"Who's attacking my barrier? Are you looking to die?" A childish boy's voice suddenly rang in Evan Chu's ears.
Evan Chu was startled, glanced at the seemingly empty restriction in front of him, and said, "Who's talking? Show yourself! Otherwise I'll break this barrier right now and damage your soul!"
"You've got nerve, threatening me like that. Go ahead and try!" The boy's voice came again.
"Evan, that should be the Illusion Sprite. I didn't expect this illusion treasure to have developed intelligence and even a humanoid form. This Illusion Sprite is about as rare as Jade Chu—both are artifact spirits extremely scarce between heaven and earth. You must not harm him. For a Sprite with only a child's mind, you can only win him over with wits, not force," Luna, the Sword Spirit, reminded.
"Illusion Sprite? That's rare, all right. If he and Jade Chu teamed up they'd be like a golden boy and jade girl. Problem is, if this guy won't show himself, there's nothing I can do," Evan Chu said with a wry smile.
"Evan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime fortune. The Illusion Sprite's abilities are every bit as strong as Jade Chu's. If you can build a good relationship with him, it'll be a huge boost for your future. Don't waste this chance," Luna said.
Evan Chu hadn't realized the Sprite was so important, but with Luna's words, he knew it was true. After thinking it over, he quickly said, "Actually, I came here just to see you. You've been here for years, haven't you? It took me a ton of effort to find you, and now you won't even come out."
"Why should I believe you? If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll trap you in illusion forever—you'll never get out!" the boy's voice snapped.
Evan Chu nearly spat blood in frustration. Getting threatened by a little brat—if word got out, he'd lose all face. But right now, he couldn't get angry; he had to hold back and think of a plan.
A hundred ideas flashed through his mind before Evan decided to unleash his best bluffing skills again. He said, "Go ahead and try. Do you even know who I am? You want to trap me in illusion? My sister and I crossed countless mountains and rivers to find you! Aren't you afraid of getting struck by lightning for this? Maybe you don't believe me, but you should trust your sister, right? We're family, after all!"
Evan Chu immediately brought Jade Chu to his side. After a long moment, the boy's voice finally returned: "Who is she? Why does she feel so familiar to me?"
Hearing that, Evan Chu felt hope and quickly said, "You don't even recognize your own sister? What happened to you all these years? Fine, forget about me as your big brother, but now you won't even acknowledge your third sister? How do you think that makes us feel? Don't you know it hurts us?"
"My third sister? I didn't know I had a sister or a brother. Are you trying to trick me?" the boy continued, clearly still very wary of Evan Chu.
"Jade Chu, call your little brother out. We need to get him out of here—he's been trapped for too long. It's time he saw the outside world," Evan Chu said.
Jade Chu shot Evan Chu a puzzled look, not sure when she'd gained a little brother. But she knew this kid was definitely useful to Evan, so she said, "Come on out, little brother, I'm your third sister. Did you forget us? Big brother went through so much to find us, you know. What are you still afraid of? With your illusion powers, do you really think we'd be able to hurt you? Aren't you underestimating yourself?"
After a while, the boy said, "You're really my sister? Why did you come here?"
"If I'm not your sister, then who is? Come out already—big brother can't wait. You've suffered in this place for so many years. Back then, I was stuck in one spot for hundreds of thousands of years too. That kind of loneliness nearly drove me crazy.
Luckily, big brother found me and showed me the colorful world outside. If you really want to stay here, we won't force you, but this chance only comes once. Big brother's about to leave—if you miss this, you'll never get another shot," Jade Chu said.
Evan Chu was stunned to see Jade Chu talking like an adult, and her bluffing was just as good as his own. He was so delighted he nearly burst out laughing.
Just then, a sudden wave of energy rippled in front of Evan Chu, and a little boy about five or six years old appeared before him. He wore only a belly-band, his skin was pale and tender, and his round little face was absolutely adorable.
Evan Chu didn't say anything, because Jade Chu immediately stepped forward. "Little brother, you finally came out! See? I'm really your sister—no trickery here!"
The little boy instinctively took a few steps back. "You're really my sister? Then what's your true form? Show me and I'll believe you."
Evan Chu hadn't expected the kid to be so sly. At this moment, Luna said, "Evan, this boy is the Illusion Sprite, probably formed from the Mirage Pearl. The Mirage Pearl is even more precious than the Wind-Binding Pearl—among innate spiritual treasures, it easily ranks in the top ten. That shows how important he is."
Hearing the boy's request, Jade Chu flashed into the form of the Wind-Binding Pearl and floated in midair, but she could still speak.
"Now do you believe me? We're both artifact spirits born from innate treasures. Meeting big brother is the luckiest thing that ever happened to us! Come on, call me Third Sister," Jade Chu said, then changed back into her little girl form.
The boy's wariness eased a lot. He slowly walked up to Jade Chu and said, "So you really are my sister. I'm so happy! But if you're my third sister, who are my other sisters?"
"There's Luna, your second sister, and Evan, your big brother. The four of us will live together from now on. Are you scared?" Jade Chu asked.
"Not scared! If you're not scared, why would I be? Besides, I'm a man—how could I be afraid?" the boy replied.
"Luna, you should come out too. That'll help ease his guard, and then I can take him away smoothly," Evan Chu said to the Sword Spirit.
"Good idea. Hold on!" Luna replied. A white light flashed from Evan Chu's brow, and a tiny silver sword flew out, circling the boy and Jade Chu before stopping.
In an instant, the sword transformed into a stunning woman in snow-white robes. Jade Chu immediately called out, "Luna, come meet your little brother!"
Luna nodded and said, "I'm your second sister. Surprised?"
"Not really. As soon as you appeared, I sensed you were like us. Illusion Sprite greets Third Sister and Second Sister! And that must be big brother," the boy said, pointing at Evan Chu.