“Hm?”

“Alright, come in.” Dawn Sugar Snow stepped aside like a curtain drawn to let light through, and Rain Moon Willow stirred awake.

“Sis... where are you?”

Qianya watched the girl on the bed grope through sleep like a kitten in fog; her mood tangled like wet silk, wondering if befriending her would move her plan.

Rain Moon Willow and Dawn Sugar Snow didn’t look much alike, yet together their sisterhood showed like twin streams from one spring. Both were peerless beauties under heaven. Silent, Rain Moon Willow was an iceberg; with her sister, she was a clingy kitten, pink tongue flicking in open air.

“Yueyu, I need a word alone. Can we talk on the balcony, where the wind’s clean?”

“...” Rain Moon Willow’s eyes cleared like thinning ice. She looked at Qianya, then at her indifferent sister, and her interest went out like a snuffed candle.

“No.” She rolled over and feigned sleep, a shutter falling.

“Ha... then I’ll say it here, okay?”

Qianya watched Yueyu’s small tells like ripples on a pond, then spoke slowly. “Do you have a daughter?”

“?”

“Hey, hey, that’s rude to say about a minor, you know?” Dawn Sugar Snow’s voice prickled like sleet.

“...”

“A minor?” Inside, Qianya broke into a cold sweat; this “minor” could crush her with one finger like a dry twig.

“That was rude of me. Let me put it another way, Yueyu—does the name Qingsheng Tangxue ring a bell?”

“No.” Rain Moon Willow answered at once, the tone off, like winter sun that gives no warmth.

“Yueyu...” Dawn Sugar Snow looked at her sister, expression layered like cloud. The air turned strange, a taut string about to snap.

“I see. Sorry to intrude, Miss Yueyu. To be blunt, Qingsheng Tangxue is the one I’ve been chasing. That’s why I circled close to you and Miss Dawn Sugar Snow. No matter the cost, I’ll find her—because she’s my lover.” Qianya said it calm as still water, then turned, closed the door softly, and left.

“Sis... do you think her story has holes?”

“Mm... no.” Dawn Sugar Snow’s face thawed into a smile at her sister. Moments ago she’d checked the room like a fox for traps and found no bug, so she relaxed.

“If you say so...” Rain Moon Willow fell into thought, her gaze drifting like slow snow.

“Then why did she drop that name? It feels foreign, yet familiar, like a melody heard in a dream.”

“Maybe she knows something. Yueyu, you seem curious about them. Want to keep in touch?”

“Forget it. I’m not that interested.” Yueyu shook her head, face as blank as frost.

“Sigh—alright then.”

Back in her room, Qianya dove into her bed like a falling leaf. She ignored Xuewei and clamped her hands over her ears.

Yes. Rain Moon Willow knows something. She even knows Tangxue is her own child. Then why run from it? The thought bubbled like a hot spring under ice.

When she spoke that name, a killing intent hit her like a blizzard. Had she pushed further, she’d have died in a heartbeat. She finished anyway, bracing against that storm. The bet paid off: Rain Moon Willow is Tangxue’s mother and still holds feeling. And Tangxue hasn’t come to find her yet.

Stay put for a while. The mana currents of Heavenly Deity Academy all show Rain Moon Willow as this barrier’s core. This whole space is likely her handiwork. In the realm of ice, only the Ice Deity could pull this off.

“Hey! Qianya, don’t ignore me! What happened back there?”

While Qianya drifted, Xuewei had already climbed astride her like a stubborn cat, prying at her hands. Qianya didn’t budge an inch.

“...What are you doing?” Qianya let go and turned. Xuewei froze, then pouted at her. “Why’d you suddenly ignore me, Qianya?”

“Because I’m thinking. Any noise around me makes me irritable, then my brain just crashes, like a blown fuse.”

“Then just tell me! Why stuff your ears...” Xuewei’s face wilted like a drooping flower; she thought she’d made her angry.

“Habit!”

Blood Elf hearing is knife-sharp like any elf’s; even a whisper of wind gets magnified. Qianya grew up in harsh noise, so she picked up this bad habit, though it hurts her sensitive ears.

“By the way, Xuewei, try to stay on Rain Moon Willow’s good side at the Academy. I think she made this pocket world. The way out starts with her.”

“Really?!”

A way out lit Xuewei up like fireworks. Her shout hit so hard Qianya went pale.

“Are you an idiot...” Qianya smacked her forehead, helpless. With a shout that big, even the neighbors would hear.

The dorms at Heavenly Deity Academy are well soundproofed. But if Rain Moon Willow built this world, anything spoken might reach her like wind through pines. Qianya consoled herself. Since it’s noticed, better to talk in the open.

“We have to find Tangxue fast. It’s already bad: those Flower of the Other Shore fanatics plan to loose a hellborn deity. Tangxue intends to stop it alone. If we don’t stop her, she’ll die.”

“I know that... but we can’t even find my brother.” Xuewei tucked her head like a turtle and slumped on Qianya.

“...How long are you staying on my back?”

“Mm, sorry, I’m getting up.” Xuewei rolled off and sat at the bed’s edge, a wilted petal. If her brother were here, he wouldn’t mind.

“Time’s about up. Let’s head to the plaza.”

“Mm...”

They tidied their beds, changed into the uniforms, and set out for the plaza. Most here were new. Heavenly Deity Academy had under a hundred students, so the vast plaza held only scattered figures, halos shining over a few heads.

Xuewei and Qianya had no halo and no wings, so they stood out like dark reeds in snow. They seemed special, and people gave them unexpected care.

After about ten minutes, the Student Council officers arrived like a small procession and started the briefing.

“Hello, freshmen. I’m the Disciplinary Chair of the Student Council. I’ll explain the key rules today...”

The chair was a big-sister type with short black hair. Qianya listened half there, half drifting like smoke. Her attention kept circling nearby girls. The freshmen were all female. The chair was flat-chested, cropped hair, yet still in a skirt.

“That’s what you need to watch out for. Now, the reason we called you here.”

The chairwoman cleared her throat, then let silence settle like dust while her gaze swept the crowd.

“Last night, we ran into an intruder and pulled some clues off her. I’m certain that enemy is one of you.”