The day after receiving the decree, when Bai Qingxue returned from the cold pond, Lu Xueqing was already sitting under the old plum tree.
The sun had not yet begun its westward descent, and the light still carried the brightness of the afternoon.
Lu Xueqing had arrived much earlier than usual.
Steam rose from the spout of the teapot on the stone table, thin wisps of white mist that dissipated quickly in the late spring wind.
There were two cups: one in front of her and an empty one placed where Bai Qingxue usually sat.
She sat there with her back perfectly straight and her hands resting on her knees, her posture as proper as if she were waiting for someone, just as she always was.
However, there was a crease in the hem of her Daoist robe today, showing that she had, after all, been sitting there for a long time.
Hearing the courtyard gate open, she looked up.
“So early?” Bai Qingxue asked.
“I wanted to come early,” Lu Xueqing said.
Lu Xueqing did not explain why she wanted to come early.
Bai Qingxue did not ask either. Some things do not need to be asked; the answer given is often not the same as the one known in the heart.
Bai Qingxue took her seat opposite her.
Lu Xueqing poured a cup of tea and pushed it over.
The tea infusion poured from the spout, tracing a pale gold arc in the air before landing at the bottom of the cup, splashing into tiny droplets.
Bai Qingxue took it and had a sip.
The tea was freshly brewed and a bit hot.
“Leaving tomorrow?” Lu Xueqing asked.
“Yes.”
Lu Xueqing nodded. She picked up her own teacup but did not drink, merely holding it.
The tea in the cup did not reflect her face because her head was lowered, her gaze fixed on the rim.
That gaze was heavy, as if she were not looking at the tea, but at something submerged at the bottom of the cup that could not be fished out.
“For how long?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Lu Xueqing was silent for a moment before she set her teacup down and refilled it with hot water.
The stream of water poured from the pot, causing steam to surge and blur Lu Xueqing’s features.
Through that thin layer of steam, Bai Qingxue’s face appeared somewhat indistinct, as if separated by a layer of frost.
“No matter how long it takes,” Lu Xueqing said slowly, her voice soft but every word articulated clearly, as if she were exerting great effort to control her vocal cords and keep them from trembling.
“When you return, we will still be like this, right?”
Bai Qingxue looked at Lu Xueqing upon hearing this.
However, Lu Xueqing did not look back at her. Her gaze was fixed on the teapot, on the unfurling tea leaves.
The tea leaves slowly expanded in the hot water, sinking to the bottom and then floating back up, leaf by leaf, as if they had a life of their own.
Her profile looked the same as usual, but Bai Qingxue felt that she was suppressing something.
Suppressing what?
Bai Qingxue couldn't say for sure.
Bai Qingxue did not speak.
She didn't know what to say.
The two of them said nothing more.
In this manner, the tea was refilled twice.
The first time was refilled by Lu Xueqing, and the second time was also refilled by Lu Xueqing.
Bai Qingxue did not touch the teapot, merely holding her cup and drinking sip by sip.
She drank very slowly—not because the tea was hot, but because she wasn't sure if this was the last time she would sit here and drink tea before her departure, or if there would be one more time.
After tomorrow, she would be leaving. After tomorrow, she would no longer appear in this courtyard. After tomorrow, she would no longer see the person before her.
So this pot of tea was likely the last one for some time.
Bai Qingxue drank very slowly.
Lu Xueqing also drank very slowly.
It was as if the two were competing to see who could drink slower, or as if they were collectively engaged in a task that required no haste.
They drank until the tea went from hot to warm, and from warm to cold.
By the time they reached the last sip, the sky was nearly dark.
The shadow of the old plum tree had shifted from one end of the stone table to the other, stretching long and casting itself onto the bluestone slabs like an outstretched arm.
Lu Xueqing stood up.
“I won’t come to see you off tomorrow,” Lu Xueqing said in a thin voice.
Bai Qingxue nodded. She looked at Lu Xueqing and wanted to say “no need,” but as the words reached her lips, she felt they wouldn't sound right.
So she said nothing.
She simply nodded.
Lu Xueqing turned and walked toward the courtyard gate. When she reached the entrance, she did not pause, nor did she look back.
The wooden hairpin that had been crooked a few days ago was now perfectly straight. Today’s Lu Xueqing seemed to have returned to the way she was before Bai Qingxue’s Foundation Establishment.
Why was that?
Bai Qingxue remained sitting under the old plum tree, watching the departing figure disappear around the corner of the stone steps.
She watched the twilight swallow her bit by bit—first the color of her robe, then the silhouette of her shoulders, and finally the last trace of brown on the wooden hairpin.
In the end, nothing was left.
The stone steps were now empty, occupied only by the twilight and the wind.
However, half a cup of tea still remained in Bai Qingxue’s cup.
Bai Qingxue picked it up and drained it in one gulp.
It was a bitterness accompanied by a chill.
After finishing, Bai Qingxue placed the empty cup on the stone table. The bottom of the cup met the stone with a soft clink.
That soft sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard, as if it were speaking for someone.
She lowered her head and looked at her hand; her fingers rested on the edge of the table, motionless.
She withdrew her hand and tucked it into her sleeve, but the sleeve was empty, making her feel hollow.
Bai Qingxue did not cultivate today.
At this moment, her consciousness floated on the surface, like a leaf drifting on water—not sinking, but not moving either.
Bai Qingxue pulled the blanket up, covering half of her face.
The quiet room was silent, save for the very light sound of her own breathing.
She closed her eyes.
Lu Xueqing’s voice drifted up from her consciousness again.
“No matter how long it takes.”
“When you return, we will still be like this, right?”
Like this.
Sitting under the old plum tree like this, brewing a pot of tea, and drinking until the twilight faded completely.
Calling her Junior Sister and being called Senior Sister like this. Everything remaining unchanged.
In truth, Bai Qingxue didn't know if things would change.
After all, she didn't know what was waiting for her in Nanhuai, she didn't know how long she would be gone, and she didn't know if she would still be the same person when she returned.
Her cultivation technique was eroding her emotions day by day; perhaps by the time she returned, she would no longer be herself.
But if Lu Xueqing were to truly ask her, Bai Qingxue would only say “it won’t.”
Because Bai Qingxue knew that Lu Xueqing needed it to be true.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and looked at the shadow of the old plum tree on the window paper.
The moonlight had not yet risen; there was only a blurry, silver-white glow on the window paper.
Bai Qingxue thought that perhaps whether things remained like this was not something she alone could decide.
But if Lu Xueqing was willing to wait, she was willing to return.
To return and see if the old plum tree was still there, if the stone table was still there, and if those two cups were still there.
If they were all still there, she would be happy to sit down and share a cup of tea just like today.
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