Chapter 37: Embroidery

Yiling Ke said in surprise: "A teleportation talisman? I think I have—never mind that, pull me up first!"

Ningcan Meadow was full of pits, and Yiling Ke had unfortunately fallen into a dirt hole. Her ankle was further ensnared by a celestial vine at the bottom; she hopped a few times but simply couldn't climb out. Her physical agility was average, and she hadn't set a teleportation array in advance, so she couldn't break free for the time being.

When Zora found her, she was calling loudly for help.

"Quick, quick, my ankle is tangled," Yiling Ke said urgently.

Ordinary vines wouldn't have trapped her, but these vines contained spiritual energy, making them exceptionally difficult to shake off. Zora leaned over, grabbed her hand, and pulled upward with force.

A flash of Vane’s long spear followed, and the vine snapped. The severed green sections thrashed wildly on the soil like a lizard’s dropped tail.

Yiling Ke, seeing the light of day again, breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and said ruefully, "That was terrifying. No wonder Drunken Man’s Bay forbids those whose cultivation has just begun from entering."

Zora nodded, staying silent for a few heartbeats. Yiling Ke began to frantically recount her recent experience.

According to her, she had been minding her own business picking herbs when she met a total eccentric who wasn't picking herbs in Ningcan Meadow but was instead writing a book. This person did nothing else all afternoon but write.

The first time, Yiling Ke passed by humming a song, her sleeves fluttering, happy as can be.

The second time, Yiling Ke was being chased and beaten by a spiritual plant—God knows why spiritual plants can run on dirt!—and she sprinted past, her draft disturbing the forehead hair of the girl who was quietly writing.

The third time, Yiling Ke walked past slowly with a tired, curved back, like a spent person whose spiritual power had been drained. Only then did she notice the girl writing under the tree. Exhausted, she sat down next to the girl and greeted her: "Fellow Daoist, it’s fate. I’m Yiling Ke, a formation master from the December Sect. What are you doing?"

"..." The other person was like a shrinking mimosa; her ears instantly flushed red with shame. She didn't dare look at Yiling Ke and whispered softly, "I... I am Chi Ting... a laborer from Zen Meditation Temple..."

The last few words were almost swallowed at her lips.

Yiling Ke didn't hear clearly: "Huh? What did you say?"

Chi Ting took a deep breath and whispered again: "—"

"Hah?"

"—! —!"

"Wha—aat—?" Yiling Ke leaned closer.

The girl's voice got even lower, her chin nearly touching her chest. Her lips never fully parted, moving while stuck together: "Buzz buzz buzz buzz..."

"..."

How is it so quiet that it sounds like a mosquito!

Realizing the other was not good at communication, Yiling Ke had to give up. After she sat for a while, the other person handed her a book.

"Eh? For me to read? Thanks."

Before Yiling Ke could even start flipping through it, the spiritual plant that had been chasing her suddenly reappeared, attacking aggressively.

"AAAAAHHH!! Why are there so many defensive arrays on this thing!" Yiling Ke's moves were completely ineffective, leaving her no choice but to run.

It didn't just chase Yiling Ke like a dog; it chased the bystander Chi Ting to the edge of a pond as well. Chi Ting only had time to tuck all the books into a storage bag before being forced to jump into the pond. The sprinting Yiling Ke only heard a

splash

behind her.

"Hey! You okay!" she shouted, but soon she also fell into a pit with a

thud

.

The spiritual plant surveyed the area, swaggered away triumphantly.

...

Yiling Ke talked as she walked: "We have to find that Chi Ting."

When they reached the destination, the pond’s surface was calm, with a few beautiful water lilies floating on it.

Zora tilted her head: "Is the person under the water or on the ground?"

Yiling Ke shouted a few times: "Chi Ting—!"

A few bubbles suddenly rose to the calm surface and popped. Then it returned to silence. Yiling Ke was about to go in to save him: "Wait a second, I'm coming to save you!"

The bubbles suddenly multiplied, carrying a sense of panic.

Vane raised an eyebrow, watching the water with leisure. Before Yiling Ke could touch the water, a person suddenly leapt out. Chi Ting stood on the bank dripping wet, with no one to cover him with a robe.

Zora lacked that instinct entirely. Vane had the instinct, but not the heart. Yiling Ke was purely in shock, her mouth agape.

"You... how did you change?!"

The person's appearance had shifted slightly; the change in the body's skeletal structure was more obvious, having expanded quite a bit. With the wet clothes clinging to the body, it was clearly visible that this was a boy, not a girl.

Vane suddenly glanced at the unfazed Zora, then casually took an outer robe from his storage bag and threw it to him.

"Thank you... I... I I..." Chi Ting caught it, his head lowered the entire time. He muttered, his face flushed red, looking as pretty as a girl.

Zora: "Louder."

Chi Ting: "I am because... buzz buzz buzz..."

Zora: "Didn't hear you."

Chi Ting: "—"

Zora asked directly: "Are you an undercover assassin?"

Chi Ting was terrified: "I'm not...!"

She was becoming a bit impatient. Zora had heard Yiling Ke’s comment; this person had clearly changed appearance. She thought of the villain Guan Qianyi—someone this suspicious might be Guan Qianyi's helper.

At that thought, River Snow left its sheath, resting against the side of Chi Ting's neck.

Zora said expressionlessly: "Louder."

The previously frozen Yiling Ke finally reacted, only to find that things had already progressed to her friend skillfully threatening someone: "..."

The effect was remarkable.

He said his name was Chi Ting, a laborer disciple of Zen Meditation Temple. His cultivation was neither high nor low, but it was hollow and couldn't compare to others at the same level.

Yiling Ke:

...Ah? Is that something you should say out loud?

He said the reason he could change between male and female was simply because he was a merman. Immature mermen have indeterminate genders, and he couldn't control it either.

Hearing that he wasn't a threat, Zora withdrew her sword without a care. She ignored him, turned to exchange spirit stones for Yiling Ke’s teleportation talisman, and left.

Chi Ting had thought she would interrogate him further and was prepared to spill the history of mermen and complain about how the one hundred and eight ways of steaming mermen weren't very delicious.

Vane didn't speak the entire time, not even glancing at Chi Ting before they left.

They left behind a dazed Yiling Ke, who dazedly said goodbye to Chi Ting and then dazedly continued picking herbs.

...Knowledge gained today +1.

As Zora walked toward the exit, she asked Vane to pick another type of herb and bring it over later. They parted ways; at the exit, Zora saw the statue-like Song Zhihuai.

She nodded expressionlessly: "Senior Brother Song."

Song Zhihuai also nodded expressionlessly: "Junior Sister Zora, I imagine your harvest was great."

Zora recalled: "It was alright. What are you doing here, are you leaving?"

Song Zhihuai spoke the stiff truth: "Looking at the scenery, pondering some life insights."

"I'm not leaving yet."

Because he hadn't seen everyone off.

"Mhm."

The two looked at each other in silence for a while. Zora tilted her head slightly, saw he had nothing more to say, and directly bid him farewell to leave.

Song Zhihuai said goodbye and watched Zora depart. Once the girl disappeared from sight, he continued to stand by the exit.

A moment later, Vane passed by. The youth bid him farewell naturally: "Goodbye, Senior Brother Song."

It was straightforward, completely cutting off any chance for Song Zhihuai to force an awkward conversation.

Song Zhihuai wasn't annoyed; instead, he admired Vane's clean and efficient style. He nodded slightly and said, "Goodbye, Junior Brother Vane."

Vane walked in the direction Zora had left. Song Zhihuai continued to stand in place, his back as straight as a pine, his aura crisp and cold, causing the crowd around him to take a detour. His features remained as steady as a mountain as he stood still once more.

Until the exhausted Yiling Ke arrived, gasping for breath.

The last one.

Song Zhihuai thought, and as she walked past with her head down, he spoke: "Junior Sister Yiling."

"Heh... heh... Senior Brother Song... heh... is Senior Brother Song leaving?"

She never expected this person to act like a greeter, insisting on waiting for every friend he knew to leave before considering the "friend outing" complete.

Song Zhihuai nodded.

Yiling Ke: "Then let's walk together."

That being said, their residences were polar opposites. They had only walked five steps before they had to split. Yiling Ke was so tired she felt she would collapse the next second; she waved her hand and dragged her body toward her room.

Song Zhihuai also turned toward his own house. He looked up at the sunset in the sky, thinking it looked beautiful no matter how he looked at it.

Today, spending time with three friends at Ningcan Meadow, returning in joy and safety. How fortunate.

Zora didn't know about Senior Brother Song's joyful state of mind. As soon as she returned to her room, she flopped onto the bed, burying her face in the soft quilt.

When Vane entered the room, he saw her spread out on the bed like a pancake.

"I put the herbs on the table."

"Mhm," Zora's voice came from the quilt, muffled.

The air was filled with tranquility; even the birds outside the window were noisier than the room. Suddenly, a soft sound emerged. Vane put her clothes into the wardrobe but didn't close the door immediately.

"Zora."

Zora: "Mhm?"

"It's nothing..." Vane said, looking at the clothes in the wardrobe, his tone no different from usual. "I just wanted to ask if you need arrays placed on your clothes. It would make winning in a fight easier."

Yes, if she was going to fight, she naturally couldn't die, otherwise he would die too. That was why he proposed this.

Vane thought to himself.

After a few heartbeats of silence, he thought to emphasize the point again.

...That's why he proposed this.

Zora didn't speak. She turned her head, exposing her face to look at him. The youth hadn't closed the wardrobe, and his figure was partially visible behind the door. His face was hidden, but she could see his long, clean fingers gripping the wooden door and his quietly hanging ponytail.

After a moment, as if sensing something was amiss, he added: "Tomorrow when we enter the secret realm, you are going to teleport to Turi Qi. I assume it’s not to be with her, but because there is something hindering you by her side that needs to be eradicated."

Zora gave an "mhm": "Correct."

Vane closed the wardrobe door and turned to look at her. The youth's face held a warm glow under the candlelight, yet his expression remained calm, as if he were conducting official business: "So—"

Zora spoke up first with indifference: "You can come too, but in that case, you have to be prepared to be my cushion. Guan Qianyi is quite strong."

Vane froze for a second and said: "...I can teleport to you?"

That wasn't the point, was it?

But whatever.

Zora gave an "mhm."

After a pause, Vane said almost imperceptibly: "Okay."

"So," Zora's eyes were like melted sugar in the candlelight, but without much stickiness, clean and direct, "are you going to do the arrays?"

"No..." The youth's brow furrowed slightly, looking troubled. "But my precision in learning is clearly not as good as Yiling Ke's; the arrays might still be weak. We enter the secret realm tomorrow; I should be able to finish them tonight."

"Oh."

Vane looked at her. A small part of the girl's face was sunken into the quilt. Her black hair was mostly draped over her back, some scattered over the undulating quilt like winding black silk. Those eyes were watching him, as if observing, or perhaps simply just looking.

...

Night fell. Zora watched for a while before kicking off her shoes and rolling into the covers, leaving only her head exposed. Under the flickering candlelight, a youth sat by the table, his lashes slightly lowered, casting a small shadow. A few strands of forehead hair hung down, and the end of his ponytail moved slightly with his occasional subtle movements.

He was holding a blue dress. The youth’s handsome fingers manipulated a needle and thread. The originally golden thread had been dyed blue by him using the herbs picked today; it wasn't obvious when embroidered on the hem of the girl's clothing.

Faint blue veins were visible on the back of his hand, making it look even more pale and beautiful, yet it contained strength. The soft blue fabric felt like a cloud in his hands. Even while doing this sort of thing, his expression remained flat, as calm as when he killed with his spear.

Zora watched for a moment, blinked, then turned over and closed her eyes to sleep. The large candle was blown out, and darkness swept over Zora as she fell into a peaceful sleep.

The only light in the room was a small flame on the table, illuminating only the youth's face. His features held an innate sharpness, but the edge was slightly retracted now. In the immortal realm where beauties were as common as clouds, his face could still be called exceptionally handsome. Under the orange candlelight, he looked a bit youthful, but compared to the Vane of a year ago, he had matured a lot.

In the silence, the youth suddenly raised a hand and touched his cheek—exactly the spot Zora had touched earlier that day. He seemed to realize his own action only after he touched it, for he immediately lowered his hand. His lips tightened in an unhappy line, seemingly quite annoyed at his own action just now.

A moment later, he continued embroidering the rune arrays on her hem.

The night wind blew into the room that held a tiny light, but before it could reach the bed, a strand of spiritual power gently closed the window from the inside, completely sealing out the cold of the night.