Thwack!
Mikael forcefully closed the last book that he had to read and then—
"Fucking fffiiiinalllly," murmured Mikael while leaning backward on his chair, his eyelids so heavy at this moment that his eyes nearly closed by themselves.
It was only through his steel-like determination that he didn't simply collapse earlier from his bone-deep fatigue. He had forced himself to finish the tome he was reading, but now that he didn't have any reason to push himself further…
Thud.
His head loudly collided with the table covered with numerous thick tomes, but he didn't care, neither about the tomes nor the uncomfortable fall on the table.
At this moment Mikael was already far gone, having already fallen asleep, his bone-deep exhaustion having caught up to him and making him fall asleep the moment he could finally afford a little rest.
This well-needed rest continued for nearly an entire day before, slowly but surely, he began to rouse awake.
Rustle.
A slight shift in Mikael's movement could be seen and heard as he roused awake, a lazy emerald eye half-opened as he gave his surroundings a quick scan.
'Oooh… forgot I was at the Scripture Pavilion.' He moved one of his arms beneath his head to create himself a more comfortable headrest, his half-awake eyes scanning the surrounding bookshelves, 'I should probably get up… right?'
He lazily thought to himself, but even though he knew he should get up, he was suddenly hit by a powerful wave of laziness and simply didn't want to, somehow finding even this hard wooden table 'comfortable.'
He stayed in this half-awake position for a moment before, with a sigh that made it sound like he was undertaking a herculean task, he slowly lifted his head and after what felt like a monumental internal struggle finally accomplished the enormous feat of rising from his seat.
"Nnnnghh..." Mikael groaned as he stretched his arms overhead, joints cracking softly after what truly felt like the longest sleep he'd ever had.
And yet, the moment he finished stretching, he immediately felt more refreshed—though of course, this was something entirely psychological, as his body didn't need to stretch at all and, in truth, the action changed nothing… but he had done it simply because he wanted to.
On that note, and with a Mikael now nearly fully awake, he gave a small glance to the tables covered in thick tomes, decided to quickly reshelve them—which he promptly did—before, without further ado, climbing down the spiral staircase that led to the lower floors of the beautiful building.
Step, step, step.
His footsteps echoed through the seemingly perpetually empty building as he descended the stairs, and soon enough he reached the first floor before passing through the threshold of the Scripture Pavilion.
Instantly, he was greeted by the cool darkness of the night and the pale rays cast by the beautiful moon hanging in the darkened sky. For a moment, his steps slowed as he took in her beauty, his thoughts beginning to drift,
'It could be a good time to train in my Moonpiercer Sword Art…' he thought to himself, sensing the quiet pull of the moon's presence before shaking his head, 'No, it isn't the time, not even close—I still have a couple of things to do before I can start training it, and I need to follow the List I created!'
On that note he began walking under the moonlight, and though he could have easily taken flight to reach his destination much faster, he found this slow, peaceful stroll beneath the moon to be oddly relaxing.
So he decided to enjoy himself—at least for a while, after nearly two months of extremely mentally exhausting work, he figured he could afford this small moment of relaxation.
His tranquil walk under the moon continued until—
"Mikael!"
"Hum?" an inquisitive sound escaped his mouth as he turned toward the source of the voice, finding his 'ever-reliable Senior Sister' Lian'er approaching him.
Rays of moonlight fell upon her, silver light reflecting off her figure and giving her usually long, silky brown hair and shining hazel eyes a faint silver hue, her hair now glimmering with a beautiful sheen as she walked toward him.
With the moon seemingly guiding her steps, and the silverish tint she gained combined with her already extremely beautiful composure, she took on a truly ethereal, fairy-like appearance—at this moment, she looked like a fairy untouched by the mortal world.
'This!' For a moment, Mikael was speechless, not knowing what to say in the face of such an unexpected and breathtaking display.
'Taking advantage' of his distraction, Lian'er closed the distance between them with quick steps before stopping not far from him, throwing him a hesitant, almost shy glance?
Then, she lowered her gaze toward the ground as her fingers nervously twirled at the hem of her taoist robes, "H-hum, Jun-nior Brother…"
Her voice faltered toward the end, and a deep blush bloomed across her face as she shifted to twirling a strand of her now brown-silver hair, casting him another bashful glance.
In that moment, she truly embodied the image of a maiden about to confess to the one she cherished, and struggling with the shyness that came with it…
'Okay, what's this about?' he mused, his gaze calmly studying her. 'It can't actually be a confession… right?'
Inwardly, he was filled with questions—but outwardly, his expression remained steady, even offering her a gentle smile.
"What is it?"
Lian'er parted her pink lips, seemingly about to say something, but her gaze drifted to her surroundings—empty, yes, yet still open and situated in the middle of the Core Court.
A small frown quickly appeared on her visage as she hesitated for a moment, her blush deepening slightly before her expression shifted, a flicker of determination settling across her features.
Then her hand moved like a blur as she, acting like a thief in the night, seized his hand and almost immediately spun on her heels. Without wasting a second, as if afraid to be seen, she began walking away, dragging him behind her.
"Follow me," Lian'er said in a voice that tried to sound confident, her grip on his hand tightening as she led him deeper into the Core Court…
Mikael raised an eyebrow, 'What is this really about?' he thought somewhat curiously, but he didn't resist and simply let his adorable Senior Sister drag him away.
And so, in this fashion, an extremely beautiful fairy with a deep blush could be seen leading a handsome man by the hand, the two of them bathed in moonlight as they walked together—forming a scene that, to any onlooker, would've looked like a pair of lovers enjoying a romantic stroll beneath the moon.
Their path brought them into a 'wilder' section of the Core Court, where the vegetation grew denser, the surroundings more untamed and lush, until eventually, after pushing aside a few low-hanging branches, scattered leaves, and resilient bushes, they finally arrived at what lay hidden behind it all.
It was an exquisite natural clearing, tranquil and untouched, whose beauty was only enhanced by the gentle silver rays of moonlight streaming down upon it.
This clearing had an 'aura' that was pretty similar to the one where Mikael was meditating and where he established the list and then trained with Sangrelia to return to 100%.
Crack.
A twig snapped under Mikael's foot as he stepped into the clearing, its familiar aura already stirring something in the back of his mind. His gaze briefly swept the moonlit space, then shifted to the girl still holding his hand.
"So... mysterious nighttime stroll, secret location, no one around," he said with a faint smirk. "You're not planning to ambush me, are you, Senior Sister~?"
"N-nothing like that!" stammered Hua Lianyu as she suddenly let go of his hand, stepping back in two quick, awkward motions before turning to face him. Her face was flushed deep red, but beneath the embarrassment, a strange mix of frustration and resolve burned in her expression.
"I wanted to ask you something..." she began, hesitating—her index fingers tapping nervously against each other as she struggled for control. Then, after a deep breath, it burst out of her all at once.
"Why did you reveal it to me?!"
Her voice was loud, sharp, and full of something unreadable—anger, maybe, or fear, or confusion, Mikael raised an inquisitive brow.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just your Senior Sister! So why? Why reveal your opportunities and secrets to me?!"
'What is she on about now?' he wondered, watching as the brown-silver haired beauty continued, her voice climbing with each word.
"After that STUPID Heart Demon Hunt card game... why did you open up like that? Junior Sisters Amelia, Kiara, and Lyra are your taoist companions, I get that—but me?! Why me?!"
"You told me everything, without holding anything back! Your Partial Enlightenment, the awakening of your Unrestrained Mind, the attention of an Administrator, even the fact that you saw the Flame Sovereign Sect's elite team just before they were wiped out!"
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! Do you even realize the kind of trouble that could bring you?! SO WHY?!" Her voice cracked slightly. "Why tell me?! I'm just your Senior Sister..."
It all came out in a single breathless rush—two months' worth of bottled-up emotion, now spilled messily and irreversibly into the moonlit clearing. Her calm façade had been completely stripped away, replaced by a raw mixture of anger, worry, fear, shame, and something else she couldn't even name.
Badum. Badum. Badum.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, so loud she almost felt it would leap out entirely. And as the silence settled between them, shame washed over her in full force—for screaming at him like that, for losing control and being so aggressive.
And yet... even with all that, she didn't look away.
She didn't avert her gaze, didn't turn to flee or hide her face. Her eyes remained fixed on Mikael—stubbornly, unflinchingly—because deep down, she wanted… no, she needed to hear the answer.
'Why did you do it?' she asked herself again, for what felt like the thousandth time since that damnable moment two months ago. 'Why reveal secrets that could potentially have you killed to me… I'm only your Senior Sister…'
Swish.
A soft wind stirred the clearing, sending a few scattered leaves drifting between them.
'I see this is what it was about, my honesty that day when I recounted my "voyage" outside the sect and…it seems that it had been eating at her, huh?' Mikael thought, taking in her disheveled appearance, her trembling shoulders, and the look in her eyes.
Step, step.
Mikael took two step forward each resounding in Lian'er ears like thunder as she watched him approach, until he was there, his form towering above her slightly smaller one, and then—
He slightly leaned forward up to a point where they were only tens of centimeters away from each other, their breaths almost mingling before he smiled.
Not the kind of polite smile you gave to a stranger, neither the one you give to a friend but the kind given to somebody special, a smile that was a mix between gentleness, warmth, flirtation and something else, something indescribable.
Skip.
Her heart skipped a beat as she attentively watched him which is why she perfectly heard his next words.
"Why, you ask?"
He chuckled, "Why not? I trust you after all."
The words were said in a casual tone, like it was nothing but they resounded in Hua Lianyu's head like an explosion.
For a moment she froze, her brain crashing, she needed a couple of seconds before her mind caught with what he said and finally processed it.
Then—
"AHH!"
A sharp yelp tore out of her as she stumbled backward, her face already crimson.
"W-what—I—I…" she stammered incoherently, her body shaking, her eyes wide and shimmering, the blush on her face deepening by the second until her entire expression was dyed in red.
She took another step back, clutching her robes as if to steady herself, eyes trembling, voice cracking.
"I-I need to go!" she blurted out—and before he could respond, she turned on her heels and vanished like a gust of wind, leaving only stirred leaves and silence behind.
Within moments, Hua Lianyu had already put a long distance between them. Only after confirming he hadn't followed her did she finally stop, crouching beside an isolated stream hidden within the Core Court's.
"ARGHHHH! Why did I blurt out everything like that? And my escape, I'm so stupid!"
Her voice tore out in frustration as she clutched at her head, a picture of apparent despair—but that impression would've shattered immediately if one had seen the wide smile she struggled to hide behind her trembling fingers.
Splash.
Still caught in her chaotic thoughts, she lost her footing and stumbled, one leg sinking knee-deep into the cold water. Her soaked shoe and dampened robes drew a flicker of irritation across her beautiful features, and she instinctively prepared to channel Qi to dry herself—only to pause.
Instead, a different impulse took hold.
She extended her long, pale leg, the waterline shimmering against her smooth skin as her slender fingers slowly slipped off her shoe and lifted the edge of her Taoist robe, baring the rest of her calf to the chill of the stream.
She then did the same with her other leg, sliding it gently into the water until both were submerged up to the knees.
Then, with a small motion, she let herself drop backward onto the soft grass, her rounded hips settling with a quiet bounce as she reclined with her legs still immersed in the flowing stream, eyes turned skyward.
"Hehe… he said he trusts me…" she whispered, voice dreamy, eyes shining under the moonlight. In that moment, she radiated joy, a joy so intense and so pure that it seemed to illuminate the night.
"He trusts me… I'm his beloved Senior Sister… he definitely has feelings for me… hehe…"
She giggled to herself but this time it was noticeably less innocent, her smile was now far wider than earlier, far less pure and far more intense…
In this way, with the moon as the only witness Lian'er gradually come to term with her own feeling for her Junior Brother~
Unknown to Mikael, today was the day everything changed for Lian'er in an irrevocable and unpredictable way, though this was something he would only come to realize later… far later.
Author Note:
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This was one of my favorite chapters to write, writing the dynamic between Mikael and Lian'er is really fun to write.
Poor Mikael got ambushed by his 'Senior Sister' while coming out of this Scripture Pavillion and then we have her outburst…he simply wasn't ready.
At the same time Hua Lianyu feeling are developing in a totally sane and normal direction…belive me!
Anyway I won't write much more as I am pretty tired and pretty sure what I am currently writing is messy so I won't make you suffer any longer.
———
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— End of Chapter —