After Wen Qianshu returned to her room, she looked at the book box again. The box was emerald green, woven from bamboo, and conventional in style. The only distinguishing feature was a crisp character for “Shuang” carved on a corner.
Wen Qianshu said, “Don’t you think it looks a bit too new?”
Yan Chengshuang had been a disciple for many years, yet this book box showed no signs of wear. Although Five Spirits Mountain was an immortal sect and surely had some protective measures, how valuable could a book box for a new disciple be that it would remain unchanged for so many years?
2333: “No.”
Wen Qianshu said nothing, glanced at the book box one more time, and put it away.
The following days were quite like being the center of attention. Everyone who saw Wen Qianshu would say, “Senior Sister, you’re finally back.”
Yan Chengquan was especially distressed for her. She no longer required Wen Qianshu to follow Yan Qingxi or help her manage affairs, only telling her to rest well. If she felt any discomfort, she was to tell her immediately, and whatever medicine she needed, she could just go to the storeroom and get it.
Of course, there was one person who would never change.
Yan Qingxi.
Wen Qianshu sighed, rubbed her wrist, and picked up her brush to continue writing. She didn’t forget to ask, “What did you find out?”
Yun Cai stood to the side, watching her place a piece of paper against a tree trunk and take notes from a book. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why did Senior Yan assign you so much homework? Every time I see you, you’re doing homework.”
They met many more times after that, and each time, Wen Qianshu was holding paper, a brush, and a book, writing nonstop.
Wen Qianshu couldn’t figure it out either. “I’d like to know too.”
She held the brush handle horizontally between her teeth. After the ink on the newly written characters dried, she folded the paper, tucked it into the book, and turned to the next page.
A gentle breeze brushed her face, causing strands of hair to stick to the side of her face, which were then pushed away.
Black hair, thin lips, pearly teeth.
The brush handle lay horizontally between her teeth. Looking past it, one could see a hint of her pale pink tongue.
The tip of her tongue moved, then settled again.
Because she was biting on something, Wen Qianshu’s words were muffled. “So, did you find anything?”
The other person didn’t answer.
Puzzled, Wen Qianshu looked up at her. She clearly felt Yun Cai staring at her, but the moment their eyes were about to meet, Yun Cai abruptly averted her gaze, half-closing her eyelids, and asked, “What?”
Wen Qianshu raised an eyebrow, smiled, took the brush from her mouth, and repeated for the third time, “About my background, what did you find out?”
Yun Cai said, “I didn’t find anything special. It’s consistent with Canglan Courtyard’s account.”
Wen Qianshu asked, “Oh? And what does Canglan Courtyard say?”
Yun Cai said, “They say—”
She hesitated for a moment, then chose her words carefully. “Head Yan brought you back. They couldn’t find your family, so she took you in as a disciple.”
Wen Qianshu said, “Couldn’t find my family? That shouldn’t be. With my Master’s abilities—”
But Wen Qianshu immediately realized. She paused and said, “I see.”
“They didn’t want me?”
Yun Cai said, “Mortals face many hardships. Perhaps it was a year of great disaster, and they truly couldn’t keep you, so—”
“My Master is an elder, so it’s fine if she comforts me.” Wen Qianshu smiled. “But you’re younger than me. Are you going to coax me too?”
Yun Cai said, “I heard from my father that Head Yan snatched you.”
Wen Qianshu asked, “Snatched?”
Her Master would actually snatch a child?
Yun Cai said, “Yes.”
Yun Cai recalled what her father had said during a casual chat: “Their Canglan Courtyard, perhaps because of its affinity with water, has never liked conflict throughout its history, single-mindedly focused on achieving immortality. Head Yan’s master was the same. She only took two inner disciples, her mind completely filled with mastering the five elements, but she went down the wrong path and died young.”
“Head Yan took over the position early. As a young woman, she has a soft temperament and is easy to talk to. Fortunately, she has a younger brother with a fierce temper and great ability to back her up. Alas, Canglan Courtyard has had a tough time these years. They’ve been recruiting fewer and fewer people. Others know their sect has no backing, and the one in charge is a young person, so they’re unwilling to send their children there. Only those not from prominent families, who don’t know any better, would go to Canglan Courtyard.”
“As for her eldest disciple, one year, she left the mountain to visit another sect. On the way, she happened to see a family throwing a child into the water—they said they already had seven or eight children at home, the newborn was a girl, and she was too frail. They suspected she wouldn’t survive the winter, so they wouldn’t give her those few mouthfuls of food.”
“Head Yan couldn’t stand it. She swept up the river water, snatched the child, and left, bringing her back to the sect. Because the baby was born in late autumn, and when Head Yan first saw her, all the flowers had withered and the city was covered in frost, she named her ‘Chengshuang’.”
Yun Cai summarized the main points and told them to Wen Qianshu, then added, “I thought you knew, which is why you sympathized with Yan Yan so much and took care of everything for her.”
Wen Qianshu said, “You certainly pay a lot of attention to me. Tell me quickly, how many of your people are in Canglan Courtyard?”
Yun Cai shot her a glare, her shimmering eyes and intoxicating light-colored pupils captivating.
Wen Qianshu smiled and steered the conversation back. “So that’s how it is. My Master rarely mentions it.”
“That’s natural,” Yun Cai said. “Head Yan is probably afraid of hurting your feelings.”
Wen Qianshu smiled. She continued looking at the book, pulled out a piece of paper, and said, “Is that so?”
She said this so quietly that Yun Cai didn’t hear clearly and asked, “What?”
Wen Qianshu said, “Nothing.”
She sighed and said, “I was just thinking, after I turn in my homework tonight, there will surely be more. I still don’t quite understand this book of techniques. It’s a real headache.”
Yun Cai leaned over and glanced at the cover—Detailed Rules of the Five Elements. “There’s a detailed commentary for this book. I’ve seen it in the school’s library. If you don’t understand it, you can go borrow it. Just remember to return it.”
Wen Qianshu said, “Huh? I’ve looked through Canglan Courtyard’s library but never saw it. The school has it?”
“Yes.” Yun Cai sounded a bit helpless. “You really used to be completely focused on cultivation, paying no mind to the outside world. Works of this type, which cover all five elements, were mostly written by previous sect leaders. It wouldn’t be appropriate to keep them in any single sect, so they are kept in the school.”
“Including the books we used to learn to read as children and some of the introductory techniques, they are all from the school. Once we finished with them, we returned them for the next batch of students to use.”
Wen Qianshu was taken aback. “You have to return all of them? What if you want to keep one for yourself?”
Yun Cai replied, “You can keep them, but you have to pay the school with spirit stones or teach a few classes or something. Some disciples covet a few masterpieces and copy them for their own use, but who would keep an introductory book?”
Wen Qianshu said, “That’s true.”
“Then I’ll go borrow a copy tonight.”
The vast sea, the brilliant sun.
The willows of Fuliu Boat swayed gracefully.
A warm breeze passed through the drooping branches, carrying a pleasant floral scent.
Wen Qianshu couldn’t read anymore. She put down her brush and saw Yun Cai leaning nearby, also reading a book. The open page had illustrations of several plants, likely some kind of herbal collection. Perhaps because she had flipped through it many times, the edges were a bit frayed.
It was strange. They had finished exchanging the information they needed to, and Wen Qianshu had asked what she needed to ask, but neither of them said anything about leaving. They just stayed, each minding their own business.
Wen Qianshu shook her sore wrist and looked at Yun Cai. The other girl was engrossed in her reading, her long eyelashes lowered, her slender fingers brushing across the page. The sound of the wind rustling the leaves, accompanied by the turning of pages, was inexplicably pleasant to the ear.
Wen Qianshu shifted sideways, slowly, slowly leaning her head down to rest on Yun Cai’s shoulder.
Yun Cai stiffened slightly but quickly relaxed again.
Wen Qianshu closed her eyes. “I’m so sleepy. Let me use you as a pillow for a bit.”
Yun Cai was still reading. She turned a page and said, “You sleep standing up?”
Without opening her eyes, Wen Qianshu’s lips curved. “Yeah.”
After saying “yeah,” Wen Qianshu regretted it—because she really did fall asleep standing up.
Wen Qianshu hadn’t had a proper sleep since coming to this damn world, so when she woke up, she was a bit dazed. The soft fabric against her cheek made her think for a moment that she was in bed—if only, when she lazily turned over, she hadn’t seen Yun Cai’s belt, that would have been even better.
At some point, Wen Qianshu had changed positions and was now resting her head on Yun Cai’s lap. Yun Cai was sitting by the tree, still reading that herbal collection.
The sky had already darkened. The leaves rustled, and the long wind grew cool.
The stars on the horizon were faint, hidden by clouds. They would occasionally peek out, only to quickly disappear again.
Yun Cai felt her move and moved her arm away. “You’re awake?”
Wen Qianshu sat up, holding her head. “Yes.”
She hissed. Having not slept for so long, she had fallen into such a deep sleep that her head now ached a little.
Wen Qianshu: “2333, why didn’t you wake me up?”
2333: “Thank you for still remembering me.”
It quickly distanced itself. “I did call you, but you were sleeping too soundly. I couldn’t wake you up at all.”
Wen Qianshu: “Really?”
2333: “Of course it’s true. Why would I lie to you about this?”
Wen Qianshu was a bit suspicious. She rubbed her temples, feeling groggy. “Do your legs hurt?”
“They’re fine.” Yun Cai propped up her leg and looked at her, her knuckles rubbing against the book’s page. She suddenly said, “The way you usually are in front of others, is it?”
2333 tried to warn her to be careful with her words: “Host—”
Wen Qianshu said, “It’s an act.”
Yun Cai opened her mouth, wanting to ask her.
Then why don’t you put on an act in front of me?
You even have to act and deceive your own Master, so why not avoid me?
She had clearly hidden it so well all along—the aloof, cold as ice Senior Disciple of Canglan Courtyard.
If she hadn’t bantered on the road, Yun Cai might not have discovered it.
Why?
Yun Cai wanted to ask aloud, but Wen Qianshu had already changed the subject. She looked at the book in Yun Cai’s hands and said, “You still want to learn Fuliu Boat’s skills?”
Yun Cai was silent for a moment, then said, “My father wants me to be the next Head of Yanyun Sky.”
“Or marry one of the senior brothers, that senior brother would become the Head, and I—”
Would become the Head’s wife.
She didn’t continue.
For some reason, she didn’t really want to continue.
Head Yun had his daughter late in life. He had many direct disciples above her, all of whom had their eyes on the position of Head. If Canglan Courtyard was a retirement home, then Yanyun Sky had to be a gladiatorial arena.
Wen Qianshu was stunned.
Yun Cai—might get married?
She suddenly realized—yes, this wasn’t the modern era. Here, the orders of one’s parents and the words of a matchmaker were more important.
Yun Cai really might get married.
How strange, so strange, utterly strange—
How had she never thought of it?
As meticulous as she was, how had she never thought of it?
Didn’t she always pride herself on seeing everything, so how could she have overlooked this possibility?
The sound of her heartbeat seemed to grow louder, quickening in her chest, beat by beat.
Wen Qianshu was a bit dazed. She lowered her gaze and realized her palms were covered in sweat.
Wen Qianshu smiled and asked, “Then do you want to be the Head?”
Yun Cai glanced at her, then looked away. “I do.”
Wen Qianshu said, “That makes sense.”
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have approached Yan Chengshuang to get information from her.
Good, it was good that Yun Cai chose the first option, but—
Wen Qianshu asked, “And after you become Head? Spend your whole life trying to merge the Five Spirits Mountain, and once the five sects are united, Fuliu Boat will hand over their medical techniques and pill formulas, and then you can learn them?”
Yun Cai’s eyes widened, then she quickly lowered her lashes.
Obviously, she had hit the mark.
The night gradually deepened, and the night wind grew colder.
The night sky was obscured by Yanyun Sky, letting only a sliver of moonlight leak through, taking pity on the willows and toying with the evening breeze.
Yun Cai said, “Yes.”
2333: “…”
She actually admitted it.
Why don’t you two just join the same sect.
Wen Qianshu said, “So you still want to learn Fuliu Boat’s medical arts, don’t you?”
“Tell me, is that it?” Wen Qianshu rubbed her palms together, discreetly wiping away the sweat. She suddenly said, “You just have to tell me, and I can make it happen for you.”
Yun Cai looked at her sharply and asked, “What do you mean?”
Wen Qianshu smiled and said slowly, “Literally what I said.”
In truth, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was saying herself, but the words seemed to come out on their own the moment she opened her mouth.
The night was too deep, so deep that the words she spoke were tinged with the indistinct, unclear, and bewitching quality of the dark night.
Bewitching others, and bewitching herself.
Cold yet gentle, gentle yet alluring, drawing others in step by step, with no way out.
“Whatever you want, I will get it for you. You won’t need to take the long way around.”
The moonlight swept past, then was hidden by the clouds again.
The wind began to howl, sweeping past the swaying branches of Fuliu Boat, spiraling up to the sky and then plunging into the sea. The clouds churned, and the waves surged.
Between heaven and earth, it penetrated everything.
Author’s Notes:
OOC Skit:
Why doesn’t she put on an act in front of Yun Cai?
Because Wen Qianshu is doing it on purpose.
Oh, Comrade Wen is flustered.
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