The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Bei Chenji once thought that his white snow was stained with dust.

He never imagined that the handful of snow had already been silently buried alive.

At this moment, Yun Boyan's fingertips, which were about to impart the sword, suddenly stopped.

—Someone.

That gaze, across the shimmering lake and the fragmented moonlight, was like a deep, silent string, quietly tightening in the frozen stillness of this courtyard.

The killing intent was not yet revealed, but the chill had already arrived.

His figure vanished in an instant, merging into the night like moonlight and mist.

When it reappeared, the frosty edge of the Butterfly Sword was already hovering three inches between Bei Chenji's eyebrows!

The sword flashed without warning, and frost descended first—the lakeside vegetation instantly turned white, the moonlight seemed to be frozen into ice by the sword's edge, and the silvery light on the ground shattered into a chilling gleam, each patch of light reflecting the coldness of the blade.

The wind ceased, the clouds fell silent, and even time seemed to be pinned to the bowstring by this sword strike; all things held their breath.

Bei Chenji's crimson sleeves trembled open, revealing a sudden blooming of a night-blooming cereus, and his figure resembled a lone crane treading on snow, retreating seven steps swiftly through the air.

The sword light grazed past his temple, and a few strands of black hair fell silently, turning into frost as they drifted away.

Behind him, the blue stone cracked open with a "crack," revealing a deep, crystal-clear fissure. Cold air rose from the crack, instantly condensing into a spreading frost.

The sword of the Lord of Clouds is extremely fast and ruthless, showing no mercy and offering no warning.

"To come uninvited is to be a thief." Yun Boyan's voice was as cold as a sword striking jade, each word like frost.

"Ridiculous!" Bei Chenji stopped with a cold laugh, his inner force surging like a purple tide of thunder in his palm, forcefully striking the icy blade. "Who are you calling a thief?"

"Bang--!"

The fierce winds, a mix of frost and purple, clashed violently in the sky, causing the camellia trees to rustle and groan mournfully.

Red petals fall like blood rain, weaving a poignant tale of fallen flowers under the moonlight.

The lake surface rippled wildly, and the reflected moonlight shattered into countless silver scales.

"Your Highness, a fight has broken out on your side..."

Li Shuang was so frightened by the commotion that her face turned pale. She gripped her sleeve tightly with her slender fingers, but she did not forget to reach out and pull Tang Xixue away from the place.

Her palms were slightly damp, and her breathing became erratic.

"It's alright, let them fight it out. Shuang'er, put this zither back."

Tang Xixue sat calmly on the pear wood chair, as if what she was seeing was not a fight between two peerless masters, but a sword dance under the moon.

The guard Chao Han came to her side immediately, his tall and straight figure like a pine tree, his vigilant gaze like that of a hawk as he looked at the battle, his right hand already on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

Mu Liang guarded from the shadows, his presence blending into the tree shadows, only his eyes shining like cold stars.

Seeing Chao Han there, Li Shuang immediately felt relieved. She picked up the zither and carried it back to the study inside the house with hurried yet steady steps.

"Your Highness, these two are both very strong. Should we avoid them for now?"

Chao Han asked in a low voice, his tone extremely deep.

To be honest, he couldn't beat these two—their sword intent and pressure were beyond the reach of ordinary people; just watching them made him feel as if his heart and lungs were covered in frost.

"I'd really like to see my master's swordsmanship!"

Tang Xixue's eyes curved into a smile, a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She tested him several times but couldn't find anything wrong with Yun Boyan, so she began to believe that he was her master.

But... she still felt...

Her master shouldn't be like this.

Therefore, she stared intently at them, still observing Yun Boyan's every move and every turn, searching for the shadow of that white-clad figure in her memory.

Two figures flashed past each other under the moonlight.

One was silvery-white, like a snow-white, startling beauty; wherever the sword light passed, frost-like marks spread, and with each step, a cold lotus bloomed.

One was crimson and purple, like a lotus blooming in the dark night, each step shattering ice crystals, its momentum as imposing as an abyss.

The sword's momentum suddenly changed, and the Butterfly Sword transformed into nine layers of misty shadows, stabbing in from all eight directions.

Each sword strike was imbued with a real, bone-chilling coldness; before the sword's edge even arrived, the night in the courtyard was already frozen into a crystal world.

Bei Chenji placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

Before the Purple Snow Sword was fully drawn, its purple light shone like a dragon awakening, bursting forth with a chilling aura, and the scabbard trembled, emitting a deep dragon's roar.

His eyes burned with fighting spirit, the pride that belonged to the master of the Battle Hall—the title of the ceiling of the Nine Provinces' combat power was not an empty boast.

"Ding-ding-ding!"

The sounds of metal clashing were as dense as pearls falling onto a jade plate. Ice crystals and purple light sparked brilliantly under the moon, only to vanish into the cold night in an instant, leaving behind only afterimages that intertwined in the air to form a deadly net.

Nine sword shadows converge into one, Yun Boyan grips the sword with both hands, his silver hair moving without wind.

The Butterfly Sword's brilliance vanished, leaving only a terrifying silence that froze time and space. It silently slashed down towards Bei Chenji, as if to sever the moonlight and bring all things back to eternal silence.

Bei Chenji drew his Purple Snow Sword with a clang!

The sword's body shimmered with purple light, like a galaxy flowing backwards, while the blade's edge crackled with purple lightning, forming the shape of a snow dragon that soared into the sky against the backdrop of frosty sword light.

A faint dragon's roar tore through the silence of heaven and earth; it was a domineering and ruthless force that feared neither death nor life.

The two swords finally clashed.

"boom--!!!"

The shockwave, like a reversed Milky Way, shattered half a tree's blossoms, and red and white petals, mixed with ice chips and dust, swept through the courtyard like a violent snowstorm.

A curtain of water shot up three zhang (approximately 10 meters) into the sky from the lake, then crashed down, wetting the stone steps on the shore and the remaining proud branches. The water droplets glistened like tears under the moonlight.

When the wind stopped, the two stood facing each other, ten feet apart.

The last petals of red are covered in snow, and the moonlight is cold and clear.

Only two gazes collided in the shattered night, their sharpness not diminished but deepened, like ice blades grinding against each other, sparking invisible flames.

"Clouds, thin, spreading—"

Bei Chenji slowly uttered the name, each word imbued with the chill of years past.

"This is Mirror Moon Lake, not your otherworldly divine kingdom, nor the Dark Realm of Cloud Lord."

He stood still, his crimson cloak slowly draped down amidst the turbulent airflow, his aura rising steadily, like a king descending from the night, rivaling Yun Boyan's icy chill.

"Does my visit to see my niece require my prior notification?"

The moonlight illuminated his sharply defined profile, and his deep, unfathomable eyes were now filled with icy coldness.

The Holy Son Yue Fan, who was still playing the role of the elder brother, stiffened almost imperceptibly the moment he heard Bei Chen Ji call his name.

The air seemed to have solidified into amber, with even the fallen petals suspended in mid-air.

"Little Imperial Uncle..."

Tang Xixue recovered from her shock:

"What...did you call him?"

Thin clouds spread out.

The legendary Holy Son of the Other Shore, who was said to be untouched by worldly affairs and devoted to Buddhism.

Bei Chenji slowly descended, his toes touching the ground silently, his crimson cloak spreading out behind him like wings of the night.

He walked step by step toward Tangxi Xue, his steps steady as a mountain, each step leaving a faint mark on the frosty ground.

"What's wrong?"

His gaze was like a quenched blade, piercing straight into Yun Boyan, but his words were meant for Tang Xixue.

"Little Xue'er's master... never told you his true identity?"

His voice was as clear as the sound of breaking jade, piercing through the heavy fog under the moonlight; each word carried immense weight.

"He is none other than the Supreme Ruler of the Dark Realm, the Lord of Clouds, Yun Boyan."

The words fell silent.

The only sounds were the rustling of the night wind through the tops of the camellia trees and the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore in the distance, which made the silence all the more deafening.

Tang Xixue slowly turned her head to look at the person who stood frozen in the moonlight, whose appearance was exactly the same as her master in her memory.

Moonlight fell on his profile, outlining his aloof and ethereal features.

Those silver-gray eyes were as still as a cold pool, reflecting her stunned face and the shattered moonlight.

"So..." she began softly, her voice low yet carrying a dangerous tenderness, like a spider's web dangling a blade, beautiful yet deadly, "Your name is Yun Boyan."

She suddenly smiled.

That smile was beautiful, like a fleeting glimpse of a night-blooming cereus under the moonlight, its beauty enough to captivate anyone.

But there was no warmth in his eyes; instead, a chilling, eerie light rose up, like a cold star reflected in a deep pool, cold to the bone.

"So..."

She took a half step forward, tilted her head back, and looked directly into Yun Boyan's eyes.

The two were no more than three feet apart. She could see the frost on his long eyelashes and feel the lingering sword energy around him.

"What is the relationship between Saintly Son Yuefan and Xie Jinlian?"

Xie Jinlian.

The name she uttered carried an almost reverent reverence, yet was tinged with sharp doubt due to the bewilderment before her.

That was the inviolable white moonlight in her heart, the lamp in the snowy night, and the warmth that would never fade on the edge of a sword.

And the person in front of him dared to impersonate him!

Seriously—he deserves to die!

Her fingertips, hidden in her sleeve, silently caressed the handle of the Cold Jade Snow Soul Fan.

His inner energy surged, and the petals that had fallen within three zhang of him moved without wind, trembling slightly, as if being lifted up by an invisible current.

Yun Boyan met her gaze and remained silent for a moment.

In those usually calm and undisturbed silver-gray eyes, a barely perceptible trace of helplessness finally flickered, like a ripple on a cold pool, or a moon's reflection gently swaying.

He knew that this charade of obeying his brother's orders was coming to an end.

"Xie Jinlian," he said calmly, his voice still cold and clear, like ice and jade clashing, "is my elder brother."

"We are twin brothers. My elder brother previously... entrusted me with the task of looking after his disciple if I encountered him."

The courtyard fell silent once more.

"ah--"

Tang Xixue suddenly burst out laughing, and the laughter finally truly reached her eyes, her eyebrows and eyes curving into crescents, and shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.

She tilted her head, looking at Yun Boyan's peerless face with great interest, her gaze carefully tracing his straight nose and thin lips—exactly the same as her master's.

Then, thinking back to how his swordsmanship and gait were almost identical to his master's, and even the subtle habits he had when playing the flute...

Twins.

Then everything makes sense.

Suddenly, it seems like I can forgive him after all...

There are two people in this world who are so similar!

If it gets dark and the candle is blown out, how can you tell if it's the elder brother or the younger brother?

"Oh, it's my younger brother!"

Her tone instantly became intimate, as if the tense standoff had never happened. She loosened the fan handle, put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Yun Boyan as if examining something new and interesting.

"You should have told me sooner, or I would have almost been in trouble..."

She didn't finish speaking, but her fingers had already loosened their grip on the fan handle, her aura as gentle as melting snow in early spring.

The speed at which he changed his expression was so fast that Yun Boyan's eyelashes trembled slightly.

If he wasn't mistaken—she had genuinely intended to kill him at least three times.

My brother never said that his little apprentice was so ruthless.