Chapter 36: Departure

Ears were one of the more sensitive spots for most people, and Lu Shiyuan was no exception.

She never imagined Shang Si would make such a sudden move.

In that instant, it felt like countless tiny electric currents coursed wildly through her body, racing along her limbs and tingling all the way to her fingertips.

Lu Shiyuan knew exactly what this sensation meant. It was the flutter of a racing heart.

She swallowed hard, lifting her other free hand to rest it gently on the back of Shang Si’s neck. Her long lashes trembled ceaselessly. “Then, I like you too.” The words were soft and faint, but Shang Si heard every one crystal clear.

Her restless heart suddenly steadied, bringing with it a profound sense of relief.

With that said, Lu Shiyuan buried her face in the crook of Shang Si’s neck, slowly regaining her composure.

She blinked over and over, trying to convince herself that this wasn’t some illusion or a dream. Unwittingly, her lashes brushed against Shang Si’s exposed skin, sending waves of ticklish sensation that made it impossible to stay completely still.

Shang Si endured the itch and took the opportunity to speak again. “Shiyuan…”

“Mm?” Lu Shiyuan hummed softly from deep in her throat.

“Since our feelings are mutual, once this is all over, will you still go back to Sword Spirit Sect?” Shang Si asked. It was another question that had yet to be answered.

Lu Shiyuan didn’t hesitate in the slightest, as if she’d already prepared her response long ago in her heart. She raised her face, putting a little more space between them. “Yes.”

The single word was far too curt—not at all the answer Shang Si had hoped for.

Shang Si pursed her lips, her slender willow brows knitting together. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Lu Shiyuan seized the moment and elaborated on that sparse reply. “You’ll come with me to see Master and senior brother, and then we’ll head back to Yedu together.”

“The mortal realm has that custom of returning to one’s parental home after three days of marriage. I’ve essentially married into your Yedu, so even if it’s not three days, after three years, you ought to accompany me back to visit my sect.” Lu Shiyuan shot her a sidelong glance, and with just those few words, Shang Si swallowed everything she’d been about to say.

The budding dissatisfaction died on her tongue, leaving only a single “Alright.”

Shang Si had heard of this mortal custom of “returning to the parental home” before. As a child too young to grasp romance, she hadn’t given it much thought at the time. But hearing it from Lu Shiyuan now made the tradition seem unexpectedly charming.

If they were truly returning to the parental home, it meant Lu Shiyuan accepted this affection wholeheartedly. Shang Si had nothing left to say.

Her opinion of the Sword Spirit Sect cultivators wasn’t great—especially that Shen Guang.

But Lu Shiyuan had been raised and nurtured by the sect since childhood, so it counted as her family home. Going back with her as her wife would carry a whole different meaning.

Shang Si figured she could tolerate those hypocritical, self-righteous lot for Lu Shiyuan’s sake, if only just barely.

She was still mulling this over when a clear voice transmission suddenly echoed in both their minds at once.

The message shattered the budding intimacy between them in an instant.

Shang Si and Lu Shiyuan exchanged a glance before rising to their feet one after the other.

It was Qingzhi’s transmission. She was out in the courtyard right now.

In the dead of night, Qingzhi wouldn’t have come in person unless it was something major—they both knew her well enough for that.

They pushed open the door. Under the moonlight, the tree shadows danced in mottled patterns, and that elegant figure in lake-blue robes stood out starkly against the bleak night.

Lu Shiyuan spoke first. “Sister Qingzhi, has something happened?”

“Yes, I can’t stay long. I have to leave tonight,” Qingzhi said. She gazed at the pair standing side by side before the room, her eyes finally settling on Shang Si’s face. Their gazes met. “A Si, like I told you before, Yun Qu and I detected an anomaly with the Soul-Inspecting Device on our way here. We couldn’t pinpoint the direction at first, but now we have.”

“It’s coming from the capital of the human realm—Chang’an City.”

“The human realm has been at peace with no wars of late. For the Soul-Inspecting Device to react like this, I’m afraid demons are stirring up trouble in Chang’an, causing a surge in resentful spirits.”

When linked to the recent sudden incidents, this anomaly demanded serious attention.

Yun Qu had already set off for Chang’an ahead of her. Qingzhi needed to hurry after her now. Chang’an City was no ordinary place—it lay at the feet of the emperor, long a bastion of peace and prosperity. If someone targeted it deliberately, the consequences would be unimaginable.

That was why she’d come unannounced tonight: not just to say goodbye, but to give Shang Si a heads-up.

“Have you told Qin Lan?” Shang Si asked simply.

“Yes. When I went over, she and her daughter were together.” It had spared Qingzhi the dilemma of whether to pull Qin Xinying aside for a separate word.

Coming to the Fire Phoenix Clan had been an accident from the start. After spending these past days with Qin Xinying, Shang Si sensed that the direction their relationship was taking had grown strangely ambiguous. She had long resolved not to get entangled, yet Qin Xinying kept deliberately drawing closer to her side.

Her intentions were all too obvious—plain for anyone to see.

“Let’s go together. It’s been ages since I last saw Yun Qu.” After a brief pause, Shang Si gave the answer everyone expected.

She glanced sideways at Lu Shiyuan beside her. “Qin Lan probably won’t have anything definite to report for a while. Shiyuan’s business is settled, and this place is too far from Chang’an. I’ll go speak with Qin Lan about borrowing their clan’s Teleportation Array. It’ll save us some time.” And along the way, she could pick up that Fire Spirit Spike they’d agreed on.

Unlike Qin Lan and her daughter, Shang Si claimed the Fire Spirit Spike without a shred of awkwardness.

It had been several months since she’d left Yedu, and she had no immediate plans to head back.

Yet after voicing this, Shang Si didn’t look away. She was waiting for Lu Shiyuan’s reply.

The two had only just opened their hearts to each other, and Shang Si was already consciously adjusting how she handled their time together.

At the very least, decisions affecting them both couldn’t be hers alone anymore.

Lu Shiyuan picked up on these subtle shifts from her reactions. Without a moment’s hesitation, she curved her lips in a faint smile. “Of course I’m with you.” It had always been that way before, and nothing had changed.

Their words hung in the air as they shared a smile.

That midnight, the long-dormant Teleportation Array behind the Fire Phoenix Clan’s ancestral hall flared to life amid the shadowy night, blazing with harsh light until the three figures vanished entirely. Only then did the glow fade, allowing the clan’s members to finally exhale in relief.

Qin Xinying alone lingered that night before the rows of ancestral tablets in the front hall, standing there for a long while.

Just as when they’d arrived, the Teleportation Array deposited them at the border between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm. This frontier town was still a good stretch from Chang’an. Their relentless pace—day and night without pause—wasn’t entirely monotonous, though.

At least, once Shang Si tore her gaze from Lu Shiyuan and reflected on the journey, she realized the Demon Realm trip held plenty of intriguing moments. The most curious involved Qingzhi and Qin Xinying.

Shang Si hadn’t thought much of it at first, not until the pair ended up pitted against the entire Fire Phoenix Clan, clashing with the Phoenix Demons.

Yet that day, Qingzhi—a seasoned figure—had been thoroughly stalled by a mere junior like Qin Xinying, unable to slip free. Only when their reinforcements overwhelmed her did she falter briefly, ultimately failing to take her captive.

“You knew that Qin girl from before?” Beneath the sparse night sky, flames leaped high as the three sat cross-legged around a roaring bonfire, exchanging glances.

Shang Si phrased it like an idle question, but her mind was already clear as glass. Without some history, why hold back like that?

She’d crossed paths with Lu Shiyuan emerging from seclusion right then and hadn’t found a chance to ask. Now they had the leisure.

The query came out of nowhere. Lu Shiyuan blinked in confusion, but Qingzhi, as if she’d anticipated it, let out a light chuckle and a sigh. “Not that long—just these past ten years. Yun Qu and I had split up for some business that time, and I ran into Qin Xinying along the way.”

It had coincided with a soul-hunting operation in Demon Race territory. No one dared interfere with the Ye Capital Ghost Lord’s affairs, but grudge spirits could be stubborn with their lingering resentment—truly troublesome.

She and Yun Qu had parted ways, and soon enough, Qingzhi noticed a little tail trailing her. The follower had approached a few times without any ill intent, so Qingzhi let it slide.

Little did she know, that leniency would save her life later. Midway through the task, disaster struck, and it was this persistent shadow who stepped in to pull her from the brink.

That shadow was none other than Qin Xinying.

Qingzhi reflected that her head hadn’t been clear at the time. In a haze, she’d spent about seven days with Qin Xinying, who tended to her every need. But the instant clarity returned, she’d brushed her off and severed ties.

No wonder Qin Xinying still carried a torch all these years.

It wasn’t some intricate tale—at best, a brief summer fling. Without Qin Xinying’s bold overtures this time, no outsiders would have suspected a thing.

But with her taking the lead now, she wasn’t the type to back down easily.

Qingzhi likely wouldn’t know boredom for the next few decades.

“But… Sister Qingzhi didn’t even know Qin Xinying back then. Why did she keep following you?” Lu Shiyuan, in the dark on the details, leaned close to Shang Si as they sat together. She voiced her one lingering question.

Qingzhi met her gaze deeply but offered no reply.

In the end, Shang Si let out a soft chuckle and reached out to pinch the soft flesh behind her ear. “Shiyuan, do you know what Qingzhi’s true form is?”

“What is it?” Lu Shiyuan turned to look at her.

“It’s a tree.”

A fine bird chooses a good tree to nest in; it was all predestined.