How Can a Lone Pillow Bear the Dreams of a Border City, Part 1

In her dreams, Yun Yao listened to the idle plucking of a zither, like rain falling all night.

Upon waking in the morning, she felt unusually refreshed. Pushing open the wooden window at the back of her room, she saw droplets of fresh rain converging into a small cascade, sliding off the leaves outside.
Plop.
The window frame was dyed a rich wooden hue.

“It’s really raining?” Yun Yao blinked in surprise.

Then the zither music that drifted into her dreams last night… could it be…?

Knock, knock.

A soft rap came at the door. “Martial Aunt Yun, are you awake?”

Yun Yao turned.
It was Ding Xiao’s voice. “The Jiushi Valley disciples escorting the treasure have returned and are waiting in the front hall. Lord Hanyuan has been there since early morning, and Senior Brother Xiao Zhong asked me to invite you over.”

“Got it.”

Moments later, Yun Yao arrived at Jiushi Valley’s front hall with Ding Xiao. Inside, two voices were locked in a heated argument.

“…I disagree! At a time like this, how can we split into two groups? That’s just giving the demonic cultivators hiding in the shadows an opening!”
“But the treasure’s existence is already known to all. Countless rogue cultivators and villains are watching, openly and covertly. If we don’t throw out a decoy to divert those wolves, we’ll be attacked from all sides. How can we defend against that?”
“Splitting up makes it any better? The team escorting the treasure to Tianshan has to be small and inconspicuous. Isn’t that just sending sheep to the tiger’s jaws?”
“Not splitting up leaves us surrounded by wolves anyway! Who knows what chaos that’ll cause?”
“You’re being unreasonable! I won’t agree to splitting up!”
“You’re driving me mad, Xiao Zhong, tell me—split or not!”
“…”

Yun Yao’s timing was impeccable, arriving just as the two Jiushi Valley elders—new faces to her—fell into a brief silence after their quarrel.

Whether out of embarrassment or to shift attention, all eyes turned toward her as she entered.
Ding Xiao, trailing behind, held her breath.

Yun Yao, however, seemed oblivious.
The red-clad woman naturally walked to Mu Hanyuan’s side, taking the seat reserved for her, and casually accepted the teacup he handed her.
She tilted her head slightly, whispering, “Did you play the soul-soothing tune all night again?”

The hall was quiet, the onlookers’ expressions odd. The Jiushi Valley elders, still fuming from their argument, shot fiery glances at Yun Yao.

But Mu Hanyuan didn’t let her question go unanswered. He nodded slightly.

“I told you, that takes too much energy and soul strength. We’re heading to Tianshan in the East Sea today—you can’t keep draining yourself like this.”
As Yun Yao finished, she felt a piercing gaze from somewhere.
“?” She turned, meeting Xiao Zhong’s eyes.

After two breaths of staring, Xiao Zhong forced a perfunctory smile. “Let me introduce to the elders: this is the junior sister under Qianmen’s Little Martial Aunt, Lord Hanyuan’s fellow disciple. She’s the one who recently became renowned across the realm for mastering the Naihe Sword Technique, the true successor of Qianmen’s second generation, Yun Yaojiu.”

His words softened the elders’ previously displeased expressions, some even appraising her with a “don’t judge by appearances” look.

Yun Yao: “…”
Xiao Zhong had disliked her since their last encounter, yet now he praised her so suddenly.
He was definitely up to no good.

Sure enough.

“For this journey to escort the treasure to Tianshan, besides Qianmen’s assisting disciples, Lord Hanyuan and his junior sister will join us.”
Xiao Zhong’s tone shifted. “Qianmen and Jiushi Valley are closely tied, practically one lineage. Lord Hanyuan is destined to become Qianmen’s Daozi. In my view, with them here, we should consult their opinions. I, as a junior, dare not decide alone.”

The hot potato landed squarely in her lap before she could dodge.

“…”
Yun Yao gritted her teeth.
As expected of Xiao Jiusi’s hypocritical valley—scheming ran in their blood.

Under the expectant gazes of the Jiushi Valley elders, Mu Hanyuan looked at Yun Yao first.

A beat later, she met his gaze.
After their eyes locked, as if by unspoken agreement, Yun Yao took the lead.

“Indeed, our sects are closely linked, like one family. If you want me and… Senior Brother Hanyuan to join you, that’s fine,” Yun Yao said, standing from her chair, her gaze sweeping the room before settling on Xiao Zhong. “But at least tell us what this ‘supreme treasure’ is—something that’s caught the attention of both immortal and demonic realms—and what it does.”

“…”

A low murmur arose among the Jiushi Valley elders, clearly divided.
After a moment, Xiao Zhong didn’t speak. Instead, an elder Yun Yao had only met today spoke up. “Fellow Daoist Yun, it’s not that we’re hiding anything, but to be frank, even within our valley, a disciple betrayed us just days ago, or we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Exactly. The more people know, the greater the risk,” another interjected. “Why must you two insist on knowing?”

“…”

Yun Yao had always found Jiushi Valley’s people frustrating—either scheming like Xiao Jiusi or stubbornly unyielding to the end.
Dealing with them shaved years off her life.

“Employ without doubt, or don’t employ at all,” Yun Yao’s tone grew cold. “If the elders think Lord Hanyuan and I can’t be trusted, why include us in the team and guard against us day and night?”

The hot-tempered elder opened his mouth to retort.

Yun Yao’s glare cut him off. “Without knowing what this thing is, who’s after it, or why, how can I prepare? If a powerful enemy strikes and lives are at stake, why should we risk our lives for it?”

The hall fell silent.

After exchanging glances, the four Jiushi Valley elders seemed to reach a decision. One rose and headed to the back hall.
The kind-faced elder who had first spoken stood, offering Yun Yao a respectful sword salute. “Fellow Daoist Yun is right. We were thoughtless. Qianmen has shown such sincerity, and we shouldn’t conceal things further. My junior brother will fetch the treasure now.”
He paused. “As for this treasure, despite the uproar in both realms, to most cultivators, it’s no different from an ordinary stone.”

Yun Yao frowned slightly.

Behind her, Mu Hanyuan remained calm, but Ding Xiao and He Fengming couldn’t hide their shock and disbelief.

Noting their expressions, the elder gave a wry smile. “This is why we hesitated to speak—unless you see it with your own eyes, you likely wouldn’t believe it.”

He Fengming couldn’t help but ask, “If that’s true, why is it rumored across the immortal realm as a rare, unparalleled treasure?”

“…And you are?” The elder hesitated, looking at Yun Yao.

She didn’t turn. “Qianmen disciple, under Elder Lu Changan.”

“…”
The elders’ faces showed varying degrees of surprise at the name “Lu Changan.”

Yun Yao’s lips curved.

…Hmph.
So well-hidden, yet she’d teased it out.

At the same time, behind her, Mu Hanyuan’s eyes crinkled with a helpless smile.
The little Golden Lotus, tucked in his sleeve, shook its petals in confusion.

No one noticed this subtle understanding as undercurrents stirred in the hall.

Finally, an elder spoke bluntly. “Elder Lu seems quite close with some of Fuyu Palace’s masters, doesn’t he?”

He Fengming, no fool, had sensed the oddity and was about to speak when a lazy voice cut him off—

“Don’t worry, Elder. He recently fell out with his master over sect matters. Many immortal sect disciples know this—some from your valley were even spectating. He’s nearly been kicked out by his master, so no need to fret.”

The elder looked skeptical.

Yun Yao thought for a moment, adding, “Of course, it could be a ruse or a double-cross.”

He Fengming, touched yet conflicted, snapped his head up. “?”

Yun Yao continued unhurriedly, “But no matter. If he dares betray us, you won’t need to act—I’ll personally make sure even his master wouldn’t recognize him. Good enough?”

The elder sighed, smiling wryly. “You jest, Fellow Daoist Yun. Since you say so, you likely suspect what we’ve hidden. Indeed, we’re guarding against someone in the Immortal Alliance—possibly a high-realm cultivator within a major sect.”

“…”

With Fuyu Palace as the premise, the “certain sect” was now obvious.

Yun Yao wasn’t surprised, and Mu Hanyuan remained unruffled.
But Ding Xiao and He Fengming, hearing this for the first time, were stunned despite their suspicions.

The speaking elder looked gravely at Yun Yao. “If our Valley Master and our investigations over the years are correct, the death of your sect’s Fifth Ancestor was highly suspicious.”

Yun Yao’s expression wavered, her eyes lowering. “What’s suspicious?”

“The Valley Master once said that before your Fifth Ancestor went to Two Realms Mountain, he visited Qianmen and played a few games of chess with Senior Mu. Noticing Senior Mu seemed preoccupied, he asked a few questions.”
“And learned that among the rising immortal sects, some cultivators, disregarding ethics, were harming souls and practicing hybrid immortal-demonic methods to boost their cultivation!”

“—!”

Ding Xiao gasped, and He Fengming nearly fell out of his chair.

But Yun Yao, in front of them, seemed to close her eyes.
Her mind flashed to the journey to Fantian Temple, to the three eerie cultivators cloaked in black mist they’d met at an inn in the southwest immortal realm.
Harming souls, hybrid immortal-demonic methods?

Her fingers tightened unconsciously, knuckles cracking faintly.

“…”

Behind her, Mu Hanyuan lifted his gaze, his eyes complex as he watched her.

“Sadly, though the Valley Master was shocked, Senior Mu brushed it off as minor sects, saying he’d handle it. Who could’ve imagined…” The elder paused, voice heavy with regret. “The next we heard, Senior Mu had been ambushed by demonic cultivators at Two Realms Mountain and perished.”

When Yun Yao spoke again, her voice was hoarse. “So that’s why he ‘died’?”
She laughed bitterly, turning back to her seat to hide the tears in her eyes.
Mu Hanyuan handed her a teacup.

She took it, drinking it down in one gulp, eyes closed.

The tea washed down her bitterness and hatred. Smiling, she clasped her hands, slowly crushing the porcelain cup to dust.
“My sect’s members all died in the immortal-demonic war—each a prodigy with hopes of ascension. For whom did they die? Yet barely a decade after the war, someone dares mimic demonic cultivation…”
She opened her hands, letting the dust scatter in the wind.

In the breeze, a sword’s cold cry seemed to echo.

“Fuyu… Palace.” She ground out the three words, as if chewing them to powder couldn’t quell her hatred, each syllable sinking heavily into her mind.

“Master.”
Mu Hanyuan’s clear voice came through a mental transmission.
Yun Yao paused, looking down to meet his calm, deep gaze from beside her.

Those wondrous eyes seemed to soothe her raging emotions with a single look.

“Those who trample on your sect’s blood and bones for their own gain,” Mu Hanyuan transmitted softly, “I’ll erase from this world for you, Master.”

Yun Yao froze.

His gaze, his words, his demeanor—it was like a cup of snow-chilled tea in the scorching summer, easily quenching her burning anger.
Yet a faint, inexplicable unease crept into her heart in its place.

Instinctively, she looked up, and on his breathtakingly clear, striking face, so close to hers, she thought she saw—hallucinatory—blood-red demonic patterns blooming from the corner of his eye.
She blinked hard.
The illusion vanished.

…Enough.

Yun Yao warned herself inwardly.

He wasn’t the Mu Hanyuan of her past life anymore.
She shouldn’t doubt him—it would only push him further away.

The hall was deathly quiet.

The Jiushi Valley elders exchanged glances and transmissions. Though puzzled why a junior like “Yun Yaojiu,” three hundred years their junior, was so fiercely aligned with them, they felt reassured.

As for the others, they were shaken—

“Fuyu Palace… how could they? They’re the leading immortal sect! Why would they do this?” He Fengming shot up, slamming the table.
His anger surged, but he didn’t know where to direct it.
He couldn’t fully understand his master’s actions, but he’d never imagined the Fuyu Palace masters his master befriended could be involved in such horrific deeds.
Did his master… know?

Hearing He Fengming’s trembling voice, Yun Yao glanced back coldly. “Three hundred years ago, Fuyu Palace wasn’t the leading sect. If your ancestors hadn’t all died at Two Realms Mountain, would it be their turn to claim that title?”

He Fengming stood trembling.

In the eerie silence, an elder suddenly rose, looking toward the back hall. “The treasure’s here!”

“…”

Yun Yao turned.
From the back hall came several Jiushi Valley disciples, four of them carrying an intricately patterned, heavily sealed box.
But Yun Yao’s attention wasn’t on the treasure that had driven both realms into a frenzy. Her shocked gaze fixed on the carefree, nonchalant figure walking beside it…

“Wu Tianya?!” Ding Xiao shot to her feet in shock.

“Hey, Junior Sister, you’re here too?”

Across the distance, Wu Tianya flashed his familiar grin and walked toward Yun Yao.

She froze in place.

Why him?
Based on her earlier reasoning, if anyone in Xiao Jiusi’s hypocritical Jiushi Valley could earn the demonic realm’s deep trust, it would be her Fifth Senior Brother.
But why was it Wu—

Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed through her mind.

Senior Brother Wu.
Fifth Senior Brother.

“—”

Yun Yao’s knuckles tightened sharply.

Wu Tianya approached step by step.
And since her rebirth in this world, every moment, every word shared with this man replayed in her mind like a reel unwinding.

“…I overheard the Immortal Alliance at the palace earlier. The Red Dust Buddha from Fantian Temple, out wandering, will arrive tomorrow. We can enter the secret realm together…”
“Junior Sister, forgot already? I told you before—the one Little Martial Aunt Yun Yao chased after, the Red Dust Buddha who practices in the mortal world…”

The scene rewound to before entering Burial Dragon Valley.
It was he who warned her, helping her avoid the Red Dust Buddha.

“…What, already heartbroken for your senior brother?”
“Junior Sister, you didn’t used to be so merciless.”
“Your words sound like you’ve known Lord Hanyuan for a long time.”
“Junior Sister, about Fuyu Palace…”

Further back, to the inn hundreds of miles from Canglong Mountain.
When she first awoke, it was Wu Tianya who clarified the hidden plot behind Burial Dragon Valley’s emergence.

“Yun Yao, come back.”
“Yun Yao, come back.”

Before the mountain god temple.
The voice that pulled her from the nightmare threads, then vanished.

“…Look at her, so gentle and caring with her senior brother, speaking so softly.”
“Lord Hanyuan wouldn’t abandon his childhood sweetheart for a fake junior sister like you…”

In that first trial village.
His teasing words seemed like jest but hid truth.

“Junior Sister, don’t scare your senior brother. My soul sense checked—there’s really nothing there…”
“Nothing in the day, but who knows at night?”
“…!!”

It was only after the Reincarnation Tower that she recalled—it wasn’t her who feared ghosts, but her Fifth Senior Brother, who died for her in her past life.

…

Scene after scene rewound.

And now, in the hall, Wu Tianya stood before her.

Her vision blurred, as if she were back to that first moment she awoke in this world.
That day, she met a reckless disciple.

His first words to her were—

“Junior Sister.”

“Junior Sister.” Wu Tianya stood before her, smiling, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

“How should I address this senior brother?”

Back then, standing inches from her, the youth had gazed at her, lost in thought.

“Wu Tianya.”
“…Tianya, as in ‘a thousand miles apart.’”