These words practically blocked all her escape routes.
Shang Can couldn’t think of how to respond. In her heart, she sighed that indeed, an open-minded person was different, feeling a tinge of sadness for herself.
Fortunately, after Yun Duan said that, he didn’t seem to expect her to respond. He quickly returned to his normal tone, handed her the soap pod, and then, still somewhat unwilling to give up, asked, “Are you really sure you don’t need me to stay here and help? No matter what?”
“…No matter what.” It felt as if Yun Duan were in a rush to help her but was rejected, making her realize just how ungrateful she was. Shang Can gritted her teeth and replied, “I can manage by myself; you don’t need to worry about me.”
“…”
He still seemed a bit unconvinced, but Yun Duan obediently withdrew his hand, stepped back a couple of paces, and said softly, “Then I’ll wait outside. Call me if you need anything, Shang Can.”
Even though she knew that even if she fell, she would never call Yun Duan in, Shang Can still nodded eagerly, finally breathing a sigh of relief in her heart.
But before she could completely relax, she suddenly felt Yun Duan gently touch the area under her shoulder blade. His fingertips were cool, sending a jolt of pain and an involuntary shiver through her.
The suddenness startled Shang Can, causing her to lean forward, and water from the tub splashed out messily. When she opened her mouth, her tone was hard to maintain, and she stammered, “…What… are you doing?”
“…There’s a bruise here on your back.”
Yun Duan’s voice was faint, quickly withdrawing as he said seriously, “You need to apply medicine to it afterward.”
Alright, alright. As long as Yun Duan could leave, everything was fine; it was just finding Wan Shao to apply some medicine. Shang Can nodded eagerly, earning a satisfied “mm” from Yun Duan, who then turned toward the door.
It was only when she heard the sound of the door opening that Shang Can, who had been holding her breath, finally felt as if she had been pardoned and slumped down, silently wiping the moisture from her forehead, unsure whether it was steam or sweat. She truly felt that that moment was much harder than fighting against Qin Yi and Nan Shuang.
Fortunately, Yun Duan was a reasonable person, allowing her to pass through this ordeal safely, at most ending up—
Shang Can tensed up awkwardly, hesitating to touch the spot where Yun Duan had just brushed against her.
…It should have healed by now; otherwise, why would it suddenly be itching?
After a rather thrilling bath, Shang Can lingered and left the bathing area, feeling as if it hadn’t relaxed her at all; rather, it had made her mentally even more exhausted.
“Shang Can.”
The culprit that had made her weary was patiently waiting for her at the door. When he saw her come out, he approached her, looking her up and down with concern, and then softened his tone, saying, “That’s good. Do you feel any discomfort?”
“Not at all.”
Shang Can firmly denied it: “Even though I can’t see right now, I’m still a cultivator. My—my spiritual sight is very clear, at least enough for me to bathe alone.”
He clearly didn’t understand what she was rambling about regarding spiritual sight, but Yun Duan still gave a half-understanding “mm” and naturally took Shang Can’s hand, saying, “It’s getting late; let’s apply medicine to your back injury.”
“Sure—” Shang Can casually replied, suddenly stopping, as if waking from a dream. She looked up at Yun Duan and tentatively asked, suppressing her bad premonition, “What about Wan Shao? Isn’t she supposed to be the one to apply medicine?”
Before she could panic too much, Yun Duan naturally said the words Shang Can most didn’t want to hear.
“—Since I saw her sneak out of here, I haven’t seen her again.”
The ominous premonition came true swiftly. Yun Duan’s tone was very calm, as if stating something completely normal. He then continued, “It’s fine. Fortunately, you only have a bruise on your back. I have some medicinal wine for bruises here; I can help you apply it.”
…What on earth is going on tonight! Does it have to be this difficult for me?
Shang Can angrily chastised the flower demon in her heart for bringing nothing but trouble since arriving, only messing things up further. She kept her face neutral and said sternly, “No, no, this is Wan Shao’s job. She has this odd quirk of wanting to apply medicine for people. If she misses an opportunity, she gets all fidgety. We should go find her.”
Oh my goodness, what am I even saying?
She lamented how, to avoid close contact with Yun Duan, she was saying all sorts of nonsense. Without caring how many oddities she had piled onto Wan Shao in her speech, Shang Can steeled herself and said to Yun Duan, “Let’s go check her room. I bet she’s inside lounging around, definitely not doing anything…”
Even if her words were full of holes, Yun Duan said nothing and silently followed her, saying, “…Wan Shao’s room is this way. I’ll lead the way.”
After speaking, Yun Duan took Shang Can’s hand and stopped in front of a room. After a moment of silence, he added pressure to the wavering Shang Can: “I don’t see any lights on inside…”
“…No way.”
Shang Can was momentarily unsure. On one hand, she worried about where Wan Shao might be at a time like this; she couldn’t help but think if she had encountered some danger. On the other hand, she half-heartedly considered that maybe she had already fallen asleep. The latter thought ignited a fire in her heart. How could she have been kept awake all night by Wan Shao’s “moon-viewing” nonsense, while this flower demon was obliviously sleeping? So, she raised her hand and pushed the door open, making a loud noise.
“Hey, Wan Shao, you’re not sleeping, are you?”
But her deliberately raised voice echoed emptily and received no response. Shang Can sensed something was wrong and indeed heard Yun Duan’s concise statement: “She’s not in the room.”
“…”
Shang Can felt a thousand kinds of confusion in her heart, grinding her molars. She turned to Yun Duan and said, “…Then let’s go look for her? At this hour, it’s quite strange that she’s not in the room. What if she got lost or was taken by thieves or something…”
Even if eighty percent of this was just an excuse, there was still twenty percent of genuine concern from Shang Can. After all, although Wan Shao acted frivolously, she was still sensible at critical times and wouldn’t just leave quietly in an unfamiliar place at night—
“Seems we don’t need to worry.”
Noticing something, Yun Duan walked into the room beside her. After pondering for a moment, he said, “She left a note saying she went out to get chestnut cake and would be back after eating.”
“…”
Alright.
Who would have thought this flower demon could do such a thing? All of Shang Can’s worries were blown away, leaving only anger toward Wan Shao—what kind of nonsense is this! Can’t she see that I can’t escape?!
But at this point, worrying about finding Wan Shao for help was evidently pointless. While Shang Can was racking her brain for what to do, she heard Yun Duan, without a hint of worry, put down the note and return to the main topic, saying, “Once Wan Shao finishes her chestnut cake… it might be late. Otherwise, I can help you apply the medicine, Shang Can?”
…What else can be done? Is she really going to say no now?
Getting treated is different from helping her bathe; it’s something very normal among fellow sisters. Shang Can felt a sense of despair, wondering if insisting on refusing would only make it seem like she had something to hide.
“…Alright.”
Faced with Yun Duan’s kindness, Shang Can ultimately compromised. With a sigh of resignation, she held back her anxiety and said, “Then… I’ll trouble you.”
Stop, stop, don’t think about those strange things, Shang Can, you can do this.
Silently admonishing herself, Shang Can tried to maintain her composure as she exposed her back while tightly clutching her robe in front of her and lay down on the bed. She felt as stiff as if she were about to undergo surgery rather than being treated.
…Strange, she thought. When they were at Qingyu, she had let Yun Duan help her with injuries many times without feeling anything amiss.
Really, she had grown into quite an awkward adult. Shang Can lamented internally that Yun Duan was only trying to help her, and she shouldn’t overthink it.
“It might hurt a little.”
Yun Duan’s voice came from above, and Shang Can sensed her sitting beside her, the bed creaking gently.
“I’ll try to be gentle, but it is an injury, so if it hurts, just let me know.”
“…Okay.”
How embarrassing!
Shang Can buried her face in the pillow, secretly relieved that she couldn’t see and didn’t have to face this awkward situation.
Saying things like “if it hurts, just tell me”—really, it’s too easy for someone to misinterpret that! This probably isn’t her fault—is it because she watched too many weird things in her original world?
Realizing that even Yun Duan’s perfectly normal words could provoke such thoughts in her mind, Shang Can suppressed the urge to smack herself for letting her imagination run wild, deciding instead to lie still and pretend to be dead.
Meanwhile, Yun Duan, completely unaware of her rich inner turmoil, quickly warmed her hands and carefully began applying the medicine.
“…It stings…”
Shang Can silently tightened her grip on the pillow, feeling an inexplicable sense of frustration.
Yun Duan said nothing and earnestly applied the medicine. Shang Can knew that treating bruises required a bit of forceful massage, and she often got bruises during her carefree days in Qingyu. There were many times when Yun Duan quietly helped her treat them, just like now.
As memories flooded back, distracting her from her worries, Shang Can began to relax a little. Whether it was Yun Duan’s warming hands or the medicinal alcohol, she felt heat radiating from her back. To shift her focus, she broke the silence, “So, how bad is the bruise on my back?”
“…It’s not too serious.” After a moment, Yun Duan replied, “It looks worse than it is, but it’s already healing. Once the medicine is applied, it should recover quickly.”
“Is that so? That’s good.” Finally finding her composure again, Shang Can let her thoughts flow freely, “You’re much gentler than Wan Shao. That flower demon doesn’t know how to apply pressure; it feels like she’s trying to injure me all over again—ow!”
Before she could finish, she felt a sharp pain in her back as Yun Duan’s previously gentle touch suddenly intensified, causing Shang Can to gasp. But the hands quickly eased up, and after a while, she heard Yun Duan’s apology, “…I wasn’t careful. I’m sorry.”
“No, no worries…” Shang Can forced a smile despite the pain, “It’s my fault for distracting you while talking.”
“…”
Once her words fell, she felt the person behind her pause, and then Yun Duan asked softly, “Have you been getting hurt often over the years?”
Recalling her past ten years filled with injuries, Shang Can quickly fabricated a lie out of instinct, “Not really, just the usual bumps and scrapes.”
Yun Duan didn’t respond, gently touching the butterfly bone on Shang Can’s back, her fingertips warm and soft, evoking an unexpected ticklish sensation.
“No matter what,” Yun Duan said softly, her tone calm and steady, “even though you’ve always avoided the subject, regardless of what you think about the future…”
“I’ve finally found you.”
There was a sense of relief in her voice as she spoke softly, “So no matter what happens in the future, if you ever get hurt again, I’ll always be by your side.”
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