“How could this be worthy? How could fine jade withstand a collision with tiles?” Xu Yun said angrily. “Henceforth, you must never be so bold and presumptuous!”

Chen Hong Zhu replied calmly, “Father, Senior Brother, respected elders, I have already taken my vows and devoted myself to the Dao. Surely you don’t still worry that I would favor outsiders?”

The crowd from Huawei Sect lowered their heads.

Previously, Chen Hong Zhu had released an outer disciple but claimed it wasn’t for Song Qian Ji’s sake but for the sect’s benefit.

No one believed her, and they confined her to the Discipline Hall for reflection.

Now that the old matter was brought up again, the atmosphere inevitably became awkward.

Everyone secretly grumbled, feeling as if they had forced Chen Hong Zhu to disrupt the wedding banquet and take a poisonous oath.

“Why discuss these matters now?” A peak master smoothed things over. “Let’s go outside and let the Sect Leader tend to Hong Zhu’s injuries.”

“It’s just a minor wound,” Chen Hong Zhu called out to stop them. “For the next recruitment of outer disciples, I wish to go down the mountain to select them, and those I recruit will be under my management. Is that acceptable?”

“That may not follow protocol,” Zhao Tai Ji gave Xu Yun a meaningful glance.

Chen Hong Zhu addressed Xu Yun, “Father, the sect’s reputation has been damaged, which will certainly affect our recruitment. Your daughter is willing to take on this heavy responsibility!”

Her tone was firm, and everyone in the hall happened to feel guilty.

Xu Yun finally nodded, “Very well, let you try once.”

Chen Hong Zhu then singled out the elders in charge of the spirit stone mines, library pavilion, skill transmission hall, and other locations, debating with each of them and securing numerous advantages.

The peak masters and elders, seeing the unfavorable situation, hurriedly found excuses to leave.

Before long, only three people remained in the great hall.

Xu Yun went to retrieve treasured medicinal pills to replenish Chen Hong Zhu’s vital energy and blood.

Yuan Qing Shi looked at his junior sister’s pale face, hesitating to speak.

“Senior Brother, what do you wish to say?” Chen Hong Zhu asked.

“I want to say something you might not want to hear. Even if you’ve taken your vows and everyone believes you have no outside allegiances…” Yuan Qing Shi felt reality was cruel and sighed, “Your desire to reform the sect will still face tremendous difficulties. Today is an exception; in the future, when you seek them out, they will all avoid you.”

Chen Hong Zhu smiled, “Senior Brother speaks the truth. Why would I not want to hear it?”

“As long as you understand. I truly worry for you.” Yuan Qing Shi wanted to say something more when his eyes suddenly brightened: “Fairy Miao Yan!”

Chen Hong Zhu turned to see a maidservant supporting Miao Yan as she slowly emerged from the rear hall.

“Is the Fairy leaving already? Please rest a while longer,” Yuan Qing Shi said.

He felt somewhat guilty that Miao Yan had come by invitation but was left injured.

“I won’t impose any further,” Miao Yan smiled. “Please convey my farewell to True Person Xu Yun.”

The curve of her smile remained unchanged, but her eyes revealed an undisguisable melancholy.

Chen Hong Zhu looked at Miao Yan, her expression gradually becoming sympathetic.

At that moment, she realized she no longer disliked the other woman.

Though they were cousins, their dress, appearance, temperament, and personality couldn’t be more different.

But today, both wore ceremonial clothes, both had pale faces and from a certain angle of their profiles, one could vaguely see the similarities in their features.

Yuan Qing Shi stared blankly, watching Miao Yan’s figure disappear into the distance.

“Still looking?” Chen Hong Zhu teased him. “Go catch up and see her off?”

“It’s not that,” Yuan Qing Shi frowned. “Why do I feel that Fairy Miao Yan isn’t as beautiful anymore? Not that her appearance has changed, but that feeling… ah, I can’t explain it clearly. Before, she was like the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven, radiating divine light. Now…”

Now she was still a great beauty but lacked that stellar, moon-encircled radiance.

It seemed that judging by appearance alone, Fairy Qing Qing was no less beautiful.

Yuan Qing Shi shook his head vigorously, casting away such thoughts.

…

“Huawei Sect invited the Fairy here, yet in the end, things turned out like this. They…” The maidservant’s indignant words were cut short by Miao Yan.

“I accepted the invitation of my own accord; I can’t blame others,” Miao Yan said calmly. “There are always those better than oneself; beyond the heavens are more heavens. I am not the best among the younger generation. I should know shame and strive forward, practicing diligently.”

The maidservant Bin’er examined her expression and cautiously asked, “Has the Fairy confirmed the composer’s identity?”

Miao Yan froze, then quickly shook her head, as if trying to convince herself: “It’s not him.”

“Of course!” Bin’er said. “The Fairy cherishes this composition so deeply. If the composer were truly alive, they would certainly be the Fairy’s soulmate.”

At the Ascending Audition, the Zither Immortal had commented that this piece showed “achievements spanning millennia, a hero’s end,” saying it was music composed by someone deceased.

Thus, people generally believed the composer must have experienced life’s vicissitudes, the rise and fall of fortunes—a young cultivator couldn’t capture such profound meaning.

Only Miao Yan persisted in her search.

Miao Yan had known for a long time that not everyone in the world liked her.

But she had an inexplicable intuition that at least Song Qian Ji shouldn’t treat her this way.

The first time they met on Passing Water Bridge, Song Qian Ji acted as if she were invisible.

The second time, at the flower appreciation gathering, when she offered a flower as a friendly gesture, he had refused.

The third time was today—a melody of decisive killing intent, words showing no mercy.

Song Qian Ji maintained good relationships with many young women.

Some were youthfully adorable, some brilliantly spirited, some fierce in temperament like He Qing Qing, and some willful and capricious like Chen Hong Zhu.

To be precise, Song Qian Ji was good-natured toward people, regardless of gender or sect.

Yet facing her, he displayed an inexplicable coldness; his gaze at the lotus in the water was more affectionate than when he looked at her.

The maidservant worried, “Upon returning to Celestial Sound Gate this time, will the Fairy enter seclusion?”

“Why would I?” Miao Yan asked.

The maidservant thought this was obvious.

Having lost this battle in Qiankun Hall, she’d not only face Fairy Wang Shu’s anger but also the inevitable gossip from the outside world.

“I… I fear the Fairy will suffer grievances.”

Hearing this, Miao Yan smiled: “I grew up here on Huawei Mountain. Even if I got lost in the back mountain during the snow, no one would come looking for me. After all, Huawei Mountain is so vast, with so many talented disciples—what does it matter if one who eats without contributing gets lost…”

The maidservant stared at her in surprise.

Miao Yan never spoke of such things. She never mentioned her “inglorious” past.

Now she seemed to be speaking not to her maidservant, but to herself:

“I will not be defeated. Being controversial is always better than being ignored.”

…

On the way down the mountain, white snow blanketed everything, and flowers lined the path.

Along the mountain road, peach blossoms, pear blossoms, and apricot blossoms bloomed in succession—clumps and clusters like pink smoke or red mist.

He Qing Qing and Song Qian Ji walked side by side at the back.

Meng He Ze had been leading the group at the front, but for some unknown reason, he had begun quarreling with Lin Fei Yuan again, and the two were throwing snowballs at each other.

Ji Chen and the Thousand Channels disciples were busy trying to separate them but soon joined the fray.

The youths chased and struck, argued, and shouted as they ran ahead, stirring up crystalline snow particles and drifting fallen flowers.

He Qing Qing looked at Song Qian Ji: “Aren’t you going to control them?”

Song Qian Ji smiled helplessly: “Control what? They quarrel ten times a day, then make up moments later. If Little Wei were here, it would be even more chaotic.”

“Who is Little Wei?”

“Oh, my newly recruited housekeeper. He cooks very well.”

“I no longer recognize the people around you.” He Qing Qing listened to the distant commotion. “The Celestial Sound Gate could never be like this.”

The Thousand Channels disciples were uninhibited, cursing and laughing joyfully, while those of Celestial Sound Gate were transcendent and detached, everyone dignified.

“Do you still want to return?” Song Qian Ji asked.

Suddenly, a gust of northern wind arose, bringing coldness mixed with floral fragrance.

Pure white pear petals danced in the air like a snowfall flying from the ground back to the sky.

Deep winter flowers blooming, snow returning, wind shifting—time beginning to flow backward.

He Qing Qing was momentarily transported back to spring, back to when they first met.

Spring breeze caressed her face, brilliant sunlight rippling.

“When I was at Qingya, I envied female cultivators like Fairy Miao Yan. She was noble and beautiful, beloved by all.

When I arrived at Huawei Sect, I also envied young ladies like Chen Hong Zhu. They had the love of their families and sects, admirers who pleased them and could throw tantrums without reasoning.

After entering Celestial Sound Gate, I envied my master. Her cultivation was powerful, her personality even stronger. She feared neither public opinion nor solitude. Later, I stopped envying anyone. A person can only walk their path.”

He Qing Qing heard her voice scattering in the wind:

“Senior Brother Song, I must return. I will not retreat anymore. Whoever blocks my path, I will deal with them. If heaven and earth try to obstruct me, I will change heaven and earth.”

Song Qian Ji didn’t say it was unwise, nor did he tell her what she shouldn’t do. He only said, “Thus, it will inevitably be difficult.”

The wind gradually subsided, and flower petals fell to the ground, mixing with the snow.

He Qing Qing said, “I was born with a troubled fate. If I don’t stand at the mountain’s peak, I’ll fall into the abyss.”

…

On the way down the mountain, the Qingya scholars followed at a distance behind the Thousand Channels procession.

Zi Ye Wen Shu remained expressionless.

The scholars maintained proper etiquette and elegant demeanor, yet behind Zi Ye Wen Shu’s back, they secretly communicated:

“They seem to be talking. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for us to follow like this?”

“There’s only one path down the mountain. We’re not following; we’re also descending! Look behind you—are the people walking behind us all following us?”

Zi Mo asked, “Then why don’t we walk faster and overtake them?”

Jing Zhai replied, “Because, because… Senior Brother Supervisor seems to have something to say to Official Song?”