That sudden laugh startled Sun Bu’er so much her soul nearly fled her body.
She prided herself on her cultivation, yet someone had approached her without her noticing at all?

She spun around in alarm, and when her eyes landed on Xuan Yuan   perched atop a tree branch, despite her heart being filled with shock and fury, she couldn’t help but be briefly stunned by his appearance.
That fleeting amazement was quickly suppressed as she demanded sharply, «Who are you!? Why are you in the rear mountains of the Quanzhen Sect?»

«Quanzhen rear mountains?» Xuan Yuan  ’s gaze shifted to Lin Chaoying’s maid, who had remained expressionless and silent since the beginning. «Isn’t this part of the Ancient Tomb Sect’s territory?»

The Ancient Tomb Sect’s internal arts emphasized the Twelve Reductions—reduced thought, desire, involvement, speech, laughter, sorrow, joy, anger, attachment, aversion, emotion, and delight. With mastery, one’s temperament would become increasingly cold and indifferent to worldly matters.

As for Lin Chaoying’s maid, who knew what she was thinking—her face showed no concern whatsoever about the current scene.

Sun Bu’er found herself at a loss to counter Xuan Yuan  ’s statement. Due to the tangled history between the two sects’ founders, relations between the Quanzhen and Ancient Tomb Sects were awkward at best. She couldn’t lash out, so instead, she asked again, «Might I ask which fellow traveler of the martial world you are?»
She deliberately avoided clarifying whether the land belonged to the Quanzhen or Ancient Tomb Sect.

«I don’t walk the martial world, so I’m hardly what you’d call a ‘fellow traveler.’ I just happened upon this beautiful place and wandered in out of chance.»

Sun Bu’er grew increasingly wary. This man clearly wasn’t ordinary—he’d snuck up on her unnoticed, his cultivation unfathomable. Yet he looked young, refused to give his name, and everything about him screamed ‘mysterious.’

Hearing this, Lin Chaoying’s maid seemed to take it at face value that Xuan Yuan   had arrived here by chance. She turned and asked Sun Bu’er, «What business do you have with me?»

Due to her practice of the Ancient Tomb arts, she paid Xuan Yuan   little mind. Li Mochou, however, stared wide-eyed at him. When Xuan Yuan   nodded at her, her face flushed, and she quickly hid behind Sun Bu’er.

Sun Bu’er originally wanted to probe Xuan Yuan   further. But now, being asked directly, she had to answer the head of the Ancient Tomb Sect properly:
«This baby girl was abandoned at the gates of the Quanzhen Sect. Our sect on Mount Zhongnan has no other women besides me, so it’s inconvenient to raise her. Thus, I’ve brought her to your sect.»

Although she had a secular female disciple, Cheng Yaojia, that disciple cultivated at home and wasn’t present on Mount Zhongnan.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan  ’s heart stirred.
This baby—was she the Little Dragon Maiden?

He looked at the infant in Sun Bu’er’s arms and indeed saw a jade pendant on her chest, engraved with the character «龙» (dragon).
The original records of the Little Dragon Maiden’s background stated she had been abandoned as an infant at Quanzhen and then taken into the Ancient Tomb by Lin Chaoying’s maid.

With a shift of his foot, Xuan Yuan   vanished from his spot and reappeared beside Sun Bu’er, his ghost-like movement making her scalp tingle. Even Lin Chaoying’s maid’s expression finally changed slightly as she looked toward him.

Before anyone could react, Xuan Yuan   had already scooped the Little Dragon Maiden into his arms. With a tap of his foot, red lotuses bloomed beneath him as he returned to his place atop the tree, gazing down at the child.

The Little Dragon Maiden had clearly been born for some time—her cheeks were rosy, her eyes wide and dark. She looked straight into Xuan Yuan  ’s eyes and smiled.
Toothless—right, she hadn’t even grown a single tooth.

«Ahh… ah-ah… goo… puh-puh…»
She seemed especially fond of Xuan Yuan  , flailing her tiny hands even from within her swaddling cloth, babbling happily.

Xuan Yuan   chuckled, waving a finger in front of her face, making her eyes follow the motion, laughing joyously.

Sun Bu’er finally came to her senses, a cold sweat covering her back. Just then, she heard Xuan Yuan   say without even lifting his head:
«I quite like this child. Since you’re giving her away, why not give her to me?»

Now that he had encountered the Little Dragon Maiden in infancy, how could he leave her here? Letting her grow up in the Ancient Tomb—wouldn’t that just be asking for some future Daoist to ruin her?

«Respected sir, you—»
Sun Bu’er’s tone changed after the earlier fright.

Setting aside his terrifying footwork, the man literally created blooming lotuses with each step—no such mystical technique had ever been heard of in the martial world.

She hesitated, then said, «Respected sir, you are a man. Isn’t this… somewhat inappropriate?»

«You’re so old-fashioned,» Xuan Yuan   raised an eyebrow. «I already have a wife. Does that put your mind at ease? Besides, with such an adorable child, could you really let her live out her years locked away in the tomb?»

Though his words belittled the Ancient Tomb Sect somewhat, none of its three members took offense. Lin Chaoying’s maid remained indifferent. Sun Bu’er, being older and soft-hearted, also felt that it was too tragic for a little girl to grow up sealed in a tomb.

As for Li Mochou, she nodded along vigorously. She herself never wanted to be confined to the tomb forever and had never vowed to stay within it her whole life.
Now, seeing the baby in Xuan Yuan  ’s arms, her eyes sparkled with envy.

She… also wanted to leave.

That look didn’t escape Sun Bu’er’s notice, and the elder sighed silently.

Hearing that Xuan Yuan   had a wife, Sun Bu’er’s heart eased a bit. But she had just said she would entrust the child to the Ancient Tomb—now she was in an awkward bind.

Lin Chaoying’s maid glanced at Xuan Yuan  , then at Sun Bu’er, and said in a clear voice, «It’s fine. Since this gentleman wishes to adopt her, let him take her.»

Li Mochou was on the verge of tears from envy. Just moments ago, hearing Sun Bu’er’s words, she had thought that having a junior sister would at least liven up the Ancient Tomb. But in the blink of an eye, it was back to just the three of them again.

She was wallowing in her sorrow when suddenly, her master gave a cold snort:
«Mochou, do you truly long for the colorful world outside?»

«Master… I…»
Lin Chaoying’s maid remained expressionless, her emotions unreadable.
But how could she not see through the feelings in Li Mochou’s eyes?

«I’ll have you swear again—never to leave the tomb for the rest of your life. This is the last time. Will you do it?»

Li Mochou bit her lip, unwilling to reply.

«Hmph! Then today, I expel you from the Ancient Tomb. Go seek whatever freedom you desire.»

«Lady…!» Sun Bu’er was alarmed, staring at Lin Chaoying’s maid as she turned and reentered the tomb, both angry and distressed. She saw Li Mochou’s teary eyes and quickly grabbed her hand, urging, «Good child, Mochou, come with me to plead your case with her.»

«Grandmother…» Li Mochou bit her lip, heartbroken at being cast out by her master. She wanted to chase after that departing figure, but her feet felt rooted in place.

In the end, she shouted stubbornly, «Grandmother! I’m not going back!»

Sun Bu’er was dumbfounded. She had come merely to deliver a child—how had she ended up witnessing the expulsion of a disciple from the Ancient Tomb Sect?

Even Xuan Yuan  , still perched in the treetop, was momentarily speechless. That tiny figure stood pitifully at the tomb’s entrance, wiping away tears.

«Tch.»
He clicked his tongue.

Truth be told, in the original story, Li Mochou and the Little Dragon Maiden were supposed to spend several years together in the tomb as senior and junior sisters. But now, with his interference, although he’d taken in the Little Dragon Maiden, hadn’t he also caused Li Mochou to be expelled ahead of time?