The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Master?"

Tang Xixue missed her target, steadied herself, and blinked in confusion.

Beneath the silver dragon-patterned ghost mask, those eyes, always brimming with starlight, now clearly reflected the moonlight, as well as the pure and elegant figure of the person before them.

"What's wrong?"

Her tone carried a hint of coquettish complaint, and her fingers unconsciously touched the silver mask on her face.

"You're wearing a mask, so Master won't recognize me?"

She tilted her head slightly and deliberately dragged out her words.

"They should be punished!"

As her gaze shifted, she keenly caught several familiar details.

The Butterfly Vanishing Sword, formed from ice essence, at the waist of her master, had a tassel tied to the end of its hilt—a tassel she had personally woven and adorned with tiny ice crystal bells many years ago. It was swaying gently in the night breeze, emitting a soft, clear sound.

When I looked up again, I met that face...

She still has that breathtakingly beautiful face from my memory, a face that seems to belong to another world, with exquisite features and a serene, ethereal beauty.

This is definitely her master, there's no mistake.

Although... the chill emanating from her body seemed to have intensified, and a string of translucent, ice-crystal-like Snow Soul Buddhist beads appeared on her left wrist, each bead round and shimmering with a faint halo.

But besides Master, who else in this world could possess such looks and temperament?

Even after five years of not seeing each other, how could she mistake her own master?

That's absolutely impossible!

"Weave...weave".

A clear, cool voice rang out, like the first drop of water falling as the ice and snow begin to melt, striking the still, cold pool.

Yun Boyan looked at her, his silver-gray eyes reflecting the moonlight and her figure, and he frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.

A faint, almost helpless, distress seemed to flash across his expression.

He remembered his brother's instructions.

At that moment, Xie Jinlian, unusually, concealed his fierce sword intent and spoke to him in an almost solemn tone:

"Ayan, if you ever meet my little disciple again... then for the time being, act as my master. Don't let her... notice anything amiss."

The two brothers had a strange shared feeling since birth, and what was more troublesome was that they were born exactly the same.

Not only are their appearances and figures identical, but even the pitch and coolness of their voices are like reflections in a mirror, making them indistinguishable.

The martial arts and swordsmanship he learned from childhood also originated from the same source, almost like they were made from the same mold.

If there really is a difference...

It is likely that, beyond his profound understanding of the sword, his elder brother still retains a trace of tender concern for this mortal world.

He, on the other hand, was utterly cold and serene, like a glacier that had never melted for millennia, devoid of joy or sorrow, untouched by the dust of the world.

The Snow Soul Buddhist beads on his wrist felt cool and smooth to the touch, and he unconsciously twirled one of them between his fingers.

This string of Buddhist prayer beads was a gift from his father, Xie Yunzhi, when he was young. Xie Yunzhi said that Xie Yunzhi had a pure heart and a connection with Buddhism, and that he might inherit some of the pure intentions of Buddhism.

In retrospect, perhaps my father was right.

For him, the state of being free from all attachments and perceptions is not something he deliberately cultivates, but rather an innate state.

He learned the ruthless path from his master, Yu Wuxin.

He had indeed never seen his elder brother's little apprentice, who was so well hidden and protected.

Now, facing this person.

He was unsure how to respond.

"Master! Quickly, take my hand!"

As the crisp call fell, the person before him suddenly raised his hand and removed the silver mask that concealed his face.

The moonlight, like water, poured down on her suddenly revealed face without reservation, reflecting a small face that was brighter than the moonlight and more exquisite than frost and snow.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains shrouded in mist, and her eyes were like a spring brimming with stars. At this moment, they sparkled with an unguarded dependence and pure adoration, shining brightly and directly into his indifferent gaze.

He was not some handsome young man at all, but clearly a fairy under the moon with an ethereal beauty.

She stood quietly by the lake in a white dress, her body seemingly bathed in moonlight, possessing a hazy beauty reminiscent of "the moon shining brightly and the Milky Way reflecting its image."

For a moment, it was as if the moonlight had stained her clothes.

It was her own radiance that illuminated the somewhat lonely moon tonight.

"Master~ Don't stare blankly! Why are you so stunned? Am I that good-looking?"

A smile suddenly bloomed on her lips.

Her long eyelashes trembled gently like butterfly wings, a tender moment frozen in time as if a butterfly were kissing a flower tip, causing even the usually calm Yun Boyan to be momentarily stunned.

The little apprentice that his elder brother spoke of, whom he needed to protect with his life...

It was originally snow that formed its flesh and bones, and flowers that adorned its face.

She is a suitable match for her elder brother.

At this moment, the girl was reaching out her hands to him without any suspicion. Her delicate, pearly hands, smooth as silk, glistened in the moonlight, and she was waiting for his response.

Yun Boyan: "..."

His entire being seemed to freeze in that instant, every line of his body filled with silent, icy resistance.

For once, a ripple stirred within his usually calm and still heart.

"Brother, did you always interact with her like this before?"

But... I can't tell.

My own elder brother, who is usually so imposing and awe-inspiring, actually has such a... inner side.

Hmm, a potential for being secretly passionate?

An almost impulsive thought surged up—could he simply turn around, flick his sleeves, and coldly declare, "I am not him, you have mistaken me for someone else"?

Then she reveals the tragic truth that her brother, in order to save her, slashed the heavens with his sword, resulting in mutual injury and his current near-crippled state.

However, the memory suddenly flashed back.

It was when his elder brother, after being seriously injured, shed all his sharpness and personally handed him the Butterfly Departure Sword that he never parted with, that the almost earnest dark light in his eyes.

It was his own promise, barely audible yet carrying immense weight, as he took the sword.

That's enough! He had promised his brother.

I will keep my promise.

Yun Boyan closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with a resigned silence.

With extreme slowness and difficulty, he reached out from his snow-white wide sleeves his hand, which was as smooth as jade and had long, distinct fingers.

The fingertips still felt cold.

In the end, he did not reach for her waiting hand, but rather, with an almost stiff posture, he very lightly pinched a small section of the hem of her sleeve with only his fingertips.

The snow-white fabric rippled almost imperceptibly under his icy fingertips.

This was the maximum compromise and intimacy that the ethereal and otherworldly Yuefan Saint could make.

He slightly averted his gaze, focusing only on the Mirror Moon Lake, its surface ruffled by the night breeze, his voice still clear and crisp like shattered snowflakes:

"I've taken your hand."

"Little Lotus? You've been possessed?"

Tang Xixue opened her eyes wide in disbelief, her gaze astonishingly clear in the moonlight.

She looked down at the hand that was only holding a small piece of her clothes with its fingertips, her voice full of surprise and hurt.

Her master...

I would never be so distant with her!

From the first time she saw him as a child, tugging at his snow-white sleeve, to later when he personally held her hand and corrected her sword moves during practice...

Although her master treated her with apparent aloofness, he was actually very attentive and considerate. He had never touched her in such a way that was almost like avoiding suspicion.

"cough."

A very soft cough, but clearly tinged with choking, escaped from Yun Boyan's throat.

His silver-gray eyes flickered, and his usually calm and composed state of mind was now finding it difficult to maintain.

God... God knows.

Is she really his elder brother's precious little apprentice, or... a pampered mistress in secret?

Could this be his betrothed sister-in-law?

His brother asked him to impersonate him and take care of his sister-in-law?

Even more outrageous, she called him "brother"—"Little Lotus"?

On Yun Boyan's perfectly sculpted face, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly involuntarily.

Honestly, it's just...shocking.

The swordsman who was a master swordsman, who once caused all the flowers to wither with a single sword strike and comprehended the true meaning of lotus birth amidst the ashes, was revered by all of the Nine Provinces as the "Celestial Sword Immortal"—Xie Jinlian.

The name means: "Flowers bloom and wither, as embers extinguish and lotuses emerge."

In that legend, his name itself was a symbol of aloofness and power.

But this girl in front of him actually called him by such a... soft and cute nickname?

Although, but...

In a hidden corner of Yun Boyan's heart, a strange sense of amusement arose.

This title might be enough for him to laugh at his brother for a hundred years.

He quickly suppressed all outward emotions, covering himself once again with an indifference as cold as millennia-old frost.

His silver eyes lowered slightly, his gaze landing on her face. He deliberately emphasized the coldness in his tone, attempting to intimidate her with his authority as a master and make her keep her distance.

"No manners, insubordination. Who taught you to address someone like that?"

Clearly... she was the one who was possessed.

He knew all too well how his older brother had spent the past five years.

To retrieve her soul, they searched high and low, exhausting every means possible.

That obsession was so deep it bordered on madness.

He had heard his elder brother, who was usually so composed, utter such a chilling, destructive rage for the first time:

"A fake is still a fake. No matter how beautiful the exterior, the soul inside is as murky as mud."

"I'll search every inch of the land, dig three feet into the ground. I need to know what... dared to take my little disciple away."

after that……

His proud brother, to the core, actually did something that defied the heavens.

With a single sword strike, he slashed at the Heavenly Dao Laws that operated in the darkness!

How terrifying is the backlash from Heaven?

If it weren't for the fact that the two brothers were born with a shared destiny, their fortunes were intertwined and prosperous enough, the backlash from that sword strike would have almost caused him to perish as well.

The elder brother's resolute action was tantamount to courting death.

Although now... it's pretty much the same.

My once proud and arrogant elder brother, the best in the world, is now a useless man.

However, it doesn't matter.

Yun Boyan twirled the cool Snow Soul Buddhist beads on his wrist with his fingertips, a glimmer of unwavering determination flashing deep in his eyes.

As the younger brother, he was still able to protect that fallen god.

And everything that the gods care about.