The effort she had put in yielded no reward, and her clothes had been torn. Shi Ying’s mood plummeted to its lowest point.
Meanwhile, Yun Jinghe, still shaken by the earlier incident, didn’t dare reach out to stop Shi Ying when she left again. She could only listen as the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.
Yun Jinghe remained seated, her expression calm and unreadable. But as time passed, her hand resting on the table slowly clenched into a fist.
In the next moment, she stood up, deciding to follow the direction Shi Ying had gone.
Yet the moment she steadied herself to take a step, a dull ache flared in her chest, followed by a sharp, overwhelming pain that drowned her ears in a deafening buzz.
Yun Jinghe felt a surge of violent demonic energy rampaging through her meridians, stirring up traces of the previously suppressed demonic poison.
Her fingers gripped the edge of the table, knuckles whitening from the force, but she still couldn’t keep her balance. She dropped to one knee, her lips rapidly losing what little color they had, veins faintly protruding at her temples.
Finally, she couldn’t hold back, a mouthful of dark crimson blood spilled from her lips.
She coughed lightly, the deep red stain trailing down the corner of her mouth, sliding over her pale chin before dripping down. There was a fragile, haunting beauty to it.
Her body felt as though it had been thrown into a raging inferno, yet her back was drenched in cold sweat. The table edge under her grasp creaked ominously, as if unable to withstand the pressure.
Just days ago, she had taken that unknown pill without issue, why was the backlash so sudden and fierce now?
She tried to stand, but her hand brushed against the fruit Shi Ying had left on the table. The smooth fruit rolled to the edge and fell to the ground with a soft thud.
Was it because of the fruit? Yun Jinghe thought hazily.
The pain showed no signs of easing. Wiping the blood from her lips, she gave up on standing and settled into meditation, focusing on suppressing the chaotic forces writhing inside her.
Time passed, minute by minute. Gradually, the tension in Yun Jinghe’s brow eased, and a faint trace of color returned to her face.
After what felt like an eternity, she exhaled slowly, the breath tinged with the metallic tang of blood.
Strangely, the violent upheaval seemed to have stirred something within her. The once-dry meridians now held a faint trickle of spiritual energy not much, but enough to mark an improvement.
Perhaps this ordeal had been a blessing in disguise.
Yun Jinghe tilted her head slightly, catching the faint chirping of insects.
The rain had stopped in recent days, and the nights were alive with their sounds. She had been relying on these noises and the shift in temperature to distinguish day from night.
She hadn’t expected her meditation to last until evening and Shi Ying still hadn’t returned.
The realization jolted her eyes open. She tried to rise, but even pushing herself up from the table took considerable effort.
As she steadied herself, another thought crossed her mind maybe Shi Ying had come back while she was meditating, and she simply hadn’t noticed.
Yun Jinghe took a step forward, only to feel something beneath her foot. She looked down, but all she could make out was a faint, blurry glimmer.
She froze, then closed and reopened her eyes, confirming it wasn’t an illusion before raising a hand to touch them.
Though she still couldn’t see clearly, her eyes could now perceive the faintest hint of light.
She walked toward the spot where the halo of light was most distinct.
The cool air filled her lungs, slightly easing the intermittent burning sensation in her chest.
Leaning against the doorframe, she lifted her gaze to the sky, barely able to discern the faint glow of the moon hanging high above.
“Miss Shi?” Yun Jinghe called out Shi Ying’s name tentatively, but only the cool night and silent breeze answered her.
Relying on this faint perception of light, she tried to locate the room next to hers, only to be surprised to find that there seemed to be only one habitable dwelling here.
Yun Jinghe pressed her lips into a thin line, a faint crease reappearing between her brows. If she was staying in this room now, where had Shi Ying been staying all this time?
Already weakened from earlier, the exertion stirred the demonic poison within her, threatening to resurge. She quickly steadied herself to suppress it.
What she needed most now was rest, but she couldn’t shake her worry for Shi Ying. The world was far from safe, and with Shi Ying out alone so late at night, who knew what dangers she might encounter?
Torn by these thoughts, she ultimately chose to go out and search.
But she didn’t wander aimlessly. She noted the direction and number of steps she took, searching around the perimeter of the house, though this method was inevitably slower.
By the time Yun Jinghe had circled the entire area, the sky was already beginning to lighten. She decided to return and check once more.
As she stepped through the doorway, she heard a series of hurried footsteps. Then, the sound paused before turning and rushing toward her.
In Yun Jinghe’s vision, all she could see was a flickering shadow running toward her, and her heart inexplicably tightened.
Then, the fabric at her waist was seized in a tight grip, the warmth of the other person’s body dispelling the chill of the morning mist clinging to her clothes.
It was like the surface of a mist-covered lake gently parting to reveal clear water beneath.
“Where did you run off to?!” Shi Ying’s voice was laced with anxiety, none of the anger from the previous night remaining.
Shi Ying had stolen the words Yun Jinghe had been about to say, but the weight in her chest finally settled, as if finding a place to rest.
She lifted her hand slightly, wanting to touch the other’s back, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“How could you just run off like that? You had me worried for nothing,” Shi Ying grumbled, her tone full of reproach and dissatisfaction.
When she’d returned earlier and found no one inside or outside the house, she’d thought Yun Jinghe had fled.
After all the effort she’d put into “winning her over,” how could she just leave before Shi Ying had gotten anything in return?
Yun Jinghe hadn’t expected that she held such importance in the other’s heart.
“I didn’t run off. I just went to look for you.”
Shi Ying found this odd. “Why were you looking for me? Don’t tell me you searched all night, but you can’t even see, can you?”
She waved a hand in front of Yun Jinghe’s eyes, suspicion creeping into her voice. “Can you see now?”
Yun Jinghe shook her head and was about to explain that she could only perceive faint light, but Shi Ying spoke first.
“That’s good,” Shi Ying said, sounding relieved.
Yun Jinghe’s expression shifted slightly. “You don’t want my eyes to heal?”
Shi Ying admitted it with startling frankness. “No, I don’t.”
“Why?” Yun Jinghe was puzzled.
“If you could see, what if you ran away?” Shi Ying replied.
Yun Jinghe opened her mouth slightly and told her, “But I wasn’t originally planning to stay here forever.”
“So I’ll marry you, become your partner, and then we can always be together, right?” Shi Ying circled the conversation back to the point of disagreement between them the day before.
In her mind, once two people became partners, they would do everything together as one. That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about this person running off before she achieved her goal.
Yun Jinghe didn’t respond and instead said, “Miss Shi.”
Shi Ying interrupted her again, “Don’t call me ‘Miss Shi.’ You can call me Yingying.”
But Yun Jinghe felt that addressing someone so intimately was too much and wasn’t quite willing. However, if she didn’t say it, Shi Ying refused to continue the conversation.
With no other choice, Yun Jinghe uttered an extremely soft, “Yingying.”
After saying it, the tips of her ears, half-hidden by her hair, flushed slightly red. She then turned her face slightly away from Shi Ying to conceal it, hoping the other hadn’t noticed the change.
“Where did you go last night?” She steadied herself and asked the question on her mind.
“Nowhere special,” Shi Ying replied. “Just wandered around the area.”
Yun Jinghe wanted to ask more, but then she caught a familiar scent again, that same cloying fragrance of powder.
This smell again. It suddenly occurred to her that every time Shi Ying brought back pastries, she always carried this same powdery scent.
She had initially assumed it was rouge Shi Ying applied herself, but she distinctly remembered that Shi Ying hadn’t had this scent yesterday. Yet after being out all night, it was there again.
As if she had picked it up somewhere. And this scent was unmistakably something commonly used by women.
Shi Ying clearly didn’t want to tell her where she had gone, and Yun Jinghe wasn’t in the mood to dwell on it. She had also wanted to ask where Shi Ying had been staying all this time, but in the end, she held back.
Then Yun Jinghe suddenly remembered, “I ruined your clothes yesterday. I’ll make it up to you in the future.”
“It’s not a big deal. You can just tear them for me again later if you want.” In Shi Ying’s eyes, this matter was trivial like someone accidentally bumping into her, and she could just bump them back.
Her anger yesterday had mainly been because Yun Jinghe had rejected her again, even though she had already done so many things she normally wouldn’t.
“…” Yun Jinghe sometimes still found herself at a loss when faced with her sudden remarks.
Standing at the doorway talking wasn’t ideal, so Shi Ying led the way inside.
Yun Jinghe followed her in. She had spent the whole night searching for Shi Ying outside and was already at her limit.
Once inside, Yun Jinghe moved further in, intending to rest, when Shi Ying’s puzzled voice suddenly came from behind.
“Did you vomit blood?” Clearly, Shi Ying had noticed the dried pool of blood on the floor tiles.
“Mhm, it’s nothing serious.” Yun Jinghe said it lightly, as though the person who had been in such pain she nearly lost consciousness wasn’t her.
“Then are you about to die?” Shi Ying pressed. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “If you’re about to die, why don’t I marry you sooner? That way, I can even send you off properly. How about that?”
This way, she wouldn’t have to do it herself, and it wouldn’t feel like she had taken her golden core for nothing.
Hearing this, Yun Jinghe let out a faint, bewildered laugh. Sometimes, she really couldn’t understand Shi Ying her words always seemed to veer off their intended meaning, leaving others torn between laughter and exasperation.
“Miss Shi, these matters aren’t something that can be decided with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”
This time, Shi Ying didn’t fuss over how she was addressed. Instead, she asked, “Why?”
Yun Jinghe’s throat moved slightly. “Such things require mutual affection.”
“Mutual affection.” Shi Ying repeated the phrase after her. “That means liking each other. So, don’t you like me?”
Yun Jinghe was momentarily at a loss for words when Shi Ying pressed on, “Then what kind of person do you like? I’ll see if I can find someone suitable for you.”
If someone else could break the restriction on Yun Jinghe’s body, that would be acceptable too.
But she hadn’t expected Yun Jinghe’s expression to turn icy upon hearing those words.
“I need to rest now,” Yun Jinghe said coldly, clearly signaling the end of the conversation.
Yet, unsatisfied with the answer, Shi Ying asked again and received a stiff reply from Yun Jinghe.
“No, I won’t ever like anyone.”
Hearing this, Shi Ying grew angry as well and turned to leave without another word.
Thus began a cold war between the two, avoiding each other unless absolutely necessary.
Yun Jinghe spent most of her time recuperating and regulating her breathing. The spiritual energy within her had stagnated again after that day, with the only good news being that her vision had improved slightly, she could now faintly discern the outlines of objects.
As for Shi Ying, Yun Jinghe noticed her nightly absences. Over the past few days, Shi Ying hadn’t been home, and each day, she carried the faint scent of rouge on her.
The scent unsettled Yun Jinghe, making it harder for her to calm her mind.
But she felt she had no right to question or say anything to Shi Ying.
Another night passed with Shi Ying away. Yun Jinghe sat cross-legged on the bed, unable to find peace for a long time.
Finally, she got up decisively and walked to the door. Just as she opened it, a figure collapsed straight toward her feet.
Quickly, she caught the person in her arms. Through her blurred vision, she barely made out the clothing and figure.
Shi Ying curled into herself, nestling into Yun Jinghe’s embrace, her movements almost like a gentle nuzzle. “So cold!”
The cool strands of Shi Ying’s hair brushed against Yun Jinghe’s neck, making her stiffen slightly. “Shi… Yingying?”