Returning to Yungui Mountain

"Creak—"

The heavy wooden door of the side room was pushed open from outside, not particularly gently. Afternoon sunlight poured in through the opening, casting a dazzling patch of light across the floor. Two nimble white figures darted in right behind it.

They were truly a pair of unmistakable "white fluffballs."

Naturally, Yi Jiang was in the lead. She seemed to have taken special care with her appearance today, though her long silver-white hair still bounced into a few playful wisps as she ran, and the simple pearl ornament in it trembled. A sweet smile, fixed on a clear target, lit her face. The moment she entered, her violet eyes locked onto Yun Lan, as if her master and the solemn atmosphere filling the room didn't exist. Her steps were light, carrying the casual confidence of someone who had every right to burst in. Her skirts fluttered as she darted forward, like a little beast that had finally found its den.

Her younger sister, Yi Xuan, followed close behind. She had the same snow-white hair, but a quieter air about her. Her steps weren't as urgent as her sister's; she simply followed steadily. She pressed her lips together, her eyes clear. First, she quickly glanced at Yun Lan to make sure he was safe and sound, then turned to their master with a hint of apology and gave a small, respectful nod.

Even so, the way she stood beside Yi Jiang clearly showed that they would face anything together.

One was still and the other lively, yet both had striking white hair and delicate features. Their sudden entrance into the somber room brought more than sunlight and a gust of air. Their vibrant presence instantly swept away some of the heaviness in the conversation.

Only after they had entered the room did they notice there was someone else inside.

Yi Jiang was the first to ask, "Young Master, who is this...?"

Rather than directly asking the newcomer who she was, she turned to Yun Lan. Her manner seemed deferential, but in truth, she firmly kept the right to define and explain things between herself and Yun Lan. Beside her, Yi Xuan stayed silent, but quietly lifted her eyes. Her cool gaze settled on Ye Shunguang, filled with the same curiosity and scrutiny.

The air in the room seemed to still for a moment at that brief question. Their master stroked his beard and watched from the sidelines, his eyes brimming with interest.

Yun Lan took in Yi Jiang's subtle wariness and gave a helpless inward smile. His expression remained unchanged, still gentle as ever. His gaze swept over Ye Shunguang, who seemed a little ill at ease, then returned to the twins. In a steady voice, he delivered the first "thunderclap" of the day, just as expected:

"This is Ye Shunguang." He paused, then said clearly, "I brought her back."

"Assuming nothing unexpected happens," his gaze passed over Yi Jiang's suddenly tightened lips and Yi Xuan's slightly widened eyes as he delivered his final verdict, "she'll be your junior sister from now on."

Ye Shunguang's slightly defiant voice broke the brief silence. She raised her face to look at Yun Lan, confusion and determination reflected in her clear eyes. "Brother, but I gave my letter of intent to become your disciple to you, didn't I?" Her direct question also hinted that there might have been some earlier, more direct arrangement between her and Yun Lan.

At her words, Yun Lan's gentle smile deepened, mixed with the helpless indulgence he showed only to those close to him. He naturally reached out and ruffled Ye Shunguang's hair, his familiar, affectionate gesture accompanied by an even softer, coaxing voice. "Didn't I say I'd think about it?" He paused, then addressed her even more fondly. "Be good, Xiao Guang."

That word, "good," and the completely unreserved way he patted her head were like a stone tossed into still water. The ripples they raised, however, carried a scorching heat.

Yi Jiang took in the entire scene. Deep in her violet eyes, her usual sweet smile abruptly froze, as though a passing cloud had suddenly blotted out the sun. A shadowy expression flashed across her face. It was hard to tell what she felt: astonishment, a sharp pang of hurt, or perhaps something deeper that she was desperately trying to suppress. But she maintained her poised composure, only the line of her jaw tightening slightly.

She didn't look at Ye Shunguang again. Instead, she turned her gaze back to Yun Lan, even managing to curve her lips into a smile once more, though it was faint and distant. She spoke softly, yet clearly enough for everyone to hear, with a deliberately composed, neither humble nor overbearing calm. Still, her words carried a chilling undertone:

"So Young Master's travels down the mountain were just a pretext," she paused, her gaze shifting before finally flicking toward Ye Shunguang, "and he really went out of his way to find us a 'junior sister' and bring her back."

Her words were clever. She framed Yun Lan's decision to bring Ye Shunguang back on his own as something he had done for "them," immediately drawing the newcomer into the relationship she had defined between "us" and "Young Master." At the same time, the word "out of his way" cast the whole affair as something with ulterior motives, perhaps even something that threatened to dilute what made them special.

Yun Lan immediately heard the barb in her words. He withdrew his hand from Ye Shunguang's head, frowned slightly, and looked at Yi Jiang with an earnest, explanatory expression. "Yi Jiang, don't talk nonsense."

His gaze swept over Ye Shunguang's beautiful, even somewhat luxurious clothes, and he recalled the circumstances she had been in before. His voice grew heavier, earnest in its attempt to make everyone understand. "Xiao Guang... hasn't had an easy life. I brought her back for the same reason I brought you two back."

He tried to smooth over the differences by saying "the same," emphasizing the good intentions behind his actions. Yet to Yi Jiang, that might have been the most grating part of all.

"The same"?

How could it possibly be the same?

She and Yi Xuan were unique. Without Young Master, their world would have collapsed long ago. He had rebuilt their "world." How could that bond ever be "the same" as what he shared with someone else?

Yi Jiang didn't immediately argue. Her faint smile only deepened, while the shadows in her eyes seemed to settle into an even deeper pool. She lowered her eyes slightly, her long white lashes fluttering like butterfly wings as they hid all the emotions surging within her. She merely murmured, "Is that so... Young Master has always been so kind."

The words sounded like agreement, but her unnaturally calm tone and the way she no longer looked at Yun Lan clearly told a different story. The air seemed even more oppressive than before. A silent, icy tension had spread through the room after Yun Lan's explanation that he had brought them back for the same reason. Far from dissipating, it quietly thickened with Yi Jiang's silence and her response, which revealed nothing of what she felt.

"All right, all right. This is no place for you siblings to argue. Out, all of you!" Their master, Xuan Mingzi, had watched enough of the drama, so he started ushering everyone out.