Heaven’s Pinnacle, Cloud Strider Stairway.

Heaven’s Pinnacle towers over the sky, the mountain’s steps stretching over a thousand feet.

Looking up, you couldn’t see the end of the stone stairs, only misty clouds hanging up with a glance.

The mountain is a high mountain; on top of this mountain, is also a high person.

After climbing several thousand stone steps, I saw a small pathetic view called 「Kumo」 at the top of its peak.

Regardless of name, shape, or furnishings, this Fog Mount Temple was an exact replica of the former Celestial Phoenix’s abode on Mount Taixuan.

The master of this temple,

Was the Head of one of the Six Great Sects of Shenzhou [School of Taixuan];

Phoenix’s eldest disciple: [Willowfoil] Lin Zhaoyu.

…The Head is very quiet, plus the road was both long and arduous;

If the disciples of the School of Taixuan don’t have anything to do, they will never ascend the Cloud Strider Stairway.

Therefore, this day should’ve been an average day, a quiet and ordinary day.

Knock, knock, knock.

 [em delay=1] Knock, [/em][em delay=1] Knock, [/em][em delay=0.5] Knock.[/em] Now there’s an uninvited guest, who knocked on Fog Mount Temple’s door with a smile. This person is wearing a bold and easy-to-move suit, carrying twin yin-yang swords, born with vermillion hair and a jade-like face, and looks very beautiful.

Although she rarely walked around in the Jianghu Society, she and her disciples acted at a low profile;[\s]

But the name of this person was almost as prominent as the Heads and Elders of the Six Great Sects.

 伝記解放：「蘇湄」

She is Phoenix’s second disciple, the current master of [Ushuang’s Hall],[\s]

[Ushuang Exarch] ——Su Mei.

 Knock. Her knuckles tapped on the wooden door lightly, the sound loud and undisturbed, it was slightly crisp and nice. There wasn’t a response from the room, yet the red haired woman wasn’t angry, her face’s smile continued to be calm. Knock, knock. Finally, the door opened.

As if she was unaware of the knocker’s long wait,

[Willowfoil] Lin Zhaoyu walked out of the house slowly, staring coldly at her former Second Junior Sister.

 伝記解放：「林朝雨」 [Senior Sister, how long has it been since you’ve seen me?] Su Mei smiled enthusiastically, as if she was reuniting with a long lost best friend after many years. [\s]Although there are thousands of smiling faces in the world, this is the only one that Lin Zhaoyu doesn’t know how to deal with. [...Twenty years.] [Twenty years?] [Ushuang] Su Mei thought for a bit, before casually smiling: [It’s been that long?]

Her voice’s sound floated into Lin Zhaoyu’s ears, like a thin needle stuck in her heart.

She couldn’t help but glance at the woman in front of her with contempt.

 Over ten years had passed, yet Su Mei hadn't changed at all, and time seemed to have stopped for her. Her hair was still red and vibrant,

Her beautiful face was shiny and smooth as fat, it could be broken by a blow.

Her eyes… the eyes were still so big, so alluring…

Her lips are so red, so red… this vixen, how many sheets of rouge paper did she use?

 [em color=#FAFAD2 italic]… …Why was it her? Why wasn’t it me?[/em] Envy filled Lin Zhaoyu’s heart in an instant, it boiled extremely quickly, and it froze; it was hot like ice, it was cold like fire. Su Mei seemed to see through her thoughts, and let out a sigh at this moment. [Aye, twenty years, I’ve aged too.] [...Really.] The Head of the School of Taixuan replied softly. [No need to reminisce, you and I don’t need to chat, just speak if you have something to say.] [Mm, that’s fine too.] A trace of haze seemed to pass over Su Mei’s eyes, it was fleeting, causing Lin Zhaoyu to catch a glimpse of worry in her eyes. [...The reason I came to visit my Senior Sister, is because Little Ma got a message.] [Yanqing?] Lin Zhaoyu’s face changed quickly, and sharply said: [Where is he?]

The name Little Ma that came from Su Mei’s mouth, was the two people’s Junior Brother [Tireless Courser] Ma Yanqing. [\s]

This Taixuan Sixth Sword had an arrogant temperament, and he had never been restrained by the world;

This person had a close relationship with [Ushuang] Su Mei, and he was envied by everyone in the Jianghu Society.

Yet he suddenly announced that he would marry a Senior Sister who was more than twenty years older than him, which shook the Jianghu;

On the day of the wedding, he was drunk and nonsensical. He was ashamed of his name and abandoned it, which embarrassed all the guests.

Even after getting married, he rarely appeared in the School of Taixuan for a while.

For most of the year, he and his beloved horse [Erebus] wandered around. What he did that was good to hear was said to be [fighting for justice and chivalry], and the ugly, said to be [misbehavior].

Whether up to the rich and the powerful, or down to bandits… Ma Feima dared to beat anyone, and everyone who provoked him. This [Madman], is indeed the most famous character in the Central Plains.

[Yanqing… Little Ma hates that name very much.

Yet Senior Sister hasn’t changed her words yet… Alas, Senior Sister is the most nostalgic among us.]

[em color=#FAFAD2 italic]No…[/em]

Lin Zhaoyu said in her heart.

[em color=#FAFAD2 italic]What he hates is the past, which is specifically the past YOU created.[/em]

Her thoughts sank into her heart, and the sound was no more.

She also didn’t resort to words.

 [Where is he?]

Lin Zhaoyu repeated.[\s]

Su Mei met her gaze quickly and looked away, then sighed:

 [You know Little Ma’s temperament… he already rushed to the Northern Desert overnight.] [Beyond the Great Wall? …What’s he going to do there?] [To look for Fifth Junior Sister.] [——! ! !]

Fiery anger suddenly melted the ice.

Lin Zhaoyu took a big step forward, and silently slipped a silver longsword into her left hand.

[Su Mei… What the hell are you plotting now?

It’s been 20 years, do you think we’ll be fooled by you again?!]

[Lingshuang’s secluded whereabouts, did you think Yanqing and I don’t know?

When she grabbed a Xuanyuan and wandered all over the Central Plains, causing trouble out in the limelight, during that time, who was it who got her out of Southern Hunan?

Who was it who secretly protected her on her way to the Northern Desert and helped her settle?]

[Yanqing’s temperament… heh, I know Yanqing's character, I also know Lingshuang’s temperament.

Even if the sky fell tomorrow, he won’t disturb Lingshuang with such trivial things or disturb her hermitage.

So what? Could you tell me what news is so important, that Yanqing couldn’t even spare the time to tell me?] 「……」 [...It’s still this means, Su Mei, it’s still this. Yanqing is willing to listen to your words,『Little Ma』...hmph. What about you? You call him at will, pointing east to east, pointing west to west… Who do you take my husband for? Who do you take ME for?]

[Su Mei, I’m warning you today.

If you no longer treasure shared sect comradery in your heart,

Then I won’t hesitate to fight『Ushuang』!]

 「……」

All of the buried words that’ve been accumulating for years were reprimanded, yet she felt unhappy.

Lin Zhaoyu was satisfied with the silence from the other party, but she was also surprised about that silence.

The wind’s sound whistled, the piercing cold hovered on top of Heaven’s Pinnacle.

This kind of weather could either fan the flames of rage, or slowly let it smolder until only the ashes of disappointment remained.

After she counted her seventeenth heartbeat, when her patience was about to come to an end, Su Mei spoke up. [『Willowfoil』...] Su Mei didn’t look at her, rather her gaze fixedly fell upon the soft sword in her hand.

[It’s really nostalgic…

Thanks to it, Wanru could keep her life, and it gave Fifth Junior Sister a moment to stab with that sword.]

 She lifted her head to meet Lin Zhaoyu’s gaze, her eyebrows raised into a smile: [Very good, it’s still in your hands.] [You——]

At the mention of that day twenty years ago, Lin Zhaoyu subconsciously took a step back.[\s]

The cold air condensed to dew on her back, turning into cold sweat under her robes.

For many years, the scene of that time had been torturing her like bone decay.

She thought she had finally left her past behind, but the visit from her Second Sister today has reopened her old scar.

[We promised to never talk about the old days——]

 [Mm. I’m not talking about the old stuff, because the past is gone, and remembering it is useless.] [So, I’m talking about something new.] [...Oh!?] Lin Zhaoyu was taken aback, and instantly understood the profound meaning of her Junior Sister’s words. [S-so… you’re saying, Master s-she’s?] [Mm.] Su Mei looked up at the sky, as if she noticed something interesting in the air, and had an indiscernible smile. [Our Xuanyuan Swords are about to be unsheathed again. But if my guess is right… mine will be earlier than yours.] [This… you, impossible… this…] For the first time in 20 years, the School of Taixuan’s female head showed such a flustered expression. [...Master’s dead.]

[Right, but does death exist to a Celestial? Trust me, Master has returned.

You, me, Little Ma… none of us seven should want to stay out of this matter.]

 [...No…] Lin Zhaoyu looked down in a daze, as if the other party was just saying extremely absurd gossip that wasn’t worth listening to. [But… If…] Her murmurs became weaker.

When she lifted her head at Su Mei again, a smile hung on Lin Zhaoyu’s face.

It was an extremely angry smile, yet it was also an extremely weary smile.

 [If Master is to settle out the score years ago, the first one to look for is you, Su Mei.] School of Taixuan’s female head spoke softly. [Wrong, wrong, Master doesn’t know who the mastermind is. According to inference, I’m still the second one~ But, the order isn’t important. I came to find you for this.] She turned her look away from the clouds and gazed at Lin Zhaoyu.

Lin Zhaoyu was shocked.[\s]

This was what she was very familiar with, her Second Junior Sister’s look in her eyes.

 Su Mei was calmly looking at her, collected and composed. Her eyes showed neither fear, nor panic. [Master has already killed one.]