The Black Lotus Stole the White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 12
Zhai Anyi had noticed something was off with his master for a while.
He’d realized that his master’s movements had become strangely erratic.
Of course, as Mu Tianyin’s disciple, Zhai Anyi didn’t have the right to question his master’s whereabouts, so he just kept his doubts to himself.
But today, their ethereal, untainted master had actually asked him to buy candied haws?
Zhai Anyi was so shocked that he couldn’t hide the expression on his face.
Mu Tianyin, seeing his look, frowned slightly and said in her clear, cold voice, “What? Is there a problem?”
Zhai Anyi’s head immediately shook like a rattle, and he quickly bowed and dashed out the door.
Only when he flew down the mountain on his sword did he suddenly realize.
Wait!
The focus should be on the junior sister!
Mu Tianyin had three disciples, Zhai Anyi being the last and the only male.
Now, hearing that he was going to have a junior sister, he immediately became excited. After finding the spiritual herbs and returning to the sect, he concealed his presence and sneaked to the Cliff of Reflection to chat with his senior sister.
Although the Cliff of Reflection was a forbidden area, Zhai Anyi was Mu Tianyin’s disciple, so the guards at the entrance, even if they noticed him, didn’t stop him, pretending not to see him.
“Senior sister! I have good news for you!” Zhai Anyi said excitedly, his eyebrows dancing, “We’re going to have a junior sister soon!”
Song Qiyu, before she could scold him for trespassing in the sect’s forbidden area, was stunned by the news.
Not to mention herself, even their lively junior brother, though impatient, was a top-grade gold spiritual root, a talent seen once in a millennium in the cultivation world. Had another extraordinary genius appeared?
Thinking this, she hesitated, “The sect trial is still some time away, how do you know?”
Zhai Anyi said confidently, “Master told me personally!”
Seeing Song Qiyu’s skeptical look, he couldn’t help but curl his lip, “Just a few days ago, master told me to bring back a string of candied haws, saying junior sister likes them!”
Song Qiyu was completely stunned.
Her master, who cultivated the Path of Emotionlessness and seemed to be carved from ice and snow, would actually remember to buy food for someone?
She opened her mouth, not knowing what to ask. It wasn’t so much sadness and disappointment as it was bewilderment.
Before she could react, junior brother Zhai Anyi suddenly cried out, “Oh no! I forgot to buy the candied haws!”
With that, he hurriedly left the forbidden area.
When Zhai Anyi returned from the foot of the mountain, he had bought the entire straw frame of candied haws.
In the main hall of Mingxin City, Mu Tianyin, seeing the frame of candied haws standing in front of her and looking at Zhai Anyi, who was smiling at her, shook her head helplessly, “Alright, you can go now.”
Zhai Anyi stood there, twisting his fingers shyly, like a bashful young woman, “Master, when is junior sister coming? Can I see her?”
Mu Tianyin paused, her tea-colored eyes looking at him, “You’re curious?”
Zhai Anyi’s face flushed with excitement, and he nodded repeatedly, “Junior sister! Everyone else has a junior sister! I want my own junior sister too!”
Mu Tianyin’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She frowned, looked away, and said calmly, “It’s not time yet. After the disciple trial.”
Zhai Anyi vaguely felt that his master seemed a little unhappy, but he didn’t know what he had said to upset her, so he immediately shut up and left the main hall with a bellyful of gossip and excitement.
Bai An’an saw Mu Tianyin again three days later.
During those three days, she hadn’t been idle for a moment. She had racked her brains, thinking of ways to trick Mu Tianyin.
She was standing in the courtyard, tending to the flowers and spiritual plants.
After several months of careful tending, the spiritual plants she had dug up from the mountain were growing very well. In a short time, they would be ready to be harvested.
As she bent down, she sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations behind her, and the corners of her mouth immediately curved up.
After a moment, she composed herself, suddenly turned around, and blinked her watery almond eyes, saying in surprise, “Senior sister!”
She put down the wooden ladle she was using to water the plants, wiped her hands on her skirt, and happily went to greet Mu Tianyin, grabbing her sleeve, “Senior sister, where have you been these three days? An’an missed you so much!”
Mu Tianyin looked down at her, seeing the girl’s flushed face looking up at her with adoration, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
She simply said, “I had something to take care of.”
With a flick of her sleeve, she conjured a straw frame full of candied haws out of thin air.
Seeing the frame of candied haws, Bai An’an’s smile immediately froze.
Mu Tianyin looked down at her, her eyes dark and clear, flickering with a slight light, “Do you like them?”
Bai An’an almost rolled her eyes to the sky.
She was thousands of years old, could she possibly like such childish things?
She didn’t expect Mu Tianyin to be so kind. Just because she showed a pitiful child’s longing for snacks in a dream, Mu Tianyin had remembered it in reality.
Even if Bai An’an hated eating them, she couldn’t show it!
So, when Mu Tianyin looked at her, she narrowed her eyes, her beautiful almond eyes curving into crescents, and said sweetly, “I love them! I love them so much!”
Her snow-white face was full of joy and excitement, and her eyes were fixed on the red candied haws on the straw frame, but she asked Mu Tianyin, “How did senior sister know An’an likes candied haws?”
Mu Tianyin looked at her silently, not knowing how to answer.
Bai An’an didn’t make things difficult for her, her eyes fixed on the candied haws on the frame, thinking about how to deal with them.
Seeing that she didn’t ask further, Mu Tianyin breathed a sigh of relief.
She followed her gaze and couldn’t help but smile, “If you like them, take them and eat them.”
Bai An’an: “…Okay!”
Under Mu Tianyin’s gaze, Bai An’an had no choice but to step forward and take one from the frame.
The straw frame was filled with densely packed candied haws.
Bai An’an counted them, and even if she ate one a day, it would take her more than thirty days to finish them.
Bai An’an took a bite of the candied hawthorn, chewing hard, and swallowed it, suppressing her discomfort.
Holding the candied hawthorn, she stood there, her eyes slowly reddening.
Seeing her go from joy to sorrow, Mu Tianyin was surprised, “What’s wrong?”
Bai An’an, holding the candied hawthorn, burst into tears, choking out, “The candied hawthorn is too delicious…”
Mu Tianyin had heard her say this in her memory. Hearing it again now, her eyes softened, as if the frail child from before was standing in front of her.
She placed her hand on Bai An’an’s head and gently rubbed it, “Don’t cry. If you want to eat them again, I’ll buy you more.”
Bai An’an quickly shook her head, wiping her tears with her sleeve, “No, it’s not that. An’an is very satisfied with one candied hawthorn. Senior sister, why don’t you give the rest to the other disciples?”
Mu Tianyin looked down at her, “Why? If you like them, why give them away?”
Bai An’an pursed her lips and said seriously, “Because I know that if you want to be good to someone, you have to give them what you like the most!”
She put her hands behind her back, lifted her snow-white face, and looked directly into Mu Tianyin’s eyes, “An’an likes candied haws, so she wants to share them with everyone!”
Mu Tianyin stared at her for a moment, seeing the girl’s increasingly fair and delicate face in the sunlight, and thinking about everything she had experienced in her childhood, her heart was filled with complex emotions.
Seeing Bai An’an’s clear, untainted almond eyes, she unconsciously raised her finger, wanting to touch her eyes.
Her cold fingertips touched the corner of her eyebrow, not moving any closer.
Bai An’an still tilted her head, her big eyes looking to the side. Then she turned back, asking in confusion, “Senior sister?”
Mu Tianyin suddenly came to her senses, pulling her hand back as if she had been burned.
She lowered her eyes, staring at her fingertips, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.
Bai An’an narrowed her eyes, took a step closer, and took Mu Tianyin’s finger, not letting her think further.
She took her hand and pulled her straight into the house, “Senior sister, senior sister! You promised to help An’an find her father. Can you help An’an see all her memories this time, please?”
“Once we find out who my father is, you’ll teach me immortal techniques, right?”
Bai An’an pulled her to sit on the couch in the room.
She sat beside her, close to her.
She had already figured out how to use the candied haws, and she needed to get past this as soon as possible.
If she had known, she would have chosen a windmill, paper kite, or bamboo dragonfly, anything would have been better than being tormented by Mu Tianyin with candied haws.
Thinking of the disgusting taste in her mouth, she immediately grabbed Mu Tianyin’s sleeve and began to shake it, acting spoiled.
Mu Tianyin had become accustomed to physical contact with her, but still hadn’t learned how to deal with it. She could only say helplessly, “You haven’t cultivated, I’m afraid your body won’t be able to handle exploring all your memories at once.”
Bai An’an pouted, “Then make master accept me as a disciple sooner!”
She paused, then put on a dejected expression, “I know it’s against the rules. Then please, senior sister, clear my name as soon as possible and let me participate in the mountain gate trial.”
Seeing her persistence, Mu Tianyin sighed.
She raised her finger and placed it on her forehead.
••••
Bai An’an stood in the backyard of the brothel, facing a small boy.
She treasured the candied hawthorn Mu Tianyin had given her, keeping it hidden in her arms and not eating it.
It was common for children to snatch snacks and toys.
Bai An’an, carrying the candied hawthorn around every day, had it snatched.
The boy who snatched the snack was named Hu Zi, meaning “tiger cub,” and as his name suggested, he was sturdy and had a stubborn temper.
Bai An’an’s current body was thin and weak, almost half the size of the boy.
She frowned, her eyes red, and glared at Hu Zi, gritting her teeth, “Give my candied hawthorn back!”
Hu Zi shook his head, folded his arms, and snorted, lifting his chin, “I didn’t eat it!”
Bai An’an pointed at him angrily, “Yes, you did! I saw you!”
Hu Zi turned his head away and then glanced at her sideways, “So what if I ate it? What are you going to do?”
Everyone knew Bai An’an was easy to bully because even her mother wouldn’t protect her, so they weren’t afraid of her.
Bai An’an gritted her teeth and suddenly rushed forward, pushing Hu Zi to the ground.
Although Bai An’an was weak, Hu Zi was just a four or five-year-old child, and he was caught off guard and pushed to the ground.
Hu Zi sat on the ground, staring at her fiercely, and shouted angrily, “You hit me?!”
Bai An’an stood her ground, her neck slightly stiff, “It’s because you stole my treasure!”
Hu Zi’s face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, “It’s just a candied hawthorn! What’s so special about it?!”
Bai An’an shouted back even louder, “It’s a gift from the fairy sister! It’s a treasure!”
“You’re lying! There are no fairies in this world!” Hu Zi got up from the ground and grabbed Bai An’an’s hair.
Bai An’an and Hu Zi fought, and she was eventually knocked to the ground.
That night, she sat on her bed, crying under the covers.
The moonlight shone through the window, and the figure in white arrived with the moonlight.
Bai An’an curled into a small ball, looking through her tear-filled eyes, and immediately sobbed as she rushed into the cold, fragrant embrace, “Fairy sister! An’an’s candied hawthorn is gone!”