The weather was great, and the sunlight was intense.
Shang Can slowly walked out of the courtyard gate and turned back to check the barrier one more time. The entire residence was now surrounded tightly by her spiritual power, so much so that even an ant couldn’t crawl in. It was an extraordinarily strong protective shield.
A small demon, transformed into human form, peeked at Shang Can’s actions from a distance. This was one of the demons from Biluohuangquan that Wan Shao had mentioned were secretly assigned to protect them in Yun City. One of them, trembling with fear, cautiously walked up to Shang Can and asked in a soft, tentative voice, “Master Can, you’re…?”
Shang Can didn’t respond immediately. After confirming the barrier was flawless, she turned her head towards the voice and said calmly, “I’m going out for a bit. You all keep watch here.”
Her voice was calm, without much emotion, yet the small demon felt that Shang Can was even more indifferent than usual, causing an inexplicable sense of instinctual fear to rise within. However, it still mustered the courage to ask, trembling, “Isn’t the Lord Demon Master… accompanying you?”
“…” Shang Can remained silent for a moment before replying, “Wan Shao is asleep, probably from drinking too much. She’ll likely be out for a while.”
It seemed she didn’t intend to stay long. As she turned away, she added in a casual tone, “No worries, it’s nothing important. I can handle it myself. Just stay vigilant until they wake up. I’ve set up the barrier; if it’s disturbed, I’ll sense it. Don’t move unnecessarily.”
The small demon didn’t dare defy her and nodded repeatedly, watching nervously as Shang Can walked away, feeling increasingly uneasy about her unusual behavior. Sensing this, Shang Can suddenly stopped.
After a brief hesitation, she spoke in a low voice, “Yunduan— I mean, Yun Zhongjun— doesn’t eat much, so she’ll probably wake up before Wan Shao.”
“If she asks about me, just tell her—”
Shang Can abruptly stopped, falling silent for a long time before lowering her head, letting out a faint chuckle. “Just tell her you don’t know. Don’t worry, she’s kind; she won’t make things difficult for you.”
After saying this, she made no further stops, and without waiting for the small demon’s response, she walked straight towards the gate of Yun City.
Shang Can had spent a long time in Yun City, and many people on the street recognized her. Along the way, she responded to several greetings. After all, Shang Can usually went out with Yunduan by her side, so seeing her alone now naturally prompted some concern. Shang Can didn’t mind and patiently answered each person.
“Mm, no worries, I know my way.”
“She—she’s at home.” As soon as she said this, Shang Can furrowed her brows as if realizing something, then pursed her lips and forced a gentle smile. “I’m just taking a walk. It’s not something that always requires her company. She’s tired too, and I’d feel bad.”
“Today… probably not. Next time, if there’s an opportunity, I’ll definitely visit again.”
She nodded politely as a farewell, finally extricating herself from the greetings and leaving the city gate. Aunt Wang, who had just spoken with her, still felt uneasy— the child’s eyes didn’t seem to be healed yet. Wasn’t it dangerous to run off outside the city? But when she turned around to call Shang Can back, the slender figure dressed in white had already vanished.
The weather was great, the sunlight intense, and Shang Can left Yun City alone.
Biluohuangquan.
The night crow, who had been busy searching for Qin Yi’s whereabouts under Wan Shao’s orders, was growing frustrated at the lack of progress when a commotion broke out near the city gate. Alert, he raised his head, his wariness only fading when he heard the joyful exclamations of the demons.
“—Shang Can is back! Master Can has returned!”
The night crow immediately shot up and, relying on his species advantage, transformed into a crow, flying over the heads of the demon crowd. The youth, filled with fervent respect for Shang Can, landed beside her as she was slowly being escorted into the city, his excitement barely contained. “Master Can, you’ve finally returned!”
He felt an inexplicable sense of relief, a bittersweet release. It seemed like ages since Master Can had last returned to Biluohuangquan.
Ever since she attended the Dao Debate Conference in Tianwaitian, Shang Can seemed to have changed little by little. But the night crow didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. Shang Can had always been easygoing in Biluohuangquan, though she always seemed tense, with a smile that never reached her eyes. The arrival of Yun Zhongjun seemed to change something, making the powerful yet distant Shang Can gradually come alive, her gaze softening.
Yet sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder— if Shang Can left with Yun Zhongjun and never came back, he would certainly cry. But then again, if that happened, at least she wouldn’t come back from battles with the cultivators, casually saying “I’m fine” while silently retreating to her room covered in someone else’s blood. That might be a good thing, after all.
Though he had mentally prepared himself to see Master Can leave Biluohuangquan, he was still overjoyed to see her return. As the night crow was mulling this over, he suddenly sensed something odd. Glancing around, he asked, “Yun Zhongjun and the Demon Master… didn’t they come back with you?”
Shang Can’s reply was smooth, too smooth, which made the night crow feel like it was something she had rehearsed. “Wan Shao doesn’t plan to return this early. I just came back to fetch something. Once I have it, I’ll be off to keep an appointment. As for…”
She hesitated, her previously smooth tone faltering as though she frowned beneath the white cloth covering her face. Her voice turned vague: “…This is Biluohuangquan. Yun Zhongjun isn’t from here.”
What she said was true, but the night crow sensed something off. He glanced at Shang Can’s face, seeing only her tightly set jaw, most of her expression hidden by the white cloth. He suddenly grew concerned and asked, “Your eyes… I heard you got injured in that fight with Qin Yi. Have they not healed yet?”
“…”
It was a simple question of concern, but Shang Can suddenly stopped. The demons around her, caught off guard, also halted and looked at her. The night crow noticed Shang Can silently take a deep breath and exhale slowly.
“No, not anymore,” Shang Can said, calmly reaching up to the knot of the white cloth at the back of her head. “I can take it off now.”
The white cloth was wrapped around several times. Shang Can carefully untied the knot and unwound it slowly. The night crow, for some reason, grew more and more nervous as she did, holding his breath as the last layer of cloth fell away, revealing Shang Can’s closed eyes. Her long lashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes to meet his gaze.
The night crow didn’t know how to describe what he saw.
Shang Can often didn’t wear a mask in Biluohuangquan. He had long known that Master Can had a pair of strikingly beautiful eyes, though she wasn’t aware of it. And she had a habit of meeting people’s gazes directly, without evasion, which often left the night crow scrambling, his thoughts jumbled whenever he accidentally locked eyes with her.
But now, those eyes—Master Can’s eyes—
“Did I scare you?”
It was Shang Can’s voice that pulled the Night Crow from a blank state. He saw Shang Can smile at him, lifting a hand to gently touch her eyelids, likely still unaccustomed to the light after such a long time. The surrounding demons reflected the scene he had just witnessed, and whispers behind him gradually turned into small cheers.
“No, not at all…” The Night Crow snapped back to reality, unable to hide his shock as he stammered, “I just… didn’t know…”
Shang Can tilted her head, reaching out to lightly touch his left wing. His cultivation was still shallow, and in human form, his left arm remained a crow’s wing, making his transformation into a humanoid quite clumsy compared to other demons, and thus he was unable to walk freely among humans on the streets.
“It’s all pretty much the same,” Shang Can said, pulling her hand back after a brief touch, and she blinked at him gently. “Was it frightening?”
“How could it be!” The Night Crow instinctively raised his voice, desperately denying it. “It’s not frightening at all; it’s beautiful! As long as your eyes aren’t hurt, then everything else…”
He wanted to say, “everything else doesn’t matter,” but suddenly felt embarrassed. Shang Can didn’t press him further; she simply smiled and continued walking.
The demons on the street were festive, and the Night Crow gradually began to digest the sight he had just witnessed, feeling his emotions rising with the atmosphere.
Yet the more vibrant the street became, the more he felt Shang Can’s calmness beside him. This calmness stifled his joy. He cautiously glanced at her; Shang Can wore a serene expression, devoid of any special emotion. Her eyes sparkled, as if all the light of the azure sky and the yellow springs were captured in her gaze, dazzlingly bright, her entire being radiating brilliance, true to her name.
He wanted to ask Shang Can about her current emotions, but a sense of inexplicable fear held him back. After glancing a few times, he lowered his head, keeping that image locked away in his heart.
He couldn’t tell if it was just his illusion, but ever since Shang Can removed the white cloth, she seemed to be growing increasingly distant at an unimaginable speed.
More so than the past Shang Can, the distance emanating from her seemed to wrap around her, contrasting starkly with the demons’ joy; she was simply calm.
The demons walked with her to her residence before halting respectfully. As he watched Shang Can’s back, the Night Crow subconsciously murmured, “…Does Yun Zhongjun know?”
Realizing he had spoken out loud when Shang Can paused momentarily, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
But Shang Can didn’t scold him for his lack of restraint; she merely resumed her pace, silently entering the house and closing the door swiftly, as if she had only stumbled for a moment.
The air inside the room was not particularly pleasant, and the surrounding furnishings had accumulated some dust.
After all, the owner of this house hadn’t returned in a long time, and Shang Can didn’t like others entering her room. Even if Wan Shao wanted to help her clean, she would be refused. Even so, Shang Can had no intention of opening a window for ventilation or tidying up. After all, she was only back to grab a few things before leaving again soon, so there was no need for it.
She walked to the wall, skillfully opening a hidden compartment beside the bookshelf and retrieving a medium-sized box. When she opened the lid, a medicinal scent rushed out, mingling with the stale air of the room, causing Shang Can to wrinkle her nose. She quickly closed the lid and stuffed the entire box into her magically enhanced storage pouch.
After securing the pouch, Shang Can hesitated for a moment, then reopened it to take out the box again. She turned the pouch upside down and emptied its contents onto the table, confirming that there was nothing else inside before placing the box back in.
The items that were dumped onto the table were haphazardly piled, many of which were familiar to her. Shang Can quietly observed them for a while before silently tightening the pouch and fastening it back at her waist. As she did this, her fingers accidentally brushed against the hilt of Fei Wang at her waist. Shang Can paused for a moment, unconsciously stroking the cool hilt for a long time, but in the end, she didn’t take it out.
She still needed a weapon, Shang Can thought.
She silently recited this sentence in her heart several times, as if doing so would make her actions less conspicuous.
But Shang Can quickly realized that such behavior was pointless. She suddenly recalled the Night Crow’s mutterings before entering: “Does Yun Zhongjun know?”
Know what, she wondered. Was it about how her eyes weren’t actually injured, and that she had merely fabricated an excuse to cover up her eyes? Or was it that she was clearly living a stable life in Yun City, yet had silently drugged Yun Duan and even Wan Shao to escape?
It didn’t really matter; anyway, Yun Duan didn’t know.
Thinking about it, she realized how much of a jerk she was.
Shang Can chuckled at her own self-mockery. Among the scattered items on the table, she spotted a small hand mirror. After a moment of hesitation, she quietly picked it up, unconsciously taking a deep breath, and then lowered her gaze to look into the mirror.
The reflection in the mirror looked back at her—her features were well-defined and delicate, but her skin bore a sickly pallor. Perhaps it was due to the prolonged time spent wrapped in white cloth; faint redness had formed at the corners of her eyes, giving her a frail appearance.
Her eyes were cool and gleamed brilliantly.
How nice it would be if these eyes were truly injured, Shang Can thought. Even if she were truly blind, it would be better than being stuck like this after her struggle with Qin Yi. The unfamiliar eyes in the mirror quietly stared back at her, constantly reminding her of her long-hidden identity, and of her despicable thoughts in fabricating such a pale lie just to steal twenty more days of stability—
Smash.
Shang Can forcefully slammed the mirror down onto the table and turned to walk out.
What was the point of thinking about all this? She couldn’t afford to be blind; she had an appointment to keep, one that had been set a month ago, to bring closure to everything.
She couldn’t linger in the Azure and Yellow Springs either. After all, Wan Shao would definitely come looking for her once she woke up. The barrier she set up was very strong; breaking through it would require some effort. Since there hadn’t been any movement yet, it must mean neither of them had woken up.
The Azure and Yellow Springs were very cold, and Shang Can suddenly thought that she should cover Yun Duan with another blanket.
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