Above Jiuxiao, two sword-wielding figures, one white and one red, clashed fiercely.
Their Sword Qi surged, scattering the clouds and mist as waves of Spiritual Power swept in all directions.
In an instant, blades flickered and crossed. A tricky flash of sword light suddenly erupted from the red figure’s hand, instantly shattering the white figure’s defense—
With a thunderous boom, the white figure was sent flying backward, falling straight toward the earth and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
“Yun Xuechang, you lost.”
Hua Yan slowly drifted down from the sky, standing outside the dust and smoke with a curl of disdain on her lips.
“After all these years, you haven’t improved at all. You truly disappoint me.”
“Even taking my revenge has become this simple.”
She gave a contemptuous snort and sheathed her sword.
“Now that things have come to this, what else do you have to say?”
However, before the dust could settle, a white shadow suddenly lunged out from within it, crashing straight into Hua Yan’s arms.
“Do you really… have the heart to hurt me?”
Yun Xuechang pressed her entire body against Hua Yan’s chest.
She looked up, her face so close that Hua Yan could see every one of her trembling eyelashes and catch the faint, lingering scent on her body.
“You know clearly that I am in love with you, so why… are you still so cruel?”
She wrapped her arms around Hua Yan’s neck. That habitually cold face was now glimmering with tears, looking as if she were about to burst into a sob.
‘This… what is going on?!’
‘I know you love me, but we were just sparring!’
Hua Yan’s cheeks flushed. She watched with a mix of shame and annoyance as the white-haired girl’s slightly pursed red lips drew closer and closer.
Her breath suddenly hitched, and the tip of her nose felt a bit hot, as if a warm current were about to surge out…
No—
That did not feel like a nosebleed. It was…
“Achoo!”
Hua Yan sneezed violently and suddenly snapped her eyes open.
She looked down and, as expected, saw a familiar little pink head pressing against her chest.
It must have been the girl’s hair rubbing against her nose that caused the itch.
“Hua, Xiang, Rong!”
She crossly picked up the little creature who was sprawled over her.
“How exactly do you sleep at night? Are you trying to smother me?”
“Mm… huh?”
Hua Xiangrong, who had been sleeping sweetly, suddenly felt her body grow light.
She opened her eyes dizzily and met Hua Yan’s upswept willow-leaf brows.
“Honestly, why were you so restless in your sleep today?”
While complaining, Hua Yan placed her back on the bed and casually straightened her own nightgown.
‘If my cultivation hadn’t reached the Nascent Soul stage, I probably wouldn’t have just sneezed; I would have suffocated because of this little thing long ago!’
‘Honestly…’
She reached out and took their clothes from her Storage Ring. As usual, she leaned over to change her daughter’s clothes first.
‘Speaking of which, with my constitution as an Immortal Cultivator, I should rarely dream. Yet, I actually had an unprecedented dream last night, and I even dreamt of that woman, Yun Xuechang…’
‘Wait, Yun Xuechang?’
The hands tying Hua Xiangrong’s belt suddenly paused. Hua Yan abruptly remembered:
‘Didn’t Yun Xuechang come to the door with Rongrong yesterday? We even slept together! Where is she?!’
In the exquisite but not particularly spacious bedroom, there was no sign of that white figure.
Only the mother and daughter remained nestled together on the bed.
Hua Yan immediately released her Divine Sense to scout outside—and soon, she perceived that familiar touch of white in the courtyard.
‘Phew, so she’s just practicing her sword in the yard…’
Her heart relaxed slightly.
‘Wait, practicing her sword?’
“Yun Xuechang! Didn’t I agree with you last night that you weren’t allowed to leave?”
Wearing her nightgown, Hua Yan rushed straight out of the bedroom.
“Why did you still run out to the courtyard to practice?”
Yun Xuechang, who had just drawn her sword from its sheath, paused slightly.
She turned her head—and saw the girl with messy red hair and cheeks slightly puffed out in annoyance, still wearing a silk nightgown.
She could not help but stare blankly for a moment.
“It is not like that.”
She lowered her raised sword and explained in a gentle tone:
“Practicing my sword early every morning is a long-standing habit of mine. I did indeed sleep with both of you last night and did not leave.”
“If I caused you to misunderstand… I apologize to you, Daoist Friend Hua.”
“Huh? Oh, right…”
Looking into those clear red eyes and hearing her calm explanation, the small bit of frustration in Hua Yan’s heart dissipated for some reason. She reached up and scratched her hair.
“Wait! I haven’t even changed my clothes yet!”
Watching the red-haired girl turn around and run back into the room, Yun Xuechang blinked.
She tilted her head and thought for a moment before raising her sword again to begin her daily Morning Lesson.
Thus, when Hua Yan was fully dressed and led Hua Xiangrong out the door, this was the scene they witnessed—
In the courtyard where the morning light was just breaking through, a Fairy in plain clothes with snow-white hair held a long sword.
Her figure was as graceful as flowing water under the moon or falling blossoms in the wind.
Between the shifting flashes of the blade, both woman and shadow moved with the light.
A cool breeze swept past, swirling the fallen leaves on the steps.
The leaves did not fall to the ground, but instead spun leisurely and drifted slowly along with the momentum of her sword.
The sword light abruptly stopped, and the leaves fell silently.
The Fairy with hair as white as snow sheathed her sword and turned to look at them. Her eyes were clear, and her sleeves fluttered slightly.
“Wow! Mother is so amazing!”
While Hua Yan was still staring dazed, Hua Xiangrong was the first to clap.
Yun Xuechang approached with her sword, freeing her other hand to gently rub the top of the girl’s head.
“Rongrong, go wash up with your mother first. I will go prepare breakfast.”
“You even know how to cook?”
Hua Yan was even more astonished. It was truly difficult for her to associate the smoke and fire of a stove with the Yun Xuechang she had just seen, who looked as if she did not consume the food of mortals.
“In the sect, and while traveling down the mountain, I learned from some chefs.”
Yun Xuechang nodded.
“?”
“Because I felt that a chef’s knife skills were exquisite, I thought they might be helpful for improving my swordsmanship, so I went to learn.”
Seeing that Hua Yan still seemed confused, Yun Xuechang added softly:
“Whether it is an imperial chef who can cut tofu into fine shreds or a street ramen master who can slice beef as thin as a cicada’s wing, they are all very impressive. I learned a lot from them.”
“I shall head over now, then.”
After saying that, she turned and walked toward the kitchen, leaving Hua Yan with only the sight of her fluttering white robes.
/
“Are these… the dishes you ‘learned a lot’ about?”
Hua Yan took a bite of the knife-cut noodles in her bowl and looked up at Yun Xuechang across from her.
Without a doubt, the maker of these noodles had excellent knife skills—the noodles were shaped like willow leaves, uniform in thickness, perfectly cooked, and clearly separated. However…
The noodle soup was so bland it was almost like plain water. Combined with the noodles that were smooth on the outside and firm on the inside, there was an indescribable awkwardness to the dish.
“Did you forget to add salt?”
Hua Yan could not help but ask.
“Apologies… I failed to grasp the amount of seasoning again.”
Yun Xuechang lowered her gaze.
“Actually, this is an old problem of mine when cooking. In the past, whenever I asked a master for advice on seasoning amounts, they would always say ‘an appropriate amount’ or ‘a pinch.’ When I pressed for specific quantities, I could never get a definitive answer.”
“So every time I cook, I can only add things based on my own feeling. It seems that today… I added too little again.”
Looking at that expressionless face that somehow looked quite ashamed, Hua Yan did not know where to start her critique.
“It doesn’t matter! I really like the food Mother makes.”
To the side, Hua Xiangrong was holding her large bowl, happily slurping away.
“This way, the taste is different every time. It’s like opening a gift; it’s so interesting!”
These words sounded like a comfort to Yun Xuechang, warming her heart, but to Hua Yan’s ears, they took on a different meaning—
‘No way? Has this girl been growing up eating Yun Xuechang’s bizarre cooking since she was little? She’s even used to it?’
“Fine, everyone stop eating for a moment.”
She snatched the noodle bowl out of Hua Xiangrong’s hands.
“I’ll go add some soy sauce and green onions to season it for you.”
“Honestly… such good noodles shouldn’t be wasted like this.”
Under the gaze of the mother and daughter, the red-haired girl used her Spiritual Power to float their bowls as she grumbled her way toward the kitchen.