“Friend, you’re joking. The strength of that Can Zhe is truly rare; it’s something that ordinary people cannot compare to.” Chu Ming took her words as a jest, adding with a hint of probing, “The arena match you had a while ago was indeed quite spectacular.”
“I just think it was merely my luck,” she replied. “However, if Yushan Jun says I have good skills, then I suppose it must be true.”
“Of course. It’s rare that a friend like you also possesses a chivalrous heart, daring to go alone to seek out Can Zhe and even managing to sever one of their arms.”
“I’m ashamed, really; it was just reckless bravery on my part. As for severing an arm—that was all thanks to Yunzong Jun’s extraordinary prowess; I merely took advantage of the situation.”
Shang Can’s gaze was very innocent as she tried to clarify: “Moreover, I feel that Can Zhe might not have been in good shape. They seemed a bit weak. If they had even half the strength of the rumors, I certainly wouldn’t even touch the hem of their clothes.”
After a few pleasantries, the probing intent in Chu Ming’s eyes remained unchanged; he continued to scrutinize Shang Can closely. She could only maintain the facade of a “simple, inexperienced country expert,” forcing a smile until her face felt stiff, inwardly cursing herself for getting into this situation.
“Indeed.”
It was Yunduan, who had been silent since sitting down, who spoke up. She nodded slightly at Chu Ming and added, “They were indeed a bit weak. And they didn’t use the rumored heavenly fire.”
“Yes, if this is all that Can Zhe is capable of, it would be a bit…” Shang Can seized the opportunity to change the subject, appearing confused as she turned her gaze to Yunduan and asked, “Also, I haven’t heard that Can Zhe could perform such a golden cicada shedding its shell technique. Did Yunzong Jun discover any clues from the items they left behind?”
“No.”
Yunduan shook her head frankly, stating, “I didn’t find anything. I handed it over to the Heavenly Outer Realm to investigate, but there hasn’t been any news yet.”
Compared to the indirect and probing way Chu Ming was trying to extract information from Shang Can, Yunduan’s straightforwardness was rather endearing. Shang Can pretended to ponder and said, “I wish I had taken the opportunity to lift their mask at that time—otherwise, should I try going again?”
“Absolutely not.” Chu Ming cut in decisively, lowering his voice, “The matter regarding Can Zhe has been entrusted to the Heavenly Outer Realm. Acting alone carries too much risk; we cannot guarantee that Can Zhe will be as easy to deal with as last night when they reappear. You must not act recklessly.”
“Mm, thank you for the guidance, Yushan Jun.”
Shang Can was waiting for this acknowledgment. After expressing her thanks, she promptly stood up, clasped her hands towards him, and casually pointed towards the exit.
“Does Yushan Jun have anything else to discuss? If not, I will take my leave—”
Chu Ming paused, blinking in surprise before he realized and hurriedly returned the gesture, saying, “No, no, I apologize for taking up your time.”
He clearly still had a bunch of questions he hadn’t finished asking, yet he didn’t dare to directly stop her. Chu Ming was as polite as ever.
However, she had no intention of reminiscing. Since she already knew there were no clues on those items, Shang Can felt there was no need to continue accompanying them.
After bidding farewell to the two, Shang Can turned and left. Once she reached a place where they couldn’t see her, she relaxed her shoulders.
On a public level, she indeed had something to hide; the best strategy was to slip away before she said too much.
On a personal level—putting on a facade in front of those two was exhausting.
Shang Can felt somewhat weary in her heart, and with no progress on the false Can Zhe matter, she was even more anxious. She slowed her pace, deep in thought as she walked back to her quarters.
Yunduan and the others found Can Zhe strange, but she knew full well that it was a fake. This was a matter that should ideally be known to the righteous sects, yet for now, there was no way to let them realize it without leaving traces—after all, she couldn’t go out as the genuine article and create a scene, could she?
It seemed potentially useful, but the risks were too high. She didn’t want to get into a fight with the Taoists from the Heavenly Outer Realm outside the arena.
And then there was the purpose of that false Can Zhe; nothing was clear, including whether their actions yesterday might have startled the snake in the grass and what consequences might arise from that—these were all unknowns.
Unclear identity, unclear purpose, and the strange techniques they used remained a mystery. This false Can Zhe was much more troublesome than she had imagined.
Shang Can felt a bit frustrated, feeling like her hands were tied, unsure of where to start.
Who made her be in this debate meeting at the Heavenly Outer Realm now, wanting to get the prize while not wanting to be constrained by its rules? Such good fortune was hard to come by.
Speaking of prizes, she still hadn’t even started looking for where the Heart Lotus had been placed—ah, she hadn’t accomplished a single thing.
It seemed she would still have to sneak out to the Heavenly Outer Realm’s main mountain tonight, at the very least to locate the array points they had set up to ensure her escape first—
As Shang Can was thinking about how she hadn’t slept well since arriving at the Heavenly Outer Realm, she suddenly realized that she had unknowingly returned to the vicinity of her quarters. She thought, since it was daytime, she couldn’t do those “unspeakable” things she just had in mind, so why not just go back and take a nap?
She hadn’t managed to do anything else these past few days; it was just that she had been entangled with Yunduan.
She didn’t know if the heavens were punishing her or what, but in this vast Heavenly Outer Realm, two ordinary people—like her and Wanshao—could take a long time just to meet up. Why was it that her probability of encountering Yunduan was so high? Often, she would turn around or glance up and there would be that white-clad figure—yes, just like the one standing in front of her right now—
Shang Can suddenly stopped, blinking several times in disbelief to confirm that she wasn’t seeing an illusion born from overthinking.
The tall figure clad in white standing before her door seemed to sense her presence, turning around to reveal Yunduan’s exquisite face once again appearing clearly before Shang Can.
Shang Can felt her head spin. She was a bit confused, thinking back to when she left the pavilion, Yunduan had still been sitting there with Chu Ming and hadn’t left yet. How had Yunduan gotten in front of her when she returned to her room? Had she been walking that slowly?
Despite her confusion, it felt strange for the two of them to stand face to face without saying a word. Shang Can forced a smile and cautiously asked, “Yunzong Jun, are you just passing by?”
“Not at all.”
Yunduan unhesitatingly denied her small hope, her deep, ink-like eyes fixed on Shang Can, calm yet elusive.
“I’m waiting for you.”
“……”
Shang Can took about five seconds to replay every action she had taken since arriving at the Heavenly Outer Realm in her mind, feeling that there were too many suspicious points to identify which one Yunduan cared about most. Thus, she could only pick the most recent one and cautiously ask, “Then… does Yunzong Jun have something to ask me about last night?”
Seeing Yunduan shake her head without a second thought, Shang Can felt a little relieved, but then she noticed Yunduan hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
“……What is it?”
Caught off guard by Yunduan’s strange behavior, Shang Can forgot to use respectful terms as she nervously gazed at Yunduan, suddenly struck by a bizarre thought—could it be that her roasted chicken was so delicious that it lingered in Yunduan’s memory?
No, no, compared to such an outlandish guess, she should be more worried about whether the flavor of her roasted chicken had become too similar to the previous one, triggering some memories in Yunduan… Surely not, the memory-sealing technique of Wangyue couldn’t be that terrible, right?
She was frightened by her own speculation, and at that moment, Yunduan suddenly pulled out… an oiled paper package and directly handed it to her.
“Want to eat?”
…Eat? Eat what? Is there something to eat in there?
Shang Can’s face was filled with confusion as she suddenly caught a whiff of a faint sweet aroma coming from the oiled paper bag in Yunduan’s hand. She instinctively twitched her nose, feeling it was somewhat familiar.
“It’s a sugar cake.” Yunduan tilted her head slightly, her fair face still calm, devoid of expression. “Didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted to eat it?”
It had been too long since they had been apart; now, she couldn’t even grasp what her junior sister was thinking.
Shang Can chewed on the sugar cake, feeling too bewildered to taste anything.
This sugar cake was even still warm.
“……So, Yunzong Jun went out this morning to buy sugar cakes?”
Sitting across from her, Yunduan, who had a composed demeanor and managed to eat the plain sugar cake with an air of elegance, added, “Not just that; I was also questioned by Brother Chu Ming this morning.”
Of course, Shang Can knew about that; she had just been interrogated by Chu Ming herself.
With a complicated mood, Shang Can poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards Yunduan.
The two were currently in Shang Can’s room, enjoying sugar cakes in a pleasant atmosphere.
Shang Can found it hard to just take the sugar cake and dismiss Yunduan; after hesitating for a long while, she finally asked, “Would you like to come in and sit for a bit?” To her surprise, Yunduan readily accepted without the slightest hesitation, stirring up a fresh wave of emotions in Shang Can.
She glanced at the sugar cake in her hand, hesitated again, and ultimately mustered the courage to ask, “… Why?”
Feeling Yunduan’s gaze on her, Shang Can lowered her voice, “Why did you go buy sugar cakes?”
As she spoke, she raised her head, meeting Yunduan’s clear and serene eyes, which seemed entirely unfazed by her question. A sudden wave of guilt washed over Shang Can, and she bit her lip, looking away.
“What exactly do you care about me for?”
It was a strange question, and if things continued this way, her next line should be, “Can’t I change?”
Suddenly struck by this ridiculous thought, Shang Can closed her eyes in frustration, forcing herself to confront the facts before her.
It was an undeniable truth that Yunduan treated her differently.
However, the reason why Yunduan treated her differently… If it was indeed as she thought and Yunduan remembered something—
Without realizing it, Shang Can tightened her grip slightly, causing the filling of the sugar cake to seep out, the thick brown sugar dripping onto her fingers, almost giving her the illusion that it was blood.
“—I don’t know.”
“…”
The light answer made all her panic feel like it was hitting a cotton ball. Shang Can looked up in shock, only to see Yunduan speaking again, her tone calm.
“I don’t know why; I just wanted to do this.”
Yunduan glanced at her, her delicate face serene as she offered Shang Can a handkerchief, “Is that not okay?”
“… What?”
Caught off guard by Yunduan’s spontaneity, Shang Can stuttered out a few broken syllables. She didn’t take the handkerchief, instead pulling out one from her own pocket to wipe the brown sugar from her fingers, her mind still in a tangled mess.
… What does this mean? A whim? Yunduan?
So, that means Yunduan didn’t remember anything at all; this was simply her unreasoned gesture of goodwill—
This was truly problematic; it was dire no matter which way she looked at it.
Hesitating, Shang Can stole another glance at Yunduan, who was watching her without blinking, patiently waiting for her response.
Ah, why had she ended up in such a passive position?
Suddenly, a rush of blood surged in her, bringing forth an unexpected boldness, causing her usually restrained eyes to reveal a glimmer of sharpness.
“Of course, it’s fine.”
Shang Can’s tone suddenly turned playful as she leaned forward, her hand almost touching the ends of Yunduan’s hair.
“Just last night, you were pushing me away; why the sudden change of heart today?”
Yunduan stiffened slightly but didn’t pull away, meeting Shang Can’s intense gaze directly and quietly replied, “… Yesterday, you were closer than you are now.”
“Is that so?”
Shang Can chuckled softly, abruptly retreating to a safer distance. She leaned back lazily, staring at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at Yunduan.
“Does Yunduan have some kind of request from me?”
At this moment, her pretense completely faded, revealing a casual boldness. Although she still called her “Yunduan,” her tone was far less formal than before.
However, Yunduan showed no sign of surprise; she looked at Shang Can with the same calm expression and after a long pause, suddenly stood up.
“I haven’t thought it through.”
Saying this, she walked straight to the door, pushing it open. Before leaving, she turned back to look at Shang Can deeply, her gaze slightly shifting.
“I’ll come talk to you once I’ve figured it out.”
Without waiting for Shang Can to respond, Yunduan turned and left, even politely closing the door behind her.
Left alone, Shang Can was both amused and exasperated by Yunduan’s nonchalant demeanor; her temples throbbed.
She had acted abruptly and intrusively, yet Yunduan hadn’t scolded her, nor asked a single question, leaving behind only two perplexing sentences that felt like an excuse for a future meeting… Who did she learn that from?
It seemed that as she grew older, Yunduan’s thoughts became increasingly difficult to read. Did Yunduan sense something, or was she simply taking a liking to her—whatever the case, it didn’t matter!
Shang Can suddenly jumped up from her chair, pacing the room like a caged beast, and after two frustrated circles, she finally clenched her teeth.
Run! Tonight she’d shut the barrier, and tomorrow she would leave!
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