Back in Penacony's dreamscape.
Koji and Shenhe walked side by side along the grand, lavish streets.
Lumine and the others had formed a shopping party with Robin. They hadn't bought much last time, so this time they were going to shop to their hearts' content.
"How is it, A-He? Penacony treating you okay?"
Shenhe had a detached temperament. Among Koji's confidantes, she wasn't the type to show excessive warmth on a daily basis.
"It's fine, but I don't like places like this—too decadent and indulgent." Shenhe shook her head.
Compared to cultivating in the mountains and forests, this place made it far too easy to sink into temptation. So many people here were steeped in a drunken, dreamlike stupor.
It wouldn't affect her, of course, but she still disliked the atmosphere.
"Planet of Festivities—this is the kind of place plenty of people would fight tooth and nail to visit."
Aventurine strolled over, tossing a die in his hand, dressed bright and flashy.
"Aventurine," Koji said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "have you prepared an excuse for interrupting our private time?"
"I'm just passing by." Aventurine shrugged helplessly. "I wasn't trying to disturb you. You two just… stand out. I thought I'd come say hello. Maybe make a friend. Or do a deal."
"How about compensation in credits?"
As one of the Ten Stonehearts, he naturally wasn't short on credits. Sure, he wasn't as rich as Robin or Asta, but tossing out tens of thousands or even a few million credits was easy—he wouldn't even blink.
Koji's eyes flicked, and he asked with a grin, "Aventurine. Sixty Taamba coins to buy you a person—interested?"
"…?"
The moment Aventurine heard that familiar number, he froze. The change in his expression was immediate and obvious.
How could he forget?
That was the price tag when he, as a slave, had been bought.
"Lord Koji… what do you mean by that?"
"I don't like human trafficking."
Aventurine stared at Koji. Koji definitely hadn't said it casually—so what exactly was the intent?
Koji didn't answer. He simply vanished right in front of Shenhe and Aventurine—appearing and disappearing like the wind.
Aventurine scratched his head, completely unable to figure out what Koji was trying to do.
"Miss Shenhe, do you know what he went to do?"
He'd heard her name earlier. That misty, ethereal aura was rare—she felt a bit like someone from the Xianzhou, yet also clearly different.
Even though it wasn't like traditional cultivation with obvious realm breakthroughs, Shenhe's state of mind was absolutely beyond what most people could compare to.
"I don't know," Shenhe said, shaking her head. "But I think you should get those sixty… whatever-coins ready."
She understood Koji, even if she didn't know Aventurine's story. All she knew was that whatever Koji had gone to do was definitely related to Aventurine.
What her man wanted to do, she wouldn't interfere with.
That was trust.
Not long after, Koji returned—bringing with him a blond woman dressed in worn, tattered clothes. The hem of her white dress had dulled into a grimy gray, and the loose black outer coat she wore looked old and weathered too.
Clack.
The moment Aventurine saw the blond woman, the die slipped straight from his hand and hit the ground.
The calmness on his face completely collapsed.
"S-Sis…?"
His voice turned hoarse, and his eyes reddened.
In that instant, there was no "Aventurine of the Ten Stonehearts," no "all or nothing."
There was only a lost, uneasy little brother.
"You're… Kakavasha?"
The confusion in his sister's eyes faded as she looked at him. Those uniquely beautiful eyes—rarely did anyone possess anything like them.
"Sis, it's me… Kakavasha…" Aventurine nodded instinctively.
Only his sister would call him by that old name, in that exact tone.
"You've grown up," she said softly. "You must've suffered a lot, huh?"
"It's been okay," Aventurine said, scratching his head. "You know me—I've always been lucky."
His emotions churned violently, but he didn't completely lose control. He was an adult now, and he'd lived through far too much on this road.
"Sixty coins. Buying or not?"
Koji cut right through the siblings' reunion, asking lazily.
He'd used [Blessing of Time] and gone specifically to that moment in time to bring Aventurine's sister back. After all, once she'd disappeared, in a certain sense she was already "dead." It wouldn't affect anything.
Aventurine shook his head and said seriously, "All of it."
To him, "sixty coins" was an insult to his sister.
In his heart, she was priceless—worth staking every last thing he'd accumulated over the years.
All… or nothing.
For his sister, he was willing to become nothing again.
"My card. Password ******. This is everything I own. Take it." Aventurine produced a brilliant gold bank card without hesitation—luxurious and ostentatious to the extreme.
He could earn more later, sure.
But handing over that card meant that right now, he was a penniless nobody.
The entire fortune of a Ten Stoneheart was undoubtedly an amount that would terrify most people. Buying a planet would probably be easy.
"Big spender. Then I won't hold back," Koji said.
Naturally, he accepted it. No reason to refuse free money—he hadn't done this out of charity, after all.
"Ahem. Wait," Aventurine said, glancing at his sister's shabby clothing. He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. "Could you… give me a bit of credits?"
It was still the same old outfit from back then. It felt familiar, but now he was dressed in gleaming finery—he couldn't let his sister keep wearing rags.
And now that the card was in Koji's hand, all he could do was swallow his pride and beg for some shopping money.
He was a man without a girlfriend. Of course he didn't have women's clothes on him.
"Fine," Koji said simply.
He understood immediately and transferred Aventurine some credits.
"Sis, let's go."
Aventurine's face reddened. Under his sister's curious gaze, he felt a rare, overwhelming embarrassment—he hadn't felt anything like this in years.
"Alright." His sister didn't object. She turned to Koji and bowed deeply. "Thank you, benefactor, for letting us reunite."
Aventurine bowed too. "Yes. Thank you."
This kind of debt couldn't be repaid—no matter how much money he gave.
If Koji ever needed him in the future, Aventurine wouldn't hesitate.
"Heh. Then I won't keep you," Koji said, waving a hand.
The siblings left.
For Aventurine, there were so many things to make up for. And this was Penacony—his sister had never been to a place like this. He was going to show her everything.
"Why were they separated?" Shenhe asked, a little curious about Aventurine's story.
"That goes back many years…"
Koji told her the story.
What happened on that planet—Zigongwaya—had been the work of the Market Development Department. Aventurine's people had been reduced until only he remained, and that had also been pushed along by the Market Development Department.
That was why Aventurine hated Oswaldo—because of him, his home had been shattered and his family destroyed.
But even so, Aventurine had ended up walking the Path of Preservation.
If he'd taken the narrow Path of Hunt instead, he would've already launched his revenge against Oswaldo.
His bloodline of Preservation came from his sister's final urging, and from his own resolve—leading him down this road.
(End of Chapter)
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