The sky was clear, the breeze gentle, and Wan Shao sat inside with her eyes closed, resting.
However, the knocking at the door was quite noisy.
“…Hey, Wan Shao, open the door.”
The incessant banging—more like pounding—was accompanied by the voice of her good friend, Shang Can. Yet, this time, her tone was not as casual as usual; it sounded almost gritted.
“…”
Wan Shao shrank her neck and resolutely covered her ears, determined to sit there like a monk in meditation.
After a while, the noise finally quieted down, and Wan Shao secretly sighed in relief, thinking that perhaps her friend had decided to stop trying to drag her out. But just as she relaxed, she caught a whiff of something burning, causing her to stiffen in fright and quickly turn around.
But it was too late. Shang Can burst through the door, her expression cold, and the latch that had been firmly in place was now just a pile of ash on the floor.
“Are you deaf?” Shang Can said, crossing her arms with a half-smile that was anything but friendly. The words that came out of her mouth were harsh, and Wan Shao could even feel the anger seeping through the white cloth covering her face. “Or have you gone mute? You didn’t respond at all, and just a moment ago, you were still able to speak!”
“…” Standing in the corner, Wan Shao was momentarily speechless. She awkwardly changed the subject, “Why did you burn down the inn’s door? That’s not right…”
“If you had come to open the door sooner, I wouldn’t have had to burn it. You’re paying for this door.”
“Why are you so stingy!”
Having snuck out without much money, the mention of payment made her heart ache. Instinctively, Wan Shao snapped back but was quickly silenced by Shang Can’s threatening “hmm.” She swallowed her anger, saying, “…I’ll pay for it. After all, I disturbed you and Yun Zhongjun; consider it an apology.”
“…”
Finally addressing the matter at hand, Shang Can didn’t know how to start. She rubbed her temples, which ached slightly, and let out a deep sigh.
“…You need to listen to me. What happened earlier isn’t what you think.”
“Is that so?” Wan Shao sounded doubtful, but her tone quickly shifted to one of sudden understanding. “After I came back, I thought maybe you were just checking on Yun Zhongjun’s injuries—so it turns out it’s not what I imagined! So you two are involved!”
“That’s not it. I misspoke. It’s exactly as you thought.”
Frustrated by Wan Shao’s illogical reasoning, Shang Can struggled to muster some patience and explained, “I was indeed checking if Yun Duan was hurt; don’t misunderstand, and don’t speak recklessly in front of Yun Duan.”
Wan Shao fell silent for a moment, mumbling thoughtfully, “Checking…”
The word sounded particularly inappropriate coming from her lips.
Feeling exhausted, Shang Can recounted the unusual behavior of Yun Duan during last night’s nocturnal wandering, including the mysterious pattern on her waist. She concluded, “That’s it; I have no involvement with her.”
In her heart, Wan Shao thought if they could call themselves ‘clean’ like this, then there would be no such thing as romance in this world. But she didn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she turned to glance in the direction of Shang Can’s room, lowering her voice to ask, “…So how is Yun Zhongjun now?”
A faint blush quickly spread across Shang Can’s fair, well-defined face. She turned away, feigning calmness as she replied, “She’s resting.”
“…”
Wan Shao hesitated to respond. Just then, she saw Shang Can hastily add, “What I mean is, she needs to rest after last night’s nocturnal wandering; it has nothing to do with what happened earlier—Are you laughing, Wan Shao?”
Oh no, despite being blind, this person was still so perceptive. Wan Shao hurriedly concealed her relaxed smile and pretended to be serious, shaking her head, “No, I’m just thinking about Yun Zhongjun’s nocturnal symptoms.”
Once that topic was broached, Shang Can lost interest in causing trouble, immediately following up with questions. “Do you have any clues? Her nocturnal wanderings have increased recently, and I’m worried it will affect her health if it continues. I don’t know if it’s because of the repression she felt after our reunion that has led to more frequent episodes, but if this condition worsens, I fear…”
“Stop, stop, calm down a bit.” Seeing Shang Can’s frown deepen, as if she was about to launch into a lengthy monologue, Wan Shao had to interrupt, “You’re saying you two are clean, right? Why are you so concerned about her?”
“…What does that have to do with anything? Can’t I care for someone while being clean?” Shang Can averted her gaze silently, maintaining a straight face. “If you were wandering at night, I’d worry about you too.”
Wan Shao could no longer hold back, retorting, “You’re talking nonsense! If I also had a nocturnal wandering condition, I might get caught by enemies passing by and boiled for soup, and you’d still be sleeping soundly in bed.”
“No way,” Shang Can firmly denied. “I’m currently keeping my eyes closed.”
She realized that whenever it came to Yun Duan, Shang Can’s ability to change the subject was nearly flawless. Wan Shao rolled her eyes silently, not wanting to waste time chatting with this serious nonsense. She stated seriously, “Afterward, let me take a good look at Yun Zhongjun. From what you said, her nocturnal wanderings are indeed unusual. Can I take a look at that mark on her waist?”
Feigning confusion at the question, Shang Can raised her eyebrows and said, “You should ask Yun Duan; I can’t make that decision.”
In her heart, Wan Shao thought, ‘I can see you have quite a say in Yun Zhongjun’s matters,’ but before she could voice it, Shang Can’s tone changed, growing heavy with concern. “…Actually, I may have some clues about that mark; I just haven’t been able to confirm it yet… It would be helpful if you could take a look.”
Shang Can’s words were ambiguous, but seeing that she didn’t plan to elaborate further, Wan Shao shrugged in agreement. After all, she would definitely have to treat Shang Can as well. Treating one or two was still treatment; she absolutely must be there as a witness on the day these two became partners.
Seemingly a little more at ease, Shang Can nodded at her, and Wan Shao feigned a long sigh, complaining, “Both of you are injured patients, and here I am just working for the two of you.”
“If I hadn’t come—” Wan Shao said, suddenly losing her smile, her tone growing serious, “…what would you do?”
Realizing the implication in her words, Shang Can fell silent for a moment, then smiled and said, “I’d do whatever needs to be done.”
Wan Shao snorted and took out a few medicine bottles from her bag, stuffing them into Shang Can’s arms. “Well then, since you’re here, take the medicine you owe me while Yun Zhongjun isn’t around. Don’t let her worry too much.”
Bringing up Yun Duan to pressure Shang Can was evidently a very correct choice. This medication-challenged person surprisingly didn’t complain at all; she merely frowned slightly and obediently swallowed a handful of pills, grimacing as she washed them down with tea.
Wan Shao nodded in satisfaction and, taking advantage of Shang Can’s blindness, reached out to feel her pulse. Shang Can, helpless, let her listen for a while and then asked, “How is it?”
“…Not so great,” Wan Shao’s tone sounded quite poor, and Shang Can could almost picture her sulking, “You’ve been out for less than a month, and look what a state you’re in. You’re really making your already poor health even worse.”
“Shh.”
Knowing that as long as she still had the energy to scold others, things hadn’t reached their worst, Shang Can couldn’t help but smile, raising her finger in a warning, whispering, “This place has terrible sound insulation; don’t let Yun Duan hear.”
However, Wan Shao fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then worriedly asked, “The sound insulation is poor? If you guys—well, if you have activities at night, keep it down; I don’t want to accidentally hear something I shouldn’t and have you come to silence me.”
“…”
This flower demon really can’t manage to stay serious for more than three sentences.
After clearing up the misunderstanding and taking her medicine, Shang Can had no intention of continuing to entangle herself with Wan Shao. She silently rolled her eyes and turned to head back to her room. But unexpectedly, Wan Shao took the opportunity to keep talking, “You know, I could just block my ears myself; you don’t have to worry about me too much—but do keep it moderate. After all, your health isn’t great yet; don’t let Yun Zhongjun overpower you. I believe in you.”
Ignoring the earlier nonsense, Shang Can looked back, confused, hesitating to ask, “…What do you believe in me about?”
Wan Shao smiled mysteriously and did not respond. Instead, she casually shifted to another topic that seemed entirely unrelated: “Your journey with Yun Zhong Jun has been the talk of the cultivation world, but suddenly, both of you vanished for such a long time. With Pei Chen accompanying you, no one knew where you all went, so they can only guess blindly about your whereabouts.”
She paused deliberately. Although Shang Can had an ominous premonition, she had to ask under Wan Shao’s pressing silence, “…So, what guesses did they come up with?”
“Running away together!” Wan Shao exclaimed cheerfully. “You might not know yet, but there are already several versions of the story about you and Yun Zhong Jun circulating. Rumors are flying everywhere, and the ‘Can×Yun Zhong Jun’ faction is clashing fiercely with the ‘Yun Zhong Jun×Can’ faction!”
“Some even set up private betting pools.” Wan Shao beamed with pride, giving Shang Can’s perplexed shoulder an encouraging pat. “My little fortune is all wagered on this!”
“…” Shang Can momentarily didn’t know what to say, but curiosity got the better of her. She asked, “…So, which side did you bet on?”
“Of course, I bet on the Can×Yun Zhong Jun faction!” Wan Shao confidently patted her chest and added, “I also placed the bet with the highest odds! Just waiting for you to let me cash in!”
Feeling overwhelmed by the absurdity of what she heard, Shang Can chuckled dryly and asked, “What has the highest odds?”
Wan Shao grinned widely, her voice unconsciously rising. “It’s that the two of you will have four children in the future!”
Returning to her room, Shang Can sat up straight at the table, silent.
Yun Duan, sitting beside her, hesitated several times to speak but finally mustered the courage to ask, “…Just now, I think I heard Wan Shao say…”
“She’s just talking nonsense.” Shang Can replied impassively. “She has this quirk where she has to say three crazy things every day. You don’t have to take it to heart.”
“…”
This explanation didn’t fully convince Yun Duan. After a moment of silence, she quietly asked, “…Who did she just say would have four children with A Can?”
…What’s going on in this inn? Can’t they thicken the walls a bit? Doesn’t she realize everything is crystal clear to the people next door?
Shang Can felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She inwardly berated the unreliable Wan Shao and the thin walls, thinking that whatever answer she gave would sound strange. So, she reluctantly replied, “…With you.”
Once the words left her mouth, Yun Duan inhaled sharply and then fell silent. Unable to see her expression, Shang Can had no way to gauge her reaction and hastily tried to change the subject. “How’s your health? You suddenly said you were weak just now. I was thinking of calling Wan Shao to take a look at you…”
However, she was so infuriated by the flower demon that she decided to abandon the idea of calling Wan Shao for now and opted to check on Yun Duan herself—who knew if Wan Shao would continue to blurt out nonsense in front of Yun Duan?
Earlier, when Wan Shao accidentally disrupted the ambiguous atmosphere that had arisen between them, Shang Can hurriedly withdrew, but Yun Duan didn’t stabilize her breath immediately. Instead, she weakly leaned against her, softly apologizing, “…I think I’m a bit weak.”
At that moment, Shang Can was genuinely worried that Yun Duan’s heart might explode from beating too fast, so she quickly and carefully carried Yun Duan to bed, not daring to linger for a second longer. She promptly found an excuse to escape the room to look for Wan Shao.
That was too dangerous. Shang Can felt a lingering fear; she almost did something irreversible due to the atmosphere. Using Yun Duan’s trust in her for such behavior… was simply too low.
“I’m feeling much better.” Yun Duan replied, her tone sounding normal again. “Just now… I don’t know what happened.”
Shang Can forced herself to dismiss any lingering thoughts and frowned. “I thought about it; it must be related to that mark on your waist. We’ll probably need to find Wan Shao to take a look later; I’m not too sure.”
…Strange. When Yun Duan had taken her to touch that mark during the night adventure at Bi Luo Huang Quan, there hadn’t been such a significant reaction. Hopefully, there aren’t any new changes.
Shang Can fretted inwardly, mumbling that if it didn’t work out, she could ask Chu Ming for help. However, she was oblivious to Yun Duan, sitting next to her, staring at her intently with deep eyes, her hand quietly brushing over the neck that Shang Can had touched just moments ago, a blush creeping onto her porcelain-like face.
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