Ming Li arrived at her elder brother’s room. Although the master hadn’t returned for a long time, there was no dust gathered because people often came to clean.

The unopened letter still lay on the desk by the window.

Chen Zhou wandered around behind her. Dong Yeyun’s room was filled with many interesting things. He had a “playful heart” and was particularly fond of various small games, with unique little trinkets displayed throughout the room.

Behind the master bedroom was a large wall of books, each compartment filled with books and scrolls.

Chen Zhou stood beneath the bookshelf wall and casually picked up a scroll to open it. He discovered it was “The Eight Meridian Divine Traces” that Ming Li had written for him when she was sixteen years old. Surprisingly, he hadn’t thrown it away.

Dong Yeyun wasn’t an Eight Meridian Awakened like his father and sister; he was only a Seven Meridian Awakened. In terms of cultivation, he would never reach the heights of his father and sister in this lifetime.

Because his father and Ming Li were too excellent, it made Dong Yeyun seem dispensable. People only knew that Dong Yeshou had a Pilgrim daughter, but they didn’t know he also had a son.

Although Dong Yeshou would truthfully mention that he had both a son and a daughter whenever asked about his children while traveling, people’s attention was always focused on his daughter.

Dong Yeyun didn’t mind the outside world’s attention, though he had once been confused about the gap between himself and his sister. During the period when their relationship was strained, he had even doubted whether he was his father’s biological son because of their different Meridian Awakenings.

After hearing Dong Yeyun’s nonsense, Chen Zhou would put an arm around his shoulder, press his head down, and whisper: “You’d better not let Master hear these words, or you’ll suffer. No matter what, you can’t doubt such things. I was standing outside the door with Master when both you and your sister were born!”

Young Dong Yeyun had hummed: “But I don’t have any memories of Mother. Is it because my talent is poor, and Mother didn’t want to look at me?”

Chen Zhou said, “Master’s wife was even busier than Master.”

“Busy with what?”

“That I don’t know.”

He didn’t know. Young Dong Yeyun found comfort in those words.

Now, when Dong Yeyun recalled those childish words from that time, he felt a shiver of embarrassment, too painful to look back on.

Dong Yeshou had lived in a daze for several years after his wife passed away, only realizing afterward that a rift had formed between his two children. This finally roused him to action.

After traveling abroad with the children for several years and returning, he asked the siblings whether they wanted to join the Bei Dou Sect or choose another path.

Ming Li, unsurprisingly, chose Bei Dou.

Sixteen-year-old Dong Yeyun, however, shook his head and said he wouldn’t join Bei Dou.

Dong Yeshou wasn’t surprised and simply smiled, asking: “Where do you want to go?”

Dong Yeyun looked at the sky beyond the courtyard and replied earnestly: “Anywhere will do.”

In this vast world, he wanted to walk through every place.

Dong Yeyun didn’t want to be a disciple of any sect; he only wanted to be Dong Yeshou’s son and Ming Li’s elder brother.

Although his talent couldn’t compare to Ming Li’s, who had seven innate meridians at full capacity and broke through boundaries at sixteen, he was still outstanding among peers of his age.

As long as he wasn’t compared to Ming Li, Dong Yeyun would also be considered a genius in the eyes of the world.

But under the halo of his father and sister, he didn’t seem impressive enough.

Because the two children had quarreled and didn’t get along in their childhood, Dong Yeshou was originally worried that his son’s mental state would be affected, feeling unbalanced or developing jealousy.

But after asking him, Dong Yeyun scratched his head and said, “Why would I be jealous of her? If she breaks through boundaries in the future and becomes a Pilgrim, guarding Bei Dou, that would be exhausting.”

“This way, I not only have a father whose power equals a Pilgrim, but also a sister who will become a Pilgrim. No matter how you look at it, I’m the winner. Why would I feel unbalanced?”

“You and Little Sister will eventually be constrained by your Bei Dou identities and unable to do certain things. When that time comes, I’ll do those things for you.”

Both of Dong Yeshou’s children became calmer as they grew older, especially his son Dong Yeyun. He shed his childish, tyrannical ways, became unaffected by others’ idle gossip, and slowly learned to protect those around him once he understood his responsibility as an elder brother.

It didn’t matter that he couldn’t break through to become a Pilgrim without the Eight Meridian Awakening.

He still wouldn’t give up on becoming stronger, pursuing the peak of his realm.

*

At eighteen, Dong Yeyun left Bei Dou to venture out on his own. He saw many sights and occasionally felt lonely during his journey. At these times, he would take out a communication talisman to send messages to his friends at Bei Dou.

His friends were often awakened in the middle of the night by his communication talismans. They would either curse him thoroughly or rouse themselves to chat with him.

Chen Zhou usually chose the former, while the good-tempered Liang Junxia chose the latter.

Qing Ying, due to her overly dominant Spirit Court Meridian, would chat with him if she was up late; but if she was awakened from sleep, she would crush the communication talisman directly and curse him back after waking up.

Ming Li would ask him what he was eating outside. Dong Yeyun could ramble on at length, but Ming Li would selectively focus on the key points. Then she would tell him her request list, sending him specialty spicy sauces from that region. Soon after, Dong Yeyun, who feared spicy food, would stop sending her communication talismans.

Zhou Zixi initially restrained his temper when awakened in the middle of the night, out of respect for Ming Li. He patiently listened to Dong Yeyun’s endless chatter, keeping company with someone far away in an unknown place.

After all, he was his senior sister’s elder brother, so he had to be patient.

If it were truly urgent matters, everyone would certainly not react this way. Even if he had some insights and tried to have a heart-to-heart talk in the middle of the night, Zhou Zixi could reluctantly listen. But most of the time, what Dong Yeyun sent was like this:

“Feeling a bit hungry.”

“No food in the desert.”

“No inns or taverns.”

“Haven’t found an oasis either.”

“My dry rations were stolen by desert wolves.”

“I got them back.”

“But the wolves bit the flatbread, don’t want to eat it.”

“It still wants to steal more.”

“I don’t want to kill the wolf.”

“Should I just give it the bread?”

“But why would wolves eat bread?”

Zhou Zixi: “…”

He got up from bed and expressionlessly replied with one line on the communication talisman: It wants to eat you, not the bread.

From then on, during Dong Yeyun’s time away, Zhou Zixi would set up a formation before sleeping that would directly transfer Dong Yeyun’s communication talismans to Liang Junxia.

*

Dong Yeyun enjoyed his time alone, yet disliked loneliness, so he made many friends outside. Most were people he had helped when they were in trouble, while others became friends after fighting each other.

Initially, he had only one alias, but as he visited more places and met more people, he also made more enemies, so he took on more names. Sometimes he didn’t give a name at all.

Over these many years, he hadn’t been without setbacks and had been angered by certain people and events. But as experiences accumulated and his mental state changed, when encountering similar situations again, he became more mature and rational than before.

Dong Yeyun trained himself through struggles and trials while alone outside. Each time he returned to Bei Dou, he showed new changes.

When he encountered opponents he couldn’t defeat outside or needed help, he would tell Qing Ying.

Since Chen Zhou and Liang Junxia were too busy as senior disciples, Dong Yeyun didn’t feel right asking the Bei Dou senior brothers to help unless it was life-threatening.

Initially, there was only Qing Ying, later joined by Zhou Zixi. Every time Dong Yeyun took these two people out to fight, they never lost.

Dong Yeyun’s close friends outside Bei Dou all shared a common trait: they respected or admired the Pilgrim of the North, which made Dong Yeyun feel they had good judgment.

Once, when Ming Li and Chen Zhou were out, they spotted her brother meeting with his outside friends from afar in Seven Star City. They didn’t disturb him, but afterward, when they mentioned it, Chen Zhou said: “Why not introduce these friends of yours to us?”

“Impossible,” Dong Yeyun said with a serious expression. “They all like my sister too much.”

Ming Li, who was eating nearby, turned her head in confusion.

Dong Yeyun said, “One of them saw you somewhere and keeps saying he fell in love with you at first sight. His greatest wish in life is to marry you. If he knew you were my sister, there would be no peace.”

Chen Zhou and the others couldn’t stop laughing, except for Zhou Zixi, who wore a forced smile.

Dong Yeyun, who appeared quiet and somewhat slow on the surface, was someone who clearly defined boundaries.

Most of his friends outside were acquaintances he met by chance and might see again. Those who had endured hardships and faced life and death with him, true confidants, could be counted on one hand.

For some people, the chances of meeting each year grew increasingly rare.

Dong Yeyun carried a sense of responsibility and kept his word. Once he made a promise, he would fulfill it even at the cost of his life.

*

Chen Zhou put the scroll back on the book wall and asked Ming Li, who was standing at the desk, “If he went to the Imperial City, why did he ask Zixi, who was going to the Ice Desert, to cover for him?”

“Because he didn’t want us to know.” Ming Li tapped the unopened envelope with her finger. “This envelope is sealed with a jade hairpin drawing, probably from that Miss Chu in the Imperial City, yet he didn’t open it.”

This meant Dong Yeyun’s trip to the Imperial City had nothing to do with Miss Chu.

Ming Li finished speaking and opened the letter.

Dong Yeshou hadn’t touched this letter all these years, also because Dong Yeyun had moved on. His relationship with Miss Chu was just that of childhood acquaintances who had studied tea together, and now they were merely strangers who had grown apart.

A letter opened after five years: on the peach blossom letter paper, the black characters were graceful and lively: “It’s been a long time, I hope all is well. I am disturbing you today because I have an urgent request and invite you to meet again in the Imperial City.”

Ming Li frowned as she read.

Her brother hadn’t opened this letter, yet he went to the Imperial City. What a coincidence.

“Where did the letter come from?” Ming Li asked.

Chen Zhou said, “It was sent from the Imperial City, but without a specific location. And it wasn’t delivered directly to Bei Dou, but to an outpost in Seven Star City. He doesn’t reveal his identity to outsiders.”

Ming Li put the peach blossom paper back in the envelope: “If my brother went to the Imperial City, he probably didn’t want to see her either. It seems we can’t find any clues from Miss Chu’s side.”

Chen Zhou: “Does Zixi have no other clues either?”

“He only knew that my brother was going to the Imperial City, but not what he was going to do there.” Ming Li turned to leave, then thought for a moment and went back to take the letter.

Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow at the doorway: “You’re going to return it?”

Ming Li held the envelope thoughtfully: “Something doesn’t seem right.”

Dong Yeyun had only told these two people about his affair with Miss Chu, so they had some understanding of Miss Chu in the story. As Heart Meridian masters at the peak level, they could perceive some of the ineffable aspects just from verbal descriptions.

“She’s a ruthless young woman who could betray herself for her beloved and follow that person blindly,” Chen Zhou said, glancing at the letter in Ming Li’s hand. “After falling out with Ah Yun, she still wrote a letter more than a year later claiming an urgent request. If she’s not treating Ah Yun like a fool, then her situation must require her to do this. She won’t give up until she achieves her goal, meaning if she didn’t get a response, there wouldn’t be just one letter.”

There would be many letters until Dong Yeyun responded or went to the Imperial City.

Now they knew that Dong Yeyun had gone to the Imperial City, not the Ice Desert, which meant Miss Chu had seen him in the Imperial City.

Ming Li thought the same. She walked out with Chen Zhou, sighing: “I didn’t expect we’d still need to find this Miss Chu.”

But they only knew that this young woman’s surname was Chu, she was in the Imperial City, her family had offended the royal family, she had an elder brother, and they didn’t know where she was in the Imperial City now.

Chen Zhou said, “For finding a young woman in the Imperial City, you should ask your Senior Brother Liang.”