The test of whether or not one has lost their memory ultimately reveals that their true nature is hard to change...
Pei Xuanzhi stayed in the dark room for a long time. When he came out of the stone gate, his skin was so white that it was almost dazzling, against the backdrop of the falling snow.
The bluish veins stood out prominently from his pale neck. Yan Huanyue tightened the cloak's ties and the oversized hood, completely covering his thin neck.
She drew her longsword, pulled it from its sheath, and held it horizontally in the wind and snow to lift him up.
Pei Xuanzhi sat on the sword sheath, his cloak pulled tighter, his eyes lowered as he watched his clothes ripple in the wind and snow. Though he remained silent, he still stole a glance at her.
Yan Huanyue smiled and comforted her, "It's alright, you won't fall. I've taken you around like this before."
Pei Xuanzhi's lips curved slightly upward for a moment, but he did not urge her to set off immediately. Instead, he sat quietly on the sword sheath and waited for her wishes.
Yan Huanyue turned around, and through the heavy snow, bowed to Pei Hanzhou, whose expression was unclear, inside the stone gate, saying, "Sect Leader, then I will take Junior Brother Pei back."
Pei Hanzhou sighed softly and said, "Go ahead. If you like him, then stay with him. But if he does something to betray you, don't hold back."
Yan Huanyue was somewhat surprised by his attitude towards Pei Xuanzhi today, but she could only agree before taking her leave.
Surprisingly, Pei Xuanzhi seemed to have no reaction to this.
His serene and otherworldly demeanor, sitting on the sword sheath amidst the wind and snow, made her wonder. She asked, puffing out white breath, "Did you do something to wrong someone?"
Pei Xuan was startled, but quickly reacted, jumping off his sword, the hem of his cloak stirring up a cloud of snow.
“I haven’t done anything to wrong anyone. It’s just that my father was very touched by how good you are to me, and that you even came to pick me up in the heavy snow. He was afraid that I would be ungrateful and let you down.”
Yan Huanyue thought about it and realized it made sense. She pointed to the sword sheath lying to the side and said, "You can sit down."
Pei Xuanzhi took the sword sheath and returned it to her. He coughed for a while and said softly, "I'm feeling better now, and I haven't seen anything outside for a long time. I'd like to walk back with you. It's snowing heavily, so we can enjoy the snow all around us."
Yan Huanyue then sheathed her sword and walked alongside him through the heavy snow.
He deliberately chose a shorter route, and along the way there were some winter scenes of the desolate northern mountains, which were vast and far-reaching. This allowed him to relax his eyes and avoid catching a cold from walking in the wind for too long. He could also stop by the canteen to pick up some food to take back and celebrate.
Pei Xuanzhi seemed to have been locked up for too long and had little desire to speak. He didn't talk to her much along the way, and Yan Huanyue also felt that because they hadn't seen each other for so long, there was a sense of unfamiliarity and distance between them.
However, if he encounters a fellow disciple he knows along the way who greets him and asks about his seclusion, he can chat with them for a while with a smile.
When they returned to the courtyard and closed the door, it was as if the layer of polite and aloof outer garment that he wore, like snow and mist, had been casually torn off and left outside.
Yan Huanyue had just placed the food box on the table, and before she could even brush the snow off her body, she was squeezed into a corner and forced to inhale and exhale the cold, fragrant aroma.
His cool lips relentlessly conquered her territory, gradually warming her tongue with the heat of her breath.
A faint fragrance, hidden in the cool scent, wafted out. Yan Huanyue was held tightly in his arms, her eyes brimming with tears, somewhat dazed and confused. She reached into her cloak and gently embraced him, unconsciously stroking his thin back.
Suddenly, a chill ran through her chest as she was lifted up by the waist. Yan Huanyue instantly snapped out of her daze and realized something was wrong.
She quickly pushed away the heavily breathing man who was half-pressing on her, straightened her clothes, glanced at him with an ambiguous look, and muttered, "You just came out of seclusion, look at you, so capable, what's the rush to show off?"
Pei Xuanzhi's breathing was disordered, and his eyes were fixed on her, but he remembered that he should not know anything now, so he did not force himself.
He was concerned that he was currently pretending to have incomplete memories, so he originally only wanted to hug and get close to her. But perhaps because he hadn't seen her for so long, the simple embrace that should have been pure and simple instantly changed its meaning...
He was only focused on her moist red lips and didn't listen carefully to what she was saying. He subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"
Yan Huanyue straightened her clothes, walked past him to the table, took out the food from the food box and laid it out, and said in a low voice, "It's nothing, I just got back, have some food first."
Pei Xuanzhi turned to look at her, gradually realizing what was happening. Even with his usual composure, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "You think I'm not good enough?"
Then, realizing he had forgotten everything, he said, "I can pick you up."
Yan Huanyue had a headache and realized she had misunderstood, so she said, "You were too tired just now... You've only been recovering for a while, so you should at least treat yourself more carefully and not act like you're ready to die right now."
Pei Xuanzhi felt that she was incapable of holding her, and was also reminded of past events. Her face turned white and then red, then red and then white again. She simply turned around, took off her cloak, and sat down next to her.
Seeing her standing by the table serving porridge, he got up and took the bowl and spoon from her hands, silently serving two bowls of porridge and placing them in front of the two of them.
He sat down, gritted his teeth, and gripped the embroidered gold sleeve so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He let out a long breath before speaking coldly and calmly:
"I know what you want to say. This is the first time I've been away from you for so long, so naturally I can't help but want to get close to you. I don't remember what happened before; that's your business. I didn't get any benefit from it. Don't hold it against me if anyone is acting like they're going to die in your eyes."
Yan Huanyue disliked his idea of separating her amnesia from her past self. It was something she never dared to think about deeply, as if she had really lost the Xuanzhi she knew.
Therefore, she said coldly and ruthlessly, "You have a bad memory because you don't eat properly. If you don't eat properly, you'll become an idiot one day. Then you'll have to do whatever I say, and you won't have the right to argue with me."
Pei Xuanzhi laughed in anger at this absurd argument, but finally sensed a pang of sadness in it. She said in a low voice, "If I became an idiot and knew nothing, it would be easier. Sister, you're so right. Are there pills added to the food in the dining hall?"
Yan Huanyue casually picked up her chopsticks, put a piece of food into his mouth, then lifted her skirt, sat down on the chair, pushed a bowl of porridge closer to him, and said, "I was just worried that you were too tired. Don't put on this desolate and sad look."
As Pei Xuanzhi ate the hot food in his mouth, the unbearable and embarrassing feeling from before had eased considerably. He responded softly and did not refute her again.
Yan Huanyue wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead with a plain handkerchief and asked, "What did the Sect Leader say to you before I went? Why did he seem to dislike me picking you up?"
Her words were gentle, like the warm spring sun, unintentionally stirring Pei Xuan's heart.
He tried to lower his eyes to avoid making eye contact with her, afraid that he might once again lose control and do something truly offensive while maintaining the facade.
He pursed his lips and replied calmly, "They're probably dissatisfied with something I did in the past."
Yan Huanyue asked curiously, "What did you do before?"
Pei Xuanzhi gave her a deep look, then lowered his eyes, picked up a spoon and carefully scooped up the porridge in his bowl. He replied calmly, "I have forgotten everything from the past, so I don't really know which old story he is referring to."
Seeing his good attitude, Yan Huanyue fed him another spoonful of hot steamed sweet cake and asked with a smile, "Then why did you argue with him?"
She could tell that the atmosphere between them wasn't very good at the time.
Pei Xuanzhi had been absorbing too many powerful souls and remnants in the dark room during his seclusion, making it difficult for him to swallow the food in his mouth. However, because it was fed to him by her, he still managed to swallow it.
Seeing Yan Huanyue's cheeks flushed pink, her watery eyes staring at him with curiosity, he felt his breathing gradually become difficult.
He couldn't help but look away from the food on the table. Of course, he couldn't tell her about their previous argument, so he casually mentioned a point that had no real meaning: "His tone was bad."
Although the sect leader's words were a bit harsh, his tone was probably not bad.
Yan Huanyue thought he was utterly nonsensical. She gritted her teeth slightly and said, "Your tone is bad? Young Master Pei, who do you think is the father between the two of you?"
Pei Xuanzhi picked up his chopsticks and fed her a bite of food. Seeing that her mouth was full, he couldn't help but smile and say, "I know this very well. He is my father, and you are my ancestor."
Yan Huanyue rolled her eyes at him, she simply couldn't do anything about him.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, she figured it wasn't something she wanted to talk about in front of others. She thought it might be easier if she didn't know, so she simply ignored him.
Pei Xuanzhi fed her many meals, and she did not refuse, letting him serve her.
Seeing her eating so intently, Pei Xuanzhi couldn't stop feeding her. He couldn't resist kissing her rosy cheek and said with a smile, "Baoying is such a good girl..."
Yan Huanyue laughed, "I'm treating you like a laborer, but you think I'm being manipulated by you?"
Pei Xuanzhi smiled, looking deeply at her, his eyes misty, and said softly, "We are both satisfied with each other, and we are a perfect match."
For a moment, Yan Huanyue felt that his gaze was unusually familiar, even more so than it had been before she lost her memory.
She paused for a moment, looked into his eyes, and murmured, "Xuanzhi..."
Pei Xuanzhi smiled slightly, her smile as gentle and warm as sunshine. "Don't you recognize me, sister?"
Winter days are short, and it was already dusk when they finished eating. Pei Xuanzhi was clearing the table, and Yan Huanyue went to the west room to take a bath.
When he came out wearing a nightgown, she urged him to take a bath.
After taking a bath, I laid a thick quilt on the small couch by the south window and moved the small table next to the bed to the couch.
The night was deep outside the window, the north wind howled across the fields, and snow fell heavily.
A warm charcoal fire burned in the small house, and a soup of jujubes, mountain delicacies, and white fungus simmered on a small stove on the table. The two of them sat on a small couch, wrapped in blankets, chatting about what had happened during the time they hadn't seen each other.
"So, sister has now become Elder Song's disciple?"
Yan Huanyue nodded.
Pei Xuanzhi couldn't help but hold her hand and said with a smile, "You have always worked hard, so it was only natural that you entered the inner sect so smoothly. I am very happy for you, but it is a pity that I was unable to congratulate you immediately."
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized, square gold plate, about the thickness of five or six pages of a book, from his treasure pouch in his sleeve, and placed it on her lap through the brocade quilt.
"These are engraved with the four cardinal directions and their reflections in the mountains and rivers on both sides. They may be useful. Consider them a gift to celebrate your entry into the family."
Almost all of his wealth was now in the wooden box on her table. He had very few possessions left. This small gold coin was specially made by him by melting gold. Originally, he wanted to gather up some scattered gold he had earned, and since the Four Extremes Diagram would be useful for his stargazing, he had it carved.
Yan Huanyue returned the small gold coin to him and said with a smile, "Alright, this is mine now, but you can keep it for the time being."
She tugged at the blanket, revealing a pair of snow-white, pinkish-white jade feet, with a pair of gold anklets adorned with moons of various phases hanging from their ankles.
She shifted her feet and said with a grin, "I have this too."
Pei Xuanzhi pursed his thin lips and silently stared at the feet. The firelight from the small stove reflected on the smooth skin, making the gold anklets glow faintly.
He scooped her feet into the blanket and held them in his arms, gently stroking her ankles, and whispered, "I'll warm your feet."
Yan Huanyue laughed and said, "Why do you always like to do things that serve others?"
Gradually, her expression changed, and she couldn't help but take a few steps back.
Pei Xuanzhi pulled her into his arms, making her sit facing him on his lap. His hot breath wafted from his nose, and his thin lips brushed against her clothes.
His voice grew increasingly hoarse, "Don't go, let's talk a little longer."
Yan Huanyue tugged at her clothes and said, "I want to sleep, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"But I want to talk to you."
Her clothes were suddenly ripped open, and Yan Huanyue wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling weak all over from his antics.
But then he murmured to himself, "I don't know why, but I'm really curious why we look so different..."
She weakly twisted his ear and muttered, "You bastard, you've been pretending for so long. Whether you've lost your memory or not, your nature is still the same..."
He held her close, looked up at her with misty eyes, and two streams of tears, seemingly from nowhere, rolled down the corners of his pink-tinged eyes. "Sister, I've absorbed all the suppressor talismans. Will you teach me this time?"
Yan Huanyue remained silent.
A few wisps of golden mist excitedly slipped into his sleeve. Pei Xuanzhi held her close, gently stroking her long hair, and whispered in her ear, "These demonic mists say they can teach me. They adore you, and I can't control them..."
Yan Huanyue didn't struggle much, but he went too far in the end, beyond her imagination, and she couldn't bear it. She shattered the illusion mirror hanging in front of the bed with a single palm strike.
The person behind her turned her face, bit her lip, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Sister, am I really capable?"
The wind and snow raged on, swallowing up the sobbing sounds...
Shen Du Gate.
It was a snowy morning.
When Tan Guiyi was recuperating in Chang'an using the Xue family's demonic energy, she obtained a piece of blood jade from Xue Jingnian. She had forgotten about it and put it in her treasure pouch. When her third brother searched her treasure pouch and stole things, he did not take this ordinary jade with him.
I thought it had been taken away, but today, as the year was approaching, I found it again while checking the contents of the treasure bag.
It was just a relatively precious piece of ordinary jade. She held it in her hand and tossed it around, unable to figure out what use it was.
She was getting anxious because she couldn't find anything useful.
While wandering around the sect's path, a person took out the jade again. Seeing that the blood jade was small, he wondered what it could be used for. Perhaps it could be carved into earrings or attached to a hairpin.
She held the blood jade high in the air, looking through the sunlight at the red jade threads that seemed to be flowing slowly within it. After thinking for a moment, a sudden inspiration struck her. She lightly touched the grass with her toes and floated a few steps away.
She held the blood-red jade sleeve in her hand, walked a long way in a few steps, and then rose into the air, flying towards the gates of the capital.
She found the best jade carving shop in the vicinity and taught the most skilled craftsman how to carve the blood jade, saying:
"Make a thumb ring, carve a cluster of red maple leaves along the vein, carve a jade plaque from the leftover material, carve a flying goose along the vein, and grind the remaining scraps into jade beads to make earrings. Make as many pairs as you can."
The craftsman examined the piece of blood jade closely and exclaimed, "It's truly a fine piece. Where did you get it, young lady?"
It's just a piece of blood jade, yet it's so astonishing.
Tan Guiyi's lips curled slightly beneath her veil as she said generously, "I obtained it by chance. If you want to make it into a gift, please put in the effort to make it exquisite and elegant. I will certainly pay you accordingly."
The jade carver smiled and said, "I really cherish your piece. I will take good care of it without having to explain anything. However, if it is to be made into a cluster of red maple leaves, the flying goose will probably be a bit small."
Tan Guiyi said, "It doesn't matter if the red maple is carved more elegantly and the flying goose is smaller."
The jade carver stroked the blood jade, nodding repeatedly. He had already sketched out several plans in his mind, and kept saying, "Yes, I'll listen to you."
Tan Guiyi had just paid the deposit and left the jade shop when she was drawn to the sound of a flute.
A man dressed in simple clothes, with large burns covering his face, sat alone in the bustling crowd at the temple fair, playing a tune called "The Fallen Shrine".
This song was composed for the deities who fell from the altar. They do not fulfill human desires, nor do they offer incense for a single day. Killing and destroying gods are all in the hearts of men. The true way of Heaven does not show any special favoritism to any race.
The music was lonely and melancholic, out of place, just like the man himself.
The blisters on his face were still dripping with pus and blood, and his old clothes seemed unable to keep out the cold wind. The lively crowd had created a large open space around him.
Apart from a few kind-hearted people who tossed him coins and encouraged him to play a tune to suit the occasion, most people didn't want to get close to him, but they would all glance at him sideways.
This is her second brother, Yun Ruofan, disguised.
In Tan Guiyi's mind, the reason she once wanted to win over Fu Yinhuan was because Fu Yinhuan was the same kind of person as her second brother. The venomous and ruthless nature that Fu Yinhuan occasionally revealed made her feel a certain sense of familiarity.
"The Shrine" was a piece of music composed by my father for the zither, but it was my second brother's favorite, and he adapted it for the transverse flute.
She stood in the crowd, watching him being scrutinized by passersby with strange looks, and listening to him calmly play the entire piece for the people coming and going to burn incense and worship at the temple fair.
Having not seen her for a long time, she thought Fu Yinhuan resembled her second brother, but today she suddenly realized that Fu Yinhuan only resembled her second brother in that one aspect. In many ways, her second brother had more of aloofness and coldness than Fu Yinhuan, and he hid it more deeply.
When he finished playing the song, Tan Guiyi stepped forward and tossed him about ten copper coins, indicating that she now had time to meet with him.
The piper bent down and picked up all the coins on the ground, then threw them into the crowd, causing a commotion as the crowd, who had been avoiding him, rushed to grab the money.
He followed Tan Guiyi at a distance, holding his flute. When they entered a secluded, deserted ferry crossing where all was quiet, he knew he had entered the barrier set up by Tan Guiyi.
Tan Guiyi stood five or six steps away from him and called out indifferently, "Second Brother, what do you want with me?"
Yun Ruofan didn't enjoy slapping his younger sister as much as Yun Ruoliang, but he wasn't close to Tan Guiyi either. He simply held his flute and said:
“Your third brother has been missing for several months. At first, we thought he was just afraid to go back because of the losses in Tingnan. But now Pei Hanzhou and Wen Jian seem to know that Father is not dead. In order to find Father, they have investigated our secret residences in many places. It is probably because your third brother leaked the information in Tingnan.”
Tan Guiyi felt a surge of frustration and helplessness at the thought that Yun Ruoliang might have revealed her father's secret. She wanted to curse him, but she didn't dare to in front of Yun Ruofan.
But thinking about why Yun Ruofan was looking for her, she felt a little confused and couldn't help but say, "Then how could I possibly know where Third Brother is? I have nowhere to hide him. Who knows if he knows he has caused a huge disaster and revealed something important, and will dare not show up again?"
Yun Ruofan calmly said, "What you mean, elder brother, is that it's also possible that our third brother was killed during the Tingnan Rebellion."
“We secretly investigated the people from the Sky Patrol Hall who were dealing with the corpse demon outside that day. They really didn’t know what happened in the underground passage of the attic. Everyone who was in the underground passage to help my third brother break the formation and escape died. My third brother disappeared, and only one person came out alive.”
Tan Guiyi was stunned, unsure how to react. She didn't even care who had walked out alive; she was only incredulous at Yun Ruoliang's fate. "It shouldn't be..."
Yun Ruofan showed no trace of sadness on her face, but calmly stated: "When Yan Huanyue crawled out of the ground that day, Father thought that my third brother was still alive. In order not to expose his whereabouts, he did not take revenge on the members of the Patrol Hall that day."
"However, after that, Pei Hanzhou and the others began to plot, chasing and intercepting everywhere, searching everywhere, and even throwing out the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the Ten Thousand Demon Token to lure my father to the shore of the East Sea. If it weren't for the help of the demon clan's followers, my father would have almost died in the East Sea."
He continued, "What I mean is that now that Father is hiding among the demons, we need to know whether our third brother is dead or alive so that we can give him an explanation when he returns, and also find out who killed him."
Tan Guiyi was deeply shaken by his words and remained in a daze for a long time.
The sect actually discovered the father's whereabouts.
She forced herself to swallow, feeling her throat was extremely dry. What if everything was exposed and she was also exposed?
She suddenly found Yun Ruofan's behavior of coming to see her today really annoying, asking her to inquire about her third brother's life or death, which showed that he didn't care about her safety at all.
Seeing her face turn ashen instantly, Yun Ruofan knew what she was thinking and continued:
"What my elder brother means is that there are a few secret residences that he can't manage right now. Once he gets definite news about your third brother, he'll entrust them to you to look after secretly. That way, he'll feel at ease."
He kept bringing up Yun Ruoqing because Yun Ruoqing treated his younger sister well. She had been taken care of by her eldest brother when she was little, and compared to the other brothers, she had more affection for him.
Upon hearing this, Tan Guiyi's expression softened slightly, and a feeling of inexplicable joy welled up in her heart. Looking at the fake burns on his face, which were dripping with pus, she felt much more approachable. "Then I'll go see my eldest brother. By the way, second brother, please use these fake burns less often in the future."
Yun Ruofan ignored her opinion. The more disgusting she was, the more it revealed the hypocrisy of the world. He didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Tan Guiyi pursed her lips and said, "I know you won't care about my opinion, but when I see the blood and pus on your face, I'm reminded of Yu Zhao. Your injury is exactly the same as his."
"He doesn't blame me for pulling him to block the monsters, so I used to feel a little sorry for him. Gradually, I started to feel disgusted. Second brother, you should stay away from his bad luck."
Yun Ruofan said calmly, "So you are hypocritical. Just like everyone else, you will die, but you think death is bad luck. The human body is so fragile that it is possible to be injured and deformed, but most people are unwilling to treat the injured normally. When you are disfigured or have broken your legs, you want others to treat you normally."
He mentioned disfigurement, and Tan Guiyi couldn't help but raise her hand to touch the scars painted with golden vines on her face through her veil, saying disdainfully:
"Who isn't hypocritical? Second Brother only finds pleasure in seeing other people's shortcomings or vulgarity, but what about you?"
Yun Ruofan was not angered by her words, and said calmly, "I am a mirror. I will collect everything that the world reflects into me, and I will learn from it in order to achieve my goals."
Tan Guiyi asked, "What about Father?"
Yun Ruofan's usually calm expression finally showed a slight ripple, and she replied with only words: "Father is hiding in the Demon Clan and will be back soon. By the way, that Yan Huanyue was originally Yu Zhao's fiancée. You should know her, right?"
Yan Huanyue got up at dawn today, while Pei Xuanzhi had already gotten up and was reading a book on the small couch by the window.
They have been going out together every day for the past few days.
After accompanying him to the library, she went to the Heavenly Stele Secret Realm to begin her daily lessons.
As dawn approached, she was leaving the Heavenly Stele Secret Realm and heading towards the Void Origin Peak when she was stopped by Xue Jingnian, who was already waiting on the road.
As dusk settled, snow fell from the sky.
Yan Huanyue stood atop her longsword amidst the wind and snow, her misty pink dress fluttering in the breeze, her hand forming a sword incantation.
Her calm eyes lowered slightly as she quietly watched Xue Jingnian's crimson brocade robe flutter in the wind.
She had not seen Xue Jingnian since that less-than-pleasant banquet in Tianqingcheng.
After returning to the sect, she was busy with cultivation and did not pay special attention to Xue Jingnian's affairs. As for when he returned to the sect and what his purpose was in stopping her today, she had no idea.
She ran between Xuyuan Peak, the training ground, and her residence every day. Apart from the few people she saw regularly, she almost forgot the existence of others. Therefore, when Xue Jingnian appeared, she always felt a sense of disorientation, as if she had been separated from him for many years.
The sky was dark and gloomy, and the mountains were covered in snow. Xue Jingnian looked up at her long eyelashes, which were covered with snowflakes. Her eyes were even cooler than the snow.
Now, facing her childhood friends, the childishness of the past is all history. With the talent of five spiritual roots, she became an apprentice of Elder Song of Xuyuan Peak.
In those years, when he deliberately came up with strange and witty remarks to ridicule and sneer in order to attract attention, the little girl who always had red eyes and gritted her teeth in silence seemed to look at him indifferently as always.
Because they were close in age, he used to stick close to her when he first came to Xinzizhai.
She was very patient with him, taking him around the sect. They even went deep into Tianyan Mountain to see pear blossoms in the snow and the night-blooming cereus.
When they heard about peach blossom wine, they buried a jar of their own homemade wine under an old peach grove in Tianyan West Mountain, promising to drink it until they grew up.
When exactly did their disagreement begin...?
As I grew older, I developed a ridiculous sense of pride.
It turns out that she didn't know why Senior Brother Yu would always take her away when the two of them were playing around. People said that they were engaged and would get married in the future.
He asked her, "Aren't you going to Yunjing with Senior Brother Yu in the future, instead of coming to Chang'an with me?"
On a summer afternoon, a little girl wearing a pink dress blew on a handful of dandelions she had picked, and the little dandelions, with their tiny parachutes, swayed and flew away.
“I’m going to Yunjing. My parents have been there. They saved Senior Brother Yu’s mother. Senior Brother Yu said that his mother will treat me as well as my mother. When I grow up, I should obediently marry him, and that will fulfill the Yu family’s reputation for being grateful.”
"Senior Brother Yu said that this way I can have a home. When I grow up, I will learn to take good care of his parents. Hmm... even if I don't marry Senior Brother Yu, I will still go there for a stroll."
The young master also felt that Senior Brother Yu's words made a lot of sense, and thought that Senior Brother Yu was a kind person who thought of others, but he was a little confused, "Then why doesn't he like you playing with me?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, "Senior Brother Yu didn't mention that."
He said naively, "Then why don't you marry me too? In the future, we can be with Senior Brother Yu, and he won't complain that you always play with me. That way, you can go to Yunjing or Chang'an. If you meet a playmate you like more in the future, I'm not as stingy as Senior Brother Yu. We can all get married together."
Seeing that she was interested, he continued, "Let me tell you, Chang'an is great. I'll have my parents be your parents, and my older brothers and sisters will all be your older brothers and sisters. You must go there in the future. I'll take you to eat delicious food, play fun games, and buy you a bunch of pretty little trinkets."
He kept pointing out things that interested her, and the girl thought they were great. She excitedly said, "Great! I'll talk to Senior Brother Yu about it, and he'll definitely be satisfied."
As a result, Yu Zhao did not get his way.
For those few days, as soon as get out of class ended at Xinzizhai, Yu Zhao would come and take Yan Huanyue away, refusing to let them play together.
Yan Huanyue was either scolded or punished for saying something wrong; she was listless and didn't talk to him much.
So he was indignant and took his mother's jewelry from home, intending to marry her directly. Not only did she refuse his things, but he was also chased down by his elder sister to the sect and beaten up in front of her.
He harbored a secret resentment from that time on. They were the best of friends, having experienced the wonders of the mountains and countryside together in the sweltering summer and freezing winter. He was willing to give her anything good, but she still preferred to play with Senior Brother Yu.
Isn't it just because Senior Brother Yu is more capable?
He can too.
As she grew older, she realized that she only ever saw him as a childhood playmate, and she didn't really like Senior Brother Yu. So why couldn't she let him take her to Chang'an?
Once he entered the inner sect, the senior sister who used to take him around was not as talented as him and was not particularly noticeable in the sect. Senior Brother Yu did not care about her as much as he did.
When he was a child, he would happily follow her around. Now that he is stronger than her, a strange sense of pride and self-esteem makes him want to turn the tables and lead her around.
He was deliberately going against her and mocking her, hoping she would notice that he was wearing a fine jade pendant or a new gold-threaded ribbon, hoping she would have the self-awareness to break off the engagement so she could be with him...
Now, times have changed, and she stands on the sword like a chilling wind, going east or west as she pleases, with no one able to take her with her.
She didn't choose either him or Senior Brother Yu. She had other playmates and wouldn't allow him to join her like she did when she was a child, unaware of the concept of marriage.
He had never examined his own heart in this way. When her cultivation was too poor, he seemed to have never paid attention to the frustration and sadness in her eyes, and even thought that it was her way of paying attention to him.
Even when he thought about her marrying Senior Brother Yu, he always felt that he could win her over sooner or later.
But now... she floats above him, and he unconsciously tries to decipher the indifference in her eyes, yet he cannot feel the slightest bit of disdain.
But whether she was strong or weak, she hadn't really changed much from beginning to end, and she had never liked him in the slightest. It was his fault; he was resentful, arrogant, and selfish...
He saw her every day and knew that she would be heading from the Heavenly Stele to Xuyuan Peak at this time every day. He forced a smile, pursed his lips, and asked, "Are you going to Chang'an again this year?"
Yan Huanyue shook her head. "Xuanzhi's adoptive parents are no longer here. Going there would only add to his grief. What do you need me for?"
Her cold attitude stirred up Xue Jingnian's inner pride, making him want to resurface.
But she was a few years older than before, and she really didn't care about him anymore, so his arrogance also subsided.
Even though he paid close attention to her, now that they were standing face to face, he could only act as if they were old acquaintances meeting by chance, and ask, "Did you obtain the Rejuvenation Pearl during your mission to Tingnan?"
The wind and snow were so intense that Yan Huanyue narrowed her eyes slightly.
She didn't respond, so Xue Jingnian continued, "Fellow Daoist Tan came to the sect to pay her respects yesterday. She said that with the rise of the Xuanjiang Sect, it seems that Senior Brother Yu's family is considering having him cultivate the Soul Path. They might ask Elder Xu to borrow the Yang Pearl from you. If you get it..."
Yan Huanyue sneered, "The entire sect knows that I failed to complete this mission. My master's wife only accepted me because she remembered that I did some work in Tingnan. To this day, I don't even know what the Rejuvenation Pearl is. How come Fellow Daoist Tan and the Yu family know its uses so well?"
Xue Jingnian stood in the snow and said, "The reason I'm telling you this is that if you haven't obtained the Rejuvenation Pearl, that's fine. But if you have obtained it and it's inconvenient to say so, then when Elder Xu or the Yu family come to question you, whether you want to hand it over or not, you should be prepared."
Yan Huanyue glanced at him with a puzzled look, marveling that this once arrogant and aloof young master from Chang'an had suddenly become somewhat human.
Logically speaking, when someone who has been at odds with you for a long time suddenly speaks such heartfelt words, it should move you and show some magnanimity in letting bygones be bygones after growing up and becoming more sensible.
However, Xue Jingnian had always treated her coldly and stubbornly, and he also admired Yu Zhao and appreciated Tan Guiyi.
Yan Huanyue's subconscious thought at this moment was that he was using his concern to subtly extract the truth from her, and then betray her under the guise of being a fellow disciple of Puji.
Her tone was slightly cold as she exhaled white breath, saying, "I have never seen any Rejuvenation Pearl, nor have I ever pretended not to have obtained it. You don't need to spread these nonsensical rumors."
Xue Jingnian opened his mouth and said, "I just..."
Yan Huanyue sneered, "If I really took it, I wouldn't stand by and watch Senior Brother Yu die."
Thinking of such a fantastical thing, she couldn't help but say, "I just don't know who gave the Yu family this idea. With Senior Brother Yu's body, which is mostly filled with pus, his soul has long been weakened by torture."
"Even struggling to breathe in the second half of his life would be difficult. Even if he had some rare treasures, forcibly cultivating his soul would only result in his soul being scattered and his body turning to ashes. Is it harmful to let him live a good life in the second half of his life, or is it the person who came up with the method of cultivating the soul who is harming him?"
Xue Jingnian didn't know, but letting Senior Brother Yu spend the rest of his life being constantly swallowed by death, struggling painfully to survive, as if he were being turned into pus, was clearly not a kind of pity.
Compared to living like that, being reduced to ashes is perhaps a better choice.
Yan Huanyue knew that the Yu family was grasping at straws in their desperation. Now, Yu Zhao was like an ice lamp that was constantly melting away. She wanted him to live in such pain and die in such fear.
Having been tormented by those poisons for so long, Yu Zhao was already completely exhausted, his soul and body reduced to nothing more than a thin, powerless shell of ice.
Asking him to cultivate his soul would be like throwing firecrackers into an ice lantern; Elder Xu would absolutely not agree to such a suggestion.
The fact that Yu Yi and her brother moved so many pills and elixirs is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
It seems that Yu Zhao's parents have been sidelined by the Yu family and are powerless to sustain his fading life. They can only do their best in the end, and whether they succeed or not is no longer important.
Perhaps if Yu Zhao dies, the Yu couple can then vent their resentment over the loss of their son on the person who suggested using the Rejuvenation Pearl or gave it to them.
Most people don't know the uses of the Rejuvenation Pearl, but it's quite surprising that the Yu couple, who are thousands of miles away in Tingnan, know its uses.
Either they have seen or know about it, or someone else has seen or known about it for them.
Therefore, the key point of this matter is not Yu Zhaoxiu's soul cultivation, but that someone wants to use this matter to test whether she has obtained the Rejuvenation Pearl.
Some members of the Yun family have realized that Tingnan's story has been fabricated. Perhaps they found out that she was the only one underground that night, and now they are testing whether Yun Ruoliang is dead or alive.
Sometimes going with the flow is the same as getting to the bottom of things, and getting to the bottom of things can quickly expose your true nature.
However, Tan Guiyi...
Why was she running around so much in this matter? Was she concerned about Yu Zhao? As a mere disciple of the Divine Capital Sect, could she really believe that the Rejuvenating Pearl could help Yu Zhao, whether she was bribed or misled?
Or were they manipulated and used as pawns by people with ulterior motives, genuinely believing they could gain some benefit from it?
Just as he was thinking, he heard Xue Jingnian say, "If you really get it, that's fine too. A bead is just an inanimate object. If it can help Senior Brother Yu, it will fulfill our bond as fellow disciples in this life."
Yan Huanyue snorted coldly, "I will certainly care about Senior Brother Yu's affairs, so there is no need for you to make any decisions for me."
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