Yun Yun's Complicated State of Mind

The afterglow of the setting sun painted Misty Cloud Mountain a mournful orange-red, yet it could not dispel the dead silence and desolation shrouding the entire sect.

The once bustling, grand plaza now stood empty, with only that enormous crater silently recounting the upheaval from not long ago. The sect buildings remained imposing, yet they seemed to have lost their souls; no longer could one hear disciples' training shouts or the profound teachings of the elders.

The order to seal the mountain had been issued. Most disciples had been dismissed or ordered into seclusion within their residences, forbidden from leaving. The entire Misty Cloud Sect was like a gravely wounded beast on the brink of death, silently licking its wounds beneath the setting sun.

At the summit of the main peak, within the Sect Master's Hall.

Yun Yun stood alone before the window, gazing toward Wutan City as it gradually sank into the twilight. She still wore that elegant moon-white gown, her figure slender and graceful, her beauty peerless. Yet her eyes, once as clear as autumn water, were now filled with an indescribable complexity and confusion.

As the leader of a sect, she had witnessed its glory firsthand and lived through its collapse herself. Her master, Yun Shan, had been crippled and now lay like a useless man in the forbidden grounds of the rear mountain, with little hope of survival. Ninety percent of the resources the sect had accumulated over a century had been taken, leaving its foundations utterly depleted. Countless disciples had also lost heart and quietly departed... The Misty Cloud Sect, once standing at the pinnacle of the Jia Ma Empire, had nearly reached its end in her hands.

And the one responsible for all of this was the man named Xiao Chen.

The man who had suddenly returned, crushed everything with absolute power, and was domineering yet... not entirely unreasonable.

Xiao Chen's figure surfaced uncontrollably in Yun Yun's mind. Dressed in azure robes, standing calmly with his hands behind his back, he had defeated a Dou Zong with a flick of his fingers, destroyed the Soul Hall, and decided the sect's fate with every word. That youthful face marked by the vicissitudes of life, those deep eyes that seemed capable of seeing through the human heart...

Did she hate him?

Yun Yun asked herself. He had crippled the master who had raised her and taken away the sect's foundation. She should have hated him.

But when she recalled Yun Shan's collusion with the Soul Hall, his tacit approval of Yun Leng's abduction of Xiao Zhan, and even his intention to kill Xiao Yan... was that truly what the righteous master she remembered, the sect she had fought for, should have done?

The words Nalan Yanran had spoken when she left, filled with remorse and relief, often echoed in her ears as well. "Master, we were wrong... We were wrong from the very beginning."

Yes, perhaps they truly had been wrong. If the sect had not acted so tyrannically, if they had not indulged Yanran's breaking of the engagement, if they had not continued making mistake after mistake afterward, how could they have brought today's disaster upon themselves?

Xiao Chen's strength and coldness were like a merciless iron hammer, shattering beliefs she had clung to for so long and forcing her to confront the sect's mistakes and her own helplessness.

Beyond hatred and confusion, Yun Yun harbored another feeling she was unwilling even to admit... a faint, indescribable flutter in her heart.

It was the instinctive awe the weak felt toward the strong. Perhaps... mingled within it was a trace of exceedingly subtle admiration in the face of absolute power, one even she herself had never noticed?

The instant that thought arose, Yun Yun forcibly suppressed it. A barely noticeable blush rose to her face, only to be replaced by an even deeper bitterness. He was the enemy who had destroyed her sect. How could she entertain such an absurd thought?

"Sect Master." A fiercely loyal elder appeared soundlessly outside the hall, his voice hoarse and weary. "The inventory... has been provisionally completed. The treasury... is almost empty."

Yun Yun closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all her tangled emotions. When she opened them again, the calmness and decisiveness expected of a sect master had returned to her gaze.

"I understand. Distribute the remaining resources properly, giving priority to ensuring the basic cultivation needs of the disciples who remain. Issue the order: from today onward, all disciples are to strictly obey the mountain-sealing order, focus on cultivation, and cause no further trouble."

"Yes, Sect Master." The elder hesitated before adding, "Then... the resources that must be delivered to the Xiao Family in Wutan City within three days..."

"Do as he said." Yun Yun's voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremor, yet it was exceptionally firm. "Check every item agreed upon and deliver them on time. There must be no mistakes."

"...As you command." The elder sighed and bowed before withdrawing.

The empty hall was once more left with Yun Yun alone. The sun sank completely below the horizon, and darkness spread like ink.

She walked to the center of the hall and looked at the seat that symbolized the sect master's authority, feeling only an unbearable weight. This position had once carried her dreams and responsibilities. Now, it contained nothing but endless pressure and humiliation.

Xiao Chen's figure surfaced once again. He was right: the Misty Cloud Sect needed reflection. It needed rebirth. And this road to rebirth was destined to be covered in thorns, requiring her, as sect master, to lead the remaining disciples forward step by step.

"Xiao Chen..." she murmured his name, her voice containing too many emotions that could not be spoken—hatred, resentment, fear, and perhaps even a trace of... curiosity she could not define herself.

She did not know what the future held. She did not know whether the Misty Cloud Sect would ever see the light of day again. Still less did she know whether she would cross paths again with that man who had descended and departed like a demon god.

Night completely enveloped Misty Cloud Mountain, and Yun Yun's heart, tangled beyond measure, along with it.

She turned and walked toward the forbidden grounds of the rear mountain. There was a master she needed to care for there, and there was also the long, lonely night she needed to face alone.