On the morning after the banquet, Bai Youyou stood on the training platform on Cold Moon Peak's Back Mountain, holding a freshly plucked bamboo leaf. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed its veins, but her gaze rested on the churning sea of clouds in the distance. There was no telling what she was thinking.
A black-clad figure emerged soundlessly from the end of the mountain path.
Dressed in black with a black veil, her figure was slender as a willow, and she landed without a sound.
She stopped ten paces away and gave a slight bow, looking through the morning mist at the white-clad figure on the training platform.
"Junior Sister, Master sent me to pass on a message."
The masked woman did not approach. "Martial Aunt's old injuries have flared up. I'm afraid she isn't what she used to be. She said that if you still cherish your ties to the Netherworld Palace, you should go back and see her. There are some things she wants to make clear to you in person."
"When did this happen?"
"When I came down the mountain three days ago, she could still sit up and read the scriptures for a while."
Bai Youyou fell silent for a moment.
She turned to look at the masked woman, her gaze as tranquil as a pool strewn with fallen autumn leaves.
"All right. I'll go back with you."
The masked woman said nothing more. She merely nodded slightly, turned, and left along the mountain path.
Bai Youyou stood there for a long time.
That afternoon, Bai Youyou packed a small storage pouch and placed it on the stone table outside the Bamboo Hut.
Lin Shisan came out of the hut and saw the storage pouch, his gaze lingering briefly on its drawstring.
"Youyou, are you going to..."