On the table of the pavilion lay a pot of clear tea. Yun Duan casually glanced around the courtyard, noticing many disordered footprints on the once pristine white ground, which made her feel a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
She was not the only one at home; this experience was quite rare for her.
“Is there only tea to drink?” Nan Shuang seemed completely unaware of her role as a guest. After sniffing the aroma of the tea, she wrinkled her nose in disdain. “Your tea is already stale—do you have anything to eat?”
Beside her, Wan Shao didn’t bother to hide her eye roll, muttering about how shameless the demon race was. She was immediately pinched on the cheek by the furious Yuan Ge, and the flower demons who had just finished fighting began to grapple with each other again. Yun Duan didn’t lift her eyes and simply replied, “No.”
Nan Shuang immediately showed a sympathetic expression. After sipping a few mouthfuls of tea, she sighed, “The renowned Yun Zhong Jun lives such a…”
Not wanting to listen to her cliché remarks, Yun Duan placed her teacup on the table, producing a crisp sound that was neither too loud nor too soft.
This sound seemed to serve as a signal to change the subject, causing the flower demons to sulkily stop fighting and return to their seats. Yun Duan looked at Nan Shuang and asked, “Did Shuang Jiang come here for something specific?”
Her question was vague, but Nan Shuang wouldn’t let her gloss over it. With a light laugh, she hinted, “What do you think? Why do you think I came to find you… for what reason?”
Yun Duan’s heart instantly leapt at Nan Shuang’s words. The direction of the demon’s speech was too clear, causing her heartbeat to quicken uncontrollably. It was hard to say whether she felt anxious or fearful; this kind of emotion had recurred over the past two years, like a persistent nightmare that robbed her of sleep.
No matter how many times she experienced it, she could never become accustomed to it. Yun Duan quietly took a deep breath, and her voice softened as she spoke, “… Do you have news about her?”
The woman before her, however, seemed disconnected from her feelings. Two years had passed, and the injuries the Ghost King had suffered from Shang Can’s heavenly fire had healed significantly. At least in appearance, she was no different from when Yun Duan first met Nan Shuang—still bearing that nonchalant demeanor, as if nothing in the world mattered to her. Nan Shuang lazily smiled at her, speaking slowly, “What if I say I do?”
“…”
Yun Duan’s heart skipped a beat, feeling as if a hollow “thud” echoed in her chest before returning to silence.
As the Ghost King, if Nan Shuang could bring her news of Shang Can, then that news could only be—
“Oh, don’t scare her, A Shuang!”
Yuan Ge could no longer watch in silence; she hurried over and snatched the delicate white porcelain teacup from Yun Duan’s hands, which was about to crack from her grip. She reassured her repeatedly, “There’s nothing to worry about; we have no news about Shang Can at all—well, maybe that’s a good thing… but at least that guy definitely hasn’t come to the ghost realm. So don’t worry.”
The indescribable emotions that had just surged were forcibly suppressed. Yun Duan paused for a moment, then turned to look at Nan Shuang, and indeed found her leaning back with an utterly bored expression, sighing as she admitted, “That was too quick to expose; I wanted to see what reaction Yun Zhong Jun would have.”
While a thin layer of anger arose within her, it was overshadowed by a sense of reassurance. Yun Duan slightly relaxed her tense shoulders, listening to Nan Shuang casually state, “I’m just joking; I really haven’t seen Shang Can. I was prepared to pass the position of Ghost King onto her long ago, but unfortunately, she hasn’t come for so long…”
Before Yun Duan could speak, Wan Shao, who had been listening for a while, couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted in anger, “Are you crazy?! Can’t you say something nice? Do you think this joke is funny?”
Even Yuan Ge couldn’t find fault with Wan Shao’s outburst. She rarely held her tongue, casting a disapproving glance at the unperturbed Nan Shuang. The latter, however, subtly smiled and turned to Yun Duan, speaking gently, “Don’t worry; just like I said when you came to find us before, as soon as Shang Can arrives, we’ll be sure to tell you right away.”
She paused and added with a smile, “Besides, that guy will definitely not see the other side of Wang Chuan, so he can’t reincarnate. So even if she’s dead, it doesn’t matter—”
Her words abruptly cut off as Yuan Ge, under Wan Shao’s watchful gaze, firmly grabbed Nan Shuang’s sleeve. The mischievous Ghost King smiled pleasantly, willingly ceasing her somewhat wicked behavior.
Compared to Wan Shao, Yun Duan appeared calmer. Her initial anger gradually dissipated after a few exchanges, leaving only faint ripples of emotion within her.
In the past, she had considered various possibilities, so she had sought out Nan Shuang early on and received a negative answer that gave her some comfort.
Yun Duan considered herself a person who rarely expressed emotions, and by now, she had become even more stoic. At a time when the one who held the key to her emotional changes was missing, even when provoked by Nan Shuang so evidently, Yun Duan still thought that the absence of news about Shang Can from the ghost realm was a good thing.
She slowly exhaled the stale air, returning to her usual indifference, and asked, “So, why are you all really here?”
As soon as she spoke, Wan Shao, who had the best relationship with the host, eagerly jumped forward to explain. The flower demon, who had a legitimate reason to visit, cheerfully chimed in, “I heard you returned from that desolate place in the North a couple of days ago, so I wanted to check on you—after all, you really don’t take care of yourself, just like Shang Can. But when I got here, I saw—”
She deliberately glanced towards Yuan Ge, using a particularly vigilant tone to accuse, “I saw these two sneaky characters come in! I could tell at a glance that they had ill intentions, and sure enough, this flower demon attacked me as soon as we met—”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Yuan Ge shot up from her seat, slamming the table, “You were the one who started it without distinguishing right from wrong!”
Wan Shao retorted defiantly, “You trespassed into private property; I was merely acting in self-defense!”
“…”
Yun Duan rubbed her throbbing temples and turned to the seemingly unconcerned Nan Shuang, who calmly finished her cup of tea amidst the flower demons’ bickering before speaking up, “I just suddenly wanted to visit an old friend; is that not allowed?”
Yun Duan felt their friendship was not deep enough to be called “old friends.” Remembering the earlier commotion outside the city, she furrowed her brows and asked, “Did you arrange for the demon race to suddenly attack Yun City?”
Nan Shuang didn’t offer much explanation, only smiled and said, “Sort of.”
Yun Duan raised an eyebrow in confusion, about to say something, when Yuan Ge dropped her argument with Wan Shao and turned to her, indignantly stating, “There’s no other way; this is the only way to lure that guy from Tian Wai Tian away…”
She spoke with obvious reluctance, not naming the man directly, but it was clear she was referring to Pei Chen. Yun Duan was taken aback and looked again at Nan Shuang, whose face remained as calm as ever. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Has Jun Kun Yao been looking for you lately?”
“Not just looking for me!”
Before Nanshuang could respond, Yuange angrily replied, “Yunzhongjun, I think you need to quickly gather those cultivators and tell them that the sect leader from Tiantaitian has no good intentions. I can see he’s up to something bad!”
“……”
Knowing that Yuange’s relationship with Nanshuang was somewhat delicate and that she likely had criticisms regarding Pei Chen, Yunyan hesitated for a moment before casting an inquiring glance at Nanshuang. However, she found the ghost king staring blankly at the tree beside the pavilion, and when she looked over, Nanshuang spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, “I wouldn’t say it’s a bad idea. At least for us, it wouldn’t be wrong to consider what Pei Chen is doing as a tremendous good deed.”
Nanshuang quickly glanced at Yuange, whose face twisted in anger from her words, sighed silently, and added, “… Perhaps you’ve already noticed, but the progress of sealing off the passage to the ghost realm is very slow.”
Instantly grasping the meaning behind her words, Yunyan’s expression changed, and she indeed heard Nanshuang calmly say, “This is intentional on Pei Chen’s part.”
“I don’t know what kind of fantasies he still holds about me…” Even Nanshuang, who usually remained indifferent, frowned slightly when she reached this point, sighing softly, “Does he think that after I became part of the ghost clan, I have become much colder? He seems determined to find traces of the past in me… I’m quite tired of it.”
Although Yunyan knew that other people’s feelings were none of her concern, she couldn’t help but think of Pei Chen’s figure when she heard Nanshuang speak so calmly, and her heart raced unexpectedly.
“To be honest, the environment in the cultivation world is much better than in the ghost realm. I’d really like to stay here longer; I suppose I should thank him for that.”
Nanshuang freely poured herself another cup of tea and continued, “In the long run, I should win Pei Chen over. From how he behaves towards me, it likely wouldn’t be too difficult.”
Yunyan was certain she felt Yuange’s intense gaze directed at her, but Nanshuang, at the center of it all, seemed oblivious, smiling lightly at her, “I came today to ask about a few things that I find puzzling.”
“… Me?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Yunyan furrowed her brows, seeing Nanshuang nodding happily, the smile at her lips carrying an inexplicably mischievous intent.
“You see, both you and he are cultivators, and…” Nanshuang paused deliberately, then added after a moment, “your situations are somewhat similar.”
“Though I was once a cultivator, after being part of the ghost clan for so long, I find it quite difficult to understand human emotions now.”
“Why is he so obsessed, pursuing a phantom that has long vanished? What exactly does he want?”
She spoke lazily, smiling at Yunyan with an intent gaze, “—These questions apply equally to you, don’t they, Yunzhongjun?”
“—”
Her body reacted faster than her mind. By the time she realized it, Yunyan found herself standing up, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword, openly displaying her hostility. Yet, the target of this hostility remained unfazed, inhaling gently and speaking, “Two years have passed, and there’s not a single message…”
“Yunzhongjun,” Nanshuang lowered her eyelids, hiding her emotions, and spoke softly, “Don’t you think… it’s Shanggan who doesn’t want to see you?”
It felt as if an old wound had been unexpectedly ripped open, and Yunyan experienced a brief moment of emptiness before an uncontrollable anger surged. She instinctively wanted to refute that this wasn’t the case, but as the words reached her lips, she realized she had no evidence to support that claim. Thus, she merely opened her mouth in vain, unable to produce a sound.
Her entire being resisted Nanshuang’s words. Not wanting her silence to appear as acceptance, Yunyan abruptly turned and walked into the room. Just before shutting the door, she heard Nanshuang’s calm voice echo from afar.
“—What would you do if Shanggan turned out like me?”
The hand resting against the door trembled uncontrollably. Yunyan took a deep breath and forcefully slammed the door.
The loud bang of the door resonated through the courtyard, leaving Wanshao momentarily stunned. She had rarely seen Yunyan in such a state and was at a loss, unsure whether to scold the nearby ghost for her outrageous behavior or to comfort Yunyan first. Meanwhile, the audacious ghost suddenly dropped her provocatively smug smile and sighed softly.
Nanshuang quietly twirled the teacup in her hand, lowering her gaze, and murmured in a tone only she could hear.
“… What a painful task this is.”
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