"Mmm, bitter with a sweet aftertaste, rich and mellow."
A smile curved Ling Xue's lips, her delicate brows arching.
Yun Shu Nian merely smiled without speaking, taking another sip of tea, savoring its flavor.
For a moment, the entire tea room fell silent, the only sounds being the immortal attendants pouring tea for Yun Shu Nian and Ling Xue.
Time trickled by. Yun Shu Nian was lost in the pleasure of tea tasting, and it was Ling Xue who finally broke the silence.
"Sister, you are about to come of age. Might you tell your sister if you have a potential partner in mind?"
Yun Shu Nian's cheeks flushed involuntarily, and she nodded slightly.
If Yun Shu Nian, with her consciousness inhabiting this familiar body, were a cat in her physical form, she would have been bristling with fur by now.
As for Yun Shu Nian, now merely a wisp of consciousness, she could only point a finger at Ling Xue in her mind and stomp her feet, mentally exclaiming: Begone, begone, begone!
From the corner of her eye, Yun Shu Nian observed Ling Xue's expression stiffen momentarily before quickly regaining its composure.
Yun Shu Nian looked at the gentle-faced Ling Xue before her, recalling the momentary stiffness in Ling Xue's expression, and was utterly certain—it had not been an illusion.
"I wonder if the person in your heart is the Crown Prince of the Eastern Sea, who molded his golden body at twenty thousand years old, or the Emperor of the Eastern Realm, whose birth was accompanied by auspicious omens?"
Ling Xue propped her chin on one hand, her posture languid, her fox-like eyes shining brightly, making her appear both at ease and full of interest.
Yun Shu Nian lowered her gaze, her voice growing softer, her face reddening further. "Neither."
Ling Xue's expression darkened. "Then who?"
"It's Zhaoxue who lives in the Peach Blossom Forest." Though Yun Shu Nian's voice was small, her eyes shone brighter than ever.
"He… how is he worthy of you." Ling Xue's gaze immediately dropped, all emotion vanishing along with her hidden fox-like eyes.
Yun Shu Nian looked up and immediately retorted loudly, "He is the best!"
Ling Xue murmured to herself, "The best?"
"Are you saying Zhaoxue is the best partner, or that in your heart, Zhaoxue is simply the best?"
Ling Xue met Yun Shu Nian's gaze, her eyes appearing very focused.
Yun Shu Nian's voice softened again, yet it held more resolve than ever before. "Sister, my heart is entirely his."
Ling Xue was taken aback. After a long moment, she came back to herself and nodded.
Yun Shu Nian met Ling Xue's contemplative gaze, and Ling Xue quickly offered her a smile.
"Sister, I know that outsiders might see a disparity in status between Zhaoxue and me. Anyone can think that, but I hope at least you do not."
Ling Xue's lips curved, a hint of forced pleasantry flashing across them. "Naturally."
Yun Shu Nian's body gave a sound of assent, and then she proceeded to drink cup after cup of tea.
The consciousness from the 21st century, belonging to Yun Shu Nian, couldn't help but catch Ling Xue's figure in her peripheral vision, still feeling uneasy.
"It's getting late. I should return to Qingqiu. I'll visit you again next time."
As Ling Xue spoke, she stood up. Yun Shu Nian immediately rose to see her off.
Yun Shu Nian watched Ling Xue's figure recede into the distance, her heart gradually settling. She turned and returned to the tea room.
Yun Shu Nian sat back in her original seat, continuing to drink tea, occasionally touching her flushed cheeks.
It wasn't until the sky darkened and a large, round, white jade disk appeared outside.
Yun Shu Nian finally put down her teacup and waved a sleeve at an immortal attendant. The attendant, who had been pouring tea, vanished into thin air.
Before Yun Shu Nian could even marvel, she placed her hand on the back of the grand armchair, shifting it slightly. With a soft click against the stone wall before her, a hidden door opened in the center of the wall.
Yun Shu Nian walked in with hurried steps. As she moved, clusters of flame-like lights rose from both sides of the secret passage.
Yun Shu Nian's steps were light, as if she were eager to see something.
Soon, Yun Shu Nian stopped. The corridor seemed to have reached its end, and another door appeared before her.
Thinking she had reached the end of the corridor, Yun Shu Nian pressed the paw of a stone lion beside the door. The hidden door opened, revealing another long corridor within.
Thus, Yun Shu Nian took several more turns and opened several more stone doors before finally entering a stone chamber.
In the center of the chamber was a bed.
The bed was empty, with only a single blue robe lying on it.
The stone walls were adorned with a series of paintings. The people depicted in the paintings varied slightly in their posture and expression. They were all the beloved whom Yun Shu Nian had spoken of that afternoon.
Yun Shu Nian approached each painting, pausing for a long time.
After an unknown period, Yun Shu Nian finally walked to the bedside.
She deliberately went to the side not occupied by the blue robe, climbed onto the bed with light steps, embraced the blue robe with her arms, and delicately sniffed the scarce scent of peach blossoms lingering on it.
Her face was hot, and her body was hot.
Anyone who saw Yun Shu Nian in this state would surely think that her dreams were likely to be scorching and bubbling.
The stone chamber remained silent until Yun Shu Nian awoke precisely according to her biological clock.
Yun Shu Nian looked at the expanse of blue, a smile gracing her lips. She got up, her head lowered, and with her hands, she painstakingly smoothed out the wrinkles on the blue robe.
Finally, Yun Shu Nian looked up again, gently touching the collar of the blue robe with the tip of her nose. Only then did she get out of bed, leaving the stone chamber with a backward glance at every few steps.
Looking at the clusters of small flames illuminating her path, Yun Shu Nian thought that, indeed, even in her dreams, she was so enamored with Mu Qi.
She had hidden him well, kept him very safe.
Mu Qi would definitely not be snatched away by anyone.
No, by a fox.
-------------------------------------
Evening, deep within the Peach Blossom Forest.
"What? You're going to the Body Burning Abyss? Where are you going? Traveling a thousand miles just to turn yourself into ashes?"
The Body Burning Abyss was located in the dry, far north—a place of extreme cold.
Yet, for some unknown reason, the Body Burning Abyss was perpetually engulfed in wild fire.
The Wine Immortal had come to play chess with Zhaoxue, but upon arriving, he found Zhaoxue packing his belongings by the bed.
Hearing that Zhaoxue intended to go to the Body Burning Abyss, the Wine Immortal circled around him, following his movements, his gourd clanking against his waist with each sway.
A moment later, Zhaoxue finished packing. He looked up in the direction of the far north, his brows softening.
"To collect the betrothal gifts."