Feng Jiu’er had come to a profound realization: one could afford to offend anyone — but never the person who looked after you.

And so — because she had made Yanu angry this evening, even something as simple as bathing had become a tremendous inconvenience.

She had never tried bathing at home before; it turned out one actually had to go and fetch hot water oneself — which made it seem even more troublesome than life at the academy.

At the academy there was something like a bathhouse, with hot water available at any time. Extremely convenient.

But here — ah — Yanu was angry with her, so not even hot water had been prepared for her. She had to heat it herself.

Start the fire, draw the water, boil it, carry it back to her room, add cool water to adjust the temperature… by the time she had wrestled through all of that and finally bathed and collapsed onto the bed, it must have been the middle of the night.

Utterly exhausted, thoroughly drained — in short, she was nearly done for.

As she lay on the bed, Feng Jiu’er swore inwardly that she would never make Yanu angry again. Never, ever again.

A breeze filtered in through the window, and in a drowsy haze, the person on the bed was soon fast asleep.

At some indeterminate hour, a slender figure appeared in the room.

He walked to the bedside, his steps clearly steady, yet utterly soundless.

A few strands of hair fell loose and were gently lifted by the night breeze. A face covered in scars — yet in the stillness of this night, there was something strangely striking about it.

But his expression was not good. He held the small wooden box in his hand, his gaze resting on Feng Jiu’er’s face.

She slept soundly and deeply. Whether it was because she had grown accustomed to his presence over time, she showed not even the slightest trace of wariness.

She slept so soundly, without a hint of alertness — even as he had already come to stand at her bedside and had been staring down at her for quite some time, she had not stirred in the least.

If it were not him — would she keep at least a little more guard? She should not be this relaxed these days.

The person on the bed — her face in the pale wash of moonlight was indescribably lovely.

She had recovered her true appearance, and had returned without ever mentioning the reason to him. He had not asked either.

Of course — a mute had no way to ask most things.

But she could communicate with him. After so many years, he was used to it.

He stood there at her bedside like that, silently watching her face, for a very long time.

Until another gust of the night breeze drifted in, and the girl on the bed who had no blanket over her curled in on herself slightly, shifted, and sank back into deep sleep. Only then did the consciousness that had been lost in her presence draw itself back to the surface.

He raised his large hand. The small wooden box in his grip gleamed with a faint, peculiar light in the moonlight.

His eyes narrowed slightly. A cold glint swept through their depths.

His five fingers tensed. The chill emanating from him grew heavier and heavier. At last, the slender fingers flicked lightly — the wooden box snapped open at the motion, and inside, the black insect writhed and twisted its soft body, its black-violet hue growing denser and deeper…

In the darkness, the brow of the sleeping Feng Jiu’er furrowed.

The presence beside her had grown heavier and heavier. Someone seemed to be bending over her, watching.

The aura radiating from him was cold — the kind of cold that came from someone who had spent a very long time in an ice cellar and had only just emerged.

A cold that made one’s skin crawl and one’s heart seize with apprehension.

He was drawing closer still, and his hand seemed to fall upon her. His presence held a thread of familiarity — yet also something utterly opaque that could not be read.

“…Who is there!” Feng Jiu’er snapped her eyes open and thrust out a palm.

That palm struck what felt like the boundless, fathomless depths of the open ocean — the other person’s inner power was immeasurable. The force of her strike, carrying at least thirty percent of her strength, had no effect whatsoever on the other person.

Even if she had used her full strength, she would likely be no match for her at all.

But after that palm struck out, Feng Jiu’er’s eyes brightened — she had recognized who stood before her.

“Xue Gu?” What was she doing here?

Feng Jiu’er sat up, and only then noticed that a blanket had appeared over her, quite without explanation.

She distinctly remembered collapsing onto the bed last night in a state of utter exhaustion. The blanket had been put away by Yanu beforehand and stored in the cabinet — she had been too tired to dig it out.

In the night she had felt cold, and then later she had felt warm. She had thought nothing of it — but now that she was awake, the blanket was indeed on her.

“Xue Gu, when did you arrive?” She rubbed her eyes.

Xue Gu walked over and sat in the nearby chair. She did not light the candle — not that it mattered, for in the darkness she could see everything around her perfectly clearly.

Besides, moonlight was filtering in through the window, making the room quite bright enough.

“Just now,” she said, her voice still somewhat hoarse — though it was evident from the sound that she was genuinely road-weary.

She had indeed just arrived — no wonder the air about her carried the dust of the road.

Feng Jiu’er exhaled. If Xue Gu had just arrived, then who had put the blanket over her? Could it have been… Yanu?

No wonder she had seemed to sense Yanu’s presence in her dream. That fellow was clearly still upset — yet he could not help but come to cover her with a blanket anyway.

Just as she had known — Yanu had always looked after her so well.

Looking at the outline of Xue Gu’s features in the darkness — though she could not see clearly, the aura was still somewhat familiar, even from just that one meeting.

“What happened on Xue Lian Mountain? Why would a group of imperial guards go up to search? Were they looking for you?”

When she had gone up, Xue Gu was already gone. Coming back down, she had seen that group of guards, but she had not been too worried — they were no match for Xue Gu.

There were also two Snow Lotus Beasts on the mountain. Even those two creatures alone would be more than enough to give the guards a thorough fright if they encountered them.

And from the look of things, those guards had not found Xue Gu at all — the only thing she could not figure out was what purpose they had gone up there for.

Xue Gu looked at her calmly and said nothing.

Feng Jiu’er thought for a moment, then her expression shifted abruptly. She quickly explained, “It was absolutely not I who let anything slip. I can swear to heaven — truly. You must believe me.”

“You little rascal still want to come to me to train in the heart cultivation method — you would hardly be so foolish as to sell me out at a moment like this.” Xue Gu gave a soft, dismissive sound.

Feng Jiu’er immediately beamed from ear to ear. “Xue Gu, you truly understand me best. Heh heh.”

There was still that wonderful martial cultivation method to finish learning — how could she possibly give away Xue Gu’s whereabouts?

Besides, even if she had already learned it in full, she would not betray her either! Was she, Feng Jiu’er, that sort of person? She had a conscience, she genuinely did.

“But Xue Gu, that place can no longer serve as your dwelling. What do you plan to…”

“I will stay here.” Xue Gu said it decisively, with no room for discussion.

“Well then, I actually think this place is rather good too.” This particular spot was essentially a forgotten corner of Feng Manor — all but abandoned.

Though Grandfather treated her well enough, Grandfather did not involve himself in the day-to-day affairs of the manor. If she were to go and complain to him that her quarters were too poor, Grandfather would certainly do something about it.

But if no one made a fuss, Grandfather would likely not notice such small details.

The Feng Manor was vast, and Grandfather did not have only Jiu’er’s father as a son — the great patriarch had three sons in all.

Of those three, the branch of Feng Junzhuo held the advantage of being from the legitimate line — but in truth, among the three brothers, Feng Junzhuo had the most undistinguished official career.