Chapter 48 048 Tea comes and tea goes

She's finally awake. Lu Yuanyuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, she soon realized that Duan Lansheng did not seem to be fully awake. His eyes were half open, his eyelashes trembled, as if a butterfly had briefly alighted on a sleeping white jade crabapple, before he lazily lowered his eyelids again and softly hummed in agreement.

Because he didn't raise his head the whole time, he seemed completely unaware that several uninvited guests were standing just a few steps away from him on the steps, all staring straight at them.

Whether it was her imagination or not, at that moment, Lu Yuanyuan felt the gaze falling on her forehead suddenly become piercing. It felt real, carrying a strange heat, cutting into her skin.

Seeing this scene, Fu Xinguang's eyes flickered slightly, and he pursed his lips.

Cen Fei and Zhou Que couldn't hide their surprise. Although they had always known that Lu Yuanyuan and Duan Lansheng were good friends, this was the first time they had witnessed their interaction in person—mainly because Duan Lansheng's demeanor was so different from his usual aloof and unapproachable self.

Yin Xiaozhu stood behind these young men and women, but because she was the tallest, her view was unobstructed. Her expression was calm, but beneath the stillness seemed to be undercurrents, as if even the brightest sunlight could not penetrate that secluded corner.

Lu Yuanyuan felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. However, she didn't have time to guess what these people were thinking. After a quick glance, she looked away, shook her shoulders again, and whispered a reminder: "Get up quickly, someone's coming."

Duan Lansheng certainly didn't deliberately refuse to get up.

He was the kind of ruthless person who wouldn't stay in bed even on a cold winter morning, never behaving improperly in public and never indulging himself in private. And, among the audience members in front of him right now was his (currently) longing senior sister.

There's only one explanation for this: they were genuinely still half asleep.

Upon hearing her reminder, Duan Lansheng paused, finally reacting by opening his eyes, moving his head off her shoulder, sitting up straight, and turning his dark blue eyes to the people in front of him.

It wasn't appropriate for Lu Yuanyuan to remain sitting on the steps, blocking everyone's way, so she quickly stood up and dusted herself off. Duan Lansheng also stood up, calmly and frankly apologizing to everyone, "I'm sorry, I was rude."

"It's alright, it's alright," Cen Fei said, trying to smooth things over. "The sun is shining so brightly today, and the weapon forging is taking so long. If it were me, I'd want to sleep too."

The person who had been hiding since morning finally appeared. Lu Yuanyuan was a little afraid to look at Yin Xiaozhu, so she asked, "What are you all here to practice today?"

Fu Xinguang smiled and said, "I've acquired a few new spirit stones, which I plan to melt into my sword sheath to repair the damage from the last mission."

Zhou Que nodded: "I'm about the same."

Cen Fei said embarrassedly, "I'm here to refine a storage ring. It's something I got a few years ago and have been keeping it. I found it today to use, but I found that I can't fit it on my finger anymore, so I'm here to refine the ring a little bigger."

Zhou Que put her hands on her hips and teased him, "The food in the sect must be too good, you've gained weight."

Cen Fei wasn't angry. He put the storage ring back in his pocket and said, "I call this being easygoing and carefree..." Suddenly, he noticed something and blurted out, "Hey, Junior Brother Duan, you have a mark on your face."

Lu Yuanyuan looked in the direction Cen Fei was pointing, and it was indeed true.

Several messy marks appeared on Duan Lansheng's fair cheek, clearly from when he slept with his head resting on her shoulder, pressed against her clothes. Because the marks were faint, everyone only noticed them when his face was illuminated by the sunlight.

Duan Lansheng paused for a moment, then silently lowered his eyes, raised his knuckles, and wiped his face.

Having grown accustomed to his meticulous demeanor, this appearance revealed a rare touch of childlike innocence.

Seeing that he hadn't found the right spot, Lu Yuanyuan whispered a hint: "Not here, a little higher."

Duan Lansheng paused, then did as instructed. However, his hand moved too far, and he went over the indentation in one go.

"No, go a little lower."

"Yes... oh no, no, a little further in..."

His face was so small, yet he couldn't find the spot no matter how many times he tried. Lu Yuanyuan couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she helplessly grabbed his hand and placed it on the indentation: "Here."

Her fingers slipped between the thumb and forefinger of the boy's large hand, pressing against his calloused palm.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand tightly, their fingers intertwined.

Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback.

Duan Lansheng paused for a moment, then released her hand. Clearly, grabbing her hand wasn't intentional; it was just an unconscious action.

Lu Yuanyuan quickly withdrew her hand and turned around, only to find the others staring at them. Yin Xiaozhu's gaze seemed to shift briefly. Fu Xinguang, on the other hand, was somewhat dazed, staring at her hand.

The process of refining a weapon can take anywhere from a few hours to several days. Lu Yuanyuan put her hands behind her back, glanced at the sky, and steered the conversation back on track: "You guys should go inside and take care of your business. We'll talk later."

Zhou Que snapped out of his daze and said, "Yes, let's hurry up."

Upon hearing this, Duan Lansheng suddenly took a step back and said softly, "Come over here a little."

Lu Yuanyuan subconsciously followed him back, intending to move to the same side. But at this moment, her wrist was suddenly grabbed with pinpoint accuracy, and she was pulled forward a step by Yin Xiaozhu, who pulled her to his side.

Seeing the person standing beside him being taken away, Duan Lansheng's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his fingers twitched. However, the remaining three, unaware of anything amiss, stepped between them, blocking his movement.

Lu Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, then turned her head. Yin Xiaozhu grabbed her wrist and pulled her over in a very natural way, as if it was his birthright.

The three of them stood facing each other on the steps, and the atmosphere became quiet.

Presumably to cover the bite marks on her neck, Yin Xiaozhu didn't tie her hair up high today. She rarely uses fancy hairpins, and today she simply braided a simple, loose braid with a hairband, which draped over her shoulder.

That's why she couldn't see how the bite mark looked now.

With so many good medicines at Danqing Peak, Yin Xiaozhu must have already applied them herself, right?

Lu Yuanyuan didn't move her head, but only glanced at that place out of the corner of her eye.

Just then, Yin Xiaozhu seemed to notice something and suddenly glanced at her.

Caught peeking, Lu Yuanyuan's eyelids twitched, and she quickly turned her head away, trying to pull her hand back. But she couldn't pull it back. Not only that, she also felt the other person's thumb slowly push open her closed fingers, gently caressing her palm.

At such close range, Duan Lansheng naturally didn't miss that brief exchange of glances. The mark on his face had faded; he lowered his hand, his fist clenching beneath his sleeve. Long eyelashes cast a dark shadow beneath his eyes, and emotions welled up within them.

Although they didn't speak, he could sense an intimacy in their words, a sharing of secrets unknown to outsiders, and he felt as if he were the excluded outsider.

He knew that Lu Yuanyuan was the senior sister's servant and had been living on Danqing Peak for the past three years. It was perfectly normal for the two to act so familiar with each other.

Besides her senior sister, Zhou Que was also her female friend. But for some reason, this time was different. Just the thought of being categorized as an "outsider" by her made it impossible for him to remain calm and indifferent.

Lu Yuanyuan's closest person should be him. No one, regardless of who they are, should bypass him.

On the other side.

Since they'd already run into each other, they couldn't just stay silent. Lu Yuanyuan thought for a moment, then tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe, forcing herself to break the silence: "Yuanjun, how come you're with Zhou Que and the others?"

Yin Xiaozhu smiled: "No need. I just came back from seeing my father and ran into them, so we came down together on the way. I didn't expect to run into you. What are you doing here?"

Over the past three years, she had indeed received many benefits from Duan Lansheng, both openly and secretly, without telling Yin Xiaozhu. But swords are too special; they are difficult to conceal. Yin Xiaozhu could definitely tell that this wasn't standard equipment from the Sword Inquiry Hall.

Since it was impossible to keep the matter of forging the sword a secret from the other party, Lu Yuanyuan explained the whole story of choosing the sword.

When Yin Xiaozhu heard that she had used the sword given to her by Duan Lansheng, his fingers, which were caressing her palm, paused for a moment, and he suddenly smiled: "Then I must thank Junior Brother Duan for taking such good care of Yuanyuan."

Duan Lansheng glanced at Lu Yuanyuan before replying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Yuanyuan and I are close friends, and it is only natural for us to look after each other. There is no need for special thanks."

Lu Yuanyuan glanced at the two men, then grabbed her drooping sash with her other hand, her heart pounding.

Even though the two were talking about her, as the person in question, she felt somewhat out of place, and a strange atmosphere hung in the air.

She lowered her head, her thoughts racing.

Furthermore, why did Duan Lansheng emphasize that they were close friends?

Could it be that he didn't want his "white moonlight" to misunderstand that he had a messy romantic life? So, he was indirectly clarifying to her that they were just friends and there was no romantic relationship between them?

This is quite in line with the original work.

Given how clever Yin Xiaozhu is, did she understand his hint?

No, she would never allow these two people to have the opportunity to go their separate ways.

Just then, Zhou Que strode out from inside, interrupting her thoughts.

It was almost dusk, and according to the early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine of everyone in Shushan, it was time for dinner. Zhou Que wrapped his arm around Lu Yuanyuan's and said, "I think the stuff won't be ready before dark. Let's not wait here idly, why don't we go to the back mountain for some roasting tonight?"

"燔炙" refers to barbecue. Lu Yuanyuan hadn't had it for a while and was craving it. When Fu Xinguang and Cen Fei came out, everyone was eager to join in.

It wouldn't be good to leave Yin Xiaozhu standing there, so Cen Fei looked at her hesitantly and invited, "Yuanjun, would you do me the honor of coming along?"

Senior Sister Yin Xiaozhu was always like the moon in the sky, unapproachable, so although Cen Fei had extended an invitation, he didn't hold out much hope. Unexpectedly, Yin Xiaozhu tossed her hair and readily agreed, "Okay."

The group was stunned. Except for Lu Yuanyuan, who saw Yin Xiaozhu every day, and Duan Lansheng, who maintained the male lead's aloofness, the other three were extremely excited.

They had roasted their food several times before, choosing a location on a wide cliff on the back of Mount Shu. There was a natural stone forest there, not carved by human hands, but sculpted by nature itself. This time, thanks to Yin Xiaozhu's presence, they didn't need to prepare the ingredients themselves; they only needed to give an order, and someone would prepare everything.

Upon arriving at the location, one sees bamboo charcoal already placed in the stove, and the meat cut into neat small cubes, skewered on long sticks and placed on a plate.

The group circled the stove, choosing seats. Lu Yuanyuan and Zhou Que went to the stream to wash their hands, and when they returned, they found only two seats left. One seat was between Fu Xinguang and Duan Lansheng, and the other was between Duan Lansheng and Yin Xiaozhu.

Duan Lansheng didn't sit with his white moonlight?

Are you embarrassed?

Lu Yuanyuan's thoughts shifted, and she deliberately slowed her pace, letting Zhou Que choose her seat first. Sure enough, Zhou Que, a big fan of her senior sister, immediately chose the second seat.

That's good.

As long as someone separates Duan Lansheng and Yin Xiaozhu and prevents him from getting his way, that's enough.

As for her, she inexplicably didn't want to be the filling today.

Lu Yuanyuan scratched her palm, feeling a little lighter, then sat down next to Fu Xinguang and smiled at him.

Sitting diagonally opposite her, Yin Xiaozhu glanced at her indifferently, then suddenly raised her hand, untied her loose long hair, and tied it up again.

The blazing flames could easily burn hair, and since people tend to sweat easily, tying their hair up high was understandable. At first, no one paid much attention, until Zhou Que cried out in alarm, "Yuanjun, how did you hurt your neck…!"

Lu Yuanyuan: "...!"

The chicken wing in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.