Be Smart, and Yet

But before going to find Lin Qingyun, He Zhuoming still waited for the maid to bring breakfast.

After eating breakfast, waiting until the white-clad maid cleaned up the dishes and left—He Zhuoming immediately jumped up, ran out of the room, and dashed up the stairs, rehearsing in her mind how she was going to broach the serious topic with Lin Qingyun.

Just say straight out that the True Deity he serves has a problem and might well turn into a madman?

Wouldn't that be too blunt?

But then how would she put it more tactfully? It would have to be hinted at, right? Like...

He Zhuoming muttered to herself: "Qingyun, look at this Pear Garden—they don't even pay overtime to their priests. A company that doesn't pay overtime won't do, you know. Back where I'm from, the police would arrest them... would he understand if I said it that way, would he accept it..."

She murmured to herself, managing only two or three practice lines out loud before the steps beneath her feet came to an end—today's stairs seemed to go by especially fast, so fast that He Zhuoming got the illusion that the steps had gotten shorter.

She was feeling a bit paranoid now, so she cautiously glanced back down below: thankfully, the stairs hadn't gotten shorter. At least as far as He Zhuoming could tell, they were just the same as last time.

The crabapple branches and leaves clogging the end of the stairs seemed to have grown especially lush overnight, and He Zhuoming even felt a slight suffocation as she pushed through them.

The overly dense flowers and foliage spread like floodwater, filling every inch of air around her, so that after crawling out, He Zhuoming sneezed again and again.

The floral fragrance was too thick.

The white room was still the same as before, holding no second color besides Lin Qingyun seated in the center—pinching her nose and sneezing between steps, He Zhuoming approached Lin Qingyun and saw him slowly teasing the candle flame with a needle.

He Zhuoming: "Whoa, this smell... that crabapple tree lying across your doorway bloomed way too outrageously, didn't it? I nearly thought I'd suffocate to death in there!"

Lin Qingyun tilted his face up, turning toward He Zhuoming's direction, and smiled: "But didn't Xiao He not die? Don't assume things that don't exist, okay?"

He Zhuoming grabbed the hem of her clothes and shook it out, and pale pink petals scattered down from the folds, strewing the floor.

Ignoring the sarcasm in his words, she complained: "There are crabapple trees everywhere around here. The crabapple blossoms are way too fragrant, and they're always dropping petals..."

As she brushed at her clothes, she observed Lin Qingyun's expression with what she thought was a subtle but actually conspicuous look, then probed: "Don't you feel like this Divine Palace isn't really livable?"

Lin Qingyun's lips, which had just curved up a little, immediately drooped. The half of his face not covered by the white silk stared at He Zhuoming with no expression at all.

He Zhuoming waited eagerly for his answer.

After a long while, Lin Qingyun countered softly: "You didn't come to see me all night, and the first thing you do when you do come is tell me the Divine Palace isn't fit to live in? So what's fit to live in then? Is that shabby shrine of the Two Principles really that livable?"

He Zhuoming thought for a moment, then earnestly corrected him: "That shrine isn't shabby at all. It's built pretty impressively."

Lin Qingyun pulled at the corner of his mouth, smiling without mirth: "Looking at ugly things for too long really does ruin one's taste."

He Zhuoming scratched her head: "You don't like the shrine of the Dao Lord of the Two Principles?"

Lin Qingyun: "I'm human. Humans naturally don't like doghouses."

He Zhuoming frowned and sat down across from him—as she sat, Lin Qingyun, who had been tilting his head up, slowly straightened it back to level, his face still conspicuously turned toward He Zhuoming's direction.

He Zhuoming said: "Don't go calling someone else's shrine a doghouse. That's so rude."

"And your eyes can't see anyway, and you never leave this room, so how do you know whether someone's shrine looks like a doghouse or not... hey? How do you know I went to the shrine of the Dao Lord of the Two Principles?"

She realized belatedly that she'd never told Lin Qingyun where she'd gone yesterday or what she'd done.

Lin Qingyun snorted coldly, jabbing the candle viciously with his silver needle: "You have the smell of incense offerings from another True Deity's shrine on you. I could smell it the moment you came in."

He Zhuoming was deeply dubious and muttered to herself: "That can't be right... I did take a bath last night, you know..."

She sniffed both her arms and her sleeves left and right but caught no trace of incense, only a richly sweet floral scent, which made her sneeze twice.

Pinching her irritated, itchy nose, He Zhuoming said: "I can't smell anything, though. There's only the flowery smell—is there really?"

Lin Qingyun: "Extremely obvious."

He Zhuoming, curious: "What does it smell like?"

Lin Qingyun: "No comment."

He Zhuoming: "...Do you actually smell anything?"

Lin Qingyun smirked: "There's no benefit to me lying to Xiao He. You also made a wish to the Two Principles, didn't you? Your wish definitely won't come true, because the Two Principles isn't efficacious at all."

He Zhuoming wasn't really listening to what Lin Qingyun was saying. She was still hung up on the 'smell of incense offerings' he'd just mentioned, and suspiciously pulled at her collar to sniff again.

To be honest, the shrine of the Dao Lord of the Two Principles did burn incense. He Zhuoming had smelled the heavy scent of candles and joss sticks when she entered. But she felt that scent was about the same as the incense in the Earth Immortal's main hall, and once mixed together, she couldn't distinguish them at all.

Getting no response to his speech, Lin Qingyun reached out and snapped his fingers right in front of He Zhuoming: "Why aren't you saying anything?"

He Zhuoming: "Oh... I was still thinking about that smell. Is there a difference between the incense offerings in True Deities' shrines? I couldn't tell."

Lin Qingyun: "Of course there's a difference. Once your cultivation gets a bit higher, you'll be able to sense it."

He Zhuoming had a sudden realization: "So it's supposed to be sensed through cultivation—I thought you were just smelling it with your nose, like a dog."

Lin Qingyun: "..."

He Zhuoming had no idea what she'd just said, as naturally as if she were simply complimenting Lin Qingyun on his good nose.

She said: "Alright! Let's stop talking about other shrines. That's not important anyway."

Lin Qingyun: "Then what's important?"

He Zhuoming said: "Of course going home is what's important! Didn't you say before that there's some... some tower in the Pear Garden immortal's Divine Palace, with a lot of books in it, and maybe we could find clues to help me get home?"

"But now you're stuck here all day, never going out. When are you going to look for clues for me?"

"How about this: if you can't get away, just tell me where that place is, and I'll go look for it myself, okay?"

Lin Qingyun fell silent—based on what He Zhuoming had said and the main body's few brief instructions, he was trying to guess what kind of conversation they'd had before and what promises the main body had made to Xiao He.

It was easy to guess.

He Zhuoming rested her cheeks on both hands, her gaze level with his expressionless face, thinking: Running away is one thing, but if there's a clue to getting home, I should still look for it first.

Though Lin Qingyun really does seem attached to the Pear Garden. I only tentatively said the Divine Palace isn't very livable, and he reacted so strongly, even badmouthing other True Deities' shrines. Looks like convincing him to leave the Divine Palace with me will be a bit difficult... whatever, I haven't prepared my pitch this time anyway, so I won't push for now.

Lin Qingyun spoke slowly: "That place isn't one you can go to. Once the Day of Divine Celebration is over, I'll go find it for you."

He Zhuoming counted the days on her fingers and let out a long sigh: "The Day of Divine Celebration still has eleven days to go. Are you going to stay in here the whole time?"

Lin Qingyun lowered his head slightly: "Mm, I have to stay here the whole time, alone—unable to see anything. It's very boring."

He Zhuoming: "Even on the last day, the great sacrifice—you can't go out then either?"

Lin Qingyun nodded: "I can't go out."

He Zhuoming thought it over and comforted him: "Then I'll come keep you company every night from now on, and I can tell you what's been happening outside."

Lin Qingyun's somewhat indifferent expression instantly melted away, the corners of his mouth lifting and dimples appearing, as he asked: "Every day?"

He Zhuoming nodded: "Yeah, I'll come. It's not like I have anything else to do anyway."

Lin Qingyun extended his pinky toward her: "Then let's make a pact."

He Zhuoming found the whole pinky-swearing business a bit childish, but looking at Lin Qingyun's smiling face, she still reached out her hand, hooking her pinky around his and giving it a little shake: "Mm-mm, pinky swear."

As they hooked pinkies, Lin Qingyun leaned his upper body forward, drawing closer. He Zhuoming could clearly see his face, the brow and eyes covered by the white silk.

She couldn't help but stare at the white silk on his face a while longer before asking: "What exactly is going on with your eyes? You were so vague about it before. Is it because of the white silk that you can't see, or is it because you can't see that you wear the white silk?"

Lin Qingyun: "Of course it's because I can't see that I wear the white silk."

He Zhuoming's eyes went wide: "Then... after the Day of Divine Celebration ends, your eyes really can recover?"

Lin Qingyun should have answered with certainty—after all, once the Day of Divine Celebration is over, the main body will come back.

The main body is whole, perfect, including its eyes.

He is not the true 'Lin Qingyun,' nor is he the true Tang Shuyu.

And yet, and yet—

Lin Qingyun felt his throat seem to slip out of his control, automatically speaking words that were sweet on the surface but barbed beneath: "They should recover, I'm not entirely sure."

Xiao He, be smart, be a little smarter. Notice something.

After he said that, he swallowed, feeling a dry, aching pain in his throat as he did.

He Zhuoming was utterly shocked, staring at his eyes: "How can that be? Didn't you say before it was just a minor problem?"

Lin Qingyun: "...It's gotten worse."

He Zhuoming: "So you're actually sick, and now it's getting worse?"

Lin Qingyun: "Mm... more or less."

He was a little distracted—because He Zhuoming's pinky was still hooked around his, the backs of her other fingers lightly pressed against his, and as she leaned in in shock, their skin rubbed together, warm and delicate.

Completely different from the feel of a flower branch brushing past Xiao He's nose.

Touch through a layer was ultimately still different. The true contact of skin against skin carried a lingering tenderness that words could hardly describe, and for a moment, the puppet even conceived a thought: perhaps I should link up her other fingers too.

The birth of that thought startled even Lin Qingyun himself. He snatched his hand back as if shocked by electricity.

He Zhuoming noticed the movement and glanced down briefly, but didn't think much of it.

Once the pinky swear was done, he let go. Nothing strange about that.

*

Xu Feixian's second-round match was in the afternoon, and He Zhuoming went anyway—this time she didn't see that arrogant girl near the arena, but she did see another 'Lin Qingyun.'

He had clearly spotted He Zhuoming too. There had been some distance between them, but after giving her a smile, he pushed through the crowd and came up beside her.

The moment he drew close, He Zhuoming had to tilt her head up to see his face—this guy was pretty tall.

Lin Qingyun pulled a paper packet from his robe and asked: "Want some candy?"

He Zhuoming shook her head in refusal: "No thanks."

Lin Qingyun politely said you're welcome, opened the packet, and popped a few candies into his mouth, his gaze quickly returning to the stage.

Today's opponent was stronger than yesterday's. Xu Feixian won by a narrow margin, limping as she came down from the stage.

He Zhuoming jogged over to support her, worried: "You're not going to end up a cripple, are you?"

Xu Feixian's back teeth were nearly ground to dust, but her face remained cool: "No."

Supporting Xu Feixian, she squeezed out of the crowd, and the two went to the temporary shrine of the Dao Lord of the Two Principles again—because it was the closest, and also sparsely populated and quiet.

Xu Feixian sat down on a stone by the white lotus pond, rolled her pant leg up past her knee, and tended to the sword wounds on her calf and ankle, while He Zhuoming squatted beside her holding the medicine bottle.

He Zhuoming's face was full of worry, and she asked: "Feixian, if a musician in the Pear Garden wanted to leave the Pear Garden, would it be easy?"

Xu Feixian was currently locked in a struggle with the residual sword qi buried in her bones, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, and she gritted her teeth: "Depends... on what rank of musician. An ordinary low-ranking musician... should be relatively easy to leave... hss."

He Zhuoming: "It's for a friend of mine! He's a really nice person, kind of naive and gullible, and has too much money to know what to do with it. Somehow through some connections, he bought his way in and became a musician."

Xu Feixian: "The one from the inn?"

He Zhuoming nodded eagerly: "Mm-hm, that's him!"

Xu Feixian sneered: "I don't think he's naive."

Not only is he not naive, he's probably very smart—his mind's likely crowded enough to house a hornets' nest.

He Zhuoming said: "I'm telling you this not so you can criticize him—I want you to help me analyze the situation."

"So, after the good advice you gave me yesterday, the more I thought about it when I went back, the more I felt the Pear Garden immortal really is unreliable, and leaving early is the right call. But my friend and I have been through life-and-death together, so I can't just abandon him and leave on my own... as for his position, he's apparently pretty high up now—he's already become a Blessing Priest."

Xu Feixian's hand twitched, tugging at her wound, and she couldn't help crying out in pain, no longer able to keep up her aloof act—a string of ows and ouches followed.

He Zhuoming was very nervous: "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Xu Feixian slammed her fist on the stone in frustration: "N-nothing... I advise you to give up on that friend of yours as soon as possible. Once someone becomes a Blessing Priest, they're at least a senior elder in the Pear Garden. If he dares to run, the whole Pear Garden will come after him."

He Zhuoming: "Then would the E-Earth Immortal also come after him?"

Xu Feixian frowned, catching her breath while squeezing out words between her teeth: "Do you think a True Deity has that much free time? Even if the sect leader ran off, the Earth Immortal might not bother. At worst, the runaway will have a stretch of bad luck and gradually forget the techniques he learned from his original sect... Alright, stop talking to me now—can you wait until I finish binding this up before you ask? Can't you see I'm about to die of pain?!"

He Zhuoming let out an 'ah' and only then noticed Xu Feixian was drenched in cold sweat.

She quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Xu Feixian's sweat, obediently shut her mouth, but her mind was still buzzing with calculations.

The situation was far better than she'd imagined—she'd only be hunted by Pear Garden musicians, not by a True Deity. Going on the run for a while was still better than being toyed with by a mad True Deity.

And big sects were all pretty corrupt anyway. If the Pear Garden wasn't an option, she could just spend money to join some other sect. But if Lin Qingyun was unlucky enough to go bankrupt... come to think of it, does Lin Qingyun even have any assets? He spends money like water, with that young-master air about him—clearly spoiled rotten at home...

Suddenly He Zhuoming thought of a serious question: the original male lead... wasn't the original male lead a destitute orphan?!

Though she'd nearly forgotten all the original plot, He Zhuoming had always kept a vague impression of the male lead's character setup, especially the bit about losing both parents at the start, which she remembered clearly.

Xu Feixian: "What are you thinking about?"

Lost in the storm inside her head, He Zhuoming answered with the truth without thinking: "Thinking about Lin Qingyun."

Xu Feixian's hand twitched, and she pulled at her wound again.