Chapter 23 Meeting Him: He Was Shen Qingyan
"Our senior brother is missing," Shen Cangyu said.
"What?" Xu Qiubai's pupils widened slightly as he looked at her reappearing figure.
"He's not in the room. I just knocked on the door, but there was no response."
Xu Qiubai said vaguely, "Maybe he went to the cafeteria himself."
Shen Cangyu stroked her chin: "That makes sense." After saying that, she turned and left: "Then I'll go check out the cafeteria."
"Hey!" Xu Qiubai chased after her.
There weren't many people in the aisle; most of the passengers were either in their cabins or on the deck.
Shen Cangyu walked around the winding corridor towards the cafeteria, with Xu Qiubai beside her, chatting with her: "Senior Brother doesn't usually eat much."
"Huh? Why?"
Xu Qiubai explained, "The sect leader and the others eat very little on a daily basis. They believe that grains contain impurities, and eating too much of them is not conducive to cultivating immortality. The eldest senior brother grew up with the sect leader since childhood, so he naturally restrains his diet."
Seeing that Shen Cangyu was listening to him, Xu Qiubai continued, "My master was afraid that the sect leader would raise our eldest brother to death, so occasionally after class he would bring our eldest brother back to the Xingxiang Hall and have him eat with us. But even if we had a table full of dishes, he wouldn't pick them up and would just eat his bowl of egg noodles in silence."
"He can't even get egg noodles at the sect leader's place?" Shen Cangyu's eyes widened. The food here was worse than what they had in the outer sect. When she was in the outer sect, she had a meat dish and a vegetable dish every day.
“That’s right!” Xu Qiubai shared her indignation, but as he laughed, the smile in his eyes disappeared.
At some point, Shen Cangyu also began to call Pei Wenjing "Senior Brother." Although she didn't dare to call him that in front of Pei Wenjing, she always addressed him that way when talking to Xu Qiubai.
At first, Xu Qiubai thought that she was on the same side as him and was following his way of addressing her.
But before that faint sense of pleasure could rise in his heart, he realized that Pei Wenjing seemed to be very different to Shen Cangyu.
Every time he brought up topics related to Pei Wenjing, her ears would twitch. She might not have realized it herself, but Xu Qiubai did.
Within Kunlun, elders and disciples alike spoke highly of Pei Wenjing; he was always the center of attention. But Xu Qiubai thought Shen Cangyu would be different. Why was Shen Cangyu's gaze still drawn to Pei Wenjing? She wasn't a Kunlun disciple, and... he had arrived first.
Shen Cangyu took a stroll around the cafeteria. There were very few people there, but Pei Wenjing was not among them.
"If Senior Brother isn't in the cafeteria, where else could he be?" Shen Cangyu was completely baffled.
"Let's search separately," Xu Qiubai said.
Shen Cangyu walked through the passageway, up the stairs, and onto the deck. The blinding sunlight shone down, and she raised her hand to shield her eyes. As the shadow fell, she saw a familiar figure from behind.
One of them, she knew very well.
He wore the clothes of an inner disciple of Kunlun every day, changing several sets in a row. He always carried a scent of pine resin mixed with the fragrance of soapberry.
He always presented himself impeccably, giving off an air of composure, but Shen Cangyu knew that he wasn't as strong as he seemed; he simply hid all his weaknesses. She always tried to find traces of his past self in him, but the closer she got, the more she saw a different side of him.
Sometimes Shen Cangyu couldn't help but wonder if the Pei Wenjing she saw in her previous life was really his true appearance.
Another figure, whom she also recognized.
Back then, in the disciplinary hall, she saw that person standing next to the main seat, being surrounded by a group of people as he left.
He was very handsome, even more so than she remembered. Perhaps the lights in the disciplinary hall were dim at the time, and she didn't see his face.
In the sunlight, she could see his features clearly: his eyebrows were like distant mountains shrouded in mist, his round eyes were clear and bright, his nose was like a peak, and his lips were thin and pale. Most striking of all was the red dot between his brows. Just standing there, he possessed the bearing of a crane, the very image of an immortal.
She's at least more like a celestial being than her.
If this person said he came from Penglai, probably no one would doubt him. The fabric and style of his clothing were very special, and he was not ordinary at first glance. His every move revealed an aura that was different from that of ordinary people.
He is Shen Qingyan.
The deep blue jade felt a chill run through its body.
Perhaps she really is a jinx; whatever she fears comes to pass.
Why is Shen Qingyan standing with Pei Wenjing? When did they first meet? Have they spoken? What did they say? Has she been exposed?
A jumble of thoughts surged through her mind like boiling water gushing out.
Countless copper coins fell to the ground.
She snapped out of her daze and looked down. Someone beside her gasped and knelt down to pick up the fallen coins. The string holding the coins together had broken, and a whole string of coins had rolled all over the ground, scattered like flowers.
The commotion attracted the attention of the people looking out from the bow of the ship, who turned around.
Across the crowd, Shen Cangyu and Shen Qingyan met eyes, their gazes icy.
Pei Wenjing suddenly heard the crisp sound of a copper coin falling to the ground. Having experienced Nanke Mountain, he was particularly sensitive to the sound of copper coins. He opened his eyes, turned around, and saw Shen Cangyu.
Copper coins were scattered all over the ground at her feet, and the people around her bent over and picked them up in a flurry of activity.
Pei Wenjing was about to greet her, but the words caught in his throat.
The person she was looking at wasn't him.
In the past, wherever he was, her gaze would always pierce through the crowd and fall on him; Pei Wenjing knew this.
But at this moment, her gaze fell on someone else first.
A note from the author:
Thank you for reading this far. This book will be available for purchase starting from the next chapter. The style of this story will remain the same as the previous one. If you can accept this style, please continue reading.
The main theme of this book is exploring Tao and growth. Those who have read my works are probably familiar with my writing style. Twists, foreshadowing, metaphors and puns are my hobbies.
This article already has a 10,000-word outline, plus a 2.6MB mind map. Arranging the content is one of my strengths, so you can jump right in. The dumpling vinegar is placed at the very end; if you find anything amiss while reading, it's probably intentional. The gifts of fate have already been secretly priced.
So, please look forward to it.
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