Heartfelt Thoughts
Lin Yun looked down at the ground and saw a black ball "wriggling" almost blending into the night, with only its emerald-like eyes gleaming in the darkness.
She breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she had been overthinking things lately.
Lin Yun thought to himself: It's only a quarter of an hour's walk, what could possibly go wrong? Besides, this is the Jingyin Sect, and it's not an easy task to get in by passing through layers of formations.
She crouched down, and just as she reached out, the dark figure leaped into her arms. She could only hurriedly extend her arms to catch it. "So it was you who was causing trouble."
The dew-dampened downy fur brushed against Lin Yunwang's chin, and she reached out a hand to stroke it back and forth without resisting.
It's a friendly little cat.
"Why did you run away? Let me take you back, otherwise Senior Brother Zhou will worry about you." Seeing that it did not resist, Lin Yun got up and started running wildly towards Bojian Courtyard where Zhou Hengyan lived, as if ghosts were chasing her and she wanted to leave them far behind by running fast.
She gently knocked on the door, but Zhou Hengyan didn't come to the door for a long time, so she made a judgment about the situation.
Even knowing the black cat couldn't respond, Lin Yunwang still told it her plans, "Let's go to my house first, then I'll send a telepathic message to Senior Brother Zhou and wait for him to come pick you up, okay?"
Meow~
"Okay, let's go." She didn't put the black cat down, afraid it would run away. It was dark, and finding it would be difficult.
Once inside, I only dared to put the door latch down after it was secured.
It certainly knows how to enjoy itself; as soon as its feet touched the ground, it found a comfortable spot and dashed off to the bed.
Lin Yun took out a communication talisman from the cabinet since he didn't have one on him, activated his spiritual power, and the message he wanted to convey was quickly sent to Zhou Hengyan.
"Thank you, I'll be there right away."
She was relieved to receive the message. Then she looked at the black cat sleeping peacefully by the bedside and saw that it was covered in dew. She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped it dry.
She had never kept pets, but she had raised a lot of poultry, so she had some experience.
A short while later, there was a slightly urgent knocking sound at the door.
After a moment's thought, Lin Yun made up his mind. He carefully picked up the black cat, making sure not to wake it, and quickly walked towards the door.
Between the two was a dim lamp hanging under the eaves, swaying gently in the wind, and the shadow on Zhou Hengyan's face moved with it.
In the dim light, Lin Yunwang saw the disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes, and dew stains on the hem of his clothes. This was the first time she had seen her senior brother Zhou in such a disheveled state, and she was startled. She quickly handed the cat to him.
"It's here, sleeping soundly."
Lin Yun could clearly sense that the other party had breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks to you for being here tonight, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do." Zhou Hengyan took the cat, and the two of them tried to be as gentle as possible, but the cat was still startled awake during the handover.
"Meow!" The black cat's paws grabbed Lin Yunwang's sleeve and wouldn't let go. The two of them were still holding hands, not knowing what to do.
In the end, Zhou Hengyan made up his mind and took the cat with a very firm attitude, saying, "Xuetuan, don't be silly."
Forced by its master's tyranny, Snowball retracted its claws.
"So it's called Snowball." Lin Yun's tone unconsciously carried a hint of a smile.
Zhou Hengyan gently stroked its back, as if to comfort it, or as if to seek comfort. "When I was young, I saw that the neighbor had a white cat, which I liked very much. Unfortunately, I was unwilling to part with it, so I begged my parents to find me one just like it. But they brought me a black cat. I was still young and couldn't stand it, so I named it this."
"So there's such an interesting story." She saw a smile on her face when her senior brother Zhou mentioned it, which must have been a pleasant experience for him.
In the darkness, his eyes shone with an astonishing light.
"I haven't formally thanked you yet, but it's late and the dew is heavy, so I'll visit again tomorrow..." Before she could finish speaking, Lin Yunwang's gaze was drawn to two stumbling figures not far away, and Zhou Hengyan followed her gaze.
"Senior Sister Xiyan, Senior Sister Liu!" Upon recognizing the visitors, Lin Yun hurriedly went to greet them.
The strong smell of alcohol emanating from the two of them indicated that they had drunk quite a bit. Bai Xiyan was still conscious and able to move, while Liu Ruyi was so drunk that she was completely disoriented and had been dragged here by her friend.
"How did you get so drunk?" Her words were full of concern, without any hint of blame.
Upon hearing Lin Yunwang's voice, Liu Ruyi slightly raised her eyes, released her grip on Bai Xiyan's arm, and threw herself into her arms, saying, "We've come to see our junior sister off."
Upon hearing this, the junior sister she was referring to felt that the person in her arms had lost all sense of reason. Lin Yun turned to look at Bai Xiyan and realized that Senior Sister Bai also agreed with this absurd approach, and was also quite drunk.
But when dealing with a drunk person, you still have to coax them. She said softly, "Senior Sister Liu, you two have already taken me there. It's my turn to take you back now."
“No,” Liu Ruyi waved her hand, “we’ll go back ourselves.”
Having said that, he tried to break free from her grasp, but the drunk man's body was limp and he couldn't break free. Unable to get what he wanted, he was about to cry, and with a pout, he began to sob.
Fortunately, most of the direct disciples were out training, and the owners of the surrounding courtyards were mostly away, otherwise they would have been drawn out by the noise and witnessed the excitement of the sect leader's direct disciples.
Lin Yun never expected such a chaotic scene, but Zhou Hengyan was not surprised at all.
"Senior Sister, do you still have the strength to go back?" Yun Wang had no choice but to deal with Bai Xiyan, who was standing there blankly. Judging from her appearance, she must have drunk quite a bit of wine. After a while, she finally reacted and nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry to offend you." Zhou Hengyan held the cat in one arm and took out two talismans in the other.
He held it between two fingers, and the untouched parts fluttered in the night wind. Golden spiritual power was infused into it, and the color of the patterns changed. "Go!" With his command, the talisman scattered into ashes, and in the blink of an eye, both the talisman and the person disappeared.
Lin Yun suddenly felt a lightness on his body. "Where are my two senior sisters?"
"I used a teleportation talisman to send it back to the courtyard."
"Thank you for getting me out of this predicament, Senior Brother Zhou." Her anxiety deepened, partly because she was worried about their situation, and partly because she feared that Zhou Hengyan would be punished by being sent to a secluded cultivation cave for copying the rules for using the Shrinking Earth Talisman.
"It's alright, they are not like this today, their spiritual power will protect them." He brushed away the night dew from his clothes, and the embers of the talisman remaining on his fingertips scattered in the wind.
Zhou Hengyan seemed to sense what she was thinking, "As for the number of Shrinking Earth Talismans to use, I know the answer, so you don't need to worry."
Lin Yun suddenly realized that his worries should dissipate with the ashes of the talisman, after all, Senior Brother Zhou was always meticulous in his work. However, the state of Liu and Bai in his mind made him really worried. "It's getting late tonight, so why don't we take our leave and go to rest?"
Zhou Hengyan nodded and took a few steps toward his own courtyard, but then noticed that Lin Yunwang hadn't gone back. So he called out to her, "Junior Sister Yunwang, where are you going?"
The girl turned around and replied, "I'm still worried about my two senior sisters, so I want to go and check on them in their room."
“I will go with you,” he replied.
Two shadows were reflected on the bluestone slab, one in front of the other, following closely behind.
The two went to Bai Xiyan's Muyun Courtyard first. Lin Yun pushed open the door and saw the person curled up at the head of the bed, breathing steadily. She was finally relieved. She covered her with the quilt, poured her a glass of water, and placed it on the bedside table.
Zhou Hengyan was waiting for her outside the door.
When Yun came out, he saw him gazing at the night sky. Following his gaze, he saw that there were no clouds to obscure the night sky, and the stars lay naked in the sky, densely packed.
Due to the geographical location of Jingyin Sect, the Milky Way here is wider and seems closer than that seen in Shixi Village, as if you could reach out and touch a few stars.
Is the place she is gazing at now her hometown?
"Has Senior Sister Bai gone to sleep?" Zhou Hengyan asked in a low voice.
"She slept very soundly." With one worry gone, she no longer had a furrowed brow, and could be described as "happy."
"Let's go." Zhou Hengyan gently closed the courtyard gate.
Senior Sister Liu's drunken state was quite different from Senior Sister Bai's. Right now, she was lying face down on the stone steps, and it was impossible to tell whether she was awake or asleep.
Although it is spring according to the calendar, spring in Jingyin Sect is more than a month later than elsewhere. At this time, there is still a bit of winter chill. Lying on these cold stone steps for a night would be unbearable even with spiritual power.
All my words can be summed up in one sentence: Thank goodness she came.
"Senior Sister Liu?" Lin Yun called out tentatively, but there was no response.
She gently picked up the drunken man, placed him on the bed, removed his outer clothes and shoes, loosened his hair, and carefully covered him with a quilt.
Even after moving from the hard ground to the soft bed, Liu Ruyi's tightly furrowed brows remained unchanged.
Why are you drunk?
Lin Yun had no intention of investigating; he was simply puzzled and heartbroken.
On the way back, the Milky Way grew brighter, illuminating the path with shimmering light.
"Junior Sister Yunwang, why haven't I seen the wooden hairpin you used to wear these past few days?" Zhou Hengyan brought up the topic very naturally, as if they were having a casual chat.
This was a very small change, so small that even Xie Tingshui, who cultivated with her every day, hadn't noticed it.
Hearing him say this, Lin Yun subconsciously touched her hair bun. "The original wooden hairpin was a gift from an elder in my family. It was very precious, and I was afraid of losing or damaging it, so I put it away."
“…An elder?” Zhou Hengyan lowered his head thoughtfully. After a moment, he flipped his wrist, and a silver hairpin appeared in his palm. The design was simple, like something Lin Yun would like.
"This is something I made with the leftover ingredients from the bookmark I gave you. Consider it a thank you gift for helping me find the snowball."
"Since entering the sect, I have been greatly favored by my senior brother. If I were to accept this gift, wouldn't that be taking advantage of his kindness?" She shook her head and politely declined the gift.
“That is not true.” The young cultivator stopped and turned around. Lin Yunwang stopped with him. The two looked at each other, and with only the moonlight and the starry sky, their features were clearly reflected. “Giving gifts was my own wish.”
In a daze, she heard her senior sister's teasing voice.
In both her lives, Lin Yunwang had never experienced love, but that didn't mean she was clueless about romance. Could this be considered a confession? Having reached this conclusion, her heart pounded. She racked her brains, trying to think of a way to politely decline, offering excuses like, "My path to enlightenment is not yet complete; I shouldn't be preoccupied with love."
But he blurted out, "Senior Brother Zhou, do you have feelings for me?"
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