Chapter 56 That day, Yun Zhi heard Yu Qingzhou's name from Yun Yao for the first time.

"—And then what?"

Inside the dimly lit stone chamber, a single light illuminated a cluster of flowers, still bearing the marks of dew, displayed on a high platform.

The boy and girl sat facing each other.

They were about the same age and had very similar faces, both equally elegant and beautiful, like two white orchids reflected in a mirror.

Compared to the lively and outgoing girl, the boy's expression was noticeably calmer, and his skin was paler and bloodless.

When he falls silent, he is like a phantom standing beside the girl.

Only when the boy opened his mouth to speak did he seem to have a trace of human life.

"Who did that girl named Pipa end up with later? Was it the bad-tempered young master, or the cold-hearted cousin?"

The girl asked again.

The boy simply smiled and said, "It's about time. Let's stop here for today. You should go back now, or the clan leader might find out..."

The girl was initially dissatisfied with the abrupt end of the story, but upon hearing the second half of the boy's words, she ultimately felt fear.

"What clan leader? You're calling him that so formally. He's clearly your father, and he's also my father," the girl corrected, dissatisfied.

Upon hearing this, the boy did not react; he simply turned around and transformed back into the taciturn stone statue.

Although the girl still had a lot of complaints, she had to quicken her pace and return along the same route for fear of being discovered.

The footsteps faded into the distance, leaving only a desolate silence in the dimly lit stone chamber.

The boy was named Yun Zhi, and the one who had just left was his twin sister, Yun Yao.

The Yun clan, to which they belonged, had lived for generations in a beautiful and secluded place, leading a life almost entirely isolated from the outside world.

Legend has it that the Yun clan possesses a secret treasure, which allows the peace-loving clansmen to ignore external disturbances and live a free and carefree life.

"What exactly is that secret treasure?" Yun Yao had asked Yun Zhi more than once.

Yun Zhi said calmly, "If you don't know, how would I know?"

Yun Yao clearly didn't believe it: "Didn't everyone say that the secret treasure has always been hidden inside this ancestral hall? You've been guarding it every day, yet you haven't made a single discovery? Didn't the last person who guarded the ancestral hall tell you anything?"

Yun Zhi shook her head: "When I came here, that person was already gone. I've always been alone."

"Nonsense, don't you still have me?"

"..."

"What? Do you mean that I risk getting scolded by my father every day to secretly see you and bring you things, and you don't appreciate it at all?" Yun Yao said angrily.

Yun Zhi glanced at the energetic girl, his expression and tone as calm and collected as his name suggested.

"I never asked you to come; if you don't want to, then don't come."

"you!"

Yun Yao jumped up from the ground, seemingly angry, but looking at her younger brother's pale face, she sighed and sat back down.

"I don't know what your father was thinking, insisting that you do this job of guarding the ancestral hall. It's so gloomy here, not even a ray of sunlight can shine in. No wonder you were born with such a cold personality."

Yun Zhi didn't respond, so Yun Yao continued to sigh to herself.

"I don't know how many more years we'll have to live like this. You should smile more, okay? If you're always cheerful like me, I guarantee you'll have plenty of girls who like you. After all, our Ah Zhi is so good-looking!"

"I suspect you're just using comforting me as an excuse to brag."

When she was exposed, Yun Yao giggled, her laughter clear and melodious like silver bells.

After laughing for a while, she slowly lost her strength and stared blankly at the only square grid window on the side of the dark room.

"How come I'm not telling the truth?"

Yun Yao muttered to herself, then sighed, "We're both getting on in years to get married, but among all my peers, there's no one I want to marry. But I have no other choice but to marry them."

"..."

"When I was little, I thought home was wonderful. The sky was so blue, the grass was so lush, the water was so clear, the flowers were so beautiful, and everyone was so kind and lovely. But that was more than ten years ago. I've grown up and I'm tired of it now, but I still don't have the courage to run away from home."

Yun Yao's sparkling eyes gradually dimmed, and she murmured softly, "I'm scared. I'm scared of the dangers I might encounter outside, and even more scared of the disappointed look in Father's eyes."

"But you still came," Yun Zhi suddenly said. "Why aren't you afraid of the clan leader now?"

“I already told you to call him Dad,” Yun Yao muttered instinctively, “It’s all because…”

She seemed to want to say something, but ultimately stopped abruptly, and there was no follow-up.

The dark room became very quiet for a moment.

Yun Zhi was almost unaccustomed to it, because this quietness did not belong to him alone, and Yun Yao's quietness made him feel somewhat at a loss.

Yun Zhi thought about the stories Yun Yao usually told him, and suddenly an idea came to him.

Yun Zhi then said to Yun Yao, "Let me tell you a story."

Upon hearing this, Yun Yao immediately showed an incredulous expression, as if she thought Yun Zhi was joking with her.

But to my surprise, Yun Zhi actually started explaining it in a very serious and methodical way.

That is a story whose era and place are unknown.

The protagonist of the story is a person named Pipa.

"How could someone have such a strange name?" Yun Yao interjected, puzzled.

"A name is just a label," Yun Zhi replied calmly.

When Pipa first appeared in the story, he was just a child. At a young age, he left his hometown and traveled with human traffickers all the way to a place called Huayuelou.

Huayuelou was not a kind place. When Pipa first arrived there, he was bullied and suffered a lot.

As Yun Yao listened, she couldn't help but grind her white teeth, saying, "How can there be such a bad person?"

Yun Yao grew up in the clan. She was beautiful and pleasing to the eye, and as the clan leader's daughter, everyone around her praised her, helped her, and did good for her. Naturally, she couldn't understand what kind of person would make things difficult for a child with a pitiful background.

But Yunzhi told her that this was the outside world.

"Are you afraid that I would really leave you and run away, so you're making up lies to deceive me?" Yun Yao was very suspicious, after all, even she didn't know what it was like outside.

—And what about his younger brother, who is locked in a dark room all day long?

"It's just a story. Whether you believe it or not, if you don't like it, I won't tell it." Yun Zhi remained calm, but his words tugged at Yun Yao's heartstrings.

"Okay, Zhi, I believe you, I believe you, okay? Then tell me more, what happened to that Flower Moon Pavilion, that loquat one?"

Yun Yao tugged at Yun Zhi's sleeve, blinking her bright eyes as if listening intently.

They seemed genuinely fascinated by this story, the truth of which was hard to discern.

Each time she sneaked in, she would hurriedly put down the flowers and snacks, briefly recount what she had seen and heard that day, and then urge Yunzhi to continue the story.

When Yun Yao heard that Pipa had been wronged and suffered setbacks, she became indignant. But when she heard that Pipa had been treated well, she couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

At first, Yun Yao liked the young master surnamed Lan the most.

Because Young Master Lan was the first to treat Pipa well, but unfortunately he died later. When talking about the day Young Master Lan died, Yun Yao was speechless for a long time.

"How could he have died? I was just thinking... Sigh, how could he have died?"

Yun Yao sighed repeatedly, looking as if she couldn't eat.

Later, Yun Yao gradually felt that the domineering young master was not bad. Although he was quite annoying at first, he was not a bad person at heart, and Pipa seemed to like him quite a bit.

"And what about that arrogant young master's cousin? Does he actually like loquats?"

"Oh, Zhi, why don't you tell me first, which of the two of them ended up with Pipa?"

Yun Yao asked anxiously.

Yun Zhi remained calm: "If we knew the ending from the beginning, what would be the point of watching?"

Yun Yao thought it made sense, and most importantly, she knew Yun Zhi's personality; she couldn't force him. So she could only wait patiently day after day.

But the more I listened, the more discouraged I became.

Because the arrogant young master also died. It was said that the young master's crazy mother suddenly set fire one night, burning down most of the entire mansion.

It was the night before the young master and Pipa made their promise to redeem Pipa from her servitude.

They agreed that they would move to another place to live and settle down in a slightly remote but scenic spot.

"He...he's dead?!" Yun Yao could hardly believe it. "But why..."

It took Yunyao two nights to recover before she could continue telling stories.

When Yun Yao heard that her cousin had reappeared and saved Pipa, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"At least there's someone reliable." Yun Yao murmured, then asked, puzzled, "But why won't my cousin redeem Pipa from her servitude? And why only for a year?"

"Because my cousin's father had set a wedding date for him a year from now, and my cousin and his father had a falling out because of his mother's early death, so..."

"So my cousin is just using loquats as a shield?"

Yun Yao felt like she was about to go crazy with anger.

"If I were Pipa's older sister, I would definitely slap this cousin across the face and turn his handsome face into a big pig's head."

Seeing Yun Yao's eager and ready expression, even Yun Zhi couldn't help but smile.

“There is indeed someone who said the same thing as you, and not only said it, but also did it.”

"Really?" Yun Yao asked with a look of surprise and delight.

"It's true, that girl was the younger sister of that cousin's fiancée. After learning about her future brother-in-law's outrageous behavior, she originally planned to go to the Flower Moon Pavilion to find out what the rumored fox spirit looked like. Unexpectedly, she met an innocent young man. After learning the whole story, she resolutely offered to redeem the young man and take him away."

"Did she succeed?" Yun Yao asked anxiously, as if she herself had become the righteous girl in the story.

Yun Zhi did not speak immediately, but gazed at the girl's expectant eyes for a long time before nodding solemnly.

"Very good."

Yun Yao cheered, her cheeks flushed with joy.

This time, Yun Yao left the dark room with a satisfied smile, skipping and hopping.

Unaware that Yun Zhi behind him had suddenly spilled blood from the corner of his lips in silence.

Because he was such a pale-faced boy, the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth did not make him look disheveled; instead, it added a poignant beauty to his face.

He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps making a solemn promise to someone.

"Yes, everything you wish for will come true."

The day after Yun Zhi finished telling that story, Yun Yao, who always arrived on time, was late and forgot the bouquet of fresh flowers she was supposed to bring him every day.

It was on that day that Yun Zhi first heard the name Yu Qingzhou from Yun Yao.