Chi Yao's heart suddenly sank.
She instinctively looked at the medicine bowl in Ji Yunshang's hands.
The medicine inside was indeed gone.
Chi Yao's chest grew heavier, and even breathing became difficult.
Ever since Ji Yunshang became a disciple, Shen Yu had always been cold toward this Junior Sister, so Chi Yao had instinctively assumed that Shen Yu disliked her.
Yet now, gravely injured, he had accepted Ji Yunshang's care.
Did that mean their relationship would grow closer and closer in the days to come?
"May I go in and take a look at Senior Brother? I won't disturb him."
Chi Yao's desire to see Shen Yu grew ever stronger.
"I'm afraid that won't do. Before resting, Senior Brother specifically told me to keep watch outside the hall, saying he didn't want anyone to disturb him." Ji Yunshang immediately put on a look of helplessness.
Chi Yao's heart plummeted in an instant.
She didn't quite believe Ji Yunshang's words, but Ji Yunshang had been ordered by their master to care for Senior Brother, and Senior Brother had indeed accepted it.
So even if Ji Yunshang was deliberately blocking her from seeing Senior Brother, there was nothing she could do.
"Then I'll come back after Senior Brother wakes up."
Chi Yao glanced once more at the hall door, so close at hand, but in the end gave up the idea of barging straight in.
By the time Chi Yao returned, the sky had already darkened.
She lay on her couch, wanting to fall asleep quickly so that she could go see Shen Yu first thing in the morning.
Yet even at midnight, Chi Yao still couldn't sleep, her mind endlessly replaying the feeling of being held in Shen Yu's arms the day before.
Senior Brother had been so gentle then, nearly drowning her in it.
And now the Junior Sister was personally attending to Senior Brother. With them together day and night, wouldn't Senior Brother treat the Junior Sister the same way in the future—drawing her into his arms and softly comforting her when she was injured and weak?
Just the thought of that possibility made Chi Yao feel as if her heart were being squeezed, sending waves of dull pain through her.
Tossing and turning, Chi Yao finally rose and walked toward the mirror hidden in the corner.
She desperately wanted to know how Senior Brother and the Junior Sister would get along.
But standing before the mirror, Chi Yao hesitated.
She was afraid of what she might see—scenes of Senior Brother and the Junior Sister being intimately close.
Her raised hand froze for a long while before she finally lowered it.
She couldn't bear to see such a scene, so she could only choose not to look. That way, she could deceive herself into believing that Senior Brother's attitude toward the Junior Sister would never change.
But just as she was about to turn and leave, the mirror before her opened on its own.
Chi Yao's heart tightened, and she cautiously peered into the mirror.
The light inside was dim, and Ji Yunshang's figure was nowhere to be seen. Only Shen Yu lay quietly on the bed.
Chi Yao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, a trace of doubt arose in her heart.
Hadn't their master ordered the Junior Sister to care for Senior Brother? Why wasn't she in the mirror?
Chi Yao gathered her courage and approached the mirror, controlling it to survey Shen Yu's sleeping quarters.
Only after examining every corner did she finally confirm that Ji Yunshang was not in Shen Yu's chambers.
Chi Yao's taut nerves finally relaxed. She guided the view back to Shen Yu's bedside.
Moonlight streamed through the window onto the bed curtains, lending them a cold, clear pallor—even Shen Yu, sleeping on the couch, seemed tinged with a hint of loneliness.
At this moment, Shen Yu suddenly stirred, followed by a few coughs.
The instant she heard the sound, Chi Yao immediately zoomed the image in, and Shen Yu's deathly pale face appeared in the mirror.
Shen Yu had not woken up, but his brows were slightly furrowed—clearly his sleep was not a peaceful one.
Chi Yao's gaze moved downward, and what came into view was Shen Yu's bloodstained clothing.
He clearly hadn't even treated his wounds.
Wasn't the Junior Sister supposed to be taking care of her Senior Brother? Then why did he look like this?
Chi Yao stared at the utterly frail Shen Yu in the mirror, and those dim eyes of hers gradually grew feverish.
Her Senior Brother was so weak right now—seemingly at anyone's mercy.
Perhaps she could imprison him right now.
Once this thought took root, it grew increasingly uncontrollable.
Chi Yao's heartbeat quickened, and within moments she had firmly resolved on this idea.
After waving her hand to shut off the mirror, she immediately headed to Shen Yu's residence under cover of night.
This time, Ji Yunshang was nowhere outside the palace; the entire area around Yuheng Palace was silent.
Chi Yao slipped in without a hitch. When she arrived outside Shen Yu's sleeping chamber, she first pushed the door open a narrow crack.
No lamps were lit inside, and the light was somewhat dim, but the moonlight streaming in made the interior clearly visible.
Shen Yu lay quietly on the bed, just as Chi Yao had seen him in the mirror.
This emboldened Chi Yao. She pushed the door open and walked step by step toward the bed, the iron chain in her hand glinting coldly in the darkness.
Soon, the moonlight spilling over the bed curtains was blocked by a slender figure.
Chi Yao gazed at Shen Yu infatuatedly, and when her eyes fell on that slender hand, the madness within them could no longer be suppressed.
Her fingertip brushed the back of Shen Yu's hand, then slowly slid upward to rest on his wrist.
"Senior Brother, this hand of yours was born to be bound by chains."
Chi Yao was so excited that her voice carried a tremor, and the iron chain in her hand drew ever closer to Shen Yu's wrist.
But just as it was about to close around it, Chi Yao's movement suddenly halted.
No—now was not the time to imprison her Senior Brother.
Looking at the well-defined hand before her, Chi Yao's reason suddenly returned in large measure.
Although her Senior Brother looked very weak at the moment, her Array Formation was still incomplete, and the later portions of the formation were crucial—once perfected, it would double the power of the iron chain.
She had no idea how badly he was injured. Imprisoning him now would be far too risky.
Chi Yao tightened her fingers, her expression showing some reluctance.
But in the end, reason triumphed over impulse. With a hint of regret, she put away the iron chain, and as her gaze moved upward and fell on Shen Yu's sharply chiseled face, her eyes gradually grew feverish once more.
Though she had abandoned the imprisonment plan, she had no intention of leaving just like this.
She loved this feeling of being alone with her Senior Brother—and he was so weak right now, his breathing barely audible, looking as if she could do whatever she pleased with him.
At this thought, Chi Yao's eyes brightened a little.
Tentatively, she extended a finger and poked Shen Yu's cheek. Seeing no reaction from him, she grew increasingly excited, and her boldness grew with it.
That finger traveled up along Shen Yu's face, gliding over his brows, eyes, and high nose bridge, finally coming to rest on those thin lips.
She had coveted these lips for a very long time.
In the past, every time she secretly watched Shen Yu, her gaze would unconsciously fall on those lips, and then she would recall that unrealistic dream from after she got drunk.
Even now, she still remembered the feeling of kissing Shen Yu in that dream.
The sensation had been so real that she almost believed she had truly shared a lingering, passionate kiss with her Senior Brother.
Was kissing her Senior Brother really like how it felt in the dream?
Chi Yao's fingertips began to tremble, and a base thought arose in her mind again.
Perhaps she could try it right now.
Her trembling fingertip brushed across the corner of Shen Yu's mouth, then withdrew before slowly approaching the tip of his nose, carrying with it a faint, delicate fragrance.
Chi Yao sniffed lightly and actually caught a hint of sweetness. Her eyes grew hotter and hotter.
That base thought was magnified infinitely.
She slowly leaned down toward those thin lips, her eyes fixed tightly on Shen Yu, watching at every moment for any sign that he might wake.
Fortunately, Chi Yao was lucky.
Shen Yu seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, showing no reaction from beginning to end. The only thing Chi Yao could sense was the sound of his soft breathing.
The distance between their lips grew smaller and smaller, their breaths intertwining.
When only a finger's width remained, Chi Yao paused for a moment, then quickly pressed her lips to his.
The instant their lips met, she felt a moment of daze.
This familiar sensation was exactly the same as in the dream!
Chi Yao could hear her own heartbeat quickening, her breath trembling along with it.
Finally—she had finally kissed her Senior Brother.
It was a long while before Chi Yao finally suppressed her surging emotions, but she didn't want to end this kiss too quickly.
She tentatively parted her lips, taking Shen Yu's lip between her own and sucking gently.
Shen Yu still showed no movement.
Chi Yao's actions grew bolder and bolder. After lingering on those lips for a long while, she extended her tongue, trying to slip past those tightly closed lips.
The moment the tip of her tongue touched his lips, Shen Yu's breathing suddenly became ragged.
Chi Yao, startled like a frightened bird, immediately ended the kiss and looked at Shen Yu in a panic.
Fortunately, Shen Yu only coughed a few times and did not wake.
Chi Yao breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze falling once more on those lips she had kissed until they were flushed red, a trace of reluctance surfacing in her eyes.
The feeling of stealing a kiss from her Senior Brother truly made her infatuated, but she knew clearly that she could not continue any further. It was time for her to go back.
Chi Yao reached out and traced Shen Yu's features one more time before rising to leave.
However, just as she turned around, her wrist was suddenly seized.
"Don't go…"
A hoarse voice sounded, and Chi Yao's body instantly stiffened, the blood throughout her entire body seeming to freeze in that moment.
Her Senior Brother was awake?
Chi Yao didn't dare turn around—she had no idea how to face Shen Yu.
Only when the grip on her wrist grew tighter and tighter did she stiffly turn her head to look at the bed.
Shen Yu on the bed still had his eyes tightly shut; only that one hand was gripping Chi Yao firmly, refusing to let go no matter what.
"Don't go."
The moment Chi Yao moved, Shen Yu's murmur came again, and the grip on her wrist tightened along with it.
"Senior Brother, are you trying to keep me here, or the Little Junior Sister?"
A trace of jealousy laced Chi Yao's voice, but the only response she received was a long silence.
After a moment, she sighed inwardly, then sat down beside the bed.
Since the words of persuasion had been spoken to her, then no matter who her Senior Brother had actually been trying to keep there, she might as well assume he'd been trying to keep her.
So she would stay with him a little longer, and leave before he woke.
But for all Chi Yao's careful calculations, she hadn't counted on falling asleep leaning against the edge of the bed.
By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already broad daylight.
She instinctively looked down at her wrist. The hand that had been gripping it had changed position—it was now interlocked with her fingers.
Or, more precisely, she was the one who had latched onto that hand all on her own.
She looked up at Shen Yu, only to find that he was already awake—and was, at that very moment, staring at their tightly interlocked fingers.
There was no explaining her way out of this one.