Wang Zhaojun got up and walked toward the door. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene from just now flashed through her mind.
She walked out into the courtyard, where tung tree leaves drifted down onto her shoulders. Leaning against the tree trunk, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
She only had memories from after she met her master. What on earth was the three-hundred-year gap in her memory? Mother? Such an unfamiliar word.
Were the woman in her dream and her mother the same person? Why didn't she have the slightest recollection?The morning sun slowly rose, casting a soft glow over Peach Blossom Pier.
"A-Li! Something terrible has happened!"
Gongsun Li rubbed her sleepy eyes, stretched lazily, and leisurely pushed open the door. "What do you mean, terrible! This lady is doing just fine!"
"Master Bai is missing! If Fairy Zhaojun comes back and finds him gone, she'll never let me off the hook," the servant explained anxiously.
Gongsun Li irritably pressed a hand to her forehead. "If you can't find him, why are you coming to me? Go look around the neighborhood! If Xiaobai is lost, you'll be held accountable!"We've already searched all of Peach Blossom Cove, even the surrounding areas, but still haven't found him. A-Li, where do you think Master Bai could have gone?"
Gongsun Li let out a lazy yawn. "You can't even keep an eye on a child. You really are useless."
After thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly remembered that yesterday Xiaobai kept asking her where Sister Zhaojun had gone. Annoyed by his nagging, she had blurted it out.
Could he have gone to Tianyu?
Without a second thought, Gongsun Li headed straight toward Tianyu, tossing out a parting remark over her shoulder: "Stop looking! I know where he went!"
Wang Zhaojun was dressed in a long pink gown, her slender, willow-like waist cinched with a wide brocade belt of the same color. Delicate embroidery adorned her robes, which trailed behind her with effortless grace, her ink-black hair secured by a single jade hairpin.
She stepped up into the magnificent yet elegant sedan chair, unable to keep from clicking her tongue in wonder. The sedan was crafted from the finest divine wood, lined with cushions woven from millennium-old silkworm silk, and draped with beaded curtains made entirely from East Sea pearls.
This sedan had been sent by Tianyu to pick her up, and the clothes she wore were borrowed from Zixia.
Wang Zhaojun was as poor as could be.
Having slept poorly the night before, she couldn't help yawning once she settled inside the sedan, resting one hand against her temple to close her eyes and rest.
"Hand over the Xianling Fruit!" Taking advantage of Han Xin's distraction, Daji had snuck out to play, only to forget her Spirit Stones.
In the past, Han Xin would always foot the bill for her, but now that she was on her own and had no one to buy her Xianling Fruits, she set her sights on Xiaobai.
"No way!" Xiaobai clutched the Xianling Fruit tightly to his chest.
"Idiot! Do you believe I'll eat you?" Seeing that Xiaobai didn't know what was good for him, Daji transformed into a fox and lunged at him.
Xiaobai cursed his bad luck inwardly. Why did everyone here want to eat him?! This fox was terrifying!
Xiaobai dodged sideways, and Daji missed, growing thoroughly irritated.
Seizing another opportunity, Daji lunged at him again, scratching Xiaobai's face with her claws before leaping down to the ground and shifting back into her human form.
"Idiot! Hand over the Xianling Fruit!"
Ignoring the pain on his face, Xiaobai shielded the Xianling Fruit with his life. "No! This is for Sister."
Daji let out a cold snort and raised her hand to strike Xiaobai across the face. Having grown up pampered, she had never suffered such disrespect.
Terrified, Xiaobai closed his eyes, his long, slender eyelashes trembling slightly, his peach-colored lips pressed into a tight line.
"Slap!"
As the crisp sound rang out in his ears, the expected pain never came. Xiaobai slowly opened his eyes.
The slap that should have landed on his face had instead landed on Daji's. A slender, fair hand rested on his shoulder, and behind his back was a familiar embrace.
He turned his head abruptly, looking up at her with aggrieved eyes, and whispered softly, "Sister, I missed you so much. I thought you didn't want me anymore."
Wang Zhaojun didn't answer Xiaobai. Her gaze lingered on Daji's face for a moment before she said coolly, "It really is quite pretty."
"You actually dare lay a hand on him?"
She cast a cold glance at Daji, her expression frozen in pure ice, her voice crystal clear and devoid of any warmth.
With a tranquil and unruffled face that betrayed no emotion, she said indifferently, "With him gone, you still dare stir up trouble?"
Daji lifted her small, palm-sized face, her eyes brimming with grievance. "What did Daji do wrong? Why did you hit me?"
Wang Zhaojun looked down her nose at Daji with a cold, aloof gaze, a fleeting chill flashing through her eyes as she sneered, "I want you to apologize to him."
She pushed Xiaobai toward Daji, but Daji curled her lip in disdain. "Why should I apologize to him!"
Seeing Wang Zhaojun, Xiaobai was so overjoyed that he practically forgot what had just happened.
"Sister, let it go. She only hit me once."
Wang Zhaojun's pretty eyes narrowed slightly, a dark glint flashing in their depths.
"I am not going to apologize to this little idiot! And I'm going to tell Lord Shaojun that you're bullying me!" Daji turned her face away in a huff.
"You bad fox, your Lord Shaojun is a bad person too." Xiaobai tilted his furry head up, his chin held high in the air.
Wang Zhaojun's delicate brows furrowed imperceptibly. She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Hearing Xiaobai insult not only her but also her beloved Brother Han Xin, Daji flew into a rage and slapped Xiaobai across the face.
"I won't let you insult Lord Shaojun!"
Enduring the burning pain on his face, Xiaobai kept his proud chin lifted high. "Hitting me won't change anything. Both you and your Lord Shaojun are scoundrels."
Driven mad by humiliation, Daji lunged forward once more, reaching out to grab Xiaobai by the throat. "You little bastard! I'll teach you to insult Lord Shaojun!"
Wang Zhaojun didn't react in time, and by the time she collected herself, Xiaobai's face was already flushed red from being choked.
"You actually dare lay hands on my people right in front of me!"
Wang Zhaojun barked angrily and shoved Daji aside. Before Daji could recover, she was subdued—Wang Zhaojun's slender fingers locked around her throat.
Daji struggled slightly, but to no avail. Though she was starved of air, her eyes showed no trace of fear; she knew Lord Shaojun would definitely come to save her.
"Sister, please let her go." Xiaobai cautiously checked Wang Zhaojun's expression and tugged on her sleeve.
"She bullied you, so she has to pay the price." Ignoring Xiaobai's plea, Wang Zhaojun tightened her grip slightly around Daji's throat.
"Wang Zhaojun! What do you think you're doing?" Han Xin flashed to Wang Zhaojun's side out of nowhere and clamped his hand around her wrist.
"Did you not just see what I was doing?"
Her brow arched slightly. Even though she was in love with Han Xin, her pride would never let her cower before him just because of her feelings.
Han Xin applied more pressure, drawing a sharp gasp of pain from her lips. Instead of letting go, he increased the force further, snapping her arm.
Wang Zhaojun froze, staring at him in disbelief, searching his face for any other emotion. But his expression remained as cold as ever, and she could read nothing in it.
"Ridiculous. How utterly ridiculous."
Wang Zhaojun slowly parted her lips, a self-deprecating sneer curling the corners of her mouth. Forgetting the pain in her arm for a moment, she never imagined he could be so ruthless.
"Sister, are you alright?"
Everything had happened too fast. Xiaobai only just snapped back to reality, and he anxiously guarded her injured arm, placing his small body between her and Han Xin.