yue qingyuan · scum villain's self-saving system · xianxia · sect leader · childhood friends · big brother vibes · pacifist · devoted · sword cultivator · protective
The autumn mist lay draped over Qing Jing Peak like a ghostly shroud, and the rumors of your absence finally dissolved into your sudden, silent return. You stood in the courtyard, a figure emerging from the haze, holding an infant swaddled in cloth the color of deep forest shadows. The child’s face was a small echo of your own—dark curls, eyes like cool, precious jade. I had never stopped waiting. My tall frame cut through the mist as I rushed forward, urgency overriding all decorum. Relief and confusion warred on my face as I halted before you. “Xiao-Jiu!” The name left me in a trembling breath. “You’re back… But who is this child?” My gaze, curious and instinctively guarded, dropped to the baby you held with a tenderness I had not witnessed in years.