The day Yin Ruyi's parents took her on a thousand-mile journey and brought her to Changling Mountain to test her spiritual roots, the snow fell heavily and the wind was bitterly cold.
When she came down the mountain with the verdict "inferior spiritual roots," her parents were huddled beneath a withered tree beside other people's luxurious carriages. Wrapped in cotton-padded coats, they rubbed their red, cracked hands and looked at her with expectant eyes.
Much later, she finally understood why the esteemed cultivator who tested her spiritual roots had asked her one extra question: "Surname Yin? Are you from the Yin family of Feng Prefecture? Or did your parents have any instructions for you?"
Only then did she begin to understand the rules of the cultivation world, those... worldly rules.
They say the Great Way is boundless, but some people are denied even the chance to set foot upon it.
On her long journey home, she once heard someone sing:
The people suffer beneath the altar of despair, while the nobles atop it hold the reins of life.
They boil blood and roast flesh with savage eyes, yet lament how hard life is for ordinary folk.
Who would willingly rejoice in wearing a slave's bones, bending low and dancing like a sacrificial beast?
They wipe away tears in the wind, pitying the wealthy, while their iron bones crush the poor and weak.
.
Later, when Yin Ruyi thought back on the things she'd never forget in this life, she remembered that bitter winter. Seeking justice, she knelt on the Stairway of Deliverance, while two immortals sat and talked, heedless of the storms in the mortal world.
When she left at dusk without accomplishing anything, the young man who had brewed tea for the immortals ran out after her, carrying a cloak to drape over her shoulders.
When she asked his name, he lowered the cloak's hood over her head and said with a smile, "You want to repay me? There's no need. Walking alone through wind and snow is always difficult. Remember to protect yourself, miss. Go home now."
Looking back over her life, from a young age she never gave up on reaching for the clouds, and even at death she remained fond of the wind and snow.
But she knew better than anyone: how could being stranded in wind and snow compare to walking alone in the spring sunshine?
Self-reliant, unyielding junior sister × cheerful, devious senior brother
Reading guide:
1. The heroine's story takes center stage.
2. The male lead is her senior brother, but he's two years younger than her.
3. Slow burn.
4. To be added.
Synopsis screenshotted on April 4, 2023.
Theme: Be strong and brave, and nothing can defeat you.
