Wan Shao is a diligent and earnest physician.
At least, that’s what she believes. Despite the many years that have passed, the only person she has truly treated with care is Shang Can. She might have also checked on the old tree demon in the Bi Luo Huang Quan for its hair loss issue, concluding that it was just because autumn had arrived.
Years have gone by, and Wan Shao is quite satisfied with her accomplishments. Shang Can now is vastly different from the gray and bloody figure she once rescued. Not only is she in good health, but she has even grown a bit taller.
To be fair, Shang Can is quite a decent patient. She generally cooperates with Wan Shao’s treatments, adopting a “if it can be treated, then let’s treat it” attitude, allowing her to prescribe one medicine after another. The only time there is a bit of a struggle is when it comes to taking the medicine; sometimes, it takes so long that Wan Shao feels like she needs to pry open her mouth to pour it down her throat.
But now it’s different. Wan Shao secretly—though, what’s there to be secretive about when the other person has her eyes covered—openly watches Shang Can obediently take the pills under Yun Duan’s gentle coaxing. She feels a sense of pride; finally, someone has managed to help correct her bad habits!
Without further ado, since there’s finally someone who can manage Shang Can, Wan Shao decides to seize the opportunity and give her more medicine. She stands up, declaring, “Since we have no other business today, let’s head over to the pharmacy in Yun City. It’ll help me figure out how to adjust Shang Can’s condition, and we can also—just take a stroll around Yun City.”
She almost lets slip that she also wants to buy some chestnut cakes, but at the last moment, she remembers that she “already went out and ate last night.” After finishing her sentence, she silently tells herself that she could always sneak out to buy some later; after all, Shang Can can’t see—how convenient!
For a moment, Wan Shao feels a bit giddy, but she quickly dismisses that thought. If there are suitable medicinal materials, she must quickly treat the eye issues caused by Shang Can’s disrupted meridians; she needs to let this person take off the white cloth covering her eyes and see clearly.
It’s also time for Shang Can to see the scenery she has been viewing every day for the past two days. Wan Shao wrinkled her nose and glanced at the oblivious Shang Can, who had casually agreed, and at Yun Duan standing beside her. She quickly realized that Yun Duan was staring intently at Shang Can, utterly absorbed, completely oblivious to Wan Shao’s teasing gaze.
Tsk, tsk, it’s not just her who is taking advantage of Shang Can’s blindness.
As they talk about going for a stroll in Yun City, Shang Can has no objections, but for her, it feels no different than sitting at home; she still can’t see any of the street views and feels a bit regretful.
Since the incident with the demon tide in Yun City that year, she hasn’t come here often. After leaving Qing Yu, she has been even more hesitant to return to Yun Duan’s hometown, fearing that she might run into old acquaintances and reveal her whereabouts. It’s rare that she finally has the chance to walk alongside Yun Duan in Yun City’s streets, and Shang Can genuinely wants to see what Yun City looks like now. Yet her eyes are in such a state.
Shang Can silently sighed. She didn’t know whether to blame fate for being unkind. Perhaps, as Wan Shao said, she always seems to be unusually unlucky.
Over there, Wan Shao appears to be excitedly preparing to go out. Shang Can sits in the courtyard, feeling bored, when she suddenly senses someone approaching silently. A person sits down beside her. Before she could speak, the faint cold fragrance in the air revealed the identity of the newcomer.
“You’re quite fast,” Shang Can chuckled. “Well, you’ve always been this way, never much into dressing up. Once you say you’re going out, you just pick up your sword and go. I used to think everyone was like you until I met Wan Shao—now that’s a real contrast, as you can see.”
As she spoke, she tilted her head toward Wan Shao’s room, lowering her voice deliberately, “I guess we’ll have to wait… for about a tea’s worth of time, huh?”
“…” Yun Duan remained silent for a moment, then awkwardly spoke, “I’m feeling a bit hesitant today.”
“Hmm?” This was big news coming from Yun Duan. Shang Can was taken aback and asked curiously, “Hesitant about what? The clothes or the jewelry?”
She sighed internally, thinking Yun Duan had finally reached this age where such concerns matter. She wanted to play the role of an older advisor. But to her surprise, Yun Duan quickly denied it all: “Neither. It’s about the sword.”
Shang Can was momentarily speechless, yet somehow found this answer perfectly normal for Yun Duan. She couldn’t help but chuckle, and to avoid embarrassing Yun Duan, she stifled her laughter, managing a composed face, “Are you referring to… Wu You and Fei Wang?”
“… Yeah.”
Yun Duan answered softly, “Since I met you in Tian Wai Tian, I’ve often thought about returning Wu You to you. Now that you’ve recovered Fei Wang, I should have changed to carrying Fei Wang, but…”
She paused for a moment, then continued softly, “… It’s my fault. But I still feel… a bit resistant.”
Yun Duan didn’t elaborate on why she felt resistance to Fei Wang, but Shang Can could guess it had something to do with the incident when she was dragged down into the River of Forgetfulness.
Though that time had indeed been dangerous, upon reflection, no one could be blamed. Fei Wang, as a newly awakened sword spirit, had been left in the River of Forgetfulness from its birth; it couldn’t be blamed for that. Naturally, Yun Duan shouldn’t be blamed either. Without her jade pendant, Shang Can might have died in the river. If anything, it was perhaps Shang Can herself who was the real cause of the whole incident.
Shang Can didn’t mind it much; she had reassured Yun Duan several times before, but it seemed Yun Duan still held onto this matter, leading to her resistance toward Fei Wang.
This wouldn’t do, Shang Can thought. It was difficult enough to retrieve Fei Wang; she shouldn’t lose a good sword for no reason and continue to leave Yun Duan troubled.
She pondered for a moment and suddenly smiled, “Then why don’t you give Fei Wang to me?”
“Give Fei Wang…?” Yun Duan sounded surprised, staring blankly, “But what about Wu You?”
“Wu You can continue to be yours,” Shang Can replied nonchalantly, spreading her hands. “After all, it was only after you used it that the sword spirit came to be. So saying it belongs to you isn’t unreasonable. You should keep it well; there’s no need to think about returning it to me.”
Yun Duan, who didn’t expect her to propose this, fell silent and hesitated for a while, still a bit unsure, “But Wu You is meant for A Can…”
“What’s meant and not meant?” Knowing how Yun Duan valued propriety, Shang Can simply said, “Since I’ve given it to you, isn’t Wu You yours now?”
To prevent Yun Duan from saying any more refusal, Shang Can simply leaned forward, reaching unceremoniously for the sword at Yun Duan’s waist, asking, “Which one are you carrying now?”
Before Yun Duan could answer, she had already grasped the hilt. The moment her fingers touched it, she felt a chill; a faint coldness emanated from the hilt and instantly enveloped Shang Can as if touching her but not quite.
It wrapped around her fingers and palm, warm yet affectionate, hesitating as if unsure whether to continue.
“… Ah, it’s Fei Wang.”
A strange and wonderful sensation washed over her, almost as if she could sense a kind of cautiousness. Shang Can reassuringly gripped the hilt and traced her fingers to where the sheath met Yun Duan’s waist. She looked up, indicating, “So I’m taking it away?”
Yun Duan, for some reason, seemed to freeze throughout this entire process. Only when Shang Can inquired did she tremble slightly, turning her head away as she softly replied, “… Um, then let’s give Fei Wang to A Can.”
With her permission granted, Shang Can carefully took Fei Wang from her waist, smiling, “Now Fei Wang is mine; it’s too late to regret!”
Yun Duan appeared much calmer now, but still seemed a bit worried, quietly saying, “But A Can should still be careful. Though Fei Wang’s sword spirit has become relatively peaceful, its nature won’t easily change. If you’re going to use it, you’ll need to take your time to bond.”
Her words were filled with concern. Shang Can intended to alleviate her worries, deliberately speaking up for Fei Wang as she hugged it close to her chest, saying, “Bonding is necessary. As long as I keep it close day and night, it won’t have to constantly think about where I am, and nothing will go wrong. You should praise it, or else it’ll be unhappy!”
Facing the cheerful Shang Can hugging the sword, Yun Duan hesitated for a moment. In the end, she still followed her wishes and softly said to Fei Wang, as if sighing, “… Thank you for all these years. Congratulations on achieving your wish.”
Though her words didn’t sound much like praise, they carried a hint of relief. Therefore, Shang Can decided not to press further. Satisfied, she strapped Fei Wang to her waist and then heard hurried footsteps approaching, along with Wan Shao’s cheerful voice coming closer, “Let’s go! I’m ready!”
The flower spirit joyfully ran to Shang Can’s side, thoroughly pleased with her outfit for the day. She was prepared for Shang Can to tease her with comments like, “Did you spend half the day dressing up for a disguise?” Unexpectedly, instead of reprimanding her, Shang Can seemed to be in a good mood, smiling as she said something that caught her off guard: “You’re pretty quick today; wait a moment.”
“Huh?” The flower spirit, who wasn’t very experienced in waiting, was momentarily stunned and instinctively asked, “Waiting for what?”
As soon as she spoke, Yun Duan, who had been sitting beside Shang Can, stood up silently. With a slight nod of apology, she hurriedly walked into the house, her steps appearing a bit quicker than usual. In her confusion, Wan Shao then heard Shang Can respond, “We’re waiting for Yun Duan to fetch Wu You.”
Only then did the flower spirit notice that Shang Can’s usually empty waist now sported a sword that looked unfamiliar. The hilt faintly bore the characters “Fei Wang.” She let out a surprised “Oh” and instinctively reached out to touch it, asking, “Why are you suddenly using a sword? Speaking of which, isn’t your Wu You supposed to be given to Jun Zhong? So where did this sword come from—wow, it’s cold!”
However, the moment the flower spirit touched the hilt, she recoiled with a yelp, vigorously rubbing her suddenly cold and red fingertips. With tear-filled eyes, she glared angrily at the silent sword, stammering, “Wha—what kind of sword is this? It’s basically a block of ice! You strapped it to your waist—aren’t you cold?”
Despite her dramatic reaction, Shang Can seemed completely unaffected by the cold metal, tilting her head in confusion. She carefully pulled out the sword, completely unfazed—her hand remained unbothered, as if she was just touching her other hand—and wondered, “It’s a bit cold, but Fei Wang is made of cold iron, so it’s only natural for it to have this characteristic. It’s not cold enough to freeze someone, is it… Are you really that afraid of the cold?”
Feeling underestimated, the flower spirit was infuriated, practically steaming with rage as she retorted, “You’re talking nonsense! This sword is definitely freezing—where did it even come from?”
Shang Can innocently shook the sword in her hand, saying, “Originally, it was Yun Duan’s sword. Now it belongs to me.”
“…”
The flower spirit was momentarily at a loss for words. All her anger dissipated, and she reconfirmed, “So you’re saying… you’ve given your Wu You to Jun Zhong, and the sword Jun Zhong originally had—called Fei Wang, right?—is now given to you?”
“It wasn’t given to me.” Shang Can corrected her honestly, “I obtained it.”
But the flower spirit was already too distracted to hear Shang Can’s words. At this moment, she felt filled with peace and calm, even the previously detestable icy sword seemed familiar now. She could almost see the four characters shimmering on the sword: “Token of Affection.”
What a surprise, it’s Jun Zhong’s sword! The flower spirit resigned herself, clutching her frozen red fingers, and nodded in agreement.
Naturally, that meant… no one else, except Shang Can, should lay a finger on it.
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