After we ate our fill, Lixue and I clinked bowls like shells in a tidepool, cleaned up, chatted a bit with FrostyLily Dream, then I drifted back to my room. Today’s fighting had wrung me dry; after a hot meal, sleepiness rose like a warm tide.

On the soft, cloud-thick bed, I stretched like a lazy cat. Mmh—so comfy! The nonstop skirmishes finally ended.

Thinking back from the first floor of the Nine Cold Labyrinth to now, a long sigh uncoiled in my chest like winter mist. I didn’t expect to clear the whole thing… sure, they went easy on me more than once. Still, I didn’t just finish the Labyrinth; my edge was hammered sharper than when I first stepped in. A haul like autumn granaries—full on every front.

On the other hand, it’s been ages since I saw Xinuo, Hill, Littlesky, and Qianji Sister. Their faces flickered in my mind like lanterns across foggy water. Forget it—when there’s a chance, I’ll go find them. Who knows, maybe one day Xinuo will show up with Hill fully healed, knocking on our door like spring wind.

“Without Xinuo leading… will the road really go smooth?” The doubt sat heavy, a little boat bobbing on black water. Back when we left the Central Continent and wandered that year or two before the Labyrinth, Xinuo handled every route and every inn. She said go, I followed. I guess I leaned on her more than I knew.

Leaving the Nine Cold Labyrinth, can I plot my own way? The thought pricked like cold rain. Good thing my sisters and Lixue are here; alone, I’d be a bird that’s lost the north.

“Dear big brother! It’s bedtime!”

“Sleep.”

The door whooshed open mid-brooding, and the two sisters dashed in, loose sleeveless nightdresses fluttering like pale petals.

“Dear big brother, catch us!”

“Catch.”

They kicked off their shoes at the mattress edge and launched like swallows.

“Eh—?!” Instinct yanked me up to catch them, but gravity slapped us all down. I managed to hold them, and the three of us collapsed into the bed’s soft snow. Truthfully, I got flattened.

“Ow—ow—huh?”

I tried to push Lingsaki and Lingxiao aside and sit up, but my hands met something soft as clouds and springy as fresh mochi.

“Eek! Dear big brother, where are you touching?!”

“Brother’s hands are… touching…”

They yelped above me. Oh. So that’s what I grabbed. Not bad on the… development front.

“You two jumped me out of nowhere. I could barely breathe.”

I finally sat up, exasperated, with Lingsaki and Lingsaki—I mean, Lingsaki and Lingxiao—on either side like twin moons. Their silk nightdresses, loose as drifting water, had slipped, revealing wide swaths of pale skin like polished jade.

Wait—hold up. Staring at that bare, luminous skin, I noticed a serious problem.

“Hey! Why aren’t you wearing anything underneath?!”

Yep. Vacuum beneath the nightdresses. Headache incoming. You’re sixteen already.

“Fresh out of the bath, it’s comfier without underwear.”

“Agreed.”

They said it like it was the first law of nature, and my headache throbbed harder. “You’re girls, not little kids. And this is your brother. How are you not even a little shy?”

“What’s the problem? We’re only showing dear big brother.”

“Mhm. That’s right.”

They made it sound like I’d told them to dress like this. I sighed. If I fixate on tiny things, my heart’s going to shrink into a walnut.

And… sleeping with nothing under your pajamas is, uh, comfortable. I can’t deny that.

“Do what you want. Mmh—now I’m sleepy. Bedtime.”

A yawn rolled out like a soft wave.

“Eh? Dear big brother, already sleepy?”

“We wanted to chat a while longer.”

They each hugged an arm tight. They didn’t plan to let me sink into dreams. Their hold was snug; my forearms vanished into their chests, warm and cloud-soft. The drowsiness thinned like fog in sunlight.

Clingy sisters are a real headache. I couldn’t tell if I should be happy or troubled.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Honestly, I wanted sleep, but my sisters vetoed it.

“Everything you went through at the Daynight Sanctuary.”

“I’m curious too. We’d just gotten back to the Mizumi Clan when we heard you’d become a Sword Wielder and left the Central Continent. It shocked us.” Their questions braided into one rope.

“That’s… a long story.”

Even skimming, it took me until midnight. My words spilled like a slow river, covering years in a handful of stones.

“…That’s pretty much it.”

“Hoo… hoo…”

“Hoo… hoo…”

The moment I finished, the two of them, already drowsy reeds, wilted into sleep in my arms. They were the ones who asked… Wait—midnight already?! After fighting all day, going to bed this late can’t be good. Whatever. Sleep.

Lights off. I wrapped my arms around them—no choice, they wouldn’t let go even asleep—tugged the blanket up, and drifted off cradled by soft bodies and a fruit-blossom scent, like dozing in an orchard.

…

Next day, noon. Warm sunlight poured through the window like honey, and the last of sleep ebbed away. I rose from the deep like a slow swimmer.

“Mmh—uh?”

Half-awake, I tried to sit and stretch, but a soft weight pressed me down, like a cat on my chest. The plush feel and orchard-sweet scent were pleasant. What was it?

I blinked open my eyes.

…

Two stunning faces filled my vision, close enough that one more breath would touch. No doubt—Lingsaki and Lingxiao. I didn’t think they’d still be asleep. Seeing them so peaceful, I couldn’t call their names. Then I noticed their nightdresses had slid halfway down. Which meant their upper bodies were bare.

Sisters bare on top, curled around their brother—no matter the angle, not great. I could only give a helpless smile and tug their nightdresses back up, like draping shawls over moon statues. Not the first thing I expected to handle after waking.

“Mmm—”

“Brother…”

My fiddling disturbed the pond. They blinked awake.

“Good morning, dear big brother~”

“Slept so full…”

They rubbed sleep from their eyes and greeted me, adorable as kittens.

“It’s not morning. It’s noon. Well, I just woke up too.”

Even after a midnight bedtime, that long rest filled me like a reservoir. Power hummed in my limbs.

“Noon already.”

“Slept a long time.”

They let go and stretched, willow-supple. Thanks to that, I could get up and shake the stiffness from my bones.

“First, let’s wash up and eat. Then we can plan what’s next.”

“Okay! A journey with dear big brother… I can’t wait!”

“Mhm, can’t wait. Also curious about the world beyond the Central Continent.”

We chatted as we slipped on shoes, then headed to the washroom.

…

Twenty-some minutes later, washed and changed, we stepped out. The washroom even had a few changing stalls, oddly enough.

For the record, I really didn’t want to keep wearing women’s clothes. I dug through the outfits Lingsaki and Lingxiao had brought, combing them like a prospector. Finally, I found several sets of the men’s clothes I’d worn at the Mizumi Clan. I almost cried. There was a little note pinned to them: “Ehehe~ I know your situation, little Emperor. You’ve been dying to get back into men’s clothes, right? Remember to thank me! From the Serenemoon you love most.” A cute chibi self-portrait of Serenemoon grinned in the corner. Guess Serenemoon does something nice once in a while.

“How did Serenemoon even stash dear big brother’s clothes in our luggage?!”

“We searched before and didn’t see them. Serenemoon is scary!”

They still looked spooked. Whatever. I was just happy to be back in men’s wear.

“You’re awake—huh?”

We nearly walked into Lixue outside the washroom, apron tied on, radiating cozy-wife energy like steam off rice. She blinked at me. “Emperor, you switched back to men’s clothes. Feels a bit… off.”

“Off?!” Her words hit my heart like a hammer. I could cry.

“Your reaction’s odd, Emperor,” Lixue said calmly, like a windless lake. “The first time I saw you, you were a pretty girl in women’s clothes. Feeling some dissonance now is normal. But you look good in men’s clothes too—handsome, with a lot of cute mixed in.”

“Cute…” Ugh. I wish I had more masculine bite.

As if she heard the thought, Lixue added, “A man’s allure isn’t in his face. It’s in his strength and his character. You’re solid on both.”

“Yeah, dear big brother doesn’t need to worry about looks!”

“Because big brother is already pretty and cute.” Lingsaki slipped in a finishing blow. My heart hurt.

“‘Pretty and cute’ isn’t how you praise a brother…” If we kept on this topic, I’d break. I pivoted. “By the way, where’s FrostyLily Dream? I haven’t seen her.”

“Teacher left the Northern Abyss Continent early.” Lixue’s face dimmed like a lamp in wind. “When I woke this morning, she was already gone. On the bedside, a note: ‘I’m taking the Ice Dream Lotus to find my sister. Lixue, you and that kid Yumigawa Sumeragi arrange your own trip.’”

“I see.”

Without FrostyLily Dream, the Palace of Ice Crystal felt emptier, the echoes longer. If we leave too, the whole Nine Cold Labyrinth will be colder still.

“Lixue, are you really reluctant to see her go?”

Seeing that shadow on Lixue’s face made worry ripple through me.

“Mhm. Very reluctant. I’ve been with Teacher since I was small. A sudden parting… it stings.”

“It’s okay!”

“We’ve got your back; we’re right here, like lanterns in a storm.”

“Yeah. With us here, there’s nothing to fear, like walking with the sun at your back.”

Lingxiao and Lingsaki caught Lixue’s hand, faces saying “leave it to us”—steady as stone, cute as sprouting buds.

“Yeah, we’re good friends now, after all, like boats tying to the same pier.”

“I still feel unsure about the road ahead, a map blurred by mist.”

Being strangers to a place is a big hurdle, like wading a river at twilight—anywhere you go.

“Thank you.” Lixue’s expression smoothed over like frost under dawn.

“As for the itinerary, let’s worry together, like rowing the same boat.”

“My luggage’s packed, and lunch is ready, steam like little clouds.”

“After we eat, we’ll leave the Nine Cold Labyrinth, like birds taking wing.”

“So fast?”

“I wanted to linger a few days and really take in the Palace of Ice Crystal, like tracing frost.”

“Is that so?”

“Then we’ll set out in three days, like timing a journey to fair weather.”

“The Palace of Ice Crystal is truly beautiful, a swan carved from winter.”

“It’d be a shame to come to the Nine Cold Labyrinth and not savor it, like passing spring blossoms blind.”

“I think it’s lovelier than the Daynight Sanctuary on the Central Continent, a moon outshining lanterns.”

“I hope we can study it up close, like reading snowflakes.”

“Agreed; on that point I’m with you, like drums beating in step.”

It seemed the sisters shared my thought, minds like mirrors catching the same light.

“All right, then let me be your guide, a lamp leading through ice halls.”

“Sorry to trouble you for everything, like piling snow on your sleeves.”

“It’s fine. First, let’s eat before anything else; the dishes are cooling like evening dew.”

“Mm,” a soft hum like a pebble dropping in a pond.

...

...

Time flew; three days slipped by as we toured the Palace of Ice Crystal, like sand through an hourglass of snow.

Honestly, finishing the last corner left me moved, like warm tea in winter.

I never thought the world held a palace so uncanny, as if carved by spirits from ice and moonlight.

It opened my eyes like a mountain sunrise; no wonder it’s by FrostyLily Dream’s hand.

Three days later, like a page turned.

As we shut the palace gates, Lixue was about to lead us out, when a thought struck me like a bell.

“Right—before we depart the Nine Cold Labyrinth, let’s go greet the guardians of each floor, like leaving incense at each gate.”

“Good point...” Lixue murmured, thoughtful as a moon in cloud.

“Since Teacher and I won’t be here, the Nine Cold Labyrinth needn’t keep running, like a mill without water.”

“Let’s give them a long holiday, like closing shutters before winter.”

“We’re going to wander the floors of the Nine Cold Labyrinth next? That’s great, like opening a fan!”

“I was sad we never saw the first seven layers, like missing the opening act.”

“Same here. I’m dying to know what the first seven layers are like, like stories you hear but never read.”

Hearing me and Lixue, Lingxiao and Lingsaki lit up, smiles like twin crescents.

My small jitters about the road ahead blew away without a trace, like dust in a spring wind, replaced by bright expectation.

Yeah—whatever unknowns the future hides, if I’m with the ones I treasure, we’ll be fine, like boats sharing one river.

For sure, like a promise knotted in red thread.

...