“So you’ve fallen for someone else.”
Heat immediately crept across her cheeks.
Still, she didn’t bother denying it.
If Luo Qingyuan no longer believed she was in love with Ling Chen, then it was far better for her to think she liked Xie Yanci instead.
Without another word, Su Wan rolled over under the blanket, turning her back to Luo Qingyuan.
Luo Qingyuan shifted onto her side and looked at her through the faint moonlight filtering in from the window. A trace of amusement lingered in her eyes, but she wisely chose not to point out the name Su Wan had almost blurted out earlier.
Closing her eyes, she quietly drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, in the guest room on the eastern side of the village chief’s house, Ling Chen stared at the lone wooden bed before looking toward the doorway where Xie Yanci had walked out without a backward glance.
He couldn’t help laughing helplessly.
It wasn’t difficult to notice the subtle hostility Xie Yanci held toward him.
He had once assumed it was simply because their personalities didn’t get along.
But after witnessing the interactions between Xie Yanci and Su Wan during the day, he finally understood.
Shaking his head with a sigh, Ling Chen climbed onto the bed.
His thoughts soon returned to tomorrow’s investigation.
The resentment lingering inside the Matchmaking Temple was unusually dense.
Whatever haunted that place was certainly no ordinary evil spirit.
Outside, beneath the covered corridor, the cool night breeze carried the faint fragrance of pear blossoms.
Xie Yanci stood beside one of the wooden pillars with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the darkness.
The moonlight wrapped his solitary figure in an air of cold isolation.
He had deliberately avoided sharing a room with Ling Chen.
Partly because he genuinely disliked him.
And partly because every time he thought about how both Luo Qingyuan’s and Su Wan’s gazes so often lingered on Ling Chen…
An inexplicable frustration welled up inside him.
His thoughts kept returning to Su Wan’s panicked expression during the day.
And to the words she’d spoken so carefully.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
The Su Wan he had always known saw no one except Ling Chen.
Every day she revolved around him.
She had always looked down on Xie Yanci with open disdain.
Since when had she ever sincerely cared about his feelings?
Today’s Su Wan had been anxious…
Earnest…
Completely unlike her former self.
Her words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
“Maybe you’ve only ever seen Senior Sister Luo as an older sister.”
“It’s obvious the one she likes is Ling Chen…”
Every sentence struck directly at the deepest corner of his heart.
It wasn’t as though he hadn’t noticed.
Luo Qingyuan treated him like a younger brother.
A trusted companion on the path of cultivation.
Nothing more.
There had never been even the slightest hint of romantic affection.
Yet the obsession rooted in his heart had grown too deep over the years.
He simply refused to acknowledge it.
Su Wan’s blunt honesty had ripped open the truth he had desperately tried to ignore, leaving him feeling unexpectedly unsettled.
“Meddling…”
he muttered under his breath.
His tone remained cold, but his brows unconsciously knit together in confusion.
He should have hated her for prying into his heart.
He should have resented her interference.
Yet every time he recalled her pale yellow robes fluttering gently in the breeze, her lowered eyelashes, and the faint look of hurt on her face…
That unfamiliar feeling resurfaced.
And refused to disappear.
The night grew colder.
He remained standing beneath the corridor for a long time, caught between years of unrequited devotion to Luo Qingyuan and Su Wan’s sudden, inexplicable concern.
Neither thought would leave him in peace.
Only after the lights throughout Pear Blossom Village gradually went out and silence settled over the village did he finally withdraw his gaze.
The confusion vanished from his eyes, replaced once more by his usual distant indifference.
Finding a clean stone step beneath the corridor, he sat down cross-legged and quietly began to meditate.
In the middle of the night, Su Wan was abruptly awakened by a violent pain twisting through her abdomen.
Her entire body went weak.
Cold sweat soaked her forehead as she desperately pressed both hands against her lower stomach, trembling uncontrollably.
She had remembered perfectly well that tonight marked the fifteenth day.
She should have gone to Xie Yanci earlier to collect her antidote.
But after talking with Luo Qingyuan before bed, the matter had completely slipped her mind.
Only when the agonizing pain erupted did she realize something was terribly wrong.
The noise she’d made while getting up inevitably woke Luo Qingyuan beside her.
Thinking quickly, Su Wan casually claimed she’d eaten something bad.
She hurriedly brushed it off before Luo Qingyuan could ask any more questions, terrified that her unusual condition would be exposed.
The night air was cold.
Leaning heavily against the wall, Su Wan slowly staggered out of the room.
She had intended to knock on Xie Yanci’s guest room door.
Instead, the moment she stepped into the courtyard, she spotted him.
He was still sitting beneath the corridor, quietly meditating.
Moonlight fell across his white robes, making him appear even more distant and untouchable.
His eyes remained lowered, his entire body radiating an unmistakable aura that warned others to stay away.
Su Wan’s vision blurred from the pain.
She no longer had the energy to worry about awkwardness or pride.
Holding her stomach, she stumbled toward him.
With trembling fingers, she gently tugged at his sleeve.
Her voice came out hoarse and barely audible.
“Xie Yanci…”
“Give me… the antidote…”
Xie Yanci had been unable to calm his thoughts all night.
His mind remained tangled with everything Su Wan had said earlier that day.
Lost in thought, he suddenly felt someone tug at his sleeve.
Then he heard her weak, raspy voice.
He instinctively looked up.
What greeted him was Su Wan’s deathly pale face.
The lively brightness usually shining in her eyes had vanished.
Her brows were tightly furrowed in pain.
Her lips were drained of all color.
Cold sweat covered her forehead.
The spirited girl who always argued with him had completely disappeared.
Only unbearable suffering remained.
Almost instinctively—
Without the slightest hesitation—
He flipped his wrist.
A crimson antidote pill appeared in his palm.
He immediately held it out to her.
Only after Su Wan accepted it with trembling fingers did he seem to realize what he’d done.
Frowning, he spoke in his usual cold tone.
“You’re hopeless.”
“You don’t even care about your own life.”
“It seems you haven’t taken the Eclipse Poison seriously at all.”
Su Wan clutched the warm pill.
Without wasting another second, she swallowed it.
Less than fifteen minutes later, the excruciating pain finally subsided.
She released a long breath.
Her body was still weak from the lingering effects of the attack.
Leaning against one of the corridor pillars, she slowly crouched down.
Damp strands of hair clung to her sweat-soaked forehead.
Speaking in a small, aggrieved voice, she explained,
“I just… forgot because I got busy…”
“I really did remember the date.”
“But after everything that happened tonight, it completely slipped my mind.”
“The moment the pain started, I came looking for you right away.”
The night breeze drifted beneath the corridor, carrying the sweet scent of pear blossoms and gently lifting the loose strands of hair beside her face.
Xie Yanci looked down silently.
Curled up beneath the moonlight, the girl seemed especially fragile in her pale yellow robes.
Gone was the arrogant young lady who used to chase after Ling Chen.
Gone was the sharp-tongued girl who constantly argued with him.
The strange feeling in his heart quietly surfaced again.
He should have scolded her for being so careless.
He should have remained cold and indifferent, letting her suffer the consequences herself.
Yet seeing her drenched in sweat, her brows knitted together in pain…
The harsh words that reached his lips refused to come out.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
His voice remained calm, though noticeably gentler than before.
“The Eclipse Poison grows stronger every month.”
“If you’re late taking the antidote, your meridians will be damaged.”
“Your cultivation could even be permanently weakened.”
“No one else can bear those consequences for you.”
Su Wan rested for another moment before slowly standing.
Leaning against the pillar, she looked up at him.
The moonlight outlined his sharp features.
His tone was still as blunt as ever.
Yet when she’d asked for the antidote earlier…
He hadn’t hesitated even for an instant.
She sighed inwardly.
Xie Yanci might be stubborn, awkward, and obsessive to the core…
But he simply couldn’t bring himself to ignore her life.
“I’ll remember.”
“I won’t forget again.”
she murmured.
The pain in her abdomen had almost completely disappeared, leaving behind only a faint soreness.
She dared not remain outside much longer.
If Luo Qingyuan woke again, questions would surely follow.
“Thank you, Xie Yanci.”
She quietly expressed her gratitude before turning to leave.
She had barely taken two steps when his calm voice sounded behind her.
“Wait.”
Su Wan stopped and turned around in confusion.
Xie Yanci reached into his sleeve and withdrew a small white porcelain bottle.
Holding it out toward her, he said evenly,
“There are three antidote pills inside.”
“Keep them.”
“In the future, you won’t need to come running to me in a panic every time the poison acts up.”
“Just take one on schedule.”
Su Wan blinked in surprise.
She hadn’t expected him to prepare extra antidotes for her in advance.
Reaching out, she accepted the cool porcelain bottle.
It was small and exquisitely crafted.
An unexpected warmth quietly spread through her heart.
Looking up at him, she smiled with genuine gratitude.
“Thank you, Xie Yanci.”
Her clear almond-shaped eyes reflected the moonlight.
This time, there was no deliberate distance between them.
Only quiet sincerity.
Xie Yanci’s gaze paused for the briefest moment.
He immediately looked away, turning toward the dark night once more.
When he spoke again, his voice had returned to its usual detached calm.
“…Go back and rest.”
Author’s Note (not part of the main story):
In case anyone is wondering why Ling Chen never suspected that Xie Yanci was in love with Luo Qingyuan:
That’s because Ling Chen had always regarded Su Wan as nothing more than a younger sister. Naturally, he assumed Xie Yanci viewed Luo Qingyuan the same way—as an older sister. Likewise, Luo Qingyuan herself had always treated Xie Yanci as a younger brother. From Ling Chen’s perspective, there was never any reason to interpret their relationship romantically.