"Du Yu, are you really sure the Queen Mother of the West isn't in her sleeping palace right now?" Xie Yujiao asked.
"How would I know whether she's here?" Du Yu replied distractedly.
"You..." Xie Yujiao looked troubled. "That won't do! What if she sees us?"
"It doesn't really matter whether she sees us, does it?" Du Yu considered it for a moment. "This is mainly something for the two of us to do. Whether the Queen Mother of the West is here isn't important."
"I... I know it's something for the two of us... but this is the Queen Mother of the West's sleeping palace, after all... I..." Xie Yujiao's cheeks were flushed, and her heart was racing astonishingly fast. She couldn't bring herself to say the sort of brazen things Du Yu did. So many words caught in her throat.
Du Yu gave Xie Yujiao a puzzled look, unsure what exactly she was agonizing over.
As they spoke, the two arrived inside the sleeping palace. Just as it had been on Du Yu's last visit, mist swirled everywhere, severely limiting visibility.
Du Yu wandered around the room, muttering to himself, "Strange. Is Big Cat not here?"
"Big Cat... who's that?" Xie Yujiao asked.
"Oh, nobody in particular. An old friend of mine," Du Yu said with a smile.
"You... you invited a friend to join us?" Xie Yujiao's eyes widened in alarm. This was simply too outrageous.
"We did make plans, but not specifically for today... never mind. Let's get started." As he spoke, Du Yu pulled Xie Yujiao farther into the room.
Xie Yujiao's body began to tremble slightly.
"Hm?" Noticing something was off with her, Du Yu couldn't help asking, "Are you cold?"
"I... a-a little..."
Du Yu pursed his lips, then started taking off his