Chu Ming had arranged to meet at a teahouse. According to the spirit bird, he was already there waiting, so Yun Duan and Shang Can quickly arrived at the location.
Shang Can stopped at the entrance of the teahouse and remarked, “As expected of Lord Yushan, he wisely didn’t choose a restaurant.”
If Yun Duan had to eat something, it wouldn’t have worked out well, but drinking some tea should be fine—after all, Yun Duan’s stomach was always like that of a little kitten, never eating much. And after all the snacks along the way, her stomach was probably already full of those little treats.
“Lord Yunzong can just have some tea and digest a little.”
Shang Can turned to Yun Duan while saying this, waving her hand as if to send her off. “I’ll just wait here, maybe stroll around the teahouse a couple of times. I promise the moment you come out, you’ll see me right away.”
Before Yun Duan could respond, the plump spirit bird on her shoulder seemed to understand Shang Can’s words first. It nodded solemnly and spread its wings, settling back on Yun Duan’s shoulder. Shang Can glanced at the bird with some concern, genuinely worried that its weight might leave marks on Yun Duan’s frail shoulders.
“…Alright, then,” Yun Duan finally agreed, though her gaze still held a trace of hesitation. “Just wait for me here for a little while. I’ll be out soon.”
Shang Can wanted to say, “No need to rush,” but before she could, Yun Duan had already turned and entered the teahouse. After exchanging a few words with the owner, she headed upstairs, walking a little faster than usual, as if she were in a hurry.
… It seemed Yun Duan was really afraid Shang Can would run off, even though this time she truly had no such plans.
With rare time to herself after traveling alongside Yun Duan, Shang Can sat down at one of the outdoor tables by the teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and relaxed.
When not in Yun Duan’s presence, her disguise remained effective. At least now, passersby didn’t glance at her repeatedly as they had earlier, likely thinking she was just an ordinary tea drinker. Shang Can was happy to have some peace, feeling a little mischievous as she toyed with the jade mask hidden in her pouch. If she took it out now, it would probably cause quite a stir. Smiling inwardly, she quietly sipped her tea.
The weather was pleasant today, with the sunlight warm and comforting. Shang Can squinted her eyes slightly, quickly feeling drowsy under the soothing rays of the sun.
It wasn’t really her fault for letting her guard down. Since Yun Duan had first sleepwalked in Biluo Huangquan, Shang Can hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in three days.
In Biluo Huangquan, where night and day were indistinguishable, it hadn’t been as noticeable. But now, under the sun, the sleepiness came on strong. Rubbing her temples to stay awake, Shang Can reached into her pouch for a small bottle of medicine. She swallowed a few pills with her tea, grimacing at the bitterness before quickly popping a sugar ball into her mouth to offset the taste.
“I want to play as Lord Yunzong too!”
Hmm?
Shang Can’s ears twitched at the sound of a clear, childlike voice from the street corner, her attention caught by the mention of a familiar name. She turned her head to see a group of children gathered together, each holding sticks that resembled makeshift swords, seemingly playing a game.
“No way! Lord Yunzong has to wear white clothes!”
Curiosity piqued, Shang Can leaned in closer and overheard the leader of the group, a tall girl, speaking with an exaggerated sense of maturity. Shang Can couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ah! Someone’s eavesdropping!”
Startled, the children scattered like startled birds, huddling against the corner of the wall. The tall girl stood protectively in front, her young face full of suspicion and a hint of defiance.
“W-What are you doing, eavesdropping on us? And what’s so funny?”
“Sorry, sorry,” Shang Can quickly apologized, crouching down to their level and offering them the bag of sugar balls she had as a peace offering.
“I just thought it sounded interesting. What are you all doing? Playing a game?”
The sugar balls quickly won the children over, and they crowded around her, laughing and chatting. Shang Can blended right in.
“Yeah! We’re playing a game where we pretend to be cultivators.”
The girl puffed out her chest proudly, pointing to the stick she had at her waist. “This is our sword!”
“Oh—how impressive,” Shang Can said, clapping her hands in admiration. The girl beamed and excitedly started introducing the other children.
“Look, this is Lord Kunyao!”
A child with a topknot styled like a Daoist priest was pulled forward. He performed a very formal gesture, mimicking Pei Chen’s mannerisms, and Shang Can returned the salute.
“And this is Lord Yushan!”
Next up was a boy dressed in white, holding a restless chicken in his arms. He was too preoccupied with keeping the chicken still to greet her properly.
Shang Can glanced at the chicken, then remembered the plump spirit bird that had perched on her shoulder earlier. It took quite a bit of effort not to laugh again. “Very realistic.”
The praise only heightened the children’s enthusiasm. The girl’s face flushed with excitement as she continued to introduce her companions. Finally, she pointed to a child wearing a paper mask and exclaimed, “And this, this is the Canzhe!”
“The… Canzhe?”
Completely unprepared to hear her own title, Shang Can was taken aback, her eyes locking onto the masked child. The little one let out a couple of low chuckles before pulling out a piece of flint—
“—Okay, okay, no need to start a fire. I get it, I get it, you’re the Canzhe,” Shang Can hurriedly stopped the child, admitting defeat with a string of nods.
… So, the paper mask was supposed to mimic her white jade mask. She hadn’t noticed that at all.
And wait—why did the children see her as someone who let out cold, villainous chuckles?
No, no, that wasn’t the most important part. What puzzled her most was why these kids would be pretending to be her—a demonic cultivator, no less. Wasn’t the Canzhe supposed to be the figure adults used to scare misbehaving children into behaving?
Feeling conflicted, Shang Can cautiously asked, “The Canzhe is a demonic cultivator, isn’t she? Aren’t you scared to play as her?”
“We were a bit scared before…”
The lead girl furrowed her brow in thought, but soon brightened up. “But recently, I heard that she helped the Heavenly Beyond Sky Sect and saved a lot of people, so now a lot of folks think maybe she’s not so bad.”
“Yeah! And she even set off this big, beautiful firework!”
Children’s eyes sparkled as they relived the memory, one of them spreading their arms wide to show how large the fireworks were. “I was playing on the street that day, and it was really, really pretty!”
“…”
Shang Can was speechless for a moment, realizing that news of that day’s events had been tightly controlled, and that these children—and the public—didn’t know the true nature of the fireworks. They only saw something beautiful.
It seemed her reputation in the cultivation world had improved without her realizing it.
Shang Can was puzzled. She hadn’t done anything herself to repair her image, and there was no way the people at Biluo Huangquan, with their own poor reputations, would have helped. Was someone working behind the scenes on her behalf?
Whatever the case—it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Her mood suddenly lightened, and Shang Can smiled brightly, her expression full of joy.
“That’s wonderful, Canzhe.”
She laughed as she turned to the child playing the role of the Canzhe. The little one puffed out their chest and, with a haughty snort, said in a deep, gravelly voice:
“Mm, what my wife just said is correct.”
“…”
Shang Can’s smile froze on her face.
She blinked in astonishment, slowly turning to the lead girl, who had been addressed as “wife,” only to see her standing there with a completely composed expression.
Ah, white clothing.
Silently taking it all in, Shang Can hesitantly asked, “You’re… playing as…?”
“Lord Yunzong, of course.”
The girl crossed her arms proudly, doing her best to put on an aloof expression.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“…”
Once again, Shang Can found herself rendered speechless.
—Her image had become completely skewed! Could it be that the rumors about what happened at the inn yesterday morning had already spread to the children? How did the people of Yan Yang manage to spread gossip so fast?!
Her mind buzzed with rapid-fire thoughts like a scrolling barrage of text. She wasn’t sure whether to lament in despair or simply resign herself to the situation, but her head was spinning.
Perhaps the improvement in her reputation had something to do with Yun Duan… After all, Yun Zhongjun’s reputation was stellar. It seems that it outshone Can Zhe’s former negative image. So, when people heard that Can Zhe called Yun Zhongjun “wife,” instead of assuming Yun Zhongjun had fallen into evil ways, they figured Can Zhe might have turned good—What kind of twisted logic was this?!
Shang Can took a deep breath, trying to kick-start her stalled brain. She was ready to clear up this terrible misunderstanding, starting with the kids: “Listen to me, actually—”
“Ah, but I think Can Zhe and Yun Zhongjun don’t really match.”
…Her words were cut off before she could begin.
Shang Can froze, frowning deeply.
“…Can I ask why, exactly?” she inquired, her competitiveness flaring up. How could she resist?
“Because,” the little girl didn’t understand the inner turmoil roiling in Shang Can’s heart. She spoke with pure innocence, “Can Zhe isn’t as good-looking as Yun Zhongjun.”
“That’s true,” Shang Can instinctively agreed. Then she snapped back to her senses, trying to defend herself, “But—but Yun Zhongjun is already the most beautiful person in the world! No one can look better than Yun Zhongjun. You can’t blame Can Zhe for that.”
“Hmm…” The little girl tilted her head, listening with mild confusion, but shook her head decisively. “I heard Can Zhe looks pretty average though. Even if she isn’t as good-looking as Yun Zhongjun, she should at least be better-looking to be a match.”
“…Guh.”
Shang Can silently clutched her chest, feeling as though some invisible force had stabbed her with the brutal honesty of a child.
—Calm down, Shang Can. Calm down. The face everyone associates with “Can Zhe” right now is the one on your mask, not your real face!
After repeating this to herself a few times, Shang Can finally managed to suppress her frustration. But the urge to rip off the mask and show the children her real face was creeping up on her again—No way! What kind of adult gets into it with kids? How embarrassing!
She was basically arguing with herself at this point.
Without having done anything, she already felt exhausted. Wearily, she rubbed her face and looked at the innocent children in front of her.
“Alright, listen to me. I’ve got some exclusive news.”
The word “exclusive” sounded so impressive that the kids immediately perked up, paying full attention to her next words.
Alright, this is it, Shang Can! This is your chance to clear up the misunderstanding about Can Zhe calling Yun Zhongjun her wife! You’ve got to squash this rumor at its source, starting with the kids!
Shang Can took a deep breath, gazing into the children’s eager, sparkling eyes. But just as she was about to speak, the words took a strange turn.
“…Actually, Can Zhe is… probably pretty decent-looking.”
Ah, she truly was a hopeless adult with no sense of maturity.
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