Nalan Yanran as a Maid

"Teacher, what exactly happened to make you so angry?"

Once everyone had left, the council hall suddenly felt empty. Only the Misty Cloud Sect's former sect master, current sect master, and future sect master remained. Only then did Yun Yun walk gracefully over to Yun Congxin and offer him a freshly brewed cup of tea.

"Who else but that fine disciple of yours? And that brainless fool Yun Leng! I had barely emerged from seclusion before I found those old fossils in the imperial capital laughing at my expense!" Yun Congxin glanced at Yun Yun's gentle smile and accepted the tea she offered.

After taking a sip, Yun Congxin found the tea delightfully fragrant. Though its taste was rather strange at first, it left an endlessly lingering aftertaste. It truly was a superior brew.

Seeing his expression relax, Yun Yun knew her teacher's anger had mostly subsided. She hurried to strike while the iron was hot, speaking softly. "These tea leaves were a gift from the outer sect steward, Gu Qingfeng. He discovered a seedling in the Tagor Desert, brought it back to our country, and carefully cultivated it. It recently yielded some premium leaves. As it happened, Mr. Gu He had invited me to the desert to attend to a few matters, so I brought some back. Its flavor was so extraordinary that I saved some especially for you, Teacher."

Though Yun Yun was inept at managing the sect and a complete amateur when it came to outsiders' schemes and deceit, no one in the entire Misty Cloud Sect could rival her at smoothing Yun Shan's ruffled feathers.

Strangely enough, that old fellow Yun Shan had never cared for women, nor had he shown any interest in carrying on his bloodline. He was a workaholic who devoted himself entirely to cultivation and sect affairs. Yet this hard-bitten virgin had somehow come to regard Yun Yun as his own daughter. Not only had Yun Shan taken her as his final disciple and personally taught her cultivation methods and combat skills, he had even passed on his ultimate life-saving techniques.

Had his allotted lifespan not been nearing its end, forcing him to stake everything on breaking through to Dou Zong, Yun Shan probably would not even have wanted her to shoulder the burden of being sect master.

"She need only live freely, without a care. The Misty Cloud Sect will be her backing and support, but never her burden!"

Honestly, even a biological daughter could have expected no better treatment.

Savoring the tea's fragrance and the bitterness of those memories, Yun Congxin could not help letting the faintest curve touch his lips.

Still, he stubbornly refused to soften his words. "Don't try to stop my mouth with these little offerings. Tell me, do you know what happened within the Misty Cloud Sect while I was in seclusion?"

Yun Yun naturally took the cup he handed back, as obedient and considerate as a dutiful daughter looking after her elderly father.

"Teacher, you know I've never been good at those mundane affairs. All these years, while you were in life-or-death seclusion..."

Yun Congxin lightly flicked Yun Yun's forehead and said helplessly, "Enough. I haven't even blamed you yet, and you're already blaming me instead. In any case, I've emerged from seclusion now. If you don't want to shoulder the burden of sect master, then don't."

Before the beaming Yun Yun could answer, Yun Congxin abruptly changed tack. "But there's one thing you must understand. Having your teacher to back you up doesn't mean you can carry on recklessly as you used to. Since you can't shoulder the sect master's burden for the time being, start as the junior sect master instead. Sooner or later, you'll still have to take this seat. Otherwise, wouldn't we be breaking the rules? Remember, your name has already been carved onto our Misty Cloud Sect's Sect Stele."

Yun Yun blinked. "Of course I understand all that. But if I become the junior sect master, what will happen to Yanran?"

A mature beauty acting cute was the deadliest weapon of all. But with Yun Congxin's grand plan to coast through life at stake, he certainly could not give ground.

"Nalan Yanran," Yun Congxin called softly.

"Present." Nalan Yanran, who had been standing before her seat feeling each day drag on like a year, hurriedly answered.

As Yun Congxin looked at Nalan Yanran bowing obediently before him, the descriptions that sprang to mind were either a modest, well-bred young lady or a refined daughter of a noble household. Had he not already known what she had done, he would never have connected this well-mannered lady with the precious little fairy who had ground the Xiao Clan's face beneath her heel.

He had originally imagined Nalan Yanran as some cucumber spirit spouting, "Girlies, does anyone get me?" or else a savage, rude, and overbearing girl.

Who would have thought she actually knew her manners!

"I heard you made a wager with that boy. If you lost, you would become his slave or maid. Is that correct?"

Nalan Yanran's slender body trembled, but she quickly came to terms with it. In a calm voice, she said, "Yes. I agreed with Xiao Yan that if I lost the three-year agreement, I would willingly... become his slave or maid!"

Yun Congxin rolled his eyes. He raised a hand to tell Yun Yun, who was about to plead for Nalan Yanran, to remain calm, then said, "Children really have no sense of proportion."

"But since you made the wager, you must accept defeat. That boy knows when to advance and when to retreat. He won't take you as his slave. For the dignified junior sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect to beg to become someone else's maid would only make us a laughingstock."

"How about this? I've just emerged from seclusion, and I happen to need a maid to serve tea and water, grind ink, and run errands. Are you willing?"

"Teacher..." Yun Yun still could not stop herself from pleading for Nalan Yanran. Being demoted from junior sect master to maid was like falling from the clouds to the earth. The blow was no less devastating than Xiao Yan's fall from genius to worthless failure.

Yun Congxin stopped Yun Yun's pleas. He looked at Nalan Yanran and quietly waited for her answer.

"I am willing." Though Nalan Yanran tried hard to appear calm, her voice trembled uncontrollably. She was only seventeen, after all. How could she truly remain unmoved by honor or disgrace?

"Good. Go pack your things, then, and move out of the junior sect master's courtyard." Yun Congxin waved to dismiss Nalan Yanran. "There's a side room in my courtyard. Move in there."

"Understood." Nalan Yanran neither pleaded nor begged for mercy. She kowtowed once each to Yun Congxin and Yun Yun, then left without another word.

Perhaps the battle earlier had left her with some injuries. Nalan Yanran's steps faltered, making her seem utterly lost and dispirited.

"Teacher!" Watching Nalan Yanran's dejected figure leave, Yun Yun grew so anxious that she cried out without thinking.

"Ah, this old sect master commands less respect by the day. Even you dare shout at me now, girl," Yun Congxin sighed.

"Teacher, Yanran may have done wrong, but surely making her reflect on her mistakes in the rear mountains would have been enough. Why..." Flustered by her anxiety, Yun Yun only realized after speaking that her words had been too harsh, and she abruptly fell silent.

"Why show her so little mercy, is that it?" Yun Congxin finished for her with a smile.

"It's precisely because she's still a child that I'm giving her this chance. If she were like those snobs in the Nalan Family, I would have expelled her from the Misty Cloud Sect long ago!"

"Rest assured. When have I ever mistreated one of our own? That side room is where you lived back then, not some filthy hole. Having her serve me tea and water will let her become familiar with sect affairs sooner, so she can help you in the future. Having her run errands will temper her character and clear her head, so she doesn't end up as foolish as that fellow Yun Leng!"

"You've never liked navigating social relationships and worldly dealings, girl, but what sect master can truly leave everything to others? Someone has to do these things, don't they?"

"My mind is made up. Say no more!"