Inexplicable

Eastsea City's afternoon light slanted through the window grilles along the third-floor dormitory corridor, branding the floor into a checkerboard of light and shadow. Xie Xie trailed half a step behind Yun Ying. His hood had long since been rumpled flat, his hair stuck up everywhere like a cat being carried by the scruff, and dark circles hung beneath his eyes. His right hand clenched a sweat-soaked admission ticket, while his left unconsciously tugged at the hem of his hoodie. With every step up the stairs, his Adam's apple bobbed, as though an unchained white-furred beast were tied behind that dorm room door.

Yun Ying walked ahead, the Flame-Reaver Spear slung across her shoulder. The keratin layer on its tip gleamed with a cold, hard sheen beneath the sunlight. Yet her steps were as steady as if she were walking the center line of a training ground. The moment Xie Xie finished explaining everything on the path earlier, she had dropped her chopsticks, slammed down her bowl of cold noodles, and shouldered her spear. Her stance was clear: if she did not hammer that white-haired, lovesick lunatic's obsession back into her bones today, she would write Yun Ying's name backward.

But when they reached the end of the third-floor corridor, Yun Ying still paused for half a beat.

"You two usually... act like this?" She turned her head, cutting Xie Xie a glance from the corner of her eye.

Xie Xie's bitter smile looked worse than crying. "When she isn't making trouble, she sits on the couch carving things. Glass beads, fruit pits, my chess pieces... I'm used to it."

"Used to my ass." Yun Ying clicked her tongue and lowered her spear tip. "I'll open the door in a minute. Hide behind me. If she dares pull a knife, I'll blast her first. Then you run to the Spirit Pagoda entrance and wait. Don't look back."

Xie Xie nodded frantically, but another thought surfaced in his mind: Running to wait at the entrance just meant waiting for her to come out smiling and say, "I got away." But he did not dare say it. Yun Ying being willing to come up here with her spear was the first time in the past half month, since he had been nailed to the wall, that anyone had treated him as the bullied party rather than a conveniently carried fruit platter.

The door at the end of the corridor stood half-open. Shadow was not sitting on the windowsill. Yun Ying glanced over, lifted her right foot, and without any visible windup, slammed her boot into the door—Bang! The door crashed into the wall and rebounded. The hinges squealed as sunlight poured into the living room.

"Shadow! Get out here and die!"

Her voice exploded through the narrow corridor. The echo bounced off the opposite wall and came back, making even Xie Xie shrink his neck. Yun Ying lowered her spear tip and stepped inside, her gaze sweeping over the coffee table, couch, and windowsill—the little potted plant on the table had been crushed, dark red powder still clinging to the glass surface; several glass-bead fragments lay on the couch, and a hoodie was draped over the armrest. There was no one there.

"Where is she?" Yun Ying's brows rose. She spun the Flame-Reaver Spear halfway around into a standard grip, leveled it, and aimed its tip toward the bedroom. Pressing herself sideways against the wall, she signaled for Xie Xie not to show himself, then edged toward the bedroom door. It stood slightly ajar. There was no sound inside.

Xie Xie whispered behind her, "She... she might've gone down the fire stairs..."

"My ass. Her clothes are still here." Yun Ying cursed under her breath and gently nudged the bedroom door with her foot.

The hinges turned slowly. Afternoon light filtered through the gauze curtains of the bedroom balcony, spreading warm gold across the room. Yun Ying poked the Flame-Reaver Spear's tip in half an inch first—

Then the Flame-Reaver Spear nearly slipped from her hand.

Shadow stood before the full-length mirror against the wall.

Not the Shadow who sat cross-legged carving beads. Not the Shadow whose dagger flashed in and out of sight. Not the Shadow with white hair puffed up like cat ears and a hood pulled down to the bridge of her nose. Her back faced the door, and she stood straight. Her hoodie was gone, replaced by a light coffee-colored knit cardigan over an off-white shirt, paired with a dark blue pleated skirt. The toes of her little leather shoes caught the light on the floor. Her white hair hung loose and smooth, held by an inconspicuous silver hairclip. Her red eyes reflected her own silhouette in the mirror, curved like crescents.

She was adjusting her cardigan collar. Her fingers did not reach for Feather Blades or spin a dagger; she merely smoothed her cuffs, like an ordinary schoolgirl making one final check of her appearance before going out.

Yun Ying choked, and her spear really did lower three inches. "You... what are you doing?!"

Shadow turned her head. The red eyes in the mirror curved first, then she turned halfway around, the hem of her cardigan swaying gently. She looked at Yun Ying and smiled softly. It was the same curve as the smile she had worn when she sent Yun Ying flying a few days ago, but wrapped in a layer of warm milk skin.

"Of course I'm going to accompany big brother into the Ascension Platform." Shadow's voice was soft, the end rising slightly. "It's my first time going out with big brother. How could I not dress a little more formally?"

Yun Ying's mind buzzed, as if her own Flame-Reaver Spear had misfired into her temple. She whirled around, and her spear tip nearly struck Xie Xie's collarbone. "Xie Xie! Go buy another admission ticket! We're going in together—she's being sneaky beyond belief right now. I can't handle her by myself!"

Xie Xie had been peeking into the bedroom. The instant he saw Shadow before the mirror, his pupils widened, and he nearly crushed the ticket in his pocket in half. Hearing Yun Ying roar, he felt as if he had received a pardon. He bent at the waist. "Okay, okay, okay!" Then he bolted outside. His sneakers slipped on the floor, and he only avoided falling to his knees by grabbing the wall. By the time he ran out of the living room, he was nearly moving both arms and legs in sync.

Shadow did not stop him. Her red eyes simply followed his back to the doorway, her smile deepening. Then she turned back to the mirror, touched her hairclip with one fingertip, and seemed to mutter to herself, "Big brother runs so fast... Is it because I'm too pretty, and he's embarrassed?"

Yun Ying finally steadied her spear, though her knuckles around the grip had gone white. She stepped into the bedroom. Her spear pointed down at the floor, but she did not advance any farther. Separated from Shadow by two mirrors and three feet of dust-speckled sunlight, they faced each other.

"Cut the act." Yun Ying enunciated each word sharply. "Acting all innocent now—do you think I haven't seen you carve glass beads until your fingertips bled?"

Shadow gave a soft "Mm," as though a little secret had been exposed. She raised a hand to cover her lips, and her cardigan cuff slid down half an inch to reveal a stretch of pale wrist. She turned from the mirror to face Yun Ying properly, folding both hands before her. The edge of her pleated skirt rippled faintly with the movement.

"Doesn't it tire you out to stand there, Sister Yun Ying?" Her voice was warm. "Find somewhere to sit and rest. The couch is clean. I wiped it earlier."

Yun Ying's mouth twitched. Rather than sit, she backed up half a step until her heel pressed against the doorframe.

"Sit? Who knows what you're plotting?" Yun Ying sneered.

Shadow kept smiling, her red eyes curved like crescents. No Feather Blade emerged from her sleeve, yet Yun Ying felt a chill down her back. She had seen several versions of Shadow's smile: one was the sticky sweetness she wore when staring at Xie Xie; one was the blood-tempered excitement she wore during their clash a few days ago; and this one—soft, fresh, like an upperclassman asking whether you had eaten breakfast—was the creepiest. Because you could not tell where the knife was.

"How could you think that, Sister..." Shadow moved half a step closer, her shoes tapping softly against the floor. She raised her hand and lightly tapped the Flame-Reaver Spear with her fingertip. "I didn't even bring a knife today. Really."

Yun Ying's gaze swept over her waist—there truly was no dagger sheath, her cuffs lay flat, and her skirt pockets were empty. But that only made it worse. Shadow without a knife was more frightening than Shadow with one.

"You think I don't know your type?" "The Junior Ascension Platform only has Soul Beasts up to a hundred years old. You go in dressed like this and walk beside Xie Xie. When a Hundred-Year Soul Beast pounces, your skirt twirls, a Feather Blade slips out—what is this, a sheep-shearing workshop? Then after you're done, you squat down and ask Xie Xie, 'Big brother, is my hair messy?' That idiot will definitely say no, and then you'll take the chance to measure someone's neck."

Shadow burst into laughter. A glint of teeth showed through the gaps between her fingers. Tilting her head, she let a lock of white hair slip down beside her ear, the silver hairclip swaying faintly. "Sister, you make me sound so idle. Cutting up Soul Beasts is exhausting. Blood gets stuck on the blade edge, and then I have to sharpen it. Today, I'm just accompanying big brother for a walk. If he stands far away, I'll stand far away. If he dares tell me to stand far away, I'll stand a little closer."

Yun Ying's temple twitched. There was nothing wrong with those words, yet every sentence sounded like a prearranged threat.

"Xie Xie went to buy tickets." Yun Ying forcefully dragged the topic back, refusing to lower her spear. "When he comes back, there'll be three tickets. I walk in the middle, you walk on the left, and he walks on the right. Stay within three steps. If you dare bring out a blade in the Ascension Platform, I'll stab your Feather Blade with my Flame-Reaver Spear first, then stab the Soul Beasts, and finally stab you."

Shadow nodded like a model student listening to an upperclassman's lecture. She turned back to the mirror, gathered her loose white hair to one side, and slowly combed down its ends with her fingers. "Sister is so protective of big brother."

"Don't pin labels on me." Yun Ying looked away, refusing to look at Shadow's innocent outfit in the mirror—one look was enough to raise her blood pressure. "I just can't stand seeing my friend bullied. Got a problem with that?"

"No problem, no problem." Shadow looked at her through the mirror, her smile soft. "Sister is the first person who said she wanted to enter the Ascension Platform with him. Even faster than Sister Gu Yue."

Yun Ying froze. "Gu Yue?"

"Mm." Shadow finished fixing her hair and turned around. Her shoes clicked as she walked back to stop three steps before Yun Ying. Tilting her head up, her red eyes reflected the edge of the bandage at Yun Ying's temple. "Sister Gu Yue was by the self-study room window. She saw you walking over from beneath the parasol trees. But she didn't come down. She has always... waited for the situation to ripen on its own."

Yun Ying tightened her grip on her spear. Gu Yue saw them?

"If she won't come down, I will." Yun Ying snorted. "So you won't think nobody can deal with you."

Shadow laughed, briefly, like a feather brushing over a blade. She raised a hand and lightly pointed toward the bandage on Yun Ying's temple. "I scraped you there. Does it still hurt?"

Yun Ying instinctively turned her head, and the spear struck the doorframe with a Bang. She glared at Shadow. "If it didn't hurt, would I remember it? I was chewing cold noodles with my left cheek all morning."

"And you still carried your spear up here." Shadow softened her voice further, sounding regretful and pleased at once. "Sister is a good person."

Yun Ying's breath caught.

Those three words coming from Shadow's mouth were ten times more frightening than "I'm going to sharpen my knife." Shadow did not call people "good person." She called them "interesting," "I got away," "big brother," "Sister Yun Ying"—"good person" meant she had placed someone into her web of relationships and marked them as someone worth keeping.

Yun Ying's throat tightened. She spun the Flame-Reaver Spear halfway in her hand, wanting to snap back, but felt that any retort would dissolve into Shadow's layer of warm milk skin. She curled her lip and planted the spear against the floor. "Maybe the moment I sit down, you'll give me a Feather Blade through the heart."

Shadow continued smiling, red eyes curved, her hands folded neatly before her and her cardigan cuffs perfectly straight.

Yun Ying opened her mouth, wanting to say, "Keep smiling and see if I don't burn your hair," but when the words reached her lips, she saw herself reflected in Shadow's red eyes—bandage on her temple, spear braced on the floor, looking like her momentum had been suppressed by half—and suddenly lost her nerve.

She was not afraid of Shadow. She was afraid of this version of Shadow, the one who was sneaky beyond belief—harder to deal with than the version who had openly sent her flying a few days ago.

"You..." Yun Ying's throat was dry, and her palm print had sunk into the spear handle. "Don't think that dressing like this means I'll—"

Shadow moved half a step forward, the toe of her shoe nearly touching Yun Ying's. She tilted her face up, her voice light as a sigh. "Doesn't it tire you out to stand there, Sister? I really did wipe the couch earlier. You sit. I won't sit beside you; I'll sit in big brother's spot, and when he comes back, I'll move away. I didn't bring Feather Blades. The dagger is on the top shelf of the wardrobe, and I didn't take the key. If Sister is worried, search me."

Yun Ying's ears flushed bright red in an instant. She jerked up her spear, nearly jabbing Shadow under the chin. "Who's searching you! Cut it out!"

Shadow smiled without retreating, her red eyes curved as if she had predicted exactly this reaction. She raised her fingertips and merely nudged Yun Ying's spear tip half an inch aside.

She spoke softly. "Sister looks pretty when she's angry too."

Yun Ying's mind exploded—not with anger, but with a numbness that ran up the back of her neck after Shadow's tone struck precisely where it wanted. She flung her spear away and took a step back, her back hitting the doorframe. The Flame-Reaver Spear lay crosswise before her like a shield.

"Cut it out!" Her voice rose again, but lost half its force. "If you dare move before Xie Xie comes back, I'll blast you, believe it or not!"

Shadow stood where she was, her hem swaying faintly, her red eyes curved as she looked at Yun Ying. After a moment, she gave a soft "Mm," like she was humoring a child.

"I won't move," Shadow said. "Does Sister want to sit? If not, then I'll sit. I'll warm big brother's spot on the couch for him."

She really did turn around and walk to the living room couch. The hem of her cardigan brushed past the fragments on the coffee table. She did not immediately sit. Instead, she picked up the hooded sweatshirt lying crookedly on the armrest, folded it twice, and placed it beside herself. Then she sat at the edge, pressing the corner of her cardigan beneath her skirt, both hands resting on her knees.

Yun Ying stood in the bedroom doorway with her spear lowered to the floor. Sunlight shifted from the gauze curtain onto Shadow's profile, gilding her white hair. Yun Ying opened her mouth twice but could not force out a complete sentence. Shadow's words—"Sister is a good person"—still rang in her ears, mixed with "Sister looks pretty when she's angry too." Every sentence was a soft blade. No blood spilled, yet they soaked Yun Ying's usually straightforward temper into sticky steam that could not burst out.

"You..." Yun Ying ultimately managed only one word. Her throat bobbed as she looked away, leaning against the doorframe like she was guarding a prisoner—or being guarded herself. Her ears remained red, and not entirely from anger.

Yun Ying nearly cracked.