Morning sunlight streamed through the carved wooden window and spilled across the large bed in the Master Bedroom.
Chen Lin drew back his divine sense like a receding tide. Its fifty-thousand-meter range had let him take in all of Chen Family Village, down to the beat of a bird's wings. The cracks in his sea of consciousness had healed completely, and its golden expanse was more solid and vast than before.
He looked down. Yun Sheng was still fast asleep. The normally ice-cold Nascent Soul sword cultivator was curled up like a cat, both hands clutching the edge of the quilt. Her long lashes cast faint shadows over her eyelids. The tear tracks at the corners of her eyes had dried.
Chen Lin made no effort to move quietly. He simply got up and dressed.
The faint rustle of the bedding woke Yun Sheng instantly. Her eyes snapped open, and her years of sword training nearly made her bring two fingers together into a sword gesture. But once she recognized Chen Lin's back, her tense body relaxed again.
"Awake?" Chen Lin turned, casually fastening the buttons of his shirt.
Yun Sheng pulled the thin quilt up to her chin and turned away, blushing. Her voice sounded uncertain. "I... I'll head back to the Bamboo Grove."
"What for?" Chen Lin walked over and patted her shoulder through the quilt. "You'll live in this courtyard from now on. If you need any resources, just ask me. Go wash up. There's still a whole mess of things to deal with outside."
Yun Sheng trembled and looked up at Chen Lin. In the end, she said nothing to refuse him. She merely bit her lip and nodded. "Mm."
He opened the door and stepped out of the Master Bedroom into the faint chill of