Hunched over his study table, Guiren shook his head painstakingly as he composed down the final stroke from his brush. The opaque ink sank into the paper slowly, as if it still held onto a regret and had yet to let it go. Blowing lightly on the parchment, he enveloped it and transferred it over to a servant.

"Make sure it gets passed to senior martial sister," His words were strangely calm and firm while his eyes lingered a bit.

Daiyu.

I don't want to have to practice the sect punishment on you.

Seeing that we have gone through numerous years of hardship together, I'm willing to spare you this one last time.

You shouldn't have killed junior sister because of your jealousy.

You really lost yourself this time.

He wearily massaged his temple and sighed. A slight thump caught his attention. Looking up, his eyes settled on a figure at his door. His hands froze, and a youthful expression took over his face.

"Y-you're alive?!"

Guiren's voice stuttered as he got up from his desk. Hastening toward the woman who had just appeared by his door, his heart swelled with comfort, and his eyes lit up.

Could it be a dream?

She didn't die?

Good.

He won't let Daiyu harm her anymore.

"Yanmei, you don't have to worry anymore. Daiyu won't dare harm you anymore. I'll protect you this time," Guiren shifted closer, his arms arising to touch his junior sister's head. A flash of disgust flashed through Yanmei's eyes before she smiled.

"I-I was so afraid, I didn't think sister Daiyu would do something like that," A sob came out of Yanmei's throat and hearing it made Guiren's heart ached.

His eyes clouded.

Daiyu, you cruel woman!

Yanmei stopped her tears and gently dabbed her eyes. She looked throughout the room, "Did senior sister hand over the key?"

Guiren paused.

The key.

He hadn't taken it immediately because he wanted Daiyu to come to the terms herself rather than directly forcing her.

"She promised to hand it over," He finally answered his junior sister with a hint of uncertainty.

Yanmei frowned, her fingers tensed, "But what if she doesn't?"

Guiren shook his head. Although Daiyu may be a black-hearted person, the one thing she always did was to keep all her promises.

"No, she will," He managed to respond, but his heart seemed oddly complicated. Yanmei frowned at his simple response. Hmph! It took so long to cause this level of disorder within the sect. How could she be satisfied with such a simplistic answer?

In truth, Yanmei was from another sect attempting to take over the Tianhua sect. Having been instructed at a young age, she was a spy that came to this sect at a young age. Her task was to obtain the secret key that was being passed down from successors to successors inside Tianhua.

Daiyu was the highly esteemed senior sister in the TianHua sect. So naturally, she would be first in line to receive the vital key regarding the sect from her former master. However, with exceptional skills and talent, no one could get close enough to the sect sister except Guiren.

After all, the two sects disciples often trained together.

Guiren.

Unlike Daiyu, who was already held to certain regard from birth, Guiren had to earn his spot in the sect. After a massive massacre killed both his parents, Guiren was picked up at a young age to go into the sect to be a servant out of pity. He was found to have little talent, and his appearance was mediocre. No one wanted to take him as a disciple.

All except Daiyu.

Daiyu had noticed his eyes were exceptionally bright for someone with such a tragic past. After choosing him at the lineup, the two had grown especially close. As winter turned into spring, Daiyu noticed herself falling deeply in love with Guiren. Time to time, she couldn't help her eyes straying to Guiren, and she couldn't prevent it. Everything he asked for, she would always give it to him. After all, she prided herself on being the sect's senior martial disciple. There was never a 'no' to any of his requests.

She loved to see him smile.

When he did, she found herself smiling as well.

Innocent and joyous.

However, this provided others an advantage over her.

Yanmei was one of them.

Quickly understanding the situation, she immediately put up a pretense of a weak and delicate orphan. Using what she could to play her part, she chose to be bullied and rejected by the other sect members.

Seeing the familiar displays that reminded Guiren of his painful past in the sect, Guiren took pity on her since he was an orphan himself.

He carefully guided her and took her in as his own.

However, even if Guiren regarded Yanmei as his own, Daiyu didn't.

Although Daiyu was struck with envy, she never did anything out of line. Knowing Guiren didn't like troublesome relationships, she often kept her feelings to herself and busied herself with her obligations as the future sect leader.

Seeing the lack of response Daiyu gave, Yanmei didn't feel defeated; instead, she began to assemble more numerous levels of schemes. They were merely enough to send Daiyu on alert in fear that Guiren would be placed in harm while Guiren would misunderstand Daiyu as the person who created them.

Guiren would be left feeling that his senior martial sister was a petty person who held a dislike to those weaker than herself.

As the schemes intensified, Daiyu began to take more action in preventing them. Identifying the real perpetrator, she hesitated many days before telling him, in fear, he would be heartbroken. However, Yanmei had already anticipated this and drew up such a story that, in the end, Guiren believed Daiyu was harming Yanmei because of her extreme jealousy.

Although he held some doubts, his increasing dislike for her behavior and actions were below a person holding the title of sect master. Refusing to accept any of Daiyu's words, he drove her further away from him. After all, he didn't want to support someone who acted so hypocritical. One end, she adored him, yet on the other end, she held disdain to someone who lived a life so close to his.

Although heartbroken by his guard against her, Daiyu knew her duties belonged to the sect more than anything else. As the constant crimes and slanders increased against Tianhua's name, Daiyu had a difficult time holding herself together. The responsibility and the stress weighted massively in her heart. Expecting to find comfort from her junior brother, Daiyu went to his residence only to intercept Yanmei in the act of communicating with outsiders. They two battled, but in the end, Daiyu didn't dare to hurt Yanmei in fear of obtaining Guiren's ire.

Believing Guiren would trust her due to their relationship, Daiyu was devastated by his cold font and his increasing guard against her. When she finally realized the reality of the situation involved Tianhua's safety, she decided to discontinue playing the kind, martial sister. Using direct methods to remove Yanmei, Daiyu no longer thought of Guiren but instead, the sect's security.

During the process, Daiyu did not realize she was within someone else's scheme. Seeing Daiyu exerting such rash actions, Guiren grew unsettled. Believing his senior sister had become power-hungry and unqualified for being the sect leader, Guiren made his own moves. Stealing Daiyu's leadership token, Guiren labeled Daiyu unfit to lead for killing her junior sister in his attempts to protect the sect members. Outcasted by her the very sect members she tried to protect, Daiyu was locked up in her room due to house arrest.

How ridiculous was it that both individuals who once knew each other's mind so well had taken such different paths.

Both in their goal of protecting the sect had taken very contracting actions, and the result had harmed one to no return.

Night after night, Daiyu yearned for a better outcome. Wishing Guiren would come to find her, Daiyu prayed endlessly to the bright moon in the sky. If they could simply just talk.... but the shadow of heartbreak was slowly edging up her mind, and her heart was breaking into pieces.

Finally, her wish did come true— in a cruel fashion.

Guiren only wanted the key their Shifu gave her.