Chapter 23
Warm afternoon sunlight poured through the arched window, casting a vibrant orange glow across the room. Dust motes danced lazily in the rays, lending an almost ethereal quality to the space.
In this sun-kissed chamber, a young woman named Mu Lan Rou sat perched on the deep windowsill, her lithe form silhouetted against the bright backdrop.
Her long black hair cascaded down her back in a shimmering waterfall, contrasting exquisitely with the delicate porcelain fairness of her skin.
She exuded an aura of cold, regal elegance despite her youthful features. Her eyes, a striking shade of deep amethyst, regarded the world through long lashes with an aloof, guarded expression.
"I want candy," she murmured unexpectedly, the softly spoken words laced with uncharacteristic longing as a wistful, almost childlike look fleeted across her face.
But the vulnerability was fleeting, her features reverting to their customary glacial mask as the sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears.
"Rou'er?" A familiar baritone voice preceded a gentle rapping on the door. "Are you inside, my daughter?"
Mu Lan Rou rose gracefully from her sun-warmed perch, her voluminous yet lightweight martial robe fluttering, momentarily blocking the light.
With deft movements, she pulled open the carved wooden door to reveal her father, an Elder of their sect, clad in white robes adorned with dark yellow stripes and cinched by an embroidered sash.
Concern furrowed his brow beneath the strands of silver threading through his close-cropped beard.
"I heard you caused trouble again today with that boy," he remarked, lines crinkling at the edges of his eyes as he studied her impassive porcelain features. As they moved into the spacious bedchamber, he reached out to tenderly caress the shining waves of her hair.
But observing the shuttered coldness in his daughter's crimson eyes, the expressionless mask now firmly in place at the mere mention of the unnamed boy, a weary sigh escaped him.
"Please, Rou'er, just bear it for now. Father will try anything to break this forced engagement."
Rising to his full height, he crossed to the window, brow furrowed as his narrowed gaze tracked the slow descent of the afternoon sun painting the sky in fiery shades of amber and crimson.
"This engagement was forced upon us because of that woman's contribution!" he burst out angrily, fists clenching at his sides.
"If not for her, your happiness would not be marred like this by binding you to that... that boy with nothing but a handsome face! What use is such a face when he is weak? Can he truly provide for and protect you with just that?"
With a derisive snort of disgust, he whirled and stormed from the chamber, robes flaring out behind him.
"F-Father..." Mu Lan Rou took an abortive step after him, hand extended piteously, but he had already departed, leaving her alone in the sun-dappled space with only the motes of dust swirling lazily for company.
Slowly, she returned to her original position, sinking down to curl up on the wide windowsill, drawing her knees up to her chest as she stared sightlessly out at the vivid tangerine-streaked sky.
"Big Brother Ji..." The name passed her lips in an achingly affectionate murmur as memories of a smiling, tousle white long-haired boy surfaced unbidden.
He had been the only one who dared play with her, unafraid despite her father's status. The only one to give her forbidden candy treats and conspire to run away with her to see the fabled river and its enchanting blue fish.
The recollection curved her full lips in a soft, genuine smile, savoring the bittersweet recollections of a time when she had felt unguardedly joyful and carefree. But that innocence had been shattered, irrevocably changing when he turned thirteen years old.
"I hate that...why did you suddenly become so handsome!" she gritted out, teeth clenched as she bit down on her plump lower lip in frustration.
Her mind tormented her with the memories of how the female disciples had started flocking around the boy she had once considered her closest friend, jockeying for his newly emerged good looks and charm.
From that point, he had no more time for her, the cheerful girl transforming into the cold, expressionless beauty who felt only resentment whenever she witnessed him lavishing smiles and attention on others.
Now that the boy had transformed into a handsome young man, even approaching him had become quite difficult for her. Though it was lucky that he continued visiting her until, out of nowhere, the Tower appeared and he stopped coming.
This was the reason she stormed off as soon as she heard about the boy's sparring match...
But…
"He's still weak..." Worry tinged her tone as her father's scathing words about the the young man's lack of strength echoed through her mind. Unconsciously, her hand lifted to toy with a lock of her ebony tresses.
"I'm sorry, Big Brother, for acting like that today..." Her apology was a mere whisper in the still air. "But I miss you… but…if I don't act like that, father will harm you..."
Her gaze drifted back out the window, fixating unseeingly on the view of mist-shrouded surrounding cliffs as the sun continued its stately descent.
"Why are you still so weak, Big Brother? You must become stronger...strong enough to convince my father to accept you...please..."
She was just a little girl who had always obeyed her father's words since childhood. After her mother's tragic passing, her father was her only family left in this world.
So when she first heard about the arranged engagement to Ji Wuye, her heart had swelled with secret joy and hope. However, her father's disdain for the young man - his scathing dismissal of Ji Wuye as a "weak man" - caused that spark of happiness to die an abrupt death.
Instead of being allowed to express her true feelings openly, Mu Lan Rou found herself forced to hide that fleeting joy behind an icy facade, displaying only the cold indifference her father wished to see.
Her obedience was bone-deep, a lifelong conditioning.
"Father...can't you just accept Big Brother?" The plaintive murmur escaped her lips, laced with a profound sadness. But even as the softly spoken words faded, an unexpected idea sparked in her mind like a struck flint.
Instead of waiting indefinitely for Ji Wuye to somehow become "strong" enough to satisfy her father's demands, why couldn't she take matters into her own hands?
Why couldn't she dedicate herself to training for more strength, becoming powerful enough to compel her father's compliance and secure her chosen path?
For a dizzying moment, the audacious thought blazed vividly in her mind's eye. But just as quickly, she shook her head minutely, ebony locks swaying.
There was simply no way.
How could a delicately raised lady like herself ever hope to attain such formidable power? The very idea was fanciful madness.
And yet...the seed had been planted. Like the steady ticking of a clock, the thought continued to reverberate through her mind in a soft but insistent rhythm.
"If that happens...I can protect you..."
The tender vow slipped unconsciously past her lips, posing the unthinkable.
But as she uttered the words, a rare, radiant smile broke through the coolly aloof mask she typically wore. Her striking amethyst eyes drifted toward the open door, following the path her father had stormed out just moments before.
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