Chapter 12

Whether at home or in the car, Xue Tong was utterly dependent on air conditioning. Yet after getting out and walking such a long stretch, wrapped tightly from head to toe, she didn’t shed a single drop of sweat.

As her half-body, Xun Ruosu had to bear half of any discomfort Xue Tong felt. Xun carefully probed and sensed only a stuffy nose, a sore throat, and an irresistible urge to cough—nothing else seemed amiss.

Unless Xue Tong had caught a cold too.

But someone like Xue Tong hardly seemed the type to catch a cold.

“Hot.” Xue Tong’s voice came out misty with moisture.

“…” Xun Ruosu stood in the courtyard, staring at her a bit stiffly.

Xue Tong was crying. She had just removed her sunglasses, and tears streamed down her cheeks, pooling at her chin before dripping one by one. Redness rimmed her eyes, and a layer of watery indifference gathered beneath her pupils. If it could even be called crying, it was more like tears simply flowing, leaving the scene strangely calm and awkward.

Xun Ruosu couldn’t find the words for a moment. She stared at the tears on Xue Tong’s chin, steadied her emotions, and asked, “Should I comfort you?”

“No need.” Xue Tong’s irritation spiked even higher. She couldn’t help sniffling, her usual indifference crumbling in an instant to reveal something pitiful.

Her mouth said no need, but her actions plainly begged for comfort.

“…” Xun Ruosu sighed and reached out to cup Xue Tong’s chin. Without a handkerchief handy, she gently wiped the tears with her fingertip. Then she asked again, “Want a hug?”

“No hugs!” That was Xue Tong’s final shred of stubbornness.

“Then let’s head inside. The wind out here might dry those tears on your face, and that’ll feel miserable.” Xun Ruosu didn’t press.

Xue Tong felt like she’d lost all face.

Xun Ruosu had guessed correctly, in fact. Xue Tong’s preference for bone-chilling air-conditioned rooms was tied to her very identity.

Every exorcism of a departed soul required Xue Tong to enter the lamp vessel once. Forged from obsession, the vessel trapped all the emotions the soul carried at death. Xue Tong had long hardened her heart from sensing too much, but willing or not, those emotions took physical form on her body.

Through countless years, Xue Tong had outwitted and wrestled these sudden intrusions, eventually striking a balance. As long as her own mood stayed steady, they wouldn’t manifest outwardly and would fade on their own within twenty-four hours.

Her recent heat-fueled irritability had left her vulnerable to the breach.

But that was only part of it. With merits piled so thick and a lifespan so vast, her body was bound to carry its share of quirks.

Of course, even on a mountain shaded by lush greenery in the height of summer—with temperatures still tolerable—bundling up like a bamboo shoot from crown to toe, blocking out all light, made overheating inevitable.

The monk’s quarters were modest in size, with windows on the southeast sides. The bed was an old raised wooden frame, its blue-green mosquito net suspended from gold hooks at either end. Beds like this had been common in the early days of the Republic but were fading from use.

These high beds were typically custom-built, generously proportioned for two people with room to spare. Aside from the bed, only a simple desk fit inside, underscoring the temple’s ethos of ascetic simplicity.

A faint musty scent hung in the air when they first opened the door—the room had clearly been recently cleaned, as the smell dissipated quickly.

Xun Ruosu spotted a box of tissues on the desk and tore off two sheets for Xue Tong. “Dressed like that, doesn’t it cramp your movements?”

“It’s the same as your eyes—a constraint the Rules place on me.” Xue Tong removed her hat and scarf. “It’s built countless cages for me. Banning me from daylight is just one.”

Everyone who trafficked in matters of life and death bowed to the Rules. The Xun Family’s eyes went half-blind come nightfall too.

Yet the merits they’d accrued were a boon—bestowing blessings on descendants, even ensuring bliss in the next life after death. They guaranteed Xue Tong could live out days like using a silk scarf as a rag.

Xue Tong swiftly dabbed away her tears, though the flush at her eyes would take time to fade.

Xun Ruosu sat quietly on the edge of the bed, watching her. Xue Tong wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but Xun’s expression made that unlikely.

“Does this happen often?” Xun Ruosu broke the silence.

Xue Tong’s gaze dropped to the floor, darting about as if hunting for her discarded pride.

She stayed silent, inwardly scheming the best angle to bash Xun Ruosu into idiocy.

“You’re proud. Not answering just proves these emotional outbursts aren’t new.” Xun Ruosu let out an “Oh?” “You’ve lost face in front of others too?”

“…” Forget idiocy—better to bash her dead.

Xue Tong set her jaw and refused to speak. Xun Ruosu wasn’t one for stand-up routines either, so the teasing stopped there.

Mountain winds blew fierce, setting bamboo leaves and treetops rustling in lively commotion. Shadows danced across three sides of the quarters. Even empty of people, the surroundings hummed with noise, but in the pauses between gusts, the quiet deepened.

Xun Ruosu was Xue Tong’s polar opposite. She rarely smiled, yet her features weren’t rigid or harsh. Softened just a touch, she evoked the serene warmth of a jade carving with a faint smile.

“Absorbing others’ emotions must be exhausting, huh?” Xun Ruosu ventured after a long pause, as the wind finally stilled.

Xue Tong’s eyes lifted from the floor, meeting Xun’s head-on and drawing an unwitting “Amitabha” from her lips.

“It’s manageable,” Xue Tong replied. Her crying fit had left her thirsty, so she turned her face away. “How’d you figure it out?”

“The Xun Family holds three rooms of books, and our ancestors left journals. I read the entries on you as a child—scant and vague, though.” Xun Ruosu sighed. “I seem to recall one noting that you’re a person of profound suffering.”

“…” The moment she got back, she’d scatter the ashes from every one of the Xun Family’s twenty-five graves!