Back on Earth, I am the only cultivator.

In the kitchen, the range hood was whirring, and the pan was sizzling with the aroma of stir-frying, filling the entire house with a rich sweet and sour fragrance.

Wearing a pink bear apron, Wu Xi was tiptoeing and skillfully flipping the wok, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, her face flushed red from the firelight.

Wu Fan leaned against the kitchen door frame, quietly watching his sister's busy figure, a gentle smile unconsciously curving his lips.

This feeling is wonderful.

For ten thousand years in the world of cultivation, he had drunk celestial wine and eaten rich spiritual food, but none of them could compare to the aroma of food wafting from this small kitchen.

"Alright! Last dish: sweet and sour pork ribs! Let's eat!"

With a crisp cheer from Wu Xi, a plate of bright red and fragrant spare ribs was served.

Two dishes and a soup were already laid out on the table. They were all home-style dishes, but Wu Xi made them look like they were prepared by a restaurant chef.

The brother and sister sat facing each other.

Wu Xi poured a full glass of cola for both Wu Fan and herself, as if presenting a treasure, and then solemnly raised the glass.

"Cheers, bro!"

"Let's celebrate our reunion after ten years, and our brother's return home!"

"Cheers."

Wu Fan smiled, raised his glass, and gently clinked it against his sister's.

"Glug glug," Wu Xi tilted his head back and gulped down more than half the cup, then let out a satisfied burp.

She put down her cup, picked out a piece of pork rib, and held it up to Wu Fan.

"Brother, look! This spare rib is perfectly square, with a good balance of fat and lean meat. It's so delicious! You should try it!"

Without waiting for Wu Fan's reaction, she brought her mouth close to her brother's.

"Brother, ah... ah, open your mouth."

Wu Xi looked at her brother with a smile, her big eyes curving into two crescent moons, her dimples shallow, her face full of anticipation.

Seeing his younger sister's playful expression, Wu Fan smiled helplessly and said, "Just put it in the bowl. It's not like I don't know how to use chopsticks."

"No!"

Wu Xi gave a coquettish sound and moved her chopsticks forward a little more.

"Come on, open your mouth, hee hee hee."

Looking at his younger sister's adorable appearance, Wu Fan couldn't refuse her, nor could he bear to.

He had no choice but to open his mouth and eat the ribs his sister fed him.

The ribs are sweet and sour, tender and fall off the bone, and the aroma of meat explodes on the taste buds.

While chewing, before he could even swallow completely, Wu Fan gave his sister a thumbs-up indistinctly.

"Delicious! Delicious! My daughter Xiaoxi is such a great cook!"

"With this skill, you won't have to worry about getting married in the future."

"snort!"

To everyone's surprise, Wu Xi, instead of being embarrassed by these words, straightened her pretty face, rolled her eyes at her brother, and said, "I don't want to get married! It's enough to have my brother with me!"

These words made Wu Fan's heart tremble.

He thought of the ten years he had been missing, the passing of his parents, and the suffering his sister had endured alone.

Guilt and heartache welled up in my heart.

He reached out and ruffled his sister's hair, saying earnestly:

"Okay, I'll stay with you no matter how long it takes."

Wu Xi raised her head, her clear eyes reflecting her brother's gentle face. She softly repeated his words, her voice trembling slightly:

"How long will you stay with me?"

She put down her chopsticks, looked at Wu Fan, and asked the question that had been lingering in her heart ever since their reunion.

"Brother, where have you been for the past ten years?"

Wu Fan thought for a moment and said, "I went to a very far place and learned some skills."

Those glorious past experiences in the world of cultivation, those years of bloodshed and star-stained battles, are too distant and cold to taint my sister's pure world.

The moment he finished speaking, Wu Fan flicked his finger.

A wisp of spiritual energy silently flew from his fingertip and slowly flowed into Wu Xi's brow.

After the spiritual energy entered her body, it quickly formed a tiny yet incredibly profound mark deep within her soul.

This "Guardian Mark" not only regulates Wu Xi's body, but also makes her physical fitness far exceed that of ordinary people.

More importantly, this mark can withstand a fatal blow in a crisis and allow Wu Fan to instantly sense her location from anywhere.

"Mmm...that feels so good!"

Wu Xi felt a strange warm current spread from between her eyebrows, instantly flowing through her limbs and bones, as if she had taken a hot bath in winter, feeling indescribably comfortable.

She savored the wonderful feeling and the extraordinary things that happened after her brother's return.

She had a vague feeling that the "faraway place" and "some skills" her brother mentioned were definitely not as simple as he made them out to be.

But she didn't ask any more questions.

Everyone has their own secrets. As long as my brother comes back and loves me as much as he did when I was a child, that's enough.

……

After finishing their meal, the brother and sister cleaned up the dishes together.

Wu Xi dried her hands and eagerly took out her phone, skillfully opening the online loan app that had plunged her into a nightmare.

Now, all she wants is to pay off the loan immediately, then completely unload it and never see it again.

Wu Fan curiously leaned closer.

He looked at the "board" in his sister's hand, which was only the size of a palm, thin, yet capable of displaying various colorful images, and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Technological progress is really fast."

When he left Earth, he was still using a Nokia phone that could crack walnuts.

He watched his sister's fair fingers tapping on the screen, and the expression on his face slowly changed from calm and anticipation to doubt, and finally to anxiety.

"What's wrong?"

Wu Fan asked.

Wu Xi was so anxious that sweat beaded on her nose. She turned her phone screen towards Wu Fan and pointed to the red notification boxes that kept popping up.

"Brother, I can't pay this back! I've tried several times, but it keeps showing 'System error, please try again!'"

"What are we going to do if we can't pay this back? The contract says that the interest doubles for every day we're late! It'll just keep compounding!"

The little girl became more and more anxious as she spoke, and her eyes reddened again.

Wu Fan gently held his sister's hand and softly comforted her, "It's okay, don't worry."

"Since they won't let us pay them back."

His voice paused, and a murderous intent flashed deep in his eyes.

"Then I'll go and take care of them."

From Biao Ge's memory, he already knew clearly that this online lending business was a gray industry set up by the Mencheng Wanjing Casino, and the person in charge of the casino was a man named Li Gou.

Since that's the case, let's just get rid of him and be done with it.

"what?"

Wu Xi was puzzled, but assumed her brother was just saying things to comfort her in anger, so she didn't take it seriously.

She thought to herself that it was probably too late and the system was under maintenance, so she would try again tomorrow morning.

She put away her phone and gave Wu Fan a sweet smile: "Yes, brother is the best."