Mu Hanyan and Mu Hanfeng combined the best qualities of both, making them even more handsome. Not only was Mu Hanfeng handsome, but he was also composed, calm, resolute, and wise, exuding an indescribable allure. Mu Hanyan, having grown up disguising herself as a boy, naturally had stunning looks as well. The only difference was the deep red mole between her eyebrows, which made her beauty truly peerless.
To outsiders, these two appeared nearly identical in appearance, yet their inner selves could not be more distinct. Mu Hanfeng was charming and impressive, a Level 5 Swordsman among his peers who was very popular with women. However, Mu Hanyan was seen by the world as the very definition of an embroidered pillow: a playboy, worthless, impulsive, and hot-tempered, living under the protection of the family, knowing nothing like a fool. People believed that Mu Hanfeng truly looked down on his useless playboy older brother from the bottom of his heart, often mocking him at best, and sometimes directly making things difficult for Mu Hanyan. This often infuriated Yue Fanling to the point of fuming with rage, cursing him for lacking brotherly affection.
Mu Hanfeng turned his head and glanced in the direction of Mu Hanyan's house's main door, where he could still faintly hear Mu Hanyan's sobbing. With a serene expression on his handsome face, Mu Hanfeng quickly left Mu Hanyan's courtyard.
...
By this time, Mu Hanyan had calmed herself down. She wiped her tears, having not cried like a child for a long time, she felt a bit embarrassed and smiled, "Mother, I..."
"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat your favorite lotus leaf roasted chicken? I will send someone to buy it right away," Yue Fanling asked gently as she lovingly stroked Mu Hanyan's head.
Mu Hanyan gently shook her head, "Just some light porridge will do. I don't feel like eating roasted chicken right now." Looking at her mother's familiar face, Mu Hanyan felt she could never get enough of it. Mother had always doted on her, something Mu Hanyan had always known. Her father, on the other hand, had been indifferent and let her mother spoil her rotten. It was only later that Mu Hanyan understood the indulgence and even deliberate guidance of her parents were the reason for her playboy behavior and ineptitude in her previous life.
At first, Mu Hanyan didn't understand why her parents did what they did and even harbored some resentment towards them. However, she later came to realize the profound love of her parents. Their sole purpose had been to protect her. Who would pay attention to someone powerless? Who would feel threatened by them? Yet the developments that followed were beyond her parents' capability to deal with. The force was too mysterious, too strong. Even when she later gained tremendous power herself, she still couldn't comprehend the full extent of the adversary's power.
Upon hearing this, Yue Fanling hurried out to instruct someone to cook the porridge. At this moment, Mu Hanyan began examining her own body, and the more she checked, the heavier her heart sank. It was all gone. The immense power and cultivation she had possessed were gone! Her current strength was still the same as at this point in her past life, a weak First-level Swordsman!
She attempted to circulate the Qi within her body, then her complexion became even grimmer. The feeble Qi inside her was blatantly telling her, oh, don't bother struggling, you are just a weakling now, someone who could be easily bullied by anyone. The practical experience from her previous life remained, as did her cultivation experience, but that was of no use without Qi in her body. The feeling was like the saying, 'a good cook can't cook without rice'—rich in ideas but powerless to execute them, utterly frustrating!