Chapter 344 Surely you wouldn't say you're thinking about your husband, would you?

The top floor of the Pill Tower's Library Pavilion.

The setting sun shone obliquely through the window lattices, spreading a warm orange-red hue across the bookshelves and the floor.

Tiny dust motes floated in the light; it was so quiet that one could almost hear their own heartbeat.

Xuan Yi sat on a bench by the window, holding a volume of ancient records in her hands.

She had been flipping through that book for half an hour, yet she hadn't even finished a single page.

Her fingers rested on the edge of the page, motionless for a long time; her gaze fell upon the yellowed paper, but she wasn't taking anything in.

Birds flew past outside the window, their fluttering sounds exceptionally clear in the quiet Library Pavilion.

She subconsciously raised her head, her gaze following the bird for a moment before withdrawing.

She recognized the line of text on the page; it was an old note regarding the control of the heat for an Eighth Grade Pill.

She had memorized it by heart when she was young, but looking at it now, she felt that although she knew every word, they no longer made sense when put together.

Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the page, the faint rustling sound nearly inaudible in the empty pavilion.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the stairs.

The footsteps were light and frantic; one could tell at a listen that the person coming had something on their mind.

"Aunt Xuan!"

Dan Chen poked her head out from the top of the stairs, her small face still bearing traces of having cried, her eyes slightly red, and the tip of her nose flushed as well.

Seeing Xuan Yi sitting by the window, she clearly breathed a sigh of relief and walked over quickly.

"Aunt Xuan, are you alright?" She ran to the bench and looked Xuan Yi up and down, her gaze circling her face and body several times as if to confirm something. "I heard you were injured, it scared me to death..."

Xuan Yi put down the ancient records and reached out to take Dan Chen's hand, letting her sit beside her.

"I'm fine." She smiled, her voice gentle. "See? Am I not perfectly fine?"

Dan Chen was pulled down to sit, but her gaze still lingered on Xuan Yi's face. After watching for a moment, she suddenly pouted, and her eyes reddened again.

"It's all my fault..."

Her voice was muffled and nasal as her fingers twisted her hem: "If I hadn't run to tell Brother Shen Wen that you were in danger, he wouldn't have gone... and you wouldn't have..."

"Silly girl." Xuan Yi interrupted her, reaching out to rub her head. "What does this have to do with you?"

If the Hun Clan wanted to set a trap, they would have found another way even if you hadn't sent the message."

Dan Chen shook her head, tears falling again: "But... but that intelligence came from our family... if it weren't for that villain Dan Yun..."

When she mentioned Dan Yun's name, her tone carried both hatred and grievance.

He was an Elder of the Dan Family, someone she had called Third Grandpa since she was a child; who could have imagined he would be a mole for the Hun Clan?

Xuan Yi took a handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry," she said softly. "Isn't your Brother Shen Wen perfectly fine? I am fine too."

"This matter is already in the past; don't take the responsibility upon yourself anymore."

Dan Chen took the handkerchief, haphazardly wiped her face, sniffed, and tried to calm herself down.

A moment later.

She raised her head and forced a smile: "Aunt Xuan, will you teach me Alchemy?"

I've been refining the Seventh Grade mysterious origin pill lately, and something always goes wrong at the final step."

Xuan Yi nodded: "What part of the heat control is causing the problem?"

Dan Chen began to speak seriously, detailing the timing of adding medicinal ingredients into the cauldron, the temperature of the flames, and the sequence of the medicinal power's Fusion—explaining every detail meticulously.

Xuan Yi listened, occasionally offering pointers.

She had been immersed in those key points of Alchemy for nearly a hundred years; what she said offhandedly was the result of vast experience.

Dan Chen listened intently, nodding from time to time and occasionally asking follow-up questions.

As they went back and forth with questions and answers, the Library Pavilion gradually gained some Life Qi.

But as they spoke, Dan Chen's voice slowed down.

She raised her head and looked at Xuan Yi, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment as her brow furrowed slightly.

"Aunt Xuan, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Xuan Yi was slightly startled: "No."

Dan Chen stared at her for a good while, her almond-shaped eyes filled with worry: "But you seem... distracted."

The things you just said were much clearer when you taught me before."

Xuan Yi opened her mouth but found herself unable to respond for a moment.

Dan Chen continued: "And your complexion isn't very good. Although it's much better than before, it's still a bit pale."

She paused, her tone carrying a hint of self-reproach, "Is the injury not healed yet? It's all my fault for dragging you into asking all these questions..."

"No." Xuan Yi waved her hand hurriedly, her voice a bit faster than usual, "The injury is already healed, truly."

Dan Chen looked at her, appearing unconvinced.

Xuan Yi felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze and turned her head away, her eyes falling on the darkening sky outside the window.

"I was just thinking about some things," she said softly, her tone a bit more distant than before.

Dan Chen blinked: "What things?"

Xuan Yi fell silent for a moment.

What was she thinking about?

She was thinking about those feelings that lingered deep in her Soul and could not be erased.

Thinking about those eyes that remained clear in the darkness, and that warm golden light that surged into her body.

Thinking about that extreme pleasure that welled up from the depths of her Soul, leaving her nowhere to hide.

Those images and feelings seemed carved into her bones; she could suppress them when she was alert, but as soon as she quieted down, they would surge up.

She was thinking about that young man she had watched grow up.

That kid who had called her "Aunt Xuan" for over a decade.

That man who could now kill a Dou Sheng and stand before her to shield her from all the wind and rain.

How could she say these words aloud?

"It's nothing."

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Dan Chen, her lips curving into a gentle arc, "It's just the trouble caused by those Hun Clan people; I'm feeling a bit unsettled."

Over in a few days, it will be fine."

Dan Chen looked at her, hesitating to speak.

Although she was introverted by nature, because her Soul had been different from ordinary people since she was a child, she was exceptionally sensitive to the emotional changes of others.

Xuan Yi's moment of silence just now, that soft "It's nothing," and the flash of complexity in her eyes when she looked out the window...

She had seen it all.

That was not the expression one should have for "feeling unsettled."

But she didn't press her.

If Xuan Yi didn't want to say it, she wouldn't ask.

This was a principle Dan Chen had known since she was young.

One shouldn't pry into the secrets of others.

"Then Aunt Xuan should get some rest." She stood up, placed the ancient records back on the shelf, and glanced back at Xuan Yi, "I'll be going now."

Xuan Yi nodded: "Go ahead."

Dan Chen took two steps toward the stairs and suddenly stopped.

She stood there with her back to Xuan Yi, her fingers clutching her hem, hesitating for a long time.

"Aunt Xuan."

She turned her head, her gaze falling on Xuan Yi's face, her almond eyes carrying a hint of confusion and a bit of caution.

"Just now... when you mentioned 'husband', you said 'your husband'."

Xuan Yi was slightly startled.

Dan Chen pursed her lips, her voice lowering: "You used to call him by his name directly."

'That kid Shen Wen', 'Your Shen Wen'... why so formal all of a sudden today?"

The Library Pavilion fell silent for a moment.

The last sliver of daylight outside was fading, and twilight surged in from all directions, shrouding the bookshelves and the bench in a layer of faint grayish-blue.

Xuan Yi sat by the window, the expression on her face not quite clear.

"Is that so?"

Her voice was very soft, carrying a trace of an unnatural smile, "Maybe I was frightened and my head isn't clear yet."

I just said it offhandedly; don't overthink it."

Dan Chen looked at her without speaking.

A moment later, she nodded: "Then Aunt Xuan should rest early."

She turned and went downstairs.

The sound of footsteps grew distant step by step, from clear to blurred, finally disappearing completely at the end of the stairs.

Xuan Yi sat by the window, motionless.