In the name of mourning
"That's wonderful!" Master Xuantong exclaimed, having just been muttering to himself, and then returned to his senses in the blink of an eye.
“My beloved disciple, come with me to take a look.” As he stepped out the door, he saw her standing there motionless, knowing that she still harbored resentment. Master Xuantong greeted her with a smile, “Just consider it as accompanying your master for a walk.”
Lin Yueyao reluctantly followed.
The master and disciple flew to the mountain gate on their swords. The crowd of people and their plain-colored disciples' robes created a striking scene, but Lin Yueyao stood out in her fiery red dress.
At the foot of the mountain gate's stone steps, a man knelt on the cold, hard stone, with a burly wolf demon lying lurking beside him.
The man had a jade-like complexion and golden features, with white teeth and starry eyes; it was undoubtedly Rong Yan. His brow bone had matured considerably, yet he remained a handsome young man.
The wolf demon beside him had thick fur, with each strand as distinct as a steel needle. Its lips could not contain its sharp teeth, which were exposed, revealing blood-red flesh inside.
The disciples of the Misty Sect were in an uproar, but when True Person Xuantong arrived, the noise subsided and they automatically made way for the master and disciple.
Sensing the change in the outside world, Rong Yan slowly raised his head and met Lin Yueyao's eyes in the center of the crowd, his smile as bright as a flower.
"Senior sister." Her voice had lost its childishness and was now tinged with a sense of naivety.
"Get up," Master Xuantong said, but Rong Yan replied, "Master, they won't allow it."
He said it with a pitiful expression, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
Xu Youruo, standing close to Ling Fang in the crowd, rolled her eyes and said, "All you do is play the victim."
"At least Senior Sister Lin falls for this, do you think you can?" Xu Yourong retorted.
Ling Fang remained silent. Since leaving the Chengtian Tower, she had been cultivating diligently day and night, all for the sect's assessment. The childishness on her face had faded, replaced by a more composed demeanor.
Words that once made her unable to contain herself now leave her unmoved.
All of this was thanks to Rong Yan, who taught her what pain was and what it meant to bide her time.
"Who is preventing him from doing so?" Why is he being stopped when his disciple returns to the sect?
"It's like this, Elder. It's not that we don't want our junior brother to enter the mountain, but this wolf demon... our junior brother absolutely refuses to have the demon-taming lock put on him. If this wolf demon hurts someone, the junior brother's punishment is a minor matter, but if someone dies, it will be difficult to handle."
One of his disciples said this.
“I understand everything you’re saying.” Master Xuantong had already made up his mind.
“Master, Benben is kind-hearted and would never hurt anyone,” Rong Yan pleaded. Lin Yueyao looked at him silently, and he secretly blinked in response.
Benben never dared to look up, keeping one hand on his head as spiritual energy continuously flowed into him. Soon, the wolf demon form faded away, and he transformed into a child similar to Rong Yan.
Benben looked up and saw a middle-aged man with a full head of white hair smiling at him, his smile very kind.
"Tell me, how old are you this year? What's your name? What do you like to eat?" Master Xuantong deliberately guided it.
"My name is Benben, I should be in my teens, and I love to eat grilled fish."
"Benben?" Xu Youruo chuckled. "What a silly name. He's as silly as his name suggests."
"Stop laughing." Xu Yourong rolled her eyes at him. He was hiding behind others and laughing at them, unaware of how people would talk about him.
"I can't even laugh anymore. Once he comes back, I won't have a place to stand!" Xu Youruo immediately stopped laughing, her face turning ashen.
“It’s not just that we have no place to stand; she’s the apple of Elder Xuantong’s and Senior Sister Lin’s eye. They can’t even say a word against her, let alone ridicule her like that.” Ling Fang said insincerely, which earned her Xu Youruo’s anger. “Are we just supposed to swallow our anger?!”
"Brother—" After being punished, he realized that Lingfang had been using his brother as a pawn, so when necessary, he would rather scold his brother than speak up to stop his junior sister.
That's because he and his younger brother had to rely on their junior sister.
Xu Youruo clearly hadn't considered this aspect; he simply felt that Rong Yan was wary of him and pressured by his junior sister's status in the sect.
"You're just taking his side, why don't you just not acknowledge me as your brother at all!" Xu Youruo said angrily, and ran away in a huff.
Xu Youruo glanced at Rong Yan kneeling on the ground, worried that her younger brother might do something rash. She apologized to her junior sister, left the crowd, and went to chase after Xu Youruo.
Ling Fang remained unmoved, inwardly sneering.
Rong Yan only knows how to put on a pitiful act, and he always uses the same tricks.
Upon receiving the news, she immediately ordered people to stop Rong Yan, naturally because of the wolf demon beside him. But to her surprise, he didn't argue and instead knelt down with a thud.
It's as if they've been bullied, and they're pretending to be the weaker party, making it impossible for anyone to refute them.
As expected, when Master Xuantong arrived, it was naturally to avenge his disciple.
What surprised her was Lin Yueyao's indifferent reaction.
"Good boy." Xuan Tong rubbed his head, took Rong Yan's hand with one hand, and led the two children, one on each side, through the crowd and into the gate of the Misty Sect.
The crowd's gaze naturally fell on Lin Yueyao, who remained silent and followed them away.
Back at the Wenyuan Hall, Master Xuantong held Benben on his lap and spoke to him affectionately.
Benben is quite good at pleasing the old man. Master Xuantong laughed so hard he almost fell over, showing no trace of the demeanor of a celestial being.
Seeing Lin Yueyao return, and remembering his secular name and the fact that he had no offspring left in the world, he said, "I think this child is well-behaved. You have been thinking about Qingyun for a long time. I think he is good. Why don't you give it a try? If it works out, give me a child to play with."
Lin Yueyao sat down expressionlessly, while Rong Yan stood beside Master Xuantong, listening quietly.
"Master, please stop talking." She disliked children and did not want to give birth to a child who carried her father's bloodline.
"Their master and mistress have practically begged me, so I can't very well refuse. Even if my beloved disciple doesn't like them, why don't you spend more time with others?" Master Xuantong became more and more excited as he spoke, hugging Benben. "I also have someone I like..."
"Master, please tell me about the assessment." Rong Yan interrupted abruptly. Xuan Tong Zhenren had the words on the tip of his tongue, but before he could finish speaking, he looked at him with a puzzled expression. Rong Yan smiled innocently.
I almost forgot the important thing: the sect's assessment is crucial to the disciples' survival.
Lin Yueyao and Song Qingyun are direct disciples, that is, inner disciples, and do not need to be assessed.
Rong Yan and Xu Yourong, brothers who had only recently entered the mountain, along with Ling Fang, were all required to undergo trials.
The assessment content involves three aspects:
The first rule is that all outer disciples must gather at Dragon Spirit Mountain and arrive at the training ground at the top of Dragon Spirit Mountain within the specified time. Flying swords and spiritual power are not allowed.
Secondly, there were wild beasts and demons roaming the route, causing many disciples to perish along the way. To prevent any deaths, high-ranking disciples and elders were on hand to protect the disciples throughout the journey.
The third step is to arrive at the training ground and engage in one-on-one matches. Only those who rank in the top fifty will be qualified to stay in the sect.
After explaining these things, Rong Yan secretly kept them in mind.
Benben raised his head and asked Master Xuantong, "May I go with Master?"
This stumped the old man; Benben wasn't a weapon, at most it was a mount.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Benben raised his hand and promised, "I swear I will secretly follow my master and won't help him."
"Since you've said so, then go." Master Xuantong pinched his cheek. "I didn't expect that you, at such a young age, would have such a protective heart."
No, it's because without the owner, there's no grilled fish to eat.
Of course, Benben wouldn't say that; he just chuckled happily.
Now that Rong Yan has returned, her master will take care of everything. She doesn't need to stay here. She bids farewell and leaves the inner hall.
Rong Yan's smile froze, and he chased after her.
Benben wanted to follow, but was held in Xuan Tong Zhenren's arms. "Good child, talk to me some more."
Among the myriad flowers in the forest, resembling human faces and peach blossoms, a woman in a crimson dress wandered through the peach grove. Rong Yan followed that color and came to the depths of the peach grove.
"Senior Sister—" he called out, a gentle breeze rustling past his ears, scattering petals everywhere, like a rain of petals.
Lin Yueyao stopped, leaving him with only her back to him.
He said, "I'm sorry."
She turned slightly to the side, revealing her full and smooth face. "Funny."
"What?" Rong Yan was puzzled as to why his senior sister reacted this way.
"I'm not your senior sister, so there's nothing to apologize for." Since he's on the side of his sister, there's nothing more to say.
"Senior sister, you can't do this to me..."
Lin Yueyao remained silent, her steps resolute, and headed towards a side hall at one end.
"Senior Sister—" Rong Yan panicked and hurriedly chased after her. A strong wind rose in the forest, and the flying petals blocked his eyes. He couldn't see where he was going and tripped over a thick tree root.
He fell hard, his foot got stuck, and he couldn't pull it out for a long time. He was anxious, which made the trap worse.
After pulling and tugging for a long time, the back of my foot swelled up into a big bump, and my foot was stuck tightly to the tree root.
"Senior sister..." Rong Yan knelt on the ground, sobbing and crying, tears streaming down his face.
The departure of his senior sister outweighed the swelling and pain. Xiao Rongyan felt abandoned and heartbroken, feeling only bitterness in his heart.
I cried for a long time until my tears dried and my body gradually went numb.
With a snap, the tree root cracked open smoothly, the cut surface so smooth that it could even reflect a person's image.
Upon closer inspection, the tree root that had been wedging my foot had been split open, and the sword was firmly planted in the ground, with peach blossom sap remaining on the blade.
Breaking free from his restraints, Rong Yan got up, his face streaked with tears. Lin Yueyao was standing behind him, unnoticed.
"Useless." Lin Yueyao spoke coldly, then asked irritably, "Where's your sword?"
"On me." He immediately summoned it, gathering it in his palm.
"I don't have a name yet. I'd like my senior sister to help me think of one, like Wenqing." He was a little embarrassed, his face turning slightly red.
"Why?" she asked back, not out of unwillingness, but out of confusion.
"Because it was my senior sister who named it, when I carry this sword, I can always think of my senior sister and remember how good she was to me."
“I’m not your senior sister,” Lin Yueyao retorted.
"You are it." Rong Yan was confident she had her figured out, and said in a coquettish tone, "Senior sister, please think of a name for me, please."
"If my senior sister is willing to name me, I will be happy for the rest of my life."
Lin Yueyao looked at him coldly, recalling how pitiful and cowardly he looked when she saw him in Lanxi Town.
The Rong Yan in my mind always seemed to be crying—crying out of fear, crying out of grievance, crying because she left.
Like the tearful characters in storybooks, their tears are endless.
How could a man have so many tears?
That's really strange.
"Weeping in sorrow."
She repeated it again.
"Your sword is called Lament."
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