Jing Lin was looking at the girl who was deep in her thoughts.

About six months ago he would have laughed at the thought that their group of friends would be wrapped around the finger of a little girl.

She's full of wonders and joy. They had found a gem that day in the black market when they visited 'Black Jade Inn' with Master Rong.

The Eldest Master of General Manor had been continuously praising about a young girl who had suddenly become the owner of an Inn which was about to shut down.

At first, all of them thought that the Eldest Young Master of General Manor had miraculously fallen in love at first sight with some girl but all of them were proved wrong when they finally met Li Ming.

As time passed they realized that she was a completely different and unique person. Yes, she was cunning, crafty, cold-hearted, and maybe a little tricky but she was never a bad person.

She didn't go around flaunting her powers and high cultivation level. It didn't take a genius to realize that she's powerful, way more powerful than any of the Young Masters.

It would be a lie if he said that they weren't envious. It felt like a disgrace to them as a mere little girl had surpassed them in cultivation, but that feeling soon evaporated as they grew close to her.

Even though she was more powerful than them, she always respected all of them equally. She never used them or their high statuses to climb up higher. She never showed off their friendship. Of course, it didn't mean that she didn't take advantage of their friendship but that's a normal thing between friends. And to be honest, even those rare moments couldn't be counted as taking advantage.

Also, she never tried to seduce any of them just like the other girls. With each passing day the respect that they had for Li Ming only grew.

They had never seen her face in these past six months as she's always wearing the veil but they had come to know to her by her inner beauty.

They never asked her about her whereabouts when she used to unexpectedly disappeared for months. Just as she never asked about their personal matters.

Jing Lin still remembered that night clearly. It was two months later from the day when they had first met Li Ming in Black Jade Inn.

***********

Once again they had spent almost two hours in Black Jade Inn, playing 'Stratego' and irritating Li Ming.

They had decided to stop by an Inn to have their dinner and a few drinks. Apparently, they had irritated their Ming Ming too much that she had kicked them out of Inn without feeding them. She's heartless!

They were silently enjoying their food, which was a miracle because how could you expect a group of thirteen young boys in their late teens or early twenties to stay quiet? When suddenly Bai Liang spoke, "I wish she's my little sister. I would have loved to spoil her with all the happiness in the world. It pains to look at her all alone there without any family."

All of them knew that he was talking about Li Ming because he wasn't the only one with those thoughts. Though all of them had sisters, except Bai Liang, but they knew that none of their sisters were as innocent and naive as they represent themselves. Not all of them were crafty or cunning but none of them were carrying a good heart full of love and kindness. Only General manor's Third Young Miss was not as cruel and selfish as the rest of their sisters.

All the brothers were aware of the true faces of their sisters but they never meddled in their matters.

Just like every sister wanted a loving, caring and warm-hearted brother, every brother dreamed of a sweet little sister who's innocent and kind.

They never found these traits in their sisters. But who were they kidding. If their sisters couldn't be considered good then they themselves were far from what they appeared.

Backstabbing, double-crossing, blood bath, disloyalty, betrayal, all these were the most common aspects of a noble family. No one was innocent. The only difference was the scale that measures their deeds. Some committed fewer crimes while some more than others.

Being the Young Masters of the Noble families they were aware of all the schemings that were going on in their own families. Some were scheming to get something that was never theirs in the first place while some were scheming to protect the same thing from the bad ones. But in the end, none of them were innocent.

That's why when they met Li Ming, they found someone who was completely different from their world. She was innocent at the same time when she's not. She was kind and also she wasn't. She was loving, caring, and had a pure heart but at the same time, she's also cold-hearted and evil.

There's something about her that made them want to protect her, to always keep her happy and safe.

"We all wish for that!" Wei Rong replied as he opened a jar of wine but instantly put it away after taking a sip.

After a while, the food was gone but the wine jars were still full or untouched. Now the only wine they liked to drink were the special drinks of the Black Jade Inn. Almost all their foods and beverages were unique and special.

The wine that they were used to drink now tasted bland compared to those from the Black Jade Inn.

"Let's promise today that we will keep our little sister Ming Ming always happy and safe." Wei Min said after a while as he finally opened his wine jar and looked at his friends.

Everyone looked distastefully at the wine but finally grabbed a jar each and cheered, promising to always help the new member of their brotherhood, their little sister. To protect her like their own sister.

**********

Jing Lin smiled at the memory. It's been four months since that night and their love and feeling of protectiveness towards their Ming Ming had only increased.

Currently, they were sitting in the small backyard of the Jing Lin's family jewelry shop.

Their family wanted to sell this old shop for a long time but the shop was in such a bad condition that no one wanted to buy it for the high price that his family was demanding.

Actually, the shop was in the main market area of the Capital city, surrounded by many popular shops and inns. The reason behind its high price even when it's in a poor state was exactly due to this reason.

When he went to the Black Jade Inn in the morning with Wei Rong and Yan Jhong, Li Ming asked them if they knew about any shop or land in the main market area which was up for sale.

That's why the four of them came here so that Li Ming could take a look at the shop.

Jing Lin had already mentioned to her about the poor state of the shop but Li Ming said that she could take care of that without any problem.

"So, you can sell this shop to me in 200,000 silver taels?" Li Ming asked as she glanced around, taking in every detail of her surrounding.

What she got was even better than what she had expected. The old broken state of the shop wasn't a big matter for her as she had already planned to open something new and different. Moreover, the shop, the backyard, and the remaining area around the shop gave her more than enough space.

And the best thing about the shop was its location. The moment she realized how good its location was, she had decided to buy it no matter what.

"Well if you are certain to buy this place then I'm more than happy to hand it over to you. As for the price, since we all consider you as our Little sister then I'll give this shop to you only in 100,000 silver taels." Jing Lin said as he looked at Li Ming, beaming happily about the fact that he had helped his sister.

But the evil glint that appeared in her eyes after listening to his words, made him gulp in fear as his smile disappeared.

"Since I'm your little sister and you are generous enough to give me a discount then why not gift this shop to me totally free?" Li Ming asked with raised eyebrows. Her soft voice was mocking Jing Lin.

Both Wei Rong and Yan Jhong broke down in a fit of laughter while Jing Lin's jaw dropped.

"Free?" He almost shouted in panic. He only wanted to not pressurize her with such a high amount. Though she could probably afford it by the look of her successful business in both the black market and Dongji village but 200,000 silver taels was still a very high amount.

Who knew that his attempt of helping Li Ming would end up backfiring at him. She really was heartless. At that moment Jing Lin wanted to cry at his stupidity.