Chapter 28

A smile played around her lips as she worked, back turned to him, her fingers moving deftly.
After a short while, Jiang Yu turned around, hands still hidden behind her back. She walked up to him with a light, bouncy step and smiled. “Hand.”
Shen Anzhi obediently opened his pale, slender palm.
A slightly lopsided but vividly alive little grass bird slipped from her hand and dropped into his. It rustled faintly against his skin, light as a whisper.
The woven bird still held the last traces of warmth from her palm, a hint of her scent caught in the weave.
“For you. It’s just a little grass bird, though,” Jiang Yu said, offering a perfectly measured smile while quietly watching his face.
Shen Anzhi’s breath stuttered. He stared for a moment, then his finger brushed unconsciously along the rough little wing. When he looked up again, there was a smile at the corner of his mouth whose meaning was hard to read. “I underestimated Senior Sister.”
His gaze flicked to the crooked beak. “Your craftsmanship… is rather crude.” But his fingers had curled around it just a touch too tightly.
Jiang Yu pouted. “I admit it turned out ugly. It’s hard to make, all right? If you don’t like it, give it back.”
“That won’t do.” Shen Anzhi slipped it casually into his inner robe, right over his heart, then changed the subject with practiced ease. “Senior Sister has woven one before? And… who did you give it to?”
Jiang Yu shook her head. “No. I’m really terrible at it. But this one is the best I’ve ever made.”
Seeing the way he looked like he despised it with his eyes yet tucked it away so carefully, her heart felt wonderfully satisfied.
Shen Anzhi’s lips curved as he slanted a look at her. “The workmanship is a bit rough… but you can still tell it’s supposed to be a bird.”
Jiang Yu raised her tone slightly in mock annoyance, squeezing out a smile. “Junior Brother.”
“Mm.” Shen Anzhi deliberately paused. “It’s acceptable. I… don’t dislike it.”
Her expression softened; she grinned, bright as sunshine, and nodded along with his words.
His long lashes trembled, casting a faint shadow as his gaze dropped to her hand. The green blades had scraped her skin, leaving faint scratches; the wrapped wound was stained with green sap. She didn’t seem to care at all, just headed down the mountain as usual.
Arms folded, Shen Anzhi watched her profile from the side. She truly didn’t care about herself.
Dawn light bled into the sky, pale sun breaking through the clouds.
The farther Jiang Yu walked, the dizzier she felt. She forced herself to keep up behind him. The place where the mist fiend’s coils had constricted her earlier was now an angry welt beneath her clothes, swollen, burning and itching all at once.
Shen Anzhi noticed something was off. His steps stopped dead. A breath later, a not-too-light force collided squarely with his back.
She let out a muffled “oof,” clapped a hand over her throbbing nose, and tears sprang to the corners of her eyes. A gust of wind brushed past her ear.
Jiang Yu blinked up at him, a little dazed, rubbing her brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Senior Sister, that’s what I should be asking you.” Shen Anzhi turned his head, lightly tugging her wrist.
Jiang Yu just started to look up when the sky and clouds abruptly spun. A crushing sleepiness rose up like a tide and swallowed her whole.
Darkness slammed down in front of her eyes. Her body went boneless, collapsing to the side.
The usual gloom in Shen Anzhi’s eyes shattered in an instant; a flash of rare panic streaked through them, gone so fast it might’ve been an illusion. He reacted on instinct, one arm catching her falling waist, the other bracing the back of her neck, gathering her completely into his arms. “Senior Sister, ”
The face in his arms had lost all its usual glow, pale and bloodless, delicate brows drawn tight in pain. His gaze slid lower, catching on the vivid red swelling beneath her slipped sleeve. His pupils contracted sharply.
She endured all this without saying a word…
He scooped her up in a princess carry. Spiritual power surged as he summoned the Copper Coin Sword; they became a sharp streak of light, tearing through the dusk and streaking down toward the inn at the foot of the mountain.
When Jiang Yu woke groggily, she twitched her fingers and realized her neck and wrist were both bound with white gauze. Thin green herbal juice had soaked through, releasing a light grassy scent.
Her eyes flicked toward the door just as three steady knocks sounded, followed by Shen Anzhi’s familiar voice. “Senior Sister, you awake?”
“Mm. I’m awake.”
Having gotten her answer, he pushed the door open and came in, a small porcelain bottle in hand. His fingers turned it once before he set it on the table. Seeing her face still pale, something dark rippled faintly through his eyes.
Jiang Yu pushed herself upright. Shen Anzhi had already uncorked the bottle and held it out. A bitter, indescribable smell hit her nose. “Drink.”
Her clear, watery eyes spun once as she thought it over, then she smiled. “Don’t tell me you mixed this yourself?”
Shen Anzhi lowered his voice; it came out scratchy, his tone half teasing and half serious. “Mm. Senior Sister can help judge my personally brewed ‘poison.’”
Jiang Yu was speechless for a beat, then leaned in to sniff. Aside from the awful smell, nothing seemed wrong. Pinching her nose, she downed it in one go. The bitterness exploded across her tongue, making her smack her lips twice before muttering, “So bitter. It’s no good as poison, aren’t the best poisons supposed to be colorless and tasteless, silent killers?”
He’d expected her to go wide-eyed with horror. In his mind, his Senior Sister’s courage was as tiny as always. Instead she tossed the word “poison” around like it was nothing, not a hint of fear.
At that thought his fingers tightened slightly around the cool jade bottle before sliding it back into his sleeve. A smile tugged at his lips as he deliberately lowered his tone. “In that case… seems Senior Sister truly has sharp eyes. Hard to fool you. Next time,” his gaze flickered, amusement deepening, “I’ll find a real poison for you.”
Jiang Yu let out two dry laughs, still a little hoarse from sleep. “Junior Brother, that really won’t be necessary.”
Who gives people poison as a gift… as expected of this black-lotus bastard.
Turning away, Shen Anzhi’s gaze lingered on her face for the briefest instant. His voice gave nothing away. “Senior Sister should rest well.” As soon as the words fell, he turned and left.
After he left and she lay back down, Jiang Yu slept restlessly. She dreamed of the little pavilion again, just as she reached to lift the length of white gauze pooling on the floor, she jolted awake, catching the sound of voices outside that weren’t exactly quiet.
“If she survived the mist fiend, it means the fiend’s miasma has invaded her eyes. Without Spirit Abyss Grass to treat it, I fear it will sink into the heart meridians and damage her foundation. That would be a crippling blow to any cultivator. Young Master Shen, you should send Miss Jiang back to the Crane Sect as soon as possible,” Ning Hechi said.
Yesterday, when everyone in Penglai Pavilion saw Shen Anzhi carrying Jiang Yu back, they’d all been stunned.
“I will look after my Senior Sister myself. No need for outsiders to worry,” Shen Anzhi replied, arms folded, eyes slanting to the side with a light smile. “If anything, Ning Hechi, you seem rather overly concerned about her.”
Jiang Yu instinctively held her breath, creeping to the door and squatting down with her ear to it.
Miasma had invaded her body?
“And… I won’t let anything happen to her,” Shen Anzhi added. As he spoke, a restless heat flashed through the darkness of his eyes.
Why was he holding her so tightly in his heart…?
Her legs went numb from crouching. She pushed the door open a crack just as Ning Hechi let out a soft sigh, and they nearly bumped heads.
“Young Master Ning, you weren’t talking about me, were you…” Jiang Yu shot Shen Anzhi a desperate look. “Junior Brother, look at me. Is there still hope?”
“There is.” Shen Anzhi’s thumb rubbed the copper coin, his gaze drifting between the two of them as an unreasonable irritation stirred in his chest.
He didn’t linger. As he turned to leave, his steps faltered for just a heartbeat. He glanced back, letting a harmless, almost gentle smile curve his lips. His gaze was faint, yet somehow hooked onto her, scraping lightly over her skin.
Jiang Yu felt oddly flustered under that look. She lifted a hand and waved with a smile to see him off.
“Just now, Young Master Shen’s smile…” Ning Hechi had taken in her subtle movements, his tone thoughtful. “He looks like a cat with its claws tucked away, impossible to read.”
“Not entirely,” Jiang Yu replied, lips lifting in a small arc. She looked up and laughed softly. “Sometimes, my Junior Brother… can be unexpectedly considerate.”
Hearing her speak up for Shen Anzhi, something snagged in Ning Hechi’s throat; a nameless feeling rose there before he chuckled it off. “Miss Jiang, I’ve just received word: the rest of Penglai Pavilion’s disciples arrived this morning. And as it happens, Crane Sect’s crane-cloud ship has also docked today.”
Thinking of Gu Shuyu and the others, Jiang Yu smiled. “Thank you for telling me, Master Ning. Where will they disembark? I should go meet them.”
“Judging by the time, they’re likely already on their way to the inn. If Miss Jiang doesn’t mind, you could come with me.”
“Sure. Let me tidy up a bit first.”
Back in her room, Jiang Yu let out a long breath. Once she’d straightened her robes and checked herself over twice, she went down with him.
Crane Sect’s crane-cloud ship hovered outside Tianji City. Concealing their presence, the group slipped quietly into the city.
The streets were steeped in a deathly stillness; many people were leaving, few dared come in.
Gu Shuyu entered the inn with sword in hand, disciples from the various inner courts of Crane Sect and Fang Weiyun following behind her.
Jiang Yu was happily enjoying a bowl of pumpkin porridge. When she caught sight of that familiar blue silhouette, she waved with a bright smile.
Seeing her safe and sound, the boulder on Gu Shuyu’s heart finally dropped; her peerless, chilly beauty softened as she sat at Jiang Yu’s side.
“Senior Sister, Senior Brother Fang, you’re finally here,” Jiang Yu said with a grin.
“Penglai Pavilion’s message said you went up the mountain yesterday,” Gu Shuyu’s tone held a faint edge.
Jiang Yu pressed her lips together. She knew she couldn’t hide it and decided there was no point trying, so she twisted her fingers in her sleeve and recounted what had happened with Zhuge Jin, skimming lightly over the part about her injured eyes.
But the moment the words “miasma in the eyes” fell, Gu Shuyu’s face frosted over. Her fingertips went cold as they clamped around Jiang Yu’s wrist pulse; she closed her eyes to probe carefully.
Sure enough, there were traces of cold, evil qi that had once lingered in the meridians around her eyes. Thankfully, most of it had already dispersed and frozen in place.
Jiang Yu forced an easy smile. “I’m really fine now, Senior Sister. See? I’m still bouncing around.”
Fang Weiyun flicked his white fan open and shut with a soft snap, casting her a look tinged with envy. “You don’t know this, Junior Sister Jiang, but your Senior Sister was so worried about the two of you that she cut her closed-door cultivation short and rushed here.”
Gu Shuyu’s hand tightened slightly on her sword hilt. Anxiety pressed at her lips as she quietly asked, “Where is our junior brother?”
Jiang Yu shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Gu Shuyu’s brows knit. “If I’d known, I never would’ve agreed to let him take you down the mountain alone.”
It was Jiang Yu’s first time seeing Gu Shuyu genuinely angry; her heart lurched. She scooted closer, clutching her wrist in a coaxing little shake. “It was my idea to have Junior Brother come with me. Please don’t be mad at him, Senior Sister.”
In just a few days, Jiang Yu’s temperament had softened. Before, she’d have already been kicking up a fuss, clinging and whining to be hauled back to the sect.
Gu Shuyu studied her face with surprise, looking her over several times, as though trying to spot what had changed. “Tomorrow you’ll leave Tianji City and return to the sect on the crane ship. The sect has a stalk of Spirit Abyss Grass in its stores.”
“No, Senior Sister.” Jiang Yu’s voice turned serious. “I’m a disciple of Crane Sect. I volunteered to come here; how could I back down before the battle even begins? Besides… Junior Brother said he absolutely wouldn’t let me die here.”
“He has no business going after it,” Gu Shuyu said sharply. “Reckless, without a thought for consequence.”
Fang Weiyun quickly picked up the jade pot and poured her a cup of steaming spirit tea. “Junior Sister Jiang may not know, Spirit Abyss Grass grows deep in the hive of bee fiends. Their cultivation might be shallow, but they swarm at the slightest disturbance. Their venomous stingers fall like rain. It’s extremely dangerous.”
“What?”
Jiang Yu’s hands trembled; the warm teacup nearly slipped before she set it down hard on the table.
She had never imagined Shen Anzhi would risk something like that for her. Her brows drew tight, fists clenching.
“It’s that dangerous, and he still went alone… No. I have to find him.” She pushed at the table, half rising in panic.
Her mind flashed, unbidden, to the single remaining “replay” she had left. If something happened to Shen Anzhi… it would be even worse.
Fang Weiyun pressed the fan handle lightly against her shoulder, easing her back down. His warm voice held a note of comfort. “Junior Sister Jiang, be at ease. Think: where would you even go to look for him? He left without a word. Clearly, he had already decided to go alone and come back alone.”
Jiang Yu’s knuckles had gone white. She looked at him, thinking fast, then said, “We can send messages. Track him. I have plenty of tracking artifacts.”
Gu Shuyu felt Shen Anzhi’s actions were beyond inappropriate. But remembering that she herself had allowed him to bring Jiang Yu to Tianji City, and that it was his rash decision that had stirred this hornet’s nest, she forced herself to stay calm.
In a softer tone she said, “You’ll share a room with me tonight. As for Shen Junior Brother… he’s always known his limits.”
Jiang Yu hadn’t expected Gu Shuyu to refuse. “All right, Senior Sister.”
That night, they stayed in the same room. The innkeeper had a soft couch brought in. Jiang Yu lay on her side on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Now that she’d experienced what it meant to have miasma invade her body, she understood all too well. Every time she closed her eyes, dim white lights seemed to flit and flicker across her vision, like countless tiny insects crawling through her field of sight, too bright to let her rest.
Only two faint breathing sounds filled the room. At last, Jiang Yu lifted her skirt hem and climbed carefully out of bed, tiptoeing out to the ruins of Shen Anzhi’s room next door.
The charred door leaned crookedly against the frame, ready to keel over at any moment, like a boundary marker for the living and the dead.
Yesterday Jiang Yu had explained everything to the innkeeper; the room had been left exactly as it was.
Ash covered the floor. There was nowhere clean to put a foot.
Peering inside, she saw it, that looked like… Shen Anzhi on the floor in the middle.
Her pupils contracted.
The array beneath him had just gone dark, snuffing out its last embers.
At the sound at the door, Shen Anzhi pushed himself halfway upright, wiping the blood at the corner of his mouth away with the back of his hand. His head turned sharply toward the noise, eyes still rimmed with the lingering viciousness of killing intent.
When he realized it was a flash of crimson skirts and those bright, familiar eyes, he froze for half a heartbeat, then lowered his gaze and let an unreadable smile curve his mouth.
“Senior Sister, what brings you here?”
The hem of his black robe pooled around him. He casually straightened it, hiding the remaining traces of the array. His dark clothes were torn in several places; his arms and calves were seeping dark, damp patches of blood.
“You’re back…” Jiang Yu’s voice came out tinged with relief as she lifted her head. But her steps stuttered to a halt. Shen Anzhi had risen to his feet, standing still within the shadows. The heavy darkness seemed to have soaked into the depths of his eyes; one look made her feel as if her blood had turned to ice.
He didn’t fully understand why he cared so much. His fist tightened until the copper coin bit into his palm.
For a moment, her mind blanked. Why was Shen Anzhi looking at her… like that?
“Junior Brother…”
“Saves me the trouble of coming to find you,” he cut in.
He lowered his voice on purpose, taking slow steps toward her. His eyes traced every flicker of expression on her face. The faint scent of blood and that strange sweetness clung to him as he leaned in just a fraction. Some of the darkness in his gaze eased.
“Senior Sister, you’d better finish every last drop.”
He lifted her wrist and placed a plant in her palm, a small, unremarkable seven-leafed green herb, still damp with soil, radiating pure, rich spiritual energy.
“Take it.” His lashes dipped as he glanced at her, that shadow casting over his pale face. A moment later he pivoted away in a rush, leaving only the sound of his retreating footsteps behind.
The breeze he kicked up brushed stray strands of hair across her cheek, making it itch faintly. Jiang Yu blinked, confused.
Usually Shen Anzhi moved like a cat, silent and light. Now his footsteps were uneven, one heavy and one light, with a hint of haste.
So he was badly hurt, then.
She finally snapped out of it. By the time she turned, he’d already vanished beyond the doorway. “Running off in such a hurry…”
Cradling the Spirit Abyss Grass back to her room, she stared at the pristine herb, lost in thought. Turning over the last few days in her mind, her lips slowly curved. A bold thought took shape, this plan seemed to be yielding results.
“Junior Sister…” Gu Shuyu had ended her meditation on the soft couch. She lifted the curtain and stepped down. “You couldn’t sleep?”
“Did I disturb you, Senior Sister?” Jiang Yu lowered her voice.
“It’s fine.” Gu Shuyu’s gaze fell to the Spirit Abyss Grass in her hand. She didn’t need to ask to guess. “Junior Brother Shen found it? I didn’t expect him to actually make it through the bee fiends’ hive.”
She gave Jiang Yu a puzzled, slightly astonished look. The younger girl was resting her cheek in her palm, staring at the herb.
Jiang Yu might not realize it, but Gu Shuyu did, after ten years, she knew Shen Anzhi. He had never put anyone else in his eyes.
He was always a little difficult to grasp.
Gu Shuyu started to speak, then thought better of it. “Junior Brother… forget it. Junior Sister, I’ll use spiritual power to extract the essence.”
As she spoke, she guided her qi, refining the Spirit Abyss Grass into a liquid and pouring it into a small white porcelain bottle.
Jiang Yu took it with a faint frown, held her breath, and knocked back the bitter liquid. As it slid down her throat, a warm, pure spiritual energy immediately bloomed, washing through her limbs and bones, chasing out the deep chill even from her fingers.
She exhaled in lazy contentment, leaning into Gu Shuyu a little, her eyes tinged with dependence. “Much better, Senior Sister.”
“Remember this, Junior Sister: you mustn’t ever let anyone harm you,” Gu Shuyu said quietly. She hesitated, then added, “Especially your eyes. They’re far too fragile.”
Jiang Yu looped an arm around hers, smiling sweetly as she nodded. “I know, Senior Sister. I’ll definitely protect myself.”
After a few more soft words, Jiang Yu lay down again and, once more, dreamed of the little pavilion.
In the dream, white mist lay thick as milk.
She wandered aimlessly for who knew how long until the burble of water finally cut through the fog.
Following the sound, she saw a small pavilion roofed with glazed tiles. Sheets of white gauze hung like waterfalls from its eaves, drifting in the wind, revealing only the faint outline of someone lounging within.
“This dream again… Who are you?” Jiang Yu asked warily.
Slender fingers toyed idly with a jade cup, its rim brushing against thin lips. “Jiang Yu, have you forgotten?”
The scene tickled unbearably at her curiosity. She hated riddles. Unable to hold back, she grabbed a corner of the gauze, held her breath, and yanked it up.
“Ouch!”
Something caught her foot and she pitched forward, the gauze wrapping around her like a net. In reality, Jiang Yu rolled clean off the bed and landed sprawled on the floor.
Waking with a start, she rubbed her bumped forehead, stunned that a man from a dream could hook her attention like that. Gu Shuyu had already gone downstairs. Jiang Yu stretched out her wrists and ankles, splashed some cold water on her face, and woke up a little more.
After straightening herself up in the mirror, she lifted her skirts and headed lazily downstairs.
She’d just rounded the staircase when she heard Gu Shuyu’s voice from the common room below, cold, edged with anger. Shen Anzhi stood with his head slightly lowered, listening in silence.
The moment his eyes lifted and met hers from across the room, something unspoken passed between them. For some reason, he seemed to tuck away every thorn and claw, going utterly still.
Jiang Yu pressed a hand over her heart and bit her lip.
Gu Shuyu’s fingers tapped the green porcelain teacup with a soft “tak” against the blackwood table. A few drops of tea splashed out.
“Junior Brother,” she said, voice not loud but heavy with oncoming storm, “bringing Junior Sister into the mountains was your misstep. If she were harmed because of you, it wouldn’t just be Crane Sect, even the Jiang clan of Fengyun City would overturn the heavens.”
She paused, fingertip tracing the rim of the cup. Her tone eased a fraction but remained icy and firm. “For the sake of the Spirit Abyss Grass you retrieved, your merit can offset your fault, for now. You’ll take three lashes of the punishment whip. Consider it a minor chastisement.”
“Yes, Senior Sister.” Shen Anzhi lowered his gaze, hiding the depth there, playing the obedient junior to perfection.
With his arms folded, he glanced sideways at Jiang Yu. Between the two of them… They really were worlds apart.
Jiang Yu nearly choked. She hurried down the stairs. “If Junior Brother has to be punished, then I should be punished too. Zhuge Jin plotted against the both of us, and I dragged him down with me.”
“Junior Brother would never recklessly throw himself into danger, not without cause. And with your meager cultivation, why would he bring you into such risk… unless, ” Gu Shuyu’s eyes sharpened, suspicion surging, “unless from the very beginning, he was gambling with his own life, and yours.”
Her gaze grew unconsciously stern, anger rising from somewhere deep. Her voice chilled. “You may be spared this time. When you both return from this duty, you will go straight to the rear courtyard to carry out the punishment. No excuses.”
“Yes, Senior Sister.” Shen Anzhi’s Adam’s apple moved. He swallowed whatever defense had almost escaped and let his eyes slide briefly to Jiang Yu.
She opened her mouth, about to say something to ease the tension, when he spoke first.
Arms folded, he let a faint, utterly emotionless smile touch his lips. His voice dropped, slow and unnervingly calm, sending a tightness pricking under the skin. “Senior Sister… is there anything left to say?”
He gave a soft, humorless hum, then let his gaze drift across Jiang Yu’s face, brushing past her shoulder as that falsely mild smile deepened. “Besides… it is the truth.”
Jiang Yu’s fists clenched. Irritation flared.
He’d rather let Gu Shuyu misunderstand him than explain himself. Wasn’t he supposed to care about what she thought?