Master of Nine Stars

Can modern people go a day without their phones?

What a joke... The first thing you do when you wake up is grab your phone, and the last thing you do before you sleep is put it down. Isn’t that the standard routine for everyone these days?

The two walked into the mall in silence. Gao Lingwei asked, ”Where are they?”

”Let me check,” Rong Taotao said casually. The next moment, he found himself in a clothing store.

Beside him, his brother Rong Yang was holding several bags. Ahead, Yang Chunxi was holding a white woolen sweater, gently rubbing the fabric between her fingers as if to feel how soft it was.

Rong Yang clearly sensed something. He turned and saw his younger brother backing out of the store—an ethereal, retreating figure that passed right through several customers until Rong Taotao stood at the entrance, looking up at the store’s name.

Rong Yang smiled and sent a message through his mind: ”Third floor, turn left out of the elevator.”

”Oh.” Rong Taotao’s ethereal form flickered and vanished.

”What are you smiling at?” Yang Chunxi shot Rong Yang a look, her tone carrying a hint of a threat. ”You think this sweater is ugly?”

Everyone plays different roles to survive in this world. When facing the Little Souls, Yang Chunxi was a gentle and kind teacher, perhaps even taking on a bit of a motherly role.

But with Rong Yang, Yang Chunxi was a girlfriend. She could be very tender, or she could throw a little tantrum at any moment.

”No, not at all,” Rong Yang said, shaking his head quickly. ”Taotao was just here.”

”Taotao is much more thoughtful than you,” Yang Chunxi said, putting down the sweater and giving Rong Yang a reproachful look. ”When he went to Qianshan Pass for training, he made sure to collect the pelts of Soul Beasts and had a fur coat made for each of us teachers.”

Rong Yang gave an awkward laugh, trying to change the subject. ”They’re already made?”

”Not yet. The student on gate duty told me when Jiao Tengda and Lu Mang snuck out of school to find a tailor.” As she spoke, Yang Chunxi smiled. ”They were probably planning a surprise for us teachers, so I didn’t ask them about it.”

”Oh? Jiao Tengda didn’t go home for the New Year either?” Rong Yang asked curiously.

Lu Mang wasn’t leaving because his family had already moved here, but Jiao Tengda’s home was in Sichuan and Shu.

After all, Jiao Tengda was still a seventeen-year-old kid. He hadn’t even gone home for summer break and had spent a whole year in this bitterly cold land. He must be homesick.

But Yang Chunxi just sighed softly and said, ”Actually, none of the Little Souls left this year.”

Rong Yang: ”Hm?”

A trace of worry crossed Yang Chunxi’s face. ”For the New Year, the school let the students go home, but many teams were required to stay. The Little Souls were among those Principal Mei asked to remain.”

Rong Yang hesitated for a moment before offering some comfort. ”They’re not children anymore. They’ve all advanced to the Soul Captain stage. They’re considered qualified combatants, and they’ve been embedded with high-quality Soul Pearls and Soul Skills.”

”Mm…” Yang Chunxi gave a noncommittal response and just said, ”After New Year’s Eve dinner tonight, I have to go back to the school tomorrow. Principal Mei’s orders. You…”

Rong Yang’s smile was warm and gentle. ”I’m still in my recovery phase. I’ll go back with you. The school will welcome an alumnus back to experience life at his alma mater.”

”Okay.” Hearing this, the faint worry on Yang Chunxi’s face finally eased, and her expression bloomed into a smile. She said softly, ”After I see this class of the Junior Class through to graduation, I’ll join the Snow Burning Army.”

Rong Yang froze for a second. ”What?”

Yang Chunxi gave Rong Yang a playful glare. ”What, you think you can just leave the army and become a teacher at Pine Soul Soul Martial?”

”Ah, well…” Rong Yang subconsciously rubbed the back of his head. He looked exactly like Rong Taotao in that moment, as if they were cast from the same mold.

Except, of course, Rong Yang was taller, more handsome, and had more charisma than Rong Taotao.

”Being separated like this all the time isn’t a solution,” Yang Chunxi said softly with a sigh. ”Taotao and Ling Wei have a great lifestyle. I’m very envious.”

Hearing her words, Rong Yang was silent for a moment before saying, ”That’s mainly because Taotao has his student status as a cover, so he has a bit more freedom. He can…”

”No.” Yang Chunxi suddenly cut him off. She looked into his eyes with a smile and said softly, ”That’s not the real reason.”

Rong Yang paused, confused. ”What do you mean?”

Yang Chunxi said gently, ”You two are brothers from the same family. If you wanted to, you could be a little more willful. You could have a little more freedom too.

”But… you’ve already defined yourself as a soldier. You’re too upright, too by-the-book.”

Rong Yang: ”I…”

”Sister-in-law~” Rong Taotao and Gao Lingwei appeared at the entrance.

The smile on Yang Chunxi’s face softened considerably. Acting as if nothing had happened, she waved them over. ”Come on, take the clothes and go try them on in the fitting room.”

Rong Taotao took the white woolen sweaters. One was slim-fitting, obviously a woman’s style, while the other was looser—clearly Rong Taotao’s preferred style of dress.

Yang Chunxi watched with a smile as the two took the clothes into the fitting rooms. She said softly, ”If we keep living like this day after day, with you not changing and me not changing, if we just maintain the status quo… I’m afraid I really will end up raising Taotao like my own son.”

Getting married, starting a family, bringing a new life into the world, watching them grow up day by day, and growing old with the one you love…

She wanted that kind of happiness.

But the shitty part was, as a renowned and respected teacher at Pine Soul and an incredibly powerful Soul Martial Artist who could easily decide a person’s life or death, she had to fight tooth and nail just to get close to the happiness of a normal life.

She knew it was difficult, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying to achieve it.

Yang Chunxi said, ”Rong Yang, enjoying life and achieving your goals aren’t mutually exclusive. They don’t have to be in conflict.”

Hearing Yang Chunxi’s murmurs, Rong Yang fell silent.

Behind Rong Yang, Rong Taotao’s ethereal figure stood silently. Watching his sister-in-law’s gaze drift toward the fitting rooms, he said softly, ”Brother.”

Rong Yang didn’t react, as if he had known all along that Rong Taotao was standing behind him.

Rong Taotao continued, ”I’ve asked everyone around me, but I forgot to ask you.”

Looking at Rong Yang’s back, Rong Taotao asked quietly, ”What is your belief? What is your purpose for coming to the Snow Realm?”

Rong Yang lowered his head and adjusted the shopping bags in his hands. His reply came to Rong Taotao’s mind:

”When she left us, you were just a baby in swaddling clothes. You didn’t know anything, and you didn’t have to go through any of it.

”But I… I was eight years old that year.”

In the fitting room, Rong Taotao had just pulled the woolen sweater over his head. His hands were gripping the hem, not yet having pulled it down, when his movements stiffened slightly.

’He could be certain that, given Rong Yang’s length of service, the frequency of his missions, and his power level, it was impossible that his brother hadn’t seen their mother.’

’So, Rong Yang was different from him. His goal definitely wasn’t to see their mother or be reunited with her.’

’Yang Chunxi’s words were also interesting. What did she mean by ”enjoying life and achieving your goals aren’t mutually exclusive”?’

Those two simple sentences from his brother and sister-in-law were enough for Rong Taotao to infer some terrifying information. The meaning behind Rong Yang’s words was clear: his purpose for coming to the Snow Realm was also for their mother, Xu Fenghua.

’So what has Rong Yang been doing all this time? What can he do, or rather… what does he *want* to do?’

’If it’s not that they haven’t met, if it’s not that he can’t contact her, if it’s not…’

’Then… is Mother in some kind of trouble? Or maybe…’

CLICK. The sound of a door opening came from the next fitting room.

Gao Lingwei walked out wearing the white woolen sweater. Yang Chunxi’s eyes lit up. Looking at the elegant, beautiful, and serene girl, Yang Chunxi nodded in satisfaction, her heart filled with delight. ”Not bad, not bad at all…”

Gao Lingwei smiled and nodded, then turned to the other fitting room and asked softly, ”Taotao, are you not done changing yet?”

”Ah, coming.”

Inside the fitting room, Rong Taotao called out in response. He slowly lowered the hem of the loose woolen sweater, a self-deprecating smile on his face.

’That’s right, Rong Taotao.’

’Why do you think you’re so special?’

’Why… do you think you’re the only one with a dream?’