Jiang Xiaorou
The inside of Ye Rou's courtyard was the same as Xue Bai's, with a simple picturesque garden and a large pond of Spiritual Water.
So making himself at home, Xue Bai sat by the pond and let his feet dip inside, waiting for Ye Rou to speak her mind.
After all, she had looked so prepared when he saw her at the top of her Peak, so Ye Rou, by all means, should have something in store for his visit.
However, just like Xue Bai, Ye Rou also sat down, waiting for him to speak his mind.
In her mind, Xue Bai had, for some reason, come to visit her instead of their almighty Senior Sister, so Ye Rou thought that he had something arranged beforehand.
And just like that, an awkward silence ensued where both parties were waiting for the other to speak first.
Meanwhile, back on Yue Zifeng's Peak, a guest arrived.
"Master, Xiarou asks for permission to enter your Temple!" A cold, detached feminine voice sounded, breaking Yue Zifeng out of his thoughts.
Quickly allowing his first disciple inside, Yue Zifeng put away the scroll he was reading and focused his attention on the entering figure.
It was a young woman who wore a long pale blue dress adorned with tassels. There seemed to be a fiery wind blowing around her body that was strong enough to melt the grass around her feet.
However, in contrast to her aura that wanted to burn the world, her face was the epitome of coldness. Coupled with her snow-white skin and icy blue eyes, she looked like an ice sculpture.
It was as if even if the world collapsed in front of her, she wouldn't even bat an eye.
And with her bright red lips, fair supple pale skin, and silky black hair, the woman who walked in could take down an Empire with her beauty alone, should she please.
However, what garnered more attention than her otherworldly beauty, was that on her back was a large red broadsword that could instead be called a door rather than a sword used for combat.
But besides her looks or the large 2-meter broadsword strapped onto her back that contrasted with her mere 1.7-meter height, there was something else that drew attention.
In the middle of her forehead was a red phoenix mark that, even until now, no one knew of its purpose. But since it didn't damage her looks but rather amplified them, Jiang Xiaorou and Yue Zifeng let it be.
Yue Zifeng even had the belief that it was something heaven defying, but because of his limited knowledge, he couldn't identify it.
However, Yue Zifeng didn't even care about the woman's beauty but instead looked at her with an adoring and parental gaze as he waited for her to speak her mind.
The cold beauty was, of course, his first disciple, Jiang Xiaorou, someone who he had raised since she was just a baby.
Yue Zifenng had found her at the site of a slaughtered mortal village hidden in a small below-ground pocket space, crying her eyes out.
At first, once he sensed that a small 4-year-old baby was left alone as the only survivor of a village pillaging, Yue Zifeng planned to send her to an orphanage that he knew to live the rest of her life in ignorance.
But after he saw the phoenix mark on her forehead, he instinctually felt that this little girl would be something in the future.
So taking the gamble, he decided to take her as his first disciple, hoping that when she turned 11, her Martial Veins would be something proportional to the effort he put into raising her.
Thankfully, it did, as when she awakened at 11, she was found out to have a Fire Element Low Black Grade Marital Vein. Coupled with her Immortal tier grade Sword Law affinity, the little mortal girl he found turned into someone worthy of his teaching.
And over the years, Jiang Xiaorou lived up to his expectations, becoming the Head Disciple he had always hoped her to be. Eventually, Yue Zifeng grew to think of her as more of his daughter rather than a disciple.
"Master, Xiaorou has a question." Jiang Xiaorou spoke in her cold, indifferent voice, bringing Yue Zifeng out of his reminiscing thoughts.
"Speak your mind Xiaorou." Yue Zifeng spoke as he poured out two cups of tea using an expensive set of tea leaves that he usually saved for high-profile guests.
Yue Zifeng couldn't stop smiling today, so using the expensive tea leaves didn't bother him much.
"Master, I want to know who is all of the new people on the Mountain. I came out of seclusion and noticed them." Jiang Xiaorou spoke as she moved over to accept the cup of tea her Master had made for her.
"Two of them are your newest Junior Sister and Brother, while the others are just maids and attendants who are here to keep their Peaks lively. Not everyone is like you who can endure such loneliness." Yue Zifeng answered.
Nodding, Jiang Xiarou began to ask about the newest additions to their desolate Mountain. And more than happy to speak to his adopted daughter, Yue Zifeng explained the origins of Ye Rou and Xue Bai to her in detail.
"So Ye Rou is from one of those vain Noble Families." Jiang Xiarou's brows were furrowed, and her already cold voice seemed to turn the air frosty as she spoke.
It was more than apparent that she had many bad dealings with the Nobel Families living in the Soaring Sword Sect.
"Her family is something on its last legs, Xiaorou, so it's still nothing compared to the larger ones." Yue Zifeng sighed.
He knew of the many conflicts that the Jiang Xiaorou had with the Noble Families in the Soaring Sword Sect, but Yue Zifeng couldn't do much as his hands were tied in that matter.
On the one hand, there was the pearl of his life and adopted daughter, while on the other were the many Noble Families living in his Sect.
And while he could out and unroot them from his sect as a whole, through his great strength and influence, that would not only cause massive uproars, but it would also make the Soaring Sword Sect many times weaker and possibly a target from its enemies.
While regarded as a tumor and a horrible influence inside of the sect, the Noble Families inside also represented more than 30 percent of the Soaring Sword Sect's combat strength.
Whether it was from the younger generation, full of youth and potential wanting to cultivate as fast as possible to become useful to the Sect, or the older generations on their last legs, willing to lay down their lives to protect the ones weaker than them.
As at the end of the day, Yue Zifeng, through many tests and various calamities, learned that the Noble Families were loyal to his sect.
So he couldn't truly unroot them, no matter how much they annoyed him or his daughter.
Jiang Xiaorou also knew of this conundrum that troubled her Master, so she didn't make it difficult for him and decided to ask questions about her much more talented Youngest Junior Brother.
"Master, then what about that Xue Bai? Is he really as talented as you say?" Jiang Xiaorou asked as she poured out two more cups of tea.
However, what she didn't expect was instead of siping the tea she poured out, her usually stoic Master would take out a jug of wine.
"Where do I start?" Yue Zifeng sighed as he dumped out the tea and poured out two cups.
He wanted to project, and mere tea wouldn't help him, no matter how delicious it was.
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Sadly, this chapter is a short one, but after this, the chapters will spike in word count, with them all being around 1800-2000. So bear through this shorter one for today.
Sorry once again.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶