Some Time Later…
The atmosphere had settled.
Not the tense, suffocating kind of silence, but a serene stillness...like the gentle hush that follows a long-awaited rain.
The students of the Legacy of Peach Blossom Academy had returned to their own training.
Some honed their swordplay, blades flashing under the winter sun.
Others loosed arrows with precision, their targets struck cleanly.
A few struggled with spell incantations, earning sharp scoldings from their instructors for reversed or misplaced chants.
Inside Su Nian's room, a small gathering had formed.
Wey Xiong, Su Nian, Duie, Wuzu, Lao Duan, Yu Sui, and Mo Yan sat together in quiet company.
Meanwhile, Master Zu Gushion and Master Chang Shi were elsewhere....in the main assembly hall.....alongside Master Ren Zhou, Lady Mei Ying, and the siblings Yin Fengxian and Su Ri Zhen, in the presence of Lady Duan Shou herself.
Outside the academy's grand gates, a magnificent arrival took place.
Officials, princes, and princesses of the Langshan Sect had come.....bearing golden banners, dressed in deep violet robes, their backs adorned with rare musical instruments.
They had arrived to see their mother and lend her their support.
Dismounting from their fine horses, they strode directly toward the assembly hall.
Yet, as they passed through, even they could not help but be captivated by the Legacy of Peach Blossom Academy.
The grand, refined architecture… the towering old trees… the harmonious sound of disciplined practice all around.
Watching the students train so earnestly, the Langshan royals and officials were struck by the richness of the academy's teachings.
Back in Su Nian's room, a different kind of meeting was taking place.....one of relief rather than formality.
Just moments ago, Su Nian had brewed a special lotus tea for everyone.
Each guest held a warm cup in hand, gathered around the low table.
Though the day had shown them all strange and unexpected sights, there was no heaviness in the air now.
Instead, laughter and stories filled the room.
Voices overlapped, jokes were traded, and the flicker of smiles seemed to keep the cold at bay.
Lao Duan and Duie were in their element.....telling mischievous tales and teasing others until the room shook with laughter.
Opportunities to sit together like this, sharing tea, were rare.
No one wanted to waste it or spoil it with lingering gloom.
Wey Xiong, however, was sweating.....not from the tea, but from the dangerous gleam in Wuzu's eyes.
Facing her felt less like sitting before a girl and more like facing a prowling tigress.
And to make matters worse, Lao Duan's spiritual beast...Huan Tu, a rabbit.....had taken a liking to Wey Xiong.
Which meant, of course, that it refused to stop tugging at his clothes, nibbling at the fabric with playful persistence.
Lao Duan had deliberately summoned Huan Tu for exactly this reason...to fill the room with joy through its harmless mischief.
Even Mo Yan, whose face usually remained solemn and guarded, now wore a faint, unknowing smile.
Perhaps he hadn't even realized it himself.
But a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart...the truth that his parents had betrayed them was no longer a wound that bled endlessly.
Tears and regret could neither bring them back nor erase their crimes.
So Mo Yan had chosen to accept the truth, rather than drown in it.
And today, beside him, sat his partner...Yu Sui....relaxed and lighthearted, bantering warmly with Su Nian.
Mo Yan simply sat close, feeling an unfamiliar yet welcome warmth inside himself.
It was not the heat of tea, nor the fire of battle, but the simple, quiet happiness of being exactly where he wished to be.