“Bing Ling and Gu Guang are doing a good job guiding the sect to the path of the light.” “How is the Moon Sect doing?” Hua Lian finally asked. However, if Ming He and Qing Lan could rebuild a relationship out of all their past betrayals and lies, if Xue Wen and her mother could reconcile after years of bitterness and hatred, then Ming He had hope that she and her mother could build a stronger mother-daughter relationship. She and her mother had never had a close relationship, and so many things had happened between them in the past three years that the distance between them now felt insurmountable. Her mother sat aside the scroll and greeted her in return, “Ming He.” There was a strained silence after Ming He sat down in the other chair. “Hello Mother,” she said around the lump in her throat. It was completely at odds with the serene person Ming He saw in front of her, and she had to blink away sudden tears. The Hua Lian in Ming He’s memories was a fierce imposing presence dressed in red, a perpetual scowl on her face. Hua Lian sat in a wooden chair dressed in simple black clothes, perusing a scroll by the light of a single candle. The furnishings inside Snow Lotus Hall were simple but tasteful, the interior kept dim in deference to Xue Wen’s sensitive eyesight after her many years spent imprisoned indoors. Ming He had never figured out how much Xue Wen knew about her and Qing Lan’s journey back to the past, but at least Xue Wen had never mentioned it, and Ming He knew now that Xue Wen cared a lot for her mother, and vice versa. The interaction between her and Xue Wen was a little strained but cordial. “Your mother is waiting for you inside,” she said. Xue Wen greeted Ming He at the main door of Snow Lotus Hall. What they didn’t know was that Xue Wen had personally pleaded for Hua Lian’s life, and that Hua Lian was not the sole occupant of Snow Lotus Hall. The pugilist world had hailed Hua Lian’s house arrest as an example of Xiao Yiqing’s magnanimity, that he was willing to spare the life of the woman who had killed his father and imprisoned his mother for years. What she had not realized was how deep the bond ran between Xue Wen and her mother before everything had happened to tear them apart. Ming He had always thought she understood why her mother kept Xue Wen alive but imprisoned for so many years – a bargaining chip against Snow Tower, some lingering nostalgia for their martial siblings bond. At the critical juncture, when faced with the choice of protecting herself or saving Xue Wen, Hua Lian had chosen to save Xue Wen at the cost of all her martial arts skills. But none of them – Ming He, Qing Lan, even Xue Wen – could have predicted what that choice ended up being.ĭuring that final battle, the situation had been chaotic, and Xue Wen had ended up in the battlefield, defenseless. The choice that the Star Prediction alluded to, referred not to Ming He’s choice, but to a choice made by Hua Lian herself. Today was an especially poignant day to see her mother, as this day was when her mother had met her end above the Holy Lake in Ming He’s previous life. It was also the place in which Hua Lian served her permanent house arrest after being defeated in the final battle between Snow Tower and Moon Sect a few months ago. Snow Lotus Hall was a small and nondescript building tucked deep inside the main compound of Snow Tower. The wedding had been two days ago, and Qing Lan had gone for a last reunion with his Master and junior siblings before he and Ming He left Snow Tower. As senior brother of the bride, Qing Lan had of course attended the wedding, and Ming He had come along as well. It was the wedding of Xiao Yiqing and Qing Ming, and the entire pugilist world had gathered at Snow Tower for the celebration.
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