The arrival of Emperor Yun couldnât be a small matter.
The entire Divine Ice Phoenix Sect was in turmoil when his arrival was made known. The elders and palace masters rushed over to meet him, but they didnât even manage to bend the knee before Yun Che and Yun Wuxin vanished straight into the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region. They could only exchange helpless looks with each other.
A familiar, icy aura hit him the moment he entered the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region. The next moment, a woman as beautiful as an ice fairy walked up to them.
âI thought it might be the two of you considering the commotion,â Mu Bingyun greeted them smilingly before looking at Yun Wuxin.
âLong time no see, Palace Master Bingyun.â Yun Che nodded back with a smile. For some reason, he always felt relaxed and peaceful whenever he met Mu Bingyun. It was the same even after he became Emperor Yun.
Maybe it was because her eyes reflected the color of ice, but she herself was really as gentle and easy-going as water.
Yun Wuxin chose this moment to take a small step forward and bow down before Mu Bingyun. âJunior disciple of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, Yun Wuxin greets the Great Ancestor Master.â
A bit caught off guard by her seriousness and formality, Mu Bingyun shook her head smilingly. âIt is okay. Mu Bingyun of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace âpassed awayâ at least a thousand years ago. Today, that past is long behind me, and I am simply Mu Bingyun of the Snow Song Realm. You do not need to call me great ancestor master.â
âIn that caseâŚâ Yun Wuxin looked up. âCan I call you auntie?â
The question caused the usually unflappable Mu Bingyun to break into a wide smile. âOf course. My older sister is your fatherâs consort, so I am your auntie as a matter of course.â
Yun Che: (this girl⌠she actually managed to use both appellations seamlessly!)
Mu Bingyun turned to Yun Che next. âAs expected of the daughter of Emperor Yun. What a lovable child.â
âPalace Master Bingyun,â Yun Che said, âPlease address me how you used to. Although Iâve gotten comfortable with the title âEmperor Yunâ, it feels extremely odd coming from you.â
Yun Wuxin shifted her gaze to her father imperceptibly: (Hmm???)
â⌠very well.â Mu Bingyun nodded.
âAuntie,â Yun Wuxin suddenly cried out sweetly, âdo you know that you look even prettier than I initially imagined? No wonder father always told me that you look like a fairy.â
â???â Yun Cheâs eyebrows trembled like a string: since when have I ever said that!?
ââŚâ For a moment, Mu Bingyun was lost for words.
âWhile we were entering the Eastern Divine Region, father told me that itâs been a year since he saw you, and that he misses you aâouch!â
It was Yun Che clapping a hand on top of Yun Wuxinâs head before saying seriously, âWhere has Xuanyin gone to, Palace Master Bingyun? Why is she not in the Sacred Region?â
âShe is in seclusion right now,â Mu Bingyun answered as before. On the surface, it looked like Yun Wuxinâs words hadnât affected her.
âSeclusion?â
âIt is just to meditate on her heart and cultivate her soul,â Mu Bingyun replied in a gentle voice. âShe is aware that the two of you will be arriving around this time. She told me to inform her once youâve arrived.â
âI shall do that right now.â
âItâs fine.â Yun Che raised his hand to stop her. âWuxin and I will just visit her directly.â
âThe chill in Mist End Valley is extremely heavy. It is not something Wuxin can endure,â Mu Bingyun said. âThis is Wuxinâs first time here anyway, so you may as well show her around the Sacred Region first.â
âVery well.â Yun Che stopped declining. âThank you for your trouble, Palace Master Bingyun.â
He remained as respectful as he was back when he was just a disciple.
âOh right, how long will the two of you be staying in the Snow Song Realm?â Mu Bingyun asked.
Yun Che shot Yun Wuxin a glance. âThat depends on Wuxin, really.â
âMore like the opposite,â Yun Wuxin muttered defiantly because her father was messing up her hair.
Mu Bingyun shot them one last smile before leaving the place.
The second Mu Bingyunâs aura was far enough, Yun Che immediately put on an angry face and growled at Yun Wuxin, âWhat was that?? Youâre really getting more and more out of control, girl!â
âI⌠I was just helping you, father,â Yun Wuxin replied in a timid and aggrieved tone.
âLike I need any help from you!â
âThat is true.â Yun Wuxin nodded deeply. âYour ability to handle women is already off the charts. You can handle this yourself.â
âThatâs not what I meant! WhewâŚâ Yun Che let out a long sigh after uttering that. He was really starting to think that he had led his daughter astray during this journey. How was he going to explain this to Chu Yuechan later?
Yun Wuxin giggled like a little devil. âYouâve already put your magic on that other auntie anyway. Itâs not good to favor one and discriminate against the other, right?â
âThatâs not how you interpret or use that idiom!!â Yun Cheâs voice grew louder, and his eyes widened even more.
Yun Cheâs stern expression finally cowed Yun Wuxin and made her worried. âY-youâre not actually angry, are you?â
She grabbed her fatherâs sleeve and tugged it timidly. âI-I wasnât trying to make you angry on purpose. Itâs just⌠you looked pretty unhappy when you said that you could never have friends, so I was thinking that maybe this would cheer you up⌠I really wasnât trying to make you angry on purpose.â
ââŚâ Touched by his daughterâs thoughtfulness, Yun Che immediately replaced his stern expression with a hearty laugh. âHahahaha, I didnât think it would be this easy to scare you, girl. Looks like my authority as a father hasnât diminished much after all, hahahaha!â
Yun Wuxin immediately tossed his sleeve away and turned her face away from Yun Che, humphing. âDammit! I shouldâve known that you wouldnât be angry over something like this! You might even be happy for the assist! Hmph!â
Suddenly, the sound of the wind and snow turned pleasant. Yet another fairy-like woman stepped out from behind the snow.
When Yun Wuxin turned to see who it was, her eyes met the womanâs countenance, and her lips parted unconsciously.
After the woman came to a stop in front of Yun Che and Yun Wuxin, she looked at the former and asked, âWhat should I call you now? Emperor Yun or Senior Brother Yun?â
Her gaze looked the same as ever. It never changed whether he was Yun Che, the Devil Master, or Emperor Yun.
Yun Che replied, âSince itâs Feixue, of course I would prefer to hear âSenior Brother Yunâ or âYun Cheâ from you.â
âFairy sister,â Yun Wuxin said suddenly, ânice to meet you. I am Yun Wuxin.â
Yun Che: (she called her fairy sister?)
At first, Mu Feixue looked a bit surprised. Then, her icy pupils melted into obvious gentleness and something complicated. âI would not think that Senior Brother Yun has a daughter this big already. The passage of time truly is as beautiful and cruel as this eternal snow.â
âBe that as it may, it seems that timeâs concept of cruelty doesnât apply to you, Feixue,â Yun Che said smilingly.
ââŚâ Her pupils shivered a little, and the tiniest smile appeared on her face. It was too bad that Mu Feixueâs smile had always been as vanishing as the first snow.
âI shall not disturb you two any longer.â
She stepped away after leaving behind these departing words.
Yun Wuxinâs gaze kept lingering on Mu Feixueâs back. She didnât look away even after she was long gone.
âShe looks very similar to your mom, doesnât she?â Yun Che asked.
âAh? Does she?â Yun Wuxin exclaimed in surprise.
Her surprise made Yun Che surprised. âThen why were you staring at her like that?â
Yun Wuxin narrowed her eyes at her father, but she soon realized that her father wasnât faking his astonishment. So she asked, âShe was the one who gave you the Eternal Imagery Stone, right father?â
âHuh?â Yun Che rubbed the tip of his nose. âHow did you know that? Did your Auntie Qianying tell you about it?â
âI even know that she likes you very, very, VERY much.â
For some reason, Yun Wuxin sounded odd when she said this.
âOkay, you definitely didnât hear THAT from your Auntie Qianying,â Yun Che declared immediately.
Yun Wuxinâs eyes grew even odder. âFather, I just want to check, but⌠donât tell me you didnât watch the projection engraved in the Eternal Imagery Stone at all before you gave it to me as a gift?â
Startled, Yun Che shook his head. âNo. I told her that I was going to gift the Eternal Imagery Stone to my daughter after all. All I was thinking after I got it was to give it to you as quickly as possible.â
âI had no idea there was an existing projection in the Eternal Imagery Stone. Did she make it?â
Yun Wuxin stomped her foot angrily. âFather, you⌠youâre such a dumb dumb sometimes, you know that!?â
Yun Che: âEr⌠huhâŚ?â
âItâs bad enough that youâre so fickle in love, but itâs even worse that you would betray the love of someone this wonderful and single-minded!â
Yun Wuxin took out the Eternal Imagery Stone in question and slapped it on her fatherâs palm. âWatch it now⌠Iâll show myself around while you do so!â
Before Yun Che could say anything, she turned away and flew toward the Sacred Hall, leaving him to âreflectâ upon his mistakes.
âWuxin, where are you goââ
However, Yun Wuxin ignored him completely and flew out of sight in no time.
Both exasperated and amused, Yun Che shook his head and held up the Eternal Imagery Stone. He had to admit that Yun Wuxinâs reaction had made him very curious.
His profound energy seeped into the Eternal Imagery Stone. As it turned out, there were a lot of projections inside the object such as the birthday images Yun Wuxin had shown him before, some daily life images she left behind for various reasons, and many more relating to Chu Yuechan or Feng Xueâer.
A short while later, he finally found the earliest projection in the Eternal Imagery Stone and summoned it.
The background was that of icy crystals, icy branches, and a familiar, cold mist that looked thick enough to spill into reality. Yun Che immediately recognized it as a bedroom in the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region.
Then, Mu Feixue slowly entered the scene.
âYun⌠CheâŚâ
Her icy pupils seemed unfocused and misty as she stared forward. The whisper that escaped her lips was without a doubt his name.
âToday is the seven hundredth day since news of your death reached this realm âŚâ
âIt has been an ordeal that is both short and impossibly long.â
Her voice sounded as ephemeral as a dream.
âI had thought that time would heal all wounds, butâŚâ
âWhen I hear the sound of the wind, I hear your voice. When I look at the heavenly lake, I see your image. When I feel the air, I sense your aura. And when I touched the snow⌠it felt cold enough to deaden my soul.â
âEven on the occasions that I regain clarity of mind, your name still wonât leave my finger.â
At first, Yun Che didnât get what she was saying. Then, he realized in shock that every object in the shimmering projectionâthe ice tables, the ice walls, the ice corals, the ice branchesâthey all had his name engraved on them. [1]
A myriad of emotions rose from his heart at this moment. The clearest one was a pain he couldnât describe.
He had known that Mu Feixue was in love with him, but he had no idea that it was to this extent.
He recalled every interaction he ever had with Mu Feixue, but he just couldnât find the one that made her so infatuated with him.
âIs this what the books describe as the tribulations of love? No wonder they all say that it is easier to survive ten thousand calamities than it is to survive one love tribulationâŚâ
She closed her eyes as she traced the names she had engraved with her fingertips. âI regret choosing fear when you were still with me. I regret backing down again and again when I should be advancing.â
âIf a miracle exists in this world⌠I swear I wonât run away in shame any longer. I will look you in the eyes and tell you that I am not your âLittle Fairyâ. I will tell you that I only want to be your Mu Feixue foreverâŚâ
ââŚâ
That was where the projection ended.
It was the only projection Mu Feixue had engraved in the Eternal Imagery Stone.
Yun Che stayed where he was and blanked out for a very long time. [2]
When he was still in the Snow Song Realm, Mu Feixue had done everything in her power to avoid him. Wherever he went, she would refuse to appear unless absolutely necessary. That never changed even after he attended the Profound God Convention.
After he died in the Star God Realm and returned to the Snow Song Realm three years later, her attitude had suddenly changed tremendously.
It was Mu Feixue who suggested gifting his daughter an Eternal Imagery Stone⌠It was also her who gave him the Eternal Imagery Stone.
At this point, he fully realized that she was trying to convey her deepest thoughts to him through the Eternal Imagery Stone.
However, he had assumed that it was a brand new Eternal Imagery Stone and hadnât checked its contents at all. He had gifted it to Yun Wuxin immediately.
Of course Yun Wuxin thought that her father had watched this projection when she saw it for the first time⌠she might even think, no, she definitely thought that her father was showing off to her and mentally preparing her for her new âauntieâ.
After that, Yun Che treated Mu Feixue exactly the same as before, so she mustâve thought that his indifference was his way of letting her down kindly.
Yun Che smacked himself in the head, hard.
Ss⌠how could I have been so stupid?? I shouldâve checked the Eternal Imagery Stone at least once!!
He finally realized just how much loneliness and pain she was hiding every time Mu Feixue watched him with those cool eyes of hers and favored him with her tiny smile.
It took him another while before he finally stopped beating himself up. While he was holding the Eternal Imagery Stone, he accidentally triggered the next projection after Mu Feixueâs.
It showed a Yun Wuxin who was just about to hit fifteen years old.
âHeehee, daddy, this is the first time Iâve used the Eternal Imagery Stone you gifted me. I donât know if Iâm doing this right, but it doesnât matter, right? Iâm your daughter, youâre not allowed to dislike it even if turns out to be ugly, hmph hmph.â
An unconscious smile crept onto his lips as he watched his childish daughter.
âIt took me a very, very long time to make the three Glazed Sound Stones I gifted daddy, so you cannot damage them no matter what, okay? If you do, Iâll punish you by making you repair them with me⌠itâs a promise, okay? This is the proof, and any objections will not be accepted, heehee!â
âAs I could ever allow them to be damaged.â Yun Che spoke to himself smilingly. âThis is one âpunishmentâ youâll never be able to fulfill.â
He had fought many dangerous and life-threatening battles right up until the final battle against the Western Divine Region, and his body had suffered god knows how many injuries up to that point. However, the tri-colored Glazed Light Stones he wore around his neck had never suffered so much as a single scratch.
His spiritual perception flickered again, and the third projection began playing. It was not an unfamiliar scene. It was the one Yun Wuxin had shown him on her twentieth birthday.
To be more specific, it was the supernatural phenomena that had occurred when the Blue Pole Star was teleported from the east of the Eastern Divine Region to the south of the Southern Divine Region.
It had only happened for a short moment, but Yun Wuxin had still managed to capture it with the Eternal Imagery Stone.
He had already seen the projection before, and he remembered its contents clearly to this day, but Yun Che thought that he might as well let it play out until the end.
The blue sky shivered, space itself trembled, and the clouds were scattered into nothing. A thick crimson light spread out with incredible speed and enveloped everything in no timeâŚ
It was exactly the same as he remembered it. When the projection was about to end, Yun Che brushed his finger against the Eternal Imagery Stone and turned it off.
Right as the projection disappeared, Yun Cheâs gaze suddenly shivered a little.
It was because he had caught sight of a purple flash right before the end.
The purple flash had happened so quickly and was so short that it was utterly beyond the eyesight of a normal person to catch. Even Yun Che hadnât noticed it when he watched the projection the first time.
Even now, he still thought that he was mistaken, and that it was probably something his mind hallucinated because he wasnât paying attention.
1. (T/N: so this is what passes as yandere in this story).
2. (T/N: oh, heâs dead)
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