'This new little junior sister gets to make her home beside the main hall?'
'This was treatment he had never received!'
Bai Yang's clenched fists trembled slightly. He steeled his face and strode toward Song Wanning.
Because of his injuries, he looked much more haggard than usual.
But his graceful bearing remained.
Song Wanning's smile didn't waver. She patted Li Rao's head, not even glancing at Bai Yang.
Only when he was close did she turn her head and ask, "What are you doing here?"
Bai Yang had a torrent of accusations he wanted to voice, but thinking of his purpose for coming here, he forcibly suppressed them.
"Master, I'm sorry."
"It was my fault before. I shouldn't have stolen the Elixir Pills."
In the end, Bai Yang still lowered his head.
He was scared.
Scared that from this day forward, Song Wanning would truly never acknowledge him again.
Hearing this, Song Wanning paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
Her eyes were filled with mockery.
'Some people...'
'...are just masochistic.'
'When you're good to them, they ignore it completely.'
'But the moment you turn cold, they come crawling back.'
Song Wanning's smile faltered, the corners of her lips turning down until she could no longer laugh.
'What does Bai Yang take her for?'
'Someone cheap?'
'Someone to be summoned and dismissed at will?'
Song Wanning's face hardened. "If you're here for the Elixir Pills, there's no need for this. I will bestow them upon you."
As she spoke, she tossed out an Elixir Bottle, which landed directly at Bai Yang's feet.
The bottle rolled, its translucent porcelain white clinking against Bai Yang's black, gold-threaded boots, as if striking his fragile heart.
He snapped his head up, staring at Song Wanning in disbelief.
Shock, confusion, resentment.
In that moment, his pride seemed to have been trampled into the dust.
'He had clearly taken the initiative to apologize, so why did his master have to humiliate him like this?'
Li Rao's shocked expression to the side made it all the more unbearable.
Bai Yang's face instantly flushed crimson. His bloodshot eyes stared at Song Wanning, as fierce as a savage wolf.
"What? Not enough?"
As if oblivious to his fury, Song Wanning tossed another Elixir Bottle.
"That should be enough, right?"
Bai Yang lowered his head, his gaze following the rolling bottle.
An astonishing hatred surfaced in his eyes, and he dug his nails into his palms so hard they broke the skin in his humiliation.
But what he felt even more deeply was panic.
The panic of losing Song Wanning's favor.
The complex emotions tinged the corners of his eyes crimson, and a chilling, gloomy aura emanated from him.
Bai Yang raised his head, gave Song Wanning one last deep look, then turned and left.
His stumbling figure, filled with a stubborn defiance, quickly disappeared over the mountain peak.
"Master, Eldest Brother..."
Little Li Rao couldn't understand why her master, who was such a good person, would treat her eldest brother like that.
"Do you think your master is cruel?"
Song Wanning looked down and asked softly.
Li Rao shook her head.
"No, Master is the best person in the world."
"Is that so? But I injured him and humiliated him. You still don't think I'm cruel?"
Song Wanning asked again.
Li Rao tilted her head up, her chubby little face shaking back and forth.
"Master is good to me, so to Li Rao, Master is the best person in the world."
Such innocent and childish words.
Yet they were like a soothing rain falling into Song Wanning's heart.
Her expression gradually softened, and she reached out to stroke Li Rao's hair bun.
'A principle even a child understands, yet some people live their whole lives without grasping it.'
.......
The Heavenly Prodigy Grand Competition was about to begin.
This year's competition was to be held at the Heavenly Inquiry Sect.
The Grand Competition was held once every ten years, with participating Cultivators from the seven major sects and four great schools.
As the host, the Heavenly Inquiry Sect had begun preparations early to welcome the Cultivators from other sects.
On Guest Welcoming Peak, pavilions stood in great numbers amidst a tranquil environment, filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers, refreshing the heart and soul.
The disciples from the Heavenly Inquiry Sect who were participating were all actively preparing for battle.
With both Ye Chuxue and Bai Yang recently injured, everyone worried they wouldn't be able to take first place, so the burden on the other disciples naturally grew heavier.
On Yunxiao Peak, Ye Chuxue ran into Song Wanning, who was just about to leave.
"Aunt Song!"
Ye Chuxue ran over from a distance.
"Aunt Song, wait!"
She moved as if wind were at her feet, arriving before Song Wanning in the blink of an eye.
Song Wanning looked at her coldly, suppressing the killing intent in her heart as she gave a slight tug at the corner of her lips.
"What is it?"
"Aunt Song, I'm sorry. Everything with Brother Bai is my fault. Can you please stop being angry with him?!"
Ye Chuxue wasn't surprised by Song Wanning's malice.
Song Wanning had never been one to hide her temper; only her own master, Gu Qingyuan, could manage her emotions.
'She felt a little annoyed. Song Wanning was no different from those heartless, second-generation rich kids from her past life.'
'If not for the Song Family's immense power and influence, where would Song Wanning get such confidence?'
She suppressed the resentment she felt toward the rich and forced a smile. "Aunt Song, Brother Bai only took the Elixir Pills to save me..."
"Heh, so you were the one who instructed him to do it?"
Song Wanning suddenly cut her off, her expression turning icy.
"No... I didn't."
Ye Chuxue quickly shook her head. 'Brother Bai did that of his own free will; it had nothing to do with me.'
"If that's the case, then what business is it of yours what happens to Bai Yang?"
Song Wanning shot her a sharp, cold glance that made Ye Chuxue's heart jump. By the time she came to her senses, Song Wanning was already far away.
'If it weren't for the heaven-defying opportunities that follow the male and female leads, she would have killed them the moment she returned to eliminate any future trouble.'
'Still, it's better that they're alive.'
'Living can be even more painful than death.'
.
Ye Chuxue watched Song Wanning's departing figure, a dark glint flashing in her eyes.
She held back a surge of anger, biting her lower lip tightly.
'One day, I will surpass Song Wanning!'
After composing her expression, Ye Chuxue walked up the stone steps toward Bai Yang's courtyard halfway up the mountain.
Just as she reached the entrance, Ye Chuxue was surprised to find Bai Yang standing there.
'Is he waiting for me?'
Ye Chuxue's heart began to beat a little faster.
"Brother Bai, are your injuries any better?"
She walked forward with concern and took out an Elixir Bottle.
"I heard Aunt Song cut off your supply of Elixir Pills. You should take these."
"This is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have angered Aunt Song."
"But no matter how angry she was, Aunt Song shouldn't have been so harsh with you. Doesn't she feel any heartache at all?"
Ye Chuxue looked up at Bai Yang with worry, only to find that he seemed to be lost in thought.
"Brother Bai?"
She waved a hand in front of his face.
Bai Yang snapped out of it and looked into Ye Chuxue's eyes.
"What did you just say to Master?"
"What?"
Ye Chuxue froze for a second. It took her a moment to realize what he meant. 'So Bai Yang saw me with Aunt Song just now?'
She pursed her lips and said, "I apologized to Aunt Song and asked her not to take her anger out on you, but... Aunt Song seemed very angry."
"She even said what happens to you is none of my business!"
The thought of it made Ye Chuxue feel upset.
'She and Brother Bai had been through several crises together, and their relationship was rather ambiguous, just one step away from breaking through that final barrier.'
'Why can't I get involved?'
'And then there's Song Wanning. She's just a master, but she acts like his mother, trying to control everything!'