196: Chapter 196 Xiaoxiao is back

The morning in the East Courtyard was as tranquil as ever. The leaves of the dark-leaf osmanthus shimmered with faint silver dew in the morning light, and the ghost bell orchids under the corridor were in full bloom, their light purple corollas swaying gently in the breeze, emitting a very faint tinkling sound. Hun Muxian, as was her habit, was the first to wake up, setting up a small clay stove under the corridor to boil water and make tea. She was already an eleven-year-old girl, and her tea-brewing technique had become increasingly proficient; every movement carried the same composure and elegance that Gu Xun'er had possessed in her youth. Hun Muqing was practicing swordplay in the courtyard, the nine-colored sword light carving sharp arcs in the morning light; she had inherited Medusa's talent for the sword, and at only ten years old, she already possessed some of her mother's style. Hun Muling lay prone on the stone table, flipping through a movement-type Dou Technique she had scavenged from the Hun Clan treasury, her legs swinging back and forth behind her, a piece of osmanthus cake in her mouth, her peach-blossom eyes glancing towards the courtyard gate from time to time—she was waiting for Hun Mulan to wake up so she could drag her along as a sparring partner.

Hun Mulan was still sleeping. This little girl was eight years old this year, exactly the age when one is most prone to sleeping in, and she wouldn't climb out of bed until Yun Yun personally came to lift her blankets. Hun Musheng was squatting by the flower bed, tending to a medicinal herb she had newly planted; Xiao Yi Xian's daughter remained in her quiet, reserved nature, capable of squatting by the flower bed for an entire morning without saying a word.

Hun Feng leaned against a corridor pillar, holding a cup of tea just brewed by Hun Muxian, watching this group of daughters in the courtyard, silently calculating in his heart. Mu Xian was eleven, Muqing, Muling, and Musheng were ten, and Mulan was eight; the youngest was Muqing—no, wait, Mulan was the youngest. Six daughters; the eldest could already brew tea for him, and the youngest was no longer that little one drooling on his lap. Time passed truly quickly.

Just as he was thinking this, the stone doors of two cultivation chambers deep in the East Courtyard vibrated slightly at the same time. Hun Feng's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, his Emperor Realm Soul spreading out, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Yun Yun and Cao Ying had come out of seclusion.

Yun Yun was the first to walk out of the cultivation chamber. She was wearing a moon-white long dress, her long hair loosely tied up with a white jade hairpin, maintaining her dignified and composed appearance, but the aura around her was more than a notch stronger than before her seclusion—Eight Star Dou Sheng peak. With Hun Feng's help, she had progressed extremely quickly over these years, breaking through from a Ban-Sheng hindered by age all the way to now being just one step away from Nine-Star Dou Sheng; this speed was enough to look down upon the vast majority of geniuses across the entire continent. She walked up to Hun Feng, her clear, orchid-like eyes containing a very faint smile, and softly said, "I did not fail your expectations." Hun Feng took her hand and pulled her gently closer, tidying a stray lock of hair at her temple, telling her that she had never disappointed him.

Cao Ying stepped out of the cultivation chamber almost immediately after Yun Yun. She was wearing a dark red martial outfit today, with the Cao family's phoenix flower totem embroidered in silver thread on the cuffs and collar, her phoenix eyes filled with undisguised pride. As soon as she came out of seclusion, she saw Hun Feng holding Yun Yun's hand and immediately crowded over, clamoring that she was also at the Eight Star Dou Sheng peak, so why wasn't he praising her. Hun Feng reached out and flicked her forehead, saying that with her Demon Phoenix Bloodline awakened to this degree, all of the Cao family's ancestors would have to appear in her dreams to thank her. Cao Ying covered her forehead and chuckled, turning her head to see Hun Muying standing under the corridor, peering over here. She opened her arms and called out, "Daughter," but Hun Muying did not rush over to hug her like she used to when she was little; instead, she stood in place, performed a proper, respectful bow, and called out crisply, "Mother," before she couldn't help but laugh, running over to hug Cao Ying's waist. Cao Ying held her daughter and sighed that she had grown up. Hun Muying was now a ten-year-old big girl, having inherited her mother's phoenix eyes and her father's deep contours, being exactly the age Cao Ying was when she first entered the Soul Realm.

Just at this moment, outside the main gate of the Soul Realm, a fiery red figure stepped out from the void.

Hun Muxiao stood outside the main gate of the Soul Realm, looking up at the towering black stone gate, and took a deep breath. She had been gone for nearly two years. From the Jia Ma Empire to the Black-Corner Region, from the Black-Corner Region to the Izumo Empire, her footprints covered the most remote corners of the continent. She had seen the wonton stalls of the morning market in Yan City, and she had seen the bloody fighting arenas in the depths of the Black-Corner Region; she had saved merchant caravans plundered by horse bandits, and she had killed powerful officials who bullied others by abusing their power. Her stature was a head taller than when she left home; the sixteen-year-old girl had completely shed her childishness. That cold and glamorous face inherited from Medusa was now even more exquisite, and there was a bit more sharpness and edge between her brows, tempered from countless battles, but those peach-blossom eyes remained lively and cunning—that was the mark left to her by Aunt Yaoyao. Five-Star Dou Sheng peak. She had used two years to break through from Three-Star to Five-Star peak; half of it relied on talent, and the other half on actual combat. The underground fighting arenas of the Black-Corner Region, the poisonous swamps of the Izumo Empire, the snowy wilderness death zones of the Luo Yan Empire; every life-and-death struggle pushed her cultivation forward. She re-wrapped the blood abyss sword with cloth strips and carried it on her back, raised her hand to adjust the seven ribbons in her hair, and stepped into the main gate of the Soul Realm.

Hun Qian was in front of the main hall giving instructions on defense deployment to a few guards when he saw a girl in red clothes carrying a sword walking over from afar. He was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened abruptly, and he hurried forward to greet her: "Eldest Miss? You have returned!" Hun Muxiao grinned, waved at him, and said, "Grandpa Hun Qian, two years no see, how come you have even less hair?" Hun Qian was left between laughter and tears, lowering his voice to say that several of the wives had recently come out of seclusion one after another, and the Young Master happened to be in the East Courtyard, telling her to go quickly.

When Hun Muxiao stepped into the East Courtyard, the people in the courtyard stopped their movements almost simultaneously. Hun Muxian looked up while holding the freshly brewed tea, Hun Muqing withdrew her sword stance, the osmanthus cake in Hun Muling's mouth almost fell onto the stone table, Hun Musheng stood up from the side of the flower bed, and the youngest, Hun Mulan, rubbed her eyes and called out "Eldest Sister" in a daze. Yun Yun and Cao Ying had not been out of the cultivation chamber for long and were sitting by the stone table talking with Hun Feng. Medusa was leaning on a soft couch, flipping through a scroll of letters, Yao Yao was leaning against a corridor pillar playing with a bone whip, Gu Xun'er was sitting by the window holding a teacup, and Xiao Yi Xian was still standing quietly by the flower bed.

Everyone's gaze landed on that fiery red figure at the courtyard gate.

"Father, Mother, Aunts. Mu Xiao has returned." Hun Muxiao stood at the courtyard gate, still in that fiery red flowing fairy dress, the blood abyss sword slung diagonally across her back, the seven ribbons in her hair swaying gently in the morning breeze. She was more than half a head taller than when she left home, and her facial features were increasingly like Medusa's; the foundation of cold glamour had already taken shape, but the cunning smile at the corner of her mouth was still in Aunt Yaoyao's style. Hanging from the silver chain at her waist was that nine-colored snake scale that never left her side, and next to the silver chain were a string of various small items—a mercenary badge from the Black-Corner Region, a poison-fang dagger from the Izumo Empire, and a snow mountain jade plaque from the Luo Yan Empire, all of which were war trophies from her two years of training.

Yao Yao was the first to spring up from the corridor pillar, her figure flickering as she arrived in front of Hun Muxiao, pulling her into her embrace, a rare glimmer of moisture appearing in her peach-blossom eyes. Hun Muxiao was squeezed until she couldn't breathe, quickly saying, "Aunt Yaoyao, if you squeeze any harder, she's going to die of breathlessness." Yao Yao let go and slapped her shoulder hard, saying, "You went out for two years and didn't come back to visit; your wings have hardened, haven't they?" Hun Muxiao rubbed her shoulder and chuckled, saying, "I'm at Five-Star Dou Sheng peak now; in a few more years, I might catch up to Aunt." Yao Yao raised an eyebrow and said, "Catch up to her? Still a long way off."

Medusa stood up from the soft couch and walked to in front of Hun Muxiao. The mother and daughter looked at each other for a moment; Medusa remained in that cold and composed state, but she raised her hand to tidy the stray hair blown by the wind on her daughter's forehead, saying, "You've lost weight, and you've grown taller." Hun Muxiao's nose felt slightly sore, but she held it back. She had known since she was young that her mother was not good at expressing emotions; "You've lost weight, and you've grown taller" was already the gentlest thing Medusa could say. She chuckled, untied the blood abyss sword from her back, and held it flat with both hands, handing it to Medusa, saying, "The sword is intact, and I am also intact; I didn't lose face for Mother." Medusa looked down at the blood abyss sword; there were a few new battle scars on the blade, but the edge was still as sharp as before. She raised her hand and gently brushed across the sword body, a faint smile appearing on the corner of her mouth: "Five-Star peak, not bad."

Hun Muxian walked over holding a cup of freshly brewed tea, still in that composed and elegant manner, handing the teacup to Hun Muxiao with both hands, her voice soft but carrying the concern only sisters have: "Sister, you've worked hard. This is the tea I newly blended; try it." Hun Muxiao took the teacup and drank it in one gulp, reached out and pinched her face gently, saying, "The tea Mu Xian brews is still as delicious as ever." Hun Muqing stood to the side holding her sword; the ten-year-old girl already had some of Medusa's cold glamour between her brows, but the look she directed at her eldest sister was still full of curiosity and admiration. She asked if her eldest sister had encountered any particularly formidable opponents outside. Hun Muxiao thought for a moment and said, "There was a champion of an underground fighting arena in the Black-Corner Region, an Eight-Star Dou Zun, who fought her for three days and three nights, and in the end, she cleaved the ring with one sword." Hun Muling immediately jumped up from the stone stool and asked if she had encountered any handsome guys saving the damsel in distress or anything like that; Hun Muxiao replied snappily, "Does she need anyone to save her, or does she save them?" Hun Musheng stood quietly behind Xiao Yi Xian; although she didn't speak, those clear, cold eyes were clearly filled with admiration for her eldest sister. Hun Mulan, being the youngest, rushed up and hugged Hun Muxiao's leg, looking up with her little face to ask if her eldest sister had brought her a gift. Hun Muxiao untied that mercenary badge of the Black-Corner Region from her waist, bent down, and pinned it on Hun Mulan's collar, saying, "This is something she won from a Five-Star Dou Zun; it's a gift for my youngest sister." Hun Mulan looked down at the badge and ran off excitedly to find Lin Qingwan to show it off.

Hun Feng walked over from under the corridor, looking at this eldest daughter before him, filled with emotion. A sixteen-year-old Five-Star Dou Sheng peak; even he felt inferior to this talent back in his day. He reached out and rubbed Hun Muxiao's head vigorously, saying, "She has grown up." Hun Muxiao's head tilted from his rubbing, but she didn't dodge; she just raised her head to look at him, a faint trace of moisture suddenly flashing in those peach-blossom eyes. She had been away from home for two years, had been to such faraway places, and had seen so many people, but the Soul Realm East Courtyard would always be her home. Hun Feng took the tea handed by Hun Muxian, looking at the courtyard full of wives and daughters; Yun Yun and Cao Ying had entered the Eight-Star peak, and Hun Muxiao had also reached the Five-Star peak; everything was developing in the best direction. When Qing'er and Zi Yan came out of seclusion, and the Nine Emperors were gathered, it would be time for them to embark on a new journey.