My Senior Sister Says She Will Marry No One But Me - Chapter 13

Du Yunge had originally intended to sleep, but after removing her hairpins, changing into her nightclothes, and meticulously combing her hair, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss without Xue Shuyan accompanying her in the outer chamber. She reached out and shook the silver bell hanging outside the bed curtain, asking:

“Where is my Senior Sister Xue?”

The maid who hurried over at the sound was momentarily stumped by the question. After a long pause, she carefully replied, “She should still be in the meeting hall discussing important matters with Guardian Chun. Why, does the Sect Leader need her?”

Du Yunge was taken aback and asked, “Then who is in the outer chamber right now?”

“Reporting to the Sect Leader, it is Guardian Dong,” the maid answered. “Shall I ask Guardian Dong to come in?”

Du Yunge pondered for a while before finally deciding, “No.”

“Help me change my clothes and bring me that cloak. I’m going to the meeting hall to find my senior sister.”

Du Yunge was never cut out for martial arts. One could say that aside from inheriting her mother’s, the former leader of the Miaoyin Sect stunning beauty, she had inherited none of her other admirable traits. Whether it was memorizing texts or practicing swordsmanship and martial arts, she only ever managed to grasp the basics. To prevent the sect leader from being assassinated by an intruder in her own room in the middle of the night, someone had to be assigned to protect her closely. As her senior sister, Xue Shuyan was not only around the same age and easy to talk to but also highly skilled in martial arts, making her the natural choice for this responsibility.

Although Xue Shuyan usually slept in the outer chamber where Du Yunge couldn’t see her, just knowing that such a reliable person was nearby brought Du Yunge peace of mind. Learning that “Xue Shuyan isn’t next door; it’s their shared swordsmanship instructor, Guardian Dong,” did little to reassure her, underscoring just how important Xue Shuyan was to Du Yunge.

This significance went beyond mere physical safety; it was more of a spiritual reliance and comfort. Simply having someone with comparable martial skills to protect her wasn’t enough to put Du Yunge at ease.

The maids were alarmed. Going out to look for someone on such a cold night? For someone with martial arts training, it might be manageable those with inner strength could withstand the cold. But Du Yunge’s martial skills were mediocre at best. If she ventured out at this late hour, she was bound to catch a chill. Feng Chengchun was notoriously protective, and her thundering scoldings, delivered with a Liaodong accent, were legendary. If she found out Du Yunge had fallen ill due to their negligence, her voice alone could lift the roof. No one wanted to experience that more than once:

“Sect Leader, please don’t worry. Senior Sister Xue is always efficient; she should return soon.”

“Yes, yes, please be patient and wait a little longer, Sect Leader.”

“If you go out in this cold and catch a chill, and Guardian Chun blames us, none of us can bear the responsibility!”

While the maids were cautiously trying every method to persuade Du Yunge to stay indoors and wait for Xue Shuyan’s return, the Winter Guardian had already knocked three times outside the door. Her voice was as cold as her title, like a stream of icy water:

“Do not stop her.”

“Sect Leader, you should go to the meeting hall.”

Truly worthy of being the Winter Guardian. Whether it was her demeanor, her voice, or her name, everything about her was chillingly cold.

In both her past and present life, Du Yunge had always held the Winter Guardian in the highest regard. She was a martial arts fanatic, just like Xue Shuyan, wholly devoted to practicing swordsmanship and martial arts. Even the disciples under her tutelage were significantly more skilled than those of the other three guardians. Beyond that, in Du Yunge’s previous life, when He Zhenzhen had imprisoned her and attempted to take control of the Miaoyin Sect, the Winter Guardian had been enraged:

“I never expected it! After getting rid of Feng Chengchun, there’s still Yun Anxue!Yun Anxue was the full name of the Winter Guardian, derived from three consecutive words in the line “The long clouds of Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, the solitary city gazes afar at the Jade Gate Pass.” The former leader of the Miaoyin Sect had found her near the Jade Gate Pass and thus chose this well-known line related to the pass to name her. This naming method was remarkably similar to the origin of Feng Chengchun’s name, combining convenience, coincidence, and literary elegance. It was clear that, regardless of what kind of person the former Miaoyin Sect leader had been, at least her naming skills were truly admirable.

In Du Yunge’s previous life, just as He Zhenzhen was about to fully infiltrate the Miaoyin Sect, Xue Shuyan had already departed for the frontier and had been missing for some time. Feng Chengchun was dead, the Autumn Guardian responsible for the sect’s internal affairs had disappeared, and the Summer Guardian had always been extremely timid otherwise, she wouldn’t have been tasked with managing Du Yunge’s daily needs for so long. Expecting her to take charge in such a crisis was even less likely than hoping for Feng Chengchun to return from the dead.

At this critical moment, when the sect was on the verge of collapse, Yun Anxue, who had always been immersed in martial arts and uninterested in mundane affairs, stepped forward. She single-handedly shouldered the responsibility though she couldn’t hold out for long against someone as vicious as a wolf and as cunning as a fox like He Zhenzhen. Still, it demonstrated Yun Anxue’s unwavering loyalty to the Miaoyin Sect.

If one overlooked the crucial issue of gender, Yun Anxue and Feng Chengchun could be considered “stern father and gentle mother” figures to Du Yunge: the former played the strict role, forcing a reluctant Du Yunge to practice swordsmanship daily, while the latter played the nurturing role, comforting and encouraging Du Yunge when she felt she couldn’t go on. They were a perfect match one cold, one warm.

Since Yun Anxue had spoken, the maids could no longer obstruct. They could only anxiously fetch Du Yunge’s cloak, drape it over her shoulders, step back, and bow deeply:

“Sect Leader, take care.”

Du Yunge and the Winter Guardian, Yun Anxue, walked in silence for a long time. Yun Anxue’s temperament was much like Xue Shuyan’s extremely cold and quiet. But the question in Du Yunge’s heart was too pressing. Only when they reached the point where they could see the light inside the meeting hall did Du Yunge muster the courage to ask:

“Winter Guardian, why do you think I should go there?”

Yun Anxue had been quietly following behind Du Yunge all along, and now she fell completely silent. It wasn’t until Du Yunge turned around that she realized Yun Anxue had already distanced herself, nodding gently toward her. Her clear, cool voice carried a touch of comfort and relief:

“Since the Sect Master rejected the outcome of the martial arts contest for marriage today and promised Sister Chun to diligently practice martial arts from now on, it seems you’re determined to take your training seriously and no longer idle away your days.”

“If that’s the case, you should observe all critical matters discussed in the council hall. After all, you are the rightful and legitimate Sect Master of the Miaoyin Sect.”

It seemed she had much more to say, but in the end, all that came out was a single sentence condensed from countless unspoken words:

“Shu Yan has been overly protective of you.”

“You should go now. I usually don’t involve myself in these matters, so it’s best if I don’t show my face.”

And so, Du Yunge stood outside the council hall, holding her breath as she listened to everything unfolding inside. Only after hearing the three people inside still discussing the whereabouts of the missing disciple under Autumn Guardian’s command did she finally speak:

“If that’s the case, we must seal the mountain gates. Every person passing through must be carefully verified, how many people entered, that’s how many should leave. Until our missing disciple returns, no suspicious individuals should be allowed to descend the mountain.”

“That makes sense.” Feng Chengchun, who had already planned to proceed this way, felt immensely relieved. After exchanging a glance with Qiu Yueman, she made the final decision:

“Sister Qiu, you must arrange this accordingly.”

Qiu Yueman nodded. “Naturally.”

Among those in the council hall, Xue Shuyan’s position was somewhat awkward. Although she was the confirmed next Deputy Sect Master of the Miaoyin Sect, until she officially assumed the role, she could not bypass any of the Four Guardians to handle matters.

Yet, she showed no trace of awkwardness, for from the moment Du Yunge’s voice reached her ears, she had been wholly focused on gazing at Du Yunge standing at the entrance.

When Xue Shuyan turned toward the sound, she saw Du Yunge with her hair loosely tied in a bun, wearing a vibrant red brocade horse-face skirt adorned with golden peony patterns, paired with a snow-white cloak without a single stray thread. As she appeared at the doorway in the soft glow of the evening, the deepening twilight only accentuated her snow-like complexion and picturesque features.

On an ordinary person, such a bold red and gold fabric might easily appear garish, but Du Yunge’s natural beauty was so extraordinary that even this striking red attire could not diminish her radiance in the slightest. Simply standing there, she looked like a masterpiece painting passed down through generations. Even the two guardians who had raised her and Xue Shuyan, who had grown up alongside her, were momentarily captivated by her unparalleled beauty.

It was Xue Shuyan who regained her composure first. She quickly walked over to Du Yunge, naturally reaching out to adjust the slightly loosened collar of her cloak, and asked in a low voice:

“Why haven’t you gone back to sleep yet?”

She said this with a completely expressionless face, but her mind had already churned through no fewer than a dozen thoughts. The most optimistic one, of course, was that “Du Yunge is unaccustomed to being apart from her,” which was why she had followed. Could this not symbolize that Du Yunge was on the verge of enlightenment?

But thoughts were just thoughts; she still had to ask.

Du Yunge remained entirely unaware of the joy buried beneath Xue Shuyan’s icy exterior. She naturally raised her head to look at her, completely oblivious to how excessively intimate their current posture was:

“Winter Guardian told me to come, so I did.”

Xue Shuyan’s eyes darkened slightly: “Is that so?”

“Actually, the main reason is that I missed you, Senior Sister.” Du Yunge, completely unaware of Xue Shuyan’s convoluted mental gymnastics, immediately followed up with the most crucial truth, the very reason she had wanted to come here in the first place:

“At first, I almost couldn’t get away. Luckily, Winter Guardian showed up later and said something like, ‘Since you’re the sect leader of Miaoyin Sect, you can’t just idle your days away like this.'”

Xue Shuyan: Once a teacher, always a mother. From now on, Winter Guardian, you are my savior and matchmaker.

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