Silence in the Sunlight and the Sound of Bells

Xiao Xiaoxiao's voice was as faint as melting snow in early spring, yet it fell clearly into the silent room.

Tang San froze for nearly a second before reacting. He immediately rose to his feet, his haste making his movements seem somewhat clumsy. He knocked over the chair beside him with a soft clatter, but did not stop to pick it up. He hurried into the outer room, poured a cup of warm water, and swiftly returned to the bedside.

Seeing Xiao Xiaoxiao struggle to raise her head, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out. Somewhat stiffly, he supported the back of her neck and carefully brought the cup to her cracked lips.

Xiao Xiaoxiao drank the warm water from his hand in small sips. The cool liquid slid down her burning throat, bringing an indescribable sense of relief. She drank slowly, needing to pause after every sip. Her long lashes hung low, casting shadows over her pale cheeks.

Tang San maintained his supporting posture without moving. He could clearly feel the faint warmth of her skin and its fragile vulnerability beneath his hand. Lowering his eyes, he looked at the face so close to his own, at the slight movement of her throat as she drank. An unfamiliar feeling, mixed with relief and something he could not put into words, quietly spread through his heart.

After finishing the cup of water, Xiao Xiaoxiao seemed to regain a little strength. She lay back down on the pillow. Her gaze was still somewhat unfocused, but she could now focus it on Tang San's face.

"How... long was I asleep?" Her voice remained hoarse.

"Seven days." Tang San set the cup aside and answered concisely, but his eyes never left her face, as if confirming that she was truly awake.

"Seven days..." Xiao Xiaoxiao murmured. Her memories slowly returned like the tide: the dangers of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Ghost Shadow Spider's ambush, and that final, desperate Mental Shock... She instinctively tried to touch her head, only to find that her arm was too heavy to lift.

"Don't move around." Tang San's voice stopped her. "Your Spiritual Power has been severely depleted. You need to rest and recover."

His tone remained calm, yet Xiao Xiaoxiao heard something in it... something different from before. Was she imagining it?

Only then did she notice the small piece of Osmanthus Cake beside her pillow, its faint sweet fragrance lingering at the tip of her nose. She looked at Tang San in confusion.

Tang San followed her gaze. The tips of his ears seemed to flush almost imperceptibly, though his tone remained even. "You... bought it before. It would just sit there otherwise."

That explanation was hardly convincing. Xiao Xiaoxiao looked at his composed side profile, and that strange feeling inside her became clearer. This blockhead...

She did not expose him. She merely gave a soft "Mm" and closed her eyes again. Weariness surged over her once more like a tide, but this time it was no longer the frightening darkness from before. Instead, it carried a strange sense of reassurance.

Seeing her close her eyes again and her breathing gradually steady, Tang San knew she had fallen asleep once more. This time, however, it was ordinary sleep. He quietly sat beside the bed and did not leave at once. Moonlight flowed silently, stretching their shadows until they intertwined.

Over the following days, Xiao Xiaoxiao recovered quickly under Teacher Shao Xin's careful treatment and her companions' alternating care. Though her Spiritual Power remained fragile and she could not use Soul Power, she was already able to get out of bed and walk slowly. Her complexion had also grown much rosier.

During this time, the name Shrek Eight Devils also became truly renowned. Whenever Dai Mubai and the others came to visit her, they would laughingly call her "Eighth Sister" or "Xiaoxiao Monster," leaving Xiao Xiaoxiao both amused and warmhearted. She understood that she had truly been accepted by this group.

As for Tang San, he was still the same quiet Tang San. Yet he appeared in the infirmary far more often. Sometimes he brought medicinal ingredients that Teacher Shao Xin had requested. Sometimes he brought fruit purchased outside, supposedly beneficial for Spiritual Power. Sometimes, when she was able to sit up, he simply sat nearby in silence, polishing his Hidden Weapons or reading the Poison Scripture he never let out of his sight.

The two rarely spoke. More often than not, one would read or polish Hidden Weapons while the other stared blankly out the window or rested with her eyes closed. Yet an invisible, subtle atmosphere quietly grew amid the silence.

That afternoon, the sunlight was wonderful. Xiao Xiaoxiao reclined in a cushioned chair by the window, watching Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing spar in the courtyard while Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong chattered away nearby, offering commentary. Ma Hongjun and Oscar were arguing about something, their faces flushed red.

Tang San sat on a small stool not far across from her, his head lowered as he polished a small metal object. His focused side profile looked sharply defined beneath the sunlight.

Without realizing it, Xiao Xiaoxiao's gaze shifted from the window to his hands. His fingers were long and knuckled, covered in a thin layer of calluses, while his movements were steady and precise. She remembered those hands gripping the Spider Lance with such determination, carefully offering her a cup of water, and intently polishing Hidden Weapons...

"What are you looking at?" Tang San suddenly asked without raising his head, his voice calm.

Xiao Xiaoxiao jumped, feeling like she had been caught doing something wrong. Her cheeks warmed as she instinctively retorted, "Who's looking at you? I was looking outside!"

Tang San raised his head and looked at her with deep eyes. A faint trace of amusement seemed to flash within them, so quickly that she might have imagined it. He did not call her out. He merely held out the item he had finished polishing.

It was a small Silver Bell, simple and antique in design. It somewhat resembled the one Xiao Xiaoxiao had bought in Suotuo City, but its craftsmanship was clearly far more refined. Fine, intricate cloud patterns had been carved across its surface, while an even smaller, dark-colored clapper hung in its center.

"This is..." Xiao Xiaoxiao accepted it in confusion. The bell was cool and smooth in her hand.

"I tried making it." Tang San spoke as if it were something insignificant. "I added some calming metal and adjusted the sound frequency. It should work better than the one you bought. When your Spiritual Power is unstable, you can shake it."

Xiao Xiaoxiao froze, clutching the small bell as something lightly struck her heart. It felt sour and bittersweet, yet carried an inexplicable sweetness. She had not expected him to notice even such a trivial matter as her buying a bell, much less... make a better one especially for her.

She lowered her head to look at the delicate cloud patterns on the bell, unconsciously rubbing them with her fingers. For a moment, she did not know what to say. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice and shone upon the faint redness at the tips of her ears.

Tang San looked at her lowered lashes and that suspicious blush. His gaze softened for an instant before returning to its usual calm. He lowered his head again, picked up another Hidden Weapon, and continued polishing it, as though he had merely handed her a cup of water moments ago.

The room fell silent again, but this silence was no longer the awkwardness of having nothing to say. It was a quiet stillness flowing with warmth, one that needed no words. The noise of their companions outside and the faint sound of Metal Friction within the room intertwined into a plain yet comforting backdrop.

Xiao Xiaoxiao gently shook the bell in her hand.

"Ding—"

The sound was neither crisp nor loud. Instead, it was low and husky, carrying a peculiar rhythm, like the lingering reverberation of a temple bell as it slowly drifted outward. As the sound reached her ears, the sea of consciousness that had been faintly aching and restlessly churning seemed to be gently stroked by a tender hand, calming almost instantly.

She raised her head and looked at the boy across from her, once again immersed in his own world. Sunlight danced through his hair, casting faint light and shadow across his focused side profile.

In some corner of her heart, a seed seemed to fall with that chime—softly, yet firmly.

Perhaps the meaning of her crossing into this world was not merely to change the so-called "plot."

Perhaps this real, quiet boy before her—the one who stood before her in moments of life and death, silently remembered what she liked, and carefully made a calming bell for her—was the present she should hold onto tightly.

Xiao Xiaoxiao clenched the bell tightly in her palm. The cold metal gradually warmed against her skin. She turned her head and looked once more at the bright sunlight outside and her laughing companions, a genuine, gentle curve rising at the corner of her lips.

No one knew what the future would bring. But at least for this moment, the sunlight was just right, the bell's sound still lingered, and that person was by her side.

That was enough.