Pearls Beneath the Eaves

Song Zhiyi had recently been wrapped in an inexplicable sense of unease—his senior brothers and sisters' attitudes seemed to have quietly changed.

Whenever they met before, everyone would smile and pull him aside for a few words, either asking about tricks for cultivating spirit herbs or sharing insights on sword practice. Yet now, though they still constantly appeared before his eyes, there was an indescribable complexity in their gazes.

He had worked up the courage to speak to them first, only for them to unconsciously stiffen their backs, their voices turning awkward as they deliberately widened what had once been a natural distance between them, as if he carried something filthy on him.

He could not understand it, and he felt wronged.

He had clearly done nothing. Why had everyone's eyes suddenly changed when they looked at him?

This strangeness was actually faint. Someone less sensitive might not have noticed it at all. But Song Zhiyi had always been meticulous, and he was accustomed to how they had interacted before. Even the slightest alienation was like a tiny thorn pricking his heart.

Whenever he stared blankly at the spirit herbs in the medicinal garden, he could not help wondering: Had he done something wrong lately?

Logically speaking, his social circle had always been simple.

After Seventh Senior Brother recovered from his injuries, he returned to Spirit Medicine Peak. There were only a handful of senior brothers and sisters he saw in his daily life: Ninth Senior Brother Wen Jian of the same peak, whom he often dealt with; and Second Senior Brother Shen Yuxi, whom he encountered when he went to Spirit Pool Peak to collect spirit spring water.

Now that Fifth Senior Brother Lin Huaixu was confined at Spirit Pool Peak, there was another chance to meet him. Added