The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 8

A great deal had transpired during the opening of the Solar Eclipse Realm. First, a Golden Immortal Elder had fallen within the secret realm. Then, just as Yun Heng emerged from the exit—before she could even begin investigating the cause of the Elder’s death, she received urgent message cranes from both Lu Qiaoyi and the Divine Physician.

The moment she opened those two messages, the color drained from her face.

The letters brought devastating news: her junior sister’s illness had flared up, and her condition was critical.

While Lu Qiaoyi’s letter was somewhat tempered, the Divine Physician was much more blunt. Unable to guarantee that Wen Qiwu could be saved, she had told Yun Heng to return immediately if she wanted to avoid missing their final farewell.

The Divine Physician was not exaggerating. She and Lu Qiaoyi had taken turns administering treatments, only to watch helplessly as Wen Qiwu’s aura grew weaker by the hour.

After thousands of years, the Divine Physician experienced that hollow sense of powerlessness once again. Spirit Dissipation Syndrome was a bizarre affliction; cases were so rare that even after centuries of study, she still hadn’t grasped its root cause.

Wen Qiwu’s illness had reached its terminal stage. Historically, the last patient with this syndrome had died during their very first flare-up in this period.

The physician believed Wen Qiwu wouldn’t survive this time either, but then she witnessed a miracle.

The patient’s willpower was the complete opposite of her outward appearance; she was resilient to a shocking degree. Seeing Wen Qiwu finally wake up, even the Divine Physician’s “stone-cold” expression softened into a rare trace of a smile.

“Sister…” The patient, struggling to stay conscious, used the last of her strength to call out to the woman who was on the verge of falling into a dark obsession.

Yun Heng, who had been mentally cycling through every forbidden resurrection spell in existence, finally snapped back to reality. Her expression was dazed, as if she couldn’t believe this wasn’t a dream. Her junior sister had fought her way back to consciousness, her eyes glistening with tears—soft, fragile, and carrying a hint of grievance.

She must still be thinking about the day I left without saying goodbye.

She’s awake. Thank the gods, she’s awake…

Yun Heng pulled her sister into her arms. The sheer relief of regaining what she thought was lost made her hands tremble. Had it not been for the physicians needing to continue their treatment, the Immortal would likely have refused to let go.

Under the care of the two healers, Wen Qiwu made it through the danger zone. Exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep again. The Divine Physician noted that she needed immense rest; the flare-up had caused severe damage to her soul, and they needed to salvage whatever they could.

She slept for over ten days. Though she occasionally woke up in a haze, the sister guarding her bedside would quickly coax her back to sleep.

Once Wen Qiwu’s condition stabilized, Yun Heng had to handle the funeral rites for the fallen Golden Immortal. The Elder’s identity was significant; for the sect, it was far more than just losing a powerful cultivator.

The fallen Elder had been a master of formations who had maintained the sect’s protective arrays for thousands of years. Now, a successor was needed, and Lu Qiaoyi was the most natural choice. Everyone assumed she would take over the responsibility.

However, Lu Qiaoyi already managed Wanya Mountain and had spent years focused solely on Wen Qiwu’s health. Yun Heng hesitated—if she added the burden of the sect’s defenses, would the weight be too much for Lu Qiaoyi to bear?

Sensing Yun Heng’s concern, Lu Qiaoyi took the initiative to accept the role.

“Leave the protective arrays to me. You have enough on your plate; don’t worry about such small things. Have you found out what killed Elder Jin yet?”

A Golden Immortal dying silently, unable to even call out to Yun Heng for help before his life-tablet shattered, was highly suspicious.

“I found no useful clues. The Yuxi Sect Master said he headed toward the main mausoleum; he might have encountered the lingering soul of the True Immortal who owns the tomb.” Yun Heng frowned slightly, clearly not satisfied with that answer.

But even if she didn’t accept it, there was nothing to be done for now. She had used every investigative spell in her arsenal and still couldn’t reconstruct his final moments. If she wanted to keep digging, she would likely have to wait another hundred years for the realm to open again.

The corner of Lu Qiaoyi’s mouth twitched—half a smile, half a mask of sorrow. She was standing behind Yun Heng, so the Immortal couldn’t see the strange look on the Elder’s face.

“Only the master of that tomb could kill a Golden Immortal so quietly in the Solar Eclipse Realm.” She sighed. “Rest easy. I’ve studied the protective arrays; there won’t be any problems.”

“…I’m troubling you, Elder Lu.”

“It’s no trouble. Unless someone actually decides to attack the sect, I don’t need to spend much energy on it anyway.” Lu Qiaoyi waved it off, sounding optimistic. “Little Bird has more talent for formations than I do. Once she’s better, the responsibility of the arrays will pass to her sooner or later.”

At the mention of her sister’s health, Yun Heng felt a dull, thumping ache in her chest. she wished for that future as well, but reality suggested it was a distant hope.

The Divine Physician had warned her that each subsequent flare-up would be worse than the last. They had survived by luck this time, but the next…

The physician was also waiting for her to retrieve the treasure from the Hualing Secret Realm, hoping that legendary object might work a miracle.

The physician said her condition was stable and wouldn’t flare up for years. Why was it so sudden?

The doctor had no answer. This medical dead-end made Yun Heng realize that if she wanted to save her sister, she couldn’t rely solely on conventional, “proper” methods.

Lu Qiaoyi stepped forward and patted her shoulder. “Little Bird should be fully conscious in a day or two. Spend more time with her. And next time, don’t leave without a word you scared the life out of her.”

“It was my fault.” Yun Heng had long since regretted her actions. Throughout her time in the secret realm, she had been thinking that she should never have let her temper get the better of her.

Seeing that the sisters were likely done feuding, Lu Qiaoyi’s smile became more genuine. “I won’t nag you this time. Little Bird was actually holding onto me before she lost consciousness, telling me not to be mean to you.”

Yun Heng froze, her eyes reflecting a mix of tender warmth and a sharp, bittersweet pang.

“Oh, one more thing. I have some good news!” Lu Qiaoyi tapped her head as if she had just remembered. “The immortal artifact you brought back can serve as the core. The setup at Reflection Cliff is nearly complete…”

Wanya Mountain, Wen Qiwu’s Residence.

When Yun Heng pushed the door open, she felt the temperature in the room was a bit too high. Because Wen Qiwu’s hands and feet had been deathly cold while she was unconscious, and Yun Heng’s own hands were too icy to provide warmth, she had placed a moderately warm fire-crystal by her sister’s side.

As Yun Heng approached the bed, she saw two more fire-crystals had been added. Elder Lu likely added them for fear of the girl getting a chill, but Wen Qiwu had never liked being too hot.

Yun Heng removed the extra crystals, and her gaze fell upon the bed. She froze instantly.

Because the room was so warm, the sleeping woman had kicked off the blankets. Her pale, slender calves were exposed, and only a tiny corner of the quilt still covered her. Her inner robes had been ruffled during her sleep, slipping down to reveal a hint of her collarbone and the soft skin beneath.

Yun Heng’s mind went blank for a heartbeat. She quickly stepped forward to wrap her sister back up in the blanket. Because she was in a hurry, she didn’t control her strength perfectly.

“Mmh…” The person who had been bundled up like a cocoon let out a soft, sleepy sound. Her lashes fluttered; she was waking up.

For some reason, Yun Heng’s heart began to beat abnormally fast, and the tips of her ears grew warm.

“Sister…” Wen Qiwu didn’t open her eyes. She was still in that dazed state between sleep and wakefulness. Sensing it was her sister holding her, she whispered the name instinctively.

“Yes?” Yun Heng replied, paused in the middle of sitting up.

“Hold me~” the girl murmured, acting just like she did as a child.

That confirmed it—she definitely wasn’t fully awake yet. The smile in Yun Heng’s eyes was impossible to hide.

The half-asleep Wen Qiwu rubbed her face against her sister’s cool hand. Her skin was flushed and warm, so the contact with the icy temperature acted like a splash of cold water, snapping her into focus.

After ten days of recovery, Wen Qiwu was no longer as deathly weak as before. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her sister sitting right there on the edge of the bed.

“Si… Sister?” The confusion of sleep still lingered in her gaze. She pinched herself under the covers; it hurt. Not a dream.

That’s right, the illness flared up again. Sister rushed back from the realm and has been with me ever since. I think I even saw her looking like she was about to cry.

Yun Heng brushed a stray lock of hair away from Wen Qiwu’s face. A wordless, cozy atmosphere filled the room, as if the tension from before their fight had never happened.

“Is there anywhere that still feels uncomfortable?” Yun Heng asked, placing a hand on her forehead.

Wen Qiwu shook her head. Aside from an occasional sharp pang in her soul, her physical state had mostly returned to how it was before the crisis.

Wait. Wen Qiwu suddenly frowned. Did I say something while I was drifting off? Was that a dream, or did I actually say it?!

She had a vague memory, but it was fuzzy.

“…Did I just say something weird in my sleep?” Wen Qiwu looked away, unable to meet her sister’s gaze. She was terrified she had let something slip while her guard was down.

After a few seconds of silence, her sister suddenly leaned down and pulled her into a hug. Surrounded by that cold, familiar fragrance, Wen Qiwu’s eyes went wide. Taken completely by surprise, her face and ears felt like they were going to spontaneously combust.

“Sister?” she squeaked. Why the sudden hug?

“You said… you wanted a hug,” Yun Heng whispered softly in her ear.

Her junior sister used to act spoiled like this all the time when she was little. But at some point, she had changed. Perhaps… she had just grown up. Yun Heng felt a faint sense of loss at the thought.

Wen Qiwu’s breath hitched. It took her a long time to find her voice. “I was just sleep-talking… Sister, you didn’t have to listen to me…”

Her voice trailed off. She was trapped in a paradox: she desperately wanted her sister to hold her, yet she was constantly telling herself to restrain these feelings.

The two emotions battled in her mind until, finally, the former won out.

She wanted her sister to hold her just a little bit longer.

Yun Heng let out a soft chuckle, as if she had seen right through her junior sister’s “truth-telling” sleep state.

Wen Qiwu didn’t need a mirror to know her face was bright red. However, she happened to catch a glimpse of her sister’s ear through those obsidian locks—the very tip of it was a dusty, delicate pink.

Is it… because the room is too warm?

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