Chapter 53.2

When Shen Zheyan opened her eyes the next day, she found herself entangled with Jun Zishu on the bed, both as naked as the day they were born. Dried blood stains also covered parts of the bed.

This… How am I supposed to face her after this…

Although what they did yesterday was out of necessity, Shen Zheyan was also certain that she had done it out of personal desire. After doing such a heinous deed to Jun Zishu, she no longer had the qualifications to dissuade Jun Zishu from being a flower thief. She didn't even know how she should interact with Jun Zishu right now.

Despite both of them being girls, they had given their purity to each other. Moreover, the relationship they shared up till this day was only that of friends, not lovers.

When Shen Zheyan looked at Jun Zishu's sleeping face, her ears reddened slightly, and her mind fell into chaos.

With light movements, Shen Zheyan got out of bed, put on her clothes, and left the room. Upon leaving the room, she found that the inn had resumed business, and the establishment was very lively.

Turning around, Shen Zheyan found that Wei Zinan was standing by the room with a gloomy expression.

"Brother Zinan, this…"

"That person yesterday was telling the truth. He had never done anything evil and only helped the innkeeper bury the bodies. He hadn't been doing it willingly, either. The innkeeper had poisoned him and used the antidote as a leash. The innkeeper isn't someone from the Demon Cult. He is merely someone who happened across an evil art that allowed him to drink blood to grow stronger. I've already buried the innkeeper's corpse. As for the other person, he was originally the second-in-command here. Now that the innkeeper is dead, he has succeeded the inn. The innkeeper killed a total of nine people, and they are all travelers passing by this city," Wei Zinan revealed everything he found out yesterday in one breath, complicated feelings appearing in his eyes as he looked at Shen Zheyan.

Wei Zinan knew what had taken place yesterday. Meanwhile, just like how Shen Zheyan was having trouble figuring out how to face Jun Zishu, Wei Zinan also didn't know how he should face Shen Zheyan and Jun Zishu. He wanted to pretend as if nothing had happened yesterday, but he couldn't calm down no matter how he tried.

Wei Zinan felt so upset that his heart was practically bleeding right now. How could he possibly feign ignorance in such a situation? No matter how good-tempered of a person he was, he would still grow irate in this situation.

Unfortunately, Wei Zinan couldn't get angry at Shen Zheyan even if he wanted to. After all, while he might have treated Shen Zheyan as a potential lover all this time, Shen Zheyan had only treated him as a brother thus far.

"That settles it, then."

"What do you plan on doing next?" Wei Zinan asked as he looked in the room's direction.

In response, Shen Zheyan dazedly shook her head and said, "My heart is in a mess right now, so I'm thinking of returning to the sect to calm myself. I will only resume my travels once I have sorted out my thoughts."

To Shen Zheyan, her sect was her haven. It was a place that allowed her to think calmly.

"What about me?"

"We will naturally meet again if fate lets us," Shen Zheyan said before ending her conversation with Wei Zinan. Then, she hailed one of the inn's attendants to draw her a bath.

When Shen Zheyan was done dressing up and appeared in front of Wei Zinan again, Wei Zinan originally wanted to say something to change Shen Zheyan's mind. In the end, however, he kept his mouth shut. He knew that once Shen Zheyan had decided on something, it would be incredibly difficult to change her mind.

…

When Shen Zheyan returned to the room, Jun Zishu was still asleep.

Shen Zheyan stood by the bed and quietly observed Jun Zishu for a long time. Eventually, she let out a soft sigh.

Why did such a thing have to happen? We could've remained as friends if nothing had happened…

Shen Zheyan couldn't get over yesterday's incident no matter how she tried to reason with herself. After all, it wasn't a small incident.

Just when Shen Zheyan had turned around and was about to get a paper to write a message, her hand was caught.

Even though the hand that grabbed her was small and slender, it exerted great strength.

"Where are you going, Big Sister?"

Jun Zishu opened her eyes and looked at Shen Zheyan.

"I…"

"Are you abandoning me again? You're walking away, just like that?"

"Yan Xi… Wei… I just want to have some time to think by myself…"

"Think about what?" Jun Zishu sat up, her hand still holding onto Shen Zheyan's wrist. Then, she pointed at her lips and chest before saying in a mocking tone, "Think about how you kissed me last night? You kissed me here and here."

"Yan Xi!"

Shen Zheyan stumbled back a little as if she had just been scorched, her expression a mess as she looked at Jun Zishu.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Big Sister?"

Jun Zishu released Shen Zheyan's wrist and smiled. However, her eyes did not look like they were smiling at all.

"Didn't I say that we were even and that we were only helping out each other? You don't need to feel embarrassed when facing me. It's not like you hurt me. So, why are you trying to abandon me as soon as you wake up, Big Sister? Do you hate me that much?"

Although Jun Zishu's voice sounded carefree when she spoke, Shen Zheyan could still hear hints of choking in the girl's voice. The only thing Shen Zheyan feared was to see Jun Zishu cry, so she hurriedly said, "No, you misunderstood. I don't hate you. I just…"

She was just…confused.

She couldn't not care. After last night, Shen Zheyan found that her mind was filled with thoughts of her childhood friend's petite body and the fragrance this petite body exuded. It didn't matter whether her eyes were opened or closed. All she could think of was the pleasure she got from embracing Jun Zishu's body.

This situation forced Shen Zheyan with no choice but to run away. Although she didn't know what exactly she was running away from, she knew that she would fall into an endless abyss if she didn't run now.

Shen Zheyan only wanted to calm her mind. Once she was calm, perhaps everything would return to normal when they met again.

"If I hadn't woken up just now… If I hadn't caught you just now… If what I woke up to was an empty room… Do you know what I would think?" Jun Zishu sniffled, tears rolling down her cheeks. "She left again! She abandoned me again! She thinks I'm a burden again! She touched me but found me disgusting!

"Even though… Even though I didn't do anything wrong, I have to be left behind time and again..."

"No, I don't feel disgusted. I won't think that way."

Shen Zheyan wiped away Jun Zishu's tears in a fluster. She also inwardly chided herself for being so inconsiderate. She had unilaterally assumed that Jun Zishu was in the same state as her and that they both needed time to calm down.

"Really?"

"Mhm, so don't cry. You'll ruin your beauty if you cry."

"Isn't it all your fault?"

"Yes, yes, it's my fault," Shen Zheyan said, doing her best to comfort the crybaby before her.

"Will you still abandon me, then?" Jun Zishu said, her words giving off the feeling that she would cry till the end of time should Shen Zheyan answer incorrectly.

"No, I won't abandon you."

"That's more like it," Jun Zishu said, a bright smile appearing on her face.

Jun Zishu had to admit that a woman's tears were incredibly useful. She had solved what should've been a troublesome situation with only a few drops of tears. As soon as Jun Zishu started crying, Shen Zheyan immediately felt guilty and felt as if she had done something wicked.

"Big Sister, let's just forget about what happened yesterday. I don't mind it, in any case."

"Do you not mind it at the slightest?"

Shen Zheyan sighed. What she cared about wasn't her reputation but her heart instead.

"It's much better to give my first time to you than someone else. After all, I like Big Sister the most," Jun Zishu fawningly said as she hugged Shen Zheyan.

"I'll have the attendant draw a bath for you. We'll have breakfast once you're done washing up," Shen Zheyan helplessly said. She felt a lot better after seeing Jun Zishu's carefree attitude. Now, she only hoped that her heart would settle down with time.

Afterward, Shen Zheyan left the room and closed the door behind her. At this time, Wei Zinan just so happened to have come up from downstairs.

"Are you planning to leave now? Has she woken up yet?" Wei Zinan asked.

"I'm not leaving anymore. I'll go have the attendant prepare the bath for her."

"What?"

Wei Zinan was stunned. Then, after giving the matter some thought, he guessed that Jun Zishu must've done something to change Shen Zheyan's mind.

"It seems we'll be traveling together for a while longer, Brother Zinan," Shen Zheyan said, smiling.

Wei Zinan also smiled in response and said, "Isn't that wonderful? I also feel reluctant to part with you here, zheyan."

Shen Zheyan nodded and went downstairs.

Meanwhile, Wei Zinan retracted his smile and looked at the shut door to Shen Zheyan's room, a pondering look appearing on his face.

…

After Jun Zishu washed up and got dressed, she sat down to have breakfast with Shen Zheyan. Although Wei Zinan had already eaten before, he still chose to sit with them.

From his angle, Wei Zinan noticed a mark on Jun Zishu's neck, and he couldn't help but turn to look at Shen Zheyan.

Shen Zheyan also noticed the mark, and she couldn't help but rub her nose in embarrassment.

Noticing Wei Zinan's and Shen Zheyan's gaze, Jun Zishu followed their eyes and looked at herself curiously. However, as she could only see her own shoulder, she had no choice but to look at Shen Zheyan and ask, "What are you two looking at?"

"Cough, cough. It's nothing."

Wei Zinan faked a cough and hurriedly waved his hand.

"Oh~ I get it. Big Sister Zheyan must've been a little forceful with her mouth."

This time, it was Shen Zheyan's turn to fake a cough. She also couldn't help but cover her mouth and turn away with a blush.

Wei Zinan's mood grew even more complicated after hearing Jun Zishu's words. However, as he knew that he couldn't get angry with Jun Zishu, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

"Big Sister, you still haven't told me what has been going on here," Jun Zishu asked. Even though she already knew about the innkeeper's crimes, she feigned ignorance and had Shen Zheyan repeat what Wei Zinan had told her previously.

…

"Death is too light of a punishment for that innkeeper!"

Jun Zishu snorted after hearing Shen Zheyan's recollection. Though, in reality, even if the innkeeper managed to escape from Shen Zheyan last night, he would still gradually turn into a fool because of Jun Zishu's needle.

"We have severely underestimated our opponent this time. We were completely unaware that the person we have been searching for was right under our noses all along," Shen Zheyan said. She couldn't help but shudder in fear whenever she recalled how careless they had been. Had the innkeeper fed them deadly poison instead of drugs meant to incapacitate them, they would've lost their lives last night.

"That's right. We should be more alert next time," Wei Zinan said, nodding. Even now, there were still many bruises on his face and body leftover from yesterday's fight.

…

After the trio finished breakfast, they packed up their belongings and left Gui City.

As they made their way out of the city, Jun Zishu felt that the storyline should change dramatically after today. Since Shen Zheyan wouldn't be returning to her sect, she naturally wouldn't encounter Qian Xing, who had already become the Demon Cult's new cult leader at the time of their meeting.

However, Jun Zishu felt that she would start getting busy when Qian Xing became the new cult leader. After all, his ascension to the position would also mean that Qian Yun had died.

Jun Zishu inwardly sighed when she thought about the hassle that was to come. Even so, she maintained a smile as she set off with Shen Zheyan.

Next stop, Weishui City.

Part of the journey to Weishui City required them to travel down a river.

Thus, the trio got on a ferry and enjoyed the scenery around them.

"How about I play a tune to enhance this scenery?" Wei Zinan suggested as he pulled out his flute.

Just when Shen Zheyan was about to nod in agreement, Jun Zishu shook her head in a hurry and said, "Don't even think about it! The music you played yesterday sounded horrible!"

"What do you know?! That was meant as an attack!"

Jun Zishu and Wei Zinan started bickering with each other, the sight bringing a smile to Shen Zheyan's face.