“It’s… it’s nothing.”
Xu Songhe squeezed the shard in her hand, staring at him nervously as her palms grew sweaty.
[Host, there is no need to panic,] a voice echoed.
[The shard will automatically disappear once its use is complete.]
She glanced down, and sure enough, the shard was gone. All that remained were faint ripples of water gliding across her palm.
Xu Songhe forced a smile. “Young Master, I thought you weren’t coming in tonight.”
The young man leaned against the doorframe. The night had grown late, and moonlight filtered through the thin window, washing over his features.
“I’ve been here for some time,” he said softly. “I was simply wondering what could have captivated you so completely that you didn’t even notice me.”
He’s been here this whole time?
Xu Songhe’s smile froze. So, in his eyes, have I just been staring foolishly at a piece of glass?
Hiding her embarrassment, she met his gaze with an expression of complete sincerity. “I was just thinking about a few things… about how to help you find your body.”
“And have you found a way?”
“…Not yet.”
She paused, a thought striking her. “Young Master, can’t you sense where your body is?”
She had never even seen what his true form looked like. How could she help him find it? She was willing, but completely helpless.
“Yes.”
Meeting her expectant gaze, Qi Wuyang chuckled softly. “Why do you think I came here?”
“Ah,” Xu Songhe breathed, her eyes darting around the room. “You mean… it’s here?”
This is just one of the places, she thought.
“It’s on the kind Shopkeeper who moved you to tears twice.” His gaze swept over her face, as if he could read her every thought. “Do you believe me when I say he’s not a good man?”
Before her mind could even process the question, Xu Songhe blurted out, “I believe you.”
“Is that so?” Qi Wuyang’s eyes narrowed.
He suddenly leaned in close, his cool scent instantly enveloping her. “But just today, you called him a good man.”
“I despise deception most of all.”
If she dared to lie to him now, she would surely betray him in the future. It would be better to kill a traitor sooner than later than to keep one by his side.
Sensing the subtle displeasure in his tone, Xu Songhe immediately raised three fingers in a solemn vow. “Young Master, I am on your side. I only trust you. If you say he’s a good man, he is. If you say he isn’t, then he isn’t.”
He didn’t answer. Xu Songhe had no idea if her words had been enough to convince him.
After a long moment, Qi Wuyang’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, dispelling the tension from before. “Your rabbit doesn’t want you anymore.”
“Huh?”
Xu Songhe glanced at his mischievous expression, genuinely confused for a heartbeat before realizing the white fluffball beside her had vanished.
“Hey, Little White—”
She scooped up the rabbit from the offering table, relieved it hadn’t knocked anything over this time. “I told you not to run off. Why are you so disobedient?”
But Little White struggled fiercely, wriggling out of her grasp and hopping away to cower in a corner.
“What’s wrong? It’s okay, I wasn’t really scolding you, just don’t…”
Xu Songhe reached out to comfort it, but paused when she touched its fur.
It was trembling.
Is it sick? she wondered. Did it get too cold just now?
She gently stroked the rabbit until its shivering fur finally calmed. Just then, an apple flew through the air and landed right by her feet.
The rabbit seemed absolutely terrified. It kicked its legs frantically and shot into her arms like a bullet.
“Don’t be scared, it’s just an apple, not a bomb.”
But the rabbit’s reaction was even more frantic, as if the fruit were a death warrant rather than an apple.
Xu Songhe frowned, bringing the apple to her nose. “Strange. It just smells like an apple to me. But if you don’t like it, I’ll just move it away…”
“You don’t have a spirit core, of course you can’t smell its abnormality,” the young man said casually, tossing the apple in his hand.
Xu Songhe looked at the trembling Little White, her face full of suspicion. “But does it have a spirit core? It’s just a rabbit.”
Qi Wuyang’s gaze swept over the rabbit. As if it had been struck by lightning, the creature shrunk back into her arms.
“How do you know it’s just an ordinary rabbit and not a rabbit demon?”
“I…”
The question stumped her. She truly didn’t know.
How could she have forgotten? This world was anything but normal. The odds were high that a rabbit wouldn’t just be an ordinary rabbit.
Xu Songhe lowered her head, and Little White poked its head out of her arms, staring up at her with its wide eyes.
But what does it matter if such a cute little thing is a demon? Besides, the System hasn’t warned me of any danger, so it can’t be a threat.
She quickly returned to the subject at hand, looking up at Qi Wuyang. “Young Master, what’s strange about this apple?”
“Nothing much.” He kept his gaze lowered, his expression languid and listless. “If you want to know, go ask that man Yu. Isn’t he a good man?”
Xu Songhe stared, confused.
Whether Shopkeeper Yu was a good man or not was one thing, she thought, but why was she so unlucky? What had she done to offend this formidable person?
“But it’s just the two of us here,” she said, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Young Master, why do you think Shopkeeper Yu isn’t a good person? Does this apple have something to do with him?”
“Didn’t I tell you to ask him yourself?”
“But he isn’t here.”
A moment of silence hung in the air. After a brief exchange of glances, the young man turned and strode away, the hem of his robes fluttering past her.
With a flick of his sleeve, the front doors flew open with a resounding bang. A small figure appeared outside in the falling snow.
“Now he’s here.” Qi Wuyang looked back at her, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
Xu Songhe followed his gaze and saw a stunned Shopkeeper Yu, frozen in place.
“Shopkeeper, what are you doing here?” she asked.
Yu Baisui quickly hid his astonishment, his face rearranging itself into a benevolent smile. “Oh my, what are you two doing here? Didn’t A-Fang take you to your room?”
“We felt terrible about it, so we came to light some incense for your statue,” Xu Songhe quickly made up an excuse.
She blinked and asked again, “But it’s so late. What are you doing here?”
Yu Baisui stroked his chin, his gaze falling on the rabbit in her arms.
He chuckled softly. “Small animals often come here to shelter from the snow. I came to see if any were out tonight. It would be a shame if they froze.”
He glanced at the offerings on the table and smiled. “You two don’t need to be so formal. As a physician, helping others is simply my nature. But if you really feel indebted, why not come back to the pharmacy with me and help out with some chores?”
He added gently, “Don’t worry, I won’t tire you out.”
Xu Songhe looked down at Little White, and they exchanged a glance.
As Shopkeeper Yu turned to leave, she hurried after him. “Shopkeeper, wait for us!”
“Young Master, aren’t you coming?” she asked softly, stopping beside Qi Wuyang.
He met her gaze, his voice devoid of emotion. “Didn’t you say you only trust my words?”
“I do believe you. That’s why I don’t fully trust him anymore.” Xu Songhe tugged at his sleeve, trying to pull him along. “But that’s exactly why we have to follow him—to see if he’s actually doing anything wrong…”
“Oh.”
Qi Wuyang stared at her for a long moment. Only when Shopkeeper Yu paused and glanced back at them in confusion did he finally utter that single word.
Xu Songhe let out a sigh of relief. She quickly grabbed his sleeve again and hurried after Yu Baisui.
The snow continued to fall, intermittent and sparse, like salt grains sprinkled by a celestial maiden. She turned her head and saw a thin layer of white dusting his hair and shoulders.
The door to the pharmacy’s back courtyard was left ajar. As Yu Baisui pushed it open, a heavy aroma of herbs mingled with a strange, sweet fragrance wafted out.
Xu Songhe’s footsteps faltered. In her arms, Little White suddenly began to struggle violently, its claws scratching her wrist until it hurt.
“That rabbit is certainly timid,” Yu Baisui said, turning back with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
“Perhaps it’s not used to the smell of medicine. Miss, would you like to leave it in the bamboo cage in the outer room?”
As if it understood, Little White struggled even more fiercely.
Xu Songhe stroked its fur to soothe it. “No, it’s probably just scared of strangers. It’ll settle down in a moment.”
Yu Baisui nodded, led them to their respective rooms, and left a candle burning. After a few brief instructions, he turned and left.
“You trust him?” Qi Wuyang leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest.
He watched her with a faint, knowing smile. “Aren’t you afraid of what might be hidden in this room?”
She used to be terrified of dying, he thought, yet now she’s willing to trust just any stranger.
Xu Songhe shook her head. “I don’t trust him. I trust you.”
He fell silent, one eyebrow raised, waiting for her to continue.
“Young Master, you’re so capable,” she said. “What’s a mere shopkeeper like Yu to you?”
The moonlight slanted into the room, filtering through her green cloak and casting a soft glow over her slightly messy black hair. Without the rabbit in her arms, she stood before him like a piece of translucent jade.
Xu Songhe smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. “Besides, didn’t you say your body is connected to him? No matter how dangerous it is, we have to come.”
The trace of skepticism and mockery in the young man’s eyes seemed to fade. He tilted his head, his face bathed in moonlight. “What does that have to do with you? Aren’t you afraid of dying anymore?”
It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid. The problem was that in her current situation, she had no idea where else she could go to survive…
It was better to stick by the side of a powerful figure. At least his favorability rating for her was at twenty now, so he probably wouldn’t harm her for the time being.
Perhaps… he might even protect her along the way.
Xu Songhe, of course, kept these thoughts to herself. She didn’t want to continue this conversation anyway. She gave his arm a gentle push, pretending to close the door.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, she suddenly called out to him. Under his confused gaze, she silently mouthed a phrase:
“Young Master, good night.”
Qi Wuyang paused. His furrowed brow betrayed his genuine confusion. “‘Good night’? What does that mean?”
Oh right, she thought. I forgot he and I aren’t from the same world.
She wasn’t sure how to explain it, but considering the person standing before her was her conquest target, Xu Songhe didn’t think too much.
She simply let out a soft laugh, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek.
“Where I’m from, we only say ‘good night’ to people we like. It means… I wish you sweet dreams, and that everything you dream of will come true when you wake.”