In a secluded corner of the teahouse, Chu Ming, who had finally calmed down, was pulled aside by Shang Can for a private conversation.
“…I already knew that Junior Sister Yun Duan hadn’t lost her memory.” Chu Ming’s voice was timid. “It was the last time I came here. She told me in this very teahouse.”
Shang Can really didn’t know what kind of expression to show. So, while she had been playing outside the teahouse, happily pretending to be a cultivator with the children, Yun Duan had been inside confessing such a shocking truth? It made her feel like a carefree fool in comparison.
If only she’d thought to eavesdrop back then. How annoying.
She frowned in frustration, which made Chu Ming, who was trying hard to read her mood, tense up. He quickly said, “Don’t be mad. Junior Sister Yun Duan had no choice—”
“No choice?” Shang Can frowned even more deeply, her voice dangerously low. “What did you do to her?”
Chu Ming had originally wanted to defend Yun Duan but ended up putting himself in the line of fire. After stammering for a while, he finally muttered, “At the time, I didn’t know. I just assumed Junior Sister Yun Duan subconsciously wanted to follow you, and I thought that nothing good could come of it…”
He paused and sighed heavily, as if giving up. “So, I used our elders as leverage to pressure her, telling her not to keep following you and that if anyone needed to ‘watch over Shang Can,’ I would take care of it. But she refused to back down and couldn’t give me a reason, so she had no choice but to tell me the truth.”
“…”
Shang Can’s frown relaxed slightly as she leaned back against the wall. In a low voice, she asked, “And you agreed to her request?”
“Of course.” Chu Ming didn’t hesitate for a second. Calmly, he said, “Since she remembered everything, it was clearly her choice made with full awareness. Using more excuses to stop her would be pointless. You know Junior Sister Yun Duan’s personality better than I do.”
Indeed, once Yun Duan made a decision, nothing could change her mind—not even a herd of oxen could drag her away from it. Now that same stubbornness was directed at Shang Can, leaving her helpless. She pursed her lips and suddenly remembered something, raising her eyebrow as she asked, “So, that day when you talked to me, everything you said was just to test me?”
Chu Ming was silent for a moment before he replied awkwardly, “…Yes, that’s about right.”
“…Well done, Chu Ming,” Shang Can said with a bright smile. “You’ve improved a lot over the years. Was it your idea?”
“Yes, it was.” Now that everything was out in the open, Chu Ming felt no need to hide anything. “That day, I insisted on speaking with you. Yun Duan was so wary of me, like I was a vicious dog or something. I’m guessing she really didn’t want me to talk to you alone, especially after she had just told me she hadn’t lost her memory. Do I really seem that untrustworthy…?”
Well, that much was true. Shang Can remembered how Yun Duan had been that day, clearly uneasy and on high alert during her conversation with Chu Ming. She hadn’t relaxed until Shang Can returned as if nothing had happened.
“And?” Shang Can continued to press him. “What did you figure out from testing me back then?”
Chu Ming muttered something along the lines of, “You know this yourself,” and sighed in a weathered tone, “I figured out that you had no intention of reuniting with Junior Sister Yun Duan.”
“…” Shang Can pursed her lips and quietly asked, “And then? Did you tell her?”
“I would never do such a thing.” Chu Ming hastily denied it, his tone growing more somber. “…Junior Sister Yun Duan was already going through enough. Why would I add to her burden?”
He recalled seeing Yun Duan at this very teahouse, her usually cool and composed demeanor faltering slightly. Her shoulders had been tense, her expression unsettled, but her ink-black eyes had stared unyieldingly into his. In that moment, she had revealed her deeply hidden secret to him.
Chu Ming had been shocked, and for a fleeting moment, he had considered whether he should inform their elders that the memory-erasing spell had failed. But standing in front of Yun Duan, he found himself unable to speak.
‘…At this point, nothing else matters to me,’ Yun Duan had said, lowering her eyes. Her voice trembled slightly, as if lost in a daze, but there was no hesitation in her words.
‘I just want to stay by her side.’
“…”
Snapping out of his memories, Chu Ming looked at Shang Can, who had fallen silent beside him, and softly said, “Shang Can, you really need to take care of your eyes. I hope they heal soon.”
Seeing her turn her head in slight confusion, likely not understanding why he had suddenly shifted the conversation, Chu Ming simply smiled without explaining.
In hindsight, some things were becoming clearer. When they had all been at Qingyu, he had known that Yun Duan and Shang Can were close, but he had always thought it was just normal camaraderie between fellow disciples.
It wasn’t until that day that he saw a Yun Duan he had never seen before.
It was as if the ethereal Yun Zhongjun had fallen from the clouds. She was no longer aloof or detached. Now, her heart and mind were entirely focused on one person.
Chu Ming glanced at the white cloth covering Shang Can’s eyes and felt a pang of regret.
Anyone who had seen Yun Duan like that would have immediately understood her feelings.
“…The jade token is shattered to this extent,” Chu Ming murmured, fiddling with the broken pieces of jade on the table, his expression somber. “What kind of danger did you encounter? How could falling into Wangchuan cause the jade to break like this? Did you hit a rock or something?”
“…Let’s just say that’s what happened.”
Shang Can nodded silently, not even blinking as she lied on Yun Duan’s behalf. She listened to Chu Ming muttering about how it was absurd for Wangchuan to have rocks, and then heard the sound of him carefully collecting the shattered jade pieces.
“I need to take these back and explain everything to the elders,” he said, pausing meaningfully. He sighed, “Really, this is something Yun Duan should be going back to report herself, but I suppose she can’t leave right now… I’ll do the good deed and make the trip for her.”
The implication in his words was so obvious that Shang Can straightened up uncomfortably, defending herself, “It’s not that she can’t leave. Yun Duan could go back anytime, and I’m not going to run off while she’s gone.”
But her words were ignored. Yun Duan, as if she hadn’t heard Shang Can, thanked Chu Ming politely. “Thank you very much, Senior Brother Chu Ming.”
Left with nothing to say, Shang Can closed her mouth and, hearing Chu Ming chuckle mischievously, silently made his tea scalding hot.
After parting ways with Chu Ming, the two returned to the inn where they had once stayed, planning to stay the night.
The innkeeper clearly remembered Yun Zhongjun. As soon as Yun Duan walked in, he abandoned his work and greeted her with a wide smile. “Yun Zhongjun! It’s been so long since we’ve heard any news of you. Some people were worried you’d been outwitted by that Can Zhe, but I told them Yun Zhongjun’s cultivation is far too advanced for that—how could Can Zhe possibly be a match?”
The very person they were talking about, Can Zhe, nodded seriously with a solemn expression and chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. Can Zhe could never beat Yun Zhongjun. She’d be completely defeated!”
“Exactly!” The innkeeper finally noticed the person standing beside Yun Duan and laughed. “Honestly, when Can Zhe was staying here with Yun Zhongjun, she didn’t seem as vicious as the rumors made her out to be. I didn’t think she was the type to plot against Yun Zhongjun—”
“Oh, really? Well, you can never judge a book by its cover,” Shang Can replied, casually agreeing as she saw the innkeeper gearing up for a long conversation. Yun Duan, sensing this, cut in just in time. “We’ll take two upper rooms.”
The innkeeper smiled awkwardly, as if remembering his actual job, and said, “Unfortunately, we only have one room left today. Will that be alright…?”
Of course. The classic setup.
Shang Can followed Yun Duan into the room, resignedly sighing.
They could’ve gone to another inn, but for some reason, Shang Can had nodded and accepted the room. It wasn’t until Yun Duan closed the door that it hit her—they were going to sleep in the same room tonight.
They had slept together before, and even if they had booked two separate rooms, it was highly likely that tonight would lead to… What was that phrase Pei Chen used? Shang Can pondered quietly. Right, “burning the midnight oil.” It was highly likely they would end up “burning the midnight oil.”
As she mentally constructed a pile of reasons, Shang Can couldn’t shake the feeling of being somewhat unprepared. It had been her idea to book the rooms, but Yunduan showed no sign of disagreement, quietly leading her upstairs. As Shang Can climbed the stairs, she could hear the collective gasps of a group of people in the lobby below.
But she wasn’t in the mood to worry about whether any ambiguous rumors would spread; she had her own reasons for wanting the two of them to be alone together.
Suddenly, Shang Can leaned in and accurately caught Yunduan’s wrist as she turned around after closing the door, pinning her against it with a soft creak.
The whole process was effortless; Yunduan made no attempt to resist and obediently leaned against the door.
“…Isn’t this just allowing the cunning one to succeed?” Shang Can chuckled softly. “How is it that Lord Yunduan doesn’t have any guard up at all?”
The person in front of her remained motionless and replied quietly, “I do. I’ve always been on guard against you finding out that I remember you.”
“…”
Shang Can paused, laughing lightly. “So now that it’s all out in the open, you don’t need to guard yourself anymore?”
“Mm.” Yunduan’s voice was low, her breath brushing against Shang Can’s hair, sending a slight tingling sensation through her. “I no longer need to guard myself against you, A-Cang…”
Perhaps it was a good thing that she couldn’t see Yunduan’s expression as she said this. If she did, she would surely feel ashamed of her own base thoughts stirring within her at this moment.
Her sudden act of catching Yunduan was sparked by playful mischief during a conversation with the innkeeper in the lobby, but now Shang Can felt her actions were pulling them into a gradually thickening atmosphere. She should have jokingly let Yunduan go, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“…Why are you so thin?”
Usually, Yunduan’s wide robes concealed her figure, but now, as Shang Can held Yunduan’s wrist, it was easy to wrap her hand around it, with plenty of room to spare. This made Shang Can furrow her brow slightly and instinctively grip tighter. “Have you been eating properly during those days when you were avoiding me?”
“…” After a moment of silence, Yunduan finally spoke softly, “I’ve eaten. Just not much.”
Shang Can lowered her head slightly, hearing Yunduan continue, “But now that A-Cang is here, I can eat more.”
That sounded like a rather clumsy attempt at keeping her around. Shang Can chuckled softly. “Well then, I must have a significant responsibility.”
Feeling Yunduan’s body relax a bit at her words, Shang Can’s heart skipped a beat. She finally steered the conversation back to the main topic, sighing, “Pei Chen knows, Chu Ming knows, and I’m the only one left in the dark?”
She feigned a troubled expression, pouting slightly. “Are you hiding anything else from me? I feel like even if you told me that the ‘Memory Whisperer’ already knew, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Her comment successfully startled Yunduan, who seemed a bit anxious and immediately replied, “There’s nothing else.”
“Tell Brother Chu Ming it was to convince him to let me stay, and tell Lord Kunyao it was because…”
Yunduan paused for a moment, then quietly said, “…It’s because I want to go to the Ghost Realm.”
“At that time, I searched many places in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, but found nothing,” she continued, her tone becoming heavy. “Over time, I sometimes thought, maybe you really have…”
She didn’t continue, but Shang Can understood her meaning and responded with a soft “Mm.”
Shang Can sensed that Yunduan was trembling slightly, and an aching feeling surged within her. The hand not holding Yunduan’s wrist gently brushed along her back, and Shang Can remained silent, allowing Yunduan to clutch her clothing tightly.
“Fortunately, Lord Kunyao also had plans to visit the Ghost Realm, so he helped me out.” Yunduan’s voice was closer than before. Shang Can guessed they were now very close but couldn’t bring herself to move away. “…I envied him back then; he knew where to go to see the person he wanted to meet, while I couldn’t find even a trace of the person I longed for.”
Finally, Shang Can felt a weight settle on her shoulder as Yunduan leaned into her, her voice muffled with melancholy.
“Up to the azure heavens and down to the yellow springs…” Yunduan murmured, sighing in relief. “If I had thought to seek you in the yellow springs sooner, it would have been better.”
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