LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 54: Why can't I be your sister?
After listening to her niece's story, Kwon Yoori understands her dire situation. She appreciates that her niece came to warn her about the keepers. Staying at the inn is not safe. The stable boy is brain dead. The inn owner has sent words to the boy's family. The timekeeper organization will find out soon.
"Pretend to be my brother," She tells her niece. "We will leave tomorrow."
To be honest, her niece is too pretty and feminine to act like a man. Yoori is afraid that her niece will attract men who like feminine men with her beauty. The other problem is that her niece has no idea about her pretty face. She is also wounded. Still, it's better to pretend to be a man than a woman in this era. She already attracted Li Jun's attention in the original timeline and ended up marrying him because of the emperor's decree.
If something happened once, it is likely to happen again. Li Jun's soul is anchored to Kyuri. He will always find her. Yoori can't let that happen again. Li Jun is a fearsome general who made great contributions to the empire from a young age. His first wife died during the childbirth. His only son is being raised by his concubine, the 13th princess. Though things are different, Yoori can't help but compare the two timelines. The position of the first wife is still empty. Kyuri doesn't know all this.
What if that man decides to take her niece as his wife or another concubine? Kyuri won't even live past her wedding night. The timekeeper inside Li Jun will kill her first.
It's her duty to save her niece. Else, she won't be able to face her brother in the afterlife. Her niece risked everything to come here and warn her. As her aunt and her only family in this era, she will do her best to save her.
Kyuri raises her brow. She doesn't know what's going inside her aunt's mind. "Why can't I be your sister?"
"You and I can't use the same room if you are my sister." Yoori points out. "I already told the inn owner that you are my brother who is here to visit me. I told them that you got wounded on your way here when some thieves attacked you for your money. You are lucky that he was asleep when I brought you inside. If I told them that you are my sister, they would have kept you in a different room. The inn owner is a cheap stake. He would have made me pay for the extra lodging. It's also safe if you and I stay in the same room."
"I see." Kyuri puckers her lips. "Aunt, we will both pretend to be men. Will you teach me martial arts?"
"Yes, I want you to be able to take care of low ranked timekeepers like that stable boy." Yoori is glad to hear that her niece is interested in martial arts. "I am going to train you on how to become a proper man in this era."
***
"My name is Mo Qian. You are my younger brother, Mo Wei. I am eighteen. You are fifteen. We left the village after the great flood. We lost our family in that flood. If someone asks, their names are Bai Feng and Fan Xiao. You look a bit different, but we have the same nose. We can pass as siblings."
She helps me dress up as a man and tie my hair. "A lot of people died during the great flood around ten years ago. If someone doubts us, they have no means to investigate our past. Say the village is in the northern part of the country. Pretend to be mute until your accent is fixed."
My aunt tells me what to do and what absolutely not to do. She continues to tell me how it's better if I keep a distance from both men and women. I can't let out the secret that I am a female. I can't help but feel that she's acting like my father who strongly disliked the idea of dating before turning forty. They are similar in this way.
"What should we do about the timekeepers?"
"For now, we will run." She's packing my stuff in the bag. She puts some clothes inside. My old clothes are already thrown away because of the blood. "Don't travel to your correct time or another era. Here, you have me. We know our enemy. You are also familiar with this era. The timekeepers have the knowledge of the original timelines, but they don't have the knowledge of the new future. They only remember the original timeline of their lives. Timekeepers aren't invincible. We can outsmart them. Two time-travelers are better than one. You and I will try to find the solution together."
Aunt and niece are together against the timekeepers. I let out a laugh. "Elder brother, I feel like you are a hero in a wuxia novel."
"You are doing good, Xiao Wei." She gives me thumps up. "We are the heroines who are cross-dressing as heroes."
We laugh together as we walk out of the room. I wait outside the inn. She goes to say goodbye to the innkeeper. I feel braver after talking to her. There is someone who knows what happened to me. As a time-traveler, she understands how I feel. My family loves me a lot, but they can't understand how it felt. I couldn't discuss the future or the past. Yoon Mi would listen to me. She also envied me for having this ability. But, nobody understood how lonely it was.
Someone grips my arm. I look over my shoulder. His penetrating gaze meets mine. He is dressed entirely in black. His black hair is tied back. "Witch?"