The abusers had actually faced consequences. The terrifying, stoic General Lin, whom the original host had believed didn’t care about her, had actually burned his own household to the ground in retribution for her sake.

"So Stepmother and the nightmare sibling are gone," Ji’an summarised, trying to process the geopolitical shift. "And Eldest Brother?"

"Big Brother Lin Feng is still stationed at the northern border, fighting the barbarian incursions," Xuan said, a hint of pride entering his voice. "He was promoted to Vanguard Commander. He hasn’t been home in a year."

"Which leaves you," Ji’an concluded, crossing her arms.

Xuan nodded miserably. "Just me, the sisters, and Father. But Father... he changed. After you vanished, and after he banished the others, he became terrified of losing his remaining bloodline. He locked down the estate, doubled the guards, and forbade me from leaving the inner courtyard, let alone the city. He hired tutors, but he wouldn’t let me train with the soldiers. He kept me in a gilded cage."

The thirteen-year-old looked up, his silver-flecked eyes burning with frustration.

"I didn’t want to be lazy, Third Brother! I wanted to see the world! I wanted to be strong, like Big Brother Feng! But Father treated me like a fragile porcelain vase that would break if the wind blew too hard!"

Xuan sniffled, his aristocratic composure cracking slightly. "So... I bribed a merchant supplier. I hid in an empty flour barrel on one of the supply carts leaving the estate. I thought I could make it to the capital, maybe join a minor sect on my own."

Ji’an rubbed her temples, feeling a massive headache coming on.

"And how long did it take for reality to hit you?" Ji’an asked dryly.

"About two days," Xuan admitted, his ears turning bright red. "I got off the cart near a border town. I tried to buy a steamed bun, but I flashed a premium imperial gold ingot because I didn’t have any copper coins. A group of rogue cultivators saw it. They dragged me into an alley, knocked me out, and when I woke up, I was in a cage on a flying ship heading for the Black Market."

"..."

Ji’an let out a long, profound sigh.

She looked at her little brother. She completely, utterly understood her father’s stance now.

General Lin wasn’t being cruel by locking the kid up; he was practising essential risk management.

Lin Xuan was a pure, naive, sheltered noble kid with a literal target painted on his back in the form of the rare Iron-Marrow Physique.

He had zero street smarts, zero survival instincts, and the financial literacy of a toddler. Of course, he had been kidnapped the moment he stepped outside the gates!

"You are an idiot," Ji’an said bluntly.

Xuan flinched, looking down at his lap. "I know. I’m sorry, Third Brother. I was foolish."

"Yes, you were," Ji’an agreed, but her tone softened. She reached across the table and lightly flicked him on the forehead. "But you were also brave enough to try and forge your own path. It takes guts to hide in a flour barrel. Even if the execution was a catastrophic failure."

Jiu Zui, who had been silently observing the entire exchange, finally chimed in.

"So, what’s the play, kid?" the Drunken Sovereign asked, swirling the wine in his gourd. "You can’t keep a mortal runaway on a cultivation peak indefinitely. The Sect Leader will eventually notice the extra mouth to feed, especially when he sees the bill I’m submitting for today’s excursion. It’s fine to have you stay as a guest, but I can’t keep you here that long with this excuse either."

Ji’an leaned back, staring up at the blackened wooden beams of the kitchen ceiling, her mind calculating the logistics.

She couldn’t leave the Celestial Sword Sect. She had just secured the inheritance of the Spirit Chef, she had access to the best premium ingredients in the world, and she was currently wrapped up in a terrifyingly complex web of relationships with the Protagonists.

But she also couldn’t just toss Xuan back out into the wild, or trust a random courier to safely deliver a naive kid with a rare physique across a continent filled with bandits and demons.

"Here is the plan," Ji’an announced, sitting up straight and looking directly at her little brother.

"You are going to stay here. On the Drunken Peak."

Xuan’s eyes widened. "Really? I can stay with the immortals?"

"Don’t get too excited, brat," Ji’an warned, pointing a stern finger at him. "You aren’t here for a vacation. You are now the official dishwasher and prep cook of the Drunken Peak. You will wake up at dawn. You will chop firewood, clean the dishes, and scrub the woks. In exchange, I will feed you meals infused with Five-Grain Qi that will safely temper your Iron-Marrow Physique so you don’t instantly die the next time someone looks at you funny."

Xuan didn’t look discouraged. In fact, a brilliant, hopeful smile broke across his face. "I can work! I promise, Third Brother! I won’t be lazy!"

"Good," Ji’an nodded. "Because tomorrow morning, I am sending a magical messenger bird directly to the Azure Empire, addressed to General Lin."

Xuan panicked, half-standing up from his stool. "You’re telling Father?! He’ll send the army to drag me back!"

"He can try," Jiu Zui laughed, a terrifying, Sovereign-level smirk on his face. "I’d like to see a mortal army try to breach the wards of my mountain. It’ll be good target practice."

"Sit down, Xuan," Ji’an ordered calmly. "I am going to write to him and explain the situation. I will tell him that you are safe, that you are under my direct supervision, and that he can stop having a heart attack. And..."

Ji’an paused, a strange, unfamiliar sense of familial duty settling over her transmigrated soul.

"I will tell him that once I get a break from my sect duties, and once you have learned enough basic self-defence to not get kidnapped by the first person who offers you candy... I will personally escort you back to the estate."