Wen Tang could not sleep.
Puppets did not need sleep.
She slowly turned onto her side. Even in the darkness, she could clearly see the person beside her.
Song Yao had always been a restless sleeper.
Her head was crookedly buried in the pillow, one leg tucked obediently under the blanket, while the other had somehow wedged itself into the gap between the bed and the wall. The blanket had long since slid down to her waist.
Yet she was entirely oblivious, her breathing light and shallow, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly with each breath.
Her mouth was slightly parted, and her lips looked rosier than when she was awake, making her look exceptionally lovely.
A red thread flew out, pulling the blanket back over her.
Wen Tang stared at her, unmoving.
After an unknown amount of time, her fingertips twitched slightly, and she pulled out the doll that was wrapped in dark red threads and looked exactly like herself.
After playing with it for a moment, she suddenly spoke, asking Song Yao in a low whisper, “Third Senior Sister, do you like the current me more, the old me more, or...”
“Do you not like me at all?”
Just as the words left her mouth, the fast-asleep Song Yao let out an unconscious, soft grunt and snuggled closer to her.
A warm, soft face pressed against her shoulder, completely devoid of any hostility or defensiveness.
Wen Tang's body stiffened.
She looked down at the person resting on her shoulder, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.
The red threads on her fingertips loosened and tightened, tightened and loosened, until the doll slipped from her grasp and rolled into the folds of the bedding.
...
The next few days were unbelievably quiet.
Logically speaking, with Ye Chang'an being detained, Ye Chongguang should have caused some kind of trouble.
Yet there was not the slightest disturbance from the outside. Black Cloud Mountain had inexplicably become incredibly peaceful and serene, like a hidden paradise closed off from the rest of the world.
Song Yao slept deeply for several days and drank her medicine daily, allowing her body to fully recover.
Now that her health was restored, she could not bear to sit idle.
At some point, the red thread around her ankle had tightened again, but fortunately, she had plenty of talismans from Fourth Junior Brother.
Taking advantage of the moment Wen Tang stepped out after feeding her medicine, she felt an unbearable itch to explore. She untied the red thread once more, climbed over the wall, and snuck out of Black Cloud Mountain. She wanted to buy a couple of flasks of wine and check on the situation outside while she was at it.
To her surprise, the very moment her front foot stepped past the boundary of Black Cloud Mountain, the Black Bird let out a sharp screech and landed right beside her.
To make matters worse, Zhu Zhao was standing on its back.
As the two of them and the bird locked eyes, Song Yao spun around to walk back. “Well, Fifth Junior Sister is looking for me. I'll head back first.”
Before she could take even half a step, the Black Bird craned its neck, clamped its beak onto her back collar, and tossed her onto its back.
Song Yao let out a yelp as she tumbled toward Zhu Zhao, who barely managed to catch her.
The spot where their hands met felt exceptionally warm. Remembering that Zhu Zhao disliked physical contact with her, Song Yao quickly stood firm, stepped back a little, and let out a light cough, feeling slightly awkward. “Second Senior Sister.”
Zhu Zhao's lips curled slightly. “Second Senior Sister? Song Yao, when did you become so well-behaved?”
In their past life, she had never heard Song Yao call her that unless she was mocking her.
Most of the time, she would cheerfully call her “Zhu Zhao” this and “Zhu Zhao” that.
She had also frequently boasted that she would kill her sooner or later so she could take her place as Second Senior Sister.
Song Yao braved it out and tried to muddy the waters. “Well, actually, I have a bit of amnesia, so I don't really remember the past very well. Second Senior Sister, you're a generous person. Why don't we shake hands and make peace? Let's call it even, what do you say?”
After speaking, she did not forget to bring up the Black Bird. “Even a bird as petty as this one has made peace with me.”
The Black Bird: “??”
Who was petty?
Zhu Zhao's gaze grew a fraction colder. “Call it even?”
Song Yao nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes! We are fellow disciples, so why hold onto past grudges? Besides, I won't be staying in the Nine Saints Hall for very long. In the future, I certainly won't get in your way or eyesore you like I used to...”
Before she could finish, Zhu Zhao sneered and rudely cut her off. “Are you trying to make peace with me, or are you just unable to beat me now and afraid of what I might do to you?”
Song Yao let out a sigh and put on a solemn, serious expression. “How can you say that? I'm being sincere. I deeply reflected on my actions while I was in the Earth Realm, and it really was my fault before. If that's not enough, how about I say sorry to you?”
A wise person adapts to the circumstances.
Zhu Zhao was incredibly unreasonable when she fought, and she hit everyone hard.
Currently, Song Yao was weak and frail. Just two solid punches from Zhu Zhao would probably end her.
No matter what, she had to talk her way out of this first.
Zhu Zhao's smile abruptly vanished, her brow furrowing deeply as a complex look crossed her face.
When had Song Yao ever apologized?
When had Song Yao ever uttered such weak, submissive words?
She remembered their last life-and-death fight, where Song Yao, covered in bruises and dirt, had still casually mocked her: “Come on, kill me. If you don't, I'll blow up your courtyard and use it to raise chickens.”
Now, she was wearing such a wronged, pitiful expression and saying sorry.
Who wanted to hear her apologize?
Zhu Zhao could not describe what she was feeling, only that she was incredibly irritated. After a long pause, she spoke: “Let's go.”
Song Yao grew wary. “Where are we going?”
She surely wasn't going to find a place to kill and bury her, right?
Without waiting for an answer, the Black Bird spread its wings and soared into the sky.
...
Gliding past layers of cloud shadows, they landed at the ferry crossing of Qingyang City outside Black Cloud Mountain half an hour later.
Inside a private room of a riverside tavern, the wooden windows were tightly shut, blocking out the chilly wind from the riverbank and the bustling noise of the streets.
An attendant stepped in quietly, carrying the final dish of sweet osmanthus sticky rice lotus root. After setting down the bowls and chopsticks, he brought over two flasks of warmed rice wine, bowed, and smiled. “Enjoy your meal, guests. All the dishes have been served. Please call me if you need anything.”
Zhu Zhao waved her hand, and the attendant tactfully withdrew, gently closing the door behind him.
She picked up the wine flask and poured a cup for both herself and Song Yao.
The clear wine slid down the sides of the cups, creating tiny, sparkling bubbles.
She pushed the cup in front of Song Yao. “Drink.”
Song Yao looked at the cup of wine, then at Zhu Zhao, and picked it up with an air of grim resolve to take a sip.
The crisp aroma of rice melted on her tongue, warm and slightly sweet.
It was actually just a normal cup of rice wine.
Seeing her reaction, Zhu Zhao could not help but sneer, “What's the matter? Afraid I'll poison you?”
Song Yao was very honest this time. “Yes, I am.”
“...”
Zhu Zhao made a move to snatch the cup from her hand. “Then don't drink it.”
It was rare for Song Yao to get a taste of wine, so she pulled her hand back. “No way. Dying at Second Senior Sister's hands would be my pleasure.”
Zhu Zhao: “...”
It was one thing to use such sweet, flirtatious words to coax others, but she was actually saying them to her as well.
She wanted to lose her temper, but seeing the girl before her cradling the wine cup, her cheeks flushed rosy and her eyes shining like little stars, she forced her anger back down.
How did she become so like a child after changing bodies?
She could get this happy just from a couple of sips of wine.
She casually took the empty bowl in front of Song Yao, ladled a bowl of piping hot chicken soup, placed it before her, and instructed, “Eat something before you drink more.”
Song Yao: “Oh.”
Though she agreed, she still drank two more cups of wine before finally turning to the chicken soup.
When she looked up, she saw that Zhu Zhao had somehow gotten another small bowl and was placing food into it for her.
Song Yao found this scene incredibly surreal.
In her past life on the main peak, she and Zhu Zhao had the worst relationship of all. Yet in this life, the first person she sat down with for a peaceful meal was actually Zhu Zhao.
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