The little girl was about two years old. She looked very cute with her rosy cheeks. As she stood in front of the woman, she pa.s.sed her portrait to the woman as though she was fis.h.i.+ng for compliments.
When the woman looked at it and saw the doodles, she suddenly burst into tears as she said, "Very, very much…. The drawing Si Ling drew resembles father even more than the one I've drawn."
"Mother, why are you crying? Auntie told me those who like to cry are all cowards! Si Ling is not a coward, and you're not a coward too!" The little girl chimed in with her childish voice. At the same time, she tried her best to tiptoed as she extended her chubby hand to wipe the tears off the woman's face.
"Alright, you and I are both not cowards." The woman nodded before pulling the little girl into her embrace for a long time.
She gazed into the distance as she thought to herself, 'Young Master, this is our daughter, and she's called Duan Si Ling! I'm sure you'll be happy if you can see how sensible she is!"
The woman was, naturally, none other than Ke'er.
Ever since she had been brought away to the Upper Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land by her twin sister, it had been arranged for her to stay in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect's estate.
This was the residence of Ke'er's elder. Usually, n.o.body would visit here.
Ever since Ke'er had arrived, her elder sister made her stay here and forbade contact with everyone. Even after she had given birth, up until today, apart from her own sister, the only other person she had any contact with since she came to the Upper Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land was Zi'er, the Saint Beast that was her eldest sister's servant.
It had been more than two years, she was certain her sister did not have any malicious intent toward her. Moreover, it seemed as though she was deliberately protecting her.
However, she was baffled as to why her sister would bring her here just to confine her instead of letting her reunite with her family.
She had asked her elder sister many times, but every time, the answer she obtained was the same. "It's not the right time yet"!
If she was all by herself, perhaps, Ke'er would have been so bored that she would not know what to do with herself. It was fortunate that she had a cute daughter who was always by her side, helping her to alleviate her loneliness and sadness.
This was the daughter of her and her man, Duan Ling Tian.
Due to her yearning for her man, she had named her daughter Duan Si Ling. It contained the meaning, 'Thinking about Ling Tian.'
Duan Si Ling blinked her huge and bright eyes as she looked at Ke'er and asked, "Mother, when are we going to see Father?"
"Soon, soon." Although Ke'er had no idea when she would be able to see her man, she still rea.s.sured her daughter. At the same time, she secretly made up her mind.
Her daughter was a two years old child after all. After a moment of playing, she began to complain that she was tired.

After putting Duan Si Ling into her bed and tucking her in, Ke'er began to look for her twin sister. Without beating around the bush, she asked, "What are you trying to do? You've brought me here from the Lower Province more than two years ago, but you've never allowed me to go out or meet any people… I've been wasting away in this place for more than two years, and I want to return to the Lower Province to look for my man."
"Your man?" Upon hearing Ke'er's words, the woman who looked identical to Ke'er frowned immediately. "Ke'er, could it be that you actually think that I'm intentionally confining you here?"
"Isn't it so?" Ke'er's expression was cold. "If you didn't take me away at that time, I'll be able to live happily with Si Ling and her father. How can I possibly separate the two of them? At that time, when you brought me away, I wasn't completely averse to following you since I also wanted to see my family. However, up until now, you've never brought to see any relatives no matter how many times I asked you! You'll always tell me it's not the right time. I really want to ask you today, when exactly is the right time going to come?" When Ke'er reached the end of her sentence, her delicate brows had also furrowed together. It was apparent that she was furious.
"Why? Why would you just come into my life and separate me and my man? You're my twin sister, don't tell me you don't want to see me living happily?" Ke'er asked in an accusing tone.
At this moment, all the emotions Ke'er had been suppressing for over two years seemed to have erupted, causing her sister to be stunned. This was her first time seeing Ke'er losing her cool after all.
How could she know that Ke'er had suppressed her gentle personality temporarily for the sake of her daughter?
"Sister Ke'er, things are not as you think." At this moment, the purple-clad young girl who was standing by the side quickly explained, "Elder Sister is only…"
Ke'er's sister interrupted the young girl and said with certainty, "It's fine, Zi'er. I'll explain this myself. It's time for me to reveal some things to her as well. She also has the right to know about it. If she still wants to return to the Lower Province to look for her man after listening to my explanation, I won't stop her. Moreover, I'll personally escort her back to the Lower Province as well."
Upon hearing her words, Ke'er's heart tightened for a moment. Could it be that her elder sister had some secret sorrow she could not speak about?
The moment she thought of this, she could not help but feel a pang of guilt.
She was originally a young and kind woman. Otherwise, she would not have stayed here submissively for over two years. It was only today when she saw her daughter asking about her father that she finally summoned the courage to question her elder sister.
However, it seemed like things were not as she had imagined them to be.
"When you and I were just born, some big shot in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect had taken a liking to us. In the end, it was planned that you'd become the Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect. Although I wasn't chosen, I was still accepted as a direct disciple of my current master. I've worked hard to achieve my present accomplishment," Ke'er's elder sister began to speak.
"Saint Girl?" Ke'er frowned. She did not know what being the Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect meant. Moreover, she also did not know why she was not in the Upper Province since she had been selected as the Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect. Not only was she was stranded in the Lower Province, but prior to that, she was even left behind in a remote village on the Mortal Continent.
"The Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect symbolizes holiness in the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect. One person would be picked every 100 years. At that time, I couldn't replace you to be the new Saint Girl since you've already undergone the ritual. After you've gone missing, a commotion broke out in the entire Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, and they had even sent out many people to look for you. Naturally, they only looked for you in the Upper Province initially. After several years, they began to s.h.i.+ft their attention to the Lower Province, thinking that you might have gone to the Lower Province since they couldn't find any trace of you here. At that time, the higher-ups had given the order that if it's discovered you're no longer a virgin, you'll have to be brought back and be punished severely according to the sect's rules. Usually, a Saint Girl who has lost her virginity would receive a death penalty! It's because I was worried about you that I also went to the Lower Province to find you both openly and secretly. In the end, I finally found your trace and found you." When Ke'er's sister reached this part of her sentence, happiness could be seen on her face.
Saint Girl?
Virginity?
Death penalty?
Ke'er's expression seemed to have turned cold again as she said gravely, "I've been wandering outside since young, and I've completely no memories of the past. Even if I'm the Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect, isn't it their responsibility for losing me in the first place? What right do they have to mess with my life? How would I even know about my true ident.i.ty?'
"I know, but the sect's rules have always been ruthless. Those Enforcement Elders in the sect wouldn't care about all these things. Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked for you everywhere and prayed that you haven't found a man and is still a virgin." Ke'er's sister sighed. "However, when I sensed your aura on that man, I began to have an ominous feeling. As it turns out, my instinct is right. You're no longer a virgin, and you're even pregnant with his child! Do you know if those people who're looking for you discover this, what awaits is you is the death penalty? At that time, not only would you and the baby in your tummy die, even your man wouldn't have survived. He has violated the Saint Girl of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect so the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect wouldn't have let him go!" Ke'er's elder sister snapped furiously.
Colors also drained from Ke'er's face at this instant.
It did not cross her mind that her past ident.i.ty was so complicated that it would even complicate her man's life.
Perhaps, she did not understand the might of the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect when she came to the Upper Province more than two years ago. Although she did not have any contact with other people, she had learned from Zi'er who was always by her elder sister's side about things in the Upper Province. Based on that, she knew the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect was one of the three greatest forces in the Upper Province.
In the Dao Martial Saint Land, the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect was a colossal force to be reckoned with.
If the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect really wanted her man dead, he would not be able to survive.
"As for why I brought you back, it was also because I was worried you'd be found by the others. Originally, I planned to bring you to some other place to hide. However, after thinking about it carefully, I feel the most dangerous place is the safest place to hide. For this reason, I brought you back to the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect," Ke'er's sister continued to say, "Although I hate your man since he has gotten you into this situation, I have never once had any malicious thoughts about his and your child. If she's only his child, I wouldn't have let her live. However, she's also your child. She's also my niece. How can I possibly hurt her? As for the family reunion you mentioned, I've also thought of that before. However, there are many Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect's spies among the relatives in our house. I dare not reveal your existence to other people since I'm not confident you and Si Ling will be able to live if you're revealed to the public."
The moment Ke'er's sister reached the end of her sentence, she sighed. As a Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect's disciple, she was the clearest about the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect's way of handling things.
Ke'er's expression changed again and again. In the end, colors had completely drained from her face.
She did not think things would turn out like that.
"I'm sorry, sister." At this moment, she had finally understood. It was her who had misunderstood her own sister.
From the beginning until the end, her sister had only wanted the best for her.