120: A subtle morning

Inside the ward, Lin Luo's clothes were slightly disheveled, with faint red marks visible beneath the torn fabric. Facing the various gazes from around the room, he adjusted his collar as if nothing were wrong. "What are you all looking at me for? Kyojuro, Giyu, shouldn't you have plenty of official business to attend to? Peng Geng, Chen Yu, don't you two have missions to go on?"

Peng Geng grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Sister Nianyao gave us the day off, and we have you to thank for that, Brother Luo!"

Lin Luo's face darkened. "No need to thank me."

Chen Yu coughed lightly and quickly pulled the filterless fool away, smiling apologetically at Lin Luo. "Brother Luo, Sister Nianyao is Sister Nianyao, and we are us. We'll always be good brothers." He dragged Peng Geng toward the door as he spoke. "Anyway, we really do need to head back to the Special Affairs Department. We'll take our leave!"

Watching their hasty retreat, Lin Luo shook his head helplessly. Rengoku Kyojuro crossed his arms and praised loudly, "As expected of an expert from the Special Affairs Department! That lady's moves were incredibly sharp; I could barely see their trajectory. Mr. Lin Luo, you must be old acquaintances, so why did you start fighting?"

Lin Luo smiled awkwardly. "We haven't seen each other in a long time, so it was inevitable... we were just a bit passionate."

Tomioka Giyu spoke up indifferently from the side, "That passion seems rather difficult to handle."

Lin Luo curled his lip. "Giyu, if you don't know how to speak, you don't have to."

He waved his hand to start shooing them out. "Alright, alright, everyone scatter. Kanae needs peace and quiet; she can't handle you all being so noisy."

Rengoku Kyojuro laughed heartily and patted Lin Luo on the shoulder. "You're right! We'll come visit another day then!" Having said that, he strode out the door with great strides.

Tomioka Giyu nodded slightly. His gaze lingered on Kanae's face for a moment before glancing at Lin Luo, and then he silently turned to leave.

Once the sound of footsteps faded, the ward finally returned to silence. Lin Luo gently closed the door and turned around to meet Kanae's smiling eyes.

"Finally, some peace." He walked to the bedside and carefully tucked in the corners of her quilt. "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Kanae shook her head gently. She reached out to brush a tear in his lapel, her fingertips lingering on the damaged fabric. "Your clothes are ruined."

Lin Luo smiled dismissively. "It's fine, just a minor scuffle. I think Shinobu is quite deft; I'll just have her sew it up for me."

Hearing this from the side, Shinobu couldn't help but facepalm. "Your clothes are practically rags; what is there even to sew?"

Lin Luo turned serious, lifting his hem to show her. "Nonsense. Look at the back and the cuffs—aren't they still fairly intact?"

"In that case—" A cunning glint flashed in Shinobu's eyes. "Why not let my sister make you a new one? My sister's needlework is very impressive, you know."

Lin Luo immediately took Kanae's hand, nuzzling her delicate fingertips with his cheek like a large dog. "I wouldn't have the heart to. Dr. Tohno specifically instructed that Kanae needs rest above all else right now."

He turned and raised an eyebrow at Shinobu. "On the other hand, there's a certain sister who claims to be clever and skillful but isn't even willing to help her brother-in-law mend a piece of clothing?"

An exceptionally sweet smile instantly bloomed on Shinobu's face, yet a silver needle gleaming with a cold light had already appeared between her fingers. "Mr. Lin Luo~ Who did you just say you were going to be the brother-in-law of?"

Kanae was amused by the two and chuckled softly. "Alright, Shinobu," she stopped her gently, her fingertips lightly squeezing Lin Luo's hand. "If you two keep making a scene, the nurse will come to scold us."

Lin Luo took the opportunity to shoot Shinobu a victorious look, only to gasp in the next second—Shinobu's silver needle had accurately pricked the back of his hand at some unknown moment.

"Oops, my hand slipped." Shinobu blinked innocently.

Watching their childish interaction, Kanae shook her head helplessly, her eyes filled with a tender smile... Early the next morning, a frigid sword light arrived with the dawn. Lin Luo woke up with a start as a cold blade grazed past his face, and the bed beneath him split in two with a snap—that precise sword mark happened to separate him from Tohru, who had crawled onto the bed at some point.

Ye Nianyao stood in the morning light holding her sword, her robes fluttering. "It's time to go."

The broken bedboards slowly tilted, and Lin Luo rolled onto the floor in a mess, rubbing his sore shoulder with a bitter smile. "Sister Nianyao, could you be a bit more gentle with your wake-up calls?"

Tohru huddled on the other intact half of the bed clutching the quilt, blinking with sleepy eyes. "Huh? It's morning already?"

The morning light filtered through the window lattice, but it couldn't dispel the stagnant air in the dining room.

Ye Nianyao ate her breakfast quietly, her movements elegant and composed, yet she carried an aura that warned others not to approach. Shiina Mahiru stood to the side, her hands unconsciously clutching the edge of her apron—even the usually lively Tohru had restrained her presence and was carefully laying out the dishes.

The only sound in the entire room was the faint clinking of silver spoons against the dishes. The temperature wasn't low, yet it made one feel a chilling cold for no reason.

Ye Nianyao lightly wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin and swept her gaze over Lin Luo. "Is this how you are usually served? No wonder you've developed such a character that expects everything to be handed to you."

As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze fell on the empty plates at the corner of the table. Tohru froze under that gaze and hurried forward to clear them, but in her panic, she knocked over the sugar jar. Fine white sugar spilled onto the tablecloth like a fresh layer of snow.

"S-Sorry!" Tohru wiped it up in a flurry, even her dragon tail curling up unconsciously.

Shiina Mahiru was about to step forward to help when Ye Nianyao tapped her finger twice on the table. "Let her do it herself."

The dust motes floating in the morning light seemed to freeze in place until Tohru finally poured the hot milk steadily into the cup. Only then did that icy gaze slowly shift away. Lin Luo looked at the swaying milk foam in his cup and suddenly felt that today's breakfast was exceptionally long.

He chose his words carefully and spoke up, "In my home, like this, I feel..."

Before he could finish, a sword tip was already pointed at his throat.

Shiina Mahiru tightened her grip on her apron in a panic. "Please don't! You'll hurt Mr. Lin Luo!"

Ye Nianyao's wrist turned slightly, the sword edge grazing the side of Lin Luo's neck before the flat of the blade slammed down onto Tohru's head with a 'thud'. "In someone else's home, one must learn some restraint."

Tohru stumbled from the blow but didn't dare make a sound, only holding her breath to steady the trembling tray in her hands. In the morning light, the cold glint from that longsword was even chillier than the morning dew outside.

Lin Luo looked at Tohru, who was rubbing her forehead with a pitiful expression, and gave her a helpless look that said he couldn't do anything to help.

"Let's go. It's time to get to work after breakfast." Ye Nianyao rose elegantly, and Tohru immediately stepped forward respectfully to pull back her chair.

Lin Luo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this scene. "Sister Nianyao, you're certainly used to being served. The one who expects everything to be handed to them is clearly you."

"From now on, she will follow me. Her nature is too flighty; it needs to be suppressed." Ye Nianyao spoke indifferently, then looked toward Shiina Mahiru. "You..."

Lin Luo quickly stood in front of the little angel. "Sister Nianyao, I'm ready, let's go quickly. Mahiru, help me ask for leave and tell the others that I have something to take care of."

He pushed Ye Nianyao toward the door as he spoke, looking back to give Mahiru a wink. The girl nodded understandingly, her slender fingers tightening slightly in front of her chest as she watched the two disappear into the morning light.

The moment the door stopped swaying, Tohru seemed to have the bones sucked out of her, slumping limply against Shiina Mahiru's shoulder.

"Mahiru... I'm finished..." She buried her face in the girl's neck, her voice muffled. "That woman is too terrifying. Just standing there makes my scales want to explode..."

"It's alright..." Mahiru comforted her softly, but she recalled the meaningful look Ye Nianyao had given her before leaving. She quietly gripped Tohru's sleeve, as if that would allow her to hold onto the last bit of stability... Lin Luo stepped onto the thin blade of the sword, his hands carefully encircling Ye Nianyao's waist. The blade cut through the clouds, the airflow whistling past his ears. He looked down and saw the city streets gradually turning into a chessboard pattern.

"Don't move around." Ye Nianyao's voice came from in front of him, her posture while riding the sword as steady as a pine tree. Lin Luo tightened his grip, letting the mountain wind fill his sleeves, suddenly remembering how he used to look up at the occasional streaks of light in the sky as a child. Now, borrowing her sword, he too had become a fleeting glimpse of beauty in the eyes of others.

The Flying Sword tilted slightly in the sea of clouds. He instinctively tightened his arms and heard a very faint sigh from in front of him.

As the Flying Sword swept through the nimbostratus clouds, it kicked up fine droplets of water. Lin Luo turned his head to avoid the oncoming wind blades and suddenly noticed that Ye Nianyao's breathing rhythm was maintaining a mysterious resonance with the vibration of the sword.

"Have you seen enough?"

The cold voice came from in front, dragging Lin Luo's drifting thoughts back. He sheepishly looked away as the continuous mountains and rivers below receded rapidly through the gaps in the clouds.

Ye Nianyao did not look back. Her snow-white long hair was stirred by the high-altitude airflow, a few strands grazing the tip of Lin Luo's nose with a faint, ethereal fragrance. Her posture while controlling the Flying Sword was composed and elegant, as if she and the sword were one, her figure as steady as a rock in the howling wind.

Lin Luo couldn't help but tighten his hands around her waist, feeling the subtle fluctuations of spiritual power from his fingertips—it was a vast and gentle power, completely different from her cold exterior.

The Flying Sword suddenly dove vertically, the strong wind making it impossible for Lin Luo to keep his eyes open. The moment they were about to touch the ground, the sword beneath his feet suddenly vanished—Ye Nianyao had already retracted her sword and landed gracefully, standing three paces away with her robes fluttering.

"Hey, you—"

Before Lin Luo could finish his sentence, his Protective Golden Light erupted in response, creating a dull thud as it collided with the ground. Golden light scattered in all directions, but he still inevitably stumbled forward, nearly falling flat on his face.

When the dust cleared, Ye Nianyao was slowly and methodically tidying her cuffs. "Your reaction is acceptable." She lightly stroked the scabbard with her fingertip. "It's just that your landing posture was a bit ugly."

Lin Luo straightened up, patting the grass clippings off his lapel, only to find that the surroundings were unfamiliar suburban wilderness paths.

Ye Nianyao's fingertip condensed a Water Mirror, in which a blurry white figure appeared. "Hachishaku-sama. Approximately eight feet tall, habitually wears a white dress. Often appears in the countryside and makes a 'po-po' sound when walking."

The Water Mirror rippled, showing several abandoned farmhouses. "Local villagers view her as a calamity, saying she excels at bewitching children and then torturing them to death."

Ye Nianyao tapped her finger, and the image in the Water Mirror changed accordingly, revealing the faces of several sleeping children. "However, upon investigation, those bewitched children only suffered damage to their essence; their lives were not in danger."

Lin Luo rubbed his nose with a subtle expression. "To put it bluntly, weren't they just harvested by that eight feet woman? Those kids probably didn't even have their pants on straight before their essence was sucked dry."

Ye Nianyao gave him a cold look. "Having one's essence stolen is a different matter from what you are thinking." A strand of pale blue light condensed on her fingertip. "However, it can indeed be understood as them being forcibly drained of their life energy."

Lin Luo smiled awkwardly. "So there are other ways. I was being narrow-minded."