Ruan Xinglan looked at the mud on his hands with disgust and quickly went upstairs to shower.
He truly has a bit of a cleanliness obsession, though not so severe that he can’t be touched by others. He just finds it easier to act like he’s picky to avoid unnecessary trouble; he really can’t stand dirty things.
Take the mud all over him, for example. Since childhood, he hated how his older brother would dig holes and bury him in them at every opportunity.
Now that he’s grown up, his brother still hasn’t matured at all!
To this, Ruan Fengsi would say, “The trick doesn’t need to be new as long as it works.”
Ruan Fengsi also went upstairs to change clothes, while the little one stretched her neck up, trying to see what was happening upstairs.
But soon, her attention shifted back to the live-streamed video.
Her third brother had met up with his four roommates, and then An Lan started directing the strategy plan, with Rong Jun in charge of gathering intelligence and setting up baits.
He Qi and Ruan Ling’an handled combat, both excelling in solo combat skills.
An Lan said, “We need to figure out a way to lure someone from the Pharmacy Institute to join us.”
Rong Jun replied, “I know a junior there, but we’ll have to find her first.”
The four of them had great skills and synergy; together, they set up traps with the signal flags they found, catching several teams off guard.
Ruan Shu’s eyes sparkled as she watched, thinking how impressive her brother and his roommates were!
The comments on the live stream were all praising them.
When Ruan Fengsi came downstairs and saw the little one’s admiring look at her third brother’s performance, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.
His sister was born too late; if she’d been born earlier, she could have witnessed his glory days at school too.
Ruan Shu’s days hadn’t changed much; her biggest interest now was watching her third brother’s live streams.
But ever since her second brother came home, things had gotten livelier, with sudden explosions here and there, Ruan Fengsi’s angry shouts, sounds of fights, and so on.
Ruan Shu had become somewhat numb to it. This morning, as she woke up, she heard her eldest brother’s loud cursing and her second brother’s biting sarcasm.
They were practically exposing each other’s deepest secrets.
Their ragdoll cat had even started burrowing into the covers to block out the noise and sleep undisturbed.
Today was no different. The cat curled up into a ball under the blanket, ready to enjoy her sleep, but then her bedroom door burst open, followed by hurried footsteps, and her blanket was suddenly pulled back.
Before the little one could figure out what was happening, a pair of hands lifted her, carrying her out. If it weren’t for the familiar scent, she might have thought a thief had broken in to steal her.
“Shushu, your eldest cousin is in trouble. There was an issue with the academy’s trial arena. They encountered a group of Zerg hiding underground, including a Zerg King. Your eldest cousin held off most of the Zerg to buy time for the other students, and now his Jingshen is critically depleted, almost reaching ninety percent loss, dangerously close to going out of control. If this continues, his Jingshen will collapse.”
As he held Ruan Shu, Ruan He explained the situation gravely while walking.
Ruan Shu began to worry, too. If his Jingshen fully collapsed, he would turn into a mindless beast and could never return to normal.
She didn’t dare to risk it—risk hoping that her healing abilities would restore someone whose Jingshen had entirely collapsed. She had to heal her cousin before it reached that point.
“We didn’t dare take him to the hospital; your eldest cousin has been brought to the manor instead.”
Taking him to the hospital was too risky, so Ruan Qingran used five inhibitors just to barely pull him back from the brink of rampage, insisting that they avoid the hospital.
By the time Ruan He carried Shushu outside, a hover car had arrived at the manor.
At the same time, Ruan Xiao immediately issued an order: “Activate the highest level of protective defenses.”
Ruan Linzhan was in a terrible state. As he got out of the car, he clutched his head, his body trembling, and his eyes beginning to turn a shade of red.
“Hhh… hhh…”
He emitted a hoarse, unpleasant sound, a strange blend between human and beast.
Even from a distance, the outpouring of Jingshen radiating from him was palpable.
Ruan Linzhan, engulfed by his uncontrolled Jingshen, was unable to contain it. It spiraled outward, destructive and aggressive, making it impossible for anyone to get close.
Shushu’s heart clenched seeing her once lively cousin in such a miserable state.
“Go, all of you, leave!”
His voice was raspy with a strained control. He couldn’t understand why they insisted on bringing him back—he only knew he was losing control.
Ice-blue Jingshen lashed out like blades, wrecking everything in its path. Ruan Xiao had placed a mental barrier around them to provide some protection, his expression grim.
Ruan Linzhan had already started showing some beast-like features, evidence of his slipping control.
Shushu’s eyes reddened with anxiety. “Dad, let me go to him.”
Ruan He clenched his fists, hesitating.
Previously, when Shushu had healed others’ Jingshen, they hadn’t been in an out-of-control state. But Ruan Linzhan’s Jingshen was volatile and dangerous now, and he wasn’t sure if it was safe for her.
But Shushu couldn’t hold back any longer. She leapt from her grandfather’s arms, urgently attempting to run to her cousin, only to be swiftly pulled back.
She struggled, her eyes filling with tears as she watched her cousin’s agony. “Dad, please let me go! He’s not going to last much longer, Dad…”
By now, Ruan Linzhan had completely transformed, his crimson eyes filled with a savage, mindless rage toward everyone present.
Even the air around him had frozen solid.
Ruan Xiao said, “I’ll go suppress him. The rest of you, bring her over.”
His voice carried a tone of weariness.
Ruan Fengsi’s eyes widened. “Dad, are you insane? What can Shushu possibly do?”
But Ruan Xiao ignored him. He placed Shushu into Ruan Fengsi’s arms and then transformed into a qilin-tiger, lunging forward to subdue Ruan Linzhan.
However, the other out-of-control qilin-tiger, one awakened to his bloodline powers, wasn’t so easily restrained.
The bloodline ability of the qilin-tiger was ice, and as Ruan Linzhan lost control, the entire manor seemed to freeze into a glacial domain.
Shushu shivered slightly.
Ruan Xiao struggled to control him alone, prompting Ruan He and Ruan Qingran to join the fray.
In an instant, the once tranquil manor turned into a battlefield.
Watching in growing desperation, Ruan Fengsi passed his sister to his second brother before transforming and leaping into the fight as well.
An awakened star beast with bloodline abilities losing control was terrifying.
Everything in the manor was destroyed, encased in ice, with frost even covering the fur of the other qilin-tigers.
It took all four of them to finally subdue him.
Ruan Shu clutched her second brother’s arm. “Second Brother, hurry, take me over.”
Her voice was filled with urgency, and there was a hint of fear in it.
Though he didn’t quite understand the full scope of what they were dealing with, Ruan Xinglan still carried her over.