The storage room was very dark, with only a small window letting in a sliver of light.
The light fell across her face, half in shadow and half in light, fragmenting her expression into broken pieces.
Shen Mo saw her eyes.
Those eyes were startlingly bright, like two flickers of dark fire burning within them.
“Chao’er,” he steadied his voice, “let go.”
“The Master’s Husband has not yet answered this disciple.”
“That is not something you should ask about.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” she asked. “I am a member of Jiaoyue Peak and a disciple of the Peak Master. If someone is acting improperly toward the Master’s Husband, should I not ask?”
“No one is acting improperly toward me,” he said. “Do not mention the events of that night again.”
“Is that so?”
She suddenly released her grip.
Before Shen Mo could breathe a sigh of relief, she raised her hand, her fingertips landing on his collarbone.
There, a red mark had lingered five days ago.
“Then what about this?” she asked softly. “Did I see this incorrectly as well?”
His brain buzzed.
‘She knows.’
‘She knows everything.’
That night, she hadn’t just seen what happened at the end; she had seen everything from the beginning. Yun He’s lips falling on his neck, on his collarbone — she had seen it all.
“You…”
“I was just outside the door that night,” she said, her voice very light, as if afraid of startling something.
“From the moment Lady Yunhe lit that stick of incense, until the end… I was there the whole time.”
Shen Mo felt a chill run through his entire body.
“I watched the Master’s Husband struggle, watched him try to push her away, watched him be… by her…” Her voice paused for a moment. “I saw everything.”
“Then why didn’t you come in?” He heard his own voice, raspy like a broken gong.
She didn’t speak.
She simply looked at him, the two flickers of dark fire in her eyes burning brighter and brighter.
“Why didn’t you come in?” he asked again, his voice growing louder. “You saw it, so why didn’t you come in? Why didn’t you stop her? Why?”
She suddenly smiled.
That smile made his spine go cold.
“Because,” she said, slowly leaning closer to him, so close that her breath brushed against his face, “I wanted to see what kind of expression the Master’s Husband would make when he was treated like that.”
Shen Mo froze.
“I have never seen the Master’s Husband like that before,” she said, her voice low, carrying an indescribable tone.
“The Master’s Husband has always been dignified, steady, and meticulous in everything he does. But that night, he was lying on the chair, his robes loosened, the corners of his eyes flushed red, his entire body trembling…”
Her fingers crawled up his face, gently brushing over the corner of his eye.
“I never knew the Master’s Husband could have a side like that.”
Shen Mo shoved her away.
He stumbled back several steps, crashing into a shelf. Account books tumbled to the floor with a loud clatter.
She stood where she was, not chasing after him.
She only watched him, the dark fire in her eyes slowly dimming, turning into an expression he could not read.
“What is the Master’s Husband afraid of?” she asked softly. “I would never harm you.”
He leaned against the shelf, gasping for air.
“Get out,” he said.
She didn’t move.
“Get out!”
She finally moved.
Slowly bending down, she picked up the account books that had fallen on the ground one by one, stacked them neatly, and placed them back on the shelf.
Then she walked over to him and performed a proper, respectful bow.
“Rest early, Master’s Husband,” she said. “This disciple will take her leave.”
She turned and left.
The setting sun shone in through the doorway, stretching her shadow long until it reached his feet.
Shen Mo stood in the dim storage room, watching that shadow move further away inch by inch, until it finally disappeared outside the door.
After a long time, he slowly slid down to a sitting position, burying his head in his knees.
……
After that night, Chao’er changed.
No, she hadn’t changed.
She still came every day to pay her respects, still spoke and acted with perfect decorum, and remained the sensible, obedient young disciple in the eyes of others.
But the way Shen Mo looked at her had changed.
He knew what was hidden beneath that mask of obedience.
The conversation in the storage room that day was like a thorn stuck in his heart, impossible to pull out. Every time he saw her, that thorn throbbed with a faint ache.
He began to avoid her.
If he could avoid seeing her, he would; if he could stay away, he did. When she came to pay her respects, he dismissed her after only a few words.
He assigned tasks on the peak to others, ensuring she never had a hand in them. Sometimes, seeing her figure from a distance in the corridor, he would take a detour.
She seemed to notice.
But she said nothing. Only, every time she paid her respects, her eyes would linger on his face a little longer.
That gaze made him feel as if he were sitting on a bed of needles.
After winter began, something happened.
A formal visit request arrived from Yunyin Mountain, stating that Lady Yunhe would personally visit Jiaoyue Peak in a few days to discuss the Joint Cultivation matters between the two sects for the coming spring.
the request was delivered by a steward disciple. Shen Mo held the letter for a long time, his fingertips turning cold.
‘She’s coming.’
‘After that night, she’s coming again.’
He remembered her eyes, her hands, her kiss; a wave of nausea rolled through his stomach.
But he could not refuse to see her.
She was a Female Sovereign at the Deity Transformation stage, the Honored Teacher of Su Wan’er, and a figure no one within a thousand miles dared to offend.
He was merely a Husband who had married into the family. With even his primary wife away, what right did he have to refuse her?
He had someone return a message, saying that everyone at Jiaoyue Peak awaited the Female Sovereign’s arrival.
After the messenger left, Shen Mo sat alone in his room until late at night.
Snow began to fall outside the window. It was the first snow of winter, fine and dense, making a rustling sound as it hit the roof tiles.
He suddenly remembered the winter seven years ago when he had married into the sect.
The snow that year had been heavier than this year’s, overwhelming and vast, falling continuously for three days and three nights.
He had sat alone in the bridal chamber, listening to the sound of the snow outside, waiting for someone to come.
He waited for three days and three nights. The snow stopped, but she never came.
Later, he learned that she had entered Seclusion the very next day after their marriage.
Seven years.
Seven whole years.
He suddenly let out a faint, bitter laugh.
Lady Yunhe arrived quickly.
Five days later, her carriage reached the mountain gate.
The weather that day was clear and bright, the accumulated snow had not yet melted, and the sunlight reflecting off the white snow was blinding.
Shen Mo led a group of disciples to wait at the mountain gate, spotting a convoy of carriages approaching from the mountain path in the distance.
She sat in the carriage, her black robes exceptionally striking against the white snow.
The carriage stopped in front of him.
She stepped down, standing in the snow, looking down at him from a superior height.
“Rise,” she said.
Shen Mo straightened his back, keeping his eyes lowered.
Her gaze slowly slid down his face, down to his neck, his collarbone, and then slowly back up.
“You’ve grown thinner,” she said.
He did not speak.
She smiled and began walking inside.
He followed behind her, maintaining a distance of three steps.
As they passed Chao’er, she suddenly stopped.
“This is…” She looked at Chao’er.
“A disciple of this peak,” Shen Mo said. “The disciple the Peak Master took in before entering Seclusion. Her name is Chao’er.”
“Oh.” Yunhe nodded, looking at Chao’er with a hint of amusement in her eyes. “So this is that disciple of yours.”
Chao’er raised her head, meeting her gaze, and performed a bow that was neither humble nor arrogant. “Greetings, Female Sovereign.”
Yunhe stared at her for a moment and then suddenly smiled.
“Good child,” she said. “You have quite the refined features.”
The tone sounded like praise, but to Shen Mo, something felt wrong.
Chao’er, however, seemed not to notice anything, merely keeping her eyes lowered as she stood there obediently.
Yunhe withdrew her gaze and continued inside.
Shen Mo followed.
After walking a few steps, he couldn’t help but glance back.
Chao’er was standing where she was, watching his retreating back.
Sunlight fell on her face, and her eyes were startlingly bright, as if hiding two flickers of dark fire.
That fire made his heart tremble.
He looked away and quickened his pace to keep up with Yunhe.
Behind him, her gaze continued to follow him.
It was like two invisible threads wrapped around his back, impossible to break or shake off.
Yunhe stayed at Jiaoyue Peak for three days.
During these three days, she summoned Shen Mo every day to speak with her. Sometimes it was in the main hall, sometimes in the side hall, and sometimes in her guest quarters.
Each time he went, his heart was in his throat.
But she did nothing.
They only spoke, drank tea, and discussed matters of the peak. Occasionally, she would look at him with a gaze that carried an indescribable meaning, but it went no further than that.
He didn’t believe she was just here for tea.
But he didn’t know what she was planning.
On the evening of the third day, she suddenly announced she was leaving.
Shen Mo went to see her off. Standing before her carriage, she suddenly turned back.
“That incense burner,” she said. “Do you still have it?”
His heart tightened.
“It is stored in the warehouse,” he said.
She nodded. “Keep it. It will be useful in the future.”
‘The future?’
Before he could ask, she had already entered the carriage.
The carriage started and slowly moved away into the distance.
Shen Mo stood at the mountain gate, watching the convoy disappear into the twilight.
“Master’s Husband.”
A voice suddenly sounded behind him.
He turned around.
Chao’er was standing not far away, though he didn’t know when she had arrived.
“Has the Female Sovereign left?” she asked.
“She’s gone.”
“That is good.” She smiled and walked a few steps closer. “The Master’s Husband must be tired. Allow this disciple to escort you back.”
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