A Guan really did write a chapter, but all the running around left me out of sorts, and it was too slapdash, so I got up today and rewrote it. This isn't an excuse for slacking off, or2! Scribble, scribble~
An autumn rain arrived quietly, sprinkling the mist-shrouded river.
In a room in the Boat Tower, Jiang Xian slept soundly, curled beneath the Autumn Quilt. A "tap, tap, tap~" at the window woke her partway through her sleep. She opened her eyes drowsily, only to discover a little morning light already showing at the window.
"It's already light out..."
Still bleary-eyed, Jiang Xian got up, made her groggy way to the doorway, and opened the window. Coal Ball had been busy all night, and plenty of raindrops clung to its feathers. Seeing the window open, it hurried inside and bobbed its head, shaking water all over Jiang Xian's face.
Swish, swish, swish~
"Ah!"
Jiang Xian hastily shielded herself with a hand, then took out a handkerchief to wipe its head. Thinking Coal Ball must be hungry, she went out to make breakfast. On the way, she first checked the room opposite hers. Hearing nothing inside, she raised a hand and knocked softly.
"Zisu? Zisu? Time to get up..."
Strangely, however, no answer came from her best friend inside. Instead, after she called a few times, several cries of "Ah?!" came from the Princess's room at the end of the passage.
"What's wrong? What's..."
"You scared the life out of me, Wan... huh?"
Zisu's, Momo's, and the Princess's voices then fell into deathly silence again...
Jiang Xian's eyes filled with confusion. Unable to work out why Zisu had gone to sleep in the Princess's room, she held Coal Ball and hurried toward the door... A little earlier.
Daoist robes and palace