True Martial World Chapter 2: Elder Sister

Yi Yun struggled to articulate his initial impression of the girl. A peculiar feeling of familiarity struck him.

She seemed around fifteen years old, clad in a mended green top paired with pants so soiled their hue was impossible to discern. Her pant legs were rolled up revealing her fair skin, with specks of fresh mud on her ankles.

Possessing a lithe frame and a narrow waist, her face beamed with a healthy glow and flushed cheeks.

Walking along the village trail, she resembled revitalizing mountain spring water refreshing Yi Yun.

Who was this girl?

Yi Yun met the eyes of the young lady. She paused in a stupor for an instant before easing her hold on the cord that bore the basket on her shoulder.

A bizarre sensation abruptly seized Yi Yun. The girl standing before him was obviously about fifteen, resembling a budding blossom, yet somehow she appeared taller than him? Taller by over half a head no less. Were they face to face, he'd need to look up at her!

Fatigue must be playing tricks...

Yi Yun was still baffled when suddenly her voice sounded, crisp as a highland stream.

“Yun’er!”

She discarded her basket and charged at Yi Yun, mouth hanging open.

Tears already filled her lovely eyes.

“Wait... Wait...”

Yi Yun stood stunned, scanning his surroundings to discover he was alone for miles around—the girl was rushing right at him!

The Yun’er she called... was that him?

Yi Yun bore the single character Yun in his name, yet nobody had ever addressed him as Yun’er. Folks in modern society just didn't, making his sluggish response understandable.

Truth be told, he couldn't respond in time as she barreled toward him like a gale and wrapped him in her arms!

Her fresh fragrance invaded his senses while her yielding form pressed into Yi Yun. He remained unresponsive, utterly shocked. Buried alive on a mountain trek, clawing free from a tomb with Herculean effort, only to get bear-hugged by a mystery little loli!

Yi Yun never imagined that as a grown youth he'd be clutched so fiercely by a loli. What did this signify?

“Yun’er, you worried your sister sick. As long as you are alright, as long as you are alright...”

The little loli clung fiercely to Yi Yun, her pointed chin buried in his shoulder as sobs wracked her body. Her hold was ironclad, channeling every ounce of strength to meld their forms as one, terrified this dream would shatter and he'd vanish upon release.

Yi Yun froze in place like a stone statue, his face twisting through endless emotions while the little loli embraced him.

Sister?

In that instant, amid the torrent of bewildering happenings, Yi Yun finally grasped it. This little loli was the elder sister inscribed on “his” gravestone!

The phrase “Beloved brother, Grave of Yi Yun” had been etched by this little loli herself!

Seeing how she regarded him as her little brother, perhaps her longing led her to confuse him with the departed...

Yi Yun sought to explain it away, but the deeper he pondered, the more inconsistencies arose. Wasn't this little loli of middle school age? Her brother couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen—how could she mix up an adult like him for that boy?

Hold on a second...

An adult like himself?

Yi Yun abruptly noticed something. Aligning his height against the girl's, with his mouth barely reaching her shoulder, a foreboding chill gripped him.

Slipping his arms out from under the little loli’s embrace, he inspected his hands. They were plump, childish palms...

Are these my hands?

Have I grown young again?

I...

Yi Yun reeled in total confusion.

Rejuvenation, an unexpected sister, an enigmatic past—all combined with those antique tombs, the alien grasslands, the strange script and tongue he mysteriously comprehended...

All evidence converged on a single reality, though Yi Yun desperately rejected his intuition.

Her frame quivered without cease. Excitement or dread? Yi Yun recalled nothing of her, yet he felt her profound emotion and warmth. Truly enchanting.

She brushed away her tears, took Yi Yun’s hand, and lifted the basket, set to return home.

Yet this motion sent Yi Yun lurching, a wave of queasiness hitting him.

Yi Yun clutched his belly, sensing nothing but... starvation. An intense hunger abruptly assailed him.

From the moment of live burial, not a bite of food or drop of water had touched his lips. Absent that bizarre purple crystal, demise would have arrived far earlier.

Of course, feeling this ravenous hunger was completely understandable for him.

Spotting Yi Yun's weakened state, the girl turned her back to him and stooped down. Before his eyes emerged a gentle, warm back glistening with lines of sweat.

“Yun’er, Sis will carry you. Let’s go home, never to be separated again.”

“...”

Yi Yun struggled to put his emotions into words—a tiny loli was about to piggyback him!

“Yun’er, get on! Your body may have recovered but it is still weak...”

While speaking, she cast a glance at the tunnel from which Yi Yun had emerged, her heart aching, realizing her little brother had never truly perished.

Fortunately, their poverty had spared them the cost of a coffin, preventing him from being buried alive! Had that occurred, the agony would surpass enduring a thousand lashes across her flesh.

Thank goodness her brother had awakened, and thank goodness the burial hadn't been too deep.

From now on, she vowed never to part from her little brother again.

Noticing Yi Yun's stubborn refusal to climb on, the girl figured he must be shy. She moved her basket ahead and securely grasped his thighs, pulling them tight against her waist.

Yi Yun felt dazed, utterly clueless about how he suddenly ended up riding on the girl's back. His body had been gently hoisted onto her tender shoulders, with all his weight now borne by those slender legs.

Her small hands gripped his legs firmly, and with a quick adjustment, she steadied him before proceeding along the narrow trail.

Lying against her back, Yi Yun inhaled the young girl's natural scent; unlike the artificial fragrances from city dwellers' perfumes or lotions, this was a pure aroma of wildflowers and earth. It invigorated him.

Bit by bit, the reality of his situation solidified in his mind...

He had no desire for the girl to carry him like this, yet he couldn't find the words to refuse.

Speaking his native tongue to someone who wasn't his real sister felt far too strange.

Suddenly, a distant rumble reached Yi Yun's ears. He turned instinctively toward the noise, and the girl did the same.

In the distance, a massive dust cloud billowed up.

The girl jolted in fear and dashed behind a large tree, still bearing Yi Yun on her back.

The dust storm raced forward at an astonishing pace. Peering closely, Yi Yun spotted a colossal beast charging across the plain!

A sharp intake of breath escaped him as he examined the creature more closely.

Good heavens! Could that be some savage beast?

Towering seven to eight meters high and stretching over ten meters in length, it boasted elongated, deadly fangs and legs as robust as iron girders. Its blade-like claws gouged out terrifying furrows in the ground.

Next to this monstrosity, Earth's lions or tigers seemed no more than playful cubs.

Even more shocking to Yi Yun was the middle-aged man astride the bizarre beast. Exuding an overwhelming presence, he sat cross-legged atop it, a sword strapped to his back. From their viewpoint, his face remained hidden, yet the rider chilled Yi Yun's blood far more than the beast itself—by over tenfold.

This confirmed it beyond any doubt: the crevice he'd clambered through was no longer part of Earth.

He had entered an enigmatic world. Now named Yi Yun, he had risen from the grave. He possessed a lovely, doting elder sister—likely called Jiang Xiaorou.

The inscription “Elder sister Jiang Xiaorou” on the tombstone wasn't merely a personal note; it followed the custom of naming the deceased's cherished kin.

Evidently, Yi Yun's sole family was his elder sister, Jiang Xiaorou.

None of this was a mere illusion. It was unfolding for real...

He had traversed through time and space.

Damn it all, Heaven, are you messing with me!?

Tears welled up in Yi Yun's eyes. What cursed fortune was this? A simple mountain climb had hurled him across dimensions!

True, it beat dying outright, but... landing in this alien realm? Hill-sized beasts roamed alongside insanely powerful humans. Judging by the warrior's sword, this seemed a time dominated by cold steel.

In his frail, twelve-year-old-or-younger frame, he'd barely plug the spaces between a feral beast's teeth!

Yi Yun was certain this stemmed from contacting that enigmatic purple crystal card. Perhaps the cave's collapse had already shifted him off Earth. He might have even become this world's original Yi Yun, the cave's pitch blackness masking the truth...

Thus, if the crystal card brought him here, could it take him back?

This thought struck Yi Yun first. Having enjoyed modern life's comforts, embracing this primitive age was nearly impossible. It was a realm beyond his grasp. All he'd acquired after forfeiting his past was a flood of uncertainties.

Yi Yun thought back to the crystal card and hesitated. Where was the crystal card?

The instant that question arose in his thoughts, a chill touched Yi Yun's chest. He reached down with his hand and discovered the crystal card firmly positioned against his chest. This left Yi Yun baffled—he had no recollection of storing the crystal card there, yet it remained snugly in place.

What on earth is this thing...?

Yi Yun remained clueless, but clearly, it was far from ordinary!

Delving into its powers would surely bring immense benefits, regardless of whether he stayed in this world or found a way back to Earth.

He needed to seize every chance to study and figure out that card.

Suddenly, a name surged into Yi Yun’s mind: Purple Crystal Origins.

Purple Crystal... Purple Crystal Origins...

Why had those words popped into his head? Why did that name emerge just as he considered naming the purple crystal card? Yi Yun felt confused; Purple Crystal Origins had flashed in his mind the very moment he sought a name for it.

Purple Crystal Origins... he’d call it Purple Crystal for now, but maybe... its true name was Purple Crystal Origins?