Chapter 12: Fourth Brother

Chapter 12: Fourth Brother...

Watching the old lady leave, the siblings looked at each other and smiled.

Lingxi let out a soft laugh.

No matter when it was, seeing the old lady go up against Pei Fuzhu always put her in a good mood.

Seeing that Lingxi’s emotions had stabilized and she was in good spirits, Pei Xuan’s expression softened slightly. He went over what he wanted to say in his mind before speaking: "Don't be afraid. Your marriage is something that requires your consent."

"We would never let you be married off just like that."

"Dad and Uncle have long said that even if you are to marry, it must be because you are willing. The act of marrying itself should be something that makes you happy, not something you are forced into because of some messy, trivial matters."

"Pei Fuzhu doesn't have the capability to interfere with your marriage."

Lingxi was stunned, then smiled: "I knew you all were the best to me."

Pei Xuan thought for a moment and decided to tell her about the family's past.

"You don't need to hold back or tolerate Pei Fuzhu for the sake of Third Uncle."

Seeing Lingxi look at him in surprise, he paused and continued: "You were too young before, so there are some things you don't know. Thirty years ago, our family was a prominent household."

"Third Uncle is not the old lady's biological son."

"He was a child Grandpa had with someone else by accident."

"Back then, he was almost strangled to death by his biological mother. At the critical moment, your dad arrived, saved him, and brought him home."

"Later, after Grandpa passed away, Grandma raised him as her own."

Lingxi’s eyes widened in shock.

Pei Xuan nodded: "This is all ancient history. There was no need to mention it before, but I'm telling you now because I want you to know that Third Uncle being good to you is only right. You don't owe him anything."

"You don't need to tolerate his offspring just because of the kindness he showed you. Even if you marry, it will be because you want to, not because Pei Fuzhu made you."

In the family, there were actually quite a few people who firmly believed in Pei Fuzhu’s status as the "Heaven’s favorite daughter"—people like Lingxi, the old lady, and Pei Fuzhu’s own mother.

But this group definitely did not include Second Uncle Pei or the three brothers, including Pei Xuan.

However, Pei Xuan really couldn't explain skills like summoning divine lightning on a sunny day.

Therefore, they had always let Pei Fuzhu do as she pleased; as long as she didn't cause trouble for them, they turned a blind eye.

But this time, she had truly gone too far!

The Ling clan was a race protected by the heavens, and Lingxi was the only surviving seedling of the Ling clan.

The fortune of the ancient Ling clan, accumulated over tens of thousands of years, was bestowed upon her alone. Naturally, she would get whatever she wished for, possess heaven-defying luck, and turn every danger into a blessing.

It was just that Lingxi was timid and always preferred to keep a low profile.

To her, this whole affair was just a marriage, right?

Who would have thought she would hear such a secret.

Lingxi was dazed. She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She finally understood why the old lady was clearly biased toward her and Second Uncle’s family, and why Third Uncle and even Third Aunt never had any objections, and were even exceptionally filial.

As for Third Aunt complaining about grievances on behalf of Pei Fuzhu from time to time...

That could only be said to be because Pei Fuzhu was special; she hadn't even complained like that for her own son, Pei Furui!

Perhaps stimulated by this information, even when Lingxi drifted off to sleep, it was very restless.

In a blur, she saw mountain after mountain, an ancient, elegant palace built on a peak, and herself sitting by a jade bed with a motionless person lying on it.

She watched the catkins drift outside the window, watched the flowers fall, watched the snow fall—year after year, she guarded that one person.

She seemed to hear her own low call.

"Fourth Brother."

Lingxi sat up abruptly, the name she murmured overlapping with the voice in her memory.

She clutched her forehead as images flashed through her mind like thunder—frame by frame, scene by scene, too fast for her to grasp.

Modu, the train station, the Gu Mansion...

The roar of artillery fire filled the sky.

Fourth Brother suddenly fell into a coma.

The images in her mind were fragmented.

Finally, they settled on her and another person who looked very much like her—presumably her father—taking the unconscious Fourth Brother into a continuous mountain range, finding a complex of palaces, and settling down.

She curled up under the covers, breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face.

She didn't know where this memory came from; it was likely a characteristic of the Ling clan’s soul.

The souls of the Ling clan were immortal, but the memories engraved within them could potentially be forgotten.

Perhaps... it was triggered by something, and she had remembered it again.

Lingxi braced herself, slowly sat up against the headboard, and took deep breaths, taking a long time to calm down.

Fourth Brother...

She silently took out paper and pen. By the light of the dawn just beginning to break outside the window, Lingxi began to piece together the timeline bit by bit.

It was 1957 now. The explosion at the Gu Mansion was likely between 1937 and 1945. At that time, the R army was frequently active in Modu. That meant there was a gap of twelve to twenty years.

So, Fourth Brother... he must still be alive, right?

As for the possibility that her Fourth Brother was in another similar plane... Lingxi didn't even dare to think in that direction.

Thinking of the motionless person lying on the bed in those fragmented memories, Lingxi clutched her chest and stared blankly at the rafters of the roof.

At the same time, back at the old Gu house, Gu Si woke up with a start from his sleep.

In his daze, he seemed to hear someone call out "Fourth Brother."

That voice...

Delicate and soft, pitiful and aggrieved.

Gu Si thought of the girl he had seen during the day and felt his heartbeat go out of control again.

He cursed inwardly.

Gu Si was originally a traveling merchant in the interstellar space. When traveling through the stars, his spaceship was accidentally sucked into a black hole. When he woke up, he was on this planet.

His life was long; in the blink of an eye, he had spent a thousand years on this planet. He had seen life and death, and the many facets of human existence. He was not willing to actively participate in the lives of others.

But at this moment...

He raised his hand and rubbed his brow.

For a moment, Gu Si forgot that he was now just reborn in the body of the Gu family’s fourth son, Gu Qingbei, and that he, too, would experience aging, sickness, and death.

But even so, his usual resolve had been shaken, and because of that little girl, he hesitated for the first time.

Because of the memories that had suddenly appeared in her soul, Lingxi had been restless for several days. Second Uncle and Big Brother, who had learned the truth about Lingxi’s fainting spell from Pei Xuan, thought Lingxi was troubled by that incident and took turns comforting and counseling her.

They told her not to worry, saying they wouldn't marry her off casually and that she didn't have to marry if she didn't want to.

Lingxi was immersed in the feeling of being lost, empty, and having nowhere to turn, which had come with the memories, and couldn't break free for a while.

It wasn't until she came to her senses that she realized she had frightened them over the past few days.

Lingxi hurriedly composed her emotions and earnestly promised them that she wouldn't think too much or do anything rash. Only then did they feel relieved and allow Lingxi to go out into the forest.

There were priorities in all things. Lingxi wanted to find someone, but she was also very clear that she didn't have the capital or the confidence to act recklessly right now.

Not to mention—

That mountain peak, that palace—she had no idea which mountain range it was in.

The country was so vast, and there were so many continuous mountain ranges; where could she even begin to look?

(End of chapter)