Calming Aroma

The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of steamed buns, masking the faint scent clinging to the young girl.

“A token of thanks?”

Chang Wan, lost in thought about the spiritual mountain, glanced to the side: “Just consider it a token of thanks for your reminder earlier.”

The youth looked at the small, exquisite buns and fell silent.

…So, this was a Sandingsbao.

Observing his expression, Chang Wan began to feel something was off: “Have you never seen one before?”

Chu Changqing said nothing; he picked up a bun and took a bite.

The rich aroma flowed through his teeth and tongue; the diced chicken, meat, and crisp bamboo shoots intertwined on his tongue to form a delicious movement.

He took a very slow first bite, then sped up. One basket, three layers, five buns per layer—he ate quickly, and in a short while, the bottom was visible.

Chang Wan watched him eat with enjoyment, and even though he hadn’t spoken, she felt happy inside.

The young girl watched him, a gentle warmth flowing in her eyes.

The buns were piping hot.

Sandingsbao…

He truly had never seen them.

But he remembered when his mother died.

She smiled at him, and while smiling, she slowly closed her eyes, “Fireworks in March…”

“Yangzhou’s Sandingsbao… I fear I shall never taste them again.”

…

“Very delicious,” Chu Changqing looked at her, his voice gentle.

That chilling coldness faded away quite a bit, revealing a touch of softness.

Chang Wan couldn’t help but reveal a little girl’s joy, “It seems my cooking skills aren’t bad.”

At this moment, the awkward, slightly icy atmosphere between them had melted away significantly.

Chu Changqing’s heart stirred, and he asked a question he already knew the answer to: “You made these?”

Chang Wan’s voice hitched.

She had gotten carried away; the original owner was a young lady who wouldn’t lift a finger to cook—how could she know how to cook?!

“Mm…” Chang Wan found an excuse to stall: “I went to a small town earlier and saw someone making them. I thought it was interesting, so I followed and learned.”

Chang Wan said, “As expected of things from the mortal world; so simple, learned it at a glance.”

Chu Changqing lowered his head, dark colors shadowing his eyes, but he remained silent.

—He didn’t seem to doubt her explanation.

Bamboo forests grew dense, and a disciple whispered: “Sect Leader, Miss Shen requests an audience.”

“What for?”

“She says she has some questions she doesn’t understand… and wishes to ask for the Sect Leader’s guidance.”

Qi Bing looked at the green mountains, flowing water, and the beauty on the paper. “Invite her to the study.”

“I will be there shortly.”

He paused, slightly turning his eyes, “Are there any movements from the Elder’s side?”

The disciple bowed his head, “It is said that Elder Chang went out on her sword once.”

The Qingfeng Sect Leader’s study was exceptionally elegant, with dense emerald bamboo and dotted rockeries, possessing the style of a gentleman.

Shen Lan arrived uninvited, without the slightest hint of shyness. The guiding disciple dared not slight this “Golden Branch and Jade Leaf” young lady and naturally settled her properly, letting her wait in the study.

Inside the study, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of scrolls. The paintings on the walls were all full of spirit. Shen Lan admired Qi Bing and was naturally well-acquainted with his painting style; the more she looked, the more she liked it.

A young girl in love intuitively felt that everything about her beloved was good. She filtered the words she should say when he arrived one more time in her heart, felt they were appropriate, and only then did she relax.

However, this joy did not last long.

She saw a folded paper on her beloved’s desk.

The folded paper was pressed down by a blue-line book, revealing a coy corner of peach blossoms.

With Shen Lan’s familiarity from flipping through Qi Bing’s scrolls for years, she naturally recognized that the brushwork was Qi Bing’s. Without hesitation, she moved the blue-line book aside, and in an instant, the full appearance of the folded paper came into view.

On the folded paper, peach blossoms bloomed brilliantly, and amidst the lithe branches, a pair of swallows circled the petals.

But the important thing wasn’t the peach blossom technique.

It was the two glaring words.

《Marriage Contract》.

Shen Lan’s face turned pale in an instant.

= =

Chu Changqing was recuperating in the secret room, while Chang Wan slept in her own room.

This Spirit Solitude stage body rarely felt sleepy, but Chang Wan’s ordinary human soul couldn’t handle the strain, so she usually habitually closed her eyes for an hour or two.

The system felt this wasn’t a good habit and urged her to cultivate more, striving to bring her soul quality up to par with her body’s.

Chang Wan was doing just that, but taking care of the male lead, plus analyzing the contents of the jade slip, tutoring disciples after class… a pile of things was enough to keep her frantic. The idea of cultivating for hundreds of years as in the novels was completely non-existent for her.

However, the male lead’s injuries wouldn’t heal, and recently she had the feeling of being monitored in the dark. It was probably Elder Xia’s people. It seemed suspicion had been cast upon her; she really needed to move this little disaster star to a new location to proceed with her plans.

Chang Wan put down the jade slip, preparing to rest.

“Where are you going?”

The youth raised his head and asked.

Chang Wan was startled. She had thought he was engrossed in his books and that she had left silently.

“Going out to get some air,” Chang Wan randomly found an excuse; she couldn’t say she was going to sleep, could she?

Why did he have no self-awareness as a prisoner, asking whatever he pleased? She had a reputation to maintain, alright.

Chu Changqing lowered his head slightly, shadows covering his brows and eyes, silent. “I see.”

He hadn’t paid attention before.

But now, he felt her scent…

“Do you use incense often?”

The youth’s question was out of the blue. Chang Wan said: “I have that habit.”

Actually, she didn’t have such refined tastes herself, but the original owner seemed to be of noble birth, and Qiu Hu would scent her room every day. She wasn’t used to the smell, but for fear of raising suspicion, she didn’t dare ask him to stop.

The youth had half his face hidden in the shadows, his voice lingering: “It doesn’t smell good.”

Chang Wan: “…”

Alright, shut up.

Watching the young girl leave, appearing calm and steady but actually fuming, the youth slowly put down the Peach Blossom Fan with its blue cover and white threads. In his pitch-black eyes, there was no candlelight, only darkness.

= =

The girl in red violently tore the paper in her hands to shreds!

“Why!”

Seeming unsatisfied, she raised her hand, and a flame swept out, burning the scraps of paper to ashes, “I don’t believe it!!”

The red-robed youth stood to the side, “A’Lan, it is already a done deal…”

“What done deal!! What ship has sailed!! Nothing at all!!”

The girl stomped on the ashes several times, forcing herself to calm down. She looked at the red-robed youth, her beautiful face filled with unwillingness, “Why? Am I not beautiful enough?”

Shen Cong looked at her and finally sighed, “A’Lan, stop deceiving yourself…”

“Deceiving myself?? Deceiving myself…” Shen Lan covered her face, her voice choked with sobs, “I am not! I just… I am just not willing… I am so unwilling…”

On that marriage contract was Chang Wan’s name.

Qi Bing would soon propose marriage to that old woman.

Shen Cong leaned in as if to comfort her, but was pushed away, “Why does Chang Wan have to exist in this world!! I hate her! What kind of ‘Golden Branch and Jade Leaf’ young lady is she—just a woman abandoned by her family, why doesn’t she die of shame!!”

Shen Cong was silent for a moment.

“A’Cong, am I not beautiful?”

Shen Lan seemed possessed, looking at Shen Cong, every word dripping with blood, “Am I not good-looking?”

The girl in the red dress was vibrant, her brows and eyes glowing.

Shen Cong’s heart ached as he muttered, “You are naturally the best…”

She seemed to have found her backbone, clutching his hand, “Are you willing to go mad for me once?”

The youth was startled, “Why go mad?”

Shen Lan gnashed her teeth, “I want that woman to lose all face, to have her reputation destroyed!”

Shen Cong’s eyes showed distress and helplessness: “Let’s not talk nonsense anymore; go get some rest.”

“You are unwilling!!”

Shen Lan was unwilling, but she was pushed by Shen Cong toward her bed, muttering as if entranced, “Why… why is there a marriage contract, why not give me even a little, a little hope…”

…

After settling the girl into a deep sleep.

Shen Cong returned to the study and cleared the ashes from the floor. The moonlight was bleak. He exited the room, looking at his hands, his gaze dim.

If it hadn’t been for the young lady when he was a displaced child in his youth, he would have long since ceased to exist.

Moreover, the Chang family…

Thinking of the girl’s cold, exquisite appearance that day, he sneered.

The Chang family were truly masters of putting on a show.

To go mad for A’Lan, what was so hard about that? But that Elder wasn’t an easy target. Rather than taking risks, it was better to…

Having weighed the options in his heart, Shen Cong’s gaze grew dark.

Chang Wan was naturally unaware of the churning undercurrents. She climbed out of the wardrobe, closed the door, and was about to change into her undergarments to rest when she heard a knock at the door.

“Elder.”

It was Qiu Hu.

Chang Wan opened the door: “What is it?”

The youth outside the door didn’t dare to look up at her: “The Sect Leader asked me to deliver some calming incense, saying it would help your cultivation.”

Qiu Hu was responsible for her daily needs; her preference for napping couldn’t be hidden from those below, so it surely couldn’t be hidden from the Sect Leader who was lovesick for the original owner.

Although she knew his intentions were impure, it wasn’t easy to snub the Sect Leader. Chang Wan accepted it, and Qiu Hu lit the incense for her—her eyes were sharp, and she saw that the incense Qiu Hu lit was the same as the one sent over. She paused and couldn’t help asking: “What about the previous incense?”

Qiu Hu lowered his head: “That was the same incense you used before, also sent by the Sect Leader.”

Incense smoke curled upward.

The previous one was calming incense too?

Chang Wan sniffed it; it was indeed the same scent as before, which she thought was fine.

Although it wasn’t her preference… that guy Chu Changqing was probably just picking a fight.

She didn’t dwell on it, “Leave after you’ve lit it.”

The candlelight flickered.

The young girl had always been a light sleeper, but this time, for some reason, she slept exceptionally deeply.

Just then, the wind stirred slightly, and the window blew wide open.

A masked man in black walked in with cold, rhythmic steps, a sharp, pointed blade in his hand. He walked to the girl’s bedside and raised his blade high—

“Shhh—”

The man in black’s eyes snapped open wide. Looking down, a long, thin slip of paper was already pierced through his chest. By now, the paper was dyed red with fresh blood.

The sound of blood droplets falling onto the red carpet was silent, just like when he arrived.

Lightning flashed suddenly outside the window.

A clap of thunder followed, then the pitter-patter of rain, making the silence inside the room so intense a needle drop could be heard. The heart pierced by the paper beat with difficulty. He slowly, slowly turned his head to look toward the wardrobe.

The open wardrobe door revealed a pair of peach blossom eyes flickering with lightning, a single tear mole visible under the dim candlelight, as cold as a demonic obsession.

This was the last scene he saw before he died.

The candle went out.

The youth in the black undergarment had become a bit too short for him, but he didn’t care about being barefoot. He stepped on the soft red carpet, coming before the sleeping girl.

Between his slender, fair fingers, he held a page casually torn from a book. Now, that page was half-torn, the other half embedded in a man’s chest, the blood staining the ink on it red.

The young girl slept deeply, perhaps having a sweet dream, her lips parted in a slight smile. The dimples on her cheeks seemed filled with sweet wine, breathtakingly beautiful.

Outside the window, another flash of lightning instantly illuminated the torn page in the youth’s hand.

—The dark red dust instantly turned snow-bright.

Just like his heart.

The killer’s eyes were wide open in fury; he died with grievances.