Faint starlight cast upon Li Zijun's cheeks. Droplets of water clung to the strands of hair at her forehead, trickling down to her collarbone.
Her wet clothes clung to her body, outlining her exquisite, well-proportioned figure, making her appear as if half-bare. Her arms were lightly bent, her charming posture fully revealed.
Her bare hands gently gathered her long, water-soaked hair behind her head. The water drenched her clothes, sketching out her perfect curves. She looked sowhat embarrassed at Ji Nanjue.
The garnts, not yet fully removed, clung tightly to her body, faintly revealing the color of her skin beneath. Her usual loose-fitting clothes concealed much, but now, her true figure was visible.
Ji Nanjue looked at her with evident surprise, then a playful smile touched the corners of her lips. Worthy of being master and disciple; even your lies are cut from the sa cloth... she mused, then said aloud, "Forget it. If you want to call Sister, then do so. 'Shiniang' sounds strangely old-fashioned anyway."
Li Zijun didn't respond imdiately.
Her legs, hidden beneath the water, gently stirred the surface, sending a few droplets splashing.
Then, Li Zijun propped herself up lightly with her arms and stood, completely bare. The water reached just past the tops of her thighs, revealing the lower half of her slender, flat waist, without a hint of excess flesh.
"Take off your clothes," Ji Nanjue said. "You can't bathe with them on, can you?"
The clothes Li Zijun had been wearing had accompanied her for who knew how long on this journey, though it bore no stains.
Li Zijun, sowhat shyly, removed her garnts and placed them on the bank. She then imdiately sat down in the pool, subrging herself thoroughly.
Ji Nanjue didn't laugh at her, instead sitting down beside her.
The air was sowhat heavy; the ti just before rain always felt particularly charged.
Ji Nanjue idly scooped up water with her small hands, letting it cascade down, then suddenly asked, "You've only t him a few tis. Are you already so sure of your feelings?"
"It's normal to admire soone at your age, but your words and actions don't suggest you're an impulsive person."
"I'm curious. Can you tell what you're thinking?"
She paused, feeling her question was indeed a bit probing. Ji Nanjue then added with a smile, "Of course, it's alright if you don't want to say..."
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Li Zijun.
"Thoughts?"
Li Zijun lightly pursed her thin lips. Without looking at Ji Nanjue, she murmured softly.
Gazing at the sowhat dark water of the pool, she pondered for a mont, then said softly, "Does liking soone necessarily require thoughts?"
"Isn't it more that at a certain point in ti, because of sothing that causes a deep stirring in your heart, you find that soone has unknowingly taken up residence there?"
"Perhaps it's just a single glance, or a particular action."
Ji Nanjue paused, hearing the somber note in Li Zijun's voice. Though her tone was gentle, Ji Nanjue sohow sensed a great deal of vexation within it.
Then, she pulled Li Zijun into a tight embrace, pressing her cheek against hers. "Love at first sight?"
Perhaps Ji Nanjue would have previously scoffed at this term, dismissing it as re nonsense, she thought. The idea that two people could determine their feelings for each other with just one look seed to imply only one thing: they were rely coveting each other's beauty.
Yet now, she found herself gradually coming to accept this term. Her life path and Su Bei's always seed to intertwine unintentionally. That ti they had returned from the gates of hell, the bond forged between them from enduring hardship together was naturally profound.
Perhaps even before that night, his shadow had already been imprinted on her heart, only her long-sealed heart had never acknowledged it.
"That's true, too," Ji Nanjue murmured, mostly to herself.
Li Zijun smiled bitterly. It seems she misunderstood , she thought. How could my feelings for Su Bei be as casually described as I just made them sound? It took nearly a century of evolving together for to finally be sure of my heart.
"Sister Nan Ji, Zi Jun is getting a little cold..." Li Zijun said, gently hugging her own arms and blinking as she looked at Ji Nanjue. "Let's go back."
"You go back first," Ji Nanjue said, "Sh... Sister will stay here alone for a little while."
Ji Nanjue smiled warmly at her. Her heart was a complicated mix of feelings.
Ultimately, she was a woman. Even though she knew there would never be a day when her relationship with Su Bei could be publicly acknowledged, she still felt a sense of repulsion towards any woman who wanted to take away even a fraction of the tenderness she felt was hers.
Moreover, this woman was his Disciple... This was outrageous by any moral or emotional standard.
A peculiar thought surfaced in Ji Nanjue's mind: His Disciple, my Master... and caught in the middle?
What a complicated tangle of relationships... Like three generations living under one roof, isn't it?
It's all Su Dudu's fault.
There's no right or wrong in matters of the heart. But if bla must be assigned, the root cause of it all was that philandering heartbreaker. If he hadn't been sowing seeds of affection and flirting everywhere, how could so many emotional debts have arisen out of thin air?
He's certainly having a good ti through all this...
Li Zijun waved her hand a few tis in front of Ji Nanjue's face. Ji Nanjue snapped back to her senses and playfully tapped Li Zijun's delicate nose, laughing as she said, "You've been wearing that dress of yours for too long. If you don't mind, wear this one of mine for now."
She then pointed to the white gauze dress lying on the bank.
Li Zijun blinked, then gave Ji Nanjue a sweet smile.
With a soft rustle of fabric, she put on the dress and headed towards the Daoist Temple.
Ji Nanjue watched Li Zijun's retreating figure and sighed softly.
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