In truth, not much changed after Bai Qingxue woke up.
After Liu Ningshuang warned her that she could no longer use her full strength before Foundation Establishment, she stopped doing so.
However, during this period, she continued to practice her sword, circulate her energy, and never neglected her daily lessons.
Lu Xueqing still came every evening, bringing a pot of tea and sitting under the old plum tree to wait for Bai Qingxue to finish her sword practice.
When Bai Qingxue sheathed her sword and sat down at the stone table, Lu Xueqing would pour the tea and push it toward her.
The two of them did not speak, just as it had always been.
Ye Qingyao would visit every few days, bringing something with her every time.
Spirit fruit, tea cakes, and various other items.
Ye Qingyao would place the items on the stone table, sit for a while, and then leave.
Bai Qingxue neither accepted nor refused them; the items sat there, neither eaten nor used.
When Ye Qingyao came the next time and saw the previous items still there, she would take them back and replace them with new ones.
Gradually, the items on the stone table increased.
Lu Xueqing’s teapot was on the left, Ye Qingyao’s spirit fruit was on the right, and the things Su Zhaoyan had sent remained huddled in the corner of the table.
Three types of items, three people, and none of them crossed the boundaries.
Bai Qingxue would sit among them to drink tea, regulate her breathing, or stare blankly into space, as if she were accustomed to their presence, or perhaps as if she simply didn't care at all.
Sometimes she would wonder: what did these things being here even mean? Left out on the stone table like this, they would only continue to pile up day after day.
Bai Qingxue didn't know what she was waiting for; perhaps she wasn't waiting for anything at all and was simply too lazy to tidy up.
This evening, Lu Xueqing set down her teacup and said casually, “Junior Sister Ye has begun her attempt to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining. She won't be coming for a few days.”
Bai Qingxue’s hand holding the teacup did not pause. She took a sip and set it down. “Mm.” It wasn't that she didn't care; it was that she didn't know how to care.
Ye Qingyao’s breakthrough was a good thing, and Bai Qingxue was sincerely happy for her, but that happiness was very light—like oil slicks on the surface of the water, dispersing as soon as they were brushed aside. Beneath was still water—clear, cold water that remained undisturbed.
Sure enough, Ye Qingyao did not come the next day.
Bai Qingxue practiced her sword as usual, and Lu Xueqing sat under the tree waiting as usual.
The courtyard was very quiet, save for the faint whistling of the Frost Condensation Sword cutting through the air.
When Bai Qingxue sheathed her sword, she didn't think much about Ye Qingyao, nor did she intentionally avoid thinking about her.
The thought was like a fallen leaf, drifting through her mind without leaving a trace.
Bai Qingxue walked to the stone table, and Lu Xueqing pushed the tea toward her.
She picked it up, took a sip, set it down, and closed her eyes.
What was she thinking about? Nothing at all. Or perhaps she was, but she hadn't noticed it herself.
On the evening of the third day, a peak-guarding disciple delivered a small bag of spirit fruit. The bag was pale green and came with a jade slip. Bai Qingxue opened the jade slip and sent her spiritual power inside; there was a line of text: “Sister Bai, I’ve emerged from seclusion.” The handwriting was neat, each stroke clearly defined.
Bai Qingxue put away the jade slip and said to the peak-guarding disciple, “Thank you.”
The disciple blinked in surprise, then turned and left.
Bai Qingxue carried the bag of spirit fruit back into the courtyard and placed it on the stone table.
She didn't make a point of looking at the things Ye Qingyao had sent before, nor did she make a point of avoiding them.
They were just there, the same as yesterday, the same as the day before.
She untied the drawstring of the new bag, took out a spirit fruit, and took a bite.
It was a bit sweet.
After finishing one, she tied the remaining fruit back up and placed them next to the pile of old items.
Sitting here now, drinking the tea Lu Xueqing brewed and eating the spirit fruit Ye Qingyao sent, Bai Qingxue thought of the two of them, yet no particular emotion arose in her heart.
Of course, Bai Qingxue certainly didn't dislike them.
In fact, at times, Bai Qingxue felt that being with them was comfortable.
Lu Xueqing didn't speak, and neither did she; the two of them sat under the old plum tree drinking tea, and neither felt awkward.
When Ye Qingyao came, she brought a bag of fruit, sat for a while, and then left without overstaying or asking too much.
Their sense of boundaries meant Bai Qingxue didn't have to exert effort to deal with anything, which made her feel comfortable.
But that “comfort” and their feelings for her were two different things.
Bai Qingxue didn't know what she actually was in their eyes. A junior sister? An old acquaintance? Or... something else? She couldn't tell.
Speaking of which, in his previous life as a man, he had never experienced so-called romance either.
In that past life, work, overtime, saving money, and buying a house had already filled his mind to the brim.
After transmigrating, he thought about it even less.
Cultivating, breaking through, and surviving—every one of those things was far more urgent than “finding a Dao companion.”
Furthermore, there was one thing he understood even less.
Bai Qingxue remembered the plot of the novel. Ye Qingyao was a supporting female character—no, she should be considered half a heroine. Although Ye Qingyao didn't have a clear romantic subplot, in the setting, she was supposed to have feelings for the male lead, or at least, have feelings for men.
But the way she looked at her didn't seem like the way a woman should look at another woman.
She was far too concerned about her—concerned to a degree that exceeded the scope of an “old acquaintance.”
Was it because the original Bai Qingxue had been too good to her? Was it out of guilt? Or was it because of something else?
Bai Qingxue didn't know. She wasn't even sure what Ye Qingyao’s feelings for her actually were—whether it was dependency, habit, obsession, or something else.
She couldn't tell. Perhaps even Ye Qingyao herself couldn't tell.
The same went for Lu Xueqing. Would a senior sister’s concern for a junior sister reach such an extent?
He didn't know what Lu Xueqing was thinking either. Did she see her as a younger sister? Did she feel she needed taking care of? Or was it something else? He couldn't bring himself to ask, nor could he figure it out.
He had never been treated like this before. Not in his past life, and not at the beginning of this life. So when these things happened, he didn't know how to categorize them.
It wasn't that he didn't want to respond; it was just that he didn't know what these actions were meant to signify.
In case he was overthinking things—in case they only saw her as a friend or a junior sister—his response would instead make everything awkward.
Bai Qingxue didn't want that.
He would rather do nothing than make a mistake.
He had never been one to take the initiative to break a stalemate.
He wasn't before, and he wasn't now.
If it couldn't be figured out, then there was no need to overthink it.
Bai Qingxue finished the cold tea in her cup, set it down, and returned to the quiet room to immerse herself in cultivation once more.
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