Side story

The countless speculations regarding Mu Hanyuan’s identity that had recently swirled within Qianmen—stirring wave after wave of curiosity—were far from matching the seismic shock of Yun Yao’s definitive proclamation.

For nearly ten breaths, the entire Qihua Hall was plunged into a deathly silence.

It wasn’t until Ding Xiao, hidden somewhere among the crowd of disciples, raised her voice in a formal salute: “Congratulations, Little Senior Grandmaster! On the long road of immortality, to have found such a fine companion!”

“Congratulations, Little Senior Grandmaster…”

With a lead to follow, the other elders and disciples quickly reacted, joining in with their congratulations. The atmosphere in Qihua Hall finally regained its warmth and festive cheer.

Though many gazes still drifted toward the lotus platform, the curiosity of the disciples—now provided with an answer—had clearly diminished compared to their previous scrutiny.

However, atop the lotus platform at this very moment, the emotions of certain individuals had reached a breaking point.

Thud.

A bronze wine cup with kui-dragon patterns was slammed onto the table. The sharp sound made Yun Yao, who had just sat back down on her platform, turn her face to look.

She met Feng Qinglian’s eyes—vivid and sharp, yet clouded by the influence of wine.

But he wasn’t looking at her.

Yun Yao frowned slightly and leaned forward, intercepting the complex gaze Feng Qinglian was directing toward Mu Hanyuan.

Is there anything else?

Yun Yao mouthed a silent, warning question to him across the space.

To her surprise, Feng Qinglian responded with a cold curl of his lips. He braced himself against the table and suddenly stood up.

His multicolored feather robe shimmered under the palace lights, dazzling the eyes to the point of dizziness.

Yun Yao instinctively narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on that feather robe. Her fingers surreptitiously formed a sword seal, her posture appearing relaxed yet fully alert.

Feng Qinglian walked a curved path until he reached the table directly opposite Yun Yao and Mu Hanyuan.

He stared fixedly at Mu Hanyuan, his clenched fist resting on the table as he slowly bent his knees to sit down.

From beginning to end, Mu Hanyuan merely held his cup of clear tea. He didn’t even raise his eyes, appearing completely oblivious to the other’s arrival.

Thus, Feng Qinglian glared at him with even greater ferocity, the phoenix flames in his eyes nearly ready to ignite. “Yun Yao, out of everyone you could have picked, you chose a ‘little white face’ who only knows how to hide behind you?”

His eyes were glaring at Mu Hanyuan.

His words were addressed to Yun Yao.

But ultimately, the provocation was aimed squarely at Mu Hanyuan.

Yun Yao was, for a rare moment, conflicted. She worried that if she spoke now, it might lend credence to Feng Qinglian’s words and give others more reason to criticize Mu Hanyuan.

In that heartbeat of hesitation, she heard the man beside her speak in a voice that was clear, bright, and tinged with a nonchalant smile: “Indeed.”

Mu Hanyuan raised his eyes. His dark, obsidian pupils contrasted with his sickly, pale complexion, lending him a look of even greater fragility. “To be liked by A-Yao, even if it is only for my face—then I haven’t lived in this world in vain.”

Feng Qinglian’s planned sarcasm was completely choked back into his throat by that single sentence.

Within seconds, the Phoenix Clan Leader’s face—famous throughout the world for its beauty—turned a shade of red that went beyond mere intoxication.

A few breaths later, Feng Qinglian squeezed the words out through his teeth: “…Do you dare to have a contest with me?”

“?”

Hearing this, Yun Yao could no longer hold back. She raised an eyebrow and cast a half-smiling glance at Feng Qinglian. “You multicolored bird, you’ve lived for over three thousand years. You wouldn’t actually do something as shameless as challenging a mortal to a contest of spiritual power or a duel, would you?”

“Who said I wanted to duel him?” Feng Qinglian glared at Mu Hanyuan with a savage tone. “We’ll compete in this!”

Thud.

A massive jar of wine appeared out of thin air on the table.

Yun Yao: “…”

Yun Yao turned her head expressionlessly, meeting the gaze of Mu Jiutian on the neighboring platform, who was currently leaning lazily against his couch with a beaming smile, watching the drama. “The guest you invited—don’t you plan on managing him?”

To her surprise, that shameless scoundrel Mu Jiutian straightened his posture and tucked his sleeves with a serious air. “Junior Sister, you are mistaken. Though Clan Leader Feng is a guest I invited, he is of the same generation as us—and in terms of age, he is much our senior. How could I possibly ‘manage’ him? Don’t you agree?”

Yun Yao turned her gaze further, looking at Xiao Jiusi, who sat holding his fan with a constant smile.

Before she could speak, Xiao Jiusi proactively offered a polite, smiling refusal: “I am a generation below you all.”

“…Suddenly you remember you’re a junior at a time like this?”

Yun Yao gritted her teeth, thinking that as expected, no one was reliable; she would have to handle it herself.

However, as she turned back, she discovered that Mu Hanyuan and Feng Qinglian had already begun their duel across the table. The tea cup in Mu Hanyuan’s hand had been replaced by a wine cup at some point. Tucking his sleeves, he tilted his neck and drained it in one go.

“Wait—”

By the time Yun Yao’s delayed protest left her mouth, there wasn’t a single drop left in either of their cups.

Mu Jiutian watched from behind with glee: “Oho.”

Feng Qinglian gritted his teeth savagely: “Again!”

With a flick of his finger, two streams of clear liquid flew out from the jar like miniature waterfalls, pouring into their cups.

“Very well.” Mu Hanyuan raised his cup as well.

Yun Yao snapped back to her senses and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. “You haven’t fully recovered yet, and you have a low tolerance for alcohol! The Phoenix clan relies on wine to nourish their Phoenix Fire within a certain realm of cultivation—this bird was practically soaked in a wine jar since he was a fledgling. How can you compete with him?”

“Is A-Yao worried about me?”

A light flush had appeared on Mu Hanyuan’s eyelids—the alcohol was clearly taking effect. His dark eyes grew moist and misty, like a green mountain shrouded in fog after a rain.

“There’s no need to worry… this shell was frozen in Heavenly Cold Jade by you; it won’t break from drinking.”

He had only had one cup, and he was already starting to talk nonsense.

Yun Yao felt a headache coming on, but before she could stop him, Mu Hanyuan drained the second cup as well.

Seeing the two of them so intimate, Feng Qinglian’s face grew even redder. “Even for a drink, you need to be coaxed and advised. Mortals truly are fragile.”

Mu Hanyuan suppressed a low cough and sighed. “Indeed. Being so useless… I’ve wronged A-Yao.”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense,” Yun Yao said, her tone softening as she was affected by Mu Hanyuan’s slightly dejected mood. She didn’t forget to cast a silent glare at Feng Qinglian. Then she turned back and tenderly tucked a lock of Mu Hanyuan’s hair behind his ear. “That bird is always poisonous; he’s like that with everyone. Don’t listen to him…”

Feng Qinglian’s teeth chattered with rage.

With a wave of his hand, he produced another new jar of wine from who-knows-where. “Again!”

The clear wine was poured into the cups once more.

The rich aroma of the wine hit her, and Yun Yao’s expression changed slightly. She turned back uncertainly to Mu Jiutian, who was still watching the show. “What kind of wine is this?”

“I followed our First Senior Brother’s method and brewed ‘Immortal’s Drunkenness’.”

“Immortal’s Drunkenness?!” Yun Yao hurriedly turned to stop them. “Don’t drink this cup—”

Thud.

A light weight, like the force of an embrace.

The man beside her happened to topple over just as she turned, falling straight into her arms.

If he were a smaller figure, Yun Yao might have been able to say she caught him fully. But Mu Hanyuan was significantly taller than her, and he nearly pinned her down onto the soft mats of the seating area.

Yun Yao had to use her spiritual power to barely hold them up.

She tilted her head with some helplessness, calling out in a low voice: “Mu Hanyuan?”

“…”

Moon-white hair flowed over her shoulders, intertwining with her own dark locks like the entanglement of night and dawn.

As a response to her call, he gave a muffled groan. Caught between wakefulness and slumber, he unwillingly nuzzled against her shoulder, burying his breath deeper into her hair—whether to hide from the light or out of an instinctive, intimate proximity.

Feng Qinglian, across the table, was clearly completely unprepared for Mu Hanyuan to get drunk so suddenly. When he snapped back to his senses, he nearly crushed the bronze cup in his hand. “Only two and a half cups! We aren’t competing in spiritual power but in tolerance, yet his tolerance is worse than a common mortal’s! What exactly do you see in him??”

Yun Yao was so annoyed she took a moment to glare at him fiercely. “I don’t lack wine jars in my grotto. Who picks a Daoist companion based on their drinking tolerance?”

Feng Qinglian, the newly minted “wine jar,” nearly twisted his mouth in fury. “Then tell me, in what way am I inferior to him?!”

While patting Mu Hanyuan and calling him softly, Yun Yao answered without a second thought: “You aren’t as handsome as he is.”

“?!”

Recovering from the blow that nearly made his vision go black, Feng Qinglian gritted his teeth. “Yun Yao, I didn’t realize you were such a superficial person.”

“I have always been superficial and I love beauties. It’s a pity you’ve known me for hundreds of years and didn’t even know that,” Yun Yao brushed him off, not sparing any harsh words to avenge Mu Hanyuan’s honor. “Otherwise, Clan Leader Feng, do you think that out of all the birds on the Phoenix Immortal Mountain, I became friends with you specifically because of your noble character? Or because you have a gentle temper and aren’t poisonous with your tongue?”

Feng Qinglian: “…”

Just as the Phoenix was about to spit fire from every orifice, the man leaning on Yun Yao’s shoulder slightly raised his head. The intoxication had flushed his face crimson, and his eyes were misty, looking like cold jade covered in seductive water.

“A-Yao…” he whispered like a sleep-talker, “did A-Yao like him once, too?”

Yun Yao snapped back to her senses and hurriedly shook her head. “How could that be possible?!”

The man acted as if he hadn’t heard, his voice growing even softer. “It doesn’t matter. I am but a mortal, incomparable to the Phoenix Clan Leader… As long as A-Yao can remember me… just don’t forget me…”

Mu Hanyuan’s eyes were half-closed, appearing to mumble in an unconscious, drunken state as he pulled the person before him tighter into his embrace.

Yun Yao felt both heartbroken and amused, coaxing him along: “I don’t like anyone else, only you.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, truly.”

Before the Phoenix could be so enraged he underwent a spontaneous nirvana on the spot, Xiao Jiusi finally acted like a decent human being. With some kind words, he dragged and pulled Feng Qinglian back to their neighboring platform.

Mu Hanyuan was too drunk to continue, and Yun Yao used this as a perfect excuse to leave the ceremony early, taking him back to her Tianshan Peak grotto.

After settling him on the couch in the grotto, before Yun Yao could check his condition, a disciple came to the entrance to pay respects.

Yun Yao went out to find that Mu Jiutian had sent someone with medicinal soup to sober him up.

After thanking them and taking the medicine, Yun Yao went straight back into the grotto. Amidst the flickering candlelight, she saw a silhouette already sitting up on the couch.

An opening for moon-watching had been carved into the top of the grotto, much like a courtyard’s skylight. The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, bathing the floor in frosty white and draping the man in moonlight, making him look even more like a cold, otherworldly immortal under the moon.

Hearing Yun Yao’s footsteps, Mu Hanyuan lowered his gaze from the moon-watching opening.

The candlelight flickered in his eyes, contrasting with his dust-free, cold-white attire. For a moment, it was impossible to tell if it was the clarity of a saint or the bewitchment of a demon.

Or perhaps, a bit of both.

As Yun Yao was thinking, she heard Mu Hanyuan give a low, thin laugh. “At the banquet tonight, I did it on purpose.”

Yun Yao walked closer to the couch. “Did what on purpose?”

“Mmm, using your status to bully Feng Qinglian?” Mu Hanyuan raised his sleeve, his long, jade-like fingers hooking toward her. When she placed her hand in his, he used the momentum to pull her into his embrace. “Am I very wicked?”

“A little bit.”

Yun Yao tried to maintain a dignified air, but she broke character within a second. she couldn’t help but lean in and bite the pale skin of his neck—still slightly flushed from the wine—her laughter tracing his Adam’s apple as it rolled. “But I already knew that.”

“…Oh?”

Mu Hanyuan, under her provocation, was restraining himself with lowered eyes, but hearing this, he raised them in slight surprise. “You knew, yet you still shielded me?”

“Of course.”

Yun Yao whispered, raising her eyes to look at him. “Have you forgotten what I said to them during the banquet?”

Staying within inches of her, the shadows of the candles flickered wildly in Mu Hanyuan’s eyes.

Even his breath was so light it trembled. “You said… I am your Daoist companion.”

“Yes. I also said we offer our lives to each other,” Yun Yao said, lightly tapping his heart. “Even if the world forgets, at least we remember—offering our lives to each other isn’t just a promise; it’s something you and I have personally experienced.”

Mu Hanyuan’s arms wrapped around Yun Yao’s waist, pulling her as if he wanted to embed her into his chest. “What I said at the banquet about being a ‘little white face’ was to trick them… but I cannot allow you to like anyone else. You chose me, so you can only choose me.”

“I know.”

Yun Yao smiled and embraced Mu Hanyuan, who slightly tilted his neck. This kiss was like something etched deeply into their souls.

“I never thought of choosing anyone else.”

“Neither have I, Yun Yao…” Mu Hanyuan’s sigh was swallowed by their shared kiss. “No matter how many more lifetimes we have, to me, you are the only one in this world.”