From the day Bai Qingxue began packing her things, Xiao Nanyuan stopped going to the royal palace.
Xiao Nanyuan sat by the stone table, clutching a coarse ceramic cup, watching Bai Qingxue move in and out.
The tea in the cup went from hot to lukewarm, then cold; she didn't take a single sip.
Bai Qingxue didn't have many belongings—just a few changes of Daoist robes and some old books.
She placed them into her storage bag one by one, her movements neither fast nor slow, no different from how she usually made the bed or folded laundry.
Xiao Nanyuan didn't help.
She just sat there, waiting quietly.
When Bai Qingxue emerged from the main room, she held a wooden box.
The wooden box was old, its corners worn down to the natural wood, with no patterns or inscriptions on it.
Bai Qingxue walked to the stone table and placed the wooden box in front of Xiao Nanyuan.
“I’m leaving these for you.”
Xiao Nanyuan hurriedly set down her teacup and opened the wooden box.
Inside the box were several bottles of medicinal pills, a few scrolls of notes, and a green jade talisman, all neatly arranged.
The pills were Solidifying Essence Pills for basic cultivation. Their grade wasn't high, but for a qi practitioner, they were hard to come by.
The bottles had labels handwritten by Bai Qingxue. Her handwriting was slender and upright, noting the use and dosage for each bottle.
The notes were the insights Bai Qingxue had written over the years—methods for circulating the qi seed and techniques for practicing spells. They were clearly organized. When she reached the last page, Xiao Nanyuan saw a line of newly added text at the end. The ink was fresher than the rest, a formula that perfectly addressed the bottleneck she had recently encountered.
Xiao Nanyuan didn't ask when Bai Qingxue had written it.
She simply placed her finger on that formula for a while before closing the notes.
Bai Qingxue pointed to the jade talisman.
“If something happens, use this to find me.”
Xiao Nanyuan picked up the jade talisman and held it in her palm.
The green jade surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting nothing.
Xiao Nanyuan gripped the jade talisman so tightly that the edges dug into her palm, but she did not let go.
At this moment, Xiao Nanyuan desperately wanted to tell Bai Qingxue:
Take me with you.
Those four words were stuck in her throat, making even her breathing slow down.
Xiao Nanyuan knew that saying them would be useless.
The Immortal Sister was returning to her sect because that was where she came from and where she belonged.
The Immortal Sister did not belong to Nanhuai, nor the guest courtyard, and certainly not to her.
Xiao Nanyuan had known this from the very beginning. From the day seven years ago when Bai Qingxue stood before her and said “I will,” she had known.
So she didn't say it.
She pressed those four words deep down. Her throat moved as she let out a very soft, almost inaudible swallow.
Bai Qingxue turned back to continue packing.
Xiao Nanyuan watched her back.
The ice-blue pendant around Bai Qingxue’s neck swayed gently against her fair skin. Set against her silver-white hair, it looked like a star fallen onto a snowy field in winter.
She was the one who had put it on the Immortal Sister.
Now, that pendant remained around the Immortal Sister’s neck, resting against her collarbone, rising and falling slightly with her breath.
Watching the pendant, Xiao Nanyuan stood up.
She walked up behind Bai Qingxue.
Bai Qingxue was folding a frost-white Daoist robe, her movements light as if she were afraid of wrinkling it.
Xiao Nanyuan reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Bai Qingxue’s waist from behind.
Her movements were just as light, matching the strength Bai Qingxue used to fold the clothes.
Xiao Nanyuan was afraid that if she used any force, the person before her would melt in her palms like frost and snow.
Xiao Nanyuan buried her face in the hollow of Bai Qingxue’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
Bai Qingxue’s hands paused.
The pause was so brief that only Xiao Nanyuan could have noticed.
Then Bai Qingxue continued her movements. She didn't push away the hands at her waist, nor did she stop herself.
Xiao Nanyuan didn't speak.
She just held her, as if trying to store all the warmth of these past years into her memory.
Bai Qingxue’s body temperature was lower than hers. Her Daoist robe carried a faint scent of frost and snow that felt cool against her face, but Xiao Nanyuan felt this was the closest she had ever been to warmth in her life.
She remembered this scent from the first day she walked into this courtyard.
She was ten then, standing outside the threshold, looking at the person before her, head lowered and afraid to speak.
Now she stood here, holding the person before her, yet still afraid to let go.
But in the end, Xiao Nanyuan let go.
Xiao Nanyuan took a step back, her head lowered.
Her lips curled into a smile, and her tears fell.
It wasn't a loud wail, but silent—one by one, they rolled out of her eyes, slid down her cheeks, and dripped onto her collar, soaking a small patch of fabric into a darker shade.
She didn't wipe them away, just stood there, letting the tears flow.
This was the first time she had cried like this in front of someone else, but if it was the Immortal Sister, it was okay.
The Immortal Sister had seen every side of her.
One more wouldn't hurt.
Sensing the dampness behind her, Bai Qingxue turned around.
She looked at Xiao Nanyuan.
Xiao Nanyuan’s face was wet with tears, her eyelashes clumped together, and the tip of her nose was a faint pink.
But she was still smiling.
The smile was very faint, like the last ray of winter sunlight hitting the ice—knowing it was about to vanish, yet still trying its best to shine.
Bai Qingxue looked at that smile.
Bai Qingxue didn't speak; she simply reached out her hand.
The moment her fingertips touched Xiao Nanyuan’s cheek, Xiao Nanyuan’s breath hitched.
Bai Qingxue’s fingertips were cool, matching her body temperature. As that coolness touched the tear-soaked, burning cheek, Xiao Nanyuan trembled slightly, as if the first snow had fallen on her skin.
Bai Qingxue used her thumb to gently brush past the corner of Xiao Nanyuan’s eye, wiping away a tear that was about to fall.
Her movements were very slow and light, as if she were afraid of hurting her, or perhaps memorizing the sensation of this moment.
Bai Qingxue was not used to physical contact.
In the sect, she fought alongside her peers but never stood shoulder to shoulder with them. Even with Ye Qingyao and Lu Xueqing, she tried her best to avoid touching them.
In all her years in Nanhuai, Bai Qingxue had never initiated contact with anyone.
But now, her fingers were stained with Xiao Nanyuan’s tears—warm and salty, seeping in through her fingertips bit by bit, as if something in her heart was melting.
This was the first time she had proactively touched Xiao Nanyuan, reaching out her own hand to wipe away her tears.
She had made an exception for Xiao Nanyuan.
But it would likely be the last time.
Xiao Nanyuan’s tears fell even more fiercely.
New tears welled up, wetting the fingertips Bai Qingxue hadn't yet withdrawn.
But she made no sound, simply standing there, letting Bai Qingxue’s thumb slide from the corner of her eye to her jaw.
The hand was cool, just as she had imagined. But she felt it was the warmest thing she had ever felt in her life.
At this moment, Xiao Nanyuan was desperately greedy for this tiny bit of warmth, so she just stood there, motionless, letting Bai Qingxue wipe her tears dry.
After a long while, Bai Qingxue withdrew her hand.
Bai Qingxue’s fingertips slid from Xiao Nanyuan’s jaw, the last bit of contact lingering on Xiao Nanyuan’s skin for a heartbeat before they separated completely.
“Don't cry,” Bai Qingxue said.
Bai Qingxue’s tone held something more than usual.
As for what it was, even Bai Qingxue couldn't say. It was as if there was a bit more weight in her throat, making those two words fall with more gravity than usual.
Xiao Nanyuan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded vigorously.
Then Bai Qingxue turned, closed the wooden box, and placed it in the most prominent spot on the stone table.
It was what she was leaving for Xiao Nanyuan.
Tomorrow, the flying boat would arrive.
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