"Shut up," Yun Shu muttered under her breath, lips barely moving.
"It’s not like he is not interested in me! It’s just that he doesn’t like this version of myself! I’m pretending to be someone else right now! If he really liked me now, then it would be considered cheating!" Yun Shu huffed as she crossed her arms on her chest, looking elsewhere with a puff on her cheeks.
[Eh? Don’t be shy, Host! I’m only helping you! Look, look, his ears twitched! He totally pities you!]
Her cheeks flushed faintly, though she forced herself to continue her little performance.
The lakeside scene continued, delicate as an ink painting.
On one side, the crowd lingered in hushed awe, watching from a distance as if witnessing some rare play.
On the other hand, Bai Yunxian sat in stillness, every inch the aloof cultivator untouched by worldly noise.
And beside him was Yun Shu, who was like a fluttering, bright, and seemingly foolish little lady, who hid the storm she had just unleashed, her crocodile tears glistening like jewels, her heart secretly racing with every flicker of his gaze.
Unseen threads tugged between them, invisible yet unbreakable.
For Yun Shu, this was only the beginning. She would guard him, tease him, and worm her way into his heart, not as the feared Lord Yun of the battlefield, but as the "innocent" chatterbox girl who never knew when to be silent.
The sun sank slowly into the horizon, staining the lake in molten hues of crimson and gold. The lotus leaves swayed gently with the rippling water, and the air seemed charged with a peculiar expectancy. Every cultivator gathered around the lake was straining their senses, watching for the telltale sign of the divine artifact that was rumored to emerge from the depths.
Yet as the hours trickled by, nothing appeared.
The air thickened with frustration. Cultivators paced, their steps impatient. Some leaned against stones, others sat cross-legged on the ground, though their gazes darted toward the water with obsessive vigilance. A handful muttered prayers, while others grumbled under their breaths.
Who could rest when the artifact might rise at any moment? A heartbeat of negligence could mean the difference between seizing fate and watching another claim it.
The tension was like a bowstring stretched taut, ready to snap.
But at the far side of the lake, a most bizarre scene unfolded—so incongruous that it might as well have belonged to another world.
Yun Shu had spread out a clean cloth on the grass, upon which she had arranged a variety of small delicacies: mooncakes, sugared fruits, flaky pastries with honey drizzles, and a delicate porcelain teapot steaming with fragrant spirit-infused tea.
Beside her sat Bai Yunxian, back straight, expression calm, his aura still as an untouched blade.
The two looked for all the world as though they had come here not for a treasure hunt, but for a leisurely picnic.
"Mm, delicious!" Yun Shu’s eyes curved into crescents as she bit into a pastry, crumbs dusting the corner of her lips. She reached out cheerfully, plucking another sweet from the basket and popping it into her mouth without hesitation.
The soft hum of enjoyment she made was utterly unrestrained, as though she had forgotten there were hundreds of tense, jealous cultivators watching them.
She poured tea for Bai Yunxian with exaggerated care, the steam curling between them.
"Here, Palace Lord, you must try this. The tea is brewed with Silverleaf Orchid petals! I bought it from a merchant who swore it clears the mind and strengthens spiritual perception. Perfect for waiting on an artifact, don’t you think?"
Her chatter flowed endlessly, like a stream winding through the mountains.
Bai Yunxian accepted the cup without comment, his long fingers brushing the porcelain. He raised it to his lips, sipping quietly. His expression betrayed nothing, though the faintest crease flickered between his brows when Yun Shu leaned closer, her voice lowering conspiratorially.
"Honestly, everyone looks like they’re about to bite each other’s heads off. Look at them! Pacing and glaring and muttering. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were contestants in some grand staring contest."
The system’s gleeful chime rang out in Yun Shu’s head.
[Ding~ Host, you’re killing it! Look at you, spreading chaos with a teapot and pastries! Other cultivators are crying with envy! Ah, such villainous elegance! Truly worthy of my Host!]
Yun Shu’s lips twitched. She took another exaggerated bite of a cake, feigning obliviousness to the stares that burned into their backs from all directions.
Indeed, the crowd could hardly contain themselves.
Jealousy was a tangible thing, thick enough to choke on.
How could they not be jealous? They hadn’t dared to blink for hours, afraid to miss the divine artifact’s appearance, their bodies stiff from standing guard. Their stomachs growled, their throats parched, yet no one dared to relax for even a moment.
And yet here was Bai Yunxian, the cold and brutal palace lord whose very name was synonymous with ruthlessness, was sitting at ease, accompanied by a foolish chatterbox of a girl, sipping tea and nibbling at pastries as if this were an afternoon outing in a garden.
It was truly, maddeningly infuriating!
But who among them dared to say a word?
Even the elders who had arrived earlier, whose faces still bore faint bruises from Yun Shu’s earlier lesson, kept their heads low and their mouths firmly shut. None of them would so much as glance in her direction, much less risk provoking her wrath again.
So the crowd could only stew in silence, their envy gnawing at their hearts as they watched the pair share food and quiet conversation.
Bai Yunxian who seemed to be outwardly as a cold and aloof lord, found himself strangely distracted.
The way the girl bit into desserts so happily that it stirred something at the edge of his memory. A flicker of fond memory that was faint yet persistent.
A table lit by the lamplight.
And a hand reaching for sweets first, always, even before the main dish was touched. A soft laugh when crumbs stuck to the corner of their lips.