382: Chapter 382 Sleeping Together Under the Same Blanket, You Can't Walk the Path of Life for Someone Else

When Chu Sheng came out from Liu Qingyan's place, the sky was just beginning to turn pale.

He was not in a hurry to look for Yue Jianli, instead detouring to Lin Wanqing's medical clinic first.

Lin Wanqing's medical clinic was a bit larger than when he last visited.

A herb garden had been cleared out in the back courtyard, planted with a few low-grade Spirit Medicine, and they were growing quite vigorously.

She was squatting by the herb garden, pinching a newly sprouted seedling in her hand, as if observing the texture of the leaves.

Seeing Chu Sheng enter, she did not stand up, merely raising her head to glance at him with a calm gaze: "Oh, you're here."

Chu Sheng squatted down beside her: "What are you looking at?"

Lin Wanqing gently set down the seedling and patted the dirt off her hands.

"A Cultivation Technique called the Vegetation Technique. It is said to be handed down from ancient medical cultivators, capable of transforming the spirits of vegetation for one's own use. I've been pondering it for a while, but it always lacks a bit of refinement."

Chu Sheng reached out, gently pressing on the back of her hand, and channeled a gentle wave of spiritual power over.

That strand of spiritual power slowly wandered along her Meridians, finally pausing briefly at her Dantian, like gently plucking a string: "How about now?"

Lin Wanqing lowered her head to look at her own hands, then looked at the leaves of those Spirit Medicine in the herb garden.

After a long while, she spoke, her voice carrying a trace of surprise: "It seems... I understand."

Chu Sheng did not ask further.

Instead, he took out the Azure Emperor Technique and told Lin Wanqing to practice this one.

He pulled her up, saying they wouldn't practice today and should rest for a bit.

Lin Wanqing did not refute.

She simply glanced at him, nodded, and went back inside to change into a clean set of clothes.

She also called for Zhou Wantang, and had someone invite Li Zhiyi and Liu Qingyan over.

That night, everyone stayed in the back courtyard of the medical clinic.

Naturally, Chu Sheng was majestic on all sides.

In the dead of night.

Chu Sheng woke up once, feeling his arm somewhat numb from being pressed down, and the bedside still retained an unscattered warmth.

He took a glance at his side by the moonlight filtering through.

He leaned against the head of the bed and watched for a while, then did not move nor continue sleeping, just quietly lying there for a while.

Li Zhiyi's sleeping posture was the most restless; half the quilt was kicked away by her, and her arm rested across Chu Sheng's chest, as if she didn't forget to occupy her spot even while asleep.

During the day, she was as passionate as fire, never beating around the bush when speaking, directly taking action on whatever she wanted to do, coupled with that straightforward drive that made people unable to stop her in time.

At this moment, she slightly turned to her side, sleepily muttering an ambiguous sentence before rolling over.

Her arm slipped down from his chest and rested beside the pillow.

Liu Qingyan curled up on the other side, slightly folding her body like a cat curled up in its nest.

During the day, her brilliance was sharp and piercing, and the way she sat in the main hall giving orders made anyone feel that she no longer needed to rely on anyone at all.

But at night, her sleeping posture was the quietest, with almost no extra tossing and turning; she had to support such a large family business during the day, and only in such unseen moments could she wrap herself up and sleep soundly.

She moved, as if feeling a bit cold, leaned closer toward Chu Sheng's side, and quieted down again.

Lin Wanqing slept by the wall, her back turned to everyone, her breathing as steady as a pool of water without a ripple.

During the day, she always left leeway for others, spoke without haste or impatience, and did things without contending or snatching, but whatever she wanted to do, she would always accomplish it.

She turned slightly in her sleep, facing outward, probably thinking that Chu Sheng could see.

Zhou Wantang's sleeping posture was the most proper, with one hand resting on the edge of the quilt, and her breathing shallow and even.

During the day, she spoke very gently, the corners of her mouth always carrying a trace of an elusive smile, looking the most harmless.

But Chu Sheng knew that the twists and turns hidden in her heart were more than anyone else's; if she wanted to do something, she could always take seven or eight detours to make you willingly crawl into it yourself.

At this moment, she seemed to sense Chu Sheng's gaze, and her eyelids twitched slightly.

Chu Sheng leaned against the head of the bed without moving; he could feel that the rhythm of the breaths beside him had all tended to stabilize, but he also knew that Zhou Wantang was not asleep.

She lay on her side closest to him, one hand resting beside the pillow, her breathing even and steady, as if she had already fallen fast asleep.

Chu Sheng did not turn his head nor move, merely tilting his head extremely lightly, his lips almost brushing against her auricle: "You aren't asleep yet."

Zhou Wantang's eyelashes fluttered, and then she opened her eyes.

She half-turned her body, propping her head with one hand, her long hair sliding down her shoulder, gleaming with a faint luster in the moonlight.

The corners of her mouth carried a smile like that of a night cat that had just discovered a new path, and her voice was kept very low, as if afraid of disturbing the few people sleeping soundly beside them: "How did you know?"

Chu Sheng said: "Your breathing is too flat; people pretending to sleep always have too steady of a breath."

Zhou Wantang did not deny it, instead smiling silently, that smile extremely shallow.

Like a breeze gently skimming across the surface of the water, and then she gently moved her chin closer to his side, asking even lower: "What are you thinking about?"

Chu Sheng thought for a moment, his voice still low: "Do you want to return to the Demon Realm?"

Zhou Wantang's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, as if quickly chewing on the weight of these words: "Really?"

Chu Sheng gripped her restless hand, lowering his voice, a trace of obvious amusement in his tone: "A ruler does not break his word; let's wait until the matters here are finished."

"Right, if you still haven't had enough and aren't sleepy, then we can fight three hundred more rounds."

Zhou Wantang's fingertips paused for a moment. She did not refute, her gaze shifting slightly along with his words, as if quickly estimating in her heart the consumption of those three hundred rounds. Then she withdrew her hand, lay back down on the pillow, pulled the quilt up to her chin, closed her eyes, and her voice muffled at the edge of the quilt, carrying a rare, proactive concession.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep."

Her tone was lighter than before, exuding a breath of vulnerability that she rarely revealed on ordinary days.

The moonlight still fell on the edge of the bed, and the breathing sounds inside the room once again tended to stabilize.

Zhou Wantang did not move again; this time she really fell asleep.

When the morning light seeped in through the gaps of the window paper, Chu Sheng had already been awake for a while.

The sunlight shone on those pearlescent shoulders and scattered long hair, as if gilding the entire picture with a warm border.

He moved his somewhat numb arm, without disturbing them, and sat up with extremely light movements.

Crossing thousands of miles, he went straight to Yue Jianli's residence.

The two of them shared a brief moment of tenderness.

Yue Jianli sat opposite him, her expression as serious as if she were reporting an important matter.

"I want to go to Wendao Palace."

Her voice was not loud, but very even, without hesitation, "Ever since I was little, I wanted to go there. This is my wish, and I want to walk through it myself."

Chu Sheng did not persuade her to stay, nor did he say things like there was no need to rush.

He simply looked into her eyes, confirmed that she was serious, and then nodded: "Alright."

Yue Jianli seemed not to expect him to agree so decisively, stunned slightly for a moment, then lowered her head, as if letting out a sigh of relief, yet also as if some indescribable things had increased in her heart.

Chu Sheng did not say much more, merely reaching out to grasp her wrist, slowly channeling a gentle wave of spiritual power into her Meridians.

He did not give her too much, just a small portion of cultivation just enough to protect her Foundation, making her starting step in Wendao Palace a bit steadier.

Yue Jianli did not decline, nor did she express thanks.

She just quietly sat there feeling that stream of spiritual power gradually settle within her body, and then she said in a low voice: "I will take good care of myself."

Chu Sheng took out three jade talismans from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

The jade talismans were only the size of a fingernail with smooth surfaces; one emitted a faint green light, and the other two were somewhat dull.

Like beads that had restrained their radiance. He pushed the three protective talismans in front of Yue Jianli.

"This one contains the power of a casual strike from me; when encountering ordinary danger, just crush it. These two are my full-strength strikes. If you encounter something you can't handle, don't hesitate."

Yue Jianli lowered her head to look at the three jade talismans, reaching out to pick up one. When her fingertips touched the surface of the jade talisman, she felt a heavy, many-times-compressed power lurking within it.

She did not say much else, simply carefully storing the jade talisman into the most intimate position of her Storage Pouch, and then raised her head to glance at Chu Sheng.

Her lips moved slightly, as if wanting to say something, but in the end she only nodded.

The two embraced for a long time.

Chu Sheng did not keep her any longer.

He felt that everyone had their own path to walk; he could not walk it for others, nor should he walk it for others.

Just like when Qu Xiaohuan was taken away by the Bearded Uncle, he simply stood there.

Watching their backs gradually fade away into the distance, instead of chasing after them to drag them back.