The private chamber on the second floor of the Sweet Fragrance Teahouse was quiet, save for the occasional clink of porcelain. Bai Yunfei sat facing the two young women, appearing far more ill at ease than either of them. He clutched his teacup, gulping down its contents repeatedly, even swallowing stray tea leaves without noticing.
Seeing his state, the maidservant Xiao Ning couldn't hold back a soft 'Pfft!' She looked ready to tease him, but a gentle glance from Liu Meng stopped her.
Liu Meng watched the young man's awkwardness with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. With graceful movements, she refilled his cup with steaming tea. Her voice was soft and melodic as she spoke. "Young Master, this humble girl is deeply indebted to you. When my illness struck suddenly, and I was beset by those troublesome young lords, your swift intervention was my salvation. I truly cannot thank you enough."
Bai Yunfei set his cup down, trying to calm the inexplicable fluster tightening his chest. He waved a hand dismissively. "Please, Miss, there's no need for such formality. Helping others is its own joy... uh, what I mean is, seeing injustice and lending a hand is only right. Besides, it was hardly any trouble."
"Oh, but it was far more than just 'hardly any trouble'," Liu Meng countered gently, a small smile playing on her lips. "Among all those bystanders, you were the only one willing to step forward. That Second Young Master Loong is infamous in Cuiliu City. He constantly abuses his family's influence to cause trouble. I merely stepped out for some quiet reflection alone, never imagining he would accost me."
Her expression sobered slightly. "The Loong family holds considerable sway here, even the Cuiliu Sect shows them deference. By defending me, you've made an enemy of Loong Tao. I fear I have brought trouble upon you..."
She sighed faintly. "With my strength at the Soul Warrior realm, I should not have feared such a wastrel. Yet, the illness struck so fiercely, the pain was paralyzing... I couldn't muster any resistance."
Bai Yunfei's mind latched onto one part instantly: 'Cuiliu Sect! So they are indeed headquartered here!' But her final sentence caught him off guard. "Hmm? Did you say... you are also a Soul Master?"
Liu Meng nodded, her smile returning. "This humble girl is indeed a Soul Master, though I blush admitting it... Oh? 'Also'? Does that mean you, Young Master, are also a Soul Master?"
When Bai Yunfei nodded confirmation, Xiao Ning beside her gasped softly. "Wow! So that's it! No wonder you sent those ruffians flying so easily!"
Bai Yunfei noticed a flicker of something indefinable—curiosity, perhaps assessment—in Liu Meng's gaze as she looked at him. His awkwardness resurfaced. "Heh, it's really nothing. I'm just... a minor Soul Master, not particularly strong. Miss, you..."
"This humble girl is named Liu Meng. Young Master, you may call me Meng'er directly." Liu Meng's voice dropped almost to a whisper as she spoke. She seemed slightly amused by his constant use of 'Miss'. Was it Bai Yunfei's imagination, or did a faint blush touch her cheeks as she offered this intimacy?
She paused briefly before continuing, "Might this humble girl know the Young Master's name?"
Being granted permission to use such a familiar address momentarily stunned Bai Yunfei. He blinked, processing for a couple of seconds before stammering, "Miss... uh, Meng... Meng'er... Then, you may call me Yunfei."
"Yunfei..." Liu Meng repeated softly, testing the name. "Heh, it sounds like a name full of freedom."
Bai Yunfei took another large gulp of tea, hoping the liquid would somehow dissolve the lingering tension within himself. Setting the cup down, a thought occurred to him. "Right, Meng... Meng'er... since you are a Soul Master, why did you collapse like that earlier? What happened?"
For a Soul Master, even a novice, physical resilience far outstripped ordinary people. Common illnesses rarely afflicted them. Hence Bai Yunfei's confusion.
To his surprise, Liu Meng fell silent at his question. A long moment passed before she released a soft, heavy sigh. Her gaze drifted slightly, as if looking into the past.
"I was frail and sickly from birth," she began, her voice subdued. "My childhood was spent living surrounded by medicine bottles. No treatment seemed to cure me; it only worsened. There were times... excruciating pains would strike without warning, as though countless needles were piercing through me from the inside."
A shadow crossed her face. "The physicians who examined me... they all said I wouldn't live past ten..."
Her expression softened slightly, touched by remembrance. "Then, when I was eight, I encountered a wandering elder. She took pity on my plight. Not only did she awaken my soul power, she taught me the cultivation methods to become a Soul Master. Before she continued her travels, she left me medicinal prescriptions."
She gestured faintly. "She said combining constant cultivation with the medicine could heal my body. As my strength grew, my health did improve. Until today, the attacks have become rare. If I can break through to the Soul Sprite realm, refining my body with the energy of heaven and earth..." Her eyes held a quiet hope. "...then I could finally be free of this torment forever."
A troubled look returned. "I drank my medicine this morning as always. I don't understand why the pain struck so suddenly and fiercely earlier. It felt... overwhelming, blurring my consciousness. Then those ruffians appeared..." She met Bai Yunfei's eyes directly, sincerity shining within them. "Had you not intervened, Yunfei, the pain itself might have claimed me. So truly... your actions saved my life."
Bai Yunfei, who had been leaning in attentively, nearly choked on his tea at the dramatic phrase 'saved my life'. He shook his head vigorously. "Uh... Meng'er, you exaggerate greatly! It wasn't that serious! 'Life-saving grace'? You really don't need to..." He caught himself just in time, mentally kicking himself as the phrase 'offering yourself in gratitude' (shen xiang xu) flashed dangerously in his mind.
"Don't need to what?" Liu Meng inquired, genuine curiosity in her tone.
"Cough! N-nothing!" Bai Yunfei cleared his throat forcefully, feeling heat rise to his ears. "Meng'er, please, say no more about it, or I'll really feel embarrassed..."
Xiao Ning, observing from the side, could restrain herself no longer. "Master Yunfei!" she interjected, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "You're a grown man! Why do you seem shyer than my mistress? Where did all that heroic spirit from dealing with those scoundrels go?"
"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Xiao Ning's blunt observation intensified Bai Yunfei's embarrassment, triggering a fit of genuine coughing.
...
When the trio finally stepped out of the teahouse, dusk had settled over Cuiliu City. Before parting ways, Liu Meng seemed to remember something. She turned to Bai Yunfei with a bright smile.
"Oh, Yunfei! Tomorrow, shall we go together to visit Clear Spring Mountain outside the city? Since you've just arrived in Cuiliu City, it would be a perfect opportunity for sightseeing! I've heard the mountain springs there are crystal clear, sweet to the taste, and even said to have healing properties!"
"Ah? Tomorrow? Just... the two of us?" The words tumbled out of Bai Yunfei's mouth before his brain could catch up.
The instant he uttered them, realization dawned. He inwardly cursed himself: Such presumptuous words! How could I!
"Hey! Master Yunfei!" Xiao Ning feigned indignation, hands on her hips. "That's quite forward! Daring to flirt with my mistress right in front of me? And what am I, chopped liver? I accompany my mistress everywhere; I wouldn't let her go alone!"
"Xiao Ning! Hush, you silly girl!" Liu Meng lightly scolded her maid, though amusement danced in her eyes. A delicate blush did indeed bloom on her cheeks as she looked back at Bai Yunfei, offering him a radiant smile that momentarily stole his breath.
"Well then, it's settled!" she declared cheerfully, ignoring his stunned silence and Xiao Ning's playful pout. "Yunfei, you should head back and rest early. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet at the East City Gate!"
Before Bai Yunfei could formulate a coherent response, the two figures had already melted into the dimly lit street, swallowed by the evening crowd. He stood rooted to the spot for a long moment, staring after them. Finally, releasing a long sigh, he turned and made his way towards the inn where he had rented a room.
...
In his sparse room at the inn, Bai Yunfei lay on the hard bed, hands cushioning his head. His gaze was fixed unseeingly on the ceiling rafters. Even the impulse to cultivate felt distant, overshadowed by the vivid replay of every moment since encountering Liu Meng that afternoon.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. His brow furrowed deeply as a crucial, unsettling question slammed into his consciousness.
"Her identity... She was with Zhang Yang back then. And she addressed Zhang Zhenshan as 'Uncle'. What is her relationship with the Zhang family?" The furrows in his brow deepened into trenches of worry. "She must know Zhang Yang is dead. If they were close... she might even know I killed him. But her behaviour today..."
His mind raced, analyzing. "Did she genuinely not recognize me? Or... was it an act? No." He dismissed the latter thought firmly. "That illness attack was real, not feigned. And I sensed no hidden observers, no trap."
A sliver of doubt remained. "So... was I overthinking it? Maybe her connection to the Zhangs isn't that close. I do recall... she seemed quite cold towards Zhang Yang himself."
This thought triggered a cascade of memories, transporting him back to the dusty streets of Luoshi City and his very first glimpse of Liu Meng.
...
"Zhang Yang, stop..." Her voice, cool and authoritative, cutting through the bully's rage. "I never said I wanted him dead."
...
Her gaze, assessing but not unkind, falling on the bruised commoner (himself). "This man seems dazed, not purposefully defiant. Besides, his offense against me wasn't worthy of death..."
...
Practical, almost dismissive. "He already suffered your kick, his injuries are punishment enough."
...
A hint of lightness, almost playful, as she surveyed the broken sugar-coated hawthorns scattered on the ground. "Besides... he already paid me back my tanghulu. You just knocked it out of his hand..."
...
As the memories washed over him, Bai Yunfei's eyes grew distant. An unfamiliar emotion, warm and insistent, began to swell within him. It seemed to push back against his suspicion, urging him not to think ill of Liu Meng, not to assign her ulterior motives.
"Tomorrow... sightseeing..." He recalled her parting words, her hopeful smile at the city gate. A new conflict arose. "But... I need to leave this place. Even if the Zhangs haven't tracked me here yet, every day I linger increases the danger..."
Her voice echoed softly in his mind: "Well then, it's settled! Yunfei, you should head back and rest early. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet at the East City Gate!" His frown deepened, reflecting the fierce internal debate raging within him.
Finally... a decision, tinged with both longing and a gamble on safety.
"Just one day," he murmured to the empty room, a compromise wrested from his conflicting desires. "One day of sightseeing shouldn't invite disaster... It should be fine." The uncertainty lingered, but the pull of that radiant smile proved stronger.