Shangguan Yue Ling tossed the pill into Langtian’s hand and stepped off the bed.
As she came to stand before him, his heart skipped a beat.
She was so... different.
The Shangguan Yue Ling he remembered from ten years ago had always worn pristine white robes trimmed with gold, her hair tied in a neat high ponytail, her demeanor calm and graceful, like a lotus blooming beneath the morning sun. Even the way she walked was measured and elegant.
Now she wore black robes, long and flowing, the sleeves edged with deep crimson embroidery, like streaks of blood woven into shadow. At her waist hung a pair of curved sabers, the Twin Yangling Blades. Her hair was still tied back, yet far looser. Several strands had slipped free of the ribbon and brushed her cheeks and collarbone.
Back then she kept everything immaculate. Her hairpins were carved from jade, and faint touches of rouge and floral balm had always perfumed her skin.
Here, in this shadowed valley of mist and ash, there was no room for such refinement.
Yet she was still beautiful, perhaps even more so in this raw, untamed state.
Now she felt more dangerous.
Something in her aura had changed. It was colder, sharper, like a blade hidden beneath silk. The air itself seemed heavier, urging him to sit straighter and breathe more quietly, as though a silent predator prowled nearby.
Yue Ling pulled a flat stone slab closer and sat across from him, legs crossed.
Langtian tried not to stare, yet his gaze kept drifting back to her eyes.
They gleamed crimson.
The color of violence.
Of course Yue Ling noticed her junior brother stealing glances.
"What? Do I look that different?" She leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eyes and one brow arched in playful challenge.
"N-no, not at all!" Langtian jolted, turning his head away. His ears burned, his heart pounding faster than it had during the pill’s rampage. "Senior Sister, you are just as young and beautiful as you were years ago."
Yue Ling chuckled, a low, amused sound that twisted his stomach.
"You’re a terrible liar, Junior Brother. Your reaction told me everything."
Without warning she sprang forward.
Langtian barely had time to blink before her hands clamped onto the sides of his head, her face inches from his.
"Now tell me the truth," she demanded, locking eyes with him. "Do I look scary now?"
Langtian froze. His thoughts scattered like frightened birds. Those crimson irises shimmered with an unreal intensity, not quite murderous, yet enough to make him sweat.
’Well... she is a little scary.’
Reluctantly he gave a sheepish nod.
Yue Ling groaned and flopped onto the stone stool as if struck by a fatal blow. She puffed a stray lock of hair from her face and sighed heavily.
"Senior Sister is ugly and scary now. I’ve become an old hag, haven’t I?"
"Wait, no!" Langtian blurted, panic flashing across his face. "Senior Sister, what are you saying? You might be a tiny bit scary, sure, but definitely not ugly."
"Heh?" Yue Ling blinked, unprepared for that. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. "Really?"
"R-really!" Langtian nodded vigorously.
"You’re not lying to me?"
Straightening his back, Langtian raised his right hand, voice solemn.
"No. I swear I’m not lying. You are still very beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever met."
To make certain she believed him, he lifted his hand even higher.
"I, Bai Langtian, swear before Heaven and Earth! If I have lied to Senior Sister Shangguan, may thunder strike me, may my soul scatter in the wind, and may I be bound to the eighteenth layer of the Nether Abyss, never to reincarnate for ten thousand lifetimes!"
Yue Ling finally exhaled, relief easing her shoulders.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I believe you."
She shook her head and laughed softly, almost hysterically. "This is what ten years of living alone in this hellhole does to you. I no longer know what counts as beauty."
Langtian swallowed, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek.
"But... Senior Sister, what happened to your eyes?"
"Oh, this?" Yue Ling tapped her crimson pupils. "Nothing serious. It’s just a side effect of staying here too long. The demonic miasma seeps into everything. I suppose it reached my eyes as well."
"I... I see," Langtian murmured.
Then Yue Ling fell silent.
She leaned back, resting her chin on her palm while she studied him across the firelight. Her expression softened. For a moment she said nothing.
Langtian fidgeted under her gaze, unsure what to do with his hands.
"S-Senior Sister Shangguan?" he ventured.
"...Wow. You have really changed." Her voice was soft, her smile wistful. "You have grown into quite the handsome man, haven’t you?"
Langtian flushed crimson.
"Ah, uh, yes... it has been ten years, so... haha... I suppose I am taller, at least."
"Yes." Yue Ling’s smile widened as she tilted her head. "I imagine you already have someone in your heart, do you not?"
"Eh?! N-no!" Langtian flailed, waving his arms. His voice leapt an octave. "I have only focused on cultivation. I have not even thought about romance. I set that part of life aside."
"Oh..." Her smile dimmed a touch, yet she kept watching him.
’What is she thinking?’ Langtian wondered, shifting uneasily.
Still, he could not help admiring her. Even now, in this mist-shrouded valley, she was breathtaking. Older, yes, changed, certainly, but no less captivating.
A quiet moment stretched between them.
Yue Ling rose suddenly, her expression playful. With a mischievous gleam she leaned in and ruffled Langtian’s hair.
"Ah!" He flinched, then relaxed as her fingers combed gently through his hair.
Yue Ling chuckled under her breath, her touch lingering.
Back then she used to do this all the time—ruffling his hair, patting his head, teasing when he pouted, calling him cute when he sulked.
He had always been such a good boy.
"Looks like no matter how much you grow, Bai Langtian, you are still my dear little junior brother."
"...And I missed you," she murmured.
Langtian opened his eyes, his chest tightening.
"...Yes, Senior Sister," he replied. "I missed you too."
His heart ached—just a little, yet enough to sting.
More than anything, he was simply glad. Glad that after all this time, after years of searching and wondering whether she still lived, he had found her again.
Even if this valley of shadow and miasma was far from the perfect place for a reunion.