23 Lying at the first instance

At the back of the mountain grows a cherry blossom tree that was gifted to an ancestor of the Song clan to his wife when he was still wooing her. Back then there wasn't a small hut built. The ancestor used to go on top of its branch and bring his wife with him to gaze at the view from the mountain.

Later on, when they started their family, they resided at the foot of the mountain and built the residences of the Song Clan there from then on. It was around that time that the ancestor decided to build the hut for him and his wife to have private time away from the clan's matters.

Their offspring made the decision to only allow the main family to enter the area for cultivation. One of the ancestor's offspring was an array master and placed an array around it to prevent strangers from entering.

It was later on that General Song Jia built the underground chambers that connected to the back of the mountain. His brothers then built the book pavilion after he passed.

Now, sitting on the bench near the cherry blossom tree, an immortal looking man gazed down at the city.

Head tilted and resting on his fist and his elbow was resting on the bench. His long jet black hair covered most of the dragon embroidery on his black silk outer robe. Skin slightly a shade darker than Song Jia's peeked out from his white sleeves of his inner robe.

Outside the door, a man in violet robe and white collar and his long hair tied from the top of his head, waited for the people inside the hut to open the door.

His master had told him to not intimidate the people inside.

"Creak~" The door of the hut opened and a milky white hand covered by an azure sleeve peeked out.

"Hello, brother. Sorry to bother you and your sister." The guard in violet robes cupped his hands in greeting as the door fully opened.

"No problem. No problem at all.. Could you help me with the table, brother?" Song Jia smiled at the guard, her eyes in crescents presenting a harmless attitude.

It was not wise to act arrogantly around these men. They were able to enter the back of the mountain easily when it was supposed to be protected by an array. That only meant at least one of them knows arrays. When she saw the man sitting on the bench, she could guess that he was the master of this person in violet robe.

"Sure. Sure! I'm the one troubling you after all.." Wan Yun saw that the person in azure robes was actually just a young boy. If he guessed it right, he should be around fourteen to sixteen years old. "Ah.. This..my name is Wan Yan, pleased to meet you. How may I call you, brother?"

"Hello.. My surname is Shi and my first name is Jin. Very happy to meet you!" Song Jia cupped his hand in greeting as well.

Behind the azure robed young boy emerged a girl in a light blue hanfu. She looked to be around the same age as the young boy.

"This is my younger sister…" Song Jia introduced them. "Ping'er, greet big brother Wan Yan."

"Hello! My name is Lu Ping, very pleased to meet you.." Lu Ping bowed slightly to Wan Yan, her head lowered, not meeting his eyes.

"You look to be younger than me, can I call you little brother instead, and you both can call me big brother?" Wan Yan grinned, he liked the attitude of the young boy and girl in front of him.

"It will be my honor, big brother Wan Yan!" Song Jia also grinned, though the side of her mouth and eyes twitched.

Back in her previous life, she was already almost 30 years old, now that she's Song Jia, a 15-year-old, she has no choice but to acknowledge this man in front of her as an older brother.

Wan Yan helped the young boy take out the table and lifted it by himself, taking it towards where his master sat.

The young boy took a bench without a backrest and placed it opposite the old bench.

"Master, this little brother's name is Shi Jin and this little sister is Lu Ping.." Wan Yan introduced them to his master.

"Greetings, Senior. Very pleased to meet you." Shi Jin and Lu ping bowed in respect. They could feel pressure coming from the man, growing heavier.

'Did I offend him already?' A cold sweat starts to form in Song Jia's brow.

The man in black silk outer robes and white inner robe that has a blue and red cross collar and lapel, and brown hues stripes on the bottom. The loose sleeves of his black outer robe also have dragon embroidery while his white inner robe has golden patterns in its lining. The embroidered black sash had cloud patterns on it.

'He's dressed in expensive clothes. He's definitely not someone of ordinary background.'

"Senior? Little brother, you jest. I am not that old to be called a Senior yet." The man's lips and right eye twitched. He couldn't believe a little girl would actually call him a Senior!

The audacity of this girl to lie to him on the very first instance! She was wearing an Illusion ring that had no effect in front of his eyes. That level of treasure was not enough to deceive him. It surely fooled his guard, Wan Yan, but not him.

"Ah.. my apologies. What do I call you, big brother?" Song Jia still had her head lowered.

"My surname is Sun, and my first name is Xun." The man's voice sounded stern.

"Pleased to meet you, big brother Sun Xun.." Song Jia tried to sound as respectful as possible. She didn't want to offend such a powerful man when she still has low-level power compared to him.

This property was supposed to be owned by the Song Clan and these people were trespassers. However, because she and Lu Ping are defenseless against them, they had to act as politely as possible, hoping that after they're done with the meal, they would be on their way.

After that, she would talk to her uncle and grandfather about strengthening the array.

Meanwhile, the cold aura the man was emitting finally dissipated, and Song Jia and Lu Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Big brothers, Ping'er and I will go get the dishes now. Make yourselves comfortable." Song Jia shot Lu Ping a glance. Lu Ping nodded at her.

The two scampered off and went back to the hut, not saying a word.

"Master, he said that the girl is his younger sister, but their surnames are different.. How can that be? Also, they don't look alike at all! Why are two youngsters over here in the mountains all by themselves?" Wan Yan voiced his confusion to his master in a low voice, not wanting to offend the people he was talking about.

Sun Xun raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"Ehhh~ Master, they can't possibly be lovers, are they? They're too young to be doing that stuff! This--should I say something? I mean, how is the girl going to marry in the future? The boy seemed reasonable, I'd never thought he would take away a girl's innocence! You really can't judge a book by its cover--hayy" Wan Yan was becoming more anxious while Sun Xun was really tempted to throw a shoe at his guard.

'What 'taking away a girl's innocence'! She's a girl herself!'

"You really should cultivate more." Sun Xun merely told him, sighing.

"Eh? Yeah, I should be advancing soon, Master!.. But, as I was saying, do you think I should tell them off?" He kept looking at the hut.

"Aren't we just passing by?"

Wan Yan pursed his lips. He sighed.