My Senior Sister Says She Will Marry No One But Me - Chapter 23

“Sect Master? Sect Master?” In a state between dreaming and waking, Du Yunge faintly heard several anxious voices calling out to her, each tinged with a desperation that bordered on tears:

“Sect Master, please wake up!”

When Du Yunge slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbed with pain. That hazy sensation, as if everything were veiled by a layer of gauze, had returned. Yet this time, it felt subtly different from when she had come back to life before at least now, things didn’t seem entirely unreal. Struggling, she reached a hand out from under the quilt and touched her forehead, suddenly realizing:

Oh, so I have a fever.

The dream she had just experienced felt so vivid, so real more like a replay of the world where she had died in her previous life than a mere dream. Confirming that her current dizziness was due to a fever actually brought her a sense of relief. It meant she hadn’t carelessly died a second time, and this thought comforted her so much that she even let out a soft laugh. However, her laughter only intensified the distress of the maids around her:

“Sect Master… Sect Master, please hold on a little longer! Senior Sister Xue will bring Guardian Xia back soon!”

Du Yunge wanted to ask what was happening, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat burned with a searing pain. A maid quickly brought her a bowl of water, speaking in a whisper so gentle it seemed as if a louder voice might shatter her:

“Sect Master, please have some water.”

With the support of her maids, Du Yunge struggled to sit up and take a sip. Her voice hoarse, she said:

“I’m already awake, why bother… cough… please, don’t trouble anyone… let my Senior Sister Xue come back.”

Even in her severely ill state, her words disjointed, her first thought was still to avoid inconveniencing others. The maids couldn’t help but think, Our Sect Master is truly a rare kind soul, ah, if only she weren’t so naive. Who could be so fortunate, as if their ancestors had accumulated boundless blessings over eight generations, to marry our Sect Master?

No sooner had Du Yunge spoken than Xue Shuyan rushed in, taking three steps in one, bringing a chill from outside into the warm, medicine-scented room. Her eyes immediately fell upon Du Yunge, who was half-sitting up in the canopy bed, and she visibly relaxed with relief. But then, realizing how cold she was, she took half a step back, just as Xia Yecheng entered and gave her a puzzled look, asking softly:

“What are you doing?”

Although her name was also given by the former sect leader, derived from the serene and graceful line, “The wind sweeps the ancient tomb with clear sky rain, the moon shines on the flat sands with summer night frost,” and though her appearance was that of a delicate, pitiable woman who evoked an instinctive desire to protect, the impact of her speech was nearly on par with Feng Chengchun’s. It was enough to make one completely overlook the fact that she was an extremely introverted and shy person who would blush at the slightest raise of her voice. Truly, accents are a curious thing even after more than a decade away from her homeland, Xia Yeshuang had never fully shed her Sichuan accent, which inexplicably made people want to laugh.

Xue Shuyan answered honestly, “I was afraid the cold air I carried would chill my junior sister.”

Xia Yeshuang was clearly taken aback by Xue Shuyan’s unexpectedly considerate and meticulous behavior, which contrasted sharply with her icy exterior. “…Even if the sect leader isn’t highly skilled in martial arts, she still has a solid foundation. She’s not that weak, you know. If you want to see her, go ahead. If you’re worried, you can wait a bit before approaching.”

In truth, the weather wasn’t particularly cold after all, the first frost had only just passed a few days prior. However, Xue Shuyan’s martial arts technique leaned toward the cold element, causing her aura to be slightly chillier than others when she ventured outside. So, Xue Shuyan patiently waited until the cold energy around her had completely dissipated before approaching Du Yunge’s bedside and asking:

“What’s wrong with Yunge? Is it a cold?”

Du Yunge thought to herself, Good question, I’d like to know too. But her throat was so swollen and painful that even the slightest movement caused sharp pain. She could only wait quietly as Physician Xia finished her examination, putting away her medicine box and pulse pillow before saying:

“The pulse is slow and intermittently stops at fixed intervals. It shouldn’t be a cold it seems more like a nightmare-induced affliction.”

Before coming to Wangyou Mountain, Xia Yeshuang was the eldest daughter of a renowned medical family in the Sichuan region. Unfortunately, her family had backed the wrong side politically. That year also coincided with turmoil as southwestern barbarians invaded the frontier. Under immense pressure, the family fell into ruin, and the once-prestigious medical household was reduced to selling their daughters to survive. Upon hearing of this tragedy, the former leader of the Miaoyin Sect immediately set out with the still-young Feng Chengchun. They traveled day and night from Liaodong to Sichuan, exhausting a dozen horses along the way, and managed to intercept the human trafficker just as Xia Yeshuang was about to be sold into servitude. After renaming her Xia Yeshuang, the former sect leader took her under the wing of the Miaoyin Sect.

As a girl from a medical family, she had already missed the optimal age for martial arts training. No matter how hard she practiced later in life, she could only achieve self-defense at best. Fortunately, her medical skills were extraordinary, and she was tasked with caring for the former sect leader’s daily needs. After the former sect leader’s passing, her responsibilities naturally shifted to Du Yunge.

Xia Yueshuang’s daily care for Du Yunge was already remarkably thorough. From planning her daily meals to selecting incense and bath beans, every detail was meticulously arranged. Under Xia Yueshuang’s attentive care, Du Yunge had never fallen seriously ill over the years. Even during the autumn and winter seasons, when others might succumb to illness, Du Yunge remained as lively as the monkeys in the back hills of Wangyou Mountain. So, when Xia Yieshuang went down the mountain to buy medicine and books, she ventured farther than usual, never expecting Du Yunge to fall ill at such a critical moment. In the end, it was Xue Shuyan, the most skilled in martial arts, who volunteered to go down the mountain and bring back Xia Yueshuang who had always held some reservations about Xue Shuyan’s mixed Hu heritage overnight.

Although “nightmare possession” was not a common ailment, Xue Shuyan had heard of it. Moreover, the family Xia Yueshuang once belonged to, while not adept at political alignments, was unparalleled in the field of medicine. Additionally, a few days earlier, Du Yunge had thrown herself into Xue Shuyan’s arms and wept bitterly. All these factors combined made Xia Yueshuang’s diagnosis more convincing. The maids nearby chimed in anxiously, “The sect leader was sleeping soundly when she suddenly started crying and developed a high fever. We couldn’t wake her no matter how hard we tried you saw it too, Senior Sister Xue! It must be nightmare possession. Please, Guardian Xia, quickly prescribe a remedy for the sect leader!”

Yet Xia Yueshuang did not rush to write a prescription. Instead, she gently smoothed Du Yunge’s sweat-drenched hair and asked softly, “What did you dream about?”

Her gentle inquiry only deepened Du Yunge’s sorrow. It was like a child who, after falling, might not cry unless comforted by someone. In that moment of reassurance, the child feels safe enough to release all the pent-up grievances. A sick person is not one to reason with, and Du Yunge was no exception. Sobbing, she reached out, bypassing Xia Yueshuang, and clutched the hem of Xue Shuyan’s robe, who stood slightly farther away. Choking back tears, she said:

“Senior Sister, I dreamed that I was so foolish, trusting the wrong person. From that moment on, one mistake led to another, until I died far from home, and you had to travel thousands of miles to bring my spirit back to my homeland.”

“I promise I won’t be that foolish again. Please, Senior Sister take care of yourself.”

“Don’t listen to their nonsense,” Xue Shuyan replied, having already developed her own method of comforting Du Yunge. With practiced ease, she tucked the corners of Du Yunge’s quilt snugly around her and softened her voice as much as possible though to others, it still sounded as cold as ever. “It’s the world that’s flawed, not you.”

“Every person is born with an innocent heart, honest and straightforward, with nothing to hide and no inclination toward deceit or malice. If everyone in the world were like you, it would be an era of peace and prosperity… Sadly, with the chaos between the Hu and Han peoples, these are far from prosperous times.”

She naturally had a Hu accent, giving everything she said a deliberate, resonant quality. But when she uttered the phrase “Hu and Han intermingling,” she paused unusually, a hint of hesitation emerging. Among the maids surrounding Du Yunge’s canopy bed, a few also changed expressions likely young women from families who had suffered greatly from Hu rebellions. Yet, Xue Shuyan continued to comfort Du Yunge without omitting a single word, carrying an air of “your opinions mean nothing to me, and if you have issues with that, so be it, I only care that my shimei is well.”

“Life’s hardships wear away the innate innocence everyone is born with. People abandon kindness, adopt all sorts of vices, and become slick and cunning through rough experiences, only to turn around and mock those who remain truly good… You have nothing to be laughed at, Yunge.”

“Truly, the times are not good.”

Her words were almost identical to what the Xue Shuyan in Du Yunge’s dream had said. The more Du Yunge listened, the more frightened she became, her mind filled with thoughts like, “What if I’ve died once and am no longer so naive? What if Shijie thinks I’ve changed and decides not to stay in Miaoyin Sect?” Overwhelmed with emotion, she couldn’t help but voice her fear:

“But if I too am worn down and changed… will Shijie still care for me?”

Xue Shuyan was taken aback for a moment, then revealed a rare, comforting smile.

She closed her eyes slightly and leaned down until her lips were barely half an inch from Du Yunge’s cheek. Their breaths mingled so closely it seemed as if she were about to kiss her, but in the end, she did nothing. Instead, she gently smoothed out a strand of Du Yunge’s sweat-tangled hair, a gesture that could hardly be considered improper. Under Xia Yeshuang’s disapproving gaze, Xue Shuyan sighed softly and said:

“Whether you change or not, in my eyes, you will always be the best.”

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