Ch. 33 - Blame

A few hours later, Xiao Huoyan finally woke up.

The first thing he saw when he woke up, was his dear sister whom had not left his side for the entire night.

"Sister…"

Xiao Huoyan felt both moved and happy to see that Tian Xin did not seem to blame him to the point of wanting to kill him or anything such as that. She still cared for him as her brother and that made Xiao Huoyan unimaginably happy… and thankful.

Now he did not have to worry about her leaving him alone.

He had a sister. A sister who cared about him… as a part of her family!

"… Thank you", he whispered with a faint smile.

He got out of bed and carried his sister onto the bed. Then he went to prepare breakfast.

-

A short while later, Tian Xin woke up.

She was surprised to see that Xiao Huoyan was gone.

A wild thought flashed through her mind. 'What if he left?', she thought.

She rushed out of bed and began to search the house. She did not have to search for long. When she passed by the kitchen, she was surprised to see that Xiao Huoyan was flying a bit above ground. Just barely enough for him to reach everything on the shelf a little bit above the stove. He was cooking… and it smelled amazing!

Only after smelling the scent of her dear brother's cooking did she notice how hungry she actually was.

She had not eaten anything since breakfast the day before.

The sun had not even risen, yet she was hungry.

"Good morning sister! You must be hungry! Go on and sit at the table, I am almost finished!"

He did not dare to turn around. He was afraid that he would start crying again if he saw her face.

He actually had a sister whom cared for him as a part of her own family!

That thought alone was enough for him to keep on living.

"… Good morning… brother", she said with a vague smile on her lips.

Then she sat down at the table while waiting for Xiao Huoyan to finish in the kitchen.

After a short while, Xiao Huoyan finished preparing breakfast. He brought two plates to the table.

"Whoa! Your cooking skills are truly unparalleled!", Tian Xin exclaimed after tasting Xiao Huoyan's food.

"… Thank you, sister."

"… I do not blame you. If I had not insisted on helping even after you clearly told us to stay out of it, mother would not have gone out to save you. You did not need our help, but I just…"

"Do not blame yourself! Had I not led them here, mother would not have…"

"…"

"…"

They both just sat there motionlessly for a while. Though they did not sit like that for long, it felt like an eternity.

"It is not your fault, little brother. It was not you who killed her."

"Neither did you, so why are you blaming yourself?"

"I… None of us killed her. If we just keep on thinking about things we could have done differently… If we keep blaming ourselves, would her sacrifice not have been for nothing?

She died as to make sure that we live. If she knew that we would blame ourselves like this, would she not be unhappy?"

"… You are right. I am sorry."

"Do not be. We did not kill her, Jin Niao did. You have already taken your revenge, but I have yet to."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I now hold a grudge against the Jin Clan. I and the Jin Clan can not live under the same sky. I will not be at peace until I know that they are all dead!"

"… That is a relief."

"Hm? Why?"

"Because that means that we share the same enemy", Xiao Huoyan said while smiling.

His smiles were usually happy and bright. This smile were different. This time he just seemed relieved.

He truly hated the Jin Clan. First they took away his dear father, Jin Long, then they took away his dear mother, Tian Mei.

The only two people whom had taken care of him, except for his birthmother and his sister, Tian Xin. the Jin Clan had killed them both.

They did not kill Jin Long directly, but they tried to. They were also the reason why Jin Long blew up the entire forest. He did it to kill the people from the Jin Clan. He did it to assure his son's safety.

"Having a common enemy sure seems positive", Tian Xin said while smiling a heart-warming smile.

"Now that I think about it, you are really pretty, sister!"

"You noticed that now? I was born gorgeous you know!", Tian Xin said arrogantly.

Even though she sounded arrogant, one could also hear the joking tone in her voice.

"Yes, of course! Sister is the prettiest!"

"Hmph! Good that you know!"

Tian Xin and Xiao Huoyan began to laugh in unison.

Anyone who did not know them would have definitely thought that they had know each other for their entire lives. That they were siblings born from the same parents.

They had not known each other for long, yet they already saw each other as the last part of their family.

"… Will you ever leave me?", Tian Xin asked out of the blue.

"Never."