My Senior Sister Says She Will Marry No One But Me - Chapter 25

No matter how diligent one is during duty hours, once it’s time to rest, the whole body seems to go limp as if all the bones and sinews have been pulled out, not even wanting to lift a finger. Especially during autumn and winter, in a room with underfloor heating and high-quality silver charcoal burning, with a full box of dried fruits and snacks nearby, there’s an even more justified reason to indulge in laziness:

On such cold days, going out would only mean needlessly suffering from the chill, why bother? It’s far better to curl up in the room, nibbling on sunflower seeds, sipping tea, warm and cozy, leisurely and carefree, how delightful!

However, this category of laziness absolutely did not include Xue Shuyan.

After all, once the mountain was sealed off, her duties were drastically reduced to the simple task of protecting Du Yunge’s personal safety. With little else to do, she made it a point every day to wake Du Yunge up early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, braving the biting cold. After Du Yunge finished washing up, the two would head to the martial arts hall together to practice their dual sword techniques.

Du Yunge hadn’t consistently woken up this early in a long time. The “early” in Xue Shuyan’s mind was no ordinary early sometimes, when the night sky still held a few faint morning stars, the senior sister of Miaoyin Sect would already be knocking lightly but persistently at the door. If Du Yunge washed up quickly enough, they could even catch the sunrise and take the opportunity to greet the night-shift disciples as they handed over to the first wave of day-shift disciples.

Just when everyone thought she wouldn’t be able to keep it up, she stubbornly persevered, raising the proficiency of their dual sword techniques alongside Xue Shuyan. Even Yun Anxue praised their current coordination:

“With the level of dual sword techniques the sect leader has achieved now, as long as Shuyan remains by your side, no one can harm you in the slightest unless it’s the sect leaders of renowned sects like Emei or Wudang personally arriving.”

Though the rest of her words were left unspoken, anyone with a bit of sense could grasp Yun Anxue’s implied meaning:

So, Sect Leader, you must never be left alone.

Xue Shuyan wasn’t foolish and immediately picked up on Yun Anxue’s cue: “In that case, I will definitely stay by Yunge’s side, not leaving even a step.”

Right after, Xia Yecheng, standing behind her, immediately put on a stern face and coughed like a tattered, wheezing bellows.

In the past, after their daily martial arts practice, Du Yunge and Xue Shuyan rarely had any chance to be alone together. Xue Shuyan would handle some sect affairs and then refine her sword skills with Yun Anxue, while Du Yunge would study diligently with Feng Chengchun. But after the mountain was sealed off, Xue Shuyan had fewer tasks, and Du Yunge was more than happy to spend time with this senior sister who always gave her a strong sense of security. The two ate, lived, and moved together, their bond so close that no one could find any fault with it.

Today was no exception. After practicing a full set of dual sword techniques, they walked out side by side, chatting idly as they went. It was quite rare for Xue Shuyan to initiate the conversation:

“What would you like to do for fun today, Yunge? I’ll accompany you.”

Du Yunge’s first instinct was delight she nearly blurted out, “How about we spend the day playing?” There were so many games she wanted to enjoy: the Nine Linked Rings, double-sided embroidery, pitch-pot, guessing games, throwing flower lots, drinking games with dice and finger-guessing. Any one of these could easily while away a leisurely half-day on this tranquil and peaceful mountain. But today, she had an extremely important matter to attend to she had even sent her maids to deliver a message a day in advance. By now, the Four Guardians of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter were likely already waiting in the assembly hall. This was no time for amusement.

Moreover, today she had a matter of life and death to entrust to Xue Shuyan.

Du Yunge shook her head regretfully and said, “I’m afraid today won’t do, Senior Sister Xue. I need to go to the assembly hall with the guardians to investigate something.”

Xue Shuyan fell silent for a moment before asking softly, “Would you like me to accompany you there, or wait outside for you?”

“What kind of question is that, Senior Sister?!” Du Yunge exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. Without another word, she rushed forward and grabbed Xue Shuyan’s sleeve. If not for Xue Shuyan’s excellent martial arts skills and steady stance, she would surely have stumbled from the force. Even so, Xue Shuyan showed no annoyance. Instead, she gently stroked Du Yunge’s fragrant, flowing hair and quietly watched her, waiting for her to continue:

“Of course, Senior Sister, you must come with me!”

Xue Shuyan ultimately remembered Feng Chengchun’s advice: “If there’s something you want to say, you must say it.” After a long, thoughtful pause, she spoke with difficulty:

“You didn’t tell me.”

The hint was so obvious that even a true fool would have understood, let alone Du Yunge, who was far from foolish. Realizing the implication, she could only respond with a mix of amusement and exasperation:

“Senior Sister, don’t tell me you think I didn’t inform you beforehand because I deliberately didn’t want you to come with me?”

As they spoke, they had reached the side door. Since the training hall was empty that day, to avoid troubling the cleaning disciples, they had not used the main entrance. The side door was spacious enough for two people to pass through comfortably and, being more secluded, attracted less attention. When Du Yunge tugged on Xue Shuyan’s sleeve, bringing them both to a halt at the threshold of the training hall’s side door, the silence was so profound that they could hear each other’s breathing. There truly was no better moment for conversation than this.

Du Yunge was considerably shorter than Xue Shuyan, so she had to tilt her head up to look at her in that confined space. She was draped in a snow-white cloak without a single stray hair, and from its fluffy collar peeked the neckline of her jade-green gown. Though both colors were exceptionally understated, she somehow managed to wear them with a charm more captivating than the most vibrant attire. Her skin was so fair that even the slightest flush in her cheeks stood out vividly, reminiscent of the rare peach-blossom jade with its naturally faint pink hue. Even Xue Shuyan, renowned throughout the martial world for her icy demeanor, had to admit, if only to her own conscience that in the presence of the woman universally acknowledged as the realm’s greatest beauty, her resolve wavered.

Her junior sister, the esteemed leader of the Miaoyin Sect, was peerlessly beautiful, a sight unmatched in all the world.

Her hands were never meant to wield blades or swords weapons steeped in the heavy aura of slaughter. Her feet should never tread upon anything other than silks, satins, golden steps, or jade floors. From those delicate, slender lips should flow only the purest and most elegant melodies, like the blossoms of spring, the moon of autumn, or the pristine snow of early spring.

Alas, Du Yunge was born to be the leader of the Miaoyin Sect.

Thus, even though the words she now spoke had nothing to do with elegance and could even be described as brutally realistic so much so that they seemed a waste of the heaven-sent beauty that should have allowed her to live a carefree life, no one could utter a word of criticism:

“I suspect there are people from the He Manor within the Miaoyin Sect.”

Otherwise, how could the Miaoyin Sect have fallen so swiftly in her past life?

But such words were something Du Yunge could never voice to Xue Shuyan. Fortunately, Xue Shuyan had never been one for many words and did not press for an explanation, allowing Du Yunge to continue:

“If the He Manor truly intends to strike against us, the first signs of trouble and the most easily detectable will surely appear in our business dealings. After all, money can make even ghosts turn millstones; without it, nothing can be accomplished. Today, I’ve gathered the four guardians to audit the accounts. If the problem lies with those below, it’s manageable. But I fear that one of the four guardians or the twelve branch leaders may harbor treacherous intentions.”

“Senior Sister, I’ve only told you this today. Let it remain between heaven and earth, you and me, no one else must know.”

After speaking, Du Yunge anxiously watched Xue Shuyan’s expression, hoping to detect a hint of disbelief, ridicule, or even shock and anger. Yet, to her complete surprise, Xue Shuyan’s expression remained unchanged, carrying only a faint trace of admiration, as if to say, “So you’ve noticed it too.”

This genuinely startled Du Yunge. Stuttering slightly, she ventured to ask:

“Senior Sister, could it be that you?” Could it be that you had already noticed this long ago?!

Xue Shuyan gave a slight nod and replied in a low voice, “Ever since that night, I’ve been pondering this matter as well. I simply feared alarming you or breaking your heart, which is why I never mentioned it.”

She took Du Yunge’s hand, their fingers intertwining. The warmth from another person’s touch easily melted away the worries in Du Yunge’s heart, replaced by a reassuring, steady strength in that firm grasp. Guiding Du Yunge toward the door, Xue Shuyan spoke with the stern, resolute tone characteristic of those from beyond the frontier, yet it now conveyed an unparalleled sense of reliability:

“But since you’ve also come to realize this, I won’t keep it from you any longer. Just remember, Yun’ge, do not be afraid. In places you cannot see or imagine, I will handle everything.”

Exiting through the side door and walking a few steps further, the entrance to the council hall came into view in the distance. At that moment, a tree of red plum blossoms in full bloom caught Du Yunge’s eye. Due to the high altitude and cold climate of Forget-Worry Mountain, the plum blossoms bloomed early. Coincidentally, a recent frost had left a shimmering white layer covering the vibrant, delicate red flowers, creating a serene beauty that intertwined elegance and aloofness. Xue Shuyan led Du Yunge to the plum tree and asked:

“How do you find these blossoms? Do they suit your taste?”

“They’re lovely. I don’t recall this tree being here last year,” Du Yunge thought for a moment and smiled. “How did it appear this year? It’s as if it grew just to match my wishes.”

Xue Shuyan brushed away the frost from a branch and said calmly, “Last year, you mentioned in passing, ‘If only I could admire red plum blossoms in the snow during the mountain’s closure, then head to the martial arts hall to practice with weapons combining the most refined and tranquil with the most fierce and resolute that would be perfection.'”

“At the time, Guardian Qiu merely laughed and said you didn’t understand the cost of maintaining a household, that transplanting a tree to such a high place as Forget-Worry Mountain would be expensive, and there was no guarantee it would survive. But I could see from your expression that you truly wished for such a plum tree to grow here.”

“So, when the mountain reopened the following spring, I went down and sought out the most vividly colored plum tree within a hundred miles, transplanted it here, and spent the entire year pruning and tending to it. I waited for it to bloom through the winter, just to fulfill your wish.”

Du Yunge was still somewhat bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning behind Xue Shuyan’s words. They had just been discussing the possible spy from He Manor lurking within the Miaoyin Sect, how had the conversation shifted to such an elegant topic?

Xue Shuyan released the hand she had been holding and broke off a branch of red plum blossoms, freshly brushed free of frost and in full bloom, handing it to Du Yunge. She smiled faintly. When this usually stoic person smiled, it was like the lingering yet surging spring waters breaking through the ice of a thousand-mile river, or the boundless snowfields giving way to lush green pastures as winter turned to spring. Though her features were not as striking as Du Yunge’s, upon closer inspection, there was a distinct, heroic beauty to her, making her reassuring presence even more palpable:

“Do not worry excessively, Yunge. Even such a trivial matter that you’ve forgotten, I remember and have taken care of for you in ways you cannot see. As for matters of life and death that concern you, you need not fret over them either.”

Du Yunge’s eyes grew warm, and she nearly shed tears, but in the end, she held them back. She gave Xue Shuyan a radiant smile, her slightly reddened eyes adding a touch of endearing charm to her expression, a far cry from the naive girl who once knew nothing and gave her heart away too easily.

“If this matter is resolved, I must thank you, Senior Sister, for going to such lengths for me. You treat me so well, I truly could never repay you even with my life.”

Xue Shuyan gave a slight, wry smile and did not reply, merely taking Du Yunge’s hand and leading her toward the council hall. With one hand holding the blossoms and the other clasped in Xue Shuyan’s, Du Yunge had no choice but to follow closely behind, creating a scene of harmony and intimacy.

It was precisely because of this that, just before entering the council hall, Du Yunge could clearly hear the words Xue Shuyan whispered under her breath.

“I never asked for your gratitude, Yunge.”

“I just thought, if the flowers bloom even more beautifully next year, I’d like to stand here watching them with you like this again.”

Support