After the ruins were settled, the investiture decree from the King of Nanhuai arrived at the guest courtyard.
The messenger was a palace eunuch, holding a bright yellow silk scroll. Behind him were two young eunuchs carrying trays with a golden seal, ceremonial robes, and a string of sandalwood beads.
The eunuch stood at the gate, bowing, his voice shrill as he read a long passage of ornate parallel prose. The gist was that the Immortal Master had suppressed the ruins and protected Nanhuai, performing boundless merits. Thus, she was appointed as the State Preceptor of Nanhuai, granted a golden seal, and a royal stipend, with the hope that she would forever guard Nanhuai.
Bai Qingxue stood by the stone table. She listened but did not offer thanks.
She reached out, took the decree, glanced at it, and set it on the stone table.
“Go back and tell your King that I accept the appointment.”
The eunuch froze, not expecting such a blunt response. But remembering her status, he nodded quickly and withdrew with a bow.
Xiao Nanyuan poked her head out from the side room, watching the eunuchs leave, then looked at the decree and golden seal on the table. She walked to Bai Qingxue's side and looked up.
“Immortal Sister, are you a State Preceptor now?”
Bai Qingxue rolled up the decree and placed it on a corner of the stone table. “Mm.”
Xiao Nanyuan’s lips curved slightly as she moved closer to Bai Qingxue.
From that day on, the days became both very slow and very fast.
Every day was filled with trifles, yet every day was a repetition of the last.
Perhaps the only thing that changed was Xiao Nanyuan.
Xiao Nanyuan moved from sitting on the corridor steps to sitting by the stone table.
At first, she sat under the porch of the main house, clutching her book and watching Bai Qingxue from afar.
Later, she sat on the stone stool by the table, a bit closer to Bai Qingxue.
Eventually, she sat directly across from her.
One day, Bai Qingxue picked up her teacup and looked up to see Xiao Nanyuan sitting opposite her, holding a coarse ceramic cup and blowing on her tea.
Looking at that face that was gradually maturing, she suddenly felt that time was flying.
Xiao Nanyuan had grown taller.
She was no longer the little girl who stood outside the threshold, holding her book to her chest and afraid to speak.
Her features had filled out, the bridge of her nose was higher, and the lines of her jaw had become distinct.
But her eyes hadn't changed. They were still just as dark and bright.
Xiao Nanyuan had learned many things, but her cultivation progress remained slow.
Although her qi seed was fully activated, she was limited by her lack of spiritual roots. She was destined to have no hope of Foundation Establishment, only able to linger at the threshold of a qi practitioner.
Still, Xiao Nanyuan could use some minor spells, like making a small ball of light appear on her fingertip or making the wind turn the pages of a book.
Even so, she was very happy. Every time she learned a new spell, she would run to Bai Qingxue to demonstrate, her eyes sparkling like a puppy that had brought back a bone.
Bai Qingxue watched every time.
Afterward, she would say, “Mm.”
That was enough for Xiao Nanyuan.
One evening, Bai Qingxue returned from the altar, pushed open the courtyard gate, and saw Xiao Nanyuan standing in the yard.
She was wearing her pale green cotton dress, her hair tied back with a plain cloth strip.
Her hands were behind her back as if hiding something. Her toes tapped the ground lightly, over and over, like a restless kitten.
Hearing the gate, Xiao Nanyuan looked up.
Her eyes lit up, but she didn't rush forward as usual.
She stood where she was, her fingers clenching and unclenching behind her back.
Bai Qingxue sat down at the stone table. “What is it?”
Xiao Nanyuan brought her hands forward.
A necklace lay in her palms. The chain was woven from fine silver wire, very thin and soft, glowing softly in the twilight.
The pendant was an ice-blue stone the size of a fingernail, translucent and polished smooth, like a frozen drop of water.
The stone had been ground into a teardrop shape with a small hole at the top. The silver wire passed through the hole and was tied in a small knot.
“Immortal Sister,” her voice was softer than usual, “this... is for you.”
Bai Qingxue looked at her.
Xiao Nanyuan stood before her, holding the necklace in both hands at chest level, her face tilted up slightly.
The twilight fell on her face, turning her fine peach fuzz golden.
The tips of her ears were red, and her eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly's wings.
Bai Qingxue reached out and took the necklace.
The chain was very light. The pendant felt cool in her palm, but not freezing.
She turned the pendant over. Two tiny characters were engraved on the back.
“Xueyuan.”
Xiao Nanyuan kept her hands cupped for a moment before letting them fall back behind her.
Her fingers twisted together behind her back.
“I picked up the stone outside,” Xiao Nanyuan said softly.
“I thought the color was beautiful. It's the same color as you, Immortal Sister.”
Bai Qingxue looked up at her.
Xiao Nanyuan’s gaze met hers then quickly darted away, staring at the tips of her shoes.
“I wove it many times before I got it right. The previous ones weren't pretty, so I took them apart. This one... I think this one is okay.”
Bai Qingxue looked at the necklace in her hand. She seemed to realize what the girl had been doing in the side room lately.
After looking at it for a while, Bai Qingxue closed her hand around the necklace and then placed it in her sleeve.
“I accept it.”
Xiao Nanyuan stood there, her gaze following the necklace into Bai Qingxue's sleeve. Her lips moved as if to say something, but she swallowed the words.
“...Mm,” her voice was even softer.
Xiao Nanyuan turned to boil water for tea.
A moment later, the sound of water came from the side room, a bit louder than usual, as if the kettle had been set down with too much force.
Bai Qingxue sat at the stone table and felt the necklace in her sleeve.
The stone was cool against the fabric, the same temperature as the ice lotus inside her.
She heard the disappointment in Xiao Nanyuan's soft “mm.”
But Bai Qingxue did not explain.
Not explaining was simpler than explaining.
She didn't want the child to think that giving a necklace could change anything.
She had accepted it; that was enough.
...
At night, Xiao Nanyuan lay on the low bed, the blanket pulled to her chin, her eyes open.
She didn't speak or turn over; she just lay there quietly, facing the wall.
After a long time, thinking Bai Qingxue had entered her meditative state, Xiao Nanyuan pulled the blanket up a bit higher to cover half her face.
Then she reached out from under the blanket and felt around the pillow.
After touching the cover of the breathing method book, she pulled her hand back and rested it on the pillow.
“Immortal Sister,” her voice was muffled by the blanket, very soft.
Bai Qingxue didn't open her eyes. “Mm.”
“...Goodnight.”
Bai Qingxue did not respond tonight.
Xiao Nanyuan buried her face in the pillow and closed her eyes.
But she couldn't sleep. She was still thinking about that necklace.
In fact, giving the necklace hadn't been a sudden whim.
She had noticed a green cord tied around Bai Qingxue's wrist.
That green cord was very old, its color faded to a pale shade.
Moreover, it clearly wasn't something the Immortal Sister had for herself; it was a gift from someone else.
Xiao Nanyuan didn't know who had given it, but she knew that person must be very important.
Because the Immortal Sister never took it off, as if it had grown into her wrist, merging with her.
Xiao Nanyuan wanted to be like that too.
So she had made that necklace.
She remembered grinding the stone for many days. Her hands had blistered, the blisters had burst and scabbed over, and new blisters had formed.
Her fingers had been pricked by the silver wire more times than she could count.
She had woven and unraveled the chain repeatedly until she produced the most beautiful one.
She had engraved “Xueyuan” on the back.
“Xue” symbolized the Immortal Sister, and “Yuan” was herself.
With the two characters carved together, they wouldn't be separated.
She had clearly hoped the Immortal Sister would wear it.
But the Immortal Sister had only accepted it.
Xiao Nanyuan buried her face in the pillow, her eyes closed.
She didn't blame her. It was already good enough that she had accepted it.
She had no right to ask for more. She was just... a little sad. The sadness was so small that she felt she shouldn't even have it. But she couldn't control it.
She pulled the blanket up a bit higher, covering half her face.
She thought that maybe one day, the Immortal Sister would wear it. Or maybe she wouldn't. But regardless, she would always stay by her side.
Because the Immortal Sister was her only light here.
Light didn't need to respond; it only needed to shine.
And as long as she could see the light, it was enough.
Gradually, Xiao Nanyuan’s breathing became long and even.
She fell asleep.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and looked down at the lump of blankets on the low bed.
The blanket rose and fell slightly. Xiao Nanyuan’s hand had slipped out and rested near the pillow, her fingertips close to the breathing method book.
Bai Qingxue reached out and gently tucked the exposed hand back under the blanket.
In her sleep, Xiao Nanyuan murmured “Immortal Sister” and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow.
A tiny glint of moisture at the corner of her eye flashed in the moonlight and then vanished.
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