Recently, Bai Qingxue had heard many pieces of news about Lu Xueqing.
Even if Bai Qingxue didn't actively seek them out, people would still mention her.
A deacon from the Affairs Hall said that Lu Xueqing had taken on many missions recently, sometimes being gone for two or three days at a time.
Shen Yao said she had single-handedly challenged a Tier 2 demon beast, returning covered in injuries, and went to turn in her mission without even applying medicine.
Disciples she encountered in the market said she looked thinner and more withdrawn.
Every piece of news pointed to the same thing: Lu Xueqing had changed, and she was working desperately.
Bai Qingxue frowned.
She couldn't quite pinpoint what felt wrong.
Lu Xueqing had broken through, taken on missions, gained experience, and grown stronger.
These were all good things. Yet Bai Qingxue couldn't shake the feeling that Lu Xueqing wasn't moving forward, but rather that everything happening was merely an act for her, a response to their conversation that night.
Bai Qingxue couldn't explain why she felt this way.
Perhaps it was just Lu Xueqing's rapid transformation that made her overthink things.
That evening, Bai Qingxue returned from the cold pond.
Twilight spread from the mountain ridge. As Bai Qingxue reached the courtyard gate and was about to push open the door, footsteps sounded behind her.
Bai Qingxue turned around.
Lu Xueqing stood at the bottom of the stone steps, her martial attire still stained with blood and dust. Her hair was neatly tied back, with a few stray strands escaping her hair ribbon and clinging to her sweaty temples.
The twilight fell upon her, casting a dark pall over her frost-white figure.
Bai Qingxue looked at Lu Xueqing, saying nothing. Lu Xueqing remained silent as well. Separated by a few stone steps, they gazed at each other for a moment.
Then Lu Xueqing stepped forward, walked up to Bai Qingxue, reached out, and directly embraced her.
It wasn't like her previous hesitant embraces, which only tightened after Bai Qingxue's nod of permission.
The current Lu Xueqing seemed to be in a desperate hurry, as if she “couldn't wait any longer”.
As Lu Xueqing's entire body pressed against her, their heartbeats transmitted through their clothes.
Bai Qingxue could clearly feel the rhythm of that heartbeat; undoubtedly, it was beating impossibly fast.
Bai Qingxue stood still, tightly embraced by Lu Xueqing, feeling the warmth between their bodies rapidly merge.
From the person in front of her, Bai Qingxue smelled blood, mixed with the dusty scent of Lu Xueqing's return from her mission and a hint of salty sweat.
“Senior Sister,” Bai Qingxue said.
Lu Xueqing didn't respond.
She merely continued to bury her face in Bai Qingxue's shoulder.
Her nose brushed against the skin of Bai Qingxue's neck, her lips almost pressed against it.
She breathed, one breath after another, each carrying emotions that had been suppressed for too long, as if slowly filling a void that had been present all this time.
Seeing this, Bai Qingxue raised her hand and gently pressed it against Lu Xueqing's back.
“What's wrong?” Bai Qingxue asked.
“Junior Sister Bai, I missed you,” Lu Xueqing's voice was muffled against Bai Qingxue's shoulder.
Bai Qingxue's fingers paused on Lu Xueqing's back.
“I missed you so much I couldn't bear it,” Lu Xueqing repeated, her voice a little hoarse, as if she were holding something back.
“I thought if I didn't see you, I wouldn't miss you. I took on so many missions, went to so many places, exhausted myself to the point of collapsing into sleep...”
She paused.
“It was useless.”
Bai Qingxue remained silent. She could feel Lu Xueqing's arms trembling slightly—not from cold, but with the kind of tremor that comes from 'having held back for too long and finally being able to let go'.
“Every day when I opened my eyes, you were still the first person I thought of,” Lu Xueqing's voice squeezed out from her throat.
“When I returned from a mission, you were still the first person I wanted to see. When I was injured, the first person I wanted to apply medicine... was still you.”
Lu Xueqing lifted her head, looking into Bai Qingxue's eyes.
“Junior Sister Bai, I tried, but I can't do it.”
“If I don't have Junior Sister Bai... I...” Lu Xueqing trailed off, unable to finish.
Bai Qingxue was silent for a moment.
She lowered her head, looking at Lu Xueqing's hand pressed against her shoulder.
That hand was still trembling.
Bai Qingxue reached out and covered the back of Lu Xueqing's hand.
“Your injury?” Bai Qingxue asked.
Lu Xueqing froze for a moment.
“You're injured, aren't you?” Bai Qingxue looked at the fresh gash on her left shoulder.
Lu Xueqing lowered her head, looking at her own left shoulder, as if only just realizing she was injured.
“It's nothing,” she said.
Bai Qingxue said nothing.
She took Lu Xueqing's wrist, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked inside.
Ning Qinghan was sitting under the old plum tree, drinking tea.
A celadon teacup rested on the stone table, steam still rising from the tea within, curling gracefully into the twilight.
One hand propped up her chin, while the other rested casually on the edge of the table, her fingertips tapping rhythmically against the stone surface.
Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a faded grayish-blue Daoist robe hung loosely on her, giving her an air of languid ease.
Seeing them enter, Ning Qinghan's gaze shifted.
Her eyes paused for a moment on Bai Qingxue's hand holding Lu Xueqing's wrist, then she stood up and, understanding the situation, carried her teacup into the side room.
She gently closed the door.
Bai Qingxue pressed Lu Xueqing down onto the stone stool, then turned and entered the main room, returning with a medicine bottle and bandages.
She knelt before Lu Xueqing and reached out to untie the laces of her collar.
Lu Xueqing, of course, didn't flinch.
She simply sat there, allowing Bai Qingxue to untie her collar and reveal the fresh wound.
Bai Qingxue lowered her head, looking at the wound. It wasn't deep, but it was long, stretching from her left shoulder all the way to her collarbone.
The edges of the wound had already begun to scab, but some areas had reopened, seeping blood.
Bai Qingxue watched for a moment, then said nothing. She opened the medicine bottle, poured some medicinal powder onto her fingertips, and gently applied it to the wound.
Lu Xueqing bit her lip, making no sound.
“I told you before, didn't I? If you need medicine applied, come to me.”
Bai Qingxue's tone remained cool, yet her actions contradicted her words completely as she spoke.
Her tone was cold, but her fingertips were incredibly soft and gentle, as careful as could be.
Lu Xueqing looked at Bai Qingxue.
She watched those light-colored eyes glimmer faintly in the twilight, and those thin lips gently part and close.
“But, didn't Junior Sister Bai tell me to walk my own path?” Lu Xueqing said, a hint of grievance in her voice.
Hearing this, Bai Qingxue looked up, glanced at Lu Xueqing, then finished wrapping the bandage, withdrew her hand, and stood up, saying:
“If you were truly so obedient to my words, you wouldn't have failed to come to me for medicine.”
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