Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"Humans!" Sirin finally couldn't take it anymore. She wiped the wet white hair sticking to her forehead, gritted her teeth, and stared at Maria. "I can't run anymore! I can't take it anymore! No matter what, I'm going back!"

Her outburst seemed to give many girls hope, and they immediately began to pay attention to her.

"You dare?" Maria opened her narrowed eyes a crack, a half-smile playing on her lips. "Try walking away."

"I warn you! Human! No, Maria!" Sirin roared, "I am the acting head of the Shaniat family, are you trying to challenge my authority?!"

“Of course not, the head of the family must be respected.” Maria walked to Sirin’s side and looked her up and down. “But as the head of the family, you need to have strength. How can you not even do a 30-kilometer weighted run? At your age, my sister can easily run 100 kilometers without using Honkai energy.”

"That stupid woman who can't even speak loudly!" Xilin gritted her teeth. "It has nothing to do with me. I have a lot of things to do and don't have time to play military training games with you!"

She turned around to open the portal and leave, but then felt a gust of wind behind her. She immediately turned back, but before she could turn around, Maria grabbed her by the neck and pressed her to the ground!

“My sister said before that as long as it doesn’t harm you, you can do whatever I say about family matters.” Maria released her hand and said coldly, “Pandora, a sixteen-year-old, didn’t say anything. You’re nineteen now, you should be more sensible.”

"You!" A torn void space appeared behind Sirin, which was her innate ability. Spatial abilities are very advantageous in combat because spatial transfer that ignores defenses allows her to fight against opponents of higher levels. She even dared to meet Maria's sharp edge directly.

"What's wrong with me? Are you sure you want to fight me?" Maria's smile turned cold. "Sure, with Pandora around, even if I break your arms and legs, I can heal you, right? Want to try, Sirin? I'll teach you a lesson for not respecting your elders."

Xilin's cheeks puffed up with anger, but after trembling for a while, she swallowed her anger and kept quiet.

The difference between A-rank and S-rank is not just one level. S-rank represents humanity's strongest combat power, meaning its strength is beyond the reach of Earth's civilization. Typically, one S-rank can handle a group of A-ranks; even sheer numbers are rarely effective!

Moreover, the strength of an S-class is unpredictable. Can someone like Rita, who has just entered S-class, be the same as someone like Maria, who has been immersed in S-class for many years?

Even the most spoiled Celine knew that Maria didn't like her very much.

It wasn't just Maria who coveted the position of family head; in fact, which powerful member of the Shaniat family didn't dream of it? Anyone with the potential to awaken holy blood wanted to try. Maria liked to cause trouble for Sirin because she felt Sirin had too much of a temper and needed to be disciplined. The Holy Maiden was overly gentle and doting, always thinking of her daughter as a little angel, so Sirin's temper needed to be curbed.

"When I become the head of the family, I will definitely punish you by sending you to the Arctic to raise penguins..." Xilin muttered to Shen Liang.

Kiana also joined in. She was the only one among the group of young ladies who seemed relaxed. She lived in the surface world for many years and didn't use Honkai energy much. The Kaslana family's strong physique made her physical abilities stronger than special forces soldiers even under normal circumstances, so it was a piece of cake for her.

But in fact, Xilin also has this constitution. The reason she complains so much is because she has been spoiled for too long.

"My foolish sister, you don't have to be so upset about this little bit of exercise, do you?" Kiana said, jogging along while curiously watching Sirin, who was still struggling with tears in her eyes. She was a little puzzled. "Even without Honkai energy, a Valkyrie's body is much stronger than an ordinary person's... This is only the training level of a Shenzhou reconnaissance soldier."

Sirin gritted her teeth. At this point, she was too lazy to retort with Kiana's nickname. She could only whisper, "Have you forgotten how long it's been since I've walked?"

"Huh?" Kiana was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Oh, you can fly."

Her spatial abilities allow Sirin to travel short distances by teleportation or create spatial isolation to float in the air. She... hasn't touched the ground for many years.

This was not a problem for Xilin. Even though she had slight muscle weakness in her legs, she was still slender and beautiful. Because she never put her feet on the ground, she didn't even have calluses on the soles of her feet. Her feet were as pink and white as a baby's, which made her very beautiful.

But the price of having such lovely feet is that when she actually started to walk on solid ground, her feet, without calluses, felt like she was running on a knife's edge when she stepped on the mountain path.

"It hurts so much..." Sirin sobbed as she looked at Kiana. She tried to hold back from showing weakness in front of her sister, but she was so aggrieved. "My feet are all rubbed raw... I can feel the blood soaking through my socks."

Kiana was stunned. Looking down, she saw that there was indeed a slight red stain seeping into Sirin's sneakers. It wasn't just a simple blister; for Sirin, whose skin was as delicate as a baby's, it was pure torture.

"I'm going to talk to Aunt Maria and get to the bottom of this!"

"No way!" Sirin grabbed her, her voice filled with resentment. "This is my own fault. I don't want that hateful woman to look down on me. If she knew that I, a Valkyrie, was injured so badly from running just a few steps... how would I ever be able to face my family again? Where would my authority be? They would think I'm a spoiled princess!"

“But you really are no different from the Princess and the Pea…” Kiana swallowed her words when she saw her sister’s angry expression.

"Do you need my help?" Shen Liang asked in a low voice. "I can heal your injury; it's a minor injury that's easy to treat."

"Do you think it hurts more to have it rotten to the core, or to have it healed and then rot again?" Sirin sniffed, her eyes red. "Besides, if you use your powers, you'll be discovered, and then you'll be punished by running laps... I really will die there!"

Princess and the Pea.jpg

Chapter 217 The Inexplicable Small Square Plastic Piece

This won't work, that won't work, this child is definitely spoiled. Shen Liang only thought for a few seconds before nodding, "Okay, good luck."

What does it matter to me if Xilin gets hurt? I didn't hit her.

Ultimately, Maria's training camp was designed to make them suffer. She thoroughly enjoys tormenting these younger students, and she'll definitely say things like, "I'm training your physical fitness, so stop helping each other out!" or "This isn't about friendship, so run faster! Cowards!"

And isn't Sirin implying that she needs someone to support her or carry her?

Are you kidding me? He's barely holding on himself, how could he possibly have the strength to carry a Sirin? This guy is half a head taller than him!

The white-haired little queen stared at Shen Liang with an incredulous expression. Was this even a boy? He could just glance at her and walk away indifferently when she was all tearful and aggrieved. She was the eldest daughter of the Shaniat family, his boss! Shouldn't his normal reaction be to come running over, squat down, and say, "Sister, come on my back!"? Brothers are born to be their sisters' ponies!

It wasn't that Celine thought every man had to fawn over her like a celestial dog; in fact, given her personality, very few men dared to do so. Everyone knew of the arrogance and genius of the eldest daughter of the Shaniat family, and no one's status could match that of a prodigy like her. Even a young prince from the British royal family wouldn't catch her eye in the eyes of this powerful queen on the extraordinary side, as she looked down on them because they were a constitutional monarchy.

But Pandora is different. He is her cousin and may become her brother-in-law in the future. This close relationship means that he will see her often in the future, so Celine can tolerate this boy being around her and can tolerate his flattery. After all, she personally gave him the name Pandora.

But I gave him face? How dare he not flatter this queen?

Isn't he afraid I'll kick him out of the house? Has he always been this brave?

“Carry me on your back.” Xilin’s face turned cold, and she made her point clear.

Shen Liang shook her head, "I'm so tired, I won't carry you."

The white-haired little queen's eyes darkened.

"Serving one's elder sister (crab) as a younger brother is the norm of civilized society, while serving the head of the family as a family member is the norm of a noble family, human."

“I know that you Valkyries are more or less feminist because of your great abilities, but that doesn’t apply to me. I’m an egalitarian.” Shen Liang didn’t react at all. “On the supernatural side, women’s abilities are not weaker than men’s, and are even far stronger, including physical strength, thinking and other aspects where men are dominant. For example, my senior sister’s physical fitness is stronger than mine. Therefore, the transfer of rights to women does not exist on the supernatural side.”

“Who would understand any of this?” Celine stared at him. “I don’t care! Carry me!”

"Impossible." Shen Liang said firmly.

"Aren't you two... sigh, kids?" Kiana looked at the two who were staring back defiantly and thought they were being completely unreasonable. "You can even argue about this? Come on, Sirin, I'll carry you. I still have plenty of strength."

“No, I want him to carry me,” Sirin said coldly.

This is no longer a question of whether or not to memorize it.

The eldest daughter of the Shaniat family wanted to let this new member know who the head of the family was, to make him understand the hierarchy among the younger generation, and to teach this younger brother what it meant to be "sensible"!

Pandora hasn't received any ladylike education from her family and has the same "wild boy" personality as Kiana. Kiana, as the second young lady, doesn't fear her and doesn't challenge her authority, so Sirin can let this fool off the hook for now. But Pandora is different; she has to be dealt with decisively.

Shen Liang thought this child was really forgetful; he had just been intimidated by Maria and now he was acting spoiled and arrogant again...

The two remained locked in a stalemate for a while.

Xilin continued to stare at him with her head held high, waiting to see when he would give in and obediently carry her away. She hadn't even considered the possibility that if Shen Liang abandoned her and left, Maria would see her sitting on the ground in pain and might ridicule her, causing her to lose all dignity and face.

She stubbornly believed that Shen Liang would give in, after all, she was Xilin, a noble and aloof young lady, who wouldn't submit to her control?

Then the chafed wounds on her feet touched the soles of her shoes, causing her to gasp in pain and burst into tears.

"Ugh."

Shen Liang sighed. He felt he was getting too caught up in the mindset of a sixteen-year-old... Why was he arguing with a little girl like Xilin? She was only nineteen, while he was actually twenty-two—not much different, really—given Xilin's pride, she wouldn't be acting like this unless she was in so much pain she couldn't walk.

“I don’t have the strength to carry you.” Shen Liang squatted down and held Xilin’s slender ankle. “Besides, this is a training exercise, and suffering a little is a required course. How can you expect someone to carry you through a training exercise?”

"Don't touch my leg." Xilin was somewhat pleased to see him give in, but still said fiercely.

Shen Liang ignored her, since she wasn't struggling anyway. He took off Xilin's shoes and took out her feet, which were bleeding profusely from being rubbed raw. Xilin was wearing cute little white woven socks, and at this moment, the soles of her feet were stained light red.

Shen Liang helped her take off her socks bit by bit. When the knitted fibers stuck to the wound were torn off, Xilin swung her little fists and kept hitting him in pain.

Finally taking off his socks, Shen Liang poured mineral water on Xilin's tiny feet. The little white-haired queen's feet were almost as long as Shen Liang's palm, white and tender, and even after walking for so long, there was no odor. However, the wounds on the soles of her feet were connected, and the blood seeping out looked rather pitiful.

Shen Liang held her feet and examined them for a while, then heard her suddenly say, "You rascal."

"If you say that again, I won't care anymore." Shen Liang glared at her.

Queen Sirin was not one to be threatened. She puffed out her cheeks and tried to pull her foot back, but Shen Liang grabbed her ankle and held her back. He was helpless against Sirin's personality, so he took out the medicine powder he had prepared beforehand from his backpack and sprinkled it on the sole of her foot to stop the bleeding.

This pain made her tremble, and Shen Liang almost lost his grip and let her kick him in the face.

Then Shen Liang took out a paper bag from his pocket that looked very familiar to Kiana and Xilin, so familiar that they were stunned, and stuffed it into Xilin's sneakers.

"That...that is?" Kiana was stunned.

"Sanitary napkins," Shen Liang said casually. "In our Shenzhou military training, putting sanitary napkins in shoes is a very simple and useful trick. Sanitary napkins are soft and absorbent, and they have a very good cushioning effect on hard surfaces, even better than most shoe soles."

"That's not the point!" Kiana exclaimed, her voice trembling with anger. "How...how could you carry something like this with you?!"

He didn't open a teleportation screen to get it from the main god space! He pulled it out of his pocket! It wasn't even a backpack, not the weights Maria had assigned them!

Xilin's face was also extremely shocked, and she couldn't close her mouth.

"Seriously, what is this? What's it for?" Torachiyo asked curiously, seeing the two people's surprised and suspicious looks.

People of your generation didn't use this stuff. You're already menopausal, so you don't need it either.

[Menopause! You really do dislike me because I've been married before, sob sob!]

Shen Liang's expression remained unchanged. "It's just a sanitary napkin. Do you all need to react so strongly? I just carry this with me out of habit."

"Habit?" Sirin was stunned.

“I have four younger sisters to support, and they’re all fourteen or fifteen years old. What do they know at that age?” Shen Liang wasn’t embarrassed at all. He pulled out a few more bills from his pocket. “What if they suddenly get their period while they’re out? I’m the older brother, so I have to have a contingency plan ready at any time. Otherwise, they’ll cry when they get anxious.”

Kiana thought to herself, "Getting your period isn't anything sudden, how could your sister not be prepared?" But then she thought about how silly the Arlene sisters were... they might actually be scared to tears by her situation.

Then Kiana looked down and saw the small square bag that Shen Liang had taken out of his pocket when he touched the sanitary napkin.

Her expression froze again.

Shen Liang also saw the thing, and his expression also froze slightly.

—This is not something that can be explained as easily as sanitary napkins.

"This...is...also...prepared...for...your...sister?" Sirin and Kiana said in unison, the two sisters staring at him with extremely dangerous eyes.