Shen Manyun saw the delicate golden petals of the twilight orchid sway slightly, like the trembling wings of a butterfly.
It was indeed beautiful.
The blood needle she held in her hand slowly melted after fulfilling its purpose, leaving a drop of dried blood on her fingertip.
“What reward do you need?” Yan Feiguang’s large hand closed, and the twilight orchid Shen Manyun had been staring at disappeared.
Even her gaze felt empty.
“You saved me,” Shen Manyun said softly. She thought, this was a life-saving favor, and no repayment would be too much.
Shen Manyun sat still, not daring to ask Yan Feiguang who the flower was for. Such a question would be too intrusive.
She paid attention to him, but only dared to keep her thoughts hidden in her heart. This was his world, not hers.
The soul clan member lying on the bed finally took on a proper human form after recovering. His limbs were no longer limp, and his once- melted, blurred features now had clear contours.
He was a young boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a slender face, so beautiful he could be mistaken for a girl.
His exposed chest was pale, rising and falling slightly.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, their pitch-black color startling Shen Manyun.
She leaned back, knocking over a medicine bottle on the table, drawing Yan Feiguang’s attention.
“Sorry, but he… he’s awake,” Shen Manyun said, fearfully moving away.
Having seen the terrifying form of the soul clan earlier, her resistance was natural. People fear creatures that are similar to them but not quite the same.
Even though he now had a handsome appearance, Shen Manyun couldn’t forget how his limbs and features had melted and sprawled on the bed.
Yan Feiguang walked over, bandages wrapped around one hand. The boy on the bed stared straight at him, instinctively reaching up to touch his chest.
“City Lord, where’s the flower?” His voice was hoarse.
Yan Feiguang’s brow furrowed slightly. “Did I tell you to follow me?”
The boy’s eyelashes drooped. “N-no.”
“Within a thousand miles of Wuwang City, I only found this one twilight orchid. Today, I went to the cliff but didn’t see it. I searched the area for a long time, only to find you.”
Yan Feiguang pressed the boy back down as he struggled to sit up.
Shen Manyun felt out of place and stood up to leave. She looked down and saw a drop of Yan Feiguang’s blood on her fingertip.
She took a handkerchief to wipe it, distracted, but their conversation still reached her ears.
“City Lord, I’m sorry. I sneaked into your study and read… read that book. I just wanted to help you, to preserve that flower. I didn’t want you to…” the boy explained in a rush.
He tried to sit up again, but Yan Feiguang’s cold words stopped him. “Lie down.”
The boy saw the wound on his hand. “City Lord, you…”
He knew Yan Feiguang had saved him and murmured, “City Lord, it’s not necessary… not necessary. If we die, we die. If we can become nourishment for a flower before we die, it’s still valuable.”
“It wasn’t me who saved you,” Yan Feiguang’s voice grew heavy, the coldness in his tone softening slightly.
He turned to look at Shen Manyun, who was still wiping her hands. “It was her.”
Shen Manyun kept her head down, staring at the white handkerchief in her hand. Her hands were clean, but she kept fidgeting with the cloth.
She understood their conversation and knew why Yan Feiguang had saved her today.
For the twilight orchid to bloom and remain unspoiled through dusk, it needed to be nourished with flesh and blood. Yan Feiguang had originally intended to nurture the flower himself.
But this soul clan member had wanted to help him, so he secretly followed and planted the flower in his own body.
Yan Feiguang had gone to retrieve the flower as planned but couldn’t find it. While searching the area, he happened to find her, who had been attacked by a beast, and saved her on a whim.
That’s why he had left in such a hurry after bringing her back to Wuwang City.
He had saved her by accident, all because of that flower-the flower meant for the female lead.
Shen Manyun nodded, responding to Yan Feiguang’s words. “If you ever get injured again, come find me.”
She was more than willing to help Yan Feiguang with anything.
The boy leaned back on the bed, tilting his head as he observed her. He seemed reserved in front of outsiders.
After a moment, he said, “Thank you.”
Shen Manyun ran back to the room where she was recovering. Yan Feiguang also left, leaving the boy to recuperate in the clinic.
As night fell, Song Yuchen also had to go home. She told Shen Manyun not to be afraid of the soul clan members outside.
“They’re just like ordinary people, only a bit different when injured,” Song Yuchen said, handing Shen Manyun some medicine. “I’ll come back tomorrow. Rest well.”
Song Yuchen left, and the soul clan boy outside was indeed very quiet.
Shen Manyun lit a lamp and took out Yan Feiguang’s damaged cloak, continuing her mending work.
After repairing the soul clan member’s body, mending the cloak seemed simple, especially since the weaving technique was a familiar, conventional stitch.
She held a sewing needle, skillfully repairing the garment.
Shen Manyun was very focused on her work and didn’t notice the subtle changes in her surroundings.
Her room was separated from the outside by a floor-to-ceiling screen. At some point, a black shadow squeezed through the gap between the screen and the ceiling.
It slid slowly across the ceiling, stopping directly above Shen Manyun. Then, the shadow transformed into something resembling an eye, which hung down.
The eye hung beside Shen Manyun’s head, intently watching her movements without making a sound.
Shen Manyun sewed for a long time, unaware of the strange thing beside her ear.
After finishing the repairs on Yan Feiguang’s cloak, she spread it out and examined it carefully, ensuring every stitch was perfect.
The cloak still carried his scent, though it had faded. Shen Manyun folded it neatly and held it up.
As she was about to stand, she caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of her eye.
She turned her head sharply and met the gaze of the black eye hanging from the ceiling.
Instantly, her eyes widened in shock, and she stumbled backward.
Shen Manyun was usually very quiet, and even though she was terrified, she didn’t scream. She just kept backing away.
Until the owner of the eye spoke. His voice was hoarse, not pleasant, but familiar.
It was… the soul clan boy Yan Feiguang had brought back.
He was lying on the ceiling, saying to Shen Manyun, “You saved me? Just with a needle?”
Shen Manyun froze. She took a deep breath, accepting the situation. In this strange world, anything was possible.
“Yes,” her voice trembled.
The eye turned toward her, floating in front of her face, hovering just above her nose.
“The city is full of soul clan members like me. Is this your first time seeing one?”
“First time seeing one, and you can heal a soul clan’s injuries?”
“Who are you? Where are you from? Are you from Luodu?”
“What do you want with Wuwang City?”
The boy was wary, firing a series of questions at Shen Manyun.
Shen Manyun only knew where Luodu was—i s—it was the royal capital where the female lead resided, thousands of miles away.
Shen Manyun shook her head repeatedly. “I come from a very, very faraway place.”
“So far that I might not be able to return…” she said softly.
He seemed to accept her answer. The shadow hanging from the ceiling fell to the ground, transforming into a delicate-looking boy.
“Xinglan, my name is Xinglan,” he said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He wore only a black robe, making him look very thin.
Shen Manyun calmed down and nodded, placing Yan Feiguang’s cloak on the table.
She asked, “What did you come to see?”
She thought there was nothing in her room worth spying on.
Xinglan reached out to Shen Manyun. In his palm was a dirty, crumpled paper-wrapped candy. It had been in his hand for so long that its
shape had changed.
“Thank you,” he said to Shen Manyun.
Shen Manyun took the candy.
Xinglan tilted his head. “Eat it.”
Shen Manyun didn’t mind the dirt. She unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth. The candy had been in Xinglan’s possession for so long that it had softened, giving it a strange texture.
Xinglan smiled. “The City Lord gave it to me on my birthday.”
Ah, Yan Feiguang again. Shen Manyun blinked. She had never imagined she could be so close to a character from the book.
The surrounding lights were dim, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. She stayed still for a while before handing Yan Feiguang’s cloak to
Xinglan.
“This is his cloak. Since you’re close to him, could you return it to him for me?” she asked.
Xinglan took the cloak, holding it against his chest with both hands. “Why don’t you return it to him yourself?”
“Me?” Shen Manyun’s eyelashes lowered.
She didn’t yet have the desire to interact too much with the characters from the book. She wanted to keep her distance from everyone in
Wuwang City.
“You worked so hard to repair it,” Xinglan said, staring intently at Shen Manyun.
Shen Manyun avoided his gaze, looking down. Xinglan transformed back into the strange shadow, bringing his eye to the center of Shen
Manyun’s lowered vision.
She couldn’t avoid his stare.
“It’s not too late. The City Lord hasn’t gone to bed yet. I’ll take you to see him,” Xinglan said.
Shen Manyun wanted to refuse, but Xinglan’s shadowy form had already lifted her up.
“Your eyes tell me you really want to see him,” Xinglan said.
Shen Manyun desperately wanted to cover his mouth but couldn’t find where his mouth was.
Xinglan flew up, and Shen Manyun lost her balance, falling onto the shadow.
“We both want to see him. I do too. If the City Lord finds me, I’ll say you brought me. Heehee.”
Xinglan had his own agenda. He knew Yan Feiguang was angry at him for acting on his own.
Yan Feiguang was upset that he had risked his life to plant the twilight orchid in his own body. “Don’t…” Shen Manyun’s refusal was soft, carrying no weight.
Xinglan was still a child, doing as he pleased. He ignored Shen Manyun’s words and took her out.
For Shen Manyun, this was also a novel experience. Xinglan carried her out through the clinic’s window.
He didn’t fly too fast, so she could barely maintain her balance on the shadowy form.
Shen Manyun’s hands carefully gripped the front of the shadow. She wasn’t sure what part of Xinglan she was holding.
“Don’t fall,” Xinglan reminded her.
“Oh… then… what is this?” Shen Manyun asked.
“It’s an ear,” Xinglan replied.
Shen Manyun immediately let go. The air was filled with the raspy laughter of a child. “You’re so fun. Besides the City Lord, you’re the first
person to play with me like this.”
Shen Manyun reached out and touched what seemed to be his head.
Xinglan led her to the center of Wuwang City, flying above the City Lord’s mansion. He accurately found Yan Feiguang’s study.
Shen Manyun couldn’t believe she was doing something so bold.
Xinglan landed on the study’s roof. Shen Manyun sat nervously on the tiles, afraid of falling.
Xinglan, however, moved nimbly. He skillfully lifted a tile from the study’s roof and pulled Shen Manyun to look down.
Yan Feiguang was indeed in the study. On the desk in front of him was a brocade box.
At that moment, he carefully placed the twilight orchid into the box, meticulously arranging each petal.
Shen Manyun stared at his hands and the flower, thinking to herself that the scene from the book where Yan Feiguang gives the flower to
the female lead was actually happening before her eyes.
It was so vivid and real, more moving than the few lines in the book.
Xinglan lay beside the roof opening, quietly saying to Shen Manyun, “It hurt so much when the flower grew. I thought I was going to die.”
Shen Manyun was stunned for a moment but noticed that Yan Feiguang in the study had looked up.
Xinglan continued speaking.
“It hurt so much I couldn’t bear it, but… if I had listened to the City Lord, the flower would have grown in his chest.”
“He must have known it would be painful and bitter, so he hid that ancient book, not wanting me to find it.”
“He must really love that girl from Luodu, right?”
Xinglan turned to ask Shen Manyun.
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