When Xiao Nanyuan came out after washing her face, the sky had already grown dark.
Her hair was wet, clinging to her temples, and droplets of water still hung from her face. Her nose was red, though it was impossible to tell if it was from scrubbing too hard or from crying.
Xiao Nanyuan stood at the doorway, clutching the breathing method book in her hand as she looked at Bai Qingxue, appearing as if she didn't know where to go.
Bai Qingxue sat at the stone table, where she had prepared tea and snacks.
Seeing that Xiao Nanyuan had finished washing, she poured two cups, taking one for herself and placing the other across from her.
Xiao Nanyuan walked over and sat on the stone bench, cupping the tea with both hands.
She kept her head lowered, taking small sips, and did not say "it's delicious" again.
She simply drank, as if confirming that this cup of tea was real and not a dream.
Bai Qingxue did not look at her.
Twilight crept over the mountain ridge, dyeing the entire sky in shades of blue and purple.
Leaves from the old locust tree were still falling, some landing in the tea infusion, which she gently brushed aside with the cup lid.
“You will stay in the side room tonight,” Bai Qingxue said.
Xiao Nanyuan looked up, glanced at Bai Qingxue, and gave a single nod.
She didn't ask where the side room was, nor did she ask any other questions.
She simply nodded. To Xiao Nanyuan, she would never refuse anything this sister said.
Bai Qingxue stood up, picked up the teapot, and walked inside.
Xiao Nanyuan followed behind her, clutching the breathing method book. Her steps were very light, as if she were afraid of disturbing Bai Qingxue.
The side room was on the east side of the main room, separated by a corridor.
The door to the side room was open. Since there were few items inside, it didn't require much tidying.
The windows of the side room were closed, and the curtains were drawn, obscuring the deepening night outside.
Bai Qingxue stood at the doorway. Without entering, she turned slightly and said, “Sleep early.”
With that, Bai Qingxue turned and walked into the main room, closing the door behind her.
Xiao Nanyuan stood at the entrance of the side room, staring at the closed door for a while.
Then she went inside and gently pulled the door shut.
The room was very quiet—so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat.
Xiao Nanyuan walked to the bed and placed the breathing method book next to the pillow.
After setting it down, she picked it up again, flipped through it, closed it, and placed it back by the pillow. This time, she didn't touch it again.
Xiao Nanyuan took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and pulled the quilt up to her chest.
The quilt smelled of soapberry; it was clean, but it could hardly be called warm.
Xiao Nanyuan curled her body, facing the wall with her back to the door.
She closed her eyes.
In the darkness, those images surged back into her mind.
The room without light, that lock, and those thin slivers of light leaking through the cracks in the wooden boards.
No one came to knock on the door; no one called her name.
Xiao Nanyuan had crouched in the corner, clutching her knees and counting meaningless numbers. One, two, three... counting to a thousand, then starting over from the beginning.
Xiao Nanyuan opened her eyes.
There was a shadow on the wall—the shadow of the old locust tree outside swaying in the wind.
The shadow flickered as if someone were beckoning to her.
She stared at the shadow for a long time before sitting up. She wrapped the quilt around herself and hugged her knees, just as she had in that side hall.
She didn't want to be locked away again.
But this wasn't that side hall. The door wasn't locked, and the window was cracked open slightly, allowing the wind to blow in and the moonlight to filter through.
She could walk out. As long as she pushed open the door, she could walk out.
But she didn't dare.
Xiao Nanyuan lowered her head, looking at the breathing method book by her pillow.
She had long since recognized the characters on the cover, but she still traced them with her finger, stroke by stroke.
Then she picked up the book, got off the bed, and stepped onto the floor with bare feet.
The floor was cold. A chill crept up from the soles of her feet, and she curled her toes, yet she still didn't return to the bed.
Xiao Nanyuan walked to the door. Her hand rested on the door bolt for a long time before she finally pulled it back gently and pushed the door open.
The corridor was very dark.
The door to the main room was closed, but a faint light seeped through the crack beneath it.
Clutching the book, Xiao Nanyuan walked over one barefoot step at a time.
When she reached the door of the main room, she stopped and stood there with her head lowered, looking like a small tree bent by the wind.
There was no sound from inside the room.
She wasn't sure if Bai Qingxue was asleep. She didn't dare knock, and she didn't dare leave.
She simply stood there, clutching the breathing method book, her toes curled against the ice-cold floor.
A long time passed.
Perhaps it was fifteen minutes, perhaps longer.
The door opened from the inside.
Bai Qingxue stood in the doorway, looking down at her.
Xiao Nanyuan looked up.
Under the moonlight, her small face was incredibly pale. Her long eyelashes were damp and clumped together like the wings of a butterfly drenched by rain.
A thin shimmer of moisture glistened in her eyes, which were like deep wells. The water pooled and swirled in her eyes but never fell.
The tip of her nose was a faint pink, and her lips were pressed together into a shallow arc, as if she were trying hard to restrain herself.
Bai Qingxue looked at her. She didn't speak, nor did she ask why the girl wasn't sleeping.
She stepped aside, clearing the doorway.
Xiao Nanyuan was stunned for a moment. Then, she clutched the book in her arms, stepped over the threshold, and walked inside.
The main room was warmer than the side room. Bai Qingxue sat cross-legged on the bed; the bedding was folded to one side, not yet spread out.
A lamp was lit in the room. The lamp wick had been trimmed very short, and the flame was only the size of a bean. It didn't illuminate the entire room, but it was enough.
Xiao Nanyuan stood in the middle of the room, not knowing where to go.
Bai Qingxue pointed to the floor beside the bed, where an old pallet was spread out—the one she had just brought from the side room.
On top of it lay a thin quilt and a pillow.
“Sleep there,” Bai Qingxue said.
Xiao Nanyuan walked over and crouched down, placing the breathing method book next to the pillow.
Then she crawled into the quilt, lying on her side and facing Bai Qingxue.
She didn't take off her outer clothes. She pulled the quilt up to her chin, leaving only her bright dark eyes visible.
Bai Qingxue withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes, and continued her cultivation. Her spiritual power continuously circulated through cycles within her dantian.
The room was very quiet.
Only outside the window, the leaves of the old locust tree occasionally rustled in the wind.
Xiao Nanyuan lay on the pallet with her eyes open, watching Bai Qingxue.
Bai Qingxue’s eyes were closed, her eyelashes were still, and her breathing was steady.
Moonlight filtered through the window lattice, falling onto her silver-white hair and casting a cold glow.
Xiao Nanyuan watched for a while before slowly closing her eyes.
The quilt was warm, and the floor wasn't cold because of the pallet beneath her.
Xiao Nanyuan curled her body and buried her face in the quilt, her nose catching that faint, cool fragrance.
Xiao Nanyuan’s heartbeat gradually slowed, and her breathing became steady.
She thought of that dark room.
There had been no light, no people, and no sound.
She had thought she would stay there forever.
But someone had come.
Someone had shattered the frozen lock and led her out.
That person had poured her tea, let her wash her face, and prepared her bedding.
Now she lay here, very close to that person—close enough to hear her breathing.
Xiao Nanyuan pulled the quilt up a bit higher, covering half of her face.
Her hand reached out from beneath the quilt and gently touched the corner of Bai Qingxue’s robe hanging off the bed.
It was just a touch; she didn't grab hold.
She was afraid of disturbing Bai Qingxue and afraid of being pushed away.
After just one touch, she withdrew her hand.
Then she closed her eyes and moved no more.
Although Bai Qingxue was still meditating, she noticed the slight touch on her robe.
But it was very light, like a butterfly landing on a petal and immediately flitting away.
After a long time, Xiao Nanyuan’s breathing became long and even.
She was asleep.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and looked down.
Xiao Nanyuan was curled in the quilt, half of her small face showing, with a trace of moisture still clinging to her eyelashes.
Her hand rested next to the pillow, her fingertips very close to the breathing method book—close enough to reach it with a single stretch.
Bai Qingxue watched for a moment, then withdrew her gaze and closed her eyes again.
Outside the window, moonlight filtered through the branches of the old locust tree, shattering into silver-white fragments that lay silently upon the ground.
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