Chapter 79
Ming agreed immediately.
Soon Kai, Ning, Ming and Hua Hua began heading back toward the celebration.
Before leaving, Ming pointed at Meimei.
"If you get tired, give her to me."
"Sure."
Meimei frowned immediately.
She turned toward Wuming.
"Brother Wuming?"
"Call me Wuming only."
The little girl blinked.
Wuming continued.
"I am going home."
"Already?"
"My work is finished."
His voice remained as calm as still water.
"I need to train. I also have a mission tomorrow."
Meimei quietly nodded.
She understood.
At least as much as she could.
Ming carefully took her into his own arms while Hua Hua occupied the other side.
Both little girls immediately began waving at Wuming.
Wuming did not wave back.
Not even once.
Zheng watched the scene before suddenly speaking.
"Meimei is cute."
Then his grin widened.
"Though I wanted to see that little cherry blossom girl."
Yin Fu immediately became interested.
"Oh?"
She looked at him.
"Who?"
Zheng straightened proudly.
"The girl who carried Wuming on her back when he got injured during training."
Yin Fu's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh?"
Now she was interested.
"What is her name?"
Zheng looked proud as though he himself had discovered some hidden treasure.
"Just like her appearance, her name is beautiful too."
"It's Yinghua."
"Oh?"
Yin Fu smiled.
"I want to meet her soon."
Wuming remained silent.
Yet despite himself, a face appeared inside his mind.
A girl running through the training grounds.
A massive log flying through the air.
The way she had grabbed him without hesitation.
Pulled him beside her.
Protected him.
Then carried him on her back as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
And those eyes.
Warm.
Gentle.
Comforting.
The complete opposite of his own.
Yin Fu noticed his silence immediately.
She slowly turned toward him.
A teasing smile appeared.
"Is she pretty, Wuming?"
Wuming glanced toward her.
For a moment he said nothing.
Then finally spoke.
"Aren't cherry blossoms pretty?"
Yin Fu laughed.
"Of course they are."
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"What is her full name?"
"Lan Yinghua."
For the first time Yin Fu genuinely looked surprised.
"Oh?"
Then she smiled even wider.
"It seems Yinghua is quite a strong girl."
"And beautiful too."
"To be remembered by both of you."
Wuming said nothing.
Zheng immediately jumped into the conversation.
"She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
He paused.
"Well."
"After Mother and Aunt Yin Fu of course."
Yin Fu immediately grabbed his ear.
"Oho?"
"So you're a smooth talker now?"
Zheng immediately cried out.
"AUNTY! LET GO!"
Yin Fu only laughed harder.
Then her gaze drifted toward Wuming.
The boy was already looking at her.
Silent.
Expressionless.
Not denying anything.
Not agreeing either.
Yin Fu suddenly pointed at him.
"It seems my son likes Yinghua quite a bit."
"Look at him."
"He's saying absolutely nothing."
Wuming stared at her for several seconds.
Then turned around.
"I am going home."
And began walking away.
Yin Fu blinked.
Then immediately burst into laughter.
"Wait!"
"Come back!"
"I didn't mean to upset you!"
Her laughter echoed through the palace halls while Wuming continued walking forward without even turning around once. His expression never changed.
Yet for some reason.
The image of a girl standing beneath falling cherry blossoms remained inside his mind.
By the time Wuming returned to the Xuan Estate, the moon had already climbed high into the night sky.
The estate was unusually quiet.
Most of the servants had either retired for the night or were still accompanying their masters at the Imperial Palace. The vast courtyards lay silent beneath the silver moonlight, giving the entire estate a peaceful atmosphere.
Peaceful.
At least, it would have been peaceful if not for the scream that suddenly shattered the silence.
"AAAAAH! Wei Zhi! Spare me! I really can't do it!"
Wuming stopped walking.
His golden eyes slowly lifted toward the rooftops.
A familiar figure was currently sprinting across the tiled roofs as though his life depended on it.
Weiyang.
Tears streamed down his face while his robes fluttered wildly behind him. His expression was one of pure terror.
Chasing him from behind was Wei Zhi.
And in her hand—
A stick.
Not an ordinary stick.
A very thick stick.
One specifically chosen to inflict maximum pain.
"Stop running, you idiot!" Wei Zhi shouted furiously while leaping across another rooftop. "I need you to learn strategy! Elder Gu won't let me into his library unless I win our bet!"
Weiyang nearly tripped.
"I'll memorize every book in existence if you want!" he cried miserably. "I'll recite them to you every day! But not strategies! I really can't understand them!"
Wei Zhi's face darkened.
"You've been saying that for three hours!"
"Because it's true!"
"Then stop being stupid!"
"I'm not stupid! My brain just works differently!"
"Your brain doesn't work at all!"
The stick descended.
Smack!
"AAAAAAAH!"
Weiyang immediately accelerated.
Watching this scene, Wuming remained silent.
For some reason, seeing Weiyang running for his life while Wei Zhi chased him across the rooftops felt strangely normal.
Perhaps this was simply how friends interacted.
Suddenly, Weiyang noticed him standing below.
His eyes instantly lit up.
"Wuming!"
Without hesitation, he changed direction and rushed toward him.
"Save me!"
Wuming calmly stepped aside.
A moment later—
Smack!
Wei Zhi's stick landed perfectly on Weiyang's head.
Another miserable scream echoed throughout the estate.
"You betrayed me!" Weiyang accused while clutching his head.
"You ran toward me," Wuming replied expressionlessly.
"..."
Weiyang could not refute that.
Wei Zhi finally noticed Wuming properly.
She landed gracefully on the ground and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Wuming."
"Wei Zhi."
"You returned late."
"I had matters to attend to."
Wei Zhi narrowed her eyes.
She had known Wuming long enough to understand that this was all he intended to say.
So she didn't ask further.
Meanwhile, Weiyang had already retreated several steps away from her.
His gaze remained fixed on the stick in her hand.
"Listen, Wei Zhi. We can discuss this peacefully."
"No."
"Violence isn't the answer."
"It is tonight."
Weiyang immediately hid behind Wuming.
"Wuming, help me."
Wuming looked at him.
"No."
"..."
Betrayed by the world itself, Weiyang turned and ran again. Wei Zhi chased after him without hesitation. "Get back here!"
"I refuse!"
"I swear I'll beat strategy into your head if I have to!"
"I'd rather die!" Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
Wuming watched them disappear across the rooftops before continuing toward his own courtyard. The estate had once felt cold and empty. Now it was merely noisy. He wasn't sure when that had changed. Nor did he particularly care. But for the first time in a long while—The estate no longer felt unfamiliar.
Wuming quietly watched as Weiyang sprinted straight out of the estate gates with Wei Zhi chasing after him with murderous intent. Just as Wei Zhi was about to leap over the outer wall, Wuming finally spoke.
"Wei Zhi."
She immediately stopped on the wall and looked back.
"You're not allowed outside the estate after nightfall. Remember?"
Wei Zhi paused for a moment before looking in the direction Weiyang had escaped to. She frowned. "You can take care of it. I'll be back within an hour. I need to make sure that idiot reaches home safely in one piece."
Wuming simply nodded.
"Sure."
Wei Zhi looked relieved for some reason.
"You should go to bed."
Then, without waiting for an answer, she disappeared into the darkness in pursuit of Weiyang.
Wuming watched the direction they had left from before saying quietly, "What a day."
He then proceeded toward the inner residence.
The night wind was cool. The estate was silent once more.
As he walked, Wuming opened his palm and a small black portal appeared beside him. A tiny figure floated out from within it. The Demon Infant yawned lazily before glaring at him.
"Danny."
The Demon Infant's face immediately twisted.
"Don't call me that."
Wuming continued walking.
"Well, you see, Danny, it doesn't really matter what your name is. You can be whatever you want, so stop making a fuss about it."
The Demon Infant floated in front of him angrily.
"No! You promised me I would receive a proper name made by Yinghua and Wei Zhi."
Wuming remained expressionless.
"What could I do? They couldn't come up with a name for you."
He paused.
"Unlike the cat Wei Zhi brought."
The Demon Infant looked personally offended.
"Why does that little shit get a name from them? And such a fancy one too! Lady Noir? Why does she get Lady in front of her name?"
Wuming looked at him.
"You received a name from me. Aren't you happy?"
"Of course not!" the Demon Infant shouted immediately. "Yinghua and Weiyang would be overjoyed to get a name from you! Not me!"
Wuming stopped walking.
He looked directly at the Demon Infant.
"Danny."
The Demon Infant froze.
"I won't repeat myself."
His voice was calm.
Cold.
"Go."
The Demon Infant shivered instinctively.
Without another complaint, he immediately floated away in the direction Wei Zhi had left.
Wuming continued toward his room.
Upon entering, he found a familiar figure already occupying his bed.
A black and white striped cat lay comfortably atop the blankets as though she owned the entire room. Her emerald green eyes immediately opened the moment she sensed him.
The windows of the room remained open. Gentle wind entered from outside, causing the papers scattered across the desk to flutter softly.
The cat immediately stood up.
"Meow."
She gracefully walked toward him.
"Meow."
Wuming looked down at her.
"It's only been a few days and you're already attached to me, Lady Noir?"
The cat meowed again.
Wuming took that as confirmation.
He moved toward the bookshelf and retrieved a jade bottle containing Autumn Crocus Pills. Without hesitation, he poured five pills into his palm and swallowed them all.
The medicinal essence immediately began circulating throughout his body.
He then changed out of the luxurious hanfu gifted by the Crown Prince and changed into an ordinary black hanfu. His silver-white hair fell freely down his back, loose and slightly wavy.
Only after finishing did he sit upon the bed.
Lady Noir immediately followed.
With practiced ease, she climbed into his lap, circled twice, and settled comfortably while continuing to meow softly.
Wuming sighed quietly.
Looking down at her, three faces unexpectedly surfaced within his mind.
Wei Zhi.
Weiyang.
Yinghua.
Lady Noir's eyes resembled Wei Zhi's.
Emerald green.
Calm.
Observant.
Her stubborn insistence on following him everywhere reminded him of Weiyang.
And strangely enough, the patient way she waited beside him without demanding anything reminded him of Yinghua.
Stubborn.
Quiet.
Warm.
Wuming closed his eyes.
Troublesome.
He soon began reciting the Thousand Words of the Xuan Clan.
Ancient mantras echoed softly throughout the room.
As the words left his mouth, the medicinal power of the Autumn Crocus Pills spread throughout his meridians, cleansing, tempering, and refining them. Poisonous impurities hidden within his body were slowly forced out.
After completing the recitation, Wuming shifted to body cultivation.
The battle against Ye Bai had shown him something important.
Ye Bai's body cultivation was impressive.
Very impressive.
Endless Winter truly deserved its reputation.
Compared to Ye Bai, his own body remained weak.
His soul cultivation could protect him from most spiritual attacks.
But against a true body cultivator?
His current physique was insufficient.
That needed to change.
Slowly, spiritual energy gathered around him.
His muscles tightened.
His bones creaked softly.
Minute amounts of black impurities emerged from his pores before evaporating into nothingness.
Lady Noir remained curled peacefully in his lap throughout the entire process.
And beneath the moonlit night, inside the quiet room, Xuan Yin Wuming continued becoming stronger.
As always.
Silently.
The next morning, Wuming, Yinghua, Weiyang and Wei Zhi stood beside each other at the training grounds. Except for Wuming and Yinghua, both Weiyang and Wei Zhi looked utterly exhausted. Dark circles rested beneath their eyes and their expressions looked drained as if they had not slept at all.
Yinghua looked towards Wuming, her voice soft and fleeting like a gentle melody. "How is Lady Noir, Wuming?"
"She's fine," Wuming replied calmly.
Yinghua's eyes brightened instantly. "Really? Should I come visit her sometime?"
End of 79