Yuan Yong was a murderous man; this was something he could not control. Beautiful butterflies that landed on his palm would be crushed to a pulp; even the cutest animals could only arouse his desire to kill.
He sniffed the smell of blood and set free his true nature by waving his blade in ecstasy. He was a happy killer, thirsty to manufacture more deaths.
However, Yuan Luoyi's appearance changed everything. The girl's eyes were clean and transparent like a ray of faint light in endless darkness, constantly attracting Yong closer to her.
The infant could not yet judge good from evil. Even now with Yong's clothes stained in blood, holding dead animals in his hands, she would still reach out her little hands and laugh while interacting with Yong.
Yong who only knew how to kill was perplexed; he did not know what he should do.
Maybe he should gently touch her little fingers?
No...that's not okay. She was so fragile, as if a touch would shatter her.
And at this thought, it felt as if Yong's heart was pierced—such pain, immense pain. He had happily killed for a long time and now for the first time felt pain.
The emerging emotions confused Yong, but also gave him a strange warmth.
After thinking for a long time, he suddenly understood that this feeling was called "protectiveness."
Most humans have this emotion towards children, and now, he had transformed from a madman into an older brother and now had this feeling for his younger sister as well.
Throwing away the dead animal, wiping the blood off his hands, Yong reached out, extremely curious and wanting to touch this new creature called a "younger sister."
When Yong's fingers were an inch away from Luoyi, a folding chair flew towards him. He was hit dazed and dizzy and knocked flying away.
His oldest brother Ao walked over with a gloomy face, grabbed Yong's collar and educated his younger brother on violence and fear—do not secretly get close to Luoyi.
The result of this lesson was the loss of Yong's milk tooth.
Going against the oldest brother would end terribly, but Yong did not regret it. He seemed to have lost the urge to kill, instead increasingly wanting to get closer to Luoyi.
Moreover, he was not the only one doing this.
Previously, second oldest brother Fa was almost drowned by Ao. He still continued trying to get close to Luoyi.
So what was losing a few useless teeth compared to that?
Even if it meant death, he would rather die by Luoyi's side. No one could stop him.
Because from the moment she reached out her hands, he was no longer the same. Heaven gave him a sacred duty—as her older brother, he must protect his younger sister well. He was a killing machine that belonged to his sister.
One day, second brother Fa found Yong.
Fa said, "I have an amazing strategic plan that will allow us to get close to our sister!"
Yong was very interested. "Let's hear it."
"We attack together from both sides. I'll go left, you go right. Oldest brother definitely can't handle both of us. We'll lure him to the basement to lock him up. Then we can get close to our sister!"
"Hmm, sounds decent."
And so, 9-year-old Yong learned the first lesson of his life—never trust your own kin. He was beaten half to death by Ao while Fa happily ran off, successfully kidnapping their sister.
Fa's strategy was brilliant. He succeeded, he just forgot to tell Yong that his plan was called "lure the enemy in deep" and Yong was the bait.
But Fa did not get to enjoy his heydays for long either. Their sister bawled nonstop. Following her cries, Ao found them and beat Fa to near death.
The oldest brother would go all out equally on everyone. This was something Yong admired very much.
In the time after, Yong desperately ate to quickly grow up. Ao beat him much less frequently, being busy beating up Fa instead.
It was a pity that Fa did not die even now. Setbacks shaped his positive and optimistic sunny personality; the more beatings he got, the braver he became.
In a way, he was quite strong.
When Yong turned 12 years old, Yuan's Father chose Ao to be the successor. The rest of the children would receive some assets but no control over the family business.
No one objected to this. Ao was far stronger than them, and the younger brothers had no interest in business dealings, all wanting to develop their own careers instead.
What excited Yong even more was that Ao would be going abroad. Luoyi needed a new guardian and Yong thought it would be him. However, Yuan's Mother chose Fa instead.
"Mother, second brother is a sly, selfish schemer. He is not suitable to be with our sister."
"Yong'er, second brother is after all older than you, and he does not hurt small creatures."
"I won't do that anymore."
"I'm sorry, I can't let her be with you."
Yuan's Mother did not give Yong the chance to reform.
Deep in the night, Yong paced outside Luoyi's room window. He could hear the girl crying inside.
Fa was no good brother at all. He locked Luoyi in the room and went out to play games, completely ignoring her.
The whimpers coming and going broke Yong's heart. But the murderous him was forbidden from getting near Luoyi. He could only silently accompany his sister outside the window.
Yong constantly challenged Fa but constantly failed. He was still too small. At 13 years old, Fa could easily pin Yong down and hit him, having inherited his tall stature from Yuan's Father.
Time passed swiftly and by the time Luoyi turned 6 years old, Yong was plenty strong enough. He had won against Fa several times by then and was increasingly proficient at killing.
He decided to take his sister away from the evil Yuan family to truly free and pure lives.
That day, Luoyi was playing alone in the garden. She had collected many four-leaf clovers and was carefully putting them into a book.
The 15-year-old Yong approached her and held out his hand gentlemanly.
"I want to take you somewhere beautiful."
Luoyi gazed at Yong. Her clear eyes reflected his image.
Heaven gifted Yong with a feminine, handsome face and gave him a captivating voice. It was easy for people to be bewitched by him. So Yong utilized this and gently clasped his sister's little hand.
He obtained her. From now on, he would be her one and only brother.
Yong felt unmatched joy.
He had long built a small log cabin in the forest. It was very warm and safe, suitable for them to live in.
There was ample food here, wild fruits, and rabbits caught by Yong.
As usual, his blade pierced into fur, ignoring screams. He washed away the blood, slaughtered the rabbits, and turned them into delicious delicacies.
Luoyi looked on in fright, cowering in the corner shivering nonstop. "Third brother, I want to go home."
"This is your new home. I will take good care of you. Don't you like listening to stories? I will tell you one every night. Today's story has princesses, knights and evil dragons—you'll love it."
"This isn't my home. You locked me up."
"Locking you up is to protect you. Outside is too dangerous, full of beasts. I can teach you how to kill when you grow up then you can go out."
Luoyi cried helplessly. Tears fell like cut pearl necklaces, dripping down pitter patter.
And Yong's heart wrenched in pain. He did not understand where he went wrong.
He was not quite normal but had tried his very best to give his sister the best of everything.
Every day, Luoyi faded bit by bit, withering away. The little sister who giggled while collecting four clovers in the garden seemed to have forgotten joy—only fear and grief remained.
