Chapter 2915 — Earth and Nine

"Yes. And your sister is seventeen too?" Wei Zhao asked, slightly taken aback.

"That's right, seventeen. Leader, do you have a photo of her on you?" Tu Bawang pressed eagerly.

"I do." Wei Zhao took out his phone, logged into an online album, found a picture, downloaded it, and handed the phone to Tu Bawang. "That's her. This is me and Yang Qiqi—the one in the wheelchair in the middle is Xiao Jiu. But I doubt a photo will do much good. You were young back then too; you probably won't recognize her..."

"Uh... true enough!" Only when Tu Bawang saw the photo did he realize that looking at it was as good as not looking at all, for he had no impression of his sister whatsoever. Still, if he sent it to his uncle Tu Qingsong, it might serve some purpose. He shook his head. "Could you send me this photo? So I can show my uncle?"

"Not for now," Wei Zhao refused. "I haven't yet confirmed whether there's any connection between you and Xiao Jiu. Showing you the photo is fine, but sending it to you is not."

After all, the photo touched on certain secrets of the assassin organization, and Xiao Jiu's appearance was kept confidential. Until he was absolutely certain, Wei Zhao would not casually give it to anyone—not even Tu Bawang.

"I see..." Tu Bawang was visibly disappointed, but then something occurred to him and he asked hurriedly, "By the way—does that Xiao Jiu wear a pendant? A pendant made of earth? With the character 'Tu' written on it?"

The whole reason Tu Bawang had seized this trip to the Central Plains to search for his sister was that very detail. The necklace was an item of the Loess High Sect, and it was his sister's mark of identity—she had worn it since childhood!

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was surprised, yet also puzzled. "There is a pendant, and it is made of earth, but what's written on it is the character 'Jiu,' not 'Tu'!"

"'Jiu'? That can't be right..." Tu Bawang was stunned too, his eyes widening in bewilderment. "Every other detail matches... could it be wrong?"

"'Jiu'? 'Tu'?" Something clicked in Wei Zhao's mind. He slammed his palm on the table, startling Tu Bawang—but Wei Zhao paid him no mind and asked directly, "How exactly do you write that 'Tu' character?"

"Just the normal 'Tu' character!" Tu Bawang was baffled, unable to fathom why Wei Zhao would ask such a thing.

"I think I understand. The 'Tu' carved on your pendant is written in a cursive hand—the two horizontal strokes are joined together, forming a shape like the letter 'Z.' And because the carving is so sloppy, it looks like the character 'Jiu.' We named ourselves with numbers from the start: I am One, Yang Qiqi is Seven. When it came to Xiao Jiu, we assumed her name referred to the character on her pendant purely by coincidence. But it wasn't 'Jiu' at all—it was 'Tu'!" Wei Zhao explained.

"Of course!" Tu Bawang smacked his own forehead as understanding dawned. Then, excitedly: "Leader, from now on... you're my brother-in-law!"

"Pff—cough, cough—" Wei Zhao broke into a fit of coughing. Tu Bawang's imagination truly knew no bounds! It left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Xiao Jiu and I are just like brother and sister... at least for now..."

Wei Zhao had meant to say he had no relationship with Xiao Jiu at all, but unbidden, her resentful tone echoed in his ears, and he could only add the qualifier "at least for now."

That qualifier, however, made Tu Bawang's eyes light up. "Haha, then it's only a matter of time! Brother-in-law Leader, surely you won't refuse to take your brother-in-law as your underling this time?"

"..." Wei Zhao was speechless. What kind of tangled relationship was this? But he knew that if he did not agree, Tu Bawang would likely spout some other absurd nonsense, so he could only give a noncommittal nod. "Mm..."

"Haha, wonderful! Your humble underling has finally been made official. Nepotism really is sweet!" Tu Bawang said smugly.

"I can send you Xiao Jiu's photo, but you must promise not to pass it around," Wei Zhao said. He was now essentially certain that Xiao Jiu was Tu Bawang's long-lost sister, and so he agreed to give him the photo. Still, he found the whole affair rather wondrous—was it not all too coincidental?

"Leader, rest assured, I absolutely won't spread it around. Besides, she's my sister—how could I ever harm her?" Tu Bawang pledged.

"This matter is too sudden. When I get back, I must first talk it over with Xiao Jiu. As for whether she's willing to acknowledge you, that is beyond my power—I will absolutely not force her. So if she is unwilling, I hope you won't press the matter," Wei Zhao cautioned him.

"Don't worry, Leader. We'll take it step by step; we won't force anything," Tu Bawang answered at once.

Wei Zhao left Tu Bawang's room and, still reeling with shock, sought out Yang Qiqi and told her what he had discussed with Tu Bawang. What had happened today was truly astonishing.

Hearing Wei Zhao's account, Yang Qiqi's expression was a sight to behold. She too had never imagined that Xiao Jiu was actually the sister of Tu Bawang of the Loess High Sect. It was rather a lot to take in...

"Then... does that make us relatives of Tu Bawang?" Yang Qiqi asked, somewhat glum. She did not much care for that Tu Bawang fellow's personality.

"There's nothing to be done about it. Fortunately, though Tu Bawang is proud and arrogant, he's no fool, and he doesn't put on airs in front of us. Let him be," Wei Zhao said with a wry smile. "This time, no matter what, I must repair his meridians! That, of course, is a small matter. The key question is: can Xiao Jiu accept this reality?"

"Let me talk with Xiao Jiu. Family is family, after all. Though no one knows why they were separated back then, finding one's family is always a good thing..." Yang Qiqi said.

"Indeed..." Wei Zhao agreed wholeheartedly. For all that he usually seemed indifferent to his own origins and had never shown much concern over growing up without parents, deep down Wei Zhao still longed to see his mother and father. It was a stubbornness that bordered on faith.

Happiest of all was Tu Qingsong. When he received Tu Bawang's report, he knew his deduction had been correct. And now the identities of Wei Zhao and Yang Qiqi spoke for themselves—his daughter, "Xiao Jiu," had become their friend!RS