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

The disciple in charge of relaying the message couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard these words—only a bunch of kids would take the boasting of a low-grade spiritual root brat seriously.

Inside the secret chamber.

There were more people present than Luo had imagined.

Elder Danhong and Su Mingyue were also there.

The middle-aged woman in the palace dress sat coldly to one side, while Su Mingyue nestled in her arms, peeking out half her head. Her eyes were red and her face looked aggrieved, like a bullied little rabbit.

Master Hengyangzi sat in the center.

After ten years apart, when he looked at her, his eyes did not hold the joy of finding someone he had lost, but rather a complex and troubled expression.

Senior Brother Lin Yichen stood beside his master, his smile gentle.

Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, and Fifth Senior Brother stood in order. These were the faces she had thought about and longed for for ten years. They were all present, but not one of them walked towards her.

Luo Huanzhen looked at all this, and all his enthusiasm was suddenly extinguished.

I...

It seems like they're not popular?

The next moment, Su Mingyue stood up.

She walked up to Luo Huanzhen, her eyes immediately reddening, and tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry... for taking up all these years of your life. I shouldn't have lived. Perhaps dying back then would have been the right ending. I'm returning your identity to you. I'm leaving."

Su Mingyue cried so hard that she trembled all over, looking as if she had been bullied.

"Nonsense!" Elder Danhong scoffed, defending him, "What's true or false? I used spiritual medicine to pull you back from the brink of death, and I've cared for your health for ten years without fail. In my eyes, you're the only one!"

Compared to the former genius Luo Zhenyu, he is truly remarkable.

Su Mingyue, who was considerate and well-behaved and had been carefully raised by her, was the child she favored.

Su Mingyue's tears flowed even more profusely.

Elder Dan Hong felt even more distressed upon seeing this, and her gaze towards Luo Huanzhen was filled with disgust.

Luo Huanzhen stared wide-eyed, then quickly took two steps back as if avoiding a plague. "I didn't do anything! I didn't bully her! She cried on her own!"

Su Mingyue bit her lip and shook her head, "Yes. It's...it's my fault. Don't blame Master Zhenzhen, Senior Sister..."

People felt even more sorry for her gentle and kind nature.

Lin Yichen sighed softly, took two steps forward, squatted down to be at eye level with Luo Huanzhen, and said, "Junior Sister, I'll call you that for now."

"You say you are Luo Huanzhen, and I'm willing to believe you. But Mingyue spent ten years in the sect, becoming frail and sickly, her spiritual roots damaged; leaving the sect would mean certain death. Yet you survived for ten years in the Ten Thousand Demon Cave; you must understand, right?"

Luo Zhenhuan's eyes widened.

It was as if they had heard something strange.

She wanted to beat this fake person who was replacing her into the mud and rub it, rub it, and rub it some more.

But the senior brother actually made her understand counterfeit goods?

Luo Huanzhen: "I don't understand!"

Lin Yichen explained with self-reproach, "What I mean is, Mingyue is also a victim. It was Senior Brother who mistook her for someone else and brought her back to the sect, where she was raised as Zhenzhen for ten years. Zhenzhen doesn't need to be so hostile towards Mingyue."

Luo Huanzhen said anxiously, "But she tried to harm me during the entrance test!"

"Zhenzhen!" Lei Ziyue interrupted Luo Huanzhen, saying urgently, "Mingyue is just too afraid of losing you, she didn't mean to hurt you!"

Luo Huanzhen shouted, "This never belonged to her! Even the name she used was stolen from me!"

Lei Ziyue squatted down, grasped Luo Huanzhen's shoulder, his hands trembling. "Zhenzhen, can you change your name? I promise I'll treat you better than anyone else. But Zhen... Mingyue can't handle this shock, she's too weak. You're different, you're strong..."

Elder Danhong echoed in agreement, "Yes, it's indeed remarkable that this child was able to return alive, but that's all. Her spiritual root is damaged, becoming the lowest grade of low spiritual root. Coupled with her low cultivation level, even if she regains her identity, she can no longer bear the weight of the name 'Luo Huanzhen'."

Su Mingyue lifted her head from Elder Danhong's embrace and looked at her with teary eyes.

Luo is really feeling terrible.

It was as if some monster had sucked away all the air around us.

She couldn't breathe.

She turned with difficulty to the baby-faced youth in the corner, "Third Senior Brother...you used to dote on me the most."

Zhao Qing's lips moved, but she ultimately turned her head away.

"Zhenzhen. She's been with us for ten years too."

Luo Huanzhen looked at Gong Lian, "Fourth Senior Brother..."

Gong Lian lowered her eyes, her expression as cold as a frozen lake.

"Who's telling the truth and who's lying doesn't matter to me. I'm closer to her."

Luo Huanzhen looked at Wen Heng one last time, but Wen Heng never raised his head.

The secret chamber was quiet except for Su Mingyue's low sobs.

Luo Huanzhen stood in the center of everyone's gaze, a tiny figure.

Elder Danhong protected Su Mingyue's hand, the eldest brother smiled gently and politely, the second brother held her shoulder, the third brother turned his face away, the fourth brother's indifferent eyes, and the fifth brother's head that never looked up...

Luo Huanzhen, with red eyes, looked defiantly at his master, who remained silent on the high seat.

"alright."

Hengyangzi finally spoke, his voice gentle but weary.

"Zhenzhen, you've suffered. But Mingyue has been in the sect for ten years, and the outside world only knows her as Luo Huanzhen. If she were replaced now, it would damage the sect's reputation and be a disaster for Mingyue. Her spiritual root is already damaged, and without her identity, she will have no place in the cultivation world."

"Now, your spiritual root is also damaged. You can stay under a different name, and I will take you as my personal disciple. I will never shortchange you on resources and elixirs. I will make it up to you for the rest of my life. Is that alright?"

Luo Huanzhen looked at his master.

His temples were gray, his wrinkles were deep, and there was genuine heartache in his eyes.

But it's too light.

It was as light as a feather, and was blown away by the wind before it could even land on her.

Her master didn't intend to make a decision for her either.

He just wanted the matter to pass quietly, so that the real could continue to act as fake, and the fake could continue to act as real.

He felt at ease as long as no one made a fuss.

From beginning to end, not a single person approached her.

No one knelt down to hug her.

No one asked her: How did you survive in the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons? Was it painful? Were you scared?

They were all protecting that fake.

Because the fake goods were weak, they had stayed with them for ten years, and they couldn't survive without the sect.

Xiao Luo, who hadn't cried at all, suddenly had red eyes and a red nose. Her little chest heaved violently, like a small animal cornered against a wall.

Don't cry, Your Majesty.

I didn't cry once during my ten years in the Demon Cave.

She didn't cry when chased and bitten by the big demon, she didn't cry when she was so hungry she was gnawing on her sleeves, and she didn't cry when she was covered in wounds and almost died.

Crying is the most useless thing to do.

This deity cannot cry.

Since you don't want me, then I don't want you either!

Luo Huanzhen sniffed hard, forcing back her tears. She grabbed her head with her small hand and ripped the Ten Thousand Demon Banner off her little bun.

"Demon, come out! You fake, prepare to die!"