Chapter 1908 (1/2)
The arrival of Emperor Yun couldn’t be a small matter.
The entire Divine Ice Phoenix Sect was in turmoil when his arrival was made known. The elders and palace masters rushed over to meet him, but they didn’t even manage to bend the knee before Yun Che and Yun Wuxin vanished straight into the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region. They could only exchange helpless looks with each other.
A familiar, icy aura hit him the moment he entered the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region. The next moment, a woman as beautiful as an ice fairy walked up to them.
“I thought it might be the two of you considering the commotion,” Mu Bingyun greeted them smilingly before looking at Yun Wuxin.
“Long time no see, Palace Master Bingyun.” Yun Che nodded back with a smile. For some reason, he always felt relaxed and peaceful whenever he met Mu Bingyun. It was the same even after he became Emperor Yun.
Maybe it was because her eyes reflected the color of ice, but she herself was really as gentle and easy-going as water.
Yun Wuxin chose this moment to take a small step forward and bow down before Mu Bingyun. “Junior disciple of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, Yun Wuxin greets the Great Ancestor Master.”
A bit caught off guard by her seriousness and formality, Mu Bingyun shook her head smilingly. “It is okay. Mu Bingyun of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace ‘passed away’ at least a thousand years ago. Today, that past is long behind me, and I am simply Mu Bingyun of the Snow Song Realm. You do not need to call me great ancestor master.”
“In that case…” Yun Wuxin looked up. “Can I call you auntie?”
The question caused the usually unflappable Mu Bingyun to break into a wide smile. “Of course. My older sister is your father’s consort, so I am your auntie as a matter of course.”
Yun Che: (this girl… she actually managed to use both appellations seamlessly!)
Mu Bingyun turned to Yun Che next. “As expected of the daughter of Emperor Yun. What a lovable child.”
“Palace Master Bingyun,” Yun Che said, “Please address me how you used to. Although I’ve gotten comfortable with the title ‘Emperor Yun’, it feels extremely odd coming from you.”
Yun Wuxin shifted her gaze to her father imperceptibly: (Hmm???)
“... very well.” Mu Bingyun nodded.
“Auntie,” Yun Wuxin suddenly cried out sweetly, “do you know that you look even prettier than I initially imagined? No wonder father always told me that you look like a fairy.”
“???” Yun Che’s eyebrows trembled like a string: since when have I ever said that!?
“...” For a moment, Mu Bingyun was lost for words.
“While we were entering the Eastern Divine Region, father told me that it’s been a year since he saw you, and that he misses you a—ouch!”
It was Yun Che clapping a hand on top of Yun Wuxin’s head before saying seriously, “Where has Xuanyin gone to, Palace Master Bingyun? Why is she not in the Sacred Region?”
“She is in seclusion right now,” Mu Bingyun answered as before. On the surface, it looked like Yun Wuxin’s words hadn’t affected her.
“Seclusion?”
“It is just to meditate on her heart and cultivate her soul,” Mu Bingyun replied in a gentle voice. “She is aware that the two of you will be arriving around this time. She told me to inform her once you’ve arrived.”
“I shall do that right now.”
“It’s fine.” Yun Che raised his hand to stop her. “Wuxin and I will just visit her directly.”
“The chill in Mist End Valley is extremely heavy. It is not something Wuxin can endure,” Mu Bingyun said. “This is Wuxin’s first time here anyway, so you may as well show her around the Sacred Region first.”
“Very well.” Yun Che stopped declining. “Thank you for your trouble, Palace Master Bingyun.”
He remained as respectful as he was back when he was just a disciple.
“Oh right, how long will the two of you be staying in the Snow Song Realm?” Mu Bingyun asked.
Yun Che shot Yun Wuxin a glance. “That depends on Wuxin, really.”
“More like the opposite,” Yun Wuxin muttered defiantly because her father was messing up her hair.
Mu Bingyun shot them one last smile before leaving the place.
The second Mu Bingyun’s aura was far enough, Yun Che immediately put on an angry face and growled at Yun Wuxin, “What was that?? You’re really getting more and more out of control, girl!”
“I… I was just helping you, father,” Yun Wuxin replied in a timid and aggrieved tone.
“Like I need any help from you!”
“That is true.” Yun Wuxin nodded deeply. “Your ability to handle women is already off the charts. You can handle this yourself.”
“That’s not what I meant! Whew…” Yun Che let out a long sigh after uttering that. He was really starting to think that he had led his daughter astray during this journey. How was he going to explain this to Chu Yuechan later?
Yun Wuxin giggled like a little devil. “You’ve already put your magic on that other auntie anyway. It’s not good to favor one and discriminate against the other, right?”
“That’s not how you interpret or use that idiom!!” Yun Che’s voice grew louder, and his eyes widened even more.
Yun Che’s stern expression finally cowed Yun Wuxin and made her worried. “Y-you’re not actually angry, are you?”
She grabbed her father’s sleeve and tugged it timidly. “I-I wasn’t trying to make you angry on purpose. It’s just… you looked pretty unhappy when you said that you could never have friends, so I was thinking that maybe this would cheer you up… I really wasn’t trying to make you angry on purpose.”
“...” Touched by his daughter’s thoughtfulness, Yun Che immediately replaced his stern expression with a hearty laugh. “Hahahaha, I didn’t think it would be this easy to scare you, girl. Looks like my authority as a father hasn’t diminished much after all, hahahaha!”
Yun Wuxin immediately tossed his sleeve away and turned her face away from Yun Che, humphing. “Dammit! I should’ve known that you wouldn’t be angry over something like this! You might even be happy for the assist! Hmph!”
Suddenly, the sound of the wind and snow turned pleasant. Yet another fairy-like woman stepped out from behind the snow.
When Yun Wuxin turned to see who it was, her eyes met the woman’s countenance, and her lips parted unconsciously.
After the woman came to a stop in front of Yun Che and Yun Wuxin, she looked at the former and asked, “What should I call you now? Emperor Yun or Senior Brother Yun?”
Her gaze looked the same as ever. It never changed whether he was Yun Che, the Devil Master, or Emperor Yun.
Yun Che replied, “Since it’s Feixue, of course I would prefer to hear ‘Senior Brother Yun’ or ‘Yun Che’ from you.”
“Fairy sister,” Yun Wuxin said suddenly, “nice to meet you. I am Yun Wuxin.”
Yun Che: (she called her fairy sister?)
At first, Mu Feixue looked a bit surprised. Then, her icy pupils melted into obvious gentleness and something complicated. “I would not think that Senior Brother Yun has a daughter this big already. The passage of time truly is as beautiful and cruel as this eternal snow.”
“Be that as it may, it seems that time’s concept of cruelty doesn't apply to you, Feixue,” Yun Che said smilingly.
“...” Her pupils shivered a little, and the tiniest smile appeared on her face. It was too bad that Mu Feixue’s smile had always been as vanishing as the first snow.
“I shall not disturb you two any longer.”
She stepped away after leaving behind these departing words.
Yun Wuxin’s gaze kept lingering on Mu Feixue’s back. She didn’t look away even after she was long gone.
“She looks very similar to your mom, doesn’t she?” Yun Che asked.
“Ah? Does she?” Yun Wuxin exclaimed in surprise.
Her surprise made Yun Che surprised. “Then why were you staring at her like that?”
Yun Wuxin narrowed her eyes at her father, but she soon realized that her father wasn’t faking his astonishment. So she asked, “She was the one who gave you the Eternal Imagery Stone, right father?”
“Huh?” Yun Che rubbed the tip of his nose. “How did you know that? Did your Auntie Qianying tell you about it?”
“I even know that she likes you very, very, VERY much.”
For some reason, Yun Wuxin sounded odd when she said this.
“Okay, you definitely didn’t hear THAT from your Auntie Qianying,” Yun Che declared immediately.