The next morning, warm sunlight still bathed the world.
After the harrowing Immortal Selection Exam the day before, Daiyu felt utterly drained. She had originally wanted to spend the day resting, staying in the study with Third Sister Tanchun and going nowhere. She certainly had no desire to cultivate.
Unexpectedly, not long after they had finished breakfast, a lively hubbub of laughter and conversation rose outside the courtyard gate.
When Zijuan lifted the study's curtain and looked out, she saw Yingchun, Xue Baochai, Baoyu, and Li Wan arriving together, as though by prior agreement.
Zijuan and Xueyan hurried out to greet them, then ushered everyone into the main room.
Soon, Daiyu, who had been waiting in the study, saw them. Sister Yingchun wore a lotus-root-pink skirt embroidered with magnolia branches and remained as gentle and serene as ever. Xue Baochai wore a pale purple brocade jacket patterned with winding lotus vines, over which she had draped a moon-white vest. Her outfit was elegant and dignified, and a quiet steadiness showed between her brows. Sister-in-law Li Wan wore a moon-white silk jacket and a dark blue satin skirt. Though her colors were subdued, they only heightened the purity of a woman who had remained chaste.
As for her cousin Baoyu, he still wore his casual silver-red arrow-sleeved robe with its scattered floral pattern, cinched with a multicolored silk sash. The jade stone of spiritual understanding still hung at his neck. He looked spirited, though there was a hint of impatience in his expression.
But their clothes were unimportant. What mattered was that when they met, the inevitable greetings and pleasantries followed.
Of them all, Baoyu was the most impatient.
He circled Daiyu twice, looking her up and down, then asked anxiously,
"Little Sister Lin, did yesterday wear you out?"
"I heard