"Just to make sure we have some privacy," Lin Ye explained himself, "This must be something really important."

Lily nodded appreciatively at him for understanding the situation.

"Thank you Gege," Facing him, she nodded, "This is something only a few high-rank people in Yan know about."

When she mentioned this to him, Lin Ye got more intrigued. He moved his body and faced her, giving Lily all of his attention.

"I am all ears."

Hearing this, Lily nodded and got ready to start the topic. Nian, who has finished her stolen sundae, leaned in closer to the both of them to hear. Ultimately, she rested her head on Lin Ye's shoulder. Something that Lin Ye did not really mind.

"Before we start, I want to ask you something Gege," She stared at him, "What do you know about Zhan Lu?"

Lin Ye hummed at this.

"I have an idea of what it is," Lin Ye answered, "It's important for Yan. That I know."

Lin Ye was gifted with a glare after he said this to Lily.

"If you know about this, why did you steal it?" She sternly asked him.

He slowly looked away from, his sister.

"Well…" Lin Ye nervously chuckled," In my defence, at the time, I thought it was a waste for a sword like this to just be on display."

With his eyes now on Nian, she seemed to agree with him with how she was smiling at him now.

Seeing how the two of them reacted, Lily sighed. Lin Ye raised a brow at what Lily just said to him. It was not like he did not understand what she meant.

He was a moron but he was not dumb. He glanced down at one of the swords that were strapped to his waist.

Zhan Lu.

The name of the sword that Lin Ye used to kill Ying Jie and stole from Yan. He knew a bit about the Zhan Lu in his world. A sword that was described as the complete opposite of what a sword should represent. No malice could be sensed from the sword. Black in colour but so beautiful it was compared to the eyes of god. The sword of Kindness, Zhan Lu.

Lin Ye was clueless as to what this sword meant to this world though. It must something important with how much Yan treasured it from what he had seen. And to be frank, Lin Ye did not really care. A sword is still a sword. Seeing that the sword has never been used, maybe Lin Ye should just take it as his own.

He liked to use Maple more because of how versatile the sword was. Maple could be said could do anything if Lin Ye was smart enough. Maple was a sponge, absorbing a power but let out out a stronger variant.

In comparison, Zhan Lu was almost the same but Lin Ye needed to pay with something to get something in return.

He never really thought much of Zhan Lu. As long as he could use it, he will.

Luckily for him, since Lily brought up this topic so she might explain the said sword to him now.

Looking away from the sword he glanced back at Lily and flicked his earring. The area around them became dead silent again.

"You two," She held her head with one hand, "Take this seriously."

Both of them laughed at how angry they made their sister. After apologizing to them, she finally calmed down.

"Moving on…" They both chuckled as Lily glared at them, "Zhan Lu has a deep history that is related to the beginning of Yan that we know."

Nian looked amused while Lin Ye looked interested.

"The beginning of Yan?" Lin Ye hummed as he sent a quick glance at the sword and looked back at Lily, "It's that old? It doesn't look like it though."

Then he glanced at his other sister who still had her head on his shoulder.

"Nian do you know about this sword?" Pointing at Zhan Lu, he asked the deity, "Seeing who you are, you should have at least seen it one time."

Surprisingly, Nian shook her head.

"I have never seen the sword," She narrowed her eyes at it, "It might be older than me."

"Really?" This honestly shocks him. However, Lily was not surprised by this.

"I thought so," The princess nodded at this, "Zhan Lu was made before Sui became fragments."

Sui.

This was not the first time Lin ye heard this name. The traitorous God of Yan. It could be said that the said God was the most famous god in Yan. Almost every Yanese knows about God.

Seeing how popular it was, Lin Ye did some research on the said god.

To put it simply, Sui was like Zeus or Odin. The head honcho.

Prior to the great war against the deities that one of the True Lung of Yan, the first emperor, started a few thousand years ago, Sui previously governed Yan among His kin. Sui, who had previously made fun of the Emperor, made the decision to turn on His own kin in the middle of the conflict and joined him out of nowhere. With his help, the emperor won against the gods. Unsurprisingly, after the battle, the rest of the Gods were furious towards Sui.

So in their dying breath, Sui was cursed by His kin towards the conclusion of the conflict. No one knew what the curse was but It must have been a nasty one.

So bad that the emperor commanded Sui to split himself into twelve parts.

To this day, only the first emperor knew why Sui helped them at the time. To betray his own kin, it must have been something important.

Theories among the people unsurprisingly came up.

Some say that Sui was a selfish god that only wanted to be the lone god that ruled over Yan.

Some say that Sui was impressed with the emperor's characteristics,

So what did Lin Ye think about this?

Lin Ye looked at his side. He had one of those twelve fragments resting on his shoulder now. Noticing his eyes on her, Nian smiled and tilted her head at him.

"What is it Gege?" She asked.

Lin Ye smiled and patted her head.

"Nothing," He replied with a chuckle, "Just making sure you're not asleep."

He did not really care at all. The past was not something he really have thoughts on. Especially in a world that was not his.

At first, Nian was confused, but she just smiled, glad that she was being pampered by him. Stopping that, Lin Ye looked back at Lily.

"I don't really care about the sword," He honestly said to her, "I know that this must be something related to the emperor, right?"

Lily glared at him.

Before he could ask anything from her, Lily leaned into him. This made Lin Ye jolt back and almost made Nian fall off his shoulder.

"He's your brother!" Lily almost yelled at him, "Don't treat him like a stranger!"

"Okay! Okay!" His hands were now the only shield that he had against her wrath now, "Ren! I'll call him Ren!"

After glaring at him for a while, she nodded and sat back in her seat.

"Sheesh, Sis," Nian comfortably hugged Lin Ye's neck, "Angry much."

This got her a glare. Nian was not bothered by this and just hug him with a smirk on her face.

Before anything would happen more, Lin Ye quickly inserted himself.

"So about Ren?" Lin Ye asked.

Seeing that Lin Ye was asking a question, Lily put aside her thoughts on Nian and focused on him instead.

"To put it simply, Zhan Lu was made for the first emperor. The maker of it is unknown even to the royal family. The emperor used it to fight with the gods in the war against them. When he died, his final words were simple," Lily pointed at the sword in question, "The sword that only an emperor could hold."

Lin Ye did not like where this was going.

"Ren knows this," Lily said, "So you must know what I am trying to say Gege."

With that, it basically confirmed what he was thinking. Lin Ye sighed at this.

"That's why he was dead set on making me the emperor?" Lin ye asked her, "Because of what a dying man said a few centuries before?"

Although his words were harsh Lily did not seem to be bothered by them. In fact, she expected this from him.

"... I know you don't believe it, but that's the truth." Lily solemnly said, "That is why Ren sent me here to get. To bring you back to your home. So please."

Lily lowered her head at him.

"I know this is the furthest thing that you want, but for the people of Yan, please come back."

Lin ye looked conflicted now.

He immediately placed both of his hands on her shoulder/

"Lily please, don't lower your head," He bagged.

But she did not budge.

"... Please," Her body started to shake, "Don't hate me."

As the princess of Yan, this was her duty. To do anything for the benefit of Yan as a whole. This was her responsibility.

However, as a sister, this was the worst thing she could do.

Lily knew better than anyone that her brother treasured his freedom above anything. He never wanted to be someone that was shackled. So asking something like this to him was basically spitting at his dream.

She was… afraid.

Afraid that a person that loves her so much would stare at her with hatred.

Lin Ye's face softened when heard how shaky she was now.

"Hey, raise your head okay," Lin Ye's voice was as gentle as he could make it to be now, "I can't talk with my sister with her head lowered, can I?"

Slowly she raised her head at him.

There, he was still smiling at her.

"I am not mad."

How can something so simple make her so relieved?

"You're not?" She was scared when she asked this, "But-."

Lin Ye interrupted her before she could finish by placing his hand on her head.

"Nothing you can do can make me mad," Lin ye smiled at her, "Nothing in this world."

Her eyes started to get teary now.

Seeing this, Lin ye did not say anything as he pulled her into a hug. Lily's head was buried into his neck as he gently stroked her hair. Although he felt something wet on his neck, he did not comment on it.

With her elbow on the table, Nian placed her head in her hand and stared at both of them with a smile.

Lin ye might need to cancel some meetings he should have with Kieran. He needed to spoil a princess.

That and he needed to plan out what he wanted to say to an emperor that sent a girl to do his dirty work.

Can't kill him though.

An ice punch to the face should suffice.


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


Draft: Jaq

Proofread: Discord

Edit: Jaq