"How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den? Fózǐ, if you don't experience the life of the Yan family yourself, how can you understand their joy?"
Yao Ranran gazed at Mu Jialing's profile. His skin was flawless, like a freshly peeled egg, smooth, translucent, and tender. If not for his striking features, from a distance he would truly look no different from a boiled egg.
She lowered her voice, persuading softly.
Mu Jialing took a step back, his eyes skimming past the smiling Yan Shanyi. He lifted his gaze toward the sky above the crimson walls, eyes deep as he gave a subtle nod.
The Yan family fortress had its rules. Outsiders who failed to join within three days would be exiled beyond the red walls. It was said that beyond those walls lived man-eating abominations.
Fairy Ranran's words weren't without reason. She wanted spirit stones, and he himself wanted to uncover the secrets of the Yan family fortress. Agreeing would do him no harm.
Seeing his nod, Yao Ranran's eyes curved into a bright smile. "Fortress Master Yan, one thousand spirit stones... no, this Fózǐ is willing to join the Yan family fortress!"
"Good, good! I truly did not misjudge you!" Yan Shanyi was overjoyed. He immediately ordered someone to prepare Mu Jialing's household register and even assigned him a house.
Yao Ranran followed Yan Shanyi into the inner chamber.
Inside stood Pei Xianqiao and five others. None had taken a seat.
Yu Zhenyan crossed her arms, her gaze falling on Yao Ranran's purple robe embroidered with a pale lotus. She sneered. "Yao Ranran, no longer wearing white?"
Pei Xianqiao stood at the side, her gaze glued to Yao Ranran's robes. In the secret realm, when she encountered her heart demon, the woman's attire had been a pure white dress.
Yao Ranran chuckled softly.
This arrogant female cultivator, with two sweet dimples at her cheeks, was the daughter of Yu Weifeng and Xing Ruiseng of the Xing family.
In The Cultivation Handbook of Xianqiao, her role was neither too big nor too small: a side character who disdained both the protagonist and Yao Ranran alike.
Yet what puzzled Yao Ranran was that in the story told from Pei Xianqiao's perspective, there had never been any mention of her entering the Yan family fortress.
By drawing her Sword of Wrath, had she perhaps set a butterfly into motion, rewriting the female lead's cultivation journey?
It was a question worth pondering.
But priorities came first. Right now, the most important thing was to convince them all to join the Yan family fortress. Six people meant six thousand spirit stones! One must learn patience.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yao Ranran glanced at Yan Shanyi. His face was always adorned with a smile. Smiles were contagious, able to close the distance between strangers in an instant.
She remembered back on Earth, experts had said: a smile is a bridge that connects people, a medicine that dissolves conflict, and best of all, it costs nothing.
A free cure for conflict. Exactly what she needed at this moment.
"Hey, what's with you? Speak up," Yu Zhenyan said sharply, noticing Yao Ranran's faint smile. Those calm eyes looked straight at her, but somehow carried an air of superiority, as though forgiving her ignorance.
Yu Zhenyan had long heard of Yao Ranran's so-called white lotus ways. Always pretending to be aloof, secretly looking down on others, yet putting on false forgiveness before acting aggrieved to earn pity and admiration. It was that kind of act that earned her the title of Fairy.
Thinking of this, Yu Zhenyan's voice grew even sharper.
"Cat got your tongue? Weren't you so talkative just now? Why are you pretending now?"
Yao Ranran blinked, surprised.
Why was Yu Zhenyan speaking even harsher? Even the female lead, Pei Xianqiao, looked at her with hostility.
Had her smile been too reserved?
Her eyes slid again to Yan Shanyi.
Yan Shanyi's smile blazed like the sun, so wide it nearly reached his ears, his eyes squinting shut from joy.
Enlightenment struck Yao Ranran in an instant.
She had been far too restrained. A true, joyful smile could not be suppressed. It spread naturally to the corners of one's lips and eyes, shining straight from the heart.
Yao Ranran grasped the true essence of smiling.
Both corners of her lips lifted high, stretching wide toward her ears. Her eyes curved into crescents, narrowing slightly as she bared eight gleaming teeth in a friendly grin.
"Yu Daoyou, how could I have spoken earlier?"
A smile alone wasn't enough. One could not ignore another's words. To remain silent was rude.
Summarizing her first failure, Yao Ranran beamed broadly as she replied, dragging each syllable out with exaggerated cheer.
Her voice reached Yu Zhenyan and her companions, making all six of them shiver, cold sweat prickling their backs.
"You… you don't know it yourself? What's with that creepy grin? Are you threatening me? You useless little waste at the first layer of Qi Refinement!" Through those warped crescent eyes and forced grin, Yu Zhenyan saw mockery, scorn from the depths of Yao Ranran's heart.
A bastard daughter born of a seductress—what right did she have to mock her?
A cripple stripped of her cultivation—what right did she have to look down on her?
Rage blazed hotter in Yu Zhenyan's eyes. She wanted nothing more than to tear apart that enchanting face.
Yao Ranran's grin stiffened.
The effect was worse than she imagined. Instead of easing conflict, her smile only deepened Yu Zhenyan's hatred. At any moment she might actually strike her.
What went wrong?
Had she still not imitated it well enough?
Yao Ranran turned toward Yan Shanyi, baring her grin wider to study his.
The corners of Yan Shanyi's mouth twitched. His squinting eyes flew open in horror as he stumbled back a step.
Why was her smile so terrifying?
Yao Ranran froze. She hadn't expected such a reaction.
Were they… actually afraid of her smile?
"Yao Ranran! Speak!" Yu Zhenyan snapped, stepping forward, furious that she had fallen silent again.
The useless grin slipped from Yao Ranran's face. Her expression chilled in an instant.
Yu Zhenyan sneered in triumph. "Not pretending anymore? Finally showing your true face?"
Yao Ranran: "…"
So now smiling didn't work, and neither did silence.
Fine. Perhaps aloofness suited her better after all.
Straightening her features, Yao Ranran said coldly, "Yu Daoyou, you have no right to insult me."
Yu Zhenyan laughed derisively. "Trash is still trash. What qualifications are needed to scold you?"
Yao Ranran shook her head, staring solemnly into her eyes. "Yu Daoyou, you are new here. You may not yet know the rules of the Yan family fortress."
"What rules?" Yu Zhenyan demanded.
"No one without a Yan family household register has the right to insult anyone bearing the surname Yao."
Her voice rang firm.
Yan Shanyi and the Yan family disciples present all froze, their smiles stiff with shock.