even angrier—the three siblings had left Peach Blossom Island together, and their parents had entrusted her with looking after her younger siblings. Yet, this second sister had silently left behind a nonsensical letter full of rubbish, revolving only around the theme of “I’m going to roam the jianghu,” and then vanished!

Guo Fu still remembered how panicked she had been, her hands and feet ice cold. When their parents finally tracked them down using the markers they left, she didn’t know how to face them. Now that she had finally found this second sister who had caused them endless trouble, the girl was still dragging her feet and unwilling to leave. This was like pouring a pot of boiling hot oil onto her already raging fury!

Guo Fu, whose temper was never mild, immediately exploded: “Guo Xiang! It seems we spoiled you too much at home, making you lawless! You’ve made a huge mistake, and you still don’t know how to repent! Are your so-called lowlife friends better than the family who has been desperately searching for you?”

She ranted at Guo Xiang, then glared at the “lowlife friend” Chu Liuxiang, who was trying to minimize his presence, and the “lowlife friend” Yan Bugui, whose expression was inscrutable. “If you have the guts, state your names! Let me see what kind of petty scoundrels have tricked my second sister into abandoning her family!”

Seeing that Yan Bugui had no intention of speaking, Chu Liuxiang stepped forward and said, “Please calm down, Miss Guo. There might be some misunderstanding here…”

“There is no misunderstanding!” Guo Fu immediately interrupted. She snorted at Guo Xiang again. “You insist on staying? Fine! Then we will all stay and clarify exactly what good deeds you and they have been up to!”

“Aiya, Big Sister, when did I say I insisted on staying? Alright, I regret it, I regret it. We’ll go back together right now, okay?” Guo Xiang now proactively began pushing her sister toward the door. She then turned to Yan Bugui and Chu Liuxiang and said, “Two elder brothers, we’ll be leaving first. See you another day—oh, and this meal is on me.”

With that, she casually placed a small money pouch on the stool and gave her little brother a look, signaling him to help “lead” Guo Fu away. Guo Polu looked left at his big sister, who refused to let the matter rest, and looked right at his second sister, who wanted to cut the knot quickly and maintain peace. He chose neutrality, remaining silent and motionless.

Initially, Guo Fu wanted to take her sister away, and Guo Xiang wanted to stay. Now, Guo Xiang wanted to push her sister out, and Guo Fu refused to comply. Neither sister could convince the other, and their pushing and shoving quickly escalated into a physical exchange. However, their martial arts skills came from the same source, and after a few exchanges, neither could gain an advantage over the other.

Seeing that Guo Fu and Guo Xiang were close to losing their tempers during the sparring, Guo Polu suddenly spoke: “Big Sister, Second Sister, Father and Mother are still waiting for us.”

Hearing this, Guo Xiang subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Guo Fu glared at her little brother, then shot a very unfriendly look at Yan Bugui and Chu Liuxiang, who were watching the show. As she walked, she mocked Guo Xiang: “Look at the friends you make! They just stand there doing nothing when they see you at a disadvantage, acting like cowards when trouble arises. You can only meet people like this!”

The time spent on the sisters’ martial exchange was less than ten breaths. Both Yan Bugui and Chu Liuxiang could have easily intervened if they wished, but for their own reasons, neither made a move or spoke a word.

Guo Xiang clearly treated her sister’s words as wind passing by her ears. She turned and waved goodbye to the two “elder brothers” in a friendly manner, mouthing the words “See you in a couple of days,” before smiling and leaving with her big sister and little brother.

As the three siblings departed, and the private room door opened and closed, Chu Liuxiang looked at the calm-faced saber wielder: “I thought Young Hero Yan was acquainted with Miss Guo the Second and would help her deal with her sister, assisting her in staying.”

He had only spoken one sentence before remaining silent. This was not because he was angry that Guo Fu had cut him off, nor was it because he had just met “Guo the Second” and chose to stand by because she wasn’t a close acquaintance.

In the past, he was a smooth operator who knew how to speak to ghosts and men alike. However, he knew that some people and some matters could not be treated lightly; one wrong word could lead to more trouble. More importantly, Guo Xiang clearly did not want them to confront her sister directly.

He could discern this purely through his years of experience roaming the jianghu. Yet, he hadn’t expected Yan Bugui, whom he thought was more direct and better acquainted with Guo Xiang, to also remain completely still, his attitude seeming even colder.

“Because running away without saying goodbye and leaving home are indeed not things to be encouraged. I had already considered sending Miss Guo the Second home, so now that her family has taken her back, it resolves a concern of mine.” Saying this, Yan Bugui, who had been calmly looking down and fiddling with the pom-pom on his saber hilt, paused. His tone when he spoke next held a subtle nuance.

“Moreover, I have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. When an older sibling in a family scolds a younger sibling for doing something wrong, if an outsider intervenes—whether to help or speak up, and regardless of whether their actions or words are reasonable—the result will only be to provoke the older sibling further. It won’t resolve the issue; it will only escalate the conflict into an uncontrollable, terrible situation.”

Chu Liuxiang was silent for a moment. Yan Bugui’s words seemed to show deep empathy for Guo Xiang’s situation, and from that perspective, he wasn’t wrong. However, if the person here hadn’t been as open-minded as Guo Xiang, they might have developed some resentment. He cleared his throat and followed the topic: “Is Young Hero Yan perhaps thinking of your two elder brothers?”

Yan Bugui nodded and sighed: “To be honest with Brother Chu, I actually ran away from home once too. When my brother found me back then, he nearly broke my leg!”

The brother the saber wielder referred to was Xie Donghai. After he joined the Saber Sect at age thirteen, he would still spend a day or two every month returning to Penglai to talk and act spoiled around his Brother Xie. In the ninth year of Tianbao, he went with Xie Donghai to watch the Overlord Arena and saw that Fang Ziyou, who was a year younger than him, had already won the championship. He felt inadequate.

Therefore, he returned to the Saber Sect and trained even harder for a year until he hit a bottleneck and developed the idea of traveling to the Central Plains for experience. But when he tested Xie Donghai’s reaction, his brother clearly didn’t want him to travel too far. So, he acted first and reported later, lying to his brother that he would be in closed-door cultivation at the Saber Sect for a few years and wouldn’t return to Penglai, though he promised to send a letter every month.

He then wrote a hundred letters and gave them to a fellow disciple to mail one to his Brother Xie each month, while he himself ran off to the Central Plains—only to be personally tracked down by Xie Donghai two years later.

The first jianghu person he met after arriving in the Central Plains was actually his biological brother, Liu Yuan—though at the time, his Brother Liu was using an alias to roam the jianghu, and they were unaware of their relationship, meeting as rivals first.

When Xie Donghai arrived, he and Liu Yuan had just completed a major task—forcing their way into the garrison of a Shence Army squad and killing their leader. They were still covered in fresh wounds when his Brother Xie caught them red-handed. The cold laugh Xie Donghai gave then was something he could never forget. And after that…

Yan Bugui shook his head, returning from his memories to the present, and continued: “Seeing Miss Guo the Second’s sister so furious today reminded me of the lesson my brother taught me back then. Miss Guo the Elder’s concern for her sister is genuine. Even though I am friendly with Miss Guo the Second, it would be inappropriate for me to speak against her sister. So, I chose to be a deaf and mute bystander.”

Chu Liuxiang also said: “Miss Guo the Elder was in a fit of rage. Avoiding her sharp edge is a prudent response. They can clarify the matter later once she has calmed down.”

Yan Bugui looked at Chu Liuxiang: “Brother Chu seems to know the background of Miss Guo the Second and her siblings?”

Chu Liuxiang replied meaningfully: “Doesn’t Young Hero Yan have his own suspicions?”

Yan Bugui suddenly asked: “If that is the case, Brother Chu should also know which master was the senior who knocked on the door earlier?”

Chu Liuxiang said: “Even after several decades, the five senior masters from the Mount Hua Sword Conference are still revered grandmasters in the jianghu—to be able to knock on the door with a pebble without causing damage, despite not being nearby, can probably only be achieved by the ‘Fingering Skill’ of the Island Master of Peach Blossom Island, Senior ‘Eastern Heretic’!”

Having said this, he omitted the last sentence—most importantly, this person is the maternal grandfather of Miss Guo the Second and her siblings. He has both the motive and the qualification to intervene in this matter!

“Hahaha! I never thought that after retiring from the jianghu for so many years, there would still be juniors who remember this old man. Interesting, interesting!” Following a long cry that traveled from far to near, an elderly man with white beard and wearing a green robe suddenly appeared in the private room, which had only held two people moments before!