Ren Bin’s body stiffened.
That voice—he knew it all too well.
Wasn’t that Moyan?
They had just met this afternoon.
Surely not… Did she really chase him all the way here?
Just because he left in a hurry?
She wasn’t that spoiled, unreasonable little girl anymore.
Now, as the sect leader, did she really have nothing better to do?
“Who is it?”
Yuxian set down the wooden box in her hands.
“Moyan. You remember her, right?”
“Oh, her…”Ren Bin rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had imagined it.
Did he just see a flash of coldness in Yuxian’s eyes?
“So it’s Senior Sister Moyan. It’s been so long—of course, we should welcome her properly.”
With that, she moved toward the door.
“Uh… Yuxian? Could you… put down the pestle first?”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“You’re wel— Huh???”
“Wait, why are you grabbing your sword?! Aren’t we just greeting a guest?!”
Moyan stood outside the door, arms crossed, her face puffed up in anger.
This bastard…Back when she was still the Holy Maiden of Taiheng Sect and he was the rising star of the sword path, he would at least listen to her when she called out to him.
Now that she was the sect leader and he was her subordinate, he outright ignored her!
Unbelievable!
Back then, because of the old sect leader’s manipulations, she had been hopelessly infatuated with him, always finding excuses to pester him…Now, she just wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in shame.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got—her embarrassment turning into outright fury.
“……”The wooden door slowly creaked open.
Moyan, who had been fuming and looking around, immediately snapped her gaze forward.
“Ren Bin, you finally— Huh?”
But the person standing at the door wasn’t the clean-cut young man she expected—it was a coldly beautiful woman.
She blinked, staring blankly for several seconds before finally stammering:”Yuxian?”
That face… She knew it far too well.
A sword cultivation genius who once rivaled Ren Bin, with an icy, stunning beauty—revered by the sect’s disciples as the Sword Fairy.
And back then, she had been Moyan’s biggest rival.
Just thinking about it made her burn with humiliation.
Ren Bin only had eyes for Yuxian back then, doting on her every day while completely ignoring Moyan.
It had driven her so mad that she spent her days in her cave stabbing pins into a Yuxian voodoo doll.
“So it’s Senior Sister Moyan.”
Yuxian met Moyan’s gaze indifferently, her stance unmoving—showing no intention of letting her in.
Moyan shivered.
This feeling… It was just like what she’d experienced earlier this afternoon.
“Junior Sister Yuxian… When did you return?”
Moyan clearly remembered—after the incident six years ago, Yuxian had left the sect to seek opportunities elsewhere.
At that time, she had been at the Liaoxu Late Stage.
What level was she at now?
Moyan tried to sense her aura, but Yuxian had already suppressed it completely, giving her no chance.
“Senior Sister Moyan, what brings you here?”
Seeing that Moyan had no intention of leaving, Yuxian frowned, her impatience showing.
“Ahem… It’s been so long since I last saw you, Junior Sister. I was just surprised—I almost forgot my real business.”
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to peek behind Yuxian:”Is Ren Bin here? I need to talk to him.”
“About what?”
“Uh… Just some matters regarding Huazhu Peak.”
“Then there’s nothing to discuss.”
Yuxian didn’t budge an inch.
“Huazhu Peak’s spiritual energy is nearly depleted. There are no disciples or elders left, and the library has been completely emptied.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“As the sect leader, surely you already knew that?”
“Huazhu Peak has no value left. Please leave.”
Moyan:Grrr! This bitch with her stuck-up face!!!
Who does she think I am?!
Some kind of greedy villain who only cares about squeezing benefits from Huazhu Peak?!
But she had no retort—because she had wronged Huazhu Peak… and she didn’t have the courage to confront Yuxian.
Why didn’t she have the courage?
She was the sect leader now, respected by everyone in the sect—so why was it only these two senior-junior siblings from Huazhu Peak that she couldn’t stand up to?
“…I’m not here to take anything from Huazhu Peak.”
Still unwilling to leave, she could only lower her status and whisper carefully:”Junior Sister Yuxian… Please, just let me see Ren Bin. I really have something important to discuss with him.”
“Should we let her in?”
Ren Bin tentatively sent a voice transmission from behind Yuxian.
Yuxian didn’t answer.
She just glanced back at him coldly—and Ren Bin immediately felt a chill run down his neck, retreating without another word.
“Come in.”
After hesitating for a moment, Yuxian finally stepped aside, motioning for Moyan to enter.
Moyan hurried forward.
“We don’t have extra shoes. The floor was just cleaned, so take yours off.”
Yuxian’s tone was indifferent.
Moyan nodded obediently, removing her snow-covered boots and clasping her hands in front of her waist as she stepped inside—looking unusually reserved.
Ren Bin wore a bitter expression as he ground medicinal herbs.
When he saw Mo Yan enter, he gave her a polite nod.
“Please, have a seat…”He gestured toward the chair across from him.
Mo Yan glanced at Yu Xian, then cautiously sat down.
Her legs were tightly pressed together, and the toes beneath her black stockings curled like flower buds yet to bloom.
Chen Boyu, who was sitting beside Ren Bin miserably copying lines as punishment, suddenly lit up.
“Master, are you going to discuss something important with Sect Leader Sister?”
“…”
She had already been planning to sneak away.
But Shiniang’s presence was simply too overwhelming—there was no escape from her control.
Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
Her master had been right all along: Shiniang was a demon.
Absolutely terrifying.
Smack.
A light tap landed on her shoulder.
Chen Boyu stiffened and turned around with teary eyes.
Yu Xian looked down at her with a stern face.
“Go into the bedroom with Shuyao.”
“I’ll be checking later. If I find out you’ve been slacking off…”Somehow, a bamboo stick had mysteriously appeared in her hand.
“…Got it?”
“Y-Yes! (sniffle…)”She suddenly found herself missing the days when Master was the one disciplining her.
Compared to Shiniang, Master had been way too gentle.
Clutching her writing materials in one hand and holding Shuyao’s hand with the other, Chen Boyu sniffled as she disappeared into the bedroom.
“Hm? These two girls…”Mo Yan looked on curiously.
“Are they both your disciples?”
“Not both,” Ren Bin replied with a smile.
“The older one is my second disciple. The younger one is my daughter.”
“Oh, the other one is your—wait, WHAT?!”
Mo Yan jolted upright in shock.
“Your daughter?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Ren Bin’s voice held a note of pride.
“Your biological daughter? Not adopted?”
“Of course she’s my biological daughter.”
Mo Yan gulped, feeling as if reality was starting to slip.
“With who?!”
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t imagine who Ren Bin could’ve had a child with.
Hadn’t this guy been holed up on the mountain for the past six years?
“With me,” Yu Xian replied flatly.
Mo Yan looked at Yu Xian, then at Ren Bin, and then, without a word, pinched her thigh hard.
Ow!
Okay, not a dream.
This couldn’t be real.
But it was.
Hadn’t Yu Xian always kept Ren Bin at arm’s length?
How long ago did they start getting involved?
Could it be the moments she’d seen before—what she thought were random tensions—were actually just… a couple’s odd little games?
And the child wasn’t even that young anymore.
How long had this been going on?
Aba aba aba… (complete mental shutdown)(=°A°=)?
Could this truly bizarre situation actually be real life?
“Sect Leader, let’s talk business,” Ren Bin interjected, seeing her expression grow increasingly blank.
“…”
Snapping back to herself, Mo Yan quickly wiped the corner of her mouth.“Ren Bin,” she said, now serious.
“I want to restore Hua Bamboo Peak”