As Shen Xiu walked out, Nie Tai grinned viciously; Nie Li met her gaze and mirrored the expression. Looking at the twins worriedly, Lu Piao hesitantly asked, "Do I even wanna know what you two are scheming?"
"What? When have I ever schemed?" Replied Nie Tai, feigning hurt at the insinuation. Unable to speak from her acting, Lu Piao merely shook his head and smiled at the two.
"Are you guys going home for the holiday?" Asked Du Ze, changing the subject.
"Yes," answered the twins in unison.
"Do you two plan that?" Questioned Lu Piao. He was a little unnerved by their synchronization.
"No, it just kinda happens sometimes," replied the twins in unison once again.
"Anyway, I'm heading home too. Are you Du Ze?" Queried Lu Piao, quickly turning away from the smirking redheads.
"Yeah, I must thank you two again for lending me some money. I hope to buy my mom a shawl and some food for my cousins. I promise that I will repay you someday. Iー" said Du Ze.
He was rambling before Nie Tai interrupted him, "Nonsense! Xiao Li and I have no problem lending you money. You are one of my friends and, should you need it, I will never hesitate to aid you in anyway possible. Please, Du Ze, the only way I want you to repay me is with your support. That's all."
Nie Tai's aquamarine eyes, that quickly filled with sadness, shocked the brunette into silence as Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, and Zhu Xiangjun bid goodbye and left to return home.
Coughing lightly, Nie Li said, "Well, we had better get going if we want to return before sunset. I wouldn't want our parents waiting on us."
"Right, goodbye," bid Nie Tai, smiling sadly. She quickly hugged the two before following her brother to a small carriage sent from their family. As they sat down, the realization hit Nie Tai.
I'm going to see my family...
How many hundreds of years has it been since she's seen any of her kin besides Nie Li? With wide eyes, she looked at her brother and said, "We're going home..."
Her voice was infinitely small and fragile; totally opposite of who she had become, who she projected herself to be. Instantly understanding, Nie Li was by her side and he hugged her tightly. Whispering he said, "I know, we are going home."
After a minute, he moved back to the other seat and the two enjoyed a comfortable, reminiscing-filled silence. Glancing over at her brother, Nie Tai's eyes narrowed and she asked, "Who gave you a ruby? Doesn't that represent a girl's love?"
"Xiao Ning'er," replied Nie Li simply, obviously not wishing to continue speaking about the subject. Seeing his sister's suggestive look, he shook his head and returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window.
❦❦❦
As the carriage came to a halt, Nie Tai studied the scene in from of her: barefoot children running around, men and women coming in from working in the fields, and the family's castle一every aristocratic family had one一was old, worn, and on the edge of collapsing, which suited the Heavenly Marks Family scarily well. If none were successful in proclaiming a title, wouldn't be able to stand. Although there were twenty-seven Heavenly Marks descendents in the Holy Orchid Institute, only Nie Tai and Nie Li returned today because all of the others were older and their release date was later.
"Big Brother Li! Big Sister Tai! You've returned!" Shouted a young, cheery voice. A little girl with chipmunk cheeks, two little red pigtails, and dirty feet ran up to the twins. The owner of the voice was Nie Yu, the daughter of the twins' uncle.
Bending down, Nie Tai picked up the little girl and swung her around saying, "That we are, Xiao Yu! Tell me, did you miss me?"
Squealing from happiness, Nie Yu said, "I did! I did!"
"Good, otherwise I would have had to keep spinning you!" Chuckled Nie Tai, setting the little girl firmly on the ground. Laughing the little girl wobbled a bit because she was dizzy but, nevertheless, ran up and hugged Nie Li.
She instantly demanded that she be put on his shoulders. Laughing, he quickly complied and the two walked to their parents' house. They passed fields where many people where working. In total, there were about fifty-six thousand people within the Heavenly Marks Family. While most of them were farmers, there were sixty Bronze-Rank fighters, six Silver-Rank Fighters, two Silver-Rank Demon-Spiritists, and one Gold-Rank Spiritist (who was the Patriarch).
"Have you been good at home, Xiao Yu?" Asked Nie Li, bouncing the little girl on his shoulders.
"Of course! But I also want to be like Big Brother and Big Sister and go study at the Holy Orchid In-Institute!" Affirmed Nie Yu, who had stumbled over the word 'institute' slightly.
Nie Tai looked away in disappointment. In her past life, the twins were Nie Yu's goal; eventually, she surpassed the twins in strength and ended up dying in the fight against the demon-beasts. Shaking her head slightly, Nie Tai pulled herself back to the present. She would not allow the past to repeat itself; that was certain.
"Xiao Tai! Xiao Li! Welcome home, little ones! Your journey went well?" Asked a warm, fatherly voice. Aquamarine eyes widening at the sound, Nie Tai swallowed her rising emotions and turned to hug her father, Nie Ming.
"Papa!" Shouted Nie Tai, quickly wrapping her arms around the large man.
"My beautiful girl! Tell me, no boys have been giving you trouble, have they?" Questioned the man lightheartedly with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Of course not, but Xiao Li has been going around breaking hearts," snickered Nie Tai, skipping over and elbowing her brother.
Grinning viciously, Nie Li said, "Papa, Xiao Tai through me under the bus! Does that mean you don't know?"
"I don't know what?" Asked the man sharply, cutting an eye towards his daughter.
"Ah, nothing Papa. Don't worry about it," shrugged Nie Tai, which only caused her father to worry further.
"Aye, aye. Little ones, you must tell me of your escapades. Surely, it's been more interesting than digging up weeds all day!" Laughed Nie Kai, the twins' uncle.
"Come now, Uncle, surely I wouldn't let my sibling get in too much trouble," said the twins in unison.
Gawking, Nie Yu asked, "How do you two do that? That's so cool!"
"Practice," replied the twins.
"They've been doing that since birth. I still remember when they would cry in sync, would sleep in sync, would eat in sync, would一" chattered Nie Ming, blissfully recalling the time.
"Okay, Papa, Xiao Yu doesn't need to know everything that we did in sync," growled Nie Li playfully. Nie Ming chuckled heartily and stared at the house that was getting steadily closer.
"Your mother and aunt are going to be so happy to see how you've grown. You two have gotten so mature! Hopefully everything was alright at school," said Nie Kai, adjusting the burlap bag on his shoulder.
"Xiao Tai! Xiao Li!" Shouted a familiar voice. Nie Tai looked forward to see her mother, Xiao Yun, running towards them. The woman quickly wrapped Nie Tai in a hug and almost tackled Nie Li, who had rapidly set down Nie Yu.
"My baby boy! Look how you've grown. You two are just in time for dinner! Let's get you something to eat," chirped the woman happily after playfully pinching Nie Li's cheeks.
The happy woman quickly ushered everyone into the house. Nie Kai quickly greeted his wife and the group was seated at the table. The room was filled with the simple smell of rice and spices. A bowl and chopsticks were quickly brought to the table for each person. Nie Tai took a deep breath; for the whole time that she was alive, she was never able to replicate the smell of her mother's cooking.
"How did you two do on your tests?" Asked Nie Ming, quickly digging in.
"Not at the table! They should eat first!" Snapped Xiao Yun. She then turned to the twins with sweet smile and said, "I'm glad you two are home! Be sure to rest and then we will talk about school."
"It's okay, Mama, we can tell you all now if you would like," replied Nie Li unhurriedly. His calmness soothed the woman and she nodded hesitantly.
"We both have the result of One-Star Bronze-Rank as Demon-Spiritists," said Nie Tai. The house was silent. Nie Tai looked up to see her pale father drop his chopsticks and her uncle staring back at her unbelievingly.
A loud cheer erupted from her father as the grown man jumped to his feet, grabbed his wife, and spun around. Laughing, the woman slapped his arm and said, "Sit down!" Turning to the twins, she asked, "You two really achieved this?"
In the past, Xiao Yun and Nie Ming supported the twins even when their horrid talent was brought to the light. Nie Tai's parents weren't talented in the slightest and were barely able to cultivate the smallest of soul forces. Their disbelief was not unfounded because, although they loved their children, they were afraid that the twins would turn out exactly like their parents.
"We were also chosen to enter the Genius Class," added Nie Li, smiling as his ecstatic parents sat down.
Thankfully, Nie Ming did not jump up again but did do a small dance in his seat. Nodding, Nie Kai asked, "The Genius Class? I thought that one had to be extremely talented to enter the Genius Class. In the past, other One-Star Bronze-Ranks did not have the qualifications to enter it."
"It's because Big Brother Li and Big Sister Tai are really great! They must have seen how great they are and decided to do somethin' 'bout it!" Shouted Nie Yu happily. Her bright grin caused Nie Tai to mirror it. Nie Li chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"I can't believe that there are truly two Demon-Spiritists in the house. It's a dream come true. We must go to the Patriarch!" Shouted Nie Ming, who would've jumped up if not for Xiao Yun pulling his ear harshly.
"They are going nowhere until they eat! My children have just returned home and you want to take them away! Hmph. Let the Patriarch wait, you can go brag later!" Hearing her words, Nie Ming deflated as his plan was brought to light.
Seeing her parents squabble, Nie Tai couldn't help but smile. For an instant, her eyes changed: they looked far too tired, far too old, far too wise for a teenage girl. As her father turned back to her, the look vanished and revealed a happy, joyful color that shone even brighter after being homesick.
"What is the situation of the family?" Asked Nie Li, taking a large bite of rice.
"Strange," muttered Nie Ming, growing solemn at the thought.
Hearing this, the twins shared a glance that did not go unnoticed by Nie Kai. Nie Tai asked, "How so?"
"Well, the family's wealth is barely able to cover all of the expenses. Sometime ago, the Sacred Family suddenly started to pressure us. That caused a big blow to our resources and scared off many of our business partners. The elders were very anxious and the Patriarch even sent a letter to the Sacred Family. He never got a reply because those bastards probably wanted us to be even worse off before they started to talk terms," Nie Ming angrily slammed his fist on the table. He calmed when Xiao Yun placed a hand arm.
Coughing lightly, he continued, "Then, suddenly, there was a turn for the better."
"Really?" Asked Nie Li, prompting his father on.
"Yeah. Over ten families had, suddenly, wanted to work with us! The conditions were very favorable; so favorable, in fact, that the Patriarch thought that they were trying to lure us into a trap. Then the letter from the Alchemist Association arrived and explained that they wanted us to grow specific herbs that they would buy above market price. When seeing that the Alchemist Association was bothering us, the Sacred Family left us alone."
Nodding, Nie Tai immediately thought of Yang Xin. That beautiful woman must have been behind this; Nie Tai was grateful for the woman's actions because now the twins would not have to worry about protecting the Heavenly Marks Family and could, instead, focus on taking down the Sacred Family.
"What would come of telling them this? They are children and should not be involved," said Xiao Yun, expressing her disapproval.
"They are Demon-Spiritists! It is their duty to protect the family. They need to know!" Proclaimed Nie Ming, still over the moon with happiness and pride for his children. Xiao Yun shook her head with a slight smile on her face but said nothing.
"Papa, I would prefer to meet the Patriarch later. I wish to continue my training as of now," said Nie Tai, drawing the man's attention.
"Okay, I can always brag later!" Laughed Nie Ming heartily.
"Xiao Yu, you will need to work hard in the future and be like Xiao Li and Xiao Tai," said Nie Kai.
"Yes!" Shouted Nie Yu, instantly becoming serious.
The sun was quickly setting. When seeing this, the twins excused themselves and quickly dashed out of the house. Feeling the wind on her face, Nie Tai laughed happily and sped up. Grinning, Nie Li matched and exceeded her speed.
Immediately, a race ensued. Some of the family members that had yet to return home noticed two orange blurs running through the fields and jumping fences. Panting, Nie Tai jumped up on a large rock and shouted, "I won!"
The frogs in the forest that surrounded them croaked loudly at the intruders. Smiling, Nie Li said, "Sure, I let you win. Now, should we train diligently for ten days or use Miracle Meridian Hands?"
Smirking, Nie Tai tilted her head and replied, "Now, dear brother, why would we not use Miracle Meridian Hands?"
Miracle Meridian Hands was a technique for those under Silver-Rank. Using it would lock some acupuncture points and allow the soul force to build up quickly and, forcefully, allow the user to grow to Silver Rank. The closer one was to Silver Rank, the less damage one would take to their meridians. Seeing as the twins had plenty of elixirs, they would use the technique because any damage would easily be healed.