The oil lamp glowed a dim yellow, its flame licking restlessly at the wick, stretching and twisting the two shadows on the stone wall into warped, fluctuating shapes.
Bai Qingxue was still fast asleep, her breathing so light it was almost nonexistent. Only the agonizingly slow, barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest proved that this pure soul still lingered in the mortal realm.
Her silver hair, like spilled moonlight, spread across the coarse stone pillow, making her face appear pale to the point of translucency.
The faint touch of red at the corner of her eyes had not yet fully faded, resembling a streak drawn across snow by a finger dipped in cinnabar, carrying a heart-wrenching fragility.
At some point, Ning Qinghan's figure had appeared, leaning against the doorframe like a ghost.
She stood barefoot on the ground without making a sound, with only a few specks of unmelted frost clinging to the hem of her moon-white Daoist robe, indicating that she had just ventured into that place of extreme cold.
Ning Qinghan carried the bone-chilling cold of the ruins' depths, her aura completely out of place with the silent desolation of the stone room.
Yet, she did not enter immediately. She merely tilted her head, her hollow yet expressive eyes lingering on Bai Qingxue's sleeping profile for a moment before slowly shifting to Lu Xueqing.
Lu Xueqing sat on the edge of the bed, her back as straight as a pine tree in the snow, one hand hovering protectively over Bai Qingxue's shoulder.
Lu Xueqing was naturally keen enough to notice the gaze, but she did not look up.
Her gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the pale corner of Bai Qingxue's forehead. It was only when Ning Qinghan turned around, her moon-white robe brushing past the cold stone door as if to leave, that Lu Xueqing spoke.
“Thank you for protecting Junior Sister Bai,” Lu Xueqing said.
Hearing this, Ning Qinghan paused in her tracks. She did not look back immediately, merely turning her head slightly. In the gloom, a soft, airy chuckle escaped her lips—light and cold, like a feather brushing against freezing iron, carrying an unabashed mockery.
At this, Lu Xueqing finally raised her eyes. Her gaze was now like needles dipped in ice, sharp and cold, pinning itself precisely onto Ning Qinghan's back.
Then, she spoke, enunciating each word as if trying to carve them into the other's bones: “But please stay away from Junior Sister Bai. The things you carry with you will only get her killed.”
“Oh?”
Ning Qinghan turned around slowly, her bare feet stepping noiselessly into the stone room. She approached the bed step by step, her moon-white Daoist robe flowing with a chilly luster under the dim yellow light.
She walked to the other side of the bed, facing Lu Xueqing across it. Leaning down, her pale fingertips hovered just above the faint red at the corner of Bai Qingxue's eye. She was so close she could almost feel the slight warmth of the fragile skin, yet she did not touch her in the end.
“Tsk,” Ning Qinghan suddenly clicked her tongue softly, her tone filled with casual disdain. “Lu Xueqing, you really are incredibly boring like this.”
Ning Qinghan raised her eyes to meet Lu Xueqing's suddenly freezing gaze, her lips curving into a wicked, charming arc. “Other than watching over her and blocking others, you don't even dare to touch her for real, terrified of disturbing your ‘Junior Sister Bai.’ Is this really any fun?”
These words were like ice picks, making Lu Xueqing's fingertips go numb.
Shame, anger, and a sense of being exposed rushed over her all at once. Almost instinctively, she suddenly raised her other wide, frost-colored sleeve and swept it toward Ning Qinghan!
The movement was so fast it stirred a faint gust of wind. Her sleeve acted like a cold screen, abruptly cutting off Ning Qinghan's gaze and completely shielding Bai Qingxue's sleeping face and the faint red at her eye within the shadow of her sleeve.
Only Ning Qinghan's face, wearing a mocking smile, remained exposed outside the sweep of the sleeve.
“Mind your words,” Lu Xueqing's voice came from behind the shadow of her sleeve.
“Junior Sister Bai needs quiet rest. She is not for a frivolous person like you to admire.”
The sleeve was not lowered immediately; Lu Xueqing's arm remained frozen in place.
The dim yellow light washed over the frost-colored sleeve, outlining her tensed knuckles.
This sudden movement caused the mockery in Ning Qinghan's eyes to falter slightly, before shifting into a deeper amusement.
She stared at the shadow of the sleeve that was trying to hide all this beauty, as if watching a futile and ridiculous one-man show.
Only after a long while did Lu Xueqing slowly lower her sleeve. However, she imperceptibly leaned forward another half-inch, shielding Bai Qingxue even more closely behind her.
Only then did Ning Qinghan slowly reel in the lingering notes of her earlier mockery. In a low, lazy tone that concealed sharp thorns, she murmured:
“Frivolous? Perhaps. But can a boring guardian like you really protect her?”
Ning Qinghan's finger pointed vaguely at the faint red at the corner of Bai Qingxue's eye. “Besides, what do you mean by the danger I brought her? Lu Xueqing, do you still not understand? That restriction is already growing inside her now. Even if you drive me away, do you think the restriction won't flare up?”
Lu Xueqing's fingers suddenly tightened over Bai Qingxue's shoulder.
Suppressing the bitter sorrow and rage surging in her chest, she spoke in a voice as cold and hard as if it had been dredged up from the depths of an ice cellar: “At least this way, it won't attract any more bizarre things, and Junior Sister Bai won't have to block disasters for you again.”
“Block disasters?” Ning Qinghan repeated the words, drawing out the syllables as if she had heard something incredibly amusing, though her eyes remained as cold as ice. “You really are pitiful.”
Ning Qinghan paused, her voice dropping even lower, like a lover's whisper, yet every word pierced the heart. “Are you really that afraid of me? Afraid that I will take your place?”
The stone room suddenly fell into a dead silence, as if even the soft crackle of the oil lamp had been sucked away.
The flame of the oil lamp flickered again, and the shadows swayed.
Lu Xueqing's breath caught sharply. The hand resting on Bai Qingxue's shoulder shook violently, causing Bai Qingxue's delicate shoulder to tremble slightly along with it.
“Ridiculous...”
Hearing this, Ning Qinghan laughed. This time, the smile actually reached her eyes, yet it was so cold it lacked any warmth.
Ning Qinghan withdrew her hand from midair and stood up straight. Her moon-white robe shimmered with a cold luster in the dim light, casting Lu Xueqing into a patch of shadow. “Whether it's ridiculous or not is not for you to decide. Lu Xueqing, you can stop me for a moment, but can you stop me for a lifetime?”
With that, Ning Qinghan did not spare Lu Xueqing another glance. She turned and walked away, her bare feet stepping on the stone floor without making the slightest sound, as if she were naturally a part of the shadows.
Only when she reached the doorway and rested her hand against the cold stone frame did she pause. Keeping her back to Lu Xueqing, she tossed out one final sentence:
“When Bai Qingxue wakes up, you are more than welcome to tell her that I made things unpleasant for you. Let's see... whose side she will take then.”
The stone door slowly slid shut, completely shutting out the moon-white figure and cutting off the last weak connection between the stone room and the outside world.
Silence returned to the stone room, leaving only the faint crackle of the burning oil lamp and... Bai Qingxue's long, steady breathing, which felt exceptionally heavy at this moment.
Lu Xueqing froze in place, maintaining her posture of shielding Bai Qingxue's shoulder, completely motionless.
Only after a long while did she seem to lose all her strength. Slowly lowering her head, she gently rested her forehead against the cold stone edge of the bed, right beside Bai Qingxue's limp, cool hand. The cold sensation seeped through her forehead, yet it was not even a fraction of the chill in her heart.
That steady breathing, beating once, then twice, was clearly audible, pounding against Lu Xueqing's heart.
Yet, it made her feel far more miserable and panicked than any heated argument or any of Ning Qinghan's cold words.
Had she won against Ning Qinghan's provocation?
Perhaps.
With her silence and unyielding stance, she had defended this small corner of space.
But what had she lost?
Lu Xueqing closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently.
Her fingertips carefully hooked a strand of silver hair near Bai Qingxue's pillow. That cool, delicate texture was her only connection to Bai Qingxue right now.
She wound that strand of hair loop by loop, tightly around her knuckles, leaving pale marks behind, as if she wanted to carve this connection into her very flesh and blood.
“I won't give you the chance to ask her...” Lu Xueqing murmured in a low voice, so soft it was nearly drowned out by the steady breathing, yet carrying an unquestionable determination.
“Never.”
Rate on N.U.
