Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
66. Sisters & The Mysterious Tree

“Long Jinshu! Come out and play!” A fiery redheaded teenage girl shouted, pounding her fist against a large wooden door carved with an intricate scene of regal dragons in flight.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing a handsome young boy with long silver hair and two bright silver dragon horns poking through. Though just ten years old, he was already much taller than a human child of the same age.

“I’m cultivating right now, Yanjiang-jiejie,” Long Jinshu said politely, already beginning to close the door.

Before he could shut it, Yanjiang slipped her foot between the door and the frame, forcing it open with a shove. The unexpected strength of her push knocked Long Jinshu backward, causing him to stumble.

Yanjiang grinned and reached down, hoisting him effortlessly over her shoulder. Despite his height—an impressive five feet for his age—he was no match for her towering seven-foot frame. At seventeen years old and already in the Spirit Realm, she was as strong as she was tall.

Resigned to his fate, Jinshu went limp over her shoulder, sighing softly. He didn’t mind playing with his sisters, but if given the choice, he would much rather be reading a book or deepening his cultivation.

Jinshu turned his head to glance at his eldest sister. Despite her towering, giant-like frame, Yanjiang was undeniably beautiful. Her fiery features mirrored her mother’s, with vivid red hues in her hair, horns, and eyes that gave her the appearance of a living flame.

As his gaze lingered on her striking red eyes, a vague memory stirred in his mind—a fleeting image of someone else with eyes just like hers. But before he could dwell on it further, a cold breeze brushed against his skin, pulling him from his thoughts.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the cavern's entrance, where his other two sisters were waiting.

Unlike Yanjiang, his other sisters didn’t resemble small, violent giants. Of course, that was normal for her tribe, he reminded himself.

The sister closest to his age, Bing, was thirteen. She still carried the same shy demeanor she’d had when they first met ten years ago. Her appearance was a striking contrast to Yanjiang's fiery presence. Bing favored black robes, just like their mother, which only emphasized her pure white hair and delicate crystalline horns.

His middle sister, Yuetu, was fifteen and stood out even more as a mixed-race dragon. Instead of the traditional dragon horns, she had a pair of soft, brown rabbit ears perched atop her head. Jinshu found them endlessly fascinating and had to fight the constant temptation to reach out and rub them. So far, he had managed to restrain himself, but he silently vowed that the first chance he got, he would feel—what he imagined to be—their velvety softness.

When Yuetu caught him staring, her ears drooped slightly, making the temptation even harder to resist.

“Let’s go play!” Yanjiang shouted exuberantly as they approached the other two.

“Um… are you sure we’re allowed to leave…?” Bing asked hesitantly, her voice muffled as she half-hid behind the curtain of white hair she held in front of her face, as though trying to shield herself from being seen.

Yuetu nodded to show her agreement, staring questioningly at Yanjiang.

Yanjiang scoffed. “It’s fine! You all worry too much.”

Bing didn’t look convinced by her older sister’s words, but as usual, she kept her reservations to herself.

“Could you let me down now, Yanjiang-jiejie?” Jinshu asked with exasperation as she continued to carry him over her shoulder like a sack of grain.

“Oh, you’re so light, I forgot you were there!” Yanjiang laughed, unceremoniously tossing him off her shoulder.

Catching himself mid-air, Jinshu twisted gracefully and landed on his feet.

“Then let’s go!” Yanjiang shouted, glowing with a bright red light as she charged out of the cavern’s opening like a streak of fire.

The three siblings left behind exchanged looks, each wearing varying expressions of disbelief. Finally, Jinshu stepped forward with a resigned sigh.

“We should probably follow her. Otherwise, she might blow up the entire Dragon Vein Mountain range.”

Bing and Yuetu paused, considering his words for a moment, then nodded seriously.

Jinshu wasn’t joking, and judging by their hardened expressions, neither were they.

As they stepped outside, each of their bodies began to glow, their auras igniting like vibrant flames. Yuetu’s light was a soft tan, matching the color of her velvety ears. Bing glowed an icy blue that mirrored her frosty eyes, while Jinshu’s silver radiance shimmered like liquid metal, echoing the gleaming scales of his true form.

The transformation was seamless. Where there had been three human-like figures moments ago, three magnificent dragons now emerged from the cavern. Their serpentine bodies weaving gracefully through the air.

Yuetu’s body was adorned with tan, fluffy fur, her long whiskers swaying gently in the breeze. Bing’s sleek, snow-white scales glistened under the sun, her antler-like crystal horns completing her majestic visage. Jinshu’s shimmering silver body reflected the light with a brilliance that could blind those who looked directly at him, his lithe movements mirroring the flow of a mighty river.

They spiraled upward, their movements synchronized as they glided above the mountain range.

It didn’t take long to find their fiery sister. Yanjiang’s massive, scarlet-scaled body hovered effortlessly, the golden whiskers trailing from her snout glowing faintly. Her mane billowed like fire in the wind, and her bright red aura flickered with unrestrained energy.

“Hurry up, you slowpokes!” Yanjiang called, her voice booming like a thunderclap across the sky.

“Where are we going, Yanjiang-jiejie?” Yuetu asked as they caught up to her, her voice soft but filled with curiosity.

“Does it matter? Just fly until we find something fun!” Yanjiang bellowed, her laughter echoing across the peaks below. Without warning, she shot off like a comet, her fiery form leaving faint trails of crimson in the air.

Jinshu, Bing, and Yuetu pushed themselves to keep up, their serpentine bodies weaving through the jagged mountains and gliding into the cloud-laden sky. They swam through the clouds as gracefully as leviathans through the ocean, their long forms occasionally visible when they dipped low, scanning the earth below for anything interesting.

For hours, they soared, crossing thousands of miles effortlessly. The sun hung high in the sky when Yanjiang abruptly halted her flight, her body coiling in place.

“Found something!” she shouted, her voice like a thunderclap. Without waiting for a response, she dove through the thick sea of clouds, descending toward the earth with a speed that made the others hesitate.

The trio arrived moments later, hovering in the spot Yanjiang had vanished. Their sharp eyes swept over the ground below, searching for the source of her excitement. At first, there was nothing to see, only an unusual stirring in the ambient qi. It swirled faintly, drawing their attention to a specific direction.

Following the trail of energy, they descended and found Yanjiang in her human form. She stood before a glowing fruit tree, its ethereal light casting her fiery hair and crimson robes in hues of purple and gold.

Jinshu and his other two sisters shifted to their human forms and approached cautiously.

Yanjiang had a dazed, almost intoxicated look on her face, her gaze locked onto the tree as though enchanted. She didn’t even glance at her siblings as they joined her.

Jinshu’s eyes trailed up to the tree. Its slender trunk shimmered with an iridescent sheen, and its branches bore clusters of round, purple fruits. The fruits glowed faintly, like tiny amethysts, and released a scent that made Jinshu stop in his tracks.

The aroma was rich and strange, reminiscent of strawberries, yet unfamiliar. Jinshu was overwhelmed by a sudden, conflicting wave of emotion—dislike mixed with a strange anticipation. It was as though he despised the scent yet craved it in equal measure.

“Smells so good~” Yanjiang sighed dreamily, breaking the silence. “What is that scent?”

“It’s strawberries, isn’t it?” Jinshu said, his brow furrowed.

Yanjiang turned to him, her expression curious. “What’s a strawberry?”

He tilted his head, confused by her question. “It’s a red berry with green leaves. Sweet and juicy. Surely you’ve had them before?”

Yanjiang shook her head, her fiery mane swaying with the motion. “Never heard of them. What about you two?”

Yuetu and Bing both shook their heads, sharing her confusion.

Jinshu’s frown deepened. As he thought more about it, he realized something unsettling—he had never eaten strawberries either. In fact, he couldn’t recall where he had even heard the word.

The mystery of the tree deepened, its faint glow casting long shadows over their puzzled faces.

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