Flashback to 19 years ago
The sun was beginning to set. Standing on top of the hill, Bai Ruyi could see the disciples from other clans slowly trickle in like ants returning to their colony. As soon as the last person was within the border, Bai Ruyi returned to her Eternal Shadow pavilion.
The Bai clan is located high up in the mountains, surrounded by clouds and mist year-round. Oftentimes, it was hard for the sun to shine through. However, on this particular day, the clouds had parted, giving way to the shining sun.
Bai Ruyi, who had been up since the hour of the rabbit, was in her room reading when she heard footsteps running around and the disciples calling out to her brother. Carefully setting the book down, she went outside, stopped one of the disciples, and asked.
"What is going on?"
The disciple quickly greeted her and said.
"Xiao jie, it's the young master. When we delivered his uniform this morning, we discovered he wasn't in his room. We have been looking for him but don't know where he is. The welcoming ceremony will start soon. We don't know what to do."
Looking up at the sky, Bai Ruyi knew it was almost the hour of the dragon. Turning back to the disciple, she said.
"I will go look for him in the back mountain. However, have someone bring his uniform to my room in case I don't find him in time."
The disciple bowed and went to complete his task. Meanwhile, Bai Ruyi made her way to the back of the mountain. Her brother was not a fan of studying and hated long lectures, but to run away on a day like this was just asking for punishment.
Entering the back mountain, Bai Ruyi began to look for her brother in places where he liked to hang out. However, even after 15 minutes, she was still unable to find him. With no other choice, she had to return to her room, change into her brother's uniform, and change her hairstyle. Coming out of her room, she told the same disciple from earlier to let everyone else know about the situation and take care of it accordingly. She then proceeded to the lecture hall and took a seat.
Slowly, everyone started to trickle in and fill up the room. The Bai Clan was known for being a reserved clan that did not brag about their family and children. So, for the past 14 years, everyone was very curious about the twins born into the family from the union of the Bai and Long clans. Besides knowing the children's curtesy name, little information about them was known. Even their genders were a mystery. So, everyone was very excited to meet them this year as they were now old enough to attend the lectures.
Every year, one of the clans would host a lecture, inviting heirs and disciples from other clans to come so that they could learn and bond with each other. The only requirement was that they had their coming-of-age ceremony, which was held when the child was 14 years old.
According to the rumors, it was said that the older twin would be attending the lecture this year as the younger one was currently in seclusion. Excited to meet Long Yuzhe. Everyone took little peeks here and there. However, when Yu Yichen, the younger brother of Sect Leader Yu, looked at Bai Ruyi, he immediately felt something was off. Before arriving at Yuecheng, he had spent some time in the town at the bottom of the mountain, asking about the two twins. From the information he gathered, the person in front of them was likelier to be the younger twin. During the three years, the younger twin was in seclusion. The older twin would come down to have fun or help eradicate evil spirits. Long Yuzhe was known to be wild and carefree. The person in front of them was nothing like that. Instead, the aura exuded from them was calm, cold, and distant.
Quietly tugging on Feng Zhiyu's sleeve, the youngest son of Sect Leader Feng, Yu Yichen, leaned in and said.
"Feng xiong, I think this is the younger twin Bai Ruyi, not Long Yuzhe."
Feng Zhiyu, who was looking for his seat, asked.
"What do you mean?"
Quickly, Yu Yichen explained what he had found out when he was in town. Glancing over, Feng Zhiyu could see that the person before them did not look wild or carefree. Suddenly, it struck them that the twins had different last names. Turning back to Yu Yichen, he asked.
"How come they have different last names?"
Yu Yichen was a proud gossiper, so he immediately responded, saying.
"From what I heard, when they were born, the two clans had not decided who would take over which clan. However, they thought having each one take after a parent's last name would be a good idea. Even if later on they became leaders of the other parent's clan, they could change their last name then."
Shaking his head, Feng Zhiyu found the idea too complicated for his head and took a seat. Bai Ruyi had heard their entire conversation and found that trying to pass as her brother would not be as easy as she had hoped. During the three years she was in seclusion, she did not know what her brother was doing or how he acted, but the one thing that she knew for sure was that he was good at causing trouble.
Soon, the class settled down, and Bai Ruyi's mother, Bai Xueling, and grand-uncle, Bai Lanxun, entered the room. The disciples all stood up to greet the two elders. Smiling warmly, Sect Leader Bai said.
"Welcome, everyone. I understand that being away from home for three months can be tough, but I hope you all will get along, become good friends, and enjoy the lectures we have prepared for you this year. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask for help."
After her little welcoming speech, Sect Leader Bai looked around the room. When her eyes landed on Bai Ruyi, she knew immediately that the child before her was not Long Yuzhe. Noticing her silence, her uncle looked over and saw that Long Yuzhe was actually Bai Ruyi. To avoid any drama, Bai Ruyi slightly bowed to her mother and grand-uncle.
Sect Leader Bai soon left the room as her uncle was in charge of the lectures. One by one, each clan's heir or head disciple came up and paid their respects to Bai Lanxun.
Meanwhile, as Sect Leader Bai was on her way back to her office, she stopped a disciple and asked them what was going on with the swap of her two children. After receiving an explanation, she could only take a deep breath and head back to her office where her husband was working. Noticing that his wife seemed disturbed, Long Ruijin asked.
"Ling'er, did something happen at the welcoming ceremony?"
Rubbing her temples, Bai Xueling sat down at her desk and said.
"Mingyue is back."
"Isn't that a good thing?" -Long Ruijin asked- "We've both been missing her."
"It is a good thing. However, what isn't good is that she is the one sitting in the lecture hall, pretending to be her brother."
Stunned, Long Ruijin took a second to gather his thoughts. Since they were unsure when Bai Ruyi would return and thought it was a good idea for the older twin to attend, they arranged for Long Yuzhe to be in the lecture. Who would have thought Long Yuzhe would disappear without a warning like this.
"Ling'er, don't worry. I'll go look for him."
Bai Xueling nodded, and her husband left for the back mountain. Although it took a while, Long Ruijin finally found his son sleeping on one of the trees. Without a warning, he struck the tree, causing Long Yuzhe to fall to the ground.
"Ow! Who?!"
Looking up from the ground, Long Yuzhe saw his father looming over him. Quickly standing up, he brushed himself off and greeted his father.
"Oh? So you still know that I am your dad?"
Looking guilty, Long Yuzhe did not say anything and only stood there.
"Why didn't you attend the lecture today?" his father asked.
"I... I don't like them. They're so long and boring."
Sighing, Long Ruijin asked.
"So, were you planning not to show up and let others take care of your mess? Do you know who is currently suffering from your actions?"
Long Yuzhe only shook his head.
"Had Yue'er not been here today, there would have been a bigger problem."
Long Yuzhe looked up excitedly and asked.
"Mingyue is back?!"
However, seeing his father's expression, he quickly looked back down. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, his father said to him.
"Yuzhe, I know you don't like attending lectures. Any other time, and I would be okay with you skipping. However, today is the welcoming ceremony and the first time you are old enough to represent our clan. You acting like this will make facing other clans hard for your mother and me. Do you understand?"
Long Yuzhe slowly nodded his head.
"So, does this mean I must go to the lecture hall now?"
"No, the welcoming ceremony has already started, and your sister is there."
Thinking that he was off the hook, Long Yuzhe breathed a sigh of relief. However, his father had other plans for him.
"Nonetheless, you will still need a punishment for your actions. Go to the library and copy the family rules 300 times. You are not allowed to leave until you finish."
"Huh?! Dad, please, no."
Long Ruijin left no room for discussion and smiled as he walked away, leaving Long Yuzhe no choice but to follow. Upon returning, Long Yuzhe was locked in the library with two disciples outside guarding the door. Although he whined and grumbled as he copied the family rules, he knew there was no way out of it and that he would likely be stuck there for the next three months.
Since today was the welcoming ceremony, the disciples were dismissed early. Everyone was excited to explore and leave the mountain, as the day was young. However, to their disappointment, they were not allowed to leave the mountain, as the journey to and from the town would take too much time. Also, there were restricted areas that they had to be careful of. Although sad, everyone decided to make the best of their time and head to lunch first.
As for Bai Ruyi, she decided to go to the back mountain and rest at the pavilion. The place overlooked the territory, allowing her to enjoy the mountains, clouds, and people. Pulling out her guqin, Bai Ruyi began to play a melody. It was common for members of the Bai clan to learn an instrument alongside their swordsmanship and medical skills. However, what was unique about Bai Ruyi's guqin was that it was stringless. The only way to play it was to use one's spiritual powers to create the strings. The stringless guqin was extremely hard to play and took years to master. The stronger one's spiritual power was, the faster and easier it was to learn.
The music floated through the air as she played the song, carrying its calm and peaceful melody to everyone's ears. After a few songs, Bai Ruyi took a break and looked around for her little bunny, Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai was Bai Ruyi's spirit pet, always by her side, but because she had to attend class this morning, Bai Ruyi let Xiao Bai wander. Usually, after hearing her play the guqin, Xiao Bai would know it was time to return home. However, despite many songs, Bai Ruyi did not see Xiao Bai. Thinking that Xiao Bai was having too much fun and forgot to return, she played another piece. Yet, even after she finished, Xiao Bai still did not show up. Worried, Bai Ruyi withdrew her guqin and went to look for Xiao Bai.
Wandering around the mountain, Bai Ruyi called out to her little bunny, hoping that it would show up when hearing its name. Despite her efforts, Xiao Bai could not be found. Just as she stopped to take a break, she heard leaves rustling, followed by panting. Following the sound, Bai Ruyi saw Xiao Bai sprinting, and right on its tail was a big gray dog. She heard two other voices screaming when she was about to call out to her bunny.
"Xiao Ling! Stop running! Where are you going?!"
"Feng xiong! Wait for me!"
Following from a distance, she could see that it was Feng Zhiyu and Yu Yichen. After running for a while, Feng Zhiyu was able to catch up and stop his dog. Xiao Bai, who had been running for their life, also stopped to catch their breath. Seeing the exhausted bunny, Feng Zhiyu bent down to pick it up as Yu Yichen caught up to them.
"Feng... Feng xiong. Your dog runs so fast."
Doubled over and trying to catch his breath, Yu Yichen was exhausted.
Xiao Bai was well known for not letting anyone touch or hold it, besides Bai Ruyi was lying very still in Feng Zhiyu's hand. As he was petting the bunny, he asked.
"I wonder who this bunny belongs to?"
"I don't know," Yu Yichen replied.
Watching from afar, Bai Ruyi saw an excellent opportunity. So, she quickly ran back to the pavilion and played a short melody to help lead Xiao Bai back to her. When Xiao Bai heard the guqin, it hopped off Feng Zhiyu's hand and ran to its master. Disappearing into the bushes, Feng Zhiyu and Yu Yichen decided not to pursue it anymore, pulling Xiao Ling out of the back mountains before it could cause any more trouble.
Soon, Xiao Bai arrived at the pavilion and jumped onto its owner's lap, where it lay peacefully, and Bai Ruyi petted and comforted it. After Xiao Bai calmed down, the two returned to the Eternal Shadow pavilion.