Missing Thoughts Literature

Yingying had indeed stared at Mei Chengyu for a long time. Mei Chengyu neither dodged nor avoided her gaze, simply letting her look.

The two seemed to be silently challenging each other. One thought, Let's see how long you can keep staring.

The other thought, I'm going to keep looking.

Sage Chang Gen didn't concern himself with this sort of childish squabbling.

For a while, the only sound inside the great hall was the rain pouring outside.

Yingying studied Mei Chengyu's features closely. She felt her master hadn't been joking. He had been seriously warning her not to bring up that sort of topic with Mei Chengyu.

Because Mei Chengyu really would do it.

In Yingying's eyes, Mei Chengyu, sitting motionless, looked like a black-and-white painting, much like the portraits of the ancestral masters hanging in the great hall. With only a few black strokes, they sketched lifelike figures.

Yet the ancestral masters in the portraits all looked benevolent, full of compassion for the people and the world.

The Senior Martial Brother sketched in black lines, however, looked cold. Frozen in time, the disdain for the world deep in his eyes was unchangeable.

But if he blinked, shifted his eyes, or lifted a brow, he would instantly come alive, stepping out of that dark, icy portrait.

The Great Hall Door wasn't fully shut. Gusts carrying the rain battered it. Mei Chengyu was leaning in a spot facing the entrance, and the night wind lifted a few strands of his hair, making them flutter for a moment as his gaze met Yingying's.

The wind and rain raged, but her heart was still.

Yingying was still looking at him.

Studying him seriously, carefully.

Mei Chengyu was looking at her too when he suddenly asked, "Aren't you changing your bandages?"

Yingying blinked. Only then did she reach up and touch the Medicated Cloth around her neck, remembering that it was time to take it off.

"I need to, but I can't do it by myself." Yingying rolled up her sleeve and touched the Medicated Cloth wrapped around her arm. "The outer city is too far, and it's late, with a storm like this."

"Then go to the Medical School," Mei Chengyu said.

The Medical School was quite close to the Ghost Dao School.

Every Medical School disciple had their own herb garden. As soon as you entered the school, you could smell all kinds of strange medicinal scents, sometimes fresh and pleasant, sometimes bitter.

Terraced fields wound in spirals up toward the clouds. Every plot was filled with flowers, herbs, and medicinal plants. The rain was pouring tonight, and in the faint starlight, the water rushing through the distant terraces was just barely visible.

The Grade A Disciple on duty at the clinic tonight was Shi Yuezhen.

She had only returned from completing a trial on the Neighboring Island a couple of days ago, and had immediately found herself assigned to a duty shift. Now she sat behind the desk, flipping through a Medical Book and occasionally jotting down a few key points.

Cang Shu stood beside her, helping count and pack the medicines.

The lantern by the door swayed in the night wind, its shadow flickering across the ground. Cang Shu kept glancing outside now and then. When he saw Mei Chengyu bringing Yingying over, his expression remained mild, betraying no particular surprise.

Yingying and Mei Chengyu each held an umbrella. They closed them at the entrance and leaned them against the wall outside.

Shi Yuezhen rested her face on one hand, her expression gentle and her eyes smiling as she looked at them.

"How rare." Shi Yuezhen's voice was soft as she asked warmly, "Are you here for treatment or medicine?"

Mei Chengyu gestured toward Yingying behind him with his eyes. "Change her bandages."

Yingying peeked out from behind her Senior Martial Brother. Her gaze swept over Cang Shu, whom she had met before, then landed on the woman in white seated behind the desk.

The woman had lovely features and an elegant bearing. When Yingying looked her way, she met her gaze with a faint smile, as gentle as a spring breeze and instantly likable.

Yet there was something unusual about her eyes.

Her left eye was almond-shaped, gentle and lively, but her right eye was nothing but white, with no pupil. It looked somewhat frightening.

Unexpectedly, the peaceful aura surrounding her made the strangeness of her right eye seem much less pronounced.

It even made you forget about it.

Shi Yuezhen stood and said to Yingying, "Come over here."

She led Yingying into the partitioned room opposite and drew the curtain closed.

Yingying sat by the small bed in the partitioned room. Following Shi Yuezhen's instructions, she removed some of her clothes and let her help take off the bandages.

"The physician yesterday told me I could take the bandages off tonight, then keep applying medicine for a few more days so they won't leave scars," Yingying said softly.

Shi Yuezhen gave the bandages a light sniff and nodded. "She was right. You've been using top-quality medicine, and the damaged Five Elements Qi around your wounds has been restored. They shouldn't hurt anymore."

"Are you usually afraid of pain?" Shi Yuezhen asked.

Yingying thought for a moment. "Yes."

Shi Yuezhen smiled gently, her hands moving with care. "Then I'll take them off slowly."

Otherwise, tugging at the wounds would hurt even more.

Shi Yuezhen asked Yingying questions now and then to distract her. Yingying really did get absorbed in them, turning the questions over in her mind as she figured out how to answer.

Shi Yuezhen asked, "Judging by the marks on your face, they were caused by a Ghost Armor Heavenly Spider's Poisonous Silk. Was the person you fought from the Agricultural School?"

Yingying praised her. "You're amazing. You could tell just from the marks."

Shi Yuezhen praised her in turn. "An Agricultural School Disciple who can refine a Ghost Armor Heavenly Spider is not to be underestimated. It looks like you won. You're pretty amazing too."

"I wouldn't say I won, or I wouldn't have ended up this badly injured." Yingying gave an awkward grin.

Shi Yuezhen snipped off the long length of bandage she had already removed and continued unwinding the rest. "You've only just started cultivating. You still have plenty of time. You'll definitely become even stronger."

Outside, Cang Shu and Mei Chengyu could faintly hear the two girls chatting in the partitioned room.

Cang Shu slowly picked out the medicines and packed them into boxes. Mei Chengyu leaned against the table with half his body, watching him sort them.

Mei Chengyu watched for a while, then asked Cang Shu, "Do Bitter Yellow Seeds go in the same box as Three Herb Flower?"

"Together, to counter the Three Herb Flower's cold properties," Cang Shu replied unhurriedly.

Mei Chengyu hooked the box closer and leaned in to smell it. "Wouldn't that make it poisonous?"

"Mm," Cang Shu said. "I never said it was for saving people."

Mei Chengyu pushed the box back to him with an indifferent expression. "Then what are you using it for?"

"For feeding the Ghost Armor Heavenly Spider," Cang Shu said.

Mei Chengyu gave a soft "Oh," then suddenly thought of his roommate. In a lazy voice, he said, "Come by my place later and take away Wei Ren's scorpions, snakes, and spiders."

Cang Shu looked puzzled. "What happened to him?"

"His cultivation was destroyed, and the little critters he raised have stopped obeying him. They're crawling all over the place," Mei Chengyu said. "Come take them away, or I'll crush them all. It'd be a shame to waste them."

Cang Shu thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

When power backfired, the owner could no longer control the poisonous creatures he had raised. If left alone, the little venomous things might go wild in the dormitory and bite people everywhere, making an even bigger mess.

"He has a Ghost Armor Heavenly Spider too," Mei Chengyu said.

Cang Shu glanced toward the partition. "Wei Ren fought Nangong Sui?"

Mei Chengyu looked toward the partition as well. "Seems like it was the other way around."

Yingying had finished removing the bandages and was lying facedown on the bed with her back bare. Shi Yuezhen bent over, applying ointment to the wounds on her back.

The woman's smooth, cool black hair fell softly, swaying with Shi Yuezhen's movements as she applied the medicine. Yingying's eyes followed the strands until they brushed against her cheek, making it itch faintly. She couldn't help closing one eye.

"Be careful on your way back. Don't get wet," Shi Yuezhen said gently. She had Yingying sit up, then lightly cupped her face with one hand and tilted her head up a little. She carefully applied medicine to the wounds from her neck to her jaw, then used her fingers to gently spread it around.

They were so close that when Yingying lowered her eyes slightly, she could see Shi Yuezhen's focused gaze. Up close, Shi Yuezhen's white right eye looked like a Jade Pearl, glowing with a soft sheen.

"Are you listening to me?" Shi Yuezhen glanced up at Yingying.

"No," Yingying said honestly. "I was looking at your eye."

Shi Yuezhen smiled. "Did it scare you?"

"Not at all." Yingying shook her head. "It's beautiful, like a Jade Pearl."

She took a moment to think about how to describe it. "It's so smooth, glossy, and translucent. It's really beautiful, the kind of Jade Pearl with an exceptionally fine quality."

Shi Yuezhen's smile grew more pronounced. Only her normal eye revealed her emotions; the white one showed nothing at all.

"You're the second person to say that." Shi Yuezhen's tone was light, with a hint of teasing. "But the prettier something is, the more dangerous it can be. Don't stare at it for too long. The Medical School Pupil Technique can trap you if you look too long, and that wouldn't be good for your recovery."

Yingying closed her eyes. "Mm!"

Seeing her obediently close her eyes and let herself be handled, Shi Yuezhen thought the girl was rather cute.

It took nearly half an hour to remove the bandages and apply the medicine. The cool ointment grew hot on her skin, and with the Fire Qi stirring after nightfall, Yingying felt warm despite the storm. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Shi Yuezhen washed her hands outside, then said to Mei Chengyu, "Keep an eye on her on the way back. Don't let her get rained on or wet, especially her face."

Mei Chengyu was reading a message that had come through the Listening Wind Ruler. He didn't even look up. "Is that something I need to worry about?"

Shi Yuezhen looked at Cang Shu. Cang Shu said slowly, "Well, how about having Sheng Zui come pick her up?"

Mei Chengyu was still looking at the Listening Wind Ruler and didn't react.

Shi Yuezhen asked with a smile, "What is Sheng Zui to her?"

"Her Dear Brother," Cang Shu said.

Shi Yuezhen nodded. "Then he really would be closer and more reliable than her Senior Martial Brother."

Yingying came out after getting dressed. Mei Chengyu put away the Listening Wind Ruler and said, "Let's go."

"Okay!" Yingying hurried after him, waving to Shi Yuezhen as she went. "Thank you for tonight, Senior Sister."

Shi Yuezhen smiled. "Remember to come change your bandages again tomorrow."

Yingying had just said okay when she turned and found someone standing in the doorway, blocking her path. She was about to look up when a flash of black swept across her vision. A garment, still warm, had already been draped over her.

Mei Chengyu's face showed no emotion as he took off his outer robe. His long fingers passed in front of Yingying, then he covered her head with the robe and tied its sleeves around her face.

"Your Medical School Senior Sister said you can't get rained on or wet, especially your face. Otherwise, I'll tell your brother."

The unfamiliar warmth and scent came so suddenly that Yingying was dazed for a moment. By the time she came to her senses, Mei Chengyu had already let go, bent down, and picked up an umbrella to open it.

The storm carried the fresh, clear scent of rain-soaked earth, but the clearest thing Yingying could smell was the warm black robe wrapped around her cheeks.

It smelled clean and soft, like something gently warmed by the sunlight.

"Senior Martial Brother," Yingying called to the person walking ahead of her, holding up her umbrella. "I'm going back to the dormitory."

The storm raged all the way back, punctuated by thunderclaps that shook the heavens. By the time they reached the dormitory, rainwater streamed across the path, sweeping the fallen flowers along with it.

Yingying folded her umbrella and entered the dormitory. When Mei Chengyu looked back, she said, "I didn't get wet, so don't worry, Senior Martial Brother."

They walked to the Dragon Ladder in silence, both of them unwilling to use the Wind Riding Technique again.

Mei Chengyu's Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. He tapped it open, read for a while, then sent a reply.

Yingying watched the Dragon Ladder's floors.

She lived on the thirty-ninth floor, but when the Dragon Ladder doors opened on the thirty-seventh, Yingying picked up her umbrella and stepped out.

Mei Chengyu glanced up at her movement, his expression unreadable as he watched her leave the Dragon Ladder.

"Good night, Senior Martial Brother." Yingying smiled at him, her eyes curving.

Mei Chengyu asked, "Weren't you going back to the dormitory?"

"I came back to see Brother Gu."

Oh.

Mei Chengyu blinked softly. The Dragon Ladder doors closed with their gazes still locked together, until it began to rise again.