"Who is that?"
The moment the environment around Luo Yue suddenly changed, Huaran sensed it. In the next instant, she vanished from her spot, and not a single person present noticed.
"Where is this?"
"Senior sister... Senior sister! Senior sister, where are you?"
Silence surrounded him, instantly frightening Luo Yue out of his wits. Ever since he was small, he had been the beloved disciple of Emperor Shuanghua and the precious little grand-disciple of the Holy Land Master in the Yaoguang Holy Land, showered with all manner of affection. When had he ever seen a situation like this?
"Senior sister... Senior sister, where are you? Yue'er is scared!"
"Little one, who are you?"
Seeing that it was only a tiny tot, Huaran finally set her mind at ease. The moment she relaxed, a wave of exhaustion and helplessness welled up from within.
"Hello, elder sister. My name is Luo Yue."
"Little one, you're calling me elder sister?"
Hearing Luo Yue call her elder sister, Huaran felt a sudden sense of novelty. Which child in Peach Forest City did not know of her, Huaran? It seemed this little fellow had come from outside the Peach Forest. But who would bring such a tiny tot to attend an auction?
Presently, only the auction at the Liuke Garden could attract outsiders, so Huaran subconsciously assumed that Luo Yue was a lost child brought along by someone attending the auction.
"Then... elder brother?"
Luo Yue tentatively called out "elder brother," which directly caused a row of black lines to appear on Huaran's forehead."Little one, tell big sister, whose child are you? Big sister will take you to find your elders."
"My name is Luo Yue, and I am a disciple of the master of Yaoguang Holy Land."
"Who is your master?"
This single question nearly fried Luo Yue's brain. Why would such a well-behaved disciple like him go around asking for his master's name?
"Master is just Master."
After saying this, Luo Yue thought back carefully for a moment, then added, "But my senior sister apprentices all call Master Emperor Shuanghua."
Huaran was just about to reach out and pat Luo Yue's head when she was left frozen mid-air by his next words.
"Your master is Emperor Shuanghua?"
"I think... so?"
"What is your grandmaster's name?"
"Grandmaster... Grandmaster is called Holy Lord."
Hearing Huaran's inquiry, Luo Yue pondered for a moment. Aside from his master, who called Grandmaster "Master," everyone else called Grandmaster "Holy Lord." So calling Grandmaster "Holy Lord" should be fine, right?
"Holy Lord? The Holy Lord of Yaoguang? I never expected you to be a disciple of Emperor Shuanghua."
"Little one, how about big sister takes you to find Emperor Shuanghua?"
Huaran reached out and patted Luo Yue's head. The moment she did, the jade box sealed over her chest, which contained a supreme spiritual treasure, flashed with a brilliant white light.A flawless, pristine white orb shattered the jade box sealing it, flew out from Huaran's chest, and plunged straight into Luo Yue's glabella.
The entire process happened so fast that even Huaran didn't have time to react. By the time she snapped back to her senses, Luo Yue had already collapsed to the ground.
"Little one!"
...
On an unfamiliar sofa, Luo Yue slowly opened her eyes.
"Who am I? Where... is this?"
"This is Earth."
Answering Luo Yue was a woman in white lying on a bed. The woman's expression was deathly pale, and her eyes were exhausted, resembling a candle flickering in the wind, as if she might be extinguished at any moment.
"Earth...?"
Luo Yue felt that everything around her was so familiar, but upon trying to recall, her mind was completely blank.
"I... feel so familiar with this. And who... are you?"
"This is your home. As for me? I am your older sister. Sister went to great lengths to bring you to her side."
"Sister?"
"Sister knows you have many doubts, but time is running short for Sister. As you can see, Sister is sick, sick for a very, very long time."
"However, you don't need to worry. Sister just took this opportunity to see you once, so you don't need to rush to understand. As you slowly grow up, you will figure it out."
"From your perspective of time, Sister can still hold on for now. Before you have the ability, Sister will always shield you from the wind and rain, until you are able to take on the burdens on Sister's shoulders."
"By then, Sister can—um, to use words you can understand, pass away peacefully."
"Sister... you..."
"Alright, you are still young, there's no need to know so much. As you slowly grow up, you will gradually remember everything. Wake up now."
"Remember, Sister is always here."
The next moment, darkness fell over Luo Yue's vision, and she heard the voices of Lin Qianxue and the other two beside her.
"Xiao Yue'er, Xiao Yue'er?"
"What's wrong with Xiao Yue'er?"
"The supreme heavenly treasure that injured me was taken by this little one. It looks like it has acknowledged this little one as its master."
Huaran's voice rang out. Luo Yue wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn't manage it, and could only hear the sound of their conversation."Even City Lord Huaran couldn't withstand the spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, and Xiao Yue'er is just a mortal. I'm afraid..."
Lin Qianxue's worried voice drifted over. Luo Yue desperately wanted to tell her that he had simply somehow fallen asleep and woken up, but he couldn't manage to speak. Still, he faintly remembered that he seemed to have an older sister, though he couldn't recall anything else.
His intuition told him something must have happened; otherwise, there was no way he would remember having an older sister out of nowhere. He had grown up in the Yaoguang Holy Land since he was a child—where would he have gotten an older sister? Therefore, something he didn't know about must have occurred.
"He should be fine. Worry clouds the mind. Look at Xiao Yue'er now—his breathing is steady, his pulse is completely normal, and besides, we haven't detected anything unusual within his body."
"That's good, then."
Seeing Lin Qianxue and the other two gathered around Luo Yue, Huaran felt an indescribable emotion stirring in her heart.
She had been born into a humble family and was sold by her relatives as a young child to serve as a maid in a wealthy household for many years. Fortunately, in that household, she had been introduced to the path of cultivation, and she had grown up alongside the young lady of the house.
However, good times never last. During an outing, the young lady of that wealthy household had taken her to watch a martial arts tournament, where she caught the eye of the young master of a third-rate sect.She had originally intended to run away with her young mistress, only to be drugged and knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she discovered that the person who had drugged her was none other than the young mistress she had raised with her own hands.
And that young mistress had done it all simply to become an outer disciple of some third-rate sect—how ironic.
As the saying goes, those who commit numerous injustices will eventually bring about their own destruction. It just so happened that the young master of that third-rate sect managed to offend a yet-unrecognized Shen Shuanghan.
In the end, everyone brought by that young master, along with the young mistress she had served for several centuries, was killed by Shen Shuanghan. The only one who survived was Huaran, who at the time had been tied up and left utterly powerless to resist.
After being saved by Shen Shuanghan, Huaran resolved to follow her. Pestered beyond endurance, Shen Shuanghan reluctantly took Huaran along to slaughter that third-rate sect, and afterwards dumped Huaran into the Yaoguang Holy Land.
Having witnessed Shen Shuanghan's formidable strength, and determined to become someone useful to her, Huaran used the convenience afforded by her connection to Shen Shuanghan to cultivate frantically upon entering the Yaoguang Holy Land. Fortunately, blessed with extraordinary natural talent and driven by her own relentless efforts, she succeeded.As soon as Huaran had attained a certain level of strength, she left the Yaoguang Sect to travel the world, much like Shen Shuanghan. Only after enduring countless brushes with life and death did Huaran achieve her current success, though in Shen Shuanghan's eyes, it was likely nothing worth mentioning.
Realizing that she could not be of any help to Shen Shuanghan, Huaran had no idea what else she could do in the future, so she settled down in this city, waiting for the day when Shen Shuanghan might need her again before returning to the outside world.
Yet over a thousand years had passed, and Shen Shuanghan remained as dazzling as ever. It was questionable whether Shen Shuanghan even remembered her at all now.