When Chi Yao woke again, she felt a trace of spiritual energy lingering inside her body that was not her own.
This spiritual energy was nourishing her meridians, much like the sensation from when her Senior Brother had examined her meridians last time, and even her breath seemed to be wrapped in that fragrance unique to her Senior Brother.
Chi Yao was dazed for a moment.
She quickly realized that the fragrance lingering at the tip of her nose was no illusion.
It really was the scent of her Senior Brother.
Chi Yao greedily breathed in deeply, only for the fragrance to grow even richer.
Stronger than it had ever been before, it gave her the illusion of nestling in Shen Yu's arms.
Yet she was clearly lying on a bed right now.
No—wait!
This was not her bed!
Chi Yao jolted awake and sat up, looking around.
The curtains before her, the blanket covering her, and the desk not far away—she had glimpsed all of these countless times in the mirror. She was far too familiar with them.
This was her Senior Brother's sleeping chamber, and right now she was lying on… her Senior Brother's bed…
Chi Yao's fingers tightened slightly around the blanket, and her heartbeat quickened in that instant.
She lowered her eyes to gaze at this bed that her Senior Brother had slept in countless times, now occupied by her, and that sense of guilt at defiling a deity surged up once more.
She was so overcome that her body trembled slightly, yet her burning eyes were filled with a touch of madness.
One day, she would imprison her Senior Brother—right here, on this very bed.
Chi Yao extended a trembling fingertip and gently stroked the bedding, an unmistakable greed showing on her face.
But the next moment, a faint sound of footsteps approached, freezing her in place, and a flicker of panic rose in her heart.
By the time she had composed her expression and looked up again, Shen Yu was just walking in.
"Senior Brother…"
"Junior Sister, you're awake?"
Shen Yu's gaze settled on Chi Yao, and his taut expression seemed to ease a little.
"Mm…"
As Shen Yu drew closer, the fragrance lingering at her nose grew ever more intense, making Chi Yao somewhat nervous.
She stared blankly as Shen Yu walked toward her step by step, when suddenly the image surfaced in her mind—Shen Yu, in a panic, stepping out of the mirror just before she lost consciousness.
Was that truly her hallucination, or had her Senior Brother really walked out of the mirror?
Chi Yao grew more and more anxious, her breathing turning rapid.
It was not until Shen Yu reached the bedside that she finally calmed her breath, lifted her eyes, and asked tentatively:
"Why am I in Senior Brother's room?"
Shen Yu's gaze swept toward a corner of the chamber, a ripple of emotion surfacing in his eyes, but by the time his gaze returned to Chi Yao, it had grown calm once more, no different from usual.
"Master emerges from secluded meditation tomorrow. When I went to inform you, I found you unconscious in your room."
Hearing this, Chi Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But the moment she relaxed, she realized a far more serious problem.
When she had fainted, that mirror had been right beside her. When her Senior Brother came in, wouldn't he have immediately discovered that she had been spying on him all along?
Chi Yao's just-relaxed fingers clenched tight again, so hard that her knuckles turned faintly white, leaving a patch of creases on the smooth bedding.
She cautiously looked at Shen Yu, trying to find some clue on his face.
But Shen Yu had always been adept at concealing his emotions. Chi Yao could detect not the slightest ripple on that calm face of his, and she had no way of knowing whether he had seen the mirror.
"What's wrong, Junior Sister?"
Shen Yu's voice suddenly rang out, and Chi Yao realized she had been staring at him for quite a while. She quickly averted her gaze and shook her head in fluster.
"I'm fine."
"I have prepared a medicinal bath for you, Junior Sister. It can repair your meridians. Please come with me."
Fortunately, Shen Yu did not probe into what Chi Yao was thinking. With that, he turned and walked out of the room first.
Chi Yao hurriedly climbed off the bed and followed behind him. Along the way, she seemed somewhat absent-minded. Even when they arrived at the place for the medicinal bath, her mind was still replaying the details from before she lost consciousness, trying to confirm whether she had hidden the mirror properly.
"The herbs have been steeped long enough. You may go in now, Junior Sister."
Shen Yu first dipped his hand into the bath barrel to test the water temperature before speaking up to remind Chi Yao.
"Okay." Chi Yao was still distracted.
Looking at the barrel before her, she instinctively, as she would during her usual baths, reached out to undo her sash.
Soon, heavy breathing sounded by her ear, and then a hand grasped her wrist, stopping her from undressing.
"There's no need for that!"
It was Shen Yu's somewhat flustered voice that finally brought Chi Yao back to her senses. She looked up at him, only to find that his gaze was unusually deep, and even his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
"You can go straight in. There's no need to undress."
Shen Yu released Chi Yao's hand, and his expression returned to normal.
But as he withdrew his gaze, his eyes swept over her half-bared shoulder, and his breathing grew somewhat ragged.
"R-right… of course."
Only then did Chi Yao realize what a foolish thing she had done.
She hurriedly re-tied her sash, then looked anxiously at Shen Yu.
She was afraid he would think her frivolous.
Fortunately, when Chi Yao looked over, she saw no disgust or the like on Shen Yu's face.
Instead, his gaze seemed somewhat evasive.
"The medicinal bath requires half a shichen. If you feel any discomfort, Junior Sister, just call for me. I'll be right outside."
With that, Shen Yu turned and walked out past the folding screen.
He walked very quickly. By the time Chi Yao came back to her senses, all she saw was the corner of a white robe disappearing from view.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt that her Senior Brother had seemed rather flustered when he left.
After a moment, Chi Yao withdrew her gaze and walked toward the barrel.
The water temperature was just right, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from it. The moment she entered, Chi Yao felt a warm current flowing along her meridians, continuously repairing the damaged ones.
The pleasant sensation gradually relaxed her body. She scooped up an unfamiliar herb, brought it to her nose, and sniffed, but she couldn't make out what it was.
She put it back and instead picked up a small flower.
The faint sound of water carried clearly through the folding screen to Shen Yu's ears.
Shen Yu was sitting at a table, a book in hand. At this moment, he was not as calm as usual—his eyes were dark and his breathing unusually heavy.
As the sound of the water continued, the hand holding the book tightened slightly, though he couldn't take in a single word on the page.
Because of his handsome appearance, many women had pestered and clung to him over these past few centuries, and quite a few had harbored improper intentions, seeking to arouse his desire.
But no matter how revealingly they dressed—even in the nude—it never stirred the slightest ripple in him.
Yet with Chi Yao alone, it was different. Even when she merely gazed at him quietly, she could stir up the desire he kept suppressed at the bottom of his heart.
The glimpse of her bare shoulder had thrown him completely off balance.
If he hadn't left in time, he feared he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from pulling Chi Yao into his arms and leaving his mark on that fair shoulder.
Shen Yu's breathing grew increasingly ragged, and the desire in his eyes spilled out beyond his control.
Just then, the sound of water behind the screen suddenly stopped, and the breathing inside gradually steadied.
Shen Yu's fingers twitched, and he glanced toward the screen.
After a long while, he finally set down his book, rose, and walked toward the screen.
The moment he stepped past it, Chi Yao's peaceful sleeping face came into view.
Her brows were relaxed, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her mouth—she seemed to be sleeping deeply.
Shen Yu walked step by step to the edge of the bath, his gaze settling on Chi Yao's cheeks, flushed faintly pink from the steam, his eyes darkening further.
He reached out and brushed his fingers over her brows and eyes, then slowly traced down her cheek, finally stopping beside those red lips.
"Junior Sister, how can you trust me so completely?"
There was a trace of a sigh in Shen Yu's husky voice, and a hint of obsession surfaced on that cold, aloof face.
When his gaze fell on those slightly parted red lips, his breathing grew heavy once more.
His slender finger gently brushed across her lips, then slid down to tilt Chi Yao's chin upward.
This angle was perfect for a kiss.
Shen Yu's Adam's apple bobbed, and then he slowly leaned down, drawing close to those red lips.
But just as their lips were mere inches apart, Chi Yao's lashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"S-Senior Brother!"
Chi Yao's voice trembled slightly.
She hadn't expected that the moment she woke, the first thing she'd see would be Shen Yu's face, magnified before her.
And the distance between them was far too close—so close that their breaths entwined.
More importantly, in that instant of opening her eyes, she noticed that Shen Yu's eyes were burning with an abnormal heat.
Chi Yao's heartbeat instantly quickened, growing more and more uncontrollable.
"There was something on your face, Junior Sister."
Shen Yu's expression returned to normal in an instant, and he pulled away from Chi Yao.
By the time Chi Yao came back to her senses, all she saw was a flower petal in Shen Yu's hand.
"Th-thank you, Senior Brother."
So it was only because something had been on her face.
But even so, did he really need to get that close?
For just a moment there, she had almost thought her Senior Brother was about to kiss her.
At the thought of that possibility, Chi Yao's heart raced uncontrollably again. Yet when she looked at Shen Yu, his expression was remarkably calm, as if he truly had only been removing something from her face.
"You've had enough time, Junior Sister. You may come out now."
Shen Yu's calm voice came again, and Chi Yao could only suppress her doubts and nod in agreement.
But just as she rose to step out of the bath, Shen Yu at her side suddenly went still—and at the same time, she felt an intense gaze upon her.
She looked up and once more caught a flash of heat in Shen Yu's eyes.
Such a starkly contrasting look appearing on Shen Yu lent him an entirely different kind of air.
"Senior Brother…"
Chi Yao called out to him helplessly, then instinctively lowered her head to look at herself.
Only then did she realize that she was soaked through, and the clothes she wore today were light in color.
Appearing before Shen Yu like this was truly improper.
But just as she was about to cast a cleansing spell, Shen Yu raised his hand and gave a light wave, and the next moment a white outer robe was draped over Chi Yao's shoulders.
The robe was large, instantly covering Chi Yao's body completely.
There was also a faint fresh scent on it—Shen Yu's scent.
This was Shen Yu's outer robe!
Chi Yao looked at Shen Yu in astonishment, but his eyes had already returned to calm, and he slightly averted his gaze when she looked over.
"It's getting late. Junior Sister should head back."
After saying this, Shen Yu actually turned and left the side hall directly.
His attitude seemed considerably colder than usual.
Yet Chi Yao could sense that Shen Yu's emotional turmoil was greater than it had ever been.
She had no time to investigate why Shen Yu was acting this way, for she had not forgotten about the mirror.
After returning to her sleeping quarters, Chi Yao immediately checked whether the mirror was still there.
Finding that the mirror was still safely hidden in the corner, her anxious heart finally settled.
Once relaxed, she stroked the robe draped over her and couldn't help recalling Shen Yu's series of unusual behaviors just now.
A moment ago, a simple spell would have been enough to make her clothes dry, yet Senior Brother had chosen to cover her with his own garment instead.
That behavior, no matter how you looked at it, seemed like someone whose composure had been shaken by panic.
And all of it was because of her—it was she who had stirred Shen Yu's emotions.
So to Senior Brother, she was actually somewhat special…
This speculation made Chi Yao secretly excited, so much so that her breath paused for a moment.
She hugged the robe tightly to her chest, greedily inhaling its fresh scent, the possessiveness in her eyes growing ever stronger.
"Senior Brother, I like you more and more. I will definitely make you mine."