Nearly a month had passed since Xiao Nanyuan moved in when Bai Qingxue decided to take her to the ruins' outskirts.
“Come out with me today,” Bai Qingxue told her.
At that moment, Xiao Nanyuan was crouching by the low bed folding her quilt. Hearing this, her eyes instantly lit up, and she asked with a hint of excitement, “Immortal Sister, where are we going?”
“The ruins.”
Xiao Nanyuan didn't know what the ruins were.
Nonetheless, she stood up, clutched the breathing method book to her chest, and walked to Bai Qingxue’s side. She looked up at her like a puppy waiting for its owner to take up the leash.
Bai Qingxue looked down at her. “No need to bring the book.”
Xiao Nanyuan hesitated for a moment before placing the book back by her pillow. She patted the pillow once and followed Bai Qingxue out the courtyard gate.
To get from the guest courtyard to the ruins, one had to cross half the royal palace.
Bai Qingxue walked in front with a steady pace, and Xiao Nanyuan followed closely behind, matching her speed.
The palace maids and guards they passed retreated to the roadside, bowing their heads in respect.
Bai Qingxue didn't look at them, and neither did Xiao Nanyuan.
However, Xiao Nanyuan noticed that the way these people looked at her had changed.
Before, they had looked at her as if she were a disposable ornament; their gazes would slide right over her without stopping.
Now, there was surprise and confusion in their eyes, along with something else she couldn't quite decipher.
She didn't know if it was because she was following the Immortal Sister or because she was no longer wearing that ill-fitting palace dress.
Xiao Nanyuan didn't dwell on it. She simply withdrew her gaze and fixed it on the frost-white silhouette ahead of her.
They exited through the back gate of the royal palace, crossed a narrow alley, and climbed a small hill. The entrance to the ruins appeared before them.
There were collapsed stone platforms and massive boulders scattered everywhere. Disturbed spiritual energy surged from a fissure like invisible burning flames.
Standing behind Bai Qingxue, Xiao Nanyuan peeked out, staring at the fissure.
Her eyes were wide, her dark pupils reflecting the eerie blue light emanating from the crack.
“These are the ruins?” Xiao Nanyuan asked curiously.
“Yes...”
Xiao Nanyuan stared at the fissure for a long time. Then she took two steps forward, standing at the edge and looking down.
The wind caught the stray hairs on her forehead, and her skirt fluttered gently around her feet.
She wasn't afraid; she just quietly observed the darkness below.
“Immortal Sister, what's beneath the ruins?”
Bai Qingxue stood behind Xiao Nanyuan, watching her back. After a moment's thought, she answered, “Ice.”
Xiao Nanyuan tilted her head. “Ice?”
“That's right.”
Xiao Nanyuan nodded as if she partially understood, but she didn't ask further.
She stood there with her hands behind her back, her robe fluttering in the wind.
After a moment, she stepped back to Bai Qingxue’s side and looked up at her.
“Did you memorize the path?” Bai Qingxue asked.
Xiao Nanyuan nodded.
She remembered.
Turn left out of the guest courtyard, pass through the garden, exit the back gate, go up the hill, and turn right at the crooked-necked tree.
She remembered every step, every turn, and every turtle-shaped stone.
Because she knew that the Immortal Sister hadn't asked her to memorize the path for fun.
She was afraid Xiao Nanyuan wouldn't be able to find her way.
Find her way to whom? To the Immortal Sister.
Bai Qingxue said nothing more and turned to walk back.
Xiao Nanyuan followed obediently behind her.
The two of them didn't speak on the way back.
Bai Qingxue led the way, her frost-white True Disciple uniform shimmering coldly in the afternoon sun.
Xiao Nanyuan followed, watching her back.
That silhouette was very thin; the outline of her shoulder blades was faintly visible through the fabric, and the Shuanghua sword at her waist swayed gently with her steps.
She didn't look back or speak as she walked, like a moving iceberg.
Looking at that back, Xiao Nanyuan suddenly remembered something.
When she first met the Immortal Sister, she had felt there was something indefinable about her.
It wasn't just coldness.
She had seen coldness before; the gazes of some people in the royal palace were cold.
The Immortal Sister’s coldness was different.
Thinking of this, Xiao Nanyuan stopped.
After a few steps, Bai Qingxue realized the footsteps behind her had stopped. She halted and looked back.
Xiao Nanyuan stood there, hands hanging in front of her, fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
Her head was bowed, her lips moving slightly before pressing together. She seemed to be debating whether she should speak and how to say it.
“What is it?” Bai Qingxue asked.
Xiao Nanyuan looked up, glanced at Bai Qingxue, and then lowered her head again. Sunlight fell on her long eyelashes, casting two small shadows on her cheeks.
“Immortal Sister,” Xiao Nanyuan called out softly.
“Yes.”
“Your sword is cold. Your techniques are cold.” She paused, as if organizing her words. “Then... do you ever feel cold?”
Bai Qingxue looked at her.
Xiao Nanyuan stood there, small and thin, her shadow stretched long by the sunlight.
Her eyes were very dark and bright, holding a serious expression that showed she wasn't just asking out of idle curiosity.
Xiao Nanyuan simply felt that if a person was icy from head to toe, they must be suffering.
And if they didn't speak of their suffering, no one would ever know.
Xiao Nanyuan understood this feeling deeply because she was that kind of person.
Bai Qingxue did not answer.
She stood still for a breath, then turned and continued walking.
Xiao Nanyuan was stunned for a moment before catching up.
She didn't ask again; she just followed Bai Qingxue, watching her back.
Xiao Nanyuan suddenly felt that the Immortal Sister must be cold.
It was just that no one had ever asked.
By the time they returned to the guest courtyard, the tea on the stone table was already cold.
Xiao Nanyuan went to boil water and brewed a fresh pot.
Bai Qingxue sat at the stone table, watching the leaves of the old locust tree fall one by one.
Xiao Nanyuan brought the tea over and poured a cup, placing it before Bai Qingxue.
Bai Qingxue picked it up and took a sip.
Xiao Nanyuan sat opposite her, cradling her own cup without drinking.
She watched Bai Qingxue through the rising steam.
She watched for a short while, then looked down at the tea in her cup.
The tea reflected Xiao Nanyuan's face—small and slightly blurred by the ripples.
“Immortal Sister,” Xiao Nanyuan suddenly said.
“Yes.”
“If you ever feel cold... my hands are warm.”
Bai Qingxue’s hand holding the cup paused slightly, but she gave no answer.
She simply finished her tea, set down the cup, stood up, and walked into the main room.
Xiao Nanyuan sat on the stone stool, watching the frost-white silhouette disappear behind the door.
She looked down at her hands. They were small, thin, and bony.
She turned them over, looking at her palms, then turned them back.
She clenched her hands into fists and then relaxed them.
She didn't know if the Immortal Sister would find her hands warm.
In fact, Xiao Nanyuan felt the Immortal Sister probably wouldn't.
Her hands were too small; they probably couldn't warm such a tall person.
But Xiao Nanyuan had said it anyway.
Just in case.
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