Headed by a Snake

All heroes bear the burden of responsibility.

It would... have been a great disservice to leave things undone before returning home.

It took... a great deal of work and effort.

Not every quest was completed perfectly... and it would be a lie to say that a majority of them ended particularly well.

Some died. Many were hurt.

Perfection... only exists in hopes and dreams.

Oftentimes the goal was... completing the quest, any way they could.

Failing that, it was... survive.

But survive, they did.

Scarred physically and emotionally-- but alive.

That was enough.

It had been a long journey for Jiang Ying Yue... but Moon Crescent Isle finally came into view.

The home of the Hidden Lake sect was a huge place in its own right... but the world of the Outsiders was many times larger.

They just called it... the Realm, two continents separated by a sea... made up of five or seven nations, as well as hundreds of thousands of families and factions.

It was a mystifying and wondrous place... too often fraught with danger.

There were modern inventions, thousands of years in the making... exotic cuisines... and fantastic magics. Many things, she would have never dreamed about, if she hadn't seen them with her own eyes.

However, for all of humanity's progress... there remained great and terrible beasts, devastating weapons of large-scale war... and selfish people with hate in their hearts.

What should have been a one or two year trip turned into nearly a decade.

It started with... a need to pay back a debt.

A champion for a cause.

It wouldn't have taken so long if there were just one or a dozen powerful enemies to defeat.

It... was never so easy to discern just who needed to be punched.

Not all conflicts have a true villain.

Not every honorable warrior is just.

Being physically strong did not automatically equate to victory... though it did help, more often than not.

The ancient tales of heroes and dragons made adventuring sound... simple.

Living...

Living was not simple.

Jiang Ying Yue hoped that returning home would earn her at least a year long break from...

"Finally back from saving the world, sister?" A young man shouted, his voice crisp and clear.

Yue performed a backwards flip to stop her momentum. Her flying sword cut sharply at the water, sending up a tall, crisp wave.

There on the edge of the beach was... the youngest son of her Jiang family, Wang Lei.

It seemed at least he'd gotten her message-- but that was more than enough.

Yue kicked off her sword, sprinting across the ocean waves, "Brotherrrrr!!!"

The panic in Wang Lei's face was evident (and satisfying) as she grew closer.

"S-sister?!!!"

**BAMMMM**

Yue tackled her brother, taking him off his feet and leaving a long trail in the sand.

"I missed you, Little Lei!!" She nuzzled her brother's chest.

"Sister... I-- I could have died," Wang Lei grunted. "I only reached Nascent Profound Realm in the past year."

"Uh huh! I noticed it when I saw you!" Yue cooed, "That's why I executed my Hug-My-Cute-Little-Brother technique at ONLY 50% of my strength!"

"Please stop inventing strange techniques." He awkwardly patted her back-- "Also, please remove yourself."

Yue strengthened her embrace, "Don't wanna."

"Sister, please," Wang Lei groaned in exasperation. "Is-- is this how Outsiders greet each other?"

"Yup."

No arguments, there.

Lei tried to push her off-- but Ying Yue didn't want to let go just yet.

"...Or is this why you haven't brought back a husband?" He said-- which was rather rude of him.

Yue put on her most innocent smile, "You'll marry me if I get too old, won't you, little brother? I don't wanna be like those old crones from the Frozen Cairn sect."

"I refuuuuse," Lei sang.

"Che," Yue pushed off her brother, standing up properly.

Much had changed. The young master of the Jiang family, Wang Lei had become a proper, white-robed cultivator, his long ponytail dashing and the sharp angles of his beardless face, handsome.

Of course, with her own high-rank cultivation, Ying Yue had become a peerless beauty in her own right.

Pure white skin. Silky smooth, dark hair. Otherworldly grace in her every movement...

Her boobs weren't as big as some of her Outsider allies. However, she was a good judge of herself. They were perfect in size, shape, and suppleness.

She needed to request a new set of cultivation robes from the sect, though. She was wearing her old ones, but they made her look... not as professional as she liked.

The current Ying Yue was almost as attractive as her mother... if the charcoal drawings of her in her youth were to be believed.

"The Frozen Cairn sect is our sister sect... hence, our *allies.*" Wang Lei grimaced as he brushed the sand off his robes, "Didn't you say in your letters you trained with them and their new matriarch?"

"Even still..." Yue shifted her weight and put her hands on her hips, "You. are. heartless, brother!"

"Ugh," Wang Lei massaged his glabella, "While you were gone, Li Jing has married into our Jiang fami--"

"LITTLE JING?!?!" Yue shrieked, "I LOOOVE LITTLE JING!!!"

"Well-- you can't have her," Wang Lei pursed his lips. "She's mine."

Even though her brother was an adult, the way he pouted was reminiscent of when they were younger.

It was SO CUUUUTE.

"Wanna bet?" Yue teased. "Even rice noodles are only straight until they get wet."

"Is that why you've returned?" Lei rolled his eyes, "To become a homewrecker? Go back. Get a husband-- or a wife, if you're so inclined."

Ying Yue gave her brother a stern face, "I have a small harem of powerful men and a loyal ninja dog."

Wang Lei sighed and shook his head, "Until I see them, I'm just going to assume you're the same socially inept fighting maniac who turns red at the touch of any man besides her LITERAL BROTHER."

...Yue felt her cheeks start to redden. When she left the sect, her little brother had scarcely been twelve years old... but he had the same sharp tongue as back then.

Also, he wasn't exactly wrong...

She grabbed hold of her brother and rubbed her face against his cheeks, "Awww! Don't say that! I'm sure that Father has what-- ten new guys to introduce me to?"

Wang Lei pushed her away to glare at her, "You're still the strongest cultivator in your generation, Sister Yue."

"Well... I am pretty awesome," Yue smirked.

"Which also means that you've already embarrassed the young master of nearly every family in our Hidden Lake sect."

Ying Yue squinted her eyes... "It can't be... *every* young master... Right?"

"That... only now, you underestimate your influence..." Wang Lei grimaced-- "is absolutely... baffling, Sister Yue."

"What can I say?" Yue grinned, "I'm great at being underestimated!"

"That was not a compliment, Sister Yue," Her brother turned around dramatically-- flipping the bottom of his robes, as high-rank Martialists tended to do. "Let us return to our family house... and perhaps get you a change of clothes."

"Nah, I'm fine in these!"

"Ugh."