“Xuechang! Rongrong and I are back!”
A familiar voice rang out from behind.
Yun Xuechang’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly tucked away the novella she had been holding.
“Look what I brought! Green Crab, a specialty from the South Sea! They say the spring crabs from the South Sea are the plumpest. How about we steam them for dinner tonight?”
As she spoke, Hua Yan excitedly descended into the small courtyard with Hua Xiangrong in her arms.
Both she and Hua Xiangrong were carrying net bags filled with large, blue-shelled crabs, claws waving menacingly.
She excitedly held up a crab for Yun Xuechang to see, but after a moment, she noticed something seemed off about the other’s expression.
“Huh? Xuechang, why is your face so red?”
The white-haired girl, who usually wore an expression of serene detachment, now had two faint blushes on her cheeks, standing out against her cool, pale skin, giving her a different kind of beauty.
“…I just finished practicing sword techniques. My blood and qi are a bit agitated.”
Yun Xuechang paused before answering.
She rarely lied, but for some reason, faced with Hua Yan’s question, she instinctively chose to evade.
She simply did not want Hua Yan to know about the scorching words she had just been reading.
“Oh… but I saw you holding a book just now, not a sword?”
Hua Yan was a bit puzzled. When she flew back holding Hua Xiangrong, she clearly saw the other girl holding a book, completely absorbed.
“…That was the secret manual I received from Daoist Friend Su. I practiced first, then felt something was off with my execution, so I reviewed the manual again.”
“I see. Well, after you master it, how about sparring a few moves with me?”
Hearing Yun Xuechang’s words, Hua Yan quickly believed her without further thought.
For one, Yun Xuechang was always diligent in her cultivation, so this was normal behavior.
For another, her face was so expressionless and calm that Hua Yan couldn’t see through her lie at the moment.
‘Sparring a few moves…’
For some reason, Yun Xuechang was suddenly reminded of a description from the novella—before the Demon Lord Lin Zhaoge entangled herself with Su Nian in the dungeon, she seemed to have said something similar:
“Su Nian, how about you come and learn a thing or two about my techniques? Spar a few moves with me?”
The white-haired girl felt her cheeks growing warm again.
“Xuechang? Xuechang?”
Hua Yan stared, confused, at the suddenly dazed Yun Xuechang, looking at the faint blush that still hadn’t faded from her face. A doubt arose in her mind:
Given Xuechang’s current cultivation level, even if she made a mistake while practicing a manual, how could a simple surge of blood and qi cause her face to stay red for so long? Could she have suffered some internal injury?
Thinking this, she immediately put down the net bag in her hand and reached for Yun Xuechang’s wrist.
“Seems like nothing’s wrong…”
Hua Yan held Yun Xuechang’s fair, delicate wrist, carefully probing her internal energy. Finding everything normal, she felt relieved.
But Yun Xuechang, whose wrist had been suddenly grabbed by the red-haired girl, couldn’t help but continue recalling the description from the novella:
Lin Zhaoge pressed down on Su Nian’s slender, pale wrist, forcefully pinning it above her head.
Then, her somewhat domineering kiss landed on the neck of the struggling Su Nian, while her other hand slowly began to explore downwards…
“Xuechang? Why are you still spacing out? Since you’re fine, we’ll go steam the crabs now?”
Snapping back to reality, the red-haired girl had already released her hand. Picking up the two bags of bubble-blowing crabs, she smiled at her.
“Alright… I’m coming.”
Exhaling a quiet, turbid breath, Yun Xuechang once again cleared the chaotic thoughts from her mind and followed Hua Yan towards the kitchen.
……
“According to Qu Linglong, in a few more days, all the sects participating in this secret manual exploration should have arrived. Then, Tinghai Pavilion will host a gathering to celebrate. After all, it’s rare for so many Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing Stage cultivators from various sects to gather together.”
In the bedroom at night, Hua Yan, dressed in a crimson nightgown, leaned lazily against a soft pillow.
She brushed aside a strand of hair that had slipped by her ear as she spoke to Yun Xuechang, who was still standing by the bed.
“Why are you just standing there? Get in bed, turn off the light, and let’s sleep.”
After saying this, she let out a soft yawn.
Yun Xuechang looked at the red-haired girl, the corners of her eyes slightly reddened under the lamplight, carrying an unconscious hint of allure.
Her heart involuntarily beat a little faster.
For some reason, after reading that novella, her thoughts had become more turbulent and confused, and she didn’t know how to handle herself.
The story about the Demon Lord Lin Zhaoge and Su Nian in the novella should have been about one forcing the other—even though there were many hints that Su Nian and Lin Zhaoge had many emotional entanglements before Su Nian was imprisoned, it still wasn’t a healthy relationship.
One could even say Lin Zhaoge had humiliated Su Nian.
Yun Xuechang, who always acted with integrity, naturally didn’t wish to see such scenes while reading.
She had kept hoping Su Nian would escape the dungeon, or that she and Lin Zhaoge would clear up their previous misunderstandings and reconcile.
But what she read was Su Nian’s first failed escape attempt, followed by being recaptured.
And then, the descriptions of the relationship between the two women, those explicit and somewhat vulgar words, suddenly appeared before her—it was a world she had never known.
Both Lin Zhaoge and Su Nian in the text were described as very beautiful, and the author’s descriptions were vivid enough to spark the imagination, conjuring up those intimate scenes of bodies pressed together.
But Yun Xuechang always felt that no matter how well-written the two characters in the text were, they could never compare to Hua Yan’s beauty.
‘What if the two in the text were Yan’er and me…’
All night long, thoughts like this kept creeping into her mind, thread by thread, impossible to shake off.
Snapping back to reality once more, she found herself already standing before their shared bed.
And the bright, beautiful red-haired girl was already beckoning to her.
‘Should I share a bed with Yan’er tonight? With such profane thoughts in my heart?’
She slightly furrowed her brows, lowered her gaze, and gently shook her head.
“Sorry, Yan’er, I’m afraid I can’t share the bed with you tonight.”
“Why? Do you need to cultivate tonight?”
Hua Yan was utterly confused.
Ever since they returned at sunset, she had felt Yun Xuechang seemed distracted.
And now, she was even saying she didn’t want to sleep together—why?
“No, it’s because of some personal reasons…”
Yun Xuechang still kept her eyes lowered, her gaze apologetic.
“Perhaps, until I resolve this issue, I won’t be able to share a bed with you…”
‘What does that even mean? We were getting along just fine. Why is Xuechang suddenly unwilling to sleep with me tonight?’
‘She’s always been so straightforward. Why won’t she even tell me the reason now?’
Hua Yan bit her lower lip, her gaze complex.
‘Could it be… Xuechang has figured out my feelings for her, and this is her way of rejecting me?’
‘That makes sense. Given her personality, if she encounters someone who has feelings for her but whom she doesn’t like, she would probably politely create distance like this, deliberately pulling away.’
‘After all, all along, it’s been me, wishfully thinking, trying to get close to Xuechang, trying to warm up this stone of a person. But have I ever truly considered Xuechang’s feelings?’
‘What if she really doesn’t like me? What should I do then?’
Hua Yan, who had always been the center of attention in Hundred Flowers Valley, who got whatever she wanted and always obtained what she desired, felt a wave of panic for the first time in her heart.
‘I… I really never considered… the possibility that Xuechang wouldn’t fall for me.’
“Then I’ll step out first.”
After saying this, Yun Xuechang turned to leave.
“Wait, don’t go! You have to explain this clearly!”
But Hua Yan was ultimately unwilling to accept this. Proud and strong-willed as she was, she would never let Yun Xuechang distance herself without a clear explanation.
She immediately called out to stop Yun Xuechang, rolled out of bed, quickly stepped forward, and grabbed the other girl’s hand.
‘Even if this affection turns out to be one-sided, even if I end up losing, I, Hua Yan, must lose with clarity! I won’t just let you run off without understanding why!’
“Explain it to me clearly—what exactly is your problem? And does it have anything to do with me?”
The red-haired girl’s eyes were full of stubbornness.
Her light golden, almond-shaped eyes fixed intently on Yun Xuechang’s slightly lowered gaze.
Her obstinate tone carried a hint of barely detectable grievance and anxiety.