The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 44

Senior Sister leaves a kiss upon her heart.

After finishing the application of the ointment for her Senior Sister, Wen Qiwu felt a thin layer of sweat coating her back. It hadn’t felt this taxing even back when she was clearing out the vengeful spirits wandering the heart of the Endless Sea of Trees.

“The… the medicine is on. Hurry and get dressed so you don’t catch a cold.” Wen Qiwu kept her eyes lowered, not daring to look up. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized how foolish they sounded, Yun Heng was a True Immortal with an ice root; she hardly needed to worry about catching a chill. The remark felt like a clumsy attempt to cover up her own agitation.

Her face flushed crimson. Hurriedly packing away the ointment, she intended to find somewhere else to cool off and regain her composure.

Was it just my imagination? She wondered. It felt like Senior Sister did that on purpose… No, no, that’s not her personality. I must be overthinking things.

Lost in thought, Wen Qiwu hadn’t noticed her gaze drifting aimlessly. When she caught a glimpse of the snowy-white skin just below her Senior Sister’s neckline as she dressed, a rush of heat surged straight to her face.

Did Senior Sister truly not realise how much of an attraction she held? How could she… how could she possibly…

No, Senior Sister has a heart demon. She is a patient. I am the one who needs to be careful, Wen Qiwu admonished herself. You cannot take advantage of someone in her state! Besides, once she’s recovered and the obsession born of her guilt vanishes along with the heart demon, who knows if she’ll just revert to her old self?

Being confined to the Cliff of Reflection once was more than enough.

Wen Qiwu’s expression shifted from red to pale and back again. She sighed inwardly, warning herself not to cross the line. Just as she gathered the medicine to leave, Yun Heng, sensing the change in her mood, reached out and caught her wrist.

Because the movement was so sudden, the robes she had only just draped over her shoulders slid down significantly. Wen Qiwu turned around only to be met with a breathtaking sight.

Unable to withstand such a visual, Wen Qiwu frantically pulled the lapels of the robe back together. If this happened a few more times, she felt she might actually become a saint.

“A-Que, where are you going?” There was a faint trace of fear in Yun Heng’s expression a fear that her Junior Sister would leave without a word, a fear that everything before her was nothing but a dream.

“I…” Senior Sister’s eyes looked so pitiable that Wen Qiwu couldn’t bring herself to say she needed some space. Instead, she said, “I’m just putting these medicine boxes over there. I’m not leaving the room.”

Senior Sister didn’t let go. Resigned, Wen Qiwu could only set the items down on a low cabinet nearby.

“Have your own wounds been tended to?” Yun Heng raised her other hand, gently resting it over Wen Qiwu’s heart. This was a fresh wound, and she didn’t dare apply pressure.

“I’ll take care of it myself in a moment,” Wen Qiwu replied, glancing down. To her, these were minor injuries, hardly worth the fuss.

Yun Heng pursed her lips. Her own wounds had stopped bleeding, even if they hadn’t fully closed, yet she caught the scent of blood that shouldn’t have been there. She gently nudged aside Wen Qiwu’s lapel and saw a faint red stain seeping through the bandage.

“The wound has opened” Yun Heng’s voice trembled. She hurriedly unwrapped the gauze. Sure enough, the unhealed cut was weeping blood; Wen Qiwu must have strained it without noticing.

There was a finger-length incision over her heart. The Medical Immortal’s knife skills were superb, ensuring she didn’t suffer excessively, but to guarantee the potency of the heart-blood, a special tool had been used that made the wound difficult to knit back together.

Wen Qiwu looked at the blood-stained gauze. No wonder her chest had been aching; it seemed she had pulled the unhealed wound.

Yun Heng turned as pale as paper. Though the wound wasn’t large, it was directly over the heart, and the steady trickle of blood looked terrifying.

“Quick, sit down.” Yun Heng treated her with the frantic care one would give a critically injured patient. She helped her Junior Sister sit on the edge of the bed, using her immortal power to staunch the bleeding before taking the ointment from Wen Qiwu to apply it herself.

Yun Heng’s movements were meticulous and tender. She quickly finished the application and re-wrapped the wound.

This is the wound she took to give me her heart-blood… Yun Heng felt the metallic taste of blood she had tasted before haunting her heart again, heavy and painful.

“A-Que, tell me the truth. Does it hurt?” Yun Heng asked softly.

Wen Qiwu instinctively shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

But with the wound right there, saying she felt nothing at all would sound like a lie. “It’s just a little bit uncomfortable,” she added, downplaying it.

Taking heart blood is excruciating, Yun Heng thought. Even with the Medical Immortal watching over her, A-Que’s vitality must have taken a hit. Why hadn’t the Medical Immortal stopped her? Yun Heng looked at the wound with profound heartache; if she could, she would have transferred the injury to herself in a heartbeat.

Yun Heng leaned down, mimicking the way Wen Qiwu had just blown on her own wounds. She blew a gentle breath onto the gauze covering her Junior Sister’s heart. Her breath was cool, and that playful chill seeped through Wen Qiwu’s skin and into her soul. Enveloped by her Senior Sister’s cold fragrance, Wen Qiwu trembled slightly. She should have felt cold, yet that slight chill turned into an inexplicable, restless heat once it reached her chest.

Being held by her Senior Sister, she let out an involuntary, soft gasp.

Realising what she had done, Wen Qiwu’s face turned bright red, and she wanted nothing more than to bolt out the door. However, at that moment, she felt a soft, delicate touch against the area of her heart.

Wen Qiwu’s eyes widened in shock. She looked down dizzily; her Senior Sister had kissed the site of her wound.

By the time Wen Qiwu regained her senses, her hands had already pushed her Senior Sister away. Yun Heng looked back at her with a gaze full of hurt and confusion.

“A-Que” Like someone who had done something terribly wrong, her Senior Sister cautiously reached for her hand, her eyes silently asking what she had done amiss.

In truth, Yun Heng’s internal thoughts were far more radical: Why did A-Que push me away? Does she… no longer want to accept me?

“Dark” emotions churned within Yun Heng’s heart, and her heart demon let out a hideous laugh.

Wen Qiwu noticed a faint red shimmer swirling in the depths of her Senior Sister’s eyes a clear omen of demonic possession. She remembered the Medical Immortal saying that her Senior Sister was currently in a dangerous stage of being haunted by a heart demon; she had to be humored and kept calm to prevent the demon from taking hold.

She could only pull her Senior Sister gently into her arms, slowly smoothing away the rising crimson in her eyes.

“Senior Sister, I… I’ve grown up. Some things aren’t appropriate between sisters, especially an intimate gesture like that. It’s… It’s just not good.” Not good for my heart, and certainly not good for my body, she thought. Senior Sister had no idea of the power she held over her, yet now she wasn’t even maintaining a proper distance. Wen Qiwu truly feared she might do something she would later regret.

This was once everything she had dreamed of, but now, Wen Qiwu couldn’t help but recall the Medical Immortal’s story of the couple ruined by heart demons. Her heart felt as though it had been doused in cold water. If she grew used to this life, and Senior Sister later wanted to retreat back to being “just sisters,” she wouldn’t be able to handle the fall from grace.

Wen Qiwu felt the ache in her chest again. After hearing those words, Yun Heng opened her mouth to speak, but it took a long while before she whispered, “I don’t want to be just your sister. A-Que, I want to form a Dao Companion Covenant with you.”

A… Dao Companion Covenant?

Hearing those words, Wen Qiwu’s grip tightened. Even knowing that these words might be influenced by the heart demon, she still felt dizzy with emotion. It took a long moment before she gently patted her Senior Sister’s back and said, “Alright, alright. I hear you.”

“But let’s talk about this after you’ve recovered, okay?”

Junior Sister doesn’t trust me.

Realising this, Yun Heng felt a sharp pang in her chest. It was her own fault; she was the one who hadn’t given her Junior Sister enough reason to trust her.

Her eyes stung. This was her own doing. It didn’t matter, they had a vast stretch of time ahead of them. She would wait until her Junior Sister let down her guard.

“Qiwu, I love you,” Yun Heng murmured into her embrace, her voice sounding more earnest with every repetition.

Sweetness and sorrow intertwined in Wen Qiwu’s heart, eventually leaving a bitter aftertaste.

If only Senior Sister had given her this answer a hundred years ago. Now, with her suddenly declaring her love, was it truly from her heart, or was it a confession forced by the heart demon?

Ultimately, the Yun Heng of the past had been too decisive, leaving no room for retreat. Now that she was personally offering Wen Qiwu a piece of sugar, Wen Qiwu couldn’t help but wonder if it had a bitter melon core.

“Come, take these medicines. Rest well after you’ve finished them. Don’t worry, I’ll stay right here until you fall asleep.” Wen Qiwu used various pills to silence Yun Heng’s voice.

Most of these medicines had soul-soothing properties. Coupled with Wen Qiwu’s promise to stay—even lying down beside her fully clothed to coax her to sleep. Yun Heng finally drifted off.

At first, her sleep was peaceful, but eventually, nightmares began to plague her. She dreamt that her Junior Sister had left for a very, very distant place with someone else. She dreamt A-Que had abandoned her, saying she was boring and stiff and unfit to be a Dao companion. Yun Heng woke up with a start, terrified.

Aside from the nightmare, it was the first time she had slept properly rather than simply losing consciousness. The surroundings were deathly quiet. She instinctively reached out for her Junior Sister.

She soon realised there was no trace of her Junior Sister’s aura on the mountain—nor in the entire sect! She scrambled out of bed in a panic. Fortunately, there was a paper crane used for messaging on the low cabinet. Yun Heng infused it with her power, and her Junior Sister’s voice rang out:

“I heard from A-Fu that the passage at the Endless Sea of Trees is unstable and might close early, so I’ve headed there first. Listen to the Medical Immortal and recover well…”

Yun Heng listened to the message over and over again. Only then did her heart, which had almost plummeted into an ice cellar, begin to warm again. A-Que was back; it wasn’t a dream. There was no need to fear…

It was just that her Junior Sister had gone to the Endless Sea of Trees, and it was that person named “A-Fu” who had called her away.

The paper crane in Yun Heng’s hand was crushed into a ball.

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