Serene Waters Peak, Direct Disciple's Residence

In the dimly lit room of Xiao Xiang's residence, a lone mirror leaned against the wall. The room was adorned with a few scattered belongings, reflecting the simplicity of Xiao Xiang's life. She stood before the mirror, her eyes fixed on her own reflection.

Xiao Xiang was a girl with an expressive soul, yet her difficulty in conveying her emotions had become a constant struggle. Today, however, she was determined to master one particular expression – a simple smile.

She took a deep breath, her reflection mirroring the tension in her shoulders. She raised the corners of her lips; however, she somehow formed a frown, one that looked like a wish for someone's demise.

"This..."

Shocked from her failure, Xiao Xiang brought her hesitant hands to her face, lifting the corners of her lips, attempting to form a smile...

However, what formed was not a smile, or rather, it was a smile but not one that should, under any circumstances, be shown to one's friends.

Frustration crept into her eyes as she stared at her reflection, the inadequacy of her smile(?) gnawing at her. Xiao Xiang tried again, this time pushing herself to stretch the corners of her mouth a bit further.

The result was a strained expression that felt foreign, as if she were wearing a mask, one that didn't look flattering, to say the least.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. The mirror reflected her disappointment back at her. Xiao Xiang's eyes met those of her reflection, and for a moment, a flicker of understanding passed between them. It was as if the mirror acknowledged her struggle and encouraged her to persist.

Determined, Xiao Xiang gave it another try. This time, she focused on the sensations within – the warmth she wanted to convey, the sincerity she aimed to express. Slowly, the corners of her lips lifted, and for a brief moment, a genuine smile graced her face. It was fragile, delicate, but it held a promise of improvement.

And with that, Xiao Xiang had successfully formed a faint, barely recognizable smile!!

A spark of pride glimmered in Xiao Xiang's eyes as she gazed at her reflection. The mirror, once a daunting opponent, now seemed to reflect not only her image but also the progress she had made.

Having conquered this formidable(?) foe of hers, Xiao Xiang left for her next quest... Meeting Xin Jianyu!!

...

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...

"Lunar-Frost Peak..." Standing at the foot of the mountain, Xiao Xiang read aloud the inscription on the white jade gates at the entrance.

For some reason, she felt a slight tingling in her heart, and her palms began to sweat as she stood there. She didn't know the cause for this, but she didn't mind it much either, as there were many things in the world that she found hard to understand.

"Alright!" Prepping herself up, Xiao Xiang raised her foot toward the entrance with a face filled with determination, which was, of course, hardly noticeable.

However, before she could take a step, "Miss Xiao?" A sudden familiar voice halted her.

"Brother Jianyu..." Xiao Xiang spoke as she turned around, her voice seemed unenthusiastic, which was of course unknown to her.

"Were you perhaps on your way to the Lunar Frost Peak?" Jianyu asked her with a similarly bland tone of voice. However, Xiao Xiang did not think anything bad of it.

]"That boy..." That day, after Yin Meili invited Jianyu, she called for Xiao Xiang after meeting him, "He has developed an inner-devil."

This matter left Xiao Xiang speechless, as there was no information or rumors regarding this matter at all. The Xin Family had, in fact, crushed any and all sources of the rumors.

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Moreover, while she had known about inner-devils, she, like many others, had only known that they are only formed by high realm cultivators, which was in fact not false at all. The Only times when a low rank mortal cultivator has developed an inner-devil is when they had been exposed to external influence.

"That physique of yours..." Yin Meili continued, her gaze piercing through Xiao Xiang, and a bit of her aura leaked, "has the ability of untangling the twisted creations of the Abyss."

"Abyss?" However, despite all that, Xiao Xiang remained unfazed and didn't even react to Yin Meili's aura.

"Just think of it as a place where countless strong emotions gather and form accursed creatures..." Yin Meili's expression turned serious as she continued, "Don't mention this matter to anyone nor think about it."

"Understood." Xiao Xiang answered as usual, not a single change in her expression.

"Anyways," Yin Meili's eyes narrowed, and a smile danced along her face, "The Xins would probably contact us soon to try and get your help for their 'young master.'" Just the thought of having the prideful Xin family ask for her help filled her heart with immense joy. However...

"They will?!" Her own disciple's words sent her through a new spiral of worry. Xiao Xiang's eyes practically lit up with stars as she heard this. Her eyes turned to a golden hue, this very spark of gold was what caused Yin Meili's intuition to flare up.

However, even after days passed, the Xin family did not contact them. On the contrary Yin Meili's disciple left for the Lunar Frost peak. Not only that as if to add salt to injury, Xin Jianyu even avoided her disciple when she visited him![

"Huh? Are you planning to enter the Hidden Realm?" Jianyu inquired of Xiao Xiang as they climbed the Lunar Frost Peak, whose vegetation changed hues to a pale bluish one from the usual verdant one as they continued climbing.

"Yes," Xiao Xiang replied, "Master said that it might help me broaden my horizons."

"That old—I mean, that person asked you to do so?" Jianyu nearly fumbled with his words. Xiao Xiang didn't notice anything— she, however, did know that Xin Jianyu held a slight distaste for her master, as she had 'seen' and felt it with her own eyes.

"..."

"..."

Both of them walked in silence, not uttering a single word. Nevertheless, Xiao Xiang's heart was beating fast. Sneakily glancing towards Jianyu, who was silently walking with a slight frown, Xiao Xiang broke the silence.

"Brother Jianyu, are you feeling unwell?" Noticing Jianyu had been silent for a while, Xiao Xiang asked with worry somewhat evident in her voice.

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Jianyu seemingly snapped back to reality and took in a deep breath to ease himself up, "I am worried about you going to the Hidden Realm."

While Xiao Xiang's ability did not work on Jianyu with great accuracy due to the inner devil's convoluted existence as a living curse, she could tell that Jianyu was telling the truth.

Completely ignorant of Jianyu's inner thoughts, her face reddened slightly as her heart beat even faster.

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"And then, you know what Xin Guang did?" Cao Meihui spoke merrily as everyone sat at the dining table, with Mo Suyin serving food to everyone.

"Ah! Please stop!" Xin Guang desperately tried to cover Cao Meihui's mouth, his face deepening in blush.

'He must have done something quite embarrassing this time...' Xiao Xiang found herself curious about this and asked, "What did he do?"

However, just before Cao Meihui was about to spill the beans, Jianyu, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "Did Junior Sister Suyin make this?"

Suddenly, the whole table fell silent, all eyes turning to him.

'Did something happen?' Xiao Xiang wondered since, as far as she knew, Jianyu would never speak up during a meal. He always remained silent. To her, it felt like Jianyu even considered the very act of having a meal as a chore.

"Is... it bad?" Mo Suyin asked with an awkward smile. However, Xiao Xiang could tell from the colors of her soul that she was quite afraid with a hint of desperation hidden. On the other hand, it was quite hard to read what was on Jianyu's mind.

Xiao Xiang thought that she had to intervene in this situation, however, before she could speak up—

"Not at all," Jianyu spoke up, "I just sensed the traces of your Qi in the food," he continued, pointing to his plate.

"Well... I decided to learn it since I had the chance." Mo Suyin's response was accompanied by a soft, shy smile.

Yet Jianyu's response was merciless, "There was no need for you to do all this," his words were but a whisper, but everyone could hear them.

Mo Suyin's smile faltered. 'There it is...' Xiao Xiang noted as she saw desperation in Mo Suyin's heart run amok, only to be calmed when she put on a bright smile.

"I am doing this because I like it." To everyone else, it might have looked quite different, however, to Xiao Xiang, who could see her soul, her heart, the sight of the desperate Mo Suyin seemed especially pitiful.

"That's good," Jianyu's response was bland; however, his soul seemed much more relaxed and perhaps even a bit happy.

However, soon a black shadow danced around his soul, and soon it went back to its prior state...

...

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Later that day, when Xiao Xiang returned to her residence, she felt quite triumphant. After all, she had been able to use the smile she had practiced.

Even her mother had told her that she looked the most beautiful when she smiled. However, a year into the past, she didn't even know how her smile or any other looked like. So, she had tried her best to smile!

She decided to practice her smile one last time, but what she saw in the mirror was not a smile.

It was a 'frown.'