Yin Wujou Wujiu picked her up and carried her horizontally. This time, Snow Empress didn't struggle; she was simply too weak. She buried her face in his chest and mumbled, "Shameful."
"Nobody saw it." Yin Wujou carried her and strode towards the courtyard. "Your words in the main hall were brilliant. Those elders turned green with envy; I saw it all clearly from behind. What's so embarrassing? You looked incredibly impressive."
Snow Empress chuckled softly in his arms, the vibration of her chest traveling through the fabric to Yin Wujou's arm. He didn't look down at her, but simply lifted her up a little to hold her more securely, his steps quick and steady as he walked through the bamboo forest.
Back in the courtyard, Yin Wujou helped her back onto the couch and poured her some warm water. Snow Empress drank the water and leaned against the headboard for a while before recovering. Watching Yin Wujou moving around the room packing his things, she suddenly asked, " Yin Wujou, when are you going back to the Demon Domain?"
Yin Wujou paused for a moment, righted a tilted teacup, turned around, leaned against the edge of the table, and looked at her. "What, in such a hurry to get rid of me?"
"No," the Snow Empress shook her head, "You are, after all, the ruler of a region, and the Demon Domain Realm cannot remain without anyone. You are injured and need to go back to recuperate; the Demonic Qi of the Demon Domain will be more beneficial to your recovery."
Yin Wujou was silent for a moment, then said, "I do need to go back. There are some things that need to be taken care of. There are also a few troublemakers in the Demon Domain Realm; if I'm gone for too long, they'll think I'm dead."
Snow Empress nodded. "Then... when are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow," Yin Wujou said.
Snow Empress lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously stroking the corner of the blanket. The room was quiet for a moment, the bamboo grove outside rustling. After a while, she said softly, "Then don't sleep on the chair tonight. The tatami mat is big enough; you can have half of it, I'll give it to you."
Yin Wujou paused for a moment, then smiled. There was no trace of wickedness in that smile, nor his usual mockery; it was just an extremely simple smile, even the corners of his eyes curved. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the couch, took off his boots and leaned against the other side. The two of them were about an arm's length apart, each leaning against their own pillows. Moonlight from outside the window leaked in through the windowpane, spreading a silvery white carpet on the floor.
" Snow Empress," Yin Wujou spoke in the darkness.
"Um."
"You asked me where I went before," Yin Wujou said. "Someone like your master, once he lets go of his obsessions, is at ease wherever he goes. Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about yourself. You've damaged your foundation this time, and it won't be able to recover in thirty to fifty years. In the future, take on less of the Ziwei Sect's affairs, and don't shoulder everything yourself."
Snow Empress turned her head to look at him in the darkness. The moonlight only illuminated half of his face, highlighting his features, and his eyes shone like two cold stars in the shadows. She said, " Yin Wujou, are you concerned about me?"
"Obviously," Yin Wujou said lazily, "If you ruin yourself, there will be one less person in this world who will be willing to talk to me."
You have many people with you.
"No," Yin Wujou said. "Not a single one. Those people in the Demon Domain are either afraid of me or want to kill me. You're the first one to treat me as an equal. So don't die, live a long life."
Snow Empress paused for a moment, then softly hummed in the darkness.
Neither of them spoke. The moonlight outside the window gradually moved, climbing from the ground to the wall, and then from the wall to the top of the curtains. The rustling of the bamboo leaves was like an endless lullaby, stretching the tranquility of the night long and soft.
The next morning, when Yin Wujou left, Snow Empress was still asleep. He stood by the bed and watched her for a while. Her breathing was more steady than the night before, and her complexion had regained some color. She slept peacefully, one hand resting on the pillow, her fingertips slightly curled, as if holding something unseen. Yin Wujou took the black stone Source of Chaos from his robes and gently placed it beside her pillow. Then he took out a Xuantie token from his sleeve and placed it on the table. The front of the token was engraved with an ancient character "Yin," and the back had a line of smaller characters. "The holder of this token may travel freely in the three cities of the Demon Domain."
After doing all this, he turned and went out the door. The morning breeze from the bamboo forest rushed towards him, carrying the scent of dew and grass. He stood at the courtyard gate and looked back one last time, then lightly touched the ground with his toes, transforming into a dark stream of light and rising into the sky, heading towards the Demon Domain in the northwest.
When Snow Empress woke up, there was a cold stone beside her pillow. She turned her head and saw the Source of Chaos lying there quietly, then she saw the token on the table. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the small characters on the back of the token. She reached out and picked up the token, holding it in her palm. The cold, hard touch of the Xuantie came from her hand. She put the token and the Source of Chaos into her bosom, got up and walked to the window, and opened it. The morning light poured in, dewdrops clung to the tips of bamboo leaves, and the wind carried the fragrance of grass.
Yin Wujou had already left. But on the windowsill sat a wildflower in full bloom, purple in color, which he had picked from somewhere, its petals still glistening with morning dew.
Snow Empress picked up the flower, looked at it for a long time, and then put it into the empty teacup on the table that had been dry for who knows how many years.
The morning bell of the Ziwei Sect rang. The long, clear sound of the bell pierced through the thin mist and echoed among the mountains. A new day had begun.
In the days that followed, Snow Empress began to sort out the long-standing affairs of the Ziwei Sect that had accumulated over hundreds of years. With Perfected Qingxuan gone, the Council of Elders still existed, but it was leaderless, and many things that had been kept secret for years surfaced. As the acting sect leader, she convened a sect assembly, gathering all the disciples in the main peak square, and publicly announced the completion of the sealing of the Source of Chaos, while also revealing the fact that the Council of Elders had been hoarding Chaos fragments for three hundred years. The crowd below was in an uproar, the disciples whispered among themselves, and the elders looked extremely grim, but Snow Empress stood high above, her white robes fluttering in the wind, her voice calm and clear, yet it drowned out all the noise.
"Past transgressions will be forgiven, but from this day forward, no one in the Ziwei Sect may possess any ancient forbidden artifacts. I will report this matter to all the major sects so that we can jointly establish an agreement, witnessed by the entire world."
After she finished speaking, her gaze swept over the densely packed crowd below the stage. The eyes of the young disciples flickered with complex emotions: shock, admiration, confusion, and a secret sense of relief. Snow Empress didn't explain further; she simply waved to end the meeting and then turned to return to the back mountain.
Back in the courtyard, she first took out the Xuantie token left by Yin Wujou and examined it closely on the table. Then she picked up the purple flower that had been stuck in the teacup—it was wilted, and the edges of the petals were curling and turning brown. She pulled the flower out, went into the courtyard, dug a small hole in the soil in the corner of the wall, and buried the flower in it. Then she went back into the house to deal with the mountain of documents.
The daily affairs of the Ziwei Sect were far more complicated than she had imagined. Disciple assessments, allocation of spiritual fields, pill refining, maintenance of magical artifacts, diplomatic relations with other sects... every single matter required someone to make a decision.