Chapter 3 — The Big Sister Returns

Pine Crane began opening the medical box, his hands still trembling slightly. At that moment, Night turned his head, casting an icy gaze across the eight security squads stationed around them. Every single one of those teams had been personally dispatched by these men to protect Snow Lily. The young man's eyes were piercingly cold.

"I told you to protect her, not to become her lapdogs!"

"Whoever hurt my big sister Dan, step forward right now."

Naturally, not a soul moved. Eight squads, over a hundred men, and not a single one dared to raise their head. Tim grew impatient, suddenly taking a heavy step forward. The lead assistant felt his knees go weak and collapsed straight onto the floor.

"Mr. Tim, I am sorry. We... we didn't know you knew her..."

Tim cut him off without a second thought.

"Which hand did you use to touch her?"

The assistant's hands began to shake violently. The entire scene fell as silent as a graveyard. Lying on the ground, my body ached so severely I trembled, but I still curved the corners of my mouth, looking hoarsely at each of them in turn.

"Alright, you big crybaby Tim. Your vest button is done up wrong. Even if you are in a rush, you cannot just throw all caution to the wind."

Tim froze instantly, looking like a scolded child under a strict guardian's gaze, hurriedly lowering his head to refasten the button.

"Wild River, your right glove is still on. Did you race here straight from the track?"

Wild River silently pulled off the glove, clutching it tightly in his palm. With every name I called, all eight men stiffened where they stood. I let out a soft laugh, fresh blood seeping from the corner of my lips once more.

"Were you in such a hurry to come bury me? Stop putting on those funeral faces."

"And you, you thorny piece of work Pine Crane. You do not need to be so overly cautious, it does not hurt."

"Your movements are far too slow. At the very least, you should have brought me an ice pack first."

Only then did Pine Crane snap back to reality, fumbling anxiously to ready the ice pack. The livestream chat exploded instantly.

"She is ordering Pine Crane to do menial chores! Is Pine Crane actually doing it???"

"Wait, is this even making sense? She called Tim a crybaby and he did not even get angry? With a temper like his, who on earth usually dares call him the Living King of Hell in the capital?"

"Has Wild River not worn that exact pair of gloves for ten years? She says a single word and he just takes them off?"

"Just who on earth is this woman?!"

Snow Lily sat on the ground, looking from one man to the other, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Finally, panic truly set in.

"What... what is wrong with all of you?"

"Why is it that the moment she shows up, none of you care about me anymore? Did she use some kind of trick to seduce you..."

Tim paid her no mind whatsoever. He squatted down in front of me, using his sleeve to gently wipe away the blood at the corner of my mouth. After a couple of wipes, his movements abruptly stopped. His gaze fell upon the knife wound near my mouth, and his eyes grew steadily colder by the degree. Tim took a deep breath, turned his head, and stared directly at Snow Lily.

"What do you think is the reason we pampered you all this time?"

Snow Lily was stunned. Tim looked down at her with a glare so fierce it seemed he wanted to flay her alive.

"Did you really think you were that adorable or beautiful?"

"Was it not because Big Sister Dan funded you for ten whole years, and before she left, she entrusted you to us, telling us to take good care of you?"

"Otherwise, do you think any of us would have even deigned to look at you twice?"

"If not for her, you would still be out in the mountains herding cattle! Since when did it become your turn to act so arrogantly here?"

Snow Lily's complexion turned ashen in an instant, her lips trembling for a long moment without uttering a single syllable. Her mother suddenly raised her head to look at me. After studying me closely for a long while, she finally seemed to remember something.

"You... you are the one..."

Her father finally reacted, his entire body going limp as he collapsed to the floor.

"It really seems to be her! She is the one who gave our family money all those years ago..."

The viewers in the chat, having just consumed a cataclysmic piece of gossip, were now driving themselves wild with excitement. Some began digging up the past histories of the eight titans, hurling old photographs one after another into the livestream room.

"Oh my god, they really all lived in the same orphanage back then!"

"There was an older sister who always looked after them, it is right here in the photo, the one on the far right."

"Was that older sister not a girl from this very village?"

"So she was the one who funded Black Ox, and entrusted her to Tim and the others to look after, only for Black Ox to usurp everything that belonged to her?!"

Snow Lily finally could not take it anymore. She scrambled forward on her hands and knees, grabbing the hem of Tim's trousers and weeping bitterly.

"Brother Tim, I was wrong. Sister Snow really knows she was wrong. Please, I beg you all, do not abandon me..."

Tim frowned as he looked at her hands, pulling his trousers away with undisguised disgust.

"Black Ox, are you sure I am the one you wronged?"

He shifted slightly to the side, revealing me standing behind him. Snow Lily turned her head to look at me. Blood, tears, and mucus smeared together into a wretched mess across her face. She no longer resembled the refined and exquisite princess of the capital's elite circles; instead, she looked quite a bit like the little Black Ox from my memories. She crawled on her hands and knees toward me, her voice filled with terror.

"Sister! Big sister, I was wrong. Please put in a good word for me, tell them not to chase me away, please?"