Yun Duan herself was unaware of this condition.
Shang Can had first discovered it about a month after Yun Duan joined Qingyu. That day, she had simply happened to stay up late when she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening from Yun Duan’s room next door. Worried, she opened her own door to check, only then discovering Yun Duan’s nocturnal wandering. She didn’t even know if it had happened before that day.
The incident gave Shang Can quite a scare. That night, she intercepted the sleepwalking Yun Duan and kept her in her room. Even after watching her lie back down and fall asleep, Shang Can didn’t feel at ease; she stood guard at the door all night without sleeping, only slipping away just as dawn was breaking to find Wang Yue and seek a solution.
Wang Yue used the excuse of checking her cultivation to summon Yun Duan and give her a physical examination. In the end, she only reached an ambiguous conclusion: it was likely heavy melancholy caused by her inability to move past the sudden tragedy at her home.
‘……Perhaps we should tell Duan-er? At least locking the door every night would make things a bit safer—’
‘Don’t tell her.’
Shang Can had flatly rejected Wang Yue’s suggestion. She stood up, gave a massive stretch, and said lazily:
‘With Duan-er’s personality, I’m afraid that if she knows, she’ll force herself to stay awake just so she doesn’t trouble others.’
‘She’s still young; she’s still growing.’
Out of these considerations, Shang Can kept the matter a secret. She simply kept her nerves taut every night after dark during that period, paying extra attention to any movement next door.
Yun Duan always had a regular schedule; without special circumstances, she usually went to bed at the start of the hour of Hai (9 PM). After Shang Can’s long-term monitoring, she discovered that the high-risk period for Yun Duan’s sleepwalking was around the hour of Zi (11 PM – 1 AM). Once that period passed, she wouldn’t wander.
So, every day, Shang Can waited until the hour of Zi had passed. If she heard movement, she would go to Yun Duan’s room to stop her, only returning to her own room after ensuring she was fast asleep.
This vigil lasted for over a year. It was only after Yun Duan had gone six consecutive months without an episode that Shang Can dared to slightly relax her guard; indeed, the sleepwalking had not returned since.
However, because she had stayed up so late during that time, she found herself unable to get up the next day, developing a rather poor sleep schedule and naturally skipping many classes—though, given her already “distinguished” record of delinquency, it didn’t raise much suspicion.
She hadn’t expected that after all these years, the “Lost Soul Syndrome” that should have been long cured would recur.
Shang Can’s heart was filled with doubts, and alongside them, waves of lingering fear.
The gate to her courtyard wasn’t particularly secure. Fortunately, Yun Duan had wandered to her place this time. If she had wandered onto the streets of Biluo Huangquan without her knowledge and been seen by some demon—
Shang Can’s chest tightened, and her arm instinctively cinched tighter around Yun Duan’s waist.
Setting aside the uniqueness of the Flawless Immortal Body, just looking at Yun Duan’s appearance was dangerous enough.
Her mind filled with strange thoughts, Shang Can knit her brows tightly, forcing her focus onto the sleeping beauty in her arms.
Just as she had done every time she broke into Yun Duan’s room after hearing movement in the dead of night years ago, Shang Can gently stroked Yun Duan’s long hair.
It was a method like coaxing a child to sleep, but it was highly effective on Yun Duan. The person in her arms was very well-behaved, leaning her head against Shang Can’s shoulder as if in a daze.
Back then, as long as Shang Can held her like this for a short while—perhaps because human body heat brings a sense of security—Yun Duan would quickly become submissive and go to sleep obediently.
“……”
Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and every breath was filled with the cold fragrance of Yun Duan. The inner robes were thin; Yun Duan’s warmth radiated from where they touched, making Shang Can feel a strange, scorching heat.
……She didn’t know if Yun Duan had come straight to her as soon as the sleepwalking began. If she had been wandering outside for a long time, it would be a problem; the spring air was chilly, and the night was cold. She mustn’t let her catch a chill.
After so many years apart, this was their most intimate moment since their reunion. Though Shang Can was still somewhat at a loss, her heart had somehow relaxed.
Perhaps it was because this version of Yun Duan wouldn’t call her “Can-zhe,” wouldn’t test her strength, and wouldn’t make her…… feel conflicted.
“……Yun Duan.” Driven by an inexplicable emotion, Shang Can spoke softly. “You—”
Why did you start sleepwalking again?
What exactly has happened to you over these years?
You haven’t…… remembered anything, have you?
She had a basketful of things she wanted to say, but she only dared to ask while Yun Duan was unconscious.
Shang Can suddenly felt it was absurd. She let out a soft sigh and fell silent. The person in her arms suddenly shifted, lifting her head from her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
This was different from before. Back then, the sleepwalking Yun Duan was extremely docile; once held, she would stay still without a single extra movement. Shang Can arched an eyebrow in surprise, looking nervously at Yun Duan.
There was no change on that peerless, immortal-like face. Her eyelashes were still lowered. A few strands of her usually meticulously arranged black hair fell lazily against her cheek. Unlike her usual cold detachment, she looked a bit more youthful.
Yun Duan stood quietly for a moment, then suddenly took Shang Can’s hand and walked slowly toward the bed.
“……?”
Shang Can didn’t dare startle her. She sat on the bed as requested, looking up in confusion.
Yun Duan stood before her, head slightly bowed. Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times before she slowly raised her eyes. A bit of light fell into those deep, ink-black pupils, suddenly making them radiant and shimmering, masking her slightly vacant gaze. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
She stared at Shang Can for a long while, then suddenly raised her hand, lightly touching the corner of Shang Can’s eye.
Her fingertips were slightly cool. Yun Duan began to caress Shang Can’s face with a feather-light touch.
The touch tickled Shang Can, but she didn’t dare dodge. She simply allowed herself to be touched, while her mind moved to drive her spiritual energy to silently close the door, blocking the cold wind blowing from outside.
She had no idea what Yun Duan was thinking. The other woman was just touching her with extreme earnestness, tracing everything from her eyes to her lips, and finally, she didn’t even spare her neck.
Yun Duan’s finger pressed lightly against Shang Can’s throat, making her shudder. Finally, she couldn’t help but reach up and grab her wrist.
“……It tickles. What are you doing?”
Her voice came out slightly hoarse. For some reason, Shang Can’s heart was racing. She tried to steady herself, only to see the restrained Yun Duan tilt her head down, looking somewhat unhappy.
Shang Can’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively released the hand that was stopping Yun Duan. The person who had been set free took it as a signal and intensified her behavior. She placed one hand on Shang Can’s shoulder and applied pressure, as if trying to push her down.
……What on earth does she want to do?
Feeling helpless, Shang Can followed the force and leaned back, wanting to see what this person was actually planning.
To her surprise, once she succeeded, Yun Duan seemed satisfied. She climbed onto the bed on her own and curled up, snuggling into Shang Can’s embrace.
“……Wait—”
What kind of situation was this? So Yun Duan wanted to sleep with her?
Back then, Shang Can enjoyed being relied upon by her junior sister, but now her heart was a mess of complicated feelings—today was not like the past; she couldn’t do this now. If Yun Duan woke up tomorrow and saw this situation, Shang Can wouldn’t be able to explain herself even if she had a thousand mouths.
She hesitated, wondering if she should wait for Yun Duan to fall into a deep sleep before carrying her back to the guest room. To her surprise, the person in her arms wasn’t settled; she raised her arm as if to wrap it around her neck, frightening Shang Can into hurriedly sitting halfway up.
……Even in the past, she had never seen Yun Duan this clingy.
Seeing that Yun Duan’s mood was sinking again, Shang Can was utterly baffled. As her gaze darted around helplessly, it suddenly landed on Yun Duan’s waist and stayed there.
Yun Duan’s movements while lying down had left her clothes slightly disheveled. Shang Can was able to catch a glimpse of snow-white skin through the gap in the sleeping robes, but it wasn’t the skin that caught her eye.
The robes were displaced just enough that if they were pulled back just a tiny bit more, she would be able to see what that mysterious mark on Yun Duan’s waist looked like.
“……”
Shang Can’s eyes didn’t blink for a second, her mind a battlefield.
……She only had to reach out and lift it slightly to see.
Looking at Yun Duan’s state, there likely wouldn’t be any resistance, and she wouldn’t even know about it when she woke up the next day. If she wanted to look, now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the timing was so perfect it almost seemed intentional.
But… but, doing that would be too terrible, wouldn’t it? If she did such a thing to a sleepwalking person, surely she would be struck by lightning in the future?
The “desire to see the truth” and her “basic human morality” fought a fierce battle in Shang Can’s mind. Ultimately, her sense of morality won.
Having made her decision, Shang Can grit her teeth and turned her head away like a true gentleman. The person who had been motionless since her arm escaped suddenly shifted, propping herself up to sit. Shang Can instinctively tensed her body, subtly moving toward the edge of the bed.
Under Shang Can’s breathless, vigilant gaze, the seated Yun Duan silently grasped the hem of her own sleeping robe and slowly pulled it up.
……She pulled it up.
Shang Can was aghast.
This behavior was so unexpected that she didn’t even react in time to stop it. She watched with wide eyes as Yun Duan lifted her robes, nonchalantly revealing the mark that Shang Can had been obsessing over.
“——Wait, this is?”
The panic in her heart hadn’t yet faded when Shang Can was drawn to the mark before her. She stared blankly at the abrupt mark on Yun Duan’s white abdomen, her mind filled with bewilderment and doubt.
That was definitely not something as simple as a birthmark or a scar.
Although the ancient, primitive patterns made it difficult to understand its specific meaning, Shang Can could be certain with just one look—it was a complete, meaningful mark, like some kind of totem.
If she didn’t know that this world lacked such a thing as tattoos, Shang Can would have likely taken it for a tattoo design.
……What was going on? Why would Yun Duan have such a mark on her body?
The recurrence of the sleepwalking, and now this mysterious mark…… what exactly had happened to Yun Duan during the years she was gone?
Shang Can’s mind was a mess. The person who had lifted her clothes of her own accord had no idea of her current feelings. Perhaps keeping the pose of holding up her clothes was tiring; Yun Duan gracefully let go, allowing the robe to fall back down.
But before Shang Can could breathe a sigh of relief, Yun Duan grabbed her hand and silently guided it to touch the position of the mark—
Wait, wait a minute……”
Seemingly misunderstanding Shang Can’s resistance, Yun Duan stared at her for a long while before simply leading her hand inside the sleeping robes.
“?!”
The sensation of skin as delicate as soft jade came from her hand. Shang Can’s entire body instantly froze like a block of iron; she didn’t even dare to breathe.
So this was the legendary “soft jade and warm fragrance.” She finally understood.
Shang Can’s mind was filled with useless thoughts entirely inappropriate for her status, like “so this is how a girl’s stomach feels,” and she even wanted to touch her own stomach for comparison, but she managed to restrain such a ridiculous urge.
She didn’t know if she should be thankful, but Yun Duan didn’t intend to lead her any further up. She stopped once she reached the mark, then leaned submissively into Shang Can’s embrace like a cat, moving no more.
Shang Can didn’t even dare move her fingertips. She felt that the hand tucked under Yun Duan’s clothes couldn’t stay but couldn’t be pulled back either. Whether it was her own temperature or Yun Duan’s, the palm in contact with Yun Duan’s skin was burning hot, almost making her break into a sweat.
She sat there stiffly like a Buddha statue for a long time until the sound of rhythmic breathing came from her neck. Only then did Shang Can snap back to her senses as if waking from a dream.
She’s asleep.”
Unbelievable. After performing a series of shocking actions, Yun Duan had actually fallen asleep so peacefully, having no idea of the storm she had stirred in the heart of the person she had just manipulated.
Shang Can didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; the tension finally left her shoulders.
Quickly, carry Yun Duan back to the guest room.
Thinking this, she attempted to withdraw her hand from Yun Duan’s abdomen. Perhaps because she was too stiff, she didn’t control her movement well, and she lightly brushed against Yun Duan’s waist, causing the person in her arms to give a soft hum.
This scared Shang Can into freezing for another long while. After hesitating repeatedly, she finally grit her teeth and once again, with fear and trepidation, caressed Yun Duan’s waist. She gently rubbed several times along the area where she remembered Yun Duan had been injured. Only after confirming that everywhere she touched was delicate, smooth skin—without feeling any bumps similar to a scar—did she carefully withdraw her hand.
Heaven be praised, throughout the entire process, apart from that initial soft hum, Yun Duan had no other movement suggesting she would wake up.
Shang Can breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as though she had successfully defused a bomb.
As for that unknown mark, it seemed to be drawn directly onto Yun Duan’s body, as she hadn’t felt anything unusual while touching it.
Although Shang Can felt very uneasy, she knew now was not the time to delve into it.
She gently picked Yun Duan up, walked out of the room, took her back to the guest room, settled her on the bed, arranged the blankets, and left silently.
Outside the room, the night was still unchangingly black. Shang Can stood in a daze outside Yun Duan’s door for a long while before finally letting out a resigned sigh.
Whatever. I’ll just guard here for the night.