Nalan, Yanran

Nalan, Yanran

"Even so, you still think you won't lose to anyone?" Yun Yun was rather curious how this girl would answer.

"Then that means they'll all lose to me~"

"Huh?"

It wasn't just Yun Yun; even Maid, who was used to strange logic, was a little stunned.

"Then go on, tell me what kind of logic that is." Yun Yun propped up her head and quietly waited for her performance.

This girl's train of thought was a little too astonishing...

"Since we're evenly matched right now, then I just have to work a little harder and risk my life a little more, don't I?"

Nalan Yanran made it sound perfectly natural. "If so-called talent could decide everything, then why would anyone in the world cultivate? They could just lie in bed and wait for fate to hand them blessings~"

"But other people can work hard too."

"Then I'll work harder than him!" Like children locking horns, Nalan sprang up, braced her hands on the table, and stared straight at Yun Yun.

"All right, all right... Even if that's true, there are some things in this world that hard work alone can't make up for."

Yun Yun was rather helpless.

Who had never once thought of defying the heavens and changing their fate? But some problems could not be solved with a single word like "harder."

A single Life and Death Gate in the Misty Cloud Sect could turn all effort into empty talk.

Resources. Talent.

Either one could bottleneck who knew how many so-called "geniuses."

"Hmph! Who said I was going to rely only on hard work?" Nalan Yanran jumped down onto the floor. "Only charging forward with your head down is what idiots do! What I have to do is very simple—

"I'm going to fight for it!"

"My father told me long ago that after advancing to Dou Zhe, it's a contest of resources and talent. In terms of talent, I'm in the very first group! Up till now, I've only ever seen people who could stand shoulder to shoulder with me. Not one could surpass me!"

This pavilion seemed to have become her stage, while Yun Yun quietly listened to her impassioned declaration.

"In terms of resources, then I'll work hard, harder and more desperately than all of them! I want to be number one!"

Nalan pointed toward the distant view beyond the tower, where palace halls heavier than the mountains beneath them seemed to lie silently in the distance. "I'll stake everything to fight for the best resources—the Misty Cloud Sect!

"Hmph~ Even if there really is someone more talented than me, it doesn't matter. The one who eats more resources and has more guts to risk their life will be the winner!"

She spoke with great spirit and grandeur.

What a pity~ In the end, it was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Yun Yun kept shaking her head and changed the subject, unwilling to keep digging into it. After all, what was the point of bickering with a little girl? "Do you like the Misty Cloud Sect?"

"I like the best." Nalan planted her hands on her waist and tilted her head up.

"..."

Just a little brat~ "Then you can go sign up right now. With your talent, joining the Misty Cloud Sect shouldn't be a problem, right? Why don't you go?" Yun Yun grew a little interested and was happy to keep chatting.

Who hadn't been a stubborn girl back then...

It was just that by now, her temperament had long since been worn down.

"My family won't let me."

At the mention of this, Nalan Yanran suddenly wilted like a deflated balloon.

"Your family..."

Yun Yun felt a little melancholy.

Sometimes she had also thought about going out into the world, wandering across the Northwest Continent, going to Central State.

But she could not put down the entire sect.

Yun Shan's lifespan was nearly exhausted, and after hastily entrusting the sect to her, he went into seclusion at the Back Mountain. To this day, whether he lived or died was unknown.

What else could she do...

She had to learn to rein herself in, had to turn a blind eye to that dazzling world, had to learn to be amiable, had to shave away all that youthful immaturity... Once a bird had been caged for too long, it forgot how to fly.

Yun Yun looked at Nalan again, unable to stop herself.

This girl was more stubborn than she had been back then. Far more stubborn. Only at a time like this could she realize how annoying she herself had once been.

"If it's you, you should be able to fly..."

"Huh? I'm only at Dou Qi. How could I possibly fly?"

"There's a bird watching over the nest. The little bird really can fly out and go wherever it wants." Yun Yun spoke in vague, unclear words and reached out to ruffle her head. Nalan did not resist much.

The little girl did not understand what the big sister was saying, but she could feel that the other party's mood had suddenly dipped. Comforting her a little was fine too.

"Want to go out for a look?" Yun Yun suddenly asked.

"Now?"

"That's right. Right now."

Yun Yun rose with a smile. "Weren't you very interested in the Apprentice Recruitment Ceremony? Then move closer and have a look. Or is there somewhere else you'd like to go?"

"That's... not really appropriate, is it?"

Seeing that Nalan Yanran was clearly tempted, the maid felt her whole body go numb. "Miss!"

If anything happened, she would never escape responsibility.

"Don't worry!" Nalan waved it off carelessly. "I won't run too far. You just wait here!"

"Is the Sect Master still not here?" Nalan sat on the steps, her cheek pressed against her sword as she swayed back and forth.

Although she had someone to chat with, she had still grown a little bored from waiting.

"If you're tired, sit up there and rest," Yun Yun said with a smile.

"Huh? The Sect Master won't get angry?"

"She won't."

"Then that's fine~" As expected, Nalan plopped herself down on it. "So cold, and kind of hard too. Why would the Sect Master like this kind of seat?"

"The Sect Master doesn't like it either~"

"Then why not change it?"

"Would you leave your own home behind and live freely outside?"

"What does that have to do with this..." Nalan Yanran grumbled.

"Then let me ask another way." Yun Yun took off her hood, revealing the hairpin ornaments she had just put on. Her expression was somewhat serious. "Would you abandon the Nalan Family?"

The question came so suddenly that Nalan did not know what to do for a moment. "What?"

"Once you enter Misty Cloud Sect, from now on, you are a member of Misty Cloud Sect."

"But I'm a daughter of the Nalan Family." Nalan Yanran's brows furrowed.

Yun Yun continued as if speaking to herself. "From now on, you must change your surname to 'Yun'..."

"On what grounds? So many people don't have to change theirs!"

"Yes, but you need to." Yun Yun's expression was extremely serious.

Nalan Yanran stared at her quietly without saying a word, as if thinking, and as if observing.

Yun Yun waited for a long time, but when Nalan finally spoke, it was only to say, "The clothes you're wearing are very pretty."

"If you like them, I can give them to you."

Another stretch of silence followed.

"Are you the Sect Master of Misty Cloud Sect?"

"That's right."

"My name is Nalan Yanran. I am a daughter of the Nalan Family, and a disciple of Misty Cloud Sect. What's wrong with that?"

"You won't be able to get what you want anymore," Yun Yun sighed.

"My father gave birth to me, and I grew up in the Nalan Family. On what grounds do I become Misty Cloud Sect's!" Nalan Yanran shot to her feet in anger, standing right there on the Sect Master's seat.

"So you're going to give up on your goal?"

Yun Yun asked a question that struck straight at the soul.

Nalan Yanran grew a little flustered. In the end, she slowly lowered her head, bit her lip, and stubbornly made one last stand. "Birds still know their own nests!"

The lingering echo drifted through the empty hall and did not fade for a long while.

Gradually, a few low, choking sobs joined that sound, only to be cut off almost at once.

As if she were terrified someone might notice.

Yun Yun walked up the steps and sat on the stone seat. "Doesn't holding it in hurt?"

"None of your business!" Nalan wiped at her face.

"Didn't you want to fight for the best? Now it's right in front of you. Are you really willing to give up just like that?"

Yun Yun patted her back, signaling for her to sit down. "You have to remember, every choice already has a price marked on it. The world will not simply bend to your wishful thinking."

"You have to learn to compromise, not just act according to your temper."

It sounded as though she were speaking to Nalan, and also as though she were speaking to herself.

"Sect Master!"

Nalan Yanran suddenly raised her head, her reddened eyes filled with stubbornness. "But if I really give up on the Nalan Family... wouldn't Misty Cloud Sect be the same too?!"

"You..."

Yun Yun's pupils shrank. Her lips moved, but not a single sound came out.

"Heh."

Nalan Yanran wiped her face and smiled. "I like better things—within the range I can reach."

Dear readers, do you want to see more of the supporting characters, or more of the protagonist...? To continue adding some explanation—since I've already started, I might as well try to write it every chapter. It's only one or two thousand words anyway—Nalan here is a smelly little brat whose words and actions don't always match, and who stubbornly clings to certain ideas. But that stubborn look caught Yun Yun's interest a little, and her talent really is quite good.

So... might as well abduct her back as a disciple.