After disappearing for ten years, the junior sister made the entire sect kneel down to welcome her.

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Wen Heng didn't reply, she just looked at him.

Lei Ziyue's voice gradually lowered, "Then... then what do you suggest we do?"

"The matter of whether she is a true or false junior sister is of great importance. With Master not yet back, and only the two of us remaining in the sect, we must not allow any major upheavals to occur." Wen Heng paused, then continued, "Let her stay in the outer sect for now."

Lei Ziyue opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head.

"That's the only way."

He dared not look at the little girl in the house again; he was afraid to see her eyes, those big, round eyes full of expectation.

Lei Ziyue left.

Their steps were faster than when they arrived.

Luo Huanzhen sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs and waiting for a long time, but only Wen Heng came.

Luo Huanzhen asked in confusion, "Fifth Senior Brother, you're here. Where's Second Senior Brother?"

"Something's up."

Wen Heng stood at the door, but did not come in.

"You should stay in the outer sect for now. The sect will handle this matter properly once Master returns."

Luo Zhen tilted his head. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Wait until he comes back," Wen Heng said, then turned and left.

Luo Huanzhen shouted loudly to the figure in blue, "Alright, I will obediently wait for Master and my senior brothers to return from the outer sect!"

Hearing that familiar tone, Wen Heng paused in his steps.

But in the end, he didn't turn back.

Su Mingyue pretended to be unconscious and asleep. When she woke up, Elder Danhong was no longer there.

Lei Ziyue was sitting on the edge of the couch.

He looked at her, but his eyes were different than before.

It wasn't the kind of unconditional pampering, but rather a mixture of confusion, struggle, and a chilling wavering in her heart.

Su Mingyue's heart sank.

She slowly sat up, lowered her head, and said in a very soft voice, "Second Senior Brother, you know everything."

Lei Ziyue did not deny it.

Su Mingyue smiled, a smile more painful than a grimace. "She told you everything, didn't she? I really am not Luo Huanzhen."

Lei Ziyue's breathing became heavier, his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

Su Mingyue didn't look at him, her gaze fixed on the quilt, as if talking to herself, "My original name was Su Mingyue. I was a baby girl born to a courtesan in the mortal world. After my mother died early, I was abandoned when I was just one year old."

"I struggled to survive for five years, then accidentally fell into the Demon Cave and was devoured by demons. I thought my life of being despised was finally coming to an end, when I met my senior brother. He mistook me for someone else..."

Su Mingyue looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "Second Senior Brother, do you know, the first time I saw her—the real Luo Huanzhen—was inside the memory stone. She was the same age as me, six years old, with two little pigtails, surrounded by you all, smiling so beautifully."

"Every day I looked at that photo stone and tried to imitate her. I tried to imitate how she smiled, how she spoke. I studied for ten years... but a fake is a fake... I just couldn't imitate her."

At this point, Su Mingyue's tears silently streamed down her face.

"I envy her. I'm insanely envious. We're both orphans, so why is she loved and adored by everyone, while I... I have no one who cares about me. I just... desperately want to be like her."

She finally burst into tears, her thin shoulders trembling violently.

"I'm sorry. I know I don't deserve it. But I was Luo Huanzhen for ten years, and those ten years were the only time in my life when I was cared about by anyone."

Lei Ziyue stood still, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

He raised his hand, intending to place it on her shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and finally let it fall.

"Don't cry, it'll hurt your health."

Su Mingyue buried herself in his arms, crying even harder, repeatedly saying sorry.

Lei Ziyue closed his eyes, his voice hoarse: "It's not your fault."

The candlelight flickered beside the couch.

Su Mingyue's lips curled up silently.

……

Luo really felt like he was on vacation during his time outside the sect.

The other disciples, enduring the scorching sun during physical training, were all tanned to a dark brown, complaining endlessly and wishing they could ascend to heaven on the spot.

Luo Huanzhen took the Ten Thousand Demon Banner off his little hairpin and stuck it at his feet. The little flag fluttered in the wind, and a cool, yin energy spread three feet away, bringing a refreshing effect.

So wherever she went, a long line of little tails followed her, seeking refuge from the cool air; the queue was even longer than the food line at the sect's canteen.

As for the stance training, running, and horse stance, the intensity is deadly for new disciples, but for Luo Huanzhen...?

Her daily exercise within the Ten Thousand Demon Banner was thousands of times greater than this; this training wasn't even a warm-up.

On the training ground, after the senior instructor finished demonstrating a set of boxing techniques, all the children frantically tried to imitate the movements, their crooked and awkward movements resembling a flock of little ducks.

Luo Huanzhen glanced at it and casually punched it once—the force of the punch sent the three chubby boys next to him tumbling over.

The entire room fell silent.

The instructor's jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

She withdrew her little fist and blinked innocently, "I haven't even used my full strength yet."

During training breaks, a group of children sat around her, their eyes sparkling.

"Are you really Luo Huanzhen? The sect leader's youngest disciple, the cultivation genius who appears only once in ten thousand years?"

Luo Huanzhen put his hands on his hips, puffed out his small chest, and declared, "Yes! That's me!"

"But..." a child timidly raised his hand, "If you were her, why do you look only six years old? Shouldn't Senior Sister Luo be sixteen?"

Luo Zhenhuan tilted his head. "Because I've already reached the Tribulation Transcending stage in the Demon Cave! The Tribulation Transcending stage allows one to maintain eternal youth, so I've remained six years old!"

A chorus of "Wow!"s erupted around them.

"Tribulation Transcending Stage! That's amazing!"

"Is he even more powerful than the sect leader?"

Will you grow up again?

Luo was surrounded by adoring gazes, and his smug little tail was practically wagging.

"Is Luo really that bad?"

A disciple suddenly appeared, interrupting Luo Huanzhen's boasting.

He glanced at her sideways and said calmly, "The sect leader summoned her from the secret pavilion."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

"Master and my fellow disciples have returned to the sect. I'm going to see them!"

Luo Huanzhen pulled the little flag out and put it back in his little bun, stood up, and walked away proudly.

A group of children watched her retreating figure with envy.

"She probably won't come back."

"Of course not...she's that good..."