"Yes, what's the problem?" Jiuli said nervously, holding his golden-haired stepsister tightly.
"You..." Muria stared at the little girl in Jiuli's arms, ready to speak, but then he shook his head. "Forget it, it's nothing."
"Wait, Teacher—" Jiuli grew more anxious. Even a fool could tell there was something unusual about his sister.
"Don't ask. I won't answer, no matter what," Muria replied, waving his hand dismissively as he headed toward the door of the house the little girl had run from.
"Hold on." Jiuli quickly followed with his sister in his arms. He hadn't yet figured out how to explain Muria's presence to his family. After all, Muria, in his childlike human form, couldn't simply be introduced as a friend or classmate.
"What a handsome boy! Whose child are you? How did you end up here?" Jiuli's mother, a plain-looking middle-aged woman named Windsor, greeted them as Muria stepped through the door.
"I came back with him," Muria said casually, pointing at Jiuli with zero responsibility.
"What's this about?" Windsor asked her son, clearly surprised. "My dear, where did you find such a handsome little boy?"
"He..." Jiuli began, only for Muria to interject, "I'm a poor child who got separated from my parents and became homeless. Fortunately, your son took me in. I plan to stay with him for a few days."
"Is that true?" Windsor asked, her smile faintly disbelieving.
"Alright, ma'am," Muria said, switching to the truth, "I'm your son's teacher. I'm here to observe his living environment and see how he's grown to this point."
Predictably, Windsor didn't believe a word of it. Sometimes the truth sounded less convincing than a well-crafted lie.
Realizing this, Jiuli finally came up with a plausible story. "Mom, he's my mentor's child. My mentor has some personal matters to attend to, so I've been asked to look after him for a few days. His speech may sound a bit strange, but that's normal. Don't overthink it."
"Your mentor's child? Couldn't he hire someone else? You're his student, not his babysitter," Windsor grumbled.
"It's fine, Mom. My mentor is paying me, and it's much better than working odd jobs outside school," Jiuli added quickly.
After one lie, others followed to cover the gaps.
"Besides, he's incredibly clever. You can treat him like an adult—he won't cause us any trouble."
Muria gave Jiuli a sidelong glance but said nothing. Thus, he was temporarily and conveniently accommodated in Jiuli's modest family home.
After briefly meeting Jiuli's mostly unrelated family members, Muria was pulled into Jiuli's room.
"Teacher, please tell me—what's wrong with my sister?" Jiuli asked earnestly, staring at Muria.
"Nothing's wrong. She's perfectly fine," Muria replied, glancing around the simply furnished room. It appeared ordinary, but his sharp senses detected a faint gray glow emanating from a wooden box under the bed.
"But your expression changed when you saw her," Jiuli insisted. "It's obvious there's something unusual about her."
"Your sister's situation is better than yours," Muria said dismissively, pointing at the bed. "Forget about that. Let me see what you've stashed under there."
Jiuli hesitated at first, frowning, but then he glanced at his golden scales and recalled the sun-like entity Muria had shown him. Reluctance turned to acceptance. "Fine. It's just some incomplete inheritance material—nothing significant for someone like you."
"That's more like it," Muria said, beckoning with his hand. The wooden box slid out from under the bed and opened, revealing lifelike beast figurines that floated around Muria.
"So, this is your inheritance." Muria reached out to a frog-like statue and touched it. A stream of information poured into his mind, but it lacked any real significance for him.
"Broken to the point of being laughable," Muria commented after scanning the twelve beast statues.
"It's a decent legacy, but it's incomplete. At your current pace, it won't be long before your cultivation hits a dead end," Muria said, glancing at Jiuli. "You've just found a resource-rich world, but your techniques are lacking. Not exactly an ideal situation, is it? What's your plan?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Jiuli admitted with a sigh, looking at Muria with a glimmer of hope.
"Why are you staring at me? I don't have a cultivation method for you."
"I know..." Jiuli's shoulders sagged, his mood darkening. In a world devoid of transcendence, finding a high-level legacy was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"But I can extrapolate the missing portions of your legacy from what you have," Muria added with a sly grin.
"You can?!" Jiuli's head snapped up, his face lighting up with joy.
"Most people can't, but I can," Muria said confidently. "It won't take long."
"That's amazing!" Jiuli cheered, clasping his hands together in excitement.
As he celebrated, a pleasant chime rang out. Jiuli checked his mobile device, and his face brightened even more when he saw the caller ID. The scent of hormones filled the air.
"Teacher, I need to step out for a bit. You..."
"I know." Muria smirked at the lovestruck young man. "I'll stay here and behave like a good little boy."
"No, I mean, would you like to come with me?"
"No thanks. I wouldn't want to intrude on your... rendezvous."
"But you said you were here to follow me around, not stay at my house. What's keeping you here?"
"Your sister, of course," Muria said with a teasing smile.
"What's so special about her?" Jiuli demanded.
"She's not related to you by blood, so why are you so concerned about her?"
"She's my sister," Jiuli replied firmly.
"Then, if I wanted to do something to her, would you risk offending me to stop me?" Muria's golden eyes bore into Jiuli, filling the room with oppressive tension.
"Yes," Jiuli said through gritted teeth, enduring the suffocating pressure.
"Good." Muria smiled, and the heavy atmosphere dissipated. "Rest assured, I have no ill intentions toward your sister. She's just... unique."
"How so?" Jiuli pressed, unwilling to drop the matter.
"It's not something you can comprehend at your current level. Knowing would only burden you unnecessarily."
"I'm too weak, aren't I?" Jiuli asked bitterly.
"Exactly."
"Go on your date, and focus on getting stronger," Muria said, waving him off.
With mixed emotions, Jiuli left for his meeting, drawn by the irresistible allure of romance. Meanwhile, Muria headed downstairs to find the little blonde girl.
Her parents didn't stop him, dismissing it as children playing.
"What's your name?" Muria asked the girl, using his knowledge of ancient demonic techniques and shared bloodlines to sense the dormant entity within her.
"I'm Cosette. What's your name?" the little girl asked, tilting her head curiously.
"I'm Mu. You can call me Brother Mu," Muria said, gently pinching her soft cheeks.
"Brother Mu!" Cosette exclaimed, though the name felt a bit awkward on her tongue.
"Good girl," Muria replied warmly, confirming the identity of the slumbering presence within her. It was none other than his childhood sparring partner, Heloise.
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