Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Yang-Connecting Curse is stubborn and prone to flare-ups; if it resurfaces, it needs to be lifted right away.

Pei Su stayed by the ancient tree until late, only leaving after he was sure the curse on her showed no signs of coming back.

The night was quiet and long.

When Shen Xiyin came to from her daze, it was already first light.

She slowly opened her blurry eyes, remembering the moments before she passed out, and looked down.

The sash at her waist was tied neatly, her silk stockings were still on, and her embroidered shoes were snugly in place. But the knot on her sash was totally different from the one she usually tied. A weird soreness lingered in her lower belly, and underneath, the dried-up stickiness reminded her of the mess and humiliation of yesterday's rain.

Shen Xiyin stared blankly at the dying embers of the campfire for a long time. Snapping out of it, she pursed her dry lips and got up to find some water.

In the faint morning light, the whole dense forest seemed wrapped in a soft, rosy veil.

She followed the familiar path back to the stream, but the forest trail felt different than before. Where there used to be an endless stretch, a new path now opened up.

Curious, Shen Xiyin ventured forward and, in the middle of the path, ran into Pei Su coming from the other direction.

Even though she knew they couldn't avoid running into each other again in the Mind-Trapping Array, she'd told herself over and over to face it calmly. But seeing him now, she found it hard.

The moment she laid eyes on him, her thighs started trembling on their own, just like they had in that rain.

When he saw her coming, Pei Su stopped.

Maybe now was the time to explain.

"About yesterday..."

"I get it." Before he could go on, Shen Xiyin cut in, like she was scared he'd bring up something awkward for both of them.

But what did she get? Everything was left unsaid, yet it was clear.

This sudden interruption only made things more awkward, reminding them both of something that was there between them.

Shen Xiyin lowered her head and pressed her lips tight.

She could clearly feel the strength she'd gotten back after that long, gentle touch, and she understood what he meant by "I was saving you." Any more explanation would just bring back the scene, nothing else.

She'd hoped to avoid the awkwardness, but it seemed the mood had only gotten more tense.

Pei Su watched her pressed lips, feeling like silent accusations were echoing in his ears—

You touched her.

You made her body react in ways it shouldn't have.

Are you really guiltless in all this?

The hand that had cast the curse clenched briefly, then relaxed. The answer was simple; overthinking it was pointless.

When it came to saving her, he had no regrets.

Pei Su turned his attention back to the new path in front of him.

This path had shown up this morning, after the second Trial of Passion ended, when the barrier in the forest disappeared.

Shen Xiyin followed close behind Pei Su as they walked on.

After about fifteen minutes, the tangled roots of the forest gave way to a gentle slope overgrown with weeds. Beyond the slope, the view opened up to a wide plain ringed by distant mountains, with a few houses seemingly tucked in the middle.

After being stuck in the forest for days, seeing a village and houses felt like a lifetime away. Shen Xiyin was both surprised and happy, a small smile curling at her lips.

But soon, she felt something was off.

It was breakfast time, but no smoke was rising from the chimneys of those houses. The fields all around were overrun with weeds, like no one lived there.

Shen Xiyin looked up at Pei Su, whose expression stayed grim and alert. She slowly realized that this was probably still inside the Mind-Trapping Array.

Feeling her gaze, Pei Su looked away slightly and said flatly, "I'll go ahead and check. You... do what you want."

Hearing him talk to her, Shen Xiyin was startled for a moment, then figured he might not want her following him. She nodded and said, "Okay."

Watching him head toward the distant mountains, Shen Xiyin turned and walked toward the village.

It was a tiny village, seemingly abandoned for a long time. Weeds grew as tall as a person in front of the mud houses, moss and cobwebs covered the corners, and the wooden doors and fences were rotted and broken. The air was thick with a sour, moldy smell of rotten wood.

The silence was creepy, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects, with no sign of people.

Shen Xiyin made a quick round of the village, finding a fairly intact small house where she planned to stay for now. She figured having a roof over her head was better than sleeping out in the open in the forest.

She pushed open the wooden door, and a cloud of choking dust burst out.

Covering her nose and coughing a little, Shen Xiyin looked around.

Pale morning light streamed through the broken window frame, lighting up the dust floating in the air. The room had a table, chairs, a bed, and even a stove for cooking—it was just perfect.

Next to the stove were flint stones, and in a cabinet, there were some leftover candles. Though old, they seemed usable.

Parts of the walls had peeled away, revealing the white-yellow earth and straw beneath. The roof had a few leaks, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of tidying.

Shen Xiyin quickly rolled up her long sleeves, tucked up her elaborate skirt, and got to work.

When Pei Su returned from scouting the distant mountains and reached the village, he saw her bent over the roof, repairing the tiles.

She must have found a wooden ladder somewhere, climbed up, and was now using discarded bricks and mud to carefully patch the leaks.

The midday sun was blazing, and sweat beaded on her forehead and neck, soon forming droplets that soaked her collar. Her chest rose and fell with her breath, the fabric moving with each heave.

That same fabric had once been stained with his sweat.

Pei Su raised a hand to rub his brow.

She was focused on her task, unaware of a streak of mud on her pale neck.

Seeing that jarring mark, Pei Su found it quite unsightly.

Having mostly finished the roof, Shen Xiyin wiped the sweat from her lashes with her sleeve, parted her moist lips, and let out a long breath.

Gathering the leftover debris and mud, she steadied herself on the ladder to descend.

The old, worn ladder creaked, and the midday sun made her vision swim. Her foot slipped slightly, causing the ladder to tilt with a jarring sound, nearly throwing her off.

Her eyes widened in shock, but before she could react, a hand with distinct knuckles reached out and firmly grasped the tilting ladder.

The dark sleeve of his robe brushed against the decaying wooden beam, stirring up a faint dust.

Shen Xiyin's heart gave a frightened lurch the moment she recognized that hand.

She dared not look closely at the hand holding the ladder steady, as if seeing it would bring back unpleasant memories. She hastily lowered her head, only to accidentally meet his upturned gaze.

She quickly averted her eyes and murmured, "Thank you."

The ground shimmered with heat under the scorching sun, and an uneasy tension hung in the air.

Pei Su said curtly, "No need."

Once her feet were firmly on the ground, he released his grip on the ladder and turned to leave.

Shen Xiyin glanced at his retreating figure, then went back to tidying the room she'd be sleeping in.

She felt a sticky dampness between her legs and frowned, pressing her lips together.

After that rain, her strength had returned, but the sickness inside her had only gotten worse.

It was like someone parched getting a single drop of water, tasting sweetness and craving more—water that could actually quench their thirst.

But she knew there was nothing to do but endure it.

Pei Su leaned against a distant wall, deep in thought.

He'd carefully scouted the area and was almost certain that the Mind-Trapping Array contained a chain of linked barriers. Every time they passed a Trial of Passion, one barrier came down. Only when all barriers here were removed could they reconnect with the outside world and finally get out of this godforsaken place.

As he thought about what to do, he spotted Mrs. Xu fetching water from the old well with a bucket.

She looked small, yet she possessed endless energy, as if she'd just gotten over being sick.

He recalled the thick calluses on her hands—they weren't the hands of someone used to an easy life.

She seemed to notice him too, hesitating for a second, but quickly hurried away.

As night fell, the blazing sun sank behind the western mountains, leaving a final trace of afterglow to stain the sky red.

Shen Xiyin boiled hot water at the stove and, using soapberries gathered from the forest, washed her sweat-soaked body in a secluded corner of the yard.

When she shed her clothes, she saw the finger marks left on her thighs. Those vivid marks vaguely reminded her of how hard he'd gripped her.

Shen Xiyin gasped in shock and shut her eyes in shame.

She hastily dried herself and retreated into the room.

A cultivator's hearing was exceptionally sharp, and that gasp fell unmistakably into Pei Su's ears, separated by only a few walls.

Pei Su furrowed his brow deeply.

And then, the notification for the third Trial of Passion arrived.

He had thought it would be a few days before the next trial, as with the last one, but he never expected it to come so swiftly, catching them off guard.

Upon hearing the notification, Shen Xiyin's body trembled uncontrollably.

How could they be asked to do such a thing? She couldn't bear it.