Linyue raised an eyebrow. "Then are you offering me as a sacrifice?"
"Of course not!" Song Meiyu giggled, entirely unconvincing. "I just thought… maybe after seeing your beauty, they'll regain their senses."
Linyue gave her a look. "Sure, sure. Assuming I don't get bitten first."
Song Meiyu grinned. "The Demon King won't even let you get near them."
"That's also true," Linyue admitted. "He'd probably throw the cabbage out the window first."
"Or lock it underground forever," Song Meiyu added. "With a very angry glare."
They sat in silence again, both of them staring blankly at the wall.
"…What should we do now?" Song Meiyu asked at last.
"Maybe pray for Brother Yuying," Linyue said with a straight face, "so he can come back safely. With all his limbs intact."
"He brought snacks," Song Meiyu replied. "I think he'll be fine."
Linyue nodded thoughtfully. "Good. That's at least one weapon more powerful than spiritual sense."
"Yes. Dried plum is his true cultivation path."
They both looked far off into the distance. Somewhere out there, He Yuying was probably dodging cabbage punches with a mouthful of dried plum. Truly, a hero.
Linyue wanted to practice a few new arrays today. Maybe something impressive. Like shield array. Or floating spears. Or maybe something small. Like not accidentally burning down a building. But considering the current cabbage-related chaos, she thought it might be better not to risk setting off a fireworks show in the training ground. So instead, she sat cross-legged in her chamber.
"I'll meditate," she said simply.
Song Meiyu groaned and flopped onto the floor like a fish. "I can't meditate in this situation. My mind won't focus."
Linyue gave her a sideways glance, amused. "When did you ever focus on meditation?"
"What do you mean?!" Song Meiyu sat up indignantly. "I always meditate seriously when Brother Zhenyu is around."
"Really?"
"…Fine. Sometimes."
Linyue raised an eyebrow.
"Ugh, whatever," Song Meiyu huffed, standing up. "I'll just grab some storybooks." She pointed at the floor next to Linyue's bed. "Don't move! Wait for me!" Then she ran off to the direction of her chamber.
"Wait for what?" Linyue muttered. "Did I not just say I was going to meditate? Not… have a fairytale reading session?"
She sighed softly. Whatever. At least Song Meiyu wasn't dragging cabbage patients into her chamber. Yet.
Not long after, Song Meiyu burst back into the chamber. In her arms was a wobbling stack of books. Thin ones. Thick ones. One that looked like it had been dropped in soup and survived a small war.
Linyue blinked. "Are you going to read all of that?"
Song Meiyu huffed as she plopped down cross-legged on the floor. "I'll read them slowly. They said these are really famous right now. A lot of people read them. Even some of the inpatients brought them along while being treated. They let me borrow the ones they finished."
Linyue narrowed her eyes at the suspiciously pristine covers. "At least it's not stolen."
"Of course not!" Song Meiyu gasped, pretending to be offended. "How could I steal anything with Master Yin Xue around? She sees everything. Even when she's not looking."
Linyue raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "So you're saying… you'll steal them when Master Yin Xue isn't around?"
"Borrowing!" Song Meiyu corrected.
"Right. Borrowing without permission. Got it."
"It's the same thing if you return it eventually."
Linyue chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let's read."
Song Meiyu gave a triumphant grin, flipped open the first book, and said in a deep, dramatic voice, "Chapter one: The Cold General and the Bunny Princess."
Linyue paused.
"…What did you just say?"
"It's the title," Song Meiyu replied, deadly serious. "Apparently, it's tragic and romantic. There are sword fights. And carrot metaphors."
Linyue stared at her like she was part of the cabbage outbreak. Without a word, she picked up a book from the pile and read the title aloud, "…The Selling Buns Prince and Turtle Princess."
Song Meiyu clapped excitedly. "Oh! That one's so good! They said it has hot scenes in there!"
Linyue's expression went blank. "Between the buns and the turtle?"
Song Meiyu nodded. "It's a metaphor!"
Linyue sighed and tossed the book aside. She grabbed another one from the stack and read it without much hope, "…Reborn as a Mosquito and Bitten by Love." She stared at it. Then at Song Meiyu. "…Seriously?"
Song Meiyu shrugged, cheerful as ever. "It's a cultivation novel. The mosquito cultivates too."
Linyue raised an eyebrow. "Then the mosquito turns into… another bunny? Or turtle princess? Or maybe… buns?"
"I haven't read it yet," Song Meiyu said brightly. "But that's possible. See? You got the essence already!"
Linyue gave her a long, blank stare. Then very calmly and very slowly, she set the book down. "You know what? I think I'll meditate after all."
"Wait, wait! Don't judge them by the titles!" Song Meiyu cried, frantically flipping through pages. "Some of them have deep meanings!"
"Deep insanity, maybe."
"I'm going to read this one," Song Meiyu declared proudly, holding up a new title. "The Demon Lord's Favorite Ugly Duck!'"
Linyue stared at it. Then rubbed her temples. "…Why is this my life?"
She flopped onto her bed, draping an arm over her eyes.
Chaos couple? No. This was chaos sisters.
She didn't even have the mental strength to read one more title today. She'd rather face angry cabbage victims. Or maybe… spy on her shameless future husband instead. Just a little. Totally harmless. Definitely not creepy. Absolutely not questionable. Just advanced spiritual sense training through the focused observation of one specific person. Totally noble.
Linyue sat cross-legged on her bed and closed her eyes.
Target: one flirtatious king.
Location: probably underground or healing hall.
Objective: spiritual spying for completely pure and absolutely non-hormonal reasons.
Chaos couple: still undefeated.
Chaos sisters: thriving and reading about ugly ducks.
Linyue extended her spiritual energy like a slow-moving thread of spider web, ready to slip past the walls and reach for—
Wait. Something wasn't right.
She froze, her brow furrowing. Just before her energy could leave the chamber, she felt it. A faint ripple. It brushed the edge of her mind, soft and strange, like a whisper trying very hard not to be caught. It wasn't Song Meiyu. Her presence was like a soft, chaotic spark, currently tangled up in overly dramatic page-flipping. This was different. The ripple was near. Very near.
Her eyes snapped open. She turned her head slowly toward the stack of books. The stack of books was suspiciously still. Linyue narrowed her eyes. Then she sent out a careful thread of spiritual energy, small and cautious, toward the books.
There. A twitch. Some of the books twitched in her spiritual sense. That wasn't normal. Books were not supposed to twitch. Unless they were alive. Or cursed. Or alive and cursed, which was worse.
She poked deeper. A chill suddenly ran down her spine. Not from fear, but from something cold brushing the inside of her mind. She gasped softly and retracted her spiritual thread in an instant.
It was an array. Hidden. Waiting. And far too close for comfort. Her eyes went wide. That was not a normal book. And that was definitely not a normal array either.
Linyue stayed perfectly still. She took a deep breath and spoke in the calmest tone she could manage. "Sister Meiyu, can you move a little? Get on the bed with me."
Song Meiyu, who was happily sprawled on the floor flipping through "The Demon Lord's Favorite Ugly Duck," looked up. "Huh? Why?"
"I'm not sure," Linyue replied slowly, "but I think there's something wrong in those books."
Song Meiyu tilted her head. "Something wrong? The title?"
Linyue shook her head. "No. I think the books just twitched at me."
"…Twitch? As in move?"
"No. As in spiritually unholy and possibly cursed."
Song Meiyu turned to look at the book in her hand, then at the stack of books beside her. "…Maybe that's why the duck kept making me see feathers."
Chaos Sisters: no longer thriving. Slightly concerned.
Possibly entering emergency formation: cuddled panic.
Linyue added grimly, "Put away the ugly duck in your hand too."
Song Meiyu immediately tossed the book and scrambled onto the bed, pressing against Linyue's back. "What exactly is that twitch?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure," Linyue said, her voice calm but tight. "But it's not something good. I'll try to poke further—"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Song Meiyu flailed her arms. "Shouldn't we do it in a place with… I don't know, backup? People with swords? Holy water? Spiritual talismans? A priestess maybe?!"
Linyue slowly turned her head and stared at her. "Holy water? Priestess? What exactly did you read?"
Song Meiyu face was serious. "...Things."
Linyue let out a long sigh.
Song Meiyu waved her hands again. "Anyway! I mean… what if it explodes? Or starts flying and chanting dark poetry or something? Maybe we should do it in an open space! Or better yet, let's find Master Tian Mo! Or that Demon King! That man probably bites cursed books for breakfast!"
Linyue thought about it. Fair point. But also, she didn't want to explain why there were cursed romance books in her room in the first place. So she made the wisest decision of the day.
"Let's go to Master Tian Mo."
Emergency Chaos Sisters Operation: Relocate Potentially Cursed Objects began.