Into The Sea

It had been three days since Danqing last bothered her.

This was highly unusual.

The girl sitting atop Xue Mountain, circulating her spiritual energy, kept her eyes closed for a long while. Finally, unable to quell her restlessness, she opened them and transformed into a graceful white crane, soaring towards the verdant depths Qianyun Peak.

First, she landed at Danqing’s favorite spot, the lush back mountain. But the birds that nested there said they hadn’t seen her for half a month.

Next, she sought out Little Snow, who shared a courtyard with Danqing. Little Snow, however, was surprised, assuming Danqing had been with her all along.

Finally, she went to the stone cave where Danqing was often confined for punishment, but it was empty as well.

After several fruitless searches, Danbai hesitated for a long while before deciding to wait outside the main peak’s schoolhouse for Lan Wu, who would be done with her class in half an hour.

When Lan Wu learned why Danbai had come, she was taken aback. “Didn’t Danqing tell you? She went on a mission with a disciple from Muchen Peak.”

Danbai was stunned. After a long pause, she nodded expressionlessly. “I see. Thank you, Senior Sister.”

On her way back, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Danqing had always been clingy, pestering her to join every mission, even if it meant throwing a tantrum. On the rare occasions Danqing had to go alone, she would summon Danbai without hesitation at the first sign of danger.

After many such instances, Danbai had reluctantly spent thousands of spirit stones to set up a teleportation formation at Jinling Peak, allowing her to return immediately after being dragged away.

To put it simply, the likelihood of Danqing going three days without bothering her was lower than the chance of Danbai willingly eating a carrot. And since when did Danqing know any disciples from Muchen Peak? How had she missed that?

Weighed down by her thoughts, the spirit crane returned to Xue Mountain. She paced around her small courtyard for a long time before finally letting out an exasperated sigh. Raising her wrist, she revealed a golden bracelet. With a flicker of spiritual energy, a faint golden thread emerged from it. The girl in snow-white robes stepped onto her flying sword and soared through the misty clouds, heading out of the mountains.

Finding Danqing wasn’t difficult, but it did take her quite a bit of time. By the next morning, the girl wearing a white jade mask was walking through a bustling crowd, her eyes fixed on two figures walking side by side in the distance.

At this distance, she could already eavesdrop on their conversation… or rather, listen openly… through her bracelet.

The little gyrfalcon was excitedly asking, “Senior Sister Qin, are we really going to find the Snow Qilin in Moonfall Valley?”

“Of course,” came the reply. “This information came from the Baibao Pavilion. It can’t be wrong.”

The woman’s voice sounded strangely familiar. Danbai narrowed her eyes, taking a few steps forward to get a better look at her profile.

Qin Hanmo!

Wasn’t that the perverted Senior Sister who had drooled over Danqing’s original form the first time she saw her, even mistaking her for a common spirit beast and wanting to capture her and raise her?

When did Danqing get so close to her?

Danbai’s expression darkened as she followed them at a distance.

“By the way,” Qin Hanmo asked, “are you really not going to tell Danbai about this?”

Danqing nodded in response, saying earnestly, “Senior Sister, you must keep this a secret for me. Don’t tell her, no matter what.”

Danbai frowned in displeasure.

What can’t she tell me?

“Alright,” Qin Hanmo said, “but remember our deal. If I help you catch the Snow Qilin, you have to… well, you know, right?”

The girl hesitated, stammering, “Y-yes, I understand. I won’t go back on my word.”

What deal? What is she agreeing to?

Danbai was itching to find out, wishing she could just go up and ask. But she had no legitimate reason to be here. If Danqing found out she was secretly following them, she would probably get carried away, thinking Danbai couldn’t live without her.

The mere thought made her want to die of embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Qin Hanmo continued, “I’ve noticed she’s always so harsh with you. How do you two still get along so well?”

Danbai’s eyebrows shot up, anger rising in her chest.

Is she trying to stir up trouble?

“Harsh?” Danqing blinked, taking a moment to process the question. “No, Danbai’s really nice.”

“Nice?”

Danqing nodded. “Although she always says I’m stupid, gets angry when I summon her, often tattles to Master about me skipping class and being lazy, and even tells Senior Sister Shanye to make me more vegetarian food because I eat too much meat…”

Danbai was speechless.

“But,” Danqing continued, her tone changing, “you can’t just look at what she says, you have to look at what she does. That’s what Master told me.”

She said earnestly, “I can summon Danbai anytime because Master helped me set up a formation on my bracelet. Danbai knows about it, but she still hasn’t taken off the bracelet. Even though she gets angry every time, she still protects me while scolding me. She’s very nice to me, and I like her, I like her a lot.”

Danbai’s eyelashes fluttered. She pursed her lips uncomfortably, turning her head away.

“Does she like you, though?” Qin Hanmo asked.

“Of course,” the girl replied matter-of-factly. “I’m so likeable, and I’m so good to her. Of course, she likes me too.”

Danbai was speechless.

Does this girl even know what “like” means?

As she was muttering to herself, Danqing frowned, turning her head suspiciously. Danbai froze, quickly turning away and pretending to examine a nearby stall.

The girl scanned the crowd behind her before hesitatingly turning back. Just as Danbai was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Danqing turned around again. “Huh?”

Pushing through the crowd, Danqing approached her and asked, “Danbai, what are you doing here?”

Danbai was speechless.

She blinked, replying awkwardly, “What a coincidence. Fancy running into you here.”

Danqing didn’t suspect a thing, saying excitedly, “Yeah, what a coincidence! But why are you wearing a mask?”

“I saw it on the way and thought it looked nice, so I bought it.” After saying that, Danbai couldn’t help but ask, “But how did you know it was me with the mask on?”

“Because you smell the same,” Danqing replied seriously. “You smell like snow.”

“Snow has a smell?”

Before Danqing could answer, Qin Hanmo walked over as well. “Junior Sister Danbai? What are you doing here?”

Danbai looked up, her expression calm and unflustered. “Running an errand for Master. I just happened to be passing by, I didn’t expect to see you two here as well.”

The woman nodded, her eyes twinkling with a knowing smile, making Danbai uncomfortable. Danbai cleared her throat and continued, “What about you? What brings you two here?”

Danqing hesitated, her eyes darting toward Qin Hanmo as her voice grew nervous. “We, uh… we’re just here to look around.”

“Look around?” Danbai’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Since when are you two so close that you’d go out together?”

“We’re not!” Danqing quickly shook her head, scrambling for an excuse. “We just happened to run into each other.”

“Is that so?” Danbai raised an eyebrow. “Well, since I’m free, why don’t I join you?”

“No!”

The moment the word left her mouth, Danqing realized she’d overreacted. She glanced nervously at Danbai, whose smile faded, replaced by a cold expression. “What, you don’t want me here?”

“N-no…” Danqing’s voice softened, her hands fidgeting nervously. “It’s fine. Let’s all go together. It’s nothing. The three of us can look around. It’ll be fun.”