Dai Mubai's face abruptly turned pale. His mouth hung open, but no words came out.
He first stepped half a pace back, then suddenly stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Zhu Zhuqing.
"You... how old are you this year?"
"Twelve," Zhu Zhuqing said.
"You, you're... when you were little, you lived in..."
"Star Luo City," Zhu Zhuqing answered truthfully.
Dai Mubai swallowed slowly.
"You... back then..."
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip. She slowly turned her head to look at Dai Mubai.
Moonlight filtered through the flower trellis, falling across the blond youth's shoulders.
Dai Mubai trembled slightly, the pupils of his mismatched red and blue eyes quivering.
Tears filled his eyes. He desperately held them back, refusing to let them fall.
Zhu Zhuqing seemed to make a connection. Her lips moved, and she asked shakily, "You're... Sister Mu?"
Dai Mubai did not answer. His tears fell first.
He took several steps forward, moving faster and faster, until he finally pulled Zhu Zhuqing into his arms and held her tight.
"Yes, it's me. I'm your Sister Mu." He sobbed so hard he could barely breathe, his voice completely hoarse.
"You silly girl, you're alive... why didn't you come find me? Why didn't you remember me... I searched for you for so many years. I thought you were dead! Do you know that? Your sister thought you were dead..."
Zhu Zhuqing ached from the strength of his embrace.
Amid the pain, an emotion seemed to creep into her heart, little by little.
Those empty years, those dreams she could never piece together, suddenly found a place to belong.
She opened her mouth, tears pattering onto Dai Mubai's gray clothes.
"So... it really was you..."
"It was me! Of course it was me! Who else would have risked their life to protect you like that?"
The two held each other, dissolving into tears.
Li Hanqiu sat beside the stone table and slowly took a sip of tea.
He seemed to be pondering something, uncertainty clouding his expression.
After quite a while, their sobbing gradually subsided.
Dai Mubai roughly wiped his face with his sleeve, then turned to look at Li Hanqiu.
His eyes were red and swollen, the tip of his nose slightly flushed, but his golden eyes shone brilliantly.
"Li Hanqiu."
His voice was hoarse.
"I... always thought you were that sort of person. I misjudged you."
"It's all right. You were born into royalty, where being a woman is a shackle from birth.
"When you hate a house, you hate even the crow perched on its roof. I can more or less guess why you loathe men so much."
Li Hanqiu set down his teacup. "You weren't wrong, and neither was I.
"There are simply too many wicked people in this world, forcing good people to misunderstand one another."
As Dai Mubai listened, his chest ached and swelled.
He raised his eyes to Li Hanqiu. All his former wariness melted away, leaving only tenderness flowing like water in his gaze.
Dai Mubai thought:
I once despised him from the bottom of my heart, filled with disgust, stubbornly branding him a despicable pervert.
Even though I twisted everything he did and judged him without cause, he never took offense. Faced with all that criticism, he merely smiled calmly, disdaining to offer even a word in his defense.
At that thought, the usually proud Dai Mubai felt his face burn.
His former condescending contempt had now turned entirely into a heavy burden of guilt.
Alongside that guilt, a thread of hazy longing sprouted in his heart. His gaze lingered on Li Hanqiu, his emotions tangled.
Just as longing stirred within Dai Mubai, Li Hanqiu rose with a smile and said before leaving:
"You sisters have plenty to catch up on. Take your time. I'll head back first."
A flicker of resolve crossed Dai Mubai's eyes. Suddenly, he clenched his fists and stamped his foot. "I want to follow you."
Li Hanqiu raised his eyebrows and blinked in confusion.
"I, I don't just want to study under you." Dai Mubai took a deep breath. "I also want to be Zhu Zhuqing's senior disciple, to belong to the same school as her.
"I want to protect her. From now on, if anyone dares bully her again, I'll be the first to stand against them!"
With that, Dai Mubai stepped forward and dropped to one knee beneath the wisteria-laden trellis and the moonlight.
"Li Hanqiu... no, Teacher, please accept me as your disciple."
"I was at fault before. I misjudged you. Now I know you're a good person, and I'm willing to stake my life on becoming your disciple."
His voice rang out loud and clear, every word as decisive as severing nails and cutting iron.
Li Hanqiu stroked his chin in thought. At the sight, Dai Mubai panicked.
He thought Li Hanqiu did not consider him worthy, then remembered the wrong things he had done before.
In his desperation, Dai Mubai tilted his head up and blurted out instinctively:
"You have to accept me, whether you want to or not!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the youth realized how inappropriate they were.
His haughty expression instantly froze. His cheeks grew warm, and his flustered gaze darted away.
Much of his pride evaporated, leaving him at a loss.
Standing behind him, Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together and smiled softly, her tears not yet dry.
Li Hanqiu looked down at him, also smiling faintly without a word.
"Get up."
Dai Mubai stayed where he was, lowering his head in embarrassment, his earlobes crimson.
"Promise me first, and then I'll get up."
"I promise," Li Hanqiu said.
Only then did Dai Mubai look up and meet his gaze. Li Hanqiu was looking at him gently, a faint smile still on his lips.
"Get up," Li Hanqiu repeated. "Even if you kowtow a few more times, you still won't become the eldest senior disciple."
"You, you've agreed to accept me?!" Dai Mubai broke into a radiant smile and finally stood.
The instant he straightened, that cold voice rang out in Li Hanqiu's mind once more.
[Disciple accepted successfully: Dai Mubai (female).] [Manga Grandmaster System: rewards issued.] [Reward: Secret Art · Soul Armor (Martial Soul Avatar Armor) cultivation method.] [Reward: host's Soul Power +1 level.] [Reward: White Jade Green Lotus Dew ×1. Can neutralize a hundred poisons, regenerate flesh, and invigorate blood.]
Li Hanqiu betrayed nothing, sweeping his gaze over the lines and quickly reading them.
Martial Soul Avatar Armor, Soul Armor...
Sure enough, it's here.
He raised his eyes to the two young people before him, both fresh from crying.
One had tousled blond hair, the other loose black hair. Each looked more bedraggled than the other, yet both stood straight-backed, their eyes shining.
Li Hanqiu smiled. Well, that's another disciple.
"All right, it's the middle of the night. Don't stand out here in the wind. Tomorrow, I'll take you to formally meet your senior sisters."
Dai Mubai murmured his assent, then suddenly turned his face away.
"Li Han... Teacher, you're not allowed to tell anyone how hard I cried just now. Hurry up and forget it!"
"Too late," Li Hanqiu said. "I have an excellent memory."
"You!"
Beside them, Zhu Zhuqing called softly, "Sister Mu."
Dai Mubai stiffened, the tips of his ears instantly turning scarlet.
"...Don't call me something so mushy."
"Then what should I call you?"
"Call me... forget it. Whatever you like."
The two siblings walked out side by side, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.
Li Hanqiu stood beneath the wisteria, his hands clasped behind his back, watching them leave with a relieved smile on his lips.
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