The rain continued well into the latter half of the night.
Outside the Ancestral Master Hall.
Dugu Linglong and Jiang Che sat side by side beneath the eaves, neither in any hurry to break this rare quiet.
Only when the fire in the charcoal stove began to fade and the tea in the pot had gone cold did Dugu Linglong slowly rise.
"It's getting late."
She did not bring up Jiang Che's earlier, almost explicit confession of affection again.
Nor did Jiang Che press her for an answer.
Some things, once spoken aloud, were enough.
Dugu Linglong's willingness to draw closer of her own accord and quietly sit with him until now was an answer in itself.
Pressing her further would only spoil the closeness they had just begun to build.
Jiang Che rose with her and said with a gentle smile, "You should be able to sleep well tonight, Master."
Dugu Linglong glanced at him.
"You seem quite confident."
"At least I won't have to worry about a certain master sitting alone outside the Ancestral Master Hall from dusk until dawn."
Hearing the teasing in his voice.
A faint ripple stirred in Dugu Linglong's clear eyes.
She did not argue.
She simply turned and followed the covered corridor toward her room.
When she reached the end of the corridor.
Dugu Linglong suddenly paused.
"Jiang Che."
"Yes?"
With her back to Jiang Che, she pressed her pale lips together slightly.
"Good night."
Leaving him with that somewhat unfamiliar worldly greeting, Dugu Linglong walked straight into her room without looking back.
"Click."
The wooden door closed softly.
Jiang Che remained where he was, looking at the closed door as his smile gradually deepened.
It seemed all the time he had spent keeping her company on Mount Zhongnan had not been wasted...