In the morning, Yun Duan slowly opened her eyes.
Her mind was still tangled in a hazy drowsiness, and she blinked in confusion. Instinctively turning her head, she was suddenly startled to see that there was no one beside her. All that remained was a piece of outerwear in her hand—the clothing that Shang Can had worn to sleep in last night.
Yun Duan jolted awake, sitting up suddenly. She felt that the warmth on the bed beside her was nearly gone, leaving her heart feeling icy cold.
“Awake?”
Just as panic surged within her, a familiar voice drifted in from the window, lazily drawn out at the end. The person who had slept beside her last night walked slowly over from behind the bed curtains, dressed neatly, though her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders. She smiled, “It’s just like before; you wake up early.”
“…”
Yun Duan stared blankly at Shang Can for a long moment. When a hint of confusion appeared on Shang Can’s face, she finally came to her senses, releasing the outerwear she had unknowingly clenched tightly in her fist. She discreetly pulled it close to her chest and said nonchalantly, “It’s you who woke up early. How come you’re up so soon?”
That was, of course, because she hadn’t slept a wink all night.
Secretly complaining, Shang Can didn’t show it on her face. She only replied with a serious expression, “Just a sudden whim.”
Unlike Yun Duan, who could carefree fall asleep after a night of wandering, Shang Can had suffered greatly from this innocent disturbance. She felt tense sleeping next to Yun Duan. The latter’s unawareness had stirred things up unnecessarily, leaving Shang Can without a clue on how to react before the instigator had already drifted off into sweet slumber.
Now, Shang Can found herself completely unable to sleep. She lay awkwardly beside Yun Duan for a while but ultimately couldn’t endure the oppressive atmosphere any longer. With great care, she rolled out of bed—this time without waking Yun Duan or finding herself pinned down again.
However, Yun Duan had somehow caught hold of her outerwear. Shang Can had no choice but to leave it behind like a cicada shedding its shell to escape. She felt a sense of relief that she hadn’t been wearing just that single piece of clothing.
With a complicated mix of feelings, Shang Can sat silently in the room, waiting for dawn. She attempted to calm herself and meditate a few times, but ultimately found herself distracted by her racing thoughts. She longed to recite the calming incantation a hundred and eight times, silently cursing her own guilty conscience, as she repeatedly chanted, “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.”
In the meantime, a messenger from the Biluohuangquan was lingering outside her window. Even with her eyes closed, she could guess it was Wanshao urging her to return, but she had no intention of responding. After quickly shooing away the night crows, she shut the window and sighed silently, enduring a night whose length was difficult to quantify.
With a guilty conscience, Shang Can thought, I can’t let Yun Duan know.
Even though it wasn’t uncommon for same-sex cultivators to form partners among themselves, she and Yun Duan were ultimately still sisters—once sisters, at least. The current relationship was even more complicated, to the point where she couldn’t find the words to describe it. The names of the demon cultivator and the Qingyu cloud lord didn’t seem to fit together at all.
I can’t let Yun Duan know. That little thought was inconsequential anyway; what she meant was—
…There’s no need. At this point, there’s no need.
She was just an ordinary person in the mortal realm, and there was no need to drag down a celestial being from the clouds. After all, that person had already graciously descended beside her. She was likely the only blemish on Yun Duan’s path as a cultivator, and while Shang Can felt guilty, she also sensed a hidden satisfaction.
Shang Can was aware that she was deliberately avoiding considering what kind of feelings Yun Duan might have for her. Once she started thinking about it, she couldn’t help but lean toward an optimistic interpretation, which wasn’t a good thing, she thought. How many misunderstandings had started with “I thought…”?
She once wanted to be a senior sister, and now she wanted to be a demon cultivator, but it seemed she hadn’t succeeded at either.
Not intending to untangle the messy relationship between them, Shang Can noticed that Yun Duan was unusually silent. She speculated that it might be the aftereffects of just waking up, so she groped her way to the bedside and sat down, asking, “Are you still not fully awake? You can sleep a bit more if you want.”
“…I’m fine; I’m awake now.”
Yun Duan’s response came quickly, yet it still carried an indescribable complex emotion. Shang Can, not understanding, turned to look at her, hesitating for a moment before suddenly saying, “It’s understandable that you didn’t sleep well; after all, you bit me last night.”
“…What?”
Her words evidently startled Yun Duan, and the tone that returned was filled with surprise and confusion. Shang Can could almost envision the bewildered expression on Yun Duan’s face. Realizing she could now confidently ask Yun Duan about their nighttime wandering, Shang Can secretly sighed that revealing her identity had its perks, and repeated, “I mean, you bit me. Do you know about that?”
“…”
Yun Duan fell silent for a long time before hesitantly managing to spit out a few words: “Bit… where?”
“Where?” Shang Can immediately sensed something was off. Raising an eyebrow, she replied bluntly, “Shouldn’t your first reaction be ‘I didn’t’ instead? Why are you asking where first?”
To avoid Yun Duan using some line like “Because I trust Shang Can” that would leave her speechless, Shang Can pressed further, “So you’re aware you might do some… uncontrollable things while wandering at night?”
That question sounded a bit strange. As soon as she said it, Shang Can frowned, quickly rephrasing, “…What I mean is, you were wandering at night.”
After she spoke, there was a long silence from the other side. Finally, Yun Duan said softly, “I’ve noticed a bit.”
Shang Can’s heart skipped a beat as she pressed on, “When did you notice?”
“A few years ago.” Yun Duan’s voice was calm, “It should have been shortly after you left. I had trouble sleeping at night. One time, I finally fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in your room, holding onto Wuyou.”
“Before that, Master had never taken Wuyou out, and I didn’t know where she kept it.”
Yun Duan sighed lightly, “I looked for it many times but couldn’t find it, only to uncover it during a night wander. Master didn’t say anything when she saw Wuyou later; she probably feared that too many words might lead to mistakes.”
Unexpectedly, there was such a past, and Shang Can was momentarily taken aback. She asked, “So Master… does she know about your night wandering?”
“She probably doesn’t. I haven’t told her.” Yun Duan’s voice lowered, “I never paid much attention to it before.”
Shang Can vaguely understood what Yun Duan had been focused on in the past. She wasn’t sure how she felt at that moment, forcing a smile, “…How can you not pay attention? It’s dangerous; it’s a big deal.”
Her usually fluent speech now sounded halting, as she carefully chose her words: “You might not realize it, but you’re completely unguarded while wandering at night. If you happened to encounter someone with ulterior motives, it could lead you into danger…”
Yun Duan seemed to find her amusing, softly asking, “So was I also completely unguarded last night?”
“…” At her question, Shang Can instinctively recalled Yun Duan from last night and felt that describing her as “completely unguarded” was an understatement. She decisively answered, “Absolutely.”
Perhaps her answer had been too definitive, for Yun Duan fell silent for a while and then hesitated, “…What did I do?”
You pinned me down, not letting me move.
…Saying that out loud would be too strange. Shang Can obediently swallowed the words, responding solemnly, “You… didn’t sleep properly.”
“And you bit me.” She felt somewhat resentful about it, adding, “You bit me and then fell asleep, sleeping quite soundly.”
Pitifully bitten, she had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Shang Can lamented her own ineptness. She couldn’t see Yun Duan’s expression but sensed that the other person seemed very sensitive to words like “bitten.” Hearing her words caused Yun Duan to pause in her breathing, followed by the sound of fabric rustling, likely because Yun Duan had tightened her grip on her clothes in a moment of nervousness.
Only then did Shang Can realize that Yun Duan had just woken up and hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet. She must still be wearing the thin nightgown she had touched yesterday—no, no, no, is this really the time to be thinking about such things!
Shaking her head vigorously, she privately reflected that this place really wasn’t appropriate for such conversations. She intended to let Yun Duan change and wash up first before discussing her night wandering again when she heard Yun Duan hesitantly speak up.
“…I didn’t offend you in any way, did I?”
Offend me?
For a moment, Shang Can couldn’t react. After a long pause, she suddenly snapped to attention, her mind racing with indistinct images.
“Offend… offend…” She struggled to hide her disarray, so she forced a laugh to brush it off, “Like biting my lip or something? Haha.”
She was about to say, “How could that be?” when unexpectedly, Yun Duan reacted quickly. In the instant her words fell, Yun Duan reached out and touched the corner of her lips, but immediately pulled back as if she’d been burned.
Startled by her own unconscious action, Yun Duan’s voice trembled slightly, speaking quickly, “…I didn’t; Acan’s lips look… like they haven’t been bitten.”
…What kind of description is that?
Shang Can was utterly shocked, completely unable to comprehend what Yun Duan meant by “haven’t been bitten.” Even if it was her lips, it shouldn’t be the case that a bite would leave marks until the next day. How intense could it be—so intense—
Her mind, overwhelmed by such wild imaginings, felt like it was about to buzz and heat up, prompting Shang Can to suddenly stand up and awkwardly say, “…We should go wash up!”
The food had no flavor.
Shang Can silently drank her porridge, unable to discern if it was sweet or salty, just shoveling it into her mouth in a daze.
“Hiss—“
In her distraction, she accidentally burned her tongue.
She let out a slight gasp, half-spitting her tongue out as she inhaled sharply. Yun Duan immediately offered her a cup of cool tea, leaning over with concern, “Is it serious? Let me see—”
Shang Can quickly pulled away, gulping down a glass of water and shaking her head vigorously like a rattle, “Not serious, not serious, it’s nothing.”
Though still looking a bit worried, Yun Duan obediently returned to her original spot. However, she then took Shang Can’s porridge bowl, logically scooping up a spoonful and gently blowing on it.
…Just from the sound, Shang Can could tell what she was about to do.
Feeling guilty, Shang Can grew anxious as her ears, sharper than usual, picked up whispers from the bustling inn lobby.
“…Is she really going to feed that person porridge?”
“Yun Zhongjun… Yun Zhongjun is actually holding a bowl of porridge…”
“Who is that person? How dare they encroach on our Shang Can’s territory? Isn’t that too bold?”
“…Yun Zhongjun, that’s someone who wields a sword; how can they serve porridge…”
“Can you stop already? Can’t Yun Zhongjun drink porridge??”
And they were right! Why couldn’t Yun Zhongjun drink porridge?!
Shang Can fumed silently, but quickly deflated like a punctured balloon.
…But it would be best if Yun Zhongjun didn’t hold a bowl of porridge to feed her in the inn lobby.
Choosing to dine in the lobby to avoid being alone with Yun Duan now seemed like a huge mistake. Bathed in many curious gazes, Shang Can regretted it deeply.
First, she was bitten on the finger by Yun Duan last night; then, somehow, they had ended up discussing lips this morning. And now, she had clumsily burned her own tongue—
Shang Can let out a miserable sigh in her heart, uncomfortably pressing her lips together.
…This is really driving me crazy; can we please shift the focus away from my mouth?!
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