“I said, I have something to do on New Year’s Eve. Sorry, Yan’er.”
W-What do you mean you have something to do?!
Hua Yan looked at Yun Xuechang aggrievedly, her lips pouting high.
‘As my daughter’s mother, can’t you clear your schedule for me on New Year’s Eve?!’
‘Even though… even though I didn’t discuss it with you beforehand, I’ve worked so hard preparing for so long these past few days…’
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, but then another thought occurred to her.
‘Wait, this is Xuechang… if anyone else was busy on New Year’s Eve, it might be an appointment with someone, but she isn’t just anyone. This is Xuechang!’
‘If it’s Xuechang, it’s most likely just practicing her sword or handling Sect business, right?’
At that thought, she tucked away some of her aggrieved expression and asked tentatively, “Then… do you need to cultivate, or are you busy with official Sect business?”
“Neither.”
Yun Xuechang shook her head slightly.
‘Neither?!’
Hua Yan immediately bit her lower lip, her eyes stinging again.
‘Could it be… she wants to spend New Year’s Eve with someone else? We’ve clearly been together all these days, when did she…?’
“I’m sorry, Yan’er,” Yun Xuechang said with a serious expression. “I really don’t plan to handle official business on New Year’s Eve.”
She paused and added, “Besides, the Sect Master should be returning to the Sect soon, so there won’t be much business to attend to by then.”
Eh? What… what does that mean?
Hua Yan was a bit dazed by her words.
“I promised Rongrong a long time ago that on New Year’s Eve, I would accompany her, and also accompany you to celebrate the New Year and cross into the new year together.”
Yun Xuechang looked softly at Hua Yan, who had gone from feeling wronged to being dazed, and said softly, “However, I haven’t officially asked for your opinion yet.”
She looked earnestly into Hua Yan’s eyes and issued a formal invitation, “Yan’er, would you be willing… to spend New Year’s Eve with me?”
“Cough, cough… S-Since you want to spend New Year’s Eve with me so badly…”
Hua Yan turned her face away, the tips of her ears turning red, though the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl upward.
“T-Then, it wouldn’t be right of me to brush off your request… I’ll reluctantly agree to cross into the year with you… Hehe…”
“Thank you, Yan’er.”
Yun Xuechang’s eyes curved slightly, her smile shallow and clear. “It will be fine to leave the itinerary for New Year’s Eve to me. I will find a way to make both you and Rongrong happy.”
“Alright then, I’ll look forward to seeing how you do!”
Hua Yan smiled with her eyes curved, looking full of joy. But after a moment, she suddenly realized something was wrong—
‘Wait… did Xuechang just say that the arrangements for New Year’s Eve… should be left to her?’
The overjoyed red-haired girl only realized in hindsight what she had agreed to—
‘Then the travel plans I spent half a day secretly planning these past few days… didn’t they go to waste again?!’
……
On New Year’s Eve.
The vast Daze of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect had long since frozen into a blue-gray giant mirror in the cold winter.
The ice was thick and solid, stretching out between the boundless snowy fields and the gray-white mountains, silent as if from ancient times.
And in the center of this lonely ice lake, three vivid colors quietly emerged at this moment—
One person wore an ice-blue cloak with silver patterns and snow-white fur lining, over a matching short jacket with interlocking branch patterns.
Silver-blue tassels were pinned in her white hair, and a long sword hung on her back.
Standing in the snowy world, she was as cold and aloof as a banished immortal descending to earth.
One was wrapped in a bright red feather-satin cloak, also lined with warm and soft fox fur.
Inside was a red brocade robe with gold-threaded colorful embroidery.
Her red hair was tied high, and pearl tassels hung from her ears. In this plain white world, she burned like a flame, bright and dazzling.
Between the two stood a small figure in a pink sleeveless vest with scattered flower patterns and thick fur edges.
Beneath it was a moon-white inner garment embroidered with peach patterns, and below that, a lotus-root-colored peach blossom horse-face skirt.
A small white jade hairpin and pink velvet flowers were tucked into her hair.
Standing in the falling snow, she looked like she was carved from pink jade, brimming with Spiritual Qi.
It was the family of three: Yun Xuechang, Hua Yan, and Hua Xiangrong.
“So… the arrangement you mentioned was to bring us to this ice lake to fish on New Year’s Eve?”
Hua Yan turned her head to look at Yun Xuechang beside her, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have trusted this blockhead to have any good ideas! What kind of person comes out to fish on New Year’s Eve?!’
It was freezing cold—what kind of fishing was this!
She crossed her arms and looked around at the white expanse of the ice field, a hint of regret welling up in her heart.
‘If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to listen to her that day… I should have found a way to go back on it and made her follow my plans instead.’
‘Coming out to this frozen wasteland, didn’t all those holiday decorations I prepared in the Sect go to waste?!’
“Wow! Mother, the ice is so thick, can we really catch fish?”
Beside them, Hua Xiangrong seemed completely unaware of her mother’s slight depression, simply looking up with her small face and asking Yun Xuechang excitedly.
“Yes, naturally. If anything, once you master the method, fishing on ice is actually much easier than usual.”
Yun Xuechang nodded, drew the Autumn Water Sword from her back, and swung it through the air—
A cold light flashed, and a hole about two palms wide appeared on the ice surface.
She then took out a fishing rod, a landing net, a bucket, and a small stool from her Storage Pouch, handing them one by one to Hua Xiangrong.
“Rongrong, you fish at this hole.”
“Okay!”
The pink-haired girl excitedly baited her hook and cast her line—her movements were quite skilled, as she often fished by the lake with Ning Sixteen in the autumn.
However, fishing on the ice in the middle of the lake was a first for her, in both her past and present lives.
Seeing her daughter start to focus on fishing, Yun Xuechang finally turned to Hua Yan to answer her previous question.
“Yes, Yan’er. When I was young, Master often brought me to this ice lake to fish. It was very interesting. So… I wanted you and Rongrong to try it as well.”
She looked at Hua Yan with a serious gaze.
“Sigh, fine, fine, we’ll fish… it’s not like I said I was unwilling.”
Although Hua Yan was still somewhat skeptical, she ultimately nodded as if accepting her fate and reached out her hand. “Give me a rod too. Teach me later exactly what’s so interesting about this ice fishing.”
“Okay.”
Seeing that she was willing to accept the arrangement, Yun Xuechang’s eyes curved slightly, revealing a shallow but sincere smile.
After a long while.
“Hahaha! I caught another fish!”
On the ice, the red-haired girl suddenly lifted her rod and quickly scooped with the net. “Rongrong! Xuechang! Look, how big this one is!”
Hua Yan picked up the grass carp, which was nearly as long as her forearm, and shook it triumphantly, enjoying the attention of the two beside her—Yun Xuechang clapped lightly, a hint of surprise flashing across her cold face, while Hua Xiangrong looked envious.
‘Oh! Fishing on the ice without using Spiritual Power is actually quite interesting! Why haven’t I done this before?!’
Hua Yan happily tossed the fish into her seemingly ordinary bucket, which actually contained its own space.
It was no wonder her spirits were high—a grill had already been set up between the three of them, with a few small, palm-sized fish on it, the fire steadily controlled by Yun Xuechang using Spiritual Power.
A small table sat nearby, covered with fruits, tea, and snacks within easy reach. As for the blizzard, it had long since been gently blocked out by the Spiritual Power of the two.
The three of them were as if in a spacious, warm pavilion, enjoying the scenery, chatting, laughing, and drinking tea on the vast ice surface, feeling free and comfortable.
As for the ice fishing—for some reason, the fish in winter always seemed much more clumsy than usual.
Even without using Spiritual Power, a novice like Hua Yan could pull them up one after another.
‘Hehe, if the fish were always this easy to catch, it would be much more fun.’
Hua Yan rebaited her hook and cast her line, thinking happily to herself.
For someone like her who loved to play but lacked patience, fishing wasn’t usually a good pastime.
But this time, the feeling of “being able to succeed frequently without using cultivation” indeed gave her a lot of fresh fun.
‘I couldn’t tell, but Xuechang actually knows how to have fun… She’s not as dull as she usually is.’
She stole a glance at the white-haired girl sitting upright beside her, staring intently at the float, and the corner of her mouth rose unconsciously.
‘But… did Xuechang just say that her Master used to take her here to play when she was little?’
Hua Yan’s thoughts stirred.
‘Then her Master must have been a wonderful person. If she were still alive, I’m sure I’d have a lot to talk about with her.’
‘But then again, having been raised by such an interesting Master, how did Xuechang still end up with such a dull and wooden personality…?’
She quietly glanced at Yun Xuechang again—that side profile was as cold as ever, but there was a quiet tenderness in her bones.
Sensing her gaze, the other party also turned her head and tilted it slightly.
Their gazes met gently in the snowy world, one gentle, one lively.
Hua Yan was the first to look away, turning her head.
It’s just…
‘For someone as playful as me to actually fall for this dull-witted Yun Xuechang…’
Her cheeks felt slightly hot.
‘It truly is… a trick of fate.’