No Demands
Xu Shulou? That Xu Shulou from Dustless Island?
The cultivators in line imdiately cast admiring glances at the male cultivator who had shouted. Impressive, brother! Haven’t you heard? She recently beheaded an elder from the Lingxiao Sect, and you dare seek vengeance against her? Your cultivation must be formidable too!
The male cultivator, sensing the crowd’s attention, straightened his back with pride.
Bai Roushuang sneered. "What nonsense about 'searching high and low'? My senior sister has never hidden her identity—she’s Xu Shulou of Dustless Island. She’s been right there on the island all these years, and yet you never showed up to seek revenge. What’s with the empty threats now? Are you counting on the ship’s security to step in and diate before things escalate? Let tell you, you’ve miscalculated. If my senior sister truly wanted to kill you, by the ti anyone intervened, you’d already be a corpse."
"Who are you? What do you know?!" the male cultivator roared.
Back in the cave, when Xu Shulou had fought Wei Xuandao, she had summoned her lifebound sword. But in the end, she had killed him with Shao Nian Kuang. Her lifebound sword refused to return to its sheath without tasting blood, so she had left it hanging at her waist. Now, she ran her fingers lightly over the hilt. The male cultivator averted his gaze, looking anywhere but at her.
Tch. How boring. The crowd quickly saw through his bluster. Those who had already paid their spirit stones dispersed, while those still in line shot him disdainful looks before ignoring him altogether.
"……"
When he fell silent, Bai Roushuang sidled up to Xu Shulou. "Senior sister, who is this guy? What’s the grudge between you two?"
Xu Shulou craned her neck to study the male cultivator carefully, racking her mory. "I can’t rember."
"I get it," Bai Roushuang patted her shoulder. "Too many debts to keep track of, huh?"
"Don’t say that. As the saying goes, 'It’s better to resolve grievances than to create new ones,'" Xu Shulou sighed, suddenly worried about setting a bad example for her junior sister. "I’ll strive to be a more peaceful person. Don’t follow my lead."
"……" Who could possibly follow your lead? That concern is entirely unnecessary.
Just as Bai Roushuang was about to retort, the cultivator collecting spirit stones interrupted. "May I ask the young lady’s na?"
She composed herself, gave her na, and accepted the na card and an exquisitely carved red bracelet from the attendant.
"Every guest boarding the ship receives a bracelet," the attendant explained with a smile. "This red one signifies top-tier status. With it, you’ll have access to all the ship’s dining halls, taverns, gambling houses, and more."
Bai Roushuang glanced at the cultivators ahead who had already paid and were preparing to board. Sure enough, each wore a similar bracelet, though the colors varied—blue, green, and others.
The two thanked the attendant and fastened the bracelets around their wrists. Since they had booked the most expensive rooms, a guide was assigned to escort them aboard.
As Bai Roushuang flew up to the ship, she noticed a gangplank lowered for the mortals who had purchased tickets. Their figures, laden with bundles and luggage, soon shrank to re specks in her vision.
The rooms, priced at a thousand top-grade spirit stones, were impressively spacious. The entire deck housed only two suites. Inside, the sisters found two distinct styles—one elegant, the other opulent—but both featured a square soaking pool filled with hot water. The beds were luxuriously soft, as if made of clouds, and the rooms were equipped with clever little spirit arrays for convenience. The guide explained their functions: one could simulate nightti for dayti sleepers, complete with soundproofing; another mimicked ocean breezes, allowing guests to enjoy the sensation of sea winds while soaking in the pool. Useless, perhaps, but undeniably amusing.
Bai Roushuang marveled. "The master of Nevernight City truly has a knack for ingenuity."
"They say he’s a business prodigy," Xu Shulou chuckled. "Every venture he’s pursued has succeeded—except for one teleportation array."
"What teleportation array?"
"One that could instantly transport people thousands of miles away."
"Sounds incredibly useful," Bai Roushuang mused. "Why didn’t it work out?"
"Because sothing went wrong in the process. Those teleported always arrived missing limbs. Though treatable, most cultivators weren’t fond of the experience and preferred the old-fashioned thod of flying on their swords."
Bai Roushuang raised an eyebrow. "Most?"
Xu Shulou laughed and poured herself a cup of warm fruit wine at the tea table. "Mmm, not bad."
A calming incense burned in the censer, filling the air with a warm, soothing fragrance.
Bai Roushuang peeked inside and noticed an extra portion of unburned incense set aside for guests who wished to take so ho.
The guide had advised them to wait until the ship set sail before exploring the deck, so the two lounged in recliners by the window, basking in the sunlight and chatting idly as they waited.
Xu Shulou handed the wine jug to her junior sister. "By the way, when Wei Xuandao was executed the other day, I noticed Lu Beichen seed... off. Did you find out anything—"
Bai Roushuang cut her off softly. "Senior sister, we’ve already ended things."
Xu Shulou blinked. "When?"
"Six months ago. You were in seclusion at the ti."
"Why?"
Bai Roushuang sighed and recounted the story. "About half a year ago, Senior Brother Lu saved an orphaned girl. She... she held so animosity toward ."
"What?"
Bai Roushuang smiled bitterly. "Long story short, she once frad in front of him, and Senior Brother Lu seed to believe her. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Wait—senior sister, don’t get worked up. Put the sword down!"
"...Go on."
"Her thods were clumsy, hardly a challenge for . I could’ve easily driven her away from Senior Brother Lu. Who doesn’t know how to play the victim?" Bai Roushuang scoffed. "At the ti, more than anger, I just felt... amused. Who am I? Bai Roushuang, raised in a brothel. Did she really think she could outplay in feigned helplessness? I looked up at Senior Brother Lu with tears welling in my eyes, ready to teach her what true mastery looked like."
"..."
"But the mont those tears fell, I suddenly wondered what I was doing," Bai Roushuang bit her lip. "Even if I won, so what? Did I truly care for Senior Brother Lu that much? I can’t quite describe how I felt—just... suddenly, it all seed pointless. Besides, I was on the verge of breaking through to the peak of Foundation Establishnt. I didn’t want distractions."
"..."
Bai Roushuang looked at Xu Shulou plaintively. "Do you understand, senior sister?"
"I understand, you don't like her thods," Xu Shulou nodded confidently. "This is the cultivation world—why resort to such tactics? If you dislike , just co at with a blade. If you can't win, train harder and try again later."
"That's not exactly what I ant," Bai Roushuang replied, amused yet exasperated. After a pause, she added, "Though strangely enough, there’s a weirdly fitting logic to it."
"Hmm?"
"Anyway, I told Senior Brother Lu that I wanted to take a break and focus on my path," Bai Roushuang lay on her back, gazing at the sky outside the window. "He was reluctant, but he understood."
"..."
"I tried to return the magical artifacts he gave , but Senior Brother Lu insisted I keep them," Bai Roushuang smiled faintly. "We parted on good terms. We can still be friends when we et in the future."
Xu Shulou leaned back in her plush chair, listening attentively.
"He treated well while we were together, so I have no reason to resent him. I don’t bla him for saving that orphaned girl either—how could anyone just stand by and watch soone die?" Bai Roushuang murmured. "But whatever happens afterward, whether Senior Brother Lu develops feelings for her or not, it’s none of my concern. That’s between the two of them."
"..."
"Pretty uneventful story, huh?" Bai Roushuang shrugged.
Xu Shulou chuckled. "You’ve grown up."
Bai Roushuang pouted. "Only you would say that, Shijie. Others might think I’m a fool for giving up soone like Lu Beichen over sothing so trivial. He really is a good match—handso, talented. If I had to nitpick, his only flaw is that he’s not very clever when it cos to won. He always favors the weaker party. And when others show interest in him, he never refuses them firmly enough."
Xu Shulou lit the small stove in the room. "My shii isn’t foolish at all. If you like soone, be with them wholeheartedly. If it stops aning anything to you, part ways amicably. As long as you don’t betray each other, what’s the harm?"
Bai Roushuang basked in the warmth of the stove, the cold breeze from the window brushing her face. She laughed. "Exactly! I’m not foolish. But… it’s only easy to be that carefree when you don’t expect anything from the other person."
"No expectations? That’s good." Xu Shulou smiled, feeling the warm incense in the room soften her deanor further.
Bai Roushuang leaned over, resting her head on Xu Shulou’s shoulder. "It’s nice to have soone to talk to about these things."
"What else is a shijie for?" Xu Shulou granted her an exception. "Next ti you part ways with soone, even if I’m in seclusion, you can drag out to vent."
Bai Roushuang giggled. "That won’t be necessary. Your cultivation is more important."
Xu Shulou suddenly recalled a detail from the dreamt-up storybook. "By the way, the orphan girl Lu Beichen saved… was her na Zhe Lan?"
"How did you know, Shijie?" Bai Roushuang looked at her. "Ah, Sixth Brother must have told you. He knew about it too."
Xu Shulou blinked. In her dream, there had also been an orphan girl saved by Lu Beichen, but in the end, she failed to displace Bai Roushuang’s position. Instead, she was caught stealing and expelled from the Lingxiao Sect, only to et a tragic end at the hands of demons.
In the storybook, Xu Shulou had tried to prove to everyone that the girl had been frad by Bai Roushuang—but as usual, no one believed her.
Bai Roushuang nuzzled closer, pouting. "I’m not heartbroken anymore, but shouldn’t Shijie at least give the obligatory consolation?"
"Well," Xu Shulou pondered seriously before offering, "You’ll have plenty more chances to break up with other male cultivators in the future, but a room that costs a thousand spirit stones is rare. Enjoy the present."
"...Shijie," Bai Roushuang grumbled. "Promise one thing."
"What?"
"Never try to comfort anyone again. You’re really bad at it."
Xu Shulou laughed, reaching out to smooth her shii’s hair. "Fine."
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