Lu Qiancha is very calm

Once dressed, Lu Qiancha let Shangguan Yunzhu lead her by her small paw, stepping carefully along the winding garden stones that crossed the babbling brook.

“Sister Yunzhu, where are we going?”

Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but look back and ask softly.

The warm lights and voices of the village grew more distant behind them.

“Shh~ It’s a secret.”

Shangguan Yunzhu placed a slender white finger to her lips, a mischievous smile dancing in her eyes, as if she were hiding a huge surprise.

Lu Qiancha sighed helplessly and had no choice but to follow her.

After passing through a sparse patch of forest shadows, the view suddenly opened up!

Sunlight, like fine gauze, gently enveloped a peach grove in blazing full bloom.

The pink and white blossoms seemed to flow with a hazy halo under the clear light, and a sweet fragrance filled the moist air.

The scene was like stepping into a sealed, ancient painting of an immortal’s realm.

Shangguan Yunzhu leaped up lightly and plucked a large, plump, dew-kissed peach.

With a flick of her fingertips, she condensed water to wash it clean and handed it to Lu Qiancha with a smile.

“Try it! The honey peaches here are a one-of-a-kind delicacy!”

“Mmm.”

Lu Qiancha took the peach, which required both paws clasped together to hold, and took a careful bite of its tempting pink skin—

“Crunch!”

The crisp, tender flesh burst between her teeth, and after swallowing, a faint yet distinct, unique milky fragrance lingered between her lips and teeth.

The crisp texture paired with the sweet peach juice instantly captured Lu Qiancha’s heart.

“So sweet!”

A faint glimmer flashed in Lu Qiancha’s azure eyes.

“Hmph~”

Shangguan Yunzhu crossed her arms proudly, her chin slightly raised.

“This is the best of the best, which I only found after tasting peaches from every single tree. Within a ten-li radius, only this small grove has them!”

Lu Qiancha couldn’t resist taking another bite, her cheeks stuffed full.

She secretly plotted in her mind: ‘Could I get a peach sapling later and plant it on Tianquan Peak? Wouldn’t that mean… I could have this every year, year after year?’

The thought had barely formed—

“Qianqian, look out—!”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s cry of alarm suddenly pierced the tranquility.

Lu Qiancha caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye.

In the dark shadows of the forest, a stout wild boar with blood-red eyes and menacing tusks was charging straight for her like an out-of-control bull, bringing with it a foul wind.

“!!”

As the killing intent bore down on her, the instinct within Lu Qiancha’s body instantly overrode everything else.

Her footwork flowed like clouds and smoke, her small figure leaving a trail of afterimages in its wake.

She narrowly avoided the fatal, brutish charge.

Voom—

The cube in her paw flashed with a brilliant light.

A condensed beam of red and yellow light shot out.

The spear’s shadow was like lightning, whistling through the air.

Squish.

The cold blade of the spear pierced through the boar’s massive body without any resistance.

It was pinned firmly to a peach tree behind it.

After struggling a couple of times, it went completely still.

Only then did Shangguan Yunzhu, standing to the side, finally draw the broken sword from her back with a clang.

Her hand gripped the hilt tightly, but her amber pupils were frozen on the…

Cube in Lu Qiancha’s hand, which had just retracted its sharp edge and was once again circulating with a dull, metallic luster.

An intense feeling of familiarity struck her in an instant.

She had seen this strange weapon before.

On the road in Beiju Luzhou, that Senior Brother Lu Qiancha who had saved her from a desperate situation… he had often toyed with this metal cube that glinted with a cold light.

In that life-and-death battle against Qiong Gong… she had also seen this cube.

That profound transformation of the weapon’s form… that cold, familiar aura…

Her gaze slowly shifted to the paws of the little wolf cub before her, which had a similar feel to them…

An answer that was utterly absurd, yet could perfectly explain everything before her… was about to burst forth.

“…Senior… Brother… Lu… Qiancha?”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s voice trembled, a tremor she herself didn’t notice, as the words escaped her lips subconsciously.

“What is it?”

Lu Qiancha’s wary gaze was still scanning the dark forest, and she habitually turned her head to respond.

Swish—.

Two gazes, completely caught off guard, collided under the sunlight.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

One second… two seconds…

The silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop.

………………

“?!”

Lu Qiancha felt as if she had been pricked by a hot needle.

Her blue eyes flew wide open, her face a mask of uncomprehending confusion.

“…Did you just… call me… Lu Qiancha?”

“Mmm…”

The moment the other party had turned their head, Shangguan Yunzhu had already completely confirmed Lu Qiancha’s identity.

This seemingly soft and fluffy little wolf cub was none other than the Senior Brother Lu Qiancha who had single-handedly fought an Integration realm expert and saved her from dire straits.

“Shangguan Yunzhu,”

Lu Qiancha’s voice returned to its usual cool and composed tone.

“How did you see through my disguise?”

At this moment, Lu Qiancha was somewhat puzzled.

She didn’t think she had revealed herself in any way.

“Senior Brother Qiancha, your weapon is simply too unique…”

Shangguan Yunzhu said, pointing at the metallic-sheened cube in Lu Qiancha’s hand.

“…So that’s how I was exposed.”

Lu Qiancha murmured, her blue eyes flashing slightly.

She then said, “I will be more careful in the future.”

‘It seems I’ll have to design a separate weapon for my main body in the future, otherwise it’s still too easy to be exposed.’

“And also, Senior Brother, your reaction to that wild boar just now was far too calm. It wasn’t something a small child could do at all.”

Shangguan Yunzhu added abruptly, as if she had just remembered something.

“Indeed.”

Lu Qiancha nodded slightly, admitting it frankly.

Shangguan Yunzhu said no more, merely staring at her with a burning gaze, her expression complex and difficult to read.

“Why are you staring at me?”

Lu Qiancha felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

“I just feel that you’re very composed, Senior Brother.”

Shangguan Yunzhu said with a deadpan expression.

“Indeed.”

Lu Qiancha nodded in agreement, then continued, “But since I’ve already been exposed, panicking won’t solve anything, right?”

After she spoke, the two of them gradually fell silent.

The expression on Shangguan Yunzhu’s face slowly settled, like a deep pool frozen over.

She stared into Lu Qiancha’s eyes and asked, word by word, “Senior Brother, don’t you… have anything… else… you want to say to me?”

Lu Qiancha met her gaze, appearing to think very seriously for a moment.

“I do.”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s breath caught slightly.

“Keep watch for me,” Lu Qiancha said, pointing to the massive beast carcass pinned to the tree.

“While I dispose of it.”

Before her words had faded, she had already uncorked a small, exquisite jade bottle.

With a flick of her finger, the translucent liquid inside scattered like a fine rain.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—.

A harsh sound rang out.

The massive boar carcass melted like snow in the sun, instantly turning into a pool of dark red pus that quickly seeped into the soil, leaving not a single trace behind.

“Now… is there anything else you want to say to me?”

After cleaning up the scene, Shangguan Yunzhu looked at her again, her gaze insistent.

“…No.”

Lu Qiancha’s answer was exceptionally crisp.

She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then a nearly teasing smile curved her lips.

“Or perhaps… you’d like me to repeat what that Qingfeng said to you: ‘Let us be comrades in arms, bound by life and death, and enter the cycle of reincarnation together’?”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s pupils instantly shone like the morning star.

She replied almost without hesitation, decisively and firmly, “Alright! I accept!”

“…”

Lu Qiancha shot her a deadpan glance.

“I don’t.”

With that, she picked up the half-eaten honey peach again and took a forceful, huffy “crunch.”

On the way back to the village, they followed the stream they had come by, the sunlight casting long shadows behind them.

Shangguan Yunzhu once again took hold of that small paw with its soft, fine fur, but her steps were much heavier than before.

After walking for a while, she could no longer hold back the questions that filled her mind.

“Senior Brother, since you need to hide your identity, why, why did you choose to disguise yourself as a man to enter the Tianyuan Sect?”

Her voice was filled with pure confusion.

“Wouldn’t it be much simpler and safer to present yourself as a woman?”

“Because I…”

Lu Qiancha stopped abruptly, trying her best to puff out her small chest.

She tilted her head up, put on what she believed to be her most serious and masculine expression, and declared emphatically, “…was originally a boy!”

“Pfft~”

Shangguan Yunzhu couldn’t help but chuckle at this.

She had personally confirmed it that very morning; how could this cute little thing possibly be a boy?

But then she saw the undeniable seriousness in Lu Qiancha’s eyes, and a strange thought flashed through her mind like lightning.

“Could it be, Senior Brother Qiancha, that you were placed under some kind of curse that turned you into this?”

“…”

Lu Qiancha’s body visibly stiffened for a moment.

Then, her proudly held little head slowly drooped, and her muffled voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

“…More… or less…”

That drop of essence blood, to her, was no different from a curse.

“I understand.”

Shangguan Yunzhu’s expression turned solemn.

She nodded forcefully, her eyes instantly filling with sympathy and understanding.

“Good that you understand.”

Lu Qiancha seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

She raised her head again, attempting to put on the dignified air of an elder brother, and warned her earnestly, “Remember to treat me as a boy, otherwise you’ll be taken advantage of by me.”

“Oh.”

Shangguan Yunzhu responded.

She looked at the little thing before her who had saved her twice, and couldn’t help but think of her experience in the cave…

She had been covered in wounds then.

To apply the medicinal paste, she would have had to remove all her robes…

Boom—

Hot blood rushed to her cheeks in an instant, burning her earlobes bright red.

The scene before her blurred, and only the sensation of those unspeakable touches remained incredibly clear…

“Why is your face so red?”

Lu Qiancha’s voice was filled with pure confusion as she looked up at the woman beside her who had instantly turned into a bashful mimosa.

“Ah?! N-no reason!”

Shangguan Yunzhu snapped back to her senses, hastily turning her face away and fanning herself with her hand as if to hide her embarrassment.

Her voice was unsteady.

“…It’s just… I just feel… this weather is too hot…”

“Oh.”

Lu Qiancha tilted her little head suspiciously, her ears twitching with the movement.

But she didn’t probe the clumsy excuse further, turning instead to seriously consider another important matter.

“Junior Sister Yunzhu,”

“Is there a place to bathe around here?”

She looked down at the few specks of dried, dark red blood on her paw fur, then remembered the dust and grime from the past few days of travel, and began to feel uncomfortable all over.

“I got a little dirty, I want to wash up.”