A short while later, Langtian had already finished bathing.
Unlike Yue Ling, he didn’t linger in the water for too long. For one, men didn’t typically take long baths. And two, he didn’t want to keep his senior sister waiting.
Still, the bath had been a welcome relief. The water was chilly, sure, but invigorating. For the first time today, he no longer felt sticky with blood or sweat. The grime, dust, and faint smell of demonic beast guts were all gone. His skin felt clean, his mind clearer.
He stepped out of the water, quickly towel-dried himself, and slipped into the fresh set of robes Yue Ling had left for him.
But... something felt off.
This set was a little tighter than the last one. The sleeves stopped just short of his wrists, and the chest and shoulders hugged him snugly. Not uncomfortable, but clearly a size too small.
He raised an eyebrow, tugging at the fabric a bit.
Still, clean clothes were clean clothes. He wasn’t about to complain.
"Senior Sister, I’m done!" he called out, adjusting the robe around his waist.
"Oh, that was quick!" came Yue Ling’s cheerful reply from behind the large boulder. Her head peeked out from behind it, now had her messy hair tied up loosely.
"Wha—Senior Sister?!" Langtian’s eyes widened in alarm, and he rushed toward her without a second thought.
Because Shangguan Yue Ling... was bleeding!
"Senior Sister! Are you alright?! What happened?! Are you hurt? Are you sick?!"
Panicked, he dropped to his knees beside her, eyes scanning her face in a frenzy. Without hesitation, he reached out and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.
"E-Eh?!" Yue Ling blinked, stunned by the sudden wave of frantic concern.
"Oh no, it’s hot! You’ve got a fever!" Langtian exclaimed.
"What? I’m totally fine!" Yue Ling protested, flustered.
"No, you’re not! Your forehead’s burning, your cheeks are all red, and your nose is bleeding!"
Yue Ling immediately raised a hand to her face.
Sure enough. When her fingers touched just beneath her nose, she froze.
There it was. A warm trickle of blood she hadn’t even noticed until now.
"...Oh crap," she muttered, and just like that, her already red cheeks flushed an even deeper shade. Her entire face turned crimson.
"Waaaah! Quick! Tilt your head back!" Langtian cried, nearly panicking again.
"A-Alright, alright!" Yue Ling obeyed with surprising speed, leaning her head back and grabbing a clean cloth from her pouch to dab away the trail.
Langtian hovered nervously nearby, still watching her like a mother hen. "Oh no... it’s gotta be from the bath. You must’ve caught a cold! That pond was way too chilly!"
"A-ah, y-yeah!" Yue Ling immediately nodded, voice high and awkward. "C-cold! Of course. The water was freezing, totally caught me off guard. Classic case of... cold-induced nosebleed. Haha..."
The real reason her face was burning up... the real reason her nose had suddenly betrayed her... was currently crouched right in front of her with messy hair, innocent eyes, and a set of slightly-too-tight robes clinging to his freshly bathed body.
Langtian didn’t need to know that, though.
Yue Ling even faked a few weak coughs for good measure.
"Aaaah! Senior Sister!" Langtian gasped, clearly alarmed. "Your clothes aren’t warm enough! Do you have anything thicker to wear?"
"Eh?" Yue Ling blinked, feigning confusion as their eyes met. "Ah... no, I only brought one set for each of us."
Technically... a lie.
She actually had several more outfits tucked away in her Qiankun pouch. But teasing Langtian was just too entertaining. She was already planning to pop a fake recovery pill into her mouth and act like she’d miraculously be fine in a moment or two.
Without saying a word, Langtian shrugged off his outer robe and gently placed it over her shoulders, wrapping her in its lingering warmth.
Yue Ling froze in place.
Now Langtian stood before her, bare-chested under the moonless sky, chest rising and falling with every concerned breath, utterly oblivious to the chaos he had just unleashed in her heart.
Yue Ling’s brain short-circuited.
A fresh stream of blood trickled from her nose.
Langtian let out a flustered sigh and gently reached forward again. "I told you! You need to keep your head tilted back!" he scolded lightly as he adjusted her posture and dabbed the blood with the cloth once more.
"Look—there’s still so much blood," he added, holding up the bloodied fabric for her to see.
"Oh wow, there really is a lot!" Yue Ling said, eyes wide with fake shock as she quickly snatched the cloth away to hide her embarrassment.
"If you don’t mind..." Langtian murmured, his voice quiet and a little shaky. "Please... let me carry you back to your house."
His heart pounded in his chest like a drum.
And Yue Ling... hers did too.
For a second, there was silence between them. The cool evening air wrapped around their bodies.
"Then..." she replied softly, "I’ll be in your care."
A faint, helpless smile tugged at her lips, half amused, half touched.
Langtian took a steadying breath, then bent down on one knee, back facing her, arms ready.
Yue Ling laughed silently, caught slightly off guard by how serious he looked. Her eyes lingered on him, on the broadness of his shoulders, the curve of his neck, the nervous tension in his posture. There was a strange flutter in her chest.
Then, slowly, gently, she placed her hands on his shoulders.
She leaned forward, pressing her body lightly against his back. Her arms looped around his neck, and in one smooth motion, she climbed on.
"Alright," she murmured beside his ear, breath brushing against his skin like a feather. "I’m ready. We can go now."
She was warm, soft and close.
He could feel every breath she took against his back, every slight shift of her body, the gentle weight of her arms draped around him. Her scent lingered in the air, faintly floral, fresh from the pond.
’Calm down,’ he told himself.
His heart thudded wildly in his chest, louder than any beast he’d ever faced.
Still, with slow care, he rose to his feet, carrying her gently on his back.
Step by step, the two of them moved through the quiet valley.
_______________________
Now, they were walking home.
Langtian carried Yue Ling on his back, steadily making his way through the misty valley.
Yue Ling rested comfortably against him, still wrapped in his robe—well, technically her robe, but still... it felt warm, and that was what mattered.
Unbeknownst to Langtian, a few demonic beasts had already taken notice of them. Deep within the fog, pairs of eerie red eyes began to flicker to life. Demonic wolves walked out from the shadows.
A pair of even redder, far more terrifying eyes snapped open.
Yue Ling glared coldly into the mist, her killing intent sharp and merciless.
And one by one, they retreated back into the fog.
"Wait." Langtian suddenly stopped, brow furrowing. "Did you hear something just now?"
"Hm? Nope. Nothing at all," Yue Ling said innocently.
"Ah... must’ve been my imagination."
At the moment, Yue Ling was stronger than him, her senses sharper than him. She was even able to sense a rank 4 demonic wolf from very far away.
Then, if she said there was nothing, then there was nothing.
Thinking that, he continued walking.
Meanwhile, Yue Ling rested her head against his back again, grinning to herself like a cat who’d stolen something precious.
She could hear his heartbeat, still just a little bit erratic.
Then, with no guilt whatsoever, she pointed him toward a longer, more winding route home.
Because this walk was far too sweet to cut short.