The snow in the mountains had fallen from day into night.

The night sky was still heavy with snow clouds, and the wind howled as the snow blew, leaving not a single star visible in the sky.

The night was deep.

Inside Yuluan Palace, Su Yuying’s fingertips glowed with a blue light. She raised her index finger and deftly wrote a character in the air.

Her fingertip sliced through the air, leaving a mark behind.

That was the spell practiced in Yuluan Palace.

The character Su Yuying wrote floated in the air, surrounded by a blue glow.

After writing the two characters “Lihuo,” she flicked her hand lightly. The characters immediately flew forward, transformed into flames, and then flew back, landing on her fingertip.

She pinched the flame on her fingertip and walked around the palace, lighting several lamps and candles.

After lighting the last lamp, she shook her hand, extinguishing the flame.

She turned around. A short table behind the crane screen, a bit farther in the palace, had Shen Changxue kneeling with his head down, writing something.

Beside him, his senior—Zhong Yinyue—was listlessly munching on the fruits Su Yuying had just brought, his eyes still fixed on the remaining fruits in the platter.

Su Yuying walked over and bowed to Zhong Yinyue, saying, “Master, the lamps are all lit. I will take my leave now.”

Zhong Yinyue nodded and waved his hand, allowing her to leave.

After Su Yuying exited the palace and closed the door, Shen Changxue continued to write with his head down for a while before speaking up, “Elder, is there no need to write anything in the original place?”

Shen Changxue had been kneeling there writing drafts all afternoon, and aside from confirming and discussing the drafts with him, he hadn’t spoken a word.

He was too quiet, and Zhong Yinyue had been daydreaming.

When Shen Changxue suddenly spoke, Zhong Yinyue was momentarily taken aback, “Huh?”

Shen Changxue remained calm and repeated, “Elder, is there no need to write anything in the original place?”

Zhong Yinyue thought carefully—he had to admit, aside from signing documents, he really hadn’t personally written anything in a long time.

“Well, I suppose so. Usually, I rely on tools to write these things; it’s been a while since I wrote by hand.” Zhong Yinyue said, “Why do you suddenly ask this?”

Shen Changxue smiled slightly, “It’s presumptuous of me. It’s just that the elder is calm and doesn’t seem like a reckless person; you must have read quite a bit, and I was just curious.”

Oh, curious about why his handwriting looked like a dog’s paw.

Zhong Yinyue twitched his mouth and said, “I used to write a lot back in school… in the academy, of course. But that place is different from here; the pens used there are more advanced, and I’m not used to this.”

“I see.” Shen Changxue nodded, “So, the elder’s handwriting must be quite beautiful?”

Zhong Yinyue thought about his own handwriting, which looked like a dog’s paw, and silently took another bite of fruit, turning his face away.

Shen Changxue chuckled again.

Zhong Yinyue quietly warned, “Don’t laugh at me!”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Shen Changxue said, “Elder, the draft is complete. Please take a look.”

The sound of rice paper being lifted came from his side.

Zhong Yinyue put down the fruit and returned to his senses.

He took the piece of rice paper Shen Changxue handed over and read the contents word by word.

Shen Changxue’s handwriting was sharp and extremely beautiful, each character looking as if it had been measured for size beforehand.

Zhong Yinyue couldn’t help but sigh several times, praising, “Your handwriting is truly beautiful; you definitely have the right to laugh at me.”

“The elder is too kind; I wouldn’t dare.”

“Not at all, it really is beautiful. You don’t need to be modest with me; I just want to praise you, so don’t stop me.”

Shen Changxue opened his mouth to speak, but his words were blocked by Zhong Yinyue’s statement. He chuckled helplessly and nodded, “Alright.”

After reading through the draft line by line, Zhong Yinyue didn’t find any issues.

Although from the perspective of a corporate worker, the draft was still a bit immature, Shen Changxue was still just a child, a disciple, so it was understandable.

When the time came to present the draft, if any questions arose, he could just explain the situation to the sect leader and come up with some reasons; it wouldn’t be a problem.

The Elder of the Upper Xuan Sect was a laid-back person in the original text.

Zhong Yinyue praised him a few more times and returned the draft to him.

“Just leave it there; I’ll submit it to the sect leader another day.” Zhong Yinyue said, “I have some questions to ask you.”

Shen Changxue obediently placed the items down and turned back, obediently lowering his head, “Please go ahead, Elder.”

As soon as this topic came up, Zhong Yinyue visibly tensed up.

He moved closer to Shen Changxue, “You’ve been back for a few days now; have you noticed anything during this time?”

Shen Changxue was taken aback, “What do you mean?”

“Qian Yao!” Zhong Yinyue exclaimed, slapping the table, “Did you forget? I specifically went to Lushan Pavilion to find you to talk about this!”

Shen Changxue remembered, “Ah, I remember, Elder, don’t worry.”

Zhong Yinyue sighed in relief and quickly asked, “So, what about it?”

Shen Changxue shook his head with a bitter smile.

“The Master treats me just as well as before. Forgive me for being dull; the time has been too short, and I really can’t see anything wrong. Elder, don’t be anxious; as you said, there’s still plenty of time, so there’s no rush.” Shen Changxue lowered his voice, “I trust you, and I can see that Elder Yuluan is no longer the same person.”

Zhong Yinyue felt a mix of emotions and couldn’t get angry, so he slumped back down, “Even so… I still hope you can be more alert and see that it’s a pit of fire; you need to escape as soon as possible. Although there’s still time, you can’t just leave whenever you want; you need a plan for how to leave cleanly.”

“Completing that plan will also take time; in fact, time is not abundant. I’m really worried about you.”

Shen Changxue remained silent.

Zhong Yinyue looked up at him and saw Shen Changxue had lowered his head.

The lamps and candles on the table illuminated his expression.

Suddenly, the smile on Shen Changxue’s face faded, and his expression turned dark and difficult to describe.

Zhong Yinyue felt a strange sensation rise in his heart.

Shen Changxue’s demeanor seemed off, and Zhong Yinyue felt an inexplicable sense of unease, so he leaned in closer and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you really discover something?”

Shen Changxue didn’t answer; he remained silent.

After a moment, he slightly raised his head, “Elder, are you truly worried about me?”

Shen Changxue’s eyes pierced through him. He was asking, but his gaze held a chilling, death-like grayness, filled with despair. It seemed that whatever the answer was, it no longer mattered to him.

Zhong Yinyue’s heart tightened, and he quickly replied, “Of course.”

As soon as he said this, Shen Changxue suddenly smiled again.

His smile returned, and the previous darkness on his face vanished as if it had never existed.

Shen Changxue pulled over the fruit platter that Su Yuying had brought when she lit the lamps and handed it to Zhong Yinyue, smiling gently as he said, “Earlier at Lushan Pavilion, the elder spoke to me about many things. After returning to the mountain, I thought about it for a long time and finally understood everything you said.”

“Although I haven’t discovered anything wrong yet, I have many questions to ask the elder.”

Zhong Yinyue peeled an orange, “Go ahead.”

“The elder said that our place is actually just a world within a story. If that’s the case, then the elder is someone from outside the story.” Shen Changxue said, “Regarding my matters, the elder seems to know quite a bit.”

“I want to ask the elder, how much do you know about my situation?”

“Huh?” Zhong Yinyue was a bit surprised, “You’re not asking about Qian Yao, but about yourself?”

Shen Changxue smiled, “I also want to hear how much the elder knows.”

Zhong Yinyue understood; Shen Changxue wanted to test how much he knew and whether it was accurate.

Zhong Yinyue got straight to the point, “I know quite a bit about your situation. I know you were brought back to the mountain by Elder Qian Yao. You were originally a child from a small village in the mortal world, and one day, your village unfortunately encountered a massacre by demonic cultivators. At that time, you were still young and fainted in a pile of corpses, barely escaping a calamity.”

“At that time, Elder Qian Yao and Elder Guanghan were sent to hunt down that group of demonic cultivators and went to that village, which is how they pulled you out from the pile of corpses and brought you back to the mountain.”

“You have good aptitude, so Elder Qian Yao kept you in his sect, taught you swordsmanship, and helped you cultivate, leading to who you are today.”

The smile on Shen Changxue’s face remained unchanged as he nodded.

In contrast, his hand hidden behind the fruit platter clenched into a fist.

Shen Changxue continued to ask, “Is there anything else?”

“Ah? Did I forget to mention something?”

As he spoke, he tilted his head back, carefully recalling, and wondered, “I don’t think so…”

Shen Changxue smiled, “Then it seems the storybook didn’t write it down. The elder may not know, but after I entered the sect, although my aptitude was good, due to the massacre by the demonic cultivators, my body wasn’t in great shape, which caused the master to put in extra effort to awaken my spiritual roots. It’s not a big deal; it’s normal that it wasn’t mentioned.”

“Oh, that matter…” Zhong Yinyue’s eyes filled with concern, “You must have suffered a lot, right?”

“That’s all in the past; it no longer matters.” Shen Changxue said, “It seems that what the elder said is indeed true. Please forgive me, elder; although I believe what you said, I still want to find some peace of mind for myself, which is why I asked these questions. It’s not that I doubt your words.”

Zhong Yinyue waved his hand, “It’s fine; I understand.”

“That’s good.” Shen Changxue smiled, “Then…”

Just as he was about to say more, a loud knocking sound came from outside the palace.

Zhong Yinyue jumped in surprise, and the piece of orange he had just brought to his mouth fell.

“Master! It’s bad!” Wen Han shouted from outside the door, “The barrier on the back mountain has been breached, and demonic beasts have come in!”

“Ah!?”

Zhong Yinyue exclaimed and quickly got up, opening the door.

Outside stood Wen Han, covered in a thin layer of snow.

Seeing Zhong Yinyue, he was almost in tears, “Master! Demonic beasts have come in; you need to go check!”

Zhong Yinyue couldn’t understand, “How could those things get in? Isn’t the barrier strong?”

“I… I don’t know… Maybe the demonic beasts are too powerful? Master, please go check; they’re all howling in the back mountain! The senior brothers and sisters from Qian Yao Palace are still living in the other palace; if this gets out, Master, you…”

You would be questioned.

You might even be punished to kneel.

What a disgrace.

Zhong Yinyue’s face turned blue and purple, and he quickly turned back to grab his Ruixue cloak, hurriedly heading out.

Before leaving, he saw Shen Changxue still kneeling at the table waiting for him, so he felt a bit embarrassed and raised his hands in a prayer gesture above his head, repeatedly apologizing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll talk to you tomorrow! I promise to tell you everything!”

Shen Changxue smiled and replied that it was no problem.

Zhong Yinyue put on his fur cloak and hurriedly left.

In his rush, he didn’t notice that two curious disciples had already arrived in front of Yuluan Palace—of course, they were both from Qian Yao Palace.

Qiu Ge and another person walked a few steps under the eaves in front of the palace and stopped at the main entrance.

He brushed the snow off his shoulders and chatted idly with the other person, “Elder Yuluan still can’t handle it; it’s been eight hundred years since the barrier was breached.”

“I heard he hasn’t been an elder for long; it’s okay to make some mistakes.” The other person said, “But he will probably be scolded by the master again.”

“The master says it’s for his own good. Although our master is a bit strict, isn’t it all for the benefit of others? If it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t bother to criticize others.”

As they spoke, footsteps echoed from inside the palace.

The two turned around to see Shen Changxue stepping out of the palace with his hands behind his back.

They both cupped their hands in greeting, “Senior Brother.”

Shen Changxue responded with a calm “Mm,” and expressionlessly walked out a few steps, stopping under the eaves.

“Senior Brother, what did you talk about with Elder Yuluan?” one person asked, then chuckled, “Does he still need disciples to teach him anything? This elder is truly one of a kind.”

“Didn’t say much.” Shen Changxue’s expression remained unchanged, “Elder Yuluan is already a sect elder; there’s no need for me to say anything; I just accompanied him while he ground ink for a while. Don’t be disrespectful to your elders; he’s a good person.”

The disciple’s playful expression faltered, and he unwillingly pouted, lowering his head, “I misspoke.”

Shen Changxue said nothing. He looked up at the sky and let out a barely noticeable sigh.

The cold wind of the night suddenly picked up. Amidst the sound of the wind that made it hard to hear, Shen Changxue softly said, “He really doesn’t know.”

Well, if he knew, he wouldn’t treat me so well.

Shen Changxue thought to himself, his muttered words barely audible to others.

The other person heard his words, which sounded like buzzing, and asked, “Senior Brother, what did you just say?”

“Nothing.” Shen Changxue stepped into the snow, walking as he said, “Let’s go back to sleep. As for Yuluan Palace’s matters, don’t gossip about Qian Yao Palace behind their backs; it would tarnish the master’s reputation.”

The two behind him looked displeased, but they still bowed to his back, respectfully replying, “Yes.”