Faint starlight touched Li Zijun’s face, dewdrops clinging to the hair on her forehead, trickling down to her collarbones.
Wet, her clothes clung to her body, revealing her exquisitely graceful figure as if half-unclothed, her jade arms gently bending, her alluring pose fully displayed.
Her fair hands gently gathered her water-soaked long hair behind her head. The water, having drenched her ruqun, outlined her perfect figure. She looked at Ji Nanjue, sowhat embarrassed.
The clothes she hadn’t fully removed clung to her delicate body, slightly translucent in their dampness, revealing glimpses of her skin beneath. What was usually concealed by her ordinarily loose ruqun now revealed its true, stunning beauty, like seeing the true face of Mount Lu.
Ji Nanjue looked at her with obvious surprise, then a playful smile touched her lips as she said, "As expected of master and disciple, even your lies are cut from the sa cloth..."
"Forget it. Call Sister if you wish; ’Shiniang’ does sound rather old-fashioned."
"..."
Li Zijun’s jade-like legs, hidden beneath the water, gently stirred the surface, creating a few splashes.
Then, with a light push of her jade-like arms, she stood up, completely unclothed. The water barely reached the top of her thighs, revealing half of her slender and flat waist, without a hint of excess flesh.
"Take off your clothes. You can’t bathe with them on, can you?" Ji Nanjue said.
Throughout their journey, Li Zijun had worn that ruqun for an unknown length of ti, though it bore no stains.
Li Zijun shyly removed her dress and placed it on the shore, then quickly sat down in the pool, concealing herself thoroughly.
Ji Nanjue didn’t laugh at her but sat down beside her instead.
The air was sowhat stifling, filled with a restlessness that always intensified right before rain.
Ji Nanjue’s small hands gently splashed the water, letting the pool’s coolness wash over her, when she suddenly spoke, "You’ve only t him a few tis, and you’re already so certain of your feelings?"
"It’s normal for soone your age to admire soone, but your words and actions don’t seem like those of an impulsive person."
"I’m curious, could you share what’s on your mind?"
Ji Nanjue paused, realizing her question was indeed a bit probing, then added with a smile, "Of course, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it..."
As she spoke, her eyes watched Li Zijun intently.
"Thoughts?" Li Zijun pursed her thin lips lightly. Without looking at Ji Nanjue, she murmured softly.
Gazing into the sowhat murky waters of the pool, she pondered for a mont and then said quietly, "Does one necessarily need ’thoughts’ to like soone?"
"Isn’t it that at a certain mont, because of sothing that deeply touches the heart, soone unknowingly finds a place within it?"
"Perhaps it’s just a glance, just a single gesture."
Ji Nanjue was montarily taken aback. Li Zijun’s voice sounded sowhat sad; despite its gentle tone, there was an unmistakable touch of lancholy in it.
Then, Ji Nanjue drew Li Zijun close into her arms, her cheek against Li Zijun’s. "Love at first sight?"
Perhaps Ji Nanjue would have previously scoffed at this notion, dismissing it as nonsensical. The idea that a re exchange of glances could confirm one’s feelings could only an one thing: it was purely physical attraction.
But now, her heart was gradually accepting the term. Her life with Su Bei and Li Zijun’s seed to intertwine unintentionally; the feelings that erged after they had survived peril together were profoundly deep.
Maybe even before that night, her heart had already been marked by his image; it was just that her long-sealed heart had never acknowledged it.
"There is so truth in that," Li Zijun said with a bitter smile. It seed Ji Nanjue had misunderstood her. Her feelings for Su Bei were far from the simple description she had given; it had taken nearly a hundred years of evolving closeness for her to finally confirm her heart’s desire.
"Sister Nan Ji, Zi Jun is feeling a bit cold..." Li Zijun gently wrapped her arms around herself, blinking as she looked at Ji Nanjue.
"Go back then," Ji Nanjue said gently. "I... your Sister, will stay here alone for a while."
Ji Nanjue smiled warmly at her, her own heart sowhat conflicted.
Ultimately, she was a woman. Even though she knew she and Su Bei could never openly be together, she still felt a sense of repulsion towards any woman who sought to take even a shred of his tenderness from her.
Moreover, this woman was his Disciple... This was sohow against all reason and propriety.
A strange thought surfaced in Ji Nanjue’s mind: Su Bei’s Disciple, her own master (Su Bei)... and she herself caught in between?
What a complicated relationship... Three generations under one roof, was it?
It’s all Su Dudu’s fault.
There’s no absolute right or wrong in matters of affection. But if one had to assign bla, the root cause of it all was that fickle heartthrob. If he hadn’t been so flirtatious, leaving a trail of affection everywhere, how could he have possibly incurred so many emotional debts?
—He, on the other hand, must be thoroughly enjoying himself...
Li Zijun waved her hand in front of Ji Nanjue’s face a few tis. As Ji Nanjue ca back to her senses, she playfully pinched Li Zijun’s delicate little nose and smiled. "You’ve worn that dress for too long. If you don’t mind, you can wear this one of your Sister’s for now."
"..."
Ji Nanjue pointed toward the white gauze dress on the shore.
Li Zijun blinked and then gave Ji Nanjue a sweet smile.
A soft RUSTLE, and she slipped into the dress, then walked toward the Daoist Temple.
Ji Nanjue watched Li Zijun’s departing figure and sighed softly.
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