“Lady boss, are you close to the person just now?” Qing He knew that the lady boss had a bad temper and hardly conversed with others. She had to be close to Bai Luochu, otherwise, she wouldn’t grumble when Bai Luochu left without saying goodbye to her.

The lady boss's face turned black and raised her eyebrows, “So what if I am? Why are you asking so much anyway?!”

“She… she looks like one of our long lost friends.” Qing He was embarrassed and reminded himself that he should have properly considered his words before talking to the lady boss. 

After looking into their eyes and making sure they were not lying, the lady boss replied, “We can’t be considered close. She seems to be a newcomer in the Desolate Region and she frequents my shop…”

 “Do you know her name?” Qing He asked again. 

“How would I know? I seem to remember the guy calling her Luo Chu or something… I have no idea. Anyway, the two of you should leave. I’m about to close for the day.” After the lady boss finished speaking, she chased the two of them out.  

Qing He and Qing Rong froze on their spot. They were extremely familiar with that name! 

Wasn’t the Holy Maiden also called Luochu?!

The two of them returned back to their rooms dispirited, “Do you think the Holy Maiden is avoiding us?” 

Seeing his own sister so dejected, Qing He sighed and consoled her, “Just wait for a little more, maybe the Holy Maiden has her own difficulties. If she wanted to acknowledge us, she would have already done so.” 

The meeting between the former disciples of the temple ended just like that.

...

Once Bai Luochu returned to the Inn, Qin Feng brought some good news to her, “Mistress, commander Ying Lan has arrived.”

Bai Luochu nodded her head and instructed, “Let me go and inform the First Prince that I have returned. Bring Ying Lan to my room and tell him to wait for me there.” Bai Luochu was still agitated by the meeting from before.

After giving Pei Rumo an account of her investigations, Bai Luochu hurriedly went back to her room. When she saw Ying Lan waiting inside, she was finally able to calm herself temporarily. 

“Reporting to Mistress, this subordinate is still unable to figure out the situation inside the Desolate Region. Seeing that you have called me back, there has to be something important you wish to discuss with me.”

Unexpectedly, Bai Luochu did not ask him about the Desolate Region, instead she started talking about her past life. “Where did the disciples in the Thousand Brilliance Temple go after my death?” Bai Luochu tried to forcefully suppress her feelings as she tried to stop her tears from flowing out.

Ying Lan was surprised by the sudden question and he replied only after thinking about it for quite some time, “This… this subordinate does not know. In the past, I was sent out by Mistress to accomplish a mission. When I returned, there was no one left in the temple. Everyone said that you were dead but I refused to believe them. I continued searching for you, until I found you in the Cloud Water Nation.”

“Do you know who I just met?” Bai Luochu choked with emotions. It was all her fault, if it wasn’t for her, the  Thousand Brilliance Temple wouldn’t have ended up in ruins. Her fellow disciples wouldn’t be running around the world like beaten dogs.

“Who did you meet?” Ying Lan had a faint conjecture, but that guess was too absurd for him to believe. He didn’t dare to think about it any further.

Bai Luochu took a couple of deep breaths and calmed herself, “I just met the siblings, Qing He and Qing Rong.” 

Ying Lan was dumbstruck. He took a step back as his legs became shaky. “Mistress, are you sure you didn’t mistake them for somebody else?”

Bai Luochu shut her eyes and she forced her tears back. “I’m sure I met them. If I am able to differentiate my bodyguard by looking at their build alone, there is no way I will forget about the fellow disciples in the temple.”

Ying Lan fell into contemplation. Bai Luochu’s memory was extremely good and it was indeed impossible for her to mistake her fellow disciples as someone else.

“Did Mistress acknowledge them?” Ying Lan felt that the trip to the Desolate Region would be worth it if she did.

Bai Luochu sat back down on the chair, depressed. She shook her head and helplessly said, “I didn’t…”

“Why? Mistress, you clearly miss them too!” Ying Lan didn’t understand the reason behind Bai Luochu’s actions.

Bai Luochu coldly mocked herself, “Ah, Ying Lan, look at me right now. I can’t be compared to the Holy Maiden of the past. I can’t even protect them… What’s the point of reuniting with them if it means putting them in danger?”

Ying Lan felt that her reasoning was sound. Three years had already passed and Bai Luochu had been missing all this while. If not for his unexpected encounter with her, he would still be looking for her. She was indeed weaker than she was three years ago. If she didn’t call out his name back then, he would never have believed that she was still alive.

“How does Mistress plan to resolve this?” Ying Lan asked. He knew that if his mistress was willing to talk to him about this, it meant that she was still sentimental about her past. 

After pondering for a long time, Bai Luochu instructed him, “You can go ahead and make some inquiries in the next few days. Look for those people who have arrived recently with suspicious backgrounds. Try to make contact with Qing He and Qing Rong. If you are unable to… I guess it means that we’re not fated.”

“Mistress, from your letter, I can tell that the situation in the Desolate Region is very messy. The undercurrents are surging and it seems as though chaos is about to break out at any time. What are you planning to do?”

Bai Luochu agreed with his analysis, “After our investigations, I have decided to enter the ruins with Pei Rumo.”