"Alright, Yue'er, didn't you say you were going to go look for Senior Sister Qianxue and the others in a little while?"
"Ta-da! Da-da-da-da!"
A sound echoed in her mind, and her consciousness came back online.
"Qianxue... Senior Sister? Right, I still have to go play with Senior Sister Qianxue and the others!"
With that, Luo Yue deftly slid down, wriggled right out of Shen Shuanghan's arms, and scurried off toward the foot of the mountain like a flash, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
When Luo Yue reached the foot of Qingxue Peak, a fairy-like figure in green was standing beside a white steed, gently stroking it.
The horse's coat was smooth and glossy, with a pair of wings folded against its flanks. This horse was none other than Lin Qianxue's mount.
"Xiao Yue'er is here! Let's go, Senior Sister will take you to change clothes."
Seeing that Luo Yue had arrived, Lin Qianxue expertly lifted her onto the horse. The next moment, the wings spread wide, and the white steed carried the two of them straight toward Liuyun Peak.
"Senior Sister Qianxue, why do we need to change clothes?"
"Because today your senior sisters plan to take you out to see the outside world. But you see, our little Yue'er can't just go out looking like this, so we have to dress you up properly."
After a quarter of an hour, the two finally arrived in the territory of Liuyun Peak.
It wasn't that Lin Qianxue's mount was slow—on the contrary, it was quite fast. However, Yaoguang Holy Land was simply too vast, which meant it took a full quarter of an hour of flying to arrive, and that was only because the two peaks weren't too far apart.
Along the way, Luo Yue kept asking Lin Qianxue what the outside world was like, and Lin Qianxue patiently answered every question. Unfortunately, before Luo Yue could ask anything more, she spotted her other two senior sisters waiting below, waving at her.
Once the four of them reached the room prepared for Luo Yue on Liuyun Peak, Su Wanyi excitedly took out the clothes she had prepared earlier.
"Xiao Yue'er, hurry, hurry, hurry! Come and see the clothes Senior Sister prepared for you. Which set do you like?"
"Senior Sister Wanyi, is there any chance... that I am a boy?"
Looking at the colorful little dresses before her, Luo Yue couldn't help falling into deep thought.
"So what if you're a boy? Who says boys can't wear little dresses?"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Hearing Su Wanyi's reply, Liu Mingshuang, standing nearby, nodded along and even conjured an even more exquisite pink little dress out of thin air.
"Xiao Yue'er, you're so cute, how could you waste such an adorable appearance?"
"Besides, the Holy Lord gave orders beforehand: apart from the disciples within our holy land, outsiders aren't allowed to know you're a boy, not even the elders and disciples of the Yaoguang Sect."
Hearing Lin Qianxue's explanation, Luo Yue obediently closed her eyes and let the three senior sisters knead and transform her at will.
After trying on God knows how many little dresses, Luo Yue finally ended up in a blue little dress that left all three senior sisters thoroughly satisfied.
The lower half was a sky-blue flared skirt, while the upper half was a slightly lighter blue top, layered with a thin veil of white gauze. A light blue sash at her waist was tied into the shape of a butterfly, with a small embroidered lotus flower at the tips.
"So pretty! No matter what dress it is, it fits our Xiao Yue'er perfectly."
As Liu Mingshuang sighed in admiration, Lin Qianxue suddenly had a flash of inspiration, feeling as though something was still missing.
"Hair accessories! Right, I knew something felt a bit incomplete."
With that, Lin Qianxue personally tied Luo Yue's hair into two hair buns, securing them with two blue ribbons, leaving long ribbons trailing down as her remaining hair cascaded over her shoulders, while a few wisps of bangs framing her face covered Luo Yue's forehead.
"Look, doesn't she look even cuter like this?"
And thus, the adorable little loli Luo Yue was born.
"Our little Yue'er is so pretty. Who knows which boy is going to get lucky in the future?"
Liu Mingshuang chuckled as she pinched Luo Yue's chubby cheeks, completely oblivious to how outrageous her own remark was.
???
"Isn't our little Yue'er a boy?"
Su Wanyi looked skeptically at Lin Qianxue, who could only speechlessly support her forehead with her hand.Hearing Su Wanyi's question, Liu Mingshuang finally remembered Luo Yue's gender and quickly said, "Oh, right! We can't let outsiders take advantage. As the saying goes, 'don't let fertile water flow into another person's field,' so let's just keep Xiao Yue'er within our own circle."
"He's still a child!"
"So what?"
"He's going to grow up one day anyway. It's fine, I can wait."
Seeing the infatuated look on Liu Mingshuang's face, Lin Qianxue stepped forward, walked right up to her, and grabbed her by the ear.
"Liu Mingshuang! Do you want to be expelled from the Holy Land and sent to the Yaoguang Sect?"
"Setting aside the fact that Xiao Yue'er is still young, just look at his background: he is the disciple of Emperor Venerable Shen Shuanghan and the grand-disciple of the God Lord of the Yaoguang God Domain. Who could possibly be worthy of him, and who would dare come to our Yaoguang Holy Land to seduce him? Our Holy Land detests worldly entanglements above all else. If you want to die, don't drag Xiao Yue'er down with you!"
(Muttered quietly: He's also the disciple of the Demoness Su Wanyue and the grand-disciple of the God Lord of the Tianji God Domain, you know!)
"Alright, alright, let's hurry up and leave. In case Peak Master and the others find out, we won't be able to get away."
Su Wanyi pulled the two quarreling women apart, picked up Luo Yue, and left. Seeing Su Wanyi carrying Luo Yue away, Lin Qianxue let go of her ear and hurried after them.
"Hey, wait for me, you three!"
***
On the Suoyun Boat, Luo Yue leaned against the railing, blinking his big, sparkling, cartoonish eyes in curiosity as he watched the scenery fly past below.
"Senior Sister Wanyi, did we sneak out?"
"That's right! To broaden Xiao Yue'er's horizons, Senior Sisters specially brought Xiao Yue'er out on the sly. Xiao Yue'er mustn't tell anyone, okay?"
"Mm, Yue'er will remember."
"Also, Xiao Yue'er must not let outsiders know that you're a boy, understand?"
Lin Qianxue leaned over from the other side and warned Luo Yue with a stern face. Afterward, Luo Yue turned to look at the least reliable Liu Mingshuang, only to find that the latter was also nodding solemnly.
This left a crucial piece of information in Luo Yue's young mind: absolutely no one outside the Holy Land must ever know he is a boy, even if he didn't quite understand why.
Two hours later...
After traveling for two hours and using several teleportation arrays along the way, the four of them finally arrived at a bustling city near the Yaoguang Holy Land called Taolin.
Taolin City was one of the major cities under the jurisdiction of the Yaoguang Sect within the Yaoguang God Domain. Its city lord was an almighty super expert in the Divine Venerable Realm, backed by countless experts in the Divine King and Divine Sovereign Realms.
The city was named Taolin because inside it lay the famous Myriad-Mile Peach Forest of Yaoguang. Filled with bubbling springs, clear streams, and endless falling peach blossoms, it was as poetic and picturesque as an earthly paradise. The City Lord's Mansion itself was located right in the middle of it.
The scenery inside Taolin was breathtaking, featuring a peach orchard known as the Guest-Retaining Grove, which was the only area of Taolin open to ordinary people.
As for the City Lord's Mansion, apart from the city lord and those dwelling within the mansion, only a tiny handful of people of noble status knew anything about it.
Inside Taolin City, Lin Qianxue walked at the very front carrying Luo Yue, followed closely by Su Wanyi and Liu Mingshuang. Luo Yue rested his chin on Lin Qianxue's shoulder, looking all around.
Having grown up inside the Yaoguang Holy Land since he was little, Luo Yue had never seen what the world outside looked like.
"Senior Sister Qianxue, what is that?"
Following Luo Yue's gaze, they saw a little girl resting on a woman's shoulder, holding a bamboo stick in each hand. Atop the sticks was a clump of pink fluff that the little girl kept shaping into small flowers and butterflies, occasionally taking a lick and looking thoroughly delighted.
"That's called a peach candy, a kind of snack. What is it, does Xiao Yue'er want to eat some?"
"Mm."
"Wait here, Xiao Yue'er, Senior Sister will go get you some good stuff right now."
Hearing Luo Yue's reply, Liu Mingshuang zipped off like a flash of lightning and vanished from sight.
"Mingshuang..."
"Oh well, let's go play in the Guest-Retaining Grove first. Senior Sister Mingshuang will buy it for you in a moment."