The Black Lotus Stole the White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 24
Bai An’an internally criticized, but didn’t dare to be too excessive. She covered her neck, her face flushed, and while coughing, she struggled to squeeze out a few words: “Master, An’er… An’er just wanted to see Senior Sister.”
Mu Tianyin put down her teacup and brushed her snow-white sleeves. She glanced at Bai An’an casually, seeing her looking like she was about to faint, couldn’t help but sigh softly, raised her hand, and gently patted the girl’s thin shoulders, “Be careful when you eat, why are you so flustered?”
Bai An’an lowered her face and gritted her teeth. She was angry in her heart, wasn’t it Mu Tianyin’s fault, dropping a bombshell at a crucial moment? Otherwise, would she, a normally calm person, be so scared?
However, the corners of her lips slightly lifted into a slight arc, and her eyes flashed.
The initial shock was real, and the subsequent reaction was just her taking advantage of the situation. She pursed her lips and raised her face again, her small face flushed, and stammered, “An’er wanted to see Senior Sister, is that not allowed?”
Mu Tianyin, while patting her shoulder, paused slightly upon hearing this. Her tea-colored eyes flickered, then she withdrew her hand and asked, “So, did you see her?”
Bai An’an blinked, her long eyelashes drooping, concealing the color in her eyes, and stammered, “…No.”
Mu Tianyin smiled faintly, her cool gaze falling on her face, as if seeing through her heart, and said lightly, “Lying.”
Bai An’an’s face stiffened, and her fingers immediately involuntarily twisted together, resting on her abdomen, slightly trembling.
The best lies are always three parts truth and seven parts falsehood. She did it on purpose.
Deliberately telling a lie that would be easily exposed, and then testing, testing how much Mu Tianyin knew, and testing her bottom line.
She stubbornly buried her head and didn’t speak. Let’s see what Mu Tianyin could do to her.
“What, nothing to say?” Mu Tianyin, seeing her remain silent for a long time, couldn’t help but raise her tone slightly.
Bai An’an had to lower her eyes and raise her face, turning her gaze away from her: “Then what should An’er do? If Master doesn’t agree to me seeing Senior Sister, An’er will just use her own abilities to actively seek Senior Sister.”
Mu Tianyin observed her for a long time, as if discovering for the first time that this delicate little disciple was willing to boldly confront her for the sake of ‘Senior Sister’. But she didn’t know that the so-called Senior Sister was just her other identity. She didn’t know whether to blame her for being bold or to sigh at her deep affection for herself.
After a long time, she sighed helplessly: “Alright, An’er, this time it’s excusable, this seat will forgive you.”
She paused, seeing Bai An’an looking over with those apricot eyes that seemed to have been washed, the tone of her impending reprimand involuntarily lowered a bit, “Just this once, no more. You can’t abuse your abilities again, and you can’t enter the forbidden area at will. Do you understand?”
Bai An’an glanced at her quickly, remained silent for a moment, “But An’er has to tell Senior Sister that An’er passed the test and became Master’s disciple.”
Still not giving up.
Mu Tianyin’s expression was unpredictable, and after a long time, she said faintly, “No rush, you’ll see her one day.”
Now that Bai An’an had entered Mu Tianyin’s sect, cultivation had to be put on the agenda. However, the basic things were not taught by Mu Tianyin, but by Senior Brother Zhai Anyi.
Bai An’an listened to Zhai Anyi talking about various classics and histories, poking the pages of the book with a pen: “Senior Brother, isn’t An’er supposed to cultivate? I heard people say that cultivation is about guiding qi into the body and washing the marrow…” She pouted, sullen, “Why is it that An’er is learning these things like a mortal?”
Zhai Anyi’s face flashed with embarrassment: “Junior Sister, this is what Master instructed. I can’t do anything about it…”
As soon as Bai An’an heard this, her eyes flickered: “Master instructed? Why?”
Zhai Anyi blinked and guessed casually: “Junior Sister, you’re still young, and your temperament is unstable. It’s always good to learn more.”
Seeing Bai An’an puffing out her cheeks, looking sullen, he put down the book, looked around, and suddenly waved to Bai An’an: “Bored, right… Let Senior Brother show you something good!”
Bai An’an raised an eyebrow, rolled her eyes, and leaned over as instructed: “Senior Brother, what are you going to say?”
Zhai Anyi looked around vigilantly, reached into his pocket, took out a pitch-black token, waved it in front of Bai An’an, and said triumphantly, “Look what this is?”
Bai An’an looked at him blankly: “What is this?”
Zhai Anyi rolled his eyes, disappointed: “Elder’s token!”
Bai An’an immediately exclaimed, incredulously: “This thing is always carried by the elders, how did Senior Brother get it?”
Zhai Anyi turned the token triumphantly: “That’s because your Senior Brother is smart and resourceful!” As he spoke, he said regretfully, “I wanted to steal Master’s, but she’s too vigilant, I couldn’t get it.”
Bai An’an couldn’t help but glance at him sideways.
Mu Tianyin was really unlucky to have him as a disciple.
But—she liked it.
A bright smile suddenly bloomed on Bai An’an’s face, she grabbed Zhai Anyi’s arm, and jumped up happily: “Great, does that mean we can enter the forbidden area legitimately?”
Zhai Anyi was infected by her and smiled, but after a moment of pondering, he restrained his smile: “This… I don’t know if it will work.”
Bai An’an pretended to regain her composure, looked at him uneasily: “Senior Brother, will we make Master angry by doing this?”
Zhai Anyi scratched the back of his head. He had entered the forbidden area countless times, presumably Master knew it all. So taking Junior Sister in this time shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Zhai Anyi thought for a moment, patted Bai An’an’s shoulder, and assured her: “Don’t worry. I guarantee Master won’t be angry!”
Bai An’an nodded vigorously, “Then An’er can rest assured.”
After that, Bai An’an was quiet for a long time and didn’t bother Song Qiyu.
But teasing people must be done while the iron is hot. While Song Qiyu was distracted, she could implement her plan step by step.
Although Zhai Anyi was confident, he was still uneasy when he took Bai An’an to show the token to the guard disciples.
The guard disciple looked at the token carefully, glanced at Zhai Anyi and Bai An’an, making Zhai Anyi almost explode: “What! Is there a problem? This is Elder Ten’s token!”
The guard disciples looked at each other, remained silent for a long time, and finally made way.
Zhai Anyi immediately raised his eyebrows and blinked at Bai An’an.
Bai An’an smiled and nodded to the disciples, then followed with a smile: “Senior Brother, you’re amazing!”
“That’s right!” Zhai Anyi’s vanity was satisfied, and his confidence swelled unprecedentedly. As expected, he, Zhai Anyi, knew what he was doing!
Bai An’an looked at his smug look, tilted her head slightly, and secretly curled her lips.
This silly boy, look how proud he is.
Thinking about this in her heart, she made an even more admiring expression, making Zhai Anyi feel comfortable and happy.
He walked briskly, and before entering the forbidden area, he shouted loudly: “Senior Sister! I’m here to see you! Look who I brought to see you?”
Song Qiyu, listening to Zhai Anyi’s clear and noisy voice, sighed deeply, and a trace of helplessness appeared on her haggard and pale face.
“How many times have I told you, this is the forbidden area…” She raised her eyes and looked forward, and then saw a slender and delicate white figure.
When the figure walked in front of her and fully revealed her appearance, Song Qiyu almost lost her voice on the spot: “You are…”
Bai An’an narrowed her eyes, took small steps, stepped forward timidly, and bowed: “Bai An’an, greetings, Senior Sister.”
Song Qiyu’s pupils suddenly shrank when she heard this name.
These past few nights, she had been tormented by this name, unable to sleep.
Bai An’an’s appearance was almost clearly imprinted in her mind.
“You…” Song Qiyu looked at her in shock, examining her appearance, from her full forehead to her rosy lips. She and her An’an were not exactly alike. But the demeanor and expression were so similar. She looked closely at her features, and upon closer inspection, the girl in front of her had much more delicate features than Bai An’an.
Her An’an could only be described as pretty, but the girl in front of her was a rare beauty.
Seeing Song Qiyu staring at her intently, Bai An’an couldn’t help but look away timidly: “Senior Sister?”
Seeing Song Qiyu’s stunned look, she took a few steps back and hid behind Zhai Anyi, only carefully peeking out half her face to look at Song Qiyu.
Zhai Anyi was also caught off guard by this development. He comforted Bai An’an before reminding Song Qiyu, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong with you?”
After a long while, Song Qiyu came back to her senses and paused.
She lowered her gaze, no longer looking at Bai An’an, and said softly, “This girl looks like an old friend of mine.”
Zhai Anyi immediately exclaimed, frowning in confusion, “An’an looks like who?”
Seeing that Song Qiyu didn’t answer, he blinked quickly and introduced Bai An’an instead, “Senior Sister, do you remember the Junior Sister I mentioned to you?”
Song Qiyu raised her face and looked at Bai An’an.
She stared at her face for a while before saying in a deep voice, “You said your name is Bai An’an?”
A trace of helplessness flashed in Bai An’an’s eyes, and she asked in confusion, “Senior Sister, is there anything strange about An’er’s name?”
Song Qiyu stared at her face intently, and after a long time, she slowly looked away, “Sorry, Junior Sister. You look quite like my old friend, so I lost my composure for a moment.”
Bai An’an forgot her fear and asked curiously, “Very similar? How similar?”
Song Qiyu looked over slowly and said, “Upon closer inspection, only a few similarities. I was mistaken.”
Bai An’an turned her face away and sneered, then looked back, cautiously saying, “Senior Sister, can An’er ask you a question?”
Song Qiyu’s dark eyes looked at her, and after a few seconds of silence, she said, “Ask away.”
Bai An’an looked at her, her watery apricot eyes looking innocent, “Senior Sister, what is your relationship with that girl?”
“We…” Song Qiyu hesitated, looking at her with eyes that seemed to contain clear water, her expression unusually gentle, “She is my future Dao companion.”
As soon as the words fell, Zhai Anyi exclaimed, looking at Song Qiyu in shock, “Senior Sister!? Are you possessed?”
Bai An’an, as if caught off guard by the answer, asked in surprise, “That’s interesting, Senior Sister. Can you predict your Dao companion in advance?”
Song Qiyu looked at Bai An’an quietly, smiled, and didn’t answer.
Zhai Anyi was silent for a long time, puzzled, “Is it Elder Shi? Did Senior Sister ask Elder Shi to calculate your Dao companion?”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Elder Shi only recently learned fortune-telling. Senior Sister, you’ve been in the forbidden area for a long time. When did you ask him to calculate? By the way, why does An’an’s name sound so familiar?”
Song Qiyu glanced at him, speechless for a long time.
Zhai Anyi had long forgotten about the mortal Bai An’an.
Cultivators like them were always like this. What they valued was naturally the best. What they didn’t value, even if they were sacrificed for their greater good, they died as they should. Bai An’an always remembered how lightly these two had brushed off the puppet’s life and death that day.
The righteous path was like this, let alone the demonic cultivators.
She would be colder and more ruthless than them. So no matter what, she had to take revenge!
Bai An’an calmed herself, a smile as bright as spring flowers blooming on her lips, “Senior Sister, your deep affection is truly admirable!”
This smile seemed to instantly lighten the solemn atmosphere of the forbidden area, and Song Qiyu couldn’t help but smile.
Her eyelashes trembled, she suppressed the expression in her eyes, and said in a daze, “…There’s nothing to admire. I wasn’t good to her.”
On the other side, Zhai Anyi, finally remembering the name of the mortal Bai An’an from the corner of his memory, froze on the spot, “I remember…” He looked at Song Qiyu’s face, stammering, “It’s her, isn’t it?”
Bai An’an pretended to be confused, “Senior Brother, Senior Sister, what riddles are you talking about?”
Zhai Anyi didn’t know how to explain to the innocent and kind Junior Sister, stammering, “It’s nothing… Junior Sister. It’s better if you don’t know about this.”
He still didn’t regret writing that letter to Senior Sister.
If Senior Sister didn’t come back, what would Master do? How could he watch Master die before his eyes?
But today, Senior Sister’s words revealed another secret.
She and that mortal were actually in that kind of relationship?
Zhai Anyi’s mind was extremely complicated, and the joy of successfully bringing Junior Sister into the forbidden area disappeared.
He thought of Junior Sister and realized for the first time what their actions meant to that mortal.
“Junior Sister, do you think I really did something wrong?” Zhai Anyi asked, walking with his head down, sullen.
Bai An’an glanced at him, asking strangely, “Senior Brother, what are you talking about?”
Zhai Anyi glanced at her, seeing her carefree profile, he turned away in frustration, “Forget it, why am I telling you this?”
Zhai Anyi was still feeling depressed when he looked up and saw Elder Shi and Mu Tianyin standing outside the hall, looking at them coldly.
Cold sweat immediately dripped down Zhai Anyi’s face, “…Master, Master.”
Bai An’an was much calmer than Zhai Anyi, and she quickly bowed, “Greetings, Master, greetings, Elder Shi.”
Elder Shi glared at Zhai Anyi angrily, “You brat! Return my things!”
Zhai Anyi’s face stiffened, refusing to admit it, “I don’t know what Elder Shi lost? Is it worth making such a fuss?”
“Stop pretending!” Elder Shi glared, his figure as fast as lightning, and he immediately took out the token hidden in Zhai Anyi’s pocket.
With the evidence in hand, Zhai Anyi looked like he was “finished.”
This matter was neither big nor small. After all, it didn’t cause irreversible damage. But stealing the elder’s token was too serious. Zhai Anyi couldn’t get away with it, and Bai An’an was punished along with him.
In the Hall of Ancestors, Zhai Anyi and Bai An’an knelt straight on the floor, listening to Mu Tianyin’s reprimand.
Mu Tianyin sat on the long chair, her expression indifferent, her whole body exuding a cold aura, looking a little scary.
“An’er, did this seat tell you not to go to the forbidden area?”
“Master! It’s not Junior Sister’s fault, it’s me! I stole the elder’s token, I took Junior Sister in!” Zhai Anyi, afraid that Mu Tianyin would blame Junior Sister, quickly defended Bai An’an.
Bai An’an looked at Zhai Anyi timidly, her eyes filled with gratitude, muttering, “Senior Brother…”
Mu Tianyin almost laughed at their touching display of affection.
“Shut up,” Mu Tianyin said coldly.
Receiving Mu Tianyin’s cold gaze, Zhai Anyi immediately fell silent, not daring to speak again.
Mu Tianyin paused, slowly lifting her snow-white sleeves and pouring herself a cup of tea. She took a sip of tea, lowered her eyes to stare at the amber tea, and said without raising her head, “An’er, you tell me. Did this seat warn you not to go to the forbidden area?”
Bai An’an gritted her teeth, kneeling straight, took a deep breath, and said softly, “Yes. Master, you did say that. But…”
Mu Tianyin suddenly exerted force on her hand, and the teacup slammed on the mahogany table with a loud bang.
Bai An’an was so frightened that she shivered, swallowed, and stammered, “Master, An’er was wrong.”
Mu Tianyin looked over casually, the corners of her lips twitching into a faint smile, “Since you know you’re wrong, why did you ignore my words?”
Bai An’an pursed her lips tightly, stubbornly lowering her head.
Mu Tianyin’s gaze fell on her fluffy head, lingering for a long time.
She was thinking about whether she had been too lenient with An’er, which was why she was so unruly. But the culprit was clearly her third disciple, Zhai Anyi.
She pondered, her fingers involuntarily rubbing her throbbing temples, and said faintly, “Think carefully about where you went wrong. This seat is tired now. Come back tomorrow at noon time.”
Upon hearing this, Zhai Anyi immediately raised his head, propped himself up on one leg, and was about to get up.
He pleaded, “Master! I’m fine. But the night is cold, Junior Sister is weak, she can’t take it!”
“Kneel.” Mu Tianyin’s face remained impassive, without even a frown, and she looked over faintly, “Kneel properly.”
Zhai Anyi swallowed and knelt back down as instructed.
Junior Sister, I can’t help you. This time, Master is really angry.
Mu Tianyin glanced at Zhai Anyi, paused, and her gaze couldn’t help but fall on Bai An’an’s head.
Seeing that Bai An’an still didn’t look up, looking stubborn and obstinate, her chest tightened.
She saw that Bai An’an was doing quite well. She ignored her master and treated her as nothing.
“You two kneel properly, don’t get up until the time comes.” Mu Tianyin glanced at the two of them coldly, waved her sleeves, and walked away.
Mingxin City was built on a mountaintop, with a huge temperature difference between day and night.
It was only midnight, but Bai An’an couldn’t stop shivering.
Her clothes were thin, her face was pale, her lips were frozen purple, but two thin blushes appeared on her fair cheeks.
Seeing that she looked unwell, Zhai Anyi took off his outer robe and put it on Bai An’an, “Junior Sister, put this on, you might feel a little better.”
“It’ll be dawn soon. When Master comes, I’ll definitely plead for you and ask Master to forgive you.”
Bai An’an’s fingers gripped the white robe, shivering, “Senior Brother, An’er is so cold.”
Her voice turned into white mist as she spoke.
In fact, with her physique, she wouldn’t be afraid of this little bit of cold. But her persona was a delicate little pitiful thing, how could she be as strong as an ox like Zhai Anyi? Therefore, she had to be afraid of the cold.
The corners of her lips curled up, and her dark eyes flickered slightly.
After saying this, she closed her eyes and fell to the ground, limp.
Zhai Anyi stared blankly at the unconscious Junior Sister and suddenly exclaimed, “Master! Junior Sister fainted!”
He thought Master might ignore him or might not appear for a while.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the door of the Hall of Ancestors was opened from the outside.
Zhai Anyi’s eyes widened suddenly.
Then he saw his master stride in, walking quickly, reaching him, bending down, wrapping her arms around Bai An’an’s knees and back, and picking her up in a horizontal embrace.
Zhai Anyi’s eyes were wide open, almost jumping up on the spot, his eyes almost popping out, and his voice was unsteady, “Master?”
Mu Tianyin lowered her eyes and glanced at the unconscious Bai An’an in her arms, and said without raising her head, “Kneel. Who said you could get up?”
Zhai Anyi, with a bellyful of gossip, knelt back down.
The door closed in front of him, and the more Zhai Anyi thought about his master’s expression just now, the more he was sure of his previous guess.
So they really were mother and daughter?
He just didn’t know when, where, and with whom Master had this daughter.
It was said that those who cultivated the Path of Emotionlessness were born cold-hearted, so was it possible that Master deliberately entered into emotions and then abandoned them to cultivate the Path of Emotionlessness?
She could completely marry, have a daughter, and then abandon her husband and daughter!
But would Master, with her temperament, do such a thing? Zhai Anyi wasn’t very sure, maybe she would?
At the same time, on the other side.
Bai An’an lay pale in Mu Tianyin’s arms, shivering, muttering something.
Mu Tianyin held her close, so close that she could hear the girl’s muttering with a slight tilt of her head.
Bai An’an closed her eyes tightly, tears sliding down her cheeks. She said softly, “Senior Sister.”
Mu Tianyin’s expression suddenly froze, and after a long while, she helplessly hummed, “…I’m here.”