The palace stood illuminated for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
Light poured through every corridor, every carved pillar, every silent chamber that had long since forgotten what it meant to shine. It was not a gentle glow, nor was it the soft warmth of lantern fire. It was brilliant, overwhelming, almost sacred in its intensity, like daylight breaking through a world that had been buried in darkness for far too long.
At the grand entrance, Mahua stood quietly, his figure still and composed, his gaze fixed on the radiance spilling from within. The light reflected faintly in his eyes, but his expression did not change. He simply watched, as though measuring something far deeper than what lay before him.
This was the first time since the great war that the palace had responded.
Beside him, Lu'an shifted slightly, raising a hand to shield his eyes. Even for someone who admired brilliance and glittering beauty, this was too much. The light was sharp, piercing, forcing his eyes to blink again and again as he tried to adjust.
It reminded him of something distant.
Something ancient. The kind of memory that did not belong to this present world.
The glow stretched across the sky like the height of summer, bright and unrelenting, casting long shadows that danced along the stone floors and high archways. It was almost unreal, like stepping into a memory that had been sealed away for a hundred thousand years.
Lu'an let out a soft breath, his voice carrying a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"My…"
Mahua exhaled slowly, a quiet sigh escaping him, though his posture remained unchanged.
"The bell has rung," he said at last, his voice calm but heavy with meaning. "Master has been found."
There was a pause.
A brief hesitation that did not go unnoticed.
"But…" he added.
Lu'an immediately turned to him, confusion evident in his expression. "But? Should we not be happy? Master has already been found. What is there left to think about?"
Mahua did not answer right away. His gaze remained fixed ahead, as though he were looking beyond the walls, beyond the light, beyond even the present moment.
"That," he said slowly, "should be a matter for another day."
His voice lowered slightly, carrying a different weight now.
"My concern is…"
"Run WuNing?" Lu'an interrupted without hesitation.
Mahua gave a small nod. Nothing more.
Yet that single motion carried far more gravity than words could express.
Things were not as simple as they appeared.
They never were.
Mahua inhaled deeply before releasing another quiet sigh, the kind that came from knowing too much and being able to change too little. He shook his head slightly, as though trying to cast aside the complexity of it all, even if only for a moment.
"In one month's time, we will set out to search for Master," he said firmly. "Nothing must be left in WuNing's hands."
As he spoke, he turned without hesitation and began walking toward the northern wing of the palace.
That place.
The moment Lu'an realized where he was heading, his entire expression changed. The earlier awe vanished, replaced by something much closer to alarm.
"You…" he called out, taking a step forward. "Where are you going?"
Mahua did not slow down. "Yanshi Court."
The words fell simply, yet their meaning struck like thunder.
Lu'an froze.
His eyes widened, and for a moment, he could only stare, as though he had misheard.
"No… no, that is not possible," he said quickly, shaking his head. "You cannot go there. That is Master's domain. You know what he loathes the most."
Mahua finally paused. Just for a moment.
Then he turned his head slightly, his gaze calm but unwavering.
"Then who will clean his domain," he asked quietly, "if not us?"
Lu'an opened his mouth to respond, but the words caught in his throat.
He hesitated. Then tried again.
"Have you forgotten?" he said, his tone lowering. "There is a Baohui spell within his chamber. Or…"
His voice trailed off.
Something flickered in his expression, uncertainty creeping in.
Mahua remained silent for a brief moment before letting out another soft sigh.
"It has already been a millennium," he said. "People tend to forget."
With that, he turned fully and continued walking, his figure gradually disappearing into the dim corridor that led toward the long-term western wing. Another place that had not been opened.
The doors there had not been opened for centuries. Dust had claimed them. Silence had preserved them. And yet now, for the first time in ages, someone was walking toward them with purpose.
Lu'an remained where he stood.
Still. Processing.
Trying to make sense of everything that had just happened, and everything that was about to happen.
The return of their master. The ringing of the bell. The reawakening of the palace. Run WuNing's involvement. None of it aligned neatly. None of it followed a path he could easily understand. He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the glowing halls.
"What… just happened?" he murmured to himself.
There was no answer. Of course there wasn't any. Only the lingering light.
Only the quiet certainty that something long buried had finally returned.
Lu'an shook his head lightly, letting out a small, almost helpless laugh. Thinking too deeply had never been his strength.
If there was one thing he knew, one thing he could hold onto without question, it was this.
After countless centuries, after time itself had nearly erased their memory…Their master had returned.
Not just returned. He had come back to reclaim everything that once belonged to him.
___
Jiang Yunxian woke as though someone had split his skull open and poured fire into it.
The pain did not come gently. It surged through him in waves, heavy and suffocating, dragging a deep nausea along with it. His stomach churned unpleasantly, and for a moment, he truly thought he might retch. Even breathing felt like a task he had to consciously remind himself to do.
He did not open his eyes immediately. Instead, he lay there, letting the sensations settle, trying to piece together where he was without relying on sight. The surface beneath him was uneven and firm, not the comfort of a bed, nor even the rough flatness of stone. There was a slight curve to it, a natural rigidity that pressed awkwardly against his back.
A tree, he realized after a moment.
More specifically, he was resting against its thick roots, half-reclined in a position that was far from comfortable, yet stable enough to keep him from collapsing entirely. The faint scent of damp earth and crushed leaves lingered in the air, mingling with the coolness of shade. Somewhere nearby, the wind brushed softly through branches, carrying the distant rustle of foliage and the quiet hum of an undisturbed forest.
Just as he began to stir, attempting to push himself upright despite the pounding in his head, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him.
The grip was firm. Too firm.
It was the kind of hold that spoke of fear rather than care, as though the person believed that if they loosened even slightly, he would fall apart in their hands.
Jiang Yunxian paused, slightly taken aback, before letting out a small breath.
"Thanks," he muttered, his voice rough from disuse.
He did not linger on the person holding him. Instead, he lifted his head and slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the soft daylight that filtered through the leaves above. The world swayed faintly at first, forcing him to steady himself before taking in his surroundings.
They were in a forest clearing, though not one entirely open. Tall trees surrounded them, their trunks ancient and thick, their canopies woven together to form a natural shelter. Light slipped through in scattered beams, painting the ground in shifting patterns of gold and green.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
"You are awake?"
The voice came from the side, calm but carrying a hint of relief.
Jiang Yunxian turned his head slightly and saw Xing Yue standing a short distance away. There was dried blood at the corner of her lips, faint but unmistakable, and though her posture remained composed, there was a subtle tension in her shoulders that had not been there before.
He gave a small nod.
"I am fine," he said, though his voice betrayed him slightly. "Just… it is nothing. Where are we, by the way?"
Xing Yue crossed her arms loosely, her gaze lifting briefly toward the path that stretched beyond the trees.
"The road to Cloud Peak Sect is still far," she replied. "It would take four days of travel at the very least. In your condition, that is not something we can rush."
Jiang Yunxian let out a quiet breath, leaning his head back against the tree for a moment.
"Ah," he murmured. "No wonder everything feels so… unnecessarily difficult."
There was a pause, as though he wanted to say more, perhaps to complain or make light of the situation as he usually would. But the moment his gaze shifted again, it landed on someone he had almost forgotten.
A third presence.
No—he corrected himself silently. Not just a presence. A problem.
His expression changed slightly, a faint crease forming between his brows as his earlier ease gave way to something closer to irritation. He had already been forced into too many complications in a single day. Adding another person to his already troublesome circle was not something he welcomed.
He tilted his head slightly, studying her.
"What was your name again?" he asked.
The woman straightened immediately, as though the question alone carried weight.
"Ru WuNing, Master," she replied without hesitation. "It is Ru WuNing."
Jiang Yunxian let out a long, tired sigh, lifting a hand to rub his temple as though the name itself had worsened his headache.
"I truly do not understand what you are saying," he said plainly. "What master? I am not that kind of person."
He shifted slightly, adjusting his position against the tree, his tone growing more casual, almost deliberately so.
"I enjoy wine," he continued. "I enjoy doing nothing. If possible, I enjoy flirting and wasting my days in peace. Becoming someone's master…" He paused, tilting his head as though genuinely considering it. "That sounds exhausting. Almost like a death sentence."
There was no malice in his words. Only honesty. Blunt, unfiltered honesty.
"I do not know what happened back there," he added, his gaze briefly sharpening. "Nor do I know why you insist on calling me that. But if you have any sense at all, you should leave. Whatever you think you see in me… it is not what you believe."
The forest seemed to grow quieter after he spoke. Even the wind stilled, as though waiting for a response.
Rong Qi, who had remained silent until now, fluttered faintly from within Jiang Yunxian's lapel, his single feather trembling slightly as though reacting to the tension in the air. Xing Yue said nothing, but her gaze shifted toward Ru WuNing, observant and cautious.
There was something about her. Something in her eyes that did not sit well. It was not hostility. Not quite. But it was not something that could be easily trusted either.
Still, Xing Yue remained silent. She was not one to make careless judgments, especially not when the situation was already layered with uncertainties. Appearances could deceive, and she had learned long ago that the truth often lay far beneath what was shown.
Ru WuNing, however, did not argue. She did not hesitate. She did not even attempt to explain. Instead, she lowered her head.
Her movements were smooth, practiced, and filled with a quiet reverence that did not waver even under rejection.
"Yes, Master," she said softly.
And before either of them could react—
She was gone. Not a step. Not a sound.
One moment she was there, standing beneath the filtered light of the trees, and the next, she had disappeared as though she had never existed at all.
The space she left behind felt strangely hollow.
Jiang Yunxian stared at the spot for a brief moment, his brows knitting slightly, though whether from confusion or annoyance, even he could not tell. The forest exhaled again, the wind returning, the leaves whispering softly as if nothing had happened. But something had.
And all three of them knew it.