Lu Qiancha: “……?”
She looked at Xuan Ya with some confusion, not understanding why she needed to take off her clothes.
“Of course it’s to measure your size. How could I measure you with your clothes on?”
Xuan Ya noticed the doubt in Lu Qiancha’s eyes and spoke calmly.
“Uh…Master, can I measure myself?”
Lu Qiancha asked a bit shyly.
To show everything in front of her Master… It was so embarrassing.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Xuan Ya frowned.
“Y-Yes, Master.”
Lu Qiancha was startled by Xuan Ya’s sudden sternness, and quickly took off all her clothes, putting them into her storage pouch.
“Raise your arms.”
Xuan Ya held the soft measuring tape and instructed.
“Mm…okay.”
A gentle breeze drifted in through the cracks in the window, making Lu Qiancha shiver.
She raised her paws, hoping it would all be over soon.
Xuan Ya crouched down, threading the soft tape under the little wolf girl’s armpit, her other hand looping through from the opposite side to catch the other end of the tape.
When the golden thread fell on the fullest point, Xuan Ya pulled the tape tight.
The little wolf cub only felt a sudden tautness, the cool breeze brushing her skin, stirring up a wave of discomfort in her heart.
She clenched her teeth, fighting back the ticklish sensation on her body.
Yet a chill clung to her heart all on its own, like a startled fawn, darting wildly in the depths of Lu Qiancha’s chest.
“Uuh…Master, c-can you go a bit faster…This tape is cold, I’m a little chilly.”
Lu Qiancha’s soft, urging voice drifted to Xuan Ya’s ears.
Xuan Ya said nothing, only quickened her hands.
After measuring the chest, the tape swiftly moved, its ends gently pressed to the most prominent points of Lu Qiancha’s scapulae, measuring her shoulder width.
Next, Xuan Ya gently lifted Lu Qiancha’s slender wrist, the soft tape following as she measured from the shoulder bone straight to the wrist bone, getting Lu Qiancha’s arm length.
Xuan Ya moved in front of Lu Qiancha, placing one hand gently at her slim waist as a fixed point, while her other hand, holding the tape, slowly circled from her lower back to her abdomen.
The tape wrapped around, its edge inevitably brushing against Lu Qiancha’s slender waist.
“Mm—ngh.”
So ticklish.
Lu Qiancha’s body suddenly tensed, a soft whimper escaping her throat as she was tickled.
She nearly used up her entire lifetime’s worth of self-control to endure the tingling and trembling that rushed up to the top of her head.
Her little face was drawn tight, tears stubbornly swirling in her eyes…
Seeing Lu Qiancha on the verge of tears, Xuan Ya announced the end of the measurements: “All done.”
“F-Finished?”
Lu Qiancha immediately turned her head, her voice trembling, blue eyes filled with relief.
“Mm, hurry and put your clothes back on, or you’ll catch a chill.”
Xuan Ya’s expression was calm as she carefully rolled up the tape in her hand, her gaze flicking past Lu Qiancha’s bare, pink little feet that curled up instinctively against the chill of the stone slab, her voice as plain as ever, yet with a hint of admonishment.
“Okay, okay!”
Lu Qiancha breathed a sigh of relief at those words, quickly taking out her clothes from the storage pouch and putting them on.
Then, with her paw, she quickly smoothed out a few tufts of fur atop her head that the measuring tape had ruffled.
She immediately stood at attention, her small body held straight, bowing her head obediently at Xuan Ya’s side.
Lu Qiancha asked, her voice filled with the timidity of one who had survived a great ordeal, and utter obedience: “M-Master, then… may this disciple leave now?”
“Mm, go play.”
Xuan Ya waved her hand, her voice still calm and even.
“Thank you, Master!”
Lu Qiancha practically shouted, not caring about her manners anymore. She shot off like an arrow, a little gust of wind, rushing straight into the courtyard and disappearing from Xuan Ya’s sight.
Xuan Ya couldn’t help but chuckle softly, a hint of fondness flashing in her eyes.
***
Half a month passed.
There was still no sign of Xun Xue, and the messages sent from the Jade Omen were as sparse and brief as ever, filled with nothing but vague reassurances like “Almost there,” “Be patient,” and “Will return soon.”
Although Lu Qiancha found this a little odd, she didn’t worry too much, simply assuming her mother was preparing that mysterious surprise.
She hadn’t wasted her days.
Within Peach Blossom Village, the number of followers had steadily surpassed a hundred.
Ordinary incense offerings had accumulated into a steady stream, totaling more than 1,300.
Even the purest Lunar Fortune incense had quietly reached over thirty threads.
Basking in the moonlight, Lu Qiancha took out the Moon God Token.
Her figure flickered, and when she opened her eyes again, she was already standing within the chilly, isolated expanse of the Guanghan Palace, where ancient moonlight forever flowed.
“Oh?”
Perched high atop the Moon Soul Dragon Throne, Huang Hua slowly opened her eyes.
A faint, ambiguous smile played at her lips, her voice as languid as cold spring water striking jade: “You really made me wait, little one.”
“Greetings, Lady Yuanjun.”
Lu Qiancha dared not be negligent, bowing her head and giving a formal salute.
“Hmm?”
Huang Hua raised an eyebrow, the curve at her lips deepening with playful amusement: “When did I become so close with you?”
Her tone was slow and leisurely, like someone toying with a songbird in her palm.
Lu Qiancha paused, a flicker of confusion in her blue eyes, and cautiously ventured, “Then… should this disciple address you as ‘Madam Yuanjun’?”
“Not at all, not at all~” Huang Hua swept her broad sleeve and gracefully rose from the throne.
Barefoot, she stepped onto the pristine jade steps shrouded in cold mist, strolling step by step toward Lu Qiancha. She leaned in slightly, her slender forefinger hooking under Lu Qiancha’s bewildered little chin.
A teasing smile played at her lips: “Little one, my name is ‘Empress of the Moon Palace, Huang Hua Suyao Yuanjing Holy Lady, Supreme Lunar Yuanjun.’
Only by reciting the full title does it show proper respect, don’t you think?”
Lu Qiancha instantly turned to stone, the long, tongue-twisting string of divine titles Huang Hua had just recited flashing through her mind at lightning speed.
Except for the “Moon Palace” at the beginning and “Yuanjun” at the end, none of it managed to stick in Lu Qiancha’s head.
The little wolf cub subconsciously swallowed, feeling her throat go dry, and timidly raised her paw, softly asking: “S-Sister, um… Could you… please say it again…?”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, almost dizzy with confusion: “This disciple didn’t remember…”
As she finished speaking, even her little ears drooped in embarrassment.
“Pfft—!” Huang Hua couldn’t help it anymore, letting out a bright, cheerful laugh.
“You little thing…” Her smile bloomed like a flower, all the earlier pretense of solemnity and pressure completely gone: “Did you really plan to recite it all?”
As her words fell, Huang Hua swept her wide sleeve.
“Pa!”
A gleaming, flawless Jade Decree Table appeared out of thin air between the two of them.
Several nameless palace maids clad in moon-white robes and veiled faces entered in response, their delicate hands pouring the two cups full of cold, crystal-clear Jade Nectar.
Huang Hua lifted her fair hand, and a Silver Scroll—neither bamboo nor jade, flowing all over with mysterious Moon Pattern—appeared out of nowhere, resting on her snow-white palm.
“If there’s something you want, just say so. I can grant what you need.”
As she spoke, her fingertip released the scroll, which floated down as if alive, coming to rest securely on the Jade Decree Table in front of Lu Qiancha.
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