Chapter 53

"Is that candied hawthorn really that appealing?" Yun Shuchen asked sidelong.

"The color is glossy red, and the sugar coating is thick," her hopelessly dense disciple answered seriously. "Indeed, compared to the ones I've seen before, it's rather good-looking."

She withdrew her gaze and finally looked at Yun Shuchen. "The food on this street seems far better than at the foot of Taichu. Master, where exactly have we come?"

Yun Shuchen glanced at her again. "With your head full of food, you don't even know where you're going. Aren't you afraid I'll sell you off?"

At that, Yun Shuchen paused mid-step, looked around, and seemed lost in thought.

"...Where is this?"

Qing Zhouxue couldn't help but smile, though the smile quickly faded. Perhaps worried about embarrassing her master, she looked at Yun Shuchen with all seriousness. "I'll ask for directions."

And so, one who was fixated on candied hawthorns, and another who was fixated on her little disciple, finally found their way after wandering about.

"It's here."

Qing Zhouxue surveyed the cliff. It was somewhat lower than Yimeng Cliff. Below, a stream babbled and a waterfall hung. It wasn't a particularly extraordinary sight.

But she could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth stirring here in an unusual way.

"Are you ready?"

Qing Zhouxue took a small step back; unpleasant memories surged up, and a chill ran down her spine.

Yun Shuchen gripped her forearm, drew her close, and they stood face to face, with her disciple's back to the cliff. She looked up with a light smile. "Scared?"

"If you're scared, hold on to your master."

Qing Zhouxue, similar in stature, leaned forward, buried her face, and wrapped her arms around her, holding on a little tightly—then, catching herself, she loosened her grip slightly.

She closed her eyes.

Yun Shuchen leaned forward, and together they tumbled off the cliff, their robes billowing endlessly in the wind, inseparable.

The familiar sensation of weightlessness made Qing Zhouxue instinctively cling to her final anchor in this world, pressing so tightly it seemed she'd fuse her into bone and blood.

Amid the rapid fall, she keenly sensed the spiritual energy surging even more violently.

They fell into a formation and were spat out just a few zhang above the ground. Instinctively, Qing Zhouxue twisted to cushion Yun Shuchen with her own body, and they rolled onto the soft grass.

They tumbled a full turn, leaving Yun Shuchen on top, pinning Qing Zhouxue beneath her.

Qing Zhouxue's dark hair was scattered, spread across the verdant grass, delicate and beautiful. She was still clinging to Yun Shuchen's waist and only released her when she opened her eyes.

Their breaths nearly mingled.

"So you're not so bold after all," Yun Shuchen laughed softly. "Your heart is racing."

"I..." Qing Zhouxue seemed hesitant.

"Mm?"

"It's not entirely from fear," she said quietly.

"...Is that so?" A possibility struck Yun Shuchen, and she paused, her cheeks warming inexplicably. She shifted slightly away.

"Mm." She nodded earnestly.

They helped each other up and looked around. This was a blessed grotto-heaven, its time seemingly out of sync with the outside world. It was already night here; the Milky Way swirled across the sky, brilliant as the Weaving Maid's brocade, the entire sky lit by the river of stars.

Qing Zhouxue looked up at the starry splendor. They had fallen downward, yet now they lay on a flat mountain peak—nothing short of miraculous.

A cool night breeze blew, and Yun Shuchen coughed lightly. Qing Zhouxue leaned against her. "It'll be hard to find anything at night, Master. How about we search at dawn?"

"Alright."

They sat side by side on the peak, and from her jade bracelet, Qing Zhouxue produced a thick garment, draping it over both of them.

A weight settled on Qing Zhouxue's shoulder—Yun Shuchen's head. She looked up at the brilliant river of stars. "Among secret realms, this place is one of the most beautiful."

"It is beautiful. Just a bit cold. Master, are you cold now?"

"This is the benefit of bringing you along. Never too cold or too hot."

Yun Shuchen admired the view for a while, then raised a hand and traced several gestures in the air. Points of light scattered like fireflies, seeming to float right before their eyes.

Qing Zhouxue held her breath, inhaling softly so as not to disturb the myriad tiny lamps. Yun Shuchen fussed with them for quite a while, finally shaping them into the Milky Way's form against the night wind.

"Reach out and pluck the stars," Yun Shuchen said, lowering her hand and leaning against her shoulder again with a soft laugh. "Isn't that so?"

Qing Zhouxue didn't look at the stars. She looked at Yun Shuchen's eyes, where the light glistened brightly.

For some reason, she felt that the true galaxy wasn't in the sky, but held within her master's gaze.

*

The next morning.

They made their way downhill, intending to venture deep into the dense forest in search of a Jade Ear Flower. This small flower had five petals, living up to its name—jade-white and lovely, blooming like scattered stars on the ground. It wasn't a rare find. When affected by spiritual energy, it would protect itself by retreating into the earth like a little turtle, so it had to be picked by bare hand.

Perhaps because of this timid nature... it had become the most common medicinal ingredient for the life-saving pills cultivators take when crossing Thunder Tribulation.

Yun Shuchen watched Qing Zhouxue, basket in hand, bending down one by one to pick the cloud-like flowers. In her white dress, stooping like that, she looked like a spirit from the wilderness, cool and ethereal.

Just as all was serene, Qing Zhouxue keenly smelled a hint of demonic aura. It seemed to be gathering, so she straightened up and warily surveyed her surroundings.

A moment later, it dispersed without a trace, as if it had been an illusion.

Yun Shuchen quietly withdrew her magical power, so subtly that her disciple didn't notice.

She wasn't keen on having such tranquil moments disturbed. With an unchanging expression, she said gently, "It's nothing. Continue picking."

Though Qing Zhouxue was somewhat puzzled, she obediently lowered her head and filled a small basket.

As she left that dense forest, she saw demon corpses along the way, lying in disarray, seemingly killed by shattered cores, with hollowed abdomens. A faint, pungent stench of blood hung in the air.

Qing Zhouxue frowned.

Yun Shuchen looked down at the scene, took a small step back, and frowned slightly. "Quite unsightly."

"Their deaths are peculiar, Master. Keep your distance."

Without realizing it, Qing Zhouxue had taken Yun Shuchen's hand again, leading her along. Yun Shuchen curved her lips slightly, savoring the soft warmth in her palm, and said nothing more.

This was enough.

Perhaps out of a teacher's last shred of propriety, Yun Shuchen had accepted this irrepressible affection but had not yet fully accepted the desire it naturally spawned. Faced with her disciple's flawless face, she vaguely restrained herself from thinking too much about her.

"About what age were you when you broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, Master?" Qing Zhouxue looked at the scenery around her—dense forest, long streams, strange rocks and trees, including a brilliant golden forsythia blooming askew from a crevice.

"Seems I was a year older than you."

In such a secluded realm, the scenery rarely changed. The thought that all Qing Zhouxue could see had once been seen through Yun Shuchen's twenty-one-year-old eyes stirred a strange sensation in her chest.

What was she like at my age?

Qing Zhouxue turned her head to look at her master. The dappled light filtering through the forest played across her face, her brows and eyes carrying a tender, affectionate grace.

She likely wasn't a dull person when young. But Qing couldn't picture how a twenty-one-year-old Yun Shuchen might have been—green and dazzling.

She studied her for a long time, until a gentle squeeze on her palm and the woman's teasing voice broke through: "Watch your step."

*

"Put that flower away properly. Tomorrow we'll need to fetch another item." Noting the darkening sky, Yun Shuchen, familiar with the path, led her around to a cave. "The forest isn't all that large, but anyway," she said as they walked, "I remember there's a hot spring here... Yes, right here."

Before they even approached, warm, humid air rushed to meet them, with the clean sweetness of water.

Qing Zhouxue tested the temperature—neither too hot nor too cold, just right. A faint layer of spiritual energy rippled on its surface, suggesting this was no ordinary spring.

She hadn't bathed yet today. Naturally, Qing Zhouxue shed her outer robe and slowly stepped in. Keeping her master's words in mind, she'd made progress—at least she now turned away in token modesty while undressing.

It was merely a symbolic turn.

She sank into the pool, utterly comfortable. She wanted to suggest her master try it too, but the words lodged in her throat and died. She could guess: Yun Shuchen would never disrobe in front of her, let alone bathe together.

Indeed, at the moment, her master's back was to her.

Unexpectedly, Yun Shuchen's hand went to her own waist, hesitated, then slowly undid her sash, letting the sky-blue gauze slip from her frame.

Qing Zhouxue looked up, startled. The woman's fair shoulders and back emerged in the slide of fabric. When it fell to her waist, she casually pulled free her hairpin, and her hair swept down to cover much of her back, leaving only a slender waist exposed.

Yun Shuchen's earlobes were flushed—perhaps from the heat. Feigning composure, she said, "Move aside a little."

Her obedient disciple shifted to the edge of the small spring. It wasn't large, but it could easily hold two.

Qing Zhouxue stole a glance, then looked away, fixating on the water's surface, adopting a look of perfect propriety.

She must not offend her master. She had already been corrected once for staring while walking. Her master didn't like it.

Qing Zhouxue reminded herself again.

Meanwhile, Yun Shuchen scrutinized her unnoticed. Her disciple looked utterly impassive, cool and distant; her reaction to her master entering the water was less animated than her reaction to dumplings hitting a pot.

Given the novels her disciple favored, she clearly wasn't uninterested in women.

Yet she had only glanced once, then calmly looked away, with no intention of looking again. That had to be her own fault.

Yun Shuchen's hand inadvertently touched her cheek. A suspicion tightened in her chest, giving rise to a pang of melancholy. She recalled some events from her own youth, and a complex mix of emotions swirled within her.

From what she'd observed over the years, if a young woman was inclined toward women, she'd more likely fancy someone sharp and dashing.

And she was hardly that.