Shen Qingchen was completely unaware that her own heart had already become like a reed drifting with the wind, plunging to the bottom one moment, and soaring high the next. Yet, what swayed it so was nothing more than a casual remark from Jiang Qianxun.
She only felt that ever since meeting the other woman, her mood was constantly plagued by restlessness, and entering a meditative state had become a bit harder. Even though her hands were clearly occupied with other tasks, her heart couldn’t help but wander into wild, random thoughts.
When she couldn’t think of any answers, she would start to feel incredibly vexed.
At times like this, she would begin to crave cooking.
To others, cooking was a somewhat tedious, noisy, and troublesome chore choked with grease and smoke, but it wasn’t so for her. Every time she washed, prepared, and neatly arranged the ingredients on the plates, the process would calm her heart. During this time, she could think of absolutely nothing and enter a state of selflessness.
Her very first breakthrough in cultivation realm had come about exactly this way.
Thus, she stood up and said, “You rest for a bit. I am going to cook. Is there anything you would like to eat?”
Jiang Qianxun let out an “Ah”: “It’s still early, Master.”
“Eating early means we can rest early,” Shen Qingchen said. “If there is nothing in particular you want to eat, I will just put together a few seasonal dishes as I see fit.”
“Alright!” Jiang Qianxun responded. Her instinct was to get up and help her with the prep work, but then she remembered that the other woman disliked being disturbed. Amidst her hesitation, Shen Qingchen had already walked out.
The room returned to a quiet darkness.
Lying on the ground and lifting her head slightly, Jiang Qianxun could see the sky full of stars. She carefully tried to identify the constellations, but she couldn’t recognize most of them. Even so, her heart gradually settled down, this was probably the first time in three years that she felt leisure and tranquility.
No, it wasn’t just three years, but over twenty years.
When did it all start? When she was in school, she had to study desperately, when she entered society, she had to strive and struggle. She had rushed through life for decades, never stopping for even half a day.
Even on rest days, her mind would be occupied with the thought that she still had classes the next day. Going traveling during the National Day holiday was also a frantic, special forces style whirlwind tour. Before she knew it, everything she did had to serve a productive purpose, otherwise it was a waste of time. Dangled along by a carrot called “the future,” she seemed like a machine that could never stop. It was only until today that she was forced to a halt.
Unable to use her spiritual power, she didn’t need to cultivate desperately. The only thing she needed to do was lie on the terrace, listen to the faint sound of her Master chopping vegetables outside, and wait for time to sweep past above her head.
She suddenly recalled a night from a long time ago, when she was probably just a few years old. Waking up from a long afternoon nap, she rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room, only to see her busy mother and her father sitting on the sofa reading a book. They smiled at her and asked why she had slept for so long, and if she needed to use the restroom.
She shook her head. Her mother walked over to hug her and stuffed a piece of rock candy into her mouth. Back then, she probably hadn’t even started kindergarten yet, and her parents hadn’t viewed her as a tool to bring glory to the family. As long as she slept and ate well, she would be praised.
That was the most relaxed time in her memory.
The way she felt right now was a bit like that time.
Breathing in the fragrant scent in the air, which was somewhat similar to the scent on her Master’s body, she slowly closed her eyes.
By the time Shen Qingchen came in to call her for dinner, what she saw was a soundly asleep Jiang Qianxun. This person had fallen asleep at some unknown point, rolled off the mat onto the terrace, and possessed a truly bizarre sleeping posture with messy, disheveled hair.
Looking at her like this made her seem all the more fluffy.
Shen Qingchen squatted down and stared at her for a while. Feeling that the other woman was already fast asleep, she reached out her hand and stealthily patted her head. It was a very strange sensation, a bit like stroking some kind of furry little animal.
She didn’t dare use any force, only patting gently twice.
The sleeping Jiang Qianxun was very cute, occasionally mumbling something. Shen Qingchen leaned closer to listen, only to find her saying, “How much per bird to pack up and take away a white crane?” and “Why is the rock candy mined from the moon yellow?”
Shen Qingchen couldn’t understand it, but she found it rather amusing.
She listened for a while. Seeing that the other woman had finally stopped talking, she cleared her throat lightly, intending to wake her up. But it was only at this moment that she suddenly realized she didn’t know how to address her.
Qianxun? Disciple?
Both felt a bit difficult to say out loud.
They weren’t close enough yet to call each other by their given names, but calling her by her full name seemed a bit too distant. She had never taken a disciple before and didn’t know how others called theirs. She couldn’t very well just shout “Hey,” could she?
Amidst her hesitation, Jiang Qianxun seemed to sense something and woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw her Master sitting quietly in front of her, looking as if she wanted to wake her up but couldn’t bear to do so.
It was so gentle that it almost made her want to weep.
Master is truly wonderful.
She immediately scrambled up in one swift motion. Who would have thought her head would suddenly spin for a moment, nearly crashing into her Master’s forehead. She hurriedly reached out to rub her Master’s forehead, asking if she had hurt her.
Shen Qingchen’s instinct was to retreat backward, but the kneeling posture made it very difficult to move back, leaving her no choice but to let the other woman rub her forehead. The other woman’s hand was warm, and within Shen Qingchen’s shielded gaze, a faint warmth inadvertently surfaced.
“It is fine,” she said softly.
“My apologies. Has Master been waiting for a long time?”
“No, I just… didn’t know how to address you…”
After some thought, Shen Qingchen decided to bring up this issue anyway. It had to be resolved sooner or later, so it was better to discuss and reach a conclusion right now.
“Master can call me whatever you like,” Jiang Qianxun said. “The other elders all call me directly by my name.”
Shen Qingchen wanted to say that she was, after all, different from the other elders. But then she remembered that the other woman wasn’t her personal disciple either. After hesitating for a long while, she said, “Then I shall call you Qianxun.”
Jiang Qianxun immediately sat up straight and answered, “Your disciple is here!”
For some reason, Shen Qingchen felt as if she could see a tail wagging non-stop behind her. All of her suspicions from during the day vanished completely at this moment. Jiang Qianxun’s attitude hadn’t changed because of the storybook, and she didn’t look the slightest bit guilty or defensive.
Probably, it was all just her overthinking things.
The instant this thought arose, her heart felt much lighter, though a bit empty as well. Yet, the words that came out of her mouth were. “Let us go, the food is ready.”
After the meal, the two returned to their respective rooms.
Because she had slept enough, Jiang Qianxun didn’t know what to do, so she automatically sat up, flipped open her textbook, and began to review. This was an old habit of hers. Since she had nothing else to do anyway and finding a hobby wasn’t something that could be cultivated overnight, she might as well study.
Meanwhile, seeing that the light on Jiang Qianxun’s side was still burning, Shen Qingchen couldn’t sleep peacefully either. She threw a robe over her shoulders and got out of bed, thinking about bringing some midnight snack over.
In the end, she made a bowl of red date and ginger tea.
The night was chilly, drinking some of this could warm the body.
When she knocked and opened the door, Jiang Qianxun was only wearing a piece of inner clothing. The young woman’s slender and elegant physique appeared both vibrant and gracefully curved under the reflection of the candlelight. Shen Qingchen felt somewhat at a loss as to where to place her eyes. Just as she was about to step back and avoid the sight, the other woman spoke.
“Thank you, Master, for bringing me a midnight snack. Oh right, could Master teach me? There are a few questions I didn’t quite understand during the day.”
Jiang Qianxun didn’t notice her uneasiness and instead invited her inside. Shen Qingchen wanted to refuse and say they could talk tomorrow, but the words that actually left her mouth were…
“…Alright.”
The door was gently closed. A light breeze swept past, causing the candlelight to flicker a few times, and the silhouettes of the two women were also blown to sway together, becoming indistinguishable from one another.