Chapter 28: Heart’s Intent

Qin Xinying closed the wooden box and handed it, along with the Fire Spirit Spike inside, to Shang Si. “In the past, the Shang Family bestowed great kindness upon our Fire Phoenix Clan. By offering this item now, we’re repaying a portion of that debt. Please accept it, Ye Lord.”

“Then I thank you.” Shang Si curved her beautiful eyes and accepted the gift without any false politeness. “However, I didn’t come here solely for the Fire Spirit Spike. There’s another important matter—I need to ask about your mother. Before Qin Lan entered seclusion, did she say anything to you about when she might emerge?”

Qin Xinying had assumed Shang Si would take the item and leave right away, but there was more to it than that.

“No, she didn’t.” Qin Xinying shook her head.

“But with Mother and the clan elders away, Ye Lord, you can speak freely with me. It’s the same thing.” After a brief moment of surprise, Qin Xinying quickly composed herself and adopted the bearing of the Young Clan Leader, placing herself on equal footing with Shang Si.

If this was official business, she couldn’t continue facing Shang Si as a mere junior. With the elders absent, she represented the honor of the entire Fire Phoenix Demon Clan.

“You’re still young, and you might not be privy to certain matters. No matter—later on, the Young Clan Leader can come find me alone. Shiyuan and I will stay here a few more days.” Shang Si lowered her gaze, the amusement in her eyes fading considerably. “This isn’t the place to talk.”

With her eyes cast down, she lightly tapped her fingertip on the tabletop made of thousand-year-old sunken wood, subtly gesturing in one direction.

Qin Xinying immediately caught her meaning. The Fire Phoenix Clan might be small, but the main guest hall was open to anyone who wished to enter.

Once the necessary words had been exchanged, Qin Xinying summoned a clan member to escort them to the small courtyard reserved for visiting guests.

It wasn’t far. The little phoenix demon led them there and then swiftly departed.

The exhaustion from seven straight days of relentless travel crashed over Lu Shiyuan all at once. She flung herself into the bed’s soft silk bedding. The tension she’d maintained in front of Qin Xinying snapped in that instant, and she let out a long, relieved sigh.

Shang Si had been standing quietly behind her from the moment they entered the room, observing Lu Shiyuan’s every movement until that drawn-out sigh escaped her.

Shang Si’s dangling hands curled slightly.

It was as if a spell had fallen over the surroundings, plunging everything into utter silence.

Only after a good while did Lu Shiyuan finally stir.

She buried her face in the silk bedding, her shoulders beginning to tremble faintly. With her back to Shang Si, she looked for all the world like she was crying.

The baffled Shang Si assumed Lu Shiyuan had simply been overwhelmed by her emotions. She stepped forward on instinct, bending at the waist—and just as her fingertip brushed Lu Shiyuan’s right shoulder, she began, “You…”

“A Si.” Sensing Shang Si’s approach, Lu Shiyuan suddenly rolled over and pulled her into a tight embrace. She buried her face naturally in the crook of Shang Si’s neck, amid the cascade of dark hair, and poured out her feelings. “I think I’ve lost my composure a little. It’s probably because I’m just so happy. The moment I think about how I can reconstruct my spirit veins before long, I just…”

So she wasn’t crying—she was laughing.

Shang Si let out a small breath of relief, but she quickly realized how closely they were pressed together.

“What’s wrong, A Si?” Halfway through her words, Lu Shiyuan lifted her face from the warm hollow of Shang Si’s neck and gradually sensed that something was off.

Their eyes met, and Lu Shiyuan saw that Shang Si seemed entirely out of sorts. Her gaze was thick with a sticky sweetness, flickering like it was laced with honey—bright and soft as she looked at Lu Shiyuan, carrying a lingering tenderness that Lu Shiyuan didn’t quite dare to name.

And at that moment, Lu Shiyuan’s hand was still resting against Shang Si’s lower back.

People like them were shielded by spiritual power, so their clothing never varied with the seasons. Shang Si’s dress had always been thin and light; it hadn’t seemed to matter before, but now, feeling it so intimately, Lu Shiyuan realized just how slender her waist truly was.

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, Lu Shiyuan suddenly wanted to measure that waist with her hand. Her warm palm slid slowly upward from the small of Shang Si’s back to her side, over the fabric.

In that instant, Shang Si gave an instinctive little shiver. “It tickles…” Her voice, usually so clear and aloof, now held a trace of coquettish softness.

“…” Lustful fool!

A loud buzz filled Lu Shiyuan’s mind as she finally registered what she was doing. That single word from Shang Si made her cheeks burn with heat. Her hands flew up from Shang Si’s waist and hovered there, awkward and unsure where to land.

Shang Si took in every bit of that flustered, helpless reaction.

The amusement in her eyes grew even thicker. Her crow-feather lashes lowered as her vermilion lips—vividly alluring—drew vaguely close to Lu Shiyuan’s ear. Her voice was low and gentle. “I only said it tickles. I didn’t say I didn’t like you holding me like this.”

With that, she took the initiative to guide those restless hands back to her side waist.

Shang Si had gradually grown accustomed to her evolving feelings and had precisely found her place in their relationship. It was as if the person whose body had gone rigid just a moment ago hadn’t been her at all. By contrast, Lu Shiyuan’s reaction was a touch flustered and bewildered.

~~~

What to do? Had Shang Si noticed her lusting after her beauty and started reeling her in?

Lu Shiyuan quietly swallowed hard, her fingertips stiffening.

She had transmigrated from the modern world and naturally gravitated toward beautiful people or things. Especially over these past few years, Shang Si had cared for her with unwavering devotion, placing her in an extraordinarily special position. Coupled with the strange sense of closeness and fondness she felt toward Shang Si, Lu Shiyuan found it hard to suppress the occasional flutter of her heart.

Like right now. She hadn’t yet realized this was Shang Si’s deliberate move; she only felt her heartbeat racing a bit too fast.

“Well? Did you enjoy the feel of my waist just now?” Shang Si’s tone was teasing as she blinked, her long, crow-feather lashes framing a pair of beautiful eyes that sparkled with flecks of light, reflecting Lu Shiyuan’s face within them.

Lu Shiyuan didn’t know how to respond to those two questions in a row.

She mumbled something vague, then seized the chance to pull her hand back and sit up on the bed, putting a little distance between herself and Shang Si.

“I was just so happy earlier,” she said after steadying her nerves a bit, lifting her gaze to meet Shang Si’s eyes once more. “We’re going to stay with the Fire Phoenix Clan for a while, right?”

This time, she was composed enough, no longer as flustered as before, and she smoothly shifted the topic.

“Indeed. I sent a message to Qingzhi and the others a few days ago. By my calculations, they should arrive in the next couple of days. I need to have a proper talk with Qin Xinying about that Strangling Killing Array appearing among the various sects in the Human Realm. Such an ancient grand array—even if it didn’t come from the Fire Phoenix Clan—must be tied to them somehow.”

Shang Si saw right through Lu Shiyuan’s thoughts but answered with a smile anyway.

During this exchange, she stopped standing there awkwardly and naturally sat down beside Lu Shiyuan on the edge of the bed.

Thus, the small bit of distance Lu Shiyuan had deliberately created between them vanished once more.

With Shang Si sitting right next to her, Lu Shiyuan forced herself to focus on the meaning behind her words while, on the other hand, she couldn’t help stealing glances at the person beside her. As a result, her processing speed slowed considerably.

Beauty was truly a distraction.

It took a good while for Lu Shiyuan to sort out the deeper implications in Shang Si’s words. The Fire Phoenix Clan was the prime suspect right now, so staying to investigate in secret was the best option. Moreover, with her own spirit veins damaged and the Demon Realm in turmoil everywhere, using the Phoenix Demon Clan’s territory to repair them was a perfect excuse to stick around.

As for whether the Phoenix Demon Clan was truly at fault, that wasn’t something she needed to worry about—Shang Si would handle the decision.

From their departure from Yedu onward, Shang Si had planned everything they needed to do and every route they would take, leaving Lu Shiyuan with not a single thing to fret over. From that alone, Lu Shiyuan felt like a bit of a burden.

But Shang Si didn’t seem to mind.

Lu Shiyuan suddenly turned her head to gaze at Shang Si’s stunning face, lost in thought. “A Si, you said earlier there was something important you needed to tell me. What is it?”

Why wait until she had recovered?

At the sudden mention of it, Shang Si’s eyes darkened a shade, though her smile remained. “What do you think, Shiyuan?”

Lu Shiyuan bit her thin lip, hesitating before speaking. “It’s about where I’ll go from here, isn’t it?”

Shang Si curved her lips but said nothing.

Yes, and no.

She rubbed her fingertip thoughtfully, then continued along Lu Shiyuan’s line of thinking after a brief pause. But her tone lost some of its playfulness, gaining a touch of solemnity. “Three years ago, I promised that the marriage between us was only to fool others, and I wouldn’t interfere with your choices in Yedu. Back in the Cave Heaven Secret Realm, I asked you once about your future plans, but you didn’t answer directly. Now, you’re just one step away from repairing your spirit veins, Shiyuan. This time, I want a serious answer from you. Do you…”

“Ye Lord, might we meet?” Qin Xinying’s voice suddenly came from the outer courtyard, interrupting their conversation.

Both women in the room froze.

It always happened at these critical moments—always leaving words unsaid.

Lu Shiyuan wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction, but by then, Shang Si had already risen from her side.

How could she just leave mid-sentence, making Lu Shiyuan fill in the blanks herself?

This time, Lu Shiyuan reached out and grabbed Shang Si’s wrist, her displeasure plain on her face—so much so that faint red marks appeared on the other’s fair skin.

With Qin Xinying right outside in the courtyard, Lu Shiyuan couldn’t voice her frustration, so she resorted to a look of accusation with her eyes.

The two women faced each other, and Shang Si took note of every subtle shift in her companion’s emotions.

“Miss Qin, please wait just a moment.” After calling out to Qin Xinying, who was waiting outside, Shang Si suddenly raised her hand and erected a barrier. In an instant, it sealed off the entire house from the outer courtyard. Even with Qin Xinying’s formidable cultivation, she wouldn’t be able to overhear their conversation within.

Only after completing this did Shang Si turn back, take Lu Shiyuan’s hand, and lean forward to squat down before her.

Unlike her usual habit of cradling someone’s hand protectively in her own palm, Shang Si gently unfurled Lu Shiyuan’s right hand this time. She pressed her fingertip lightly into the soft flesh of her palm and lowered her gaze slightly. “Shiyuan, do you remember that night at the East City Guesthouse? You asked me if I had anyone I admired, and I told you no.”

“But lately,” Shang Si continued without a trace of embarrassment, her alluring eyes lifting to gaze intently at the woman before her, “I’ve realized that my heart has been stirred by someone. Do you know who it is?”

As her words hung in the air, Shang Si traced a single simple character in Lu Shiyuan’s palm with her fingertip.

With such direct prompting, how could Lu Shiyuan fail to understand?

Yet she was still too flustered to fully collect herself, her voice trembling faintly. “You mean… you like me?”

Finally, both the plot and the romance were progressing!