A reunion after a thousand years feels like a fleeting moment

For as long as the Heavenly Cold Jade Coffin remained in the Tianshan Peak grotto, Tianshan Peak remained barren of life.

Seeing that the peak was going “bald” day by day despite their meticulous cultivation and care, the disciples in charge of flora and spiritual plants within Qianmen finally couldn’t sit still.

Since it was the Senior Grandmaster’s territory, the disciples dared not speak out of turn. Instead, they invited the elder overseeing the sect’s spiritual plants out of seclusion.

As fate would have it, enemies often meet on a narrow path—it was none other than the former Head of the Elder Council, Zhu Tianchen, who had clashed with Yun Yao in the past.

Since the day Fuyu Palace breached Qianmen, Zhu Tianchen had been gravely injured while protecting the sect and Mu Hanyuan. He had only been saved after months of recuperation.

Unfortunately, his merits did not outweigh his faults; his deep ties with Fuyu Palace and the fact that he had “led the wolf into the house” were hard to defend.

Thus, after Mu Jiutian returned to the sect, Zhu Tianchen and the other elders and disciples under his command were stripped of their high seats in the Elder Council.

Although the traces of Mu Hanyuan’s existence had been erased by the Heavenly Dao, the causal threads he occupied could not be eliminated—they were simply replaced by other people and events.

Thus, Zhu Tianchen currently held the idle post of overseeing the sect’s spiritual plants and herbs.

Yun Yao felt a subtle sense of empathy and sympathy for his plight.

However, that sympathy didn’t last past the first incense stick of their reunion.

“Tianshan Peak belongs to Qianmen, not to you alone, Little Senior Grandmaster,” Zhu Tianchen said with that same cold, old face. Having not seen him in years, he looked even more annoying as he glared at her. “I advise you to quickly hand over the sinister object causing trouble in your grotto, lest it bring disaster to the sect.”

“Sinister object?”

Yun Yao leaned against the grotto entrance, lazily hugging her sword. “Why, Elder Zhu, is anything you don’t recognize automatically a ‘sinister object’?”

“It froze the entire peak overnight, and just a few days ago, it even stirred the heavenly thunder above the sect for a full month—is that not a sinister object?”

Zhu Tianchen gave her a cold look that said, ‘I’m listening to your excuses.’

Mu Hanyuan’s health was significantly better today, so Yun Yao was in a good mood.

She blinked patiently at Zhu Tianchen. “Cultivation itself is a path that goes against the natural order of life and death. If Elder Zhu is so afraid of being struck by thunder, why bother cultivating at all?”

“Little Senior Grandmaster is sharp-tongued; I am indeed no match for you in an argument,” Zhu Tianchen said coldly, looking into the dark grotto behind her. “But whether it is a sinister object or not can be determined by a single look—if you have a clear conscience, why block the entrance?”

Seeing Zhu Tianchen move to step forward, Yun Yao narrowed her eyes and blocked the center of the entrance. “My Tianshan Peak is no place for a junior to act wildly.”

“Senior Grandmaster! A nation has laws, and a sect has rules! Qianmen is not your personal playground!” Zhu Tianchen finally grew angry. “Regardless of what is inside, I am going in to look today. If there is no sinister object, I shall go to the Hall of Discipline to receive my punishment myself!”

This Zhu Tianchen is truly a stubborn donkey reincarnated, Yun Yao thought to herself.

She had to stop him.

But if she used force, the numerous disciples behind Zhu Tianchen were watching intently. As the Little Senior Grandmaster of Qianmen, being lazy was one thing, but if she led the way in bullying others with her status, it would be a poor example for the sect…

Yun Yao was hesitating.

Rumble.

The sound of the stone door opening came from behind her.

The tension and quiet murmurs outside the grotto instantly turned into a frozen silence.

Everyone’s gaze fixed upon the interior of the doorway.

The mountain wind fluttered, trimming the candlelight behind the figure.

A lean, elegant silhouette like a pine tree or a crane stepped out from the radiant gloom—like a fragment of frost, snow, or moonlight.

The sunlight slowly peeled away the shadows from his body, revealing his true face.

The man had a face that was both refined and breathtakingly beautiful, his expression carrying the weary lethargy of a lingering illness. He wore a black crane-feather cloak embroidered with gold thread, which made the skin of his neck and jaw appearing above the fur collar look as white as cold jade.

But what stunned the crowd most were those eyes, which looked like clear moonlight covering ancient snow.

It was as if time itself resided eternally in his gaze.

Yun Yao was the first to snap back to her senses. She walked over with a frown. “Why did you come out?” Remembering something, she instinctively shifted her body to block the crowd’s view of Mu Hanyuan. “Go back and rest; I can handle this.”

“My body is no longer an issue,” Mu Hanyuan said, raising his eyes. His gaze bypassed Yun Yao and met Zhu Tianchen’s wary, guarded look. He nodded slightly. “Elder Zhu.”

Zhu Tianchen choked. “How… how do you know me?”

It’s over.

She hadn’t managed to stop him.

Yun Yao mentally held her head, hardly daring to look at Mu Hanyuan’s expression—she knew that being completely forgotten by the entire Qianyuan Realm in just a few years, with everyone who used to admire him treating him like a stranger, was a blow no one could easily bear.

However, before Yun Yao could come up with an excuse, the man before her spoke in a gentle voice that sounded like jade striking a spring:

“Yun Yao mentioned to me that the two of you were close friends, and that Elder Zhu is a pillar of Qianmen.”

Zhu Tianchen: “…?”

Yun Yao: “?”

Not only were the two of them dazed by the phrase “close friends,” but the disciples behind them looked as if they had been struck by lightning.

However, this shock finally woke them from their state of being bedazzled.

“Could this be… a Grand Elder hidden within the sect?”

“Impossible. All the Grand Elders are old men. How could one be so young and beautiful—no, wait—how could one have such a heavenly appearance and unparalleled grace?”

“When things are out of the ordinary, there must be a demon. In my opinion, someone this beautiful can’t be in their true form; it’s likely a transformed mountain spirit or wild monster!”

“Could it be a fox spirit with a thousand years of cultivation?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. What monster could hide from our Little Senior Grandmaster’s eyes?”

“What if the Little Senior Grandmaster is the one seduced by beauty…?”

The low murmurs of the disciples were carried to Yun Yao’s ears by the mountain wind. She didn’t have time to wonder why Mu Hanyuan reacted so indifferently to the fact that no one recognized him. She coughed lightly and turned around.

“That’s right, I told him. Since I came out of seclusion, Elder Zhu and I have had… well, a very deep friendship.”

Even if it was all based on hostility, Yun Yao added mentally.

She suppressed her internal grumbling and looked innocently at Zhu Tianchen’s complex gaze. “Could it be that Elder Zhu is unwilling to hear me speak of him this way?”

Zhu Tianchen paused for a long time, looking as if he were swallowing a retort that could kill. With a complex expression, he offered a formal bow. “The Little Senior Grandmaster has a broad heart; I am ashamed to say I cannot match it.”

Yun Yao: “…”

Yun Yao leaned back slightly and whispered to Mu Hanyuan, “Is he praising me or insulting me?”

Mu Hanyuan gave a faint smile and lightly supported her shoulder. “The disciples are watching; be dignified, Little Senior Grandmaster.”

“…Tch.”

Yun Yao straightened up. Inexplicably, even though she had done things a thousand times more intimate than this, just having Mu Hanyuan support her like that made the skin there feel as if it were burning.

She suppressed the blood rushing to her face and pretended nothing was wrong.

“Elder Zhu’s cultivation ranks among the top five in the sect. In your view, is the person behind me a fox… cough, a mountain spirit, or some kind of sinister object?”

Yun Yao raised her voice intentionally so that the disciples behind could hear.

As everyone pricked up their ears and widened their eyes, Zhu Tianchen straightened his posture and frowned, scanning that lean silhouette with his divine sense for the umpteenth time.

The answer remained the same.

Forget demonic energy; even when he projected his own spiritual power onto the man, he felt as if he were defiling a pure, celestial spirit body that was untouched by the world.

Zhu Tianchen took pride in having lived for centuries and seen all kinds of geniuses, but an existence like this—with no cultivation and not even a shred of spiritual power, yet feeling like a vast, deep ocean—was truly bizarre.

“This person is no monster or sinister object,” Zhu Tianchen said, turning to glare at the disciples. “No reckless talk allowed.”

The disciples quickly looked away, their gazes scattering.

Zhu Tianchen turned back. Seeing Yun Yao about to lead Mu Hanyuan back into the grotto, he hurried forward a step. “Wait.”

“Wait for what?” Yun Yao’s patience was nearing its end. “Unless Elder Zhu wants to inspect my grotto again to see if I’m hiding a third—”

Before Yun Yao could finish, her hand was lightly squeezed at the palm.

She looked back innocently.

Mu Hanyuan had lowered his eyelashes, looking at her with a half-warm, half-cool smile. “What ‘third’ is Master planning to hide?”

Yun Yao: “…”

Some people’s jealousy has grown significantly since returning.

“Little Senior Grandmaster, please don’t misunderstand. I simply have some questions for the one beside you,” Zhu Tianchen said. He had always loved recruiting talent for the sect, and now he didn’t mind lowering his old face to speak softly to Yun Yao. “Has this gentleman ever set foot on the path of cultivation? If not…”

“If not, it still wouldn’t be Elder Zhu’s turn.”

Yun Yao gave him a lethal blow with a beaming smile.

“I’m still standing here.”

The corner of Zhu Tianchen’s mouth twitched. “The Little Senior Grandmaster is indeed a talent herself, but you may not be proficient in the way of teaching. Perhaps it would be better if we took over on your behalf—”

Without waiting for him to finish, Yun Yao pulled Mu Hanyuan and turned back toward the grotto. “Let’s go, let’s go. Ignore him; he actually dared to try and poach from me.”

“Little Senior Grandmaster!” Zhu Tianchen called out urgently.

Rumble.

With a wave of Yun Yao’s hand, the stone door closed behind them.

Now that suspicion had been cleared, there was no reason to intrude upon an elder’s grotto. Zhu Tianchen dared not overstep, only able to look longingly at the closing stone door in a hurry:

“Little Senior Grandmaster, teaching a disciple is exhausting!”

“Little Senior Grandmaster, it is vital to build a good foundation at the start of a disciple’s cultivation!”

Thud!

The grotto door closed completely behind them.

Zhu Tianchen’s final, heart-wrenching transmission echoed inside:

“Do not waste a pillar of the sect, Little Senior Grandmaster!!”

The echo circled within the grotto.

Yun Yao: “…”

Turning back, she saw Mu Hanyuan looking at her with a slight smile.

Yun Yao held her breath. “As a Master, am I really that much of a failure and untrustworthy?”

Mu Hanyuan appeared to ponder the question.

Yun Yao gritted her teeth. “You’re actually thinking about it.”

Ultimately unable to resist her antics, Mu Hanyuan caught her wrist and leaned down to lightly kiss her forehead.

“No. I trust Master most of all.”

Yun Yao’s cheeks burned slightly from the kiss. She touched the spot where he had kissed her and muttered, “…From the results, I really am not suited to be a Master.”

“You are,” Mu Hanyuan coaxed her with a low laugh, “most suited to be a Master for me alone.”

Yun Yao felt that if this continued, no amount of spiritual power could suppress the blood rushing to her face. She quickly changed the subject. “You don’t seem surprised at all that they don’t remember you.”

“The Heavenly Dao mentioned it.”

“What?” Yun Yao looked up in surprise.

“Before the thousand-day punishment ended and it threw me into the Bottomless Netherworld, it said that every memory people had of me and every trace I left in the world would be erased. It would be as if I never existed. That was the greatest punishment for me defying the Heavenly Dao and fate.”

Although Mu Hanyuan spoke calmly, just hearing it made Yun Yao’s chest tighten until she could hardly breathe.

She instinctively gripped his hand. “At that time, were you very…”

“No,” Mu Hanyuan interrupted her softly.

Yun Yao looked up, her eyes rimmed with red and a hint of annoyance. “I hadn’t finished the question and you’re already denying it.”

“I can guess, but the answer is no,” Mu Hanyuan lowered his head and took her hand, interlacing their fingers as he kissed them. “I never felt despair, nor did I feel lonely. I have never regretted meeting Master or experiencing everything.”

Yun Yao’s eyes grew even more moist. “But you didn’t even have your five senses then. If everyone truly forgot you…”

“Though my senses were gone, I could miss Master every day and recall every moment we spent together… For me, we were never apart.”

Mu Hanyuan looked up and smiled at her.

“And I knew that even if the whole world forgot me, you would surely remember.”

“The Bottomless Netherworld, the Yellow Springs—you still came to find me, didn’t you?”

Yun Yao’s heart swayed, her thoughts racing.

The suppression she had maintained for days slipped for a moment. From beneath her sleeve, a thin layer of frost suddenly covered the wrist he was holding.

Mu Hanyuan caught sight of it, and his smile froze.

Yun Yao snapped back to her senses and hurriedly pulled her wrist from his grip, turning to hide it. “Next month there’s an annual ceremony in the sect; you’ll accompany me…”

Before she could finish, her wrist was grabbed from behind and she was pulled back around.

With a nudge to the small of her back, she bumped into Mu Hanyuan’s embrace and was forced to look up and meet his scrutiny.

“What is this?”

Yun Yao blinked slowly. “Um… a new technique I’ve been researching lately?”

“Yun Yao.”

Yun Yao always found it inexplicable and unresolvable that she felt a bit cowed whenever Mu Hanyuan dropped the “Master” title and addressed her by name.

But at a time like this, she could only play “dead.”

Pretending she hadn’t heard, she dragged him toward the couch. “I’m suddenly a bit sleepy; I must not have rested well last night. Why don’t we sleep for a bit, then I’ll help you regulate your energy—”

“It’s because of the Heavenly Cold Jade, isn’t it?”

Yun Yao stopped.

After a couple of breaths, she sighed and turned back. “Going to the Ninth Heaven to get that jade coffin to preserve your life force indeed took some effort, leaving a bit of a cold affliction. But it doesn’t harm the holy body; at most, it’s a bit uncomfortable when it flares up… hmm?”

The rest of her words were cut off by a kiss.

Yun Yao’s eyes widened in surprise.

It wasn’t just the depth and intensity of the kiss that surprised her, but the moist traces on Mu Hanyuan’s lowered eyelashes at such close range.

Finding an opening in the kiss, Yun Yao teased him: “Are you actually moved to the point of tears, Mu Hanyuan?”

“Yun. Yao.”

Mu Hanyuan was rarely truly annoyed. He gripped her wrists tightly, the corners of his eyes flushed a deep red.

“Unless it’s a grave injury affecting the foundation, how could a holy body and immortal bones feel cold or heat? You suffer ten thousand points of pain yet only speak of one with a smile—I know you have always been this way.”

Yun Yao was momentarily dazed by his sorrowful gaze.

After a moment, she smiled and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his jaw.

“Alright, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden it from you.”

Mu Hanyuan’s heart ached terribly, and so he was terribly angry, yet he couldn’t bring himself to push away the Yun Yao who was actively kissing him.

Thus, despite being angry, he supported her waist as if afraid she would get tired.

“From now on, you are not allowed to hide anything from me.”

“Yes, I promise.”

Sensing that Mu Hanyuan still looked a bit brooding, Yun Yao pushed her luck. She laughed and pushed him back onto the soft rattan chair.

She pressed her knee lightly against the chair and leaned in close. “Actually, I have a way for you to compensate me for this cold affliction.”

“What way?”

“Like this.”

Yun Yao reached out and pulled the fur collar at Mu Hanyuan’s neck.

The crane-feather cloak, untainted by the world, slid from his shoulders to the floor.

She leaned in closer—

“Then, Lord Hanyuan, from this day forward, for a thousand years and ten thousand years, warm my bed and my body every night, staying with me and never leaving. How about it?”

The pin of the white jade lotus crown was pulled out and cast aside.

Snow-white hair flowed down amidst the candlelight.

Like a bright moon falling into the red dust of the world.

Mu Hanyuan supported the Yun Yao who leaned down to kiss him, his grip on her back tender and restrained.

“Alright.”

“For a thousand years and ten thousand years, never to part.”

[END OF MAIN STORY.]