"Woaah, so this is what a mortals' city looks like, " With eyes full of enthusiasm, Taiyang looked around in wonder. 

 

The city was filled with lush greenery, trees stretching high enough to reach the brick-made houses that floated in the air.

 

 

"Now, then, what should I do?" He muttered to himself. Although he had wanted to go and see what this so-called Phoenix Immortal Sect was like, but after conversing with one of the rogue cultivators, he found out that the recruitment session would only begin after two days. So he still had some more time to waste until then. 

 

 

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a shrill scream resounded in the area. "Somebody, help! You damned thief, stop!"  

 

 

An old woman wearing an apron could be seen chasing after a black-robbed figure while holding a big, sharp knife in her hand. 

 

 

However, the old woman was no match for the black-robbed figure's agility. In just a few breaths, the figure speedily slipped into one of the alleys and disappeared. 

 

 

Seeing this, the old woman fell on her withered butt and started to pant heavily. 

 

 

Realizing that maybe he should help, Taiyang calmly walked toward the old woman and politely asked, "Hello, grandma, what happened?" 

 

 

The woman looked at Taiyang and surprisingly shouted, "Can't you see?! That little thief stole a dumpling from my stall! That's the third time that little sh*t has stolen from my stall! Aah, how can these old bones do business if it continues like this?" 

 

 

Ignoring the rude woman's rant, Taiyang confusedly muttered to himself,"A thief? But I didn't see any black clouds around that person..." 

 

 

He looked in the direction of the alleyway where the figure had disappeared and instantly decided on his next course of action. 

 

 

"How long are you going to stand there for?! Didn't your parents teach you how to help an old—eh? Where did he go?"  She looked up and saw that the young man who had been standing right next to her had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. 

 

 

******

 

A figure stealthily made its way through cramped a alley until it reached a dark dead-end. 

 

 

"Qiao, you can come out now. It's me," a girly voice echoed. Almost as if on cue, another figure immediately emerged from inside the darkness.

 

 

However, in comparison to the black robbed figure, this figure was a lot smaller in height. 

 

The only characteristic that bore resemblance to the black robbed figure was his tattered clothes. In a childish voice, the boy asked, "Sis, it is you? " 

 

"Yes, it's me," she replied before taking off the hood covering her face. Underneath it lay a face with immature girly features, big round eyes, and sunken cheeks, a sign of possible malnutrition. 

 

 

"Come here, I have brought food for you," she took out the dumpling she had stolen earlier and handed it to her brother. 

 

 

"A dumpling?! Sis is the best!" He said and hurriedly began eating as if he had been starving for days. 

 

 

Seeing him like this, warm emotions filled her heart. Ever since their parents died, she had to take care of her younger brother. Even now, although she hasn't eaten for days, seeing him happy was all she needed. 

 

 

I will definitely become an immortal! That way, I won't have to worry about not being able to feed my brother!  

 

She tightly clenched her fists underneath her robe.

 

Suddenly—

 

"As I thought, you are not a bad person." 

—a gentle whisper echoed from behind her. 

 

She shrieked in panic and immediately looked behind. An 'aah' escaped her mouth as the scene in front of her caused her mind to momentarily become dazed. 

 

 

A person....no, calling him a deity would be more suitable. Shadows of phoenixes and dragons danced around him, and his whole being radiated an otherworldly demeanor as he floated above the ground.

 

 

 

For a moment, she wondered how expensive his clothes would be. Even the emperor's clothes she had once seen far paled in comparison to the exquisite golden robe worn by the young man in front of her. 

 

 

 

However, what sent shivers down her spine was his devilishly handsome face. Even a child like her, who did not know much about the matters of heart, felt her heart pounding in her chest. 

 

 

"W-who are you?" She asked in a trembling voice. 

 

Did he come here to bring her to the sect's prison grounds? She had heard rumors of the treatment that awaited those listed as criminals by the Immortal Phoenix Sect. 

 

 

If so, I must do something to protect my brother. 

 

 

Just as she was about to kneel to beg for mercy, someone rushed forward to stand in front of her and shouted: "Don't come near my sis! Sis is not a bad person!" She saw her little brother Qiao Nan spreading his small arms in front of her, trying to shield her. 

 

"Nan'er..."  Her eyes started to tear up.

 

 

"What do you mean? Of course, she is not a bad person; no bad person can be surrounded by such bright clouds." Taiyang felt confused by the boy's action before replying with a big grin. 

 

 

Being the heavenly crown prince, he could perceive the nature of an individual's soul. Although this concept of the soul may seem similar to an aura of a person, it was a lot more mysterious in reality. 

 

 

This ability was something he had been born with. Almost every person he came across was surrounded by different shades of clouds hovering over them, hence betraying the true nature of their soul. Unlike a person's aura, this was something that could never be altered by them. 

 

 

In simple terms, bright clouds signified how good a person was while black clouds meant the very opposite. 

 

 

And right now, the little girl in front was surrounded by so many bright clouds that he almost felt tempted to forcefully search through her memories to see what was so special about her. But of course, he'd never do that. 

 

 

However, the girl, unbeknownst to all of this, responded with a confused expression. 

 

What was he here for, then? 

 

She grew wary as her mind thought of various possibilities. 

 

 

Yet, looking at the amicable smile on Taiyang's face, she, for some unknown reason, didn't feel threatened at all. "T-then, who are you, respected immortal?" She got up and softly pushed her brother behind her. 

 

 

Taiyang smiled and said, "My name is Taiyang Tianshang. What is your name?" 

 

 

"My name is Yingyue and this is my brother Qiao Nan." She said while pointing to the boy who was inquisitively peeking from behind her. 

 

 

No one would be able to relate this meek boy with the one who had been trying to protect her a minute ago. "If you aren't here to take me to the sect's prison grounds, then what is your purpose?"

 

 

"Before that, let me ask you something, why did you steal from that old lady?" 

 

Yingyue flinched. 

 

"I saw how you stole that dumpling from the old lady. Why did you do it?" Taiyang asked with an admonishing look on his face. 

 

"T-t-that's because... that's because..." She tried to speak but no words seemed to come out of her mouth. 

 

"... of your brother right?" 

 

Yingyue nodded timidly.

 

 

"But why did you have to steal? Couldn't you do something else to earn lawfully? Why steal?" Taiyang raised his voice in anger. 

 

 

Yingyue didn't know why, but she felt like something pierced her heart the moment she saw Taiyang acting like this. The pressure he exuded almost felt like someone was choking her. "T-that's because I didn't have any other choice!" She roared. "After my parents died, no one would take us in...those bad guys came and took our house from us... *sob* we had nowhere to go... *sob*... no one cared about me and my brother..." Before long, Yingyue found herself crying while kneeling on the ground. 

 

 

"...so I had to steal to get by," her voice was low to the point where it almost sounded like a whimper. Though she had just turned 11 this year, but the things she had experienced were tragic enough to make a grown man give up. 

 

 

Despite everything, she grinded her teeth and didn't despair due to her astonishing perseverance.

 

 

 She promised her dying parents that she would take care of Qiao Nan, so she constantly reminded herself to not give up even when everything seemed hopeless. 

 

 

She had no one to rely upon, no one who would help her and her brother, which left her with no choice but to resort to theft. 

 

 

Just thinking about all the things she did for survival, her heart felt stifled to the point where she thought she might faint.

 

"S-sis..." Although she didn't see it, she could also hear her little brother sob like her.

 

 

Suddenly, her small body froze. 

 

Something—or someone—embraced her. Two arms mightier than the heavens wrapped themselves around the two siblings. She was taken aback by how warm and comforting it felt, almost reminiscent of her mother's embrace. 

 

A voice that was as tender as her dad entered her ears," You must have suffered a lot." The words uttered were not that many. In fact, it was barely a sentence but it was enough for Yingyue to burst out into tears.

 

 

All the grievances and sufferings she had been bottling inside her erupted at this very moment. 

In a dark alley, one could see three figures cuddled together. The sound of crying finally stopped after a long while.

 

"Are you alright?" Taiyang asked in a worried tone. 

 

"Yes, thank you, big brother Taiyang." Yingyue wiped her tears with her tiny fingers and gave him an innocent smile. It had been a very long time since she last saw someone show concern for her like this. 

 

 

"Big brother?" Taiyang muttered, somehow not knowing how to feel about this. He was suddenly reminded of his brother Guang who used to address him like this. "Yingyue, what did you call me?"

 

 

"Big brother Taiyang…? Did I say something wrong?" Yingyue tilted her head in confusion.

 

 

Taiyang hurriedly shook his head. "No, you didn't! Calling me big brother is good—no, you two must call me big brother!" He giggled to himself. It seemed like he had suddenly gained two new siblings.

 

 

Yingyue and Qiao glanced at each other, not knowing how to react to Taiyang's peculiar behavior. 

 

 

"Alright. It's getting quite late now, so we should probably leave this place," said Taiyang.

 

 

"We..?" The two siblings simultaneously muttered in bewilderment. 

 

 

"Yes, we. Didn't I promise that you'll never have to steal again?" 

 

"B-but, big brother-"

 

"No buts. It's already decided. You two are coming with your big brother." 

 

 

The two siblings could only nod their heads after seeing Taiyang take the duty of being their elder brother so seriously. 

 

"But, big brother Taiyang, where are we going?"  Yingyue questioned. 

 

"I don't know."

 

 

A 'huh?' leaked out of the mouths of the two siblings simultaneously. Looking at the serious face of Taiyang, it did not seem like he was joking with them.

 

 

"What do you mean by 'you don't know'? You don't even know where you are going to take us, big brother?" Yingyue unknowingly raised her voice. 

 

 

"Hmm well, you see, I came from a very far away place and arrived in this city just today, so I have no particular destination in my mind," Taiyang stated while rubbing his chin. "But you two don't need to worry, I'll eventually figure something out. I am your big brother after all. Hehehehe." He grinned.

 

Yingyue and Qiao Nan looked at each other. Suddenly, this otherworldly brother of theirs appeared pretty unreliable. 

 

*****

 

 

"Erm…big brother Taiyang, why do you look so different from before?" Yingyue asked after looking at Taiyang's face for the twentieth time. She didn't know why, but Taiyang had transformed into a completely different person. 

 

 

Before Taiyang had a face that could charm even a young girl like herself, but now his face seemed  very normal looking, one that could easily get lost in a crowd. 

 

 

Even his clothes had changed to more normal-looking ones. She kinda felt like it was a great loss after realizing she couldn't feast her eyes upon his handsome visage. 

 

 

"Hmm. I feel more at ease when I am like this," he quickly came up with an excuse. Although Taiyang felt guilty for lying to her, it was not like all of what he said was a lie. Because if he walked around in his normal appearance, then he'd be quickly found out by his old man.

 

 

I miss mother. I wonder how she's doing?

 

 

Thinking of his stern father reminded him of his gentle mother. She would always worry about him and was actually one of the very few people who spoiled him rotten.  

 

 

Humph, if it wasn't for that geezer, I wouldn't have been forced to leave like this. 

 

 

While he was pondering over these matters, a hand tugged his sleeves lightly. 

 

 

"Eh?" Looking down, he found Qiao Nan happily strolling beside him. Right now they were just wandering around in the marketplace, looking at the traders pitching their merchandise. 

 

 

"That's right, we should probably get something to eat!" It had been so long since he last ate. Although his unfathomable cultivation made it possible for him to live without eating at all, he had to think about the two children who now called him their big brother. Unlike him, they were mortals so they definitely needed to eat in order to survive. 

 

 

"Yep! Food! Food!" Qiao Nan jumped around happily while nodding his head vigorously.

 

 

"Qiao…" Yingyue felt embarrassed at her little brother's behavior.

 

 

"What? Do you not feel like eating, Yingyue?" Misunderstanding her reaction, Taiyang thought that maybe Yingyue didn't want to eat.

 

 

Just as Yingyue was about to reply, a growling sound rumbled in the air.

 

 

"Yeah! Sis is also hungry!" Qiao gleefully said. 

 

 

Yingyue's face promptly turned red from embarrassment. 

 

 

"Hahahahahahaha," seeing the funny interaction between the two siblings, Taiyang laughed out loud, suddenly feeling that he made the right choice to escape the heavenly realm.