Second Time

Chapter 29 - Discovery

Cai Fei stirred awake. Shao Yue wasn't beside her, but she still felt quite warm. She pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes.

Shao Yue sat in the middle of the room, refining a pill. The medicinal fragrance drifted through the air. Cai Fei patiently waited for the process to finish, which took half an hour.

Shao Yue looked over. "Good morning. You slept well. It's almost noon."

"What?" Cai Fei's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Cai Fei usually woke up quite early in the morning, so she found it strange. "You didn't do anything to me?"

"No, though I detected that Hu'er left my body during the night. However, she shouldn't have done anything to you either."

"She did tease me a little." Cai Fei rubbed the back of her neck, the memories embarrassing her. "How close are you two, anyway?"

"How close? Isn't that impossible to say?" Shao Yue frowned. "We've been together, in the same body, for thousands of years. We've gone through all the same experiences. Apart from our childhoods, we've shared every moment of our lives together. She's essentially a part of me."

Cai Fei grew pensive. "I suppose it's hard to label that kind of relationship."

Shao Yue nodded. "It's best to simply think of me and her as two parts of the same whole. I'm not her, and she isn't me, but we're inseparable."

"Then, uh." Cai Fei scratched her cheek. "Have you two ever... been intimate?"

Shao Yue raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Does it matter if we have?"

Cai Fei pouted and looked away. "I'm just curious."

Shao Yue chuckled, but didn't answer.

Cai Fei glared at her for a bit. She supposed she couldn't blame Shao Yue for it. After all, Hu'er was extremely attractive. If Cai Fei had to live with Hu'er for three thousand years, she didn't think she'd be able to resist for long, either. Especially if Hu'er actively pushed for it.

Cai Fei hopped out of the bed and put her clothes on.

"Say, do you like your current appearance?" Shao Yue asked.

"What do you mean?"

Shao Yue held out a pill, the one she'd just refined. "This is an Everlasting Visage Pill. If you take it, your appearance will stay as it is forever, without ageing. Of course, you'll still age, it just won't be shown on your face. Take it when you're happy with how you look."

Cai Fei picked up the pill and examined it. "Did you take one?"

"I'll wait three years."

"I guess it's easier for you, since you already know how your appearance will change in the future."

"True."

Cai Fei thought about it for a bit, rolling the pill between her fingers. "Then, I'll take it after escaping the Eternal Ore Domain."

Since Cai Fei was one year older than Shao Yue, if she took it one year earlier, they'd have the same apparent age. Cai Fei liked the idea of them being on equal footing.

"As you wish." Shao Yue gave Cai Fei an empty pill bottle to store it in. "Also, no, you silly girl. I haven't been intimate with my Spirit."

Cai Fei frowned as she dropped the pill into the bottle. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

"I wanted to make you worry a bit."

"Why?"

"It's important for me to stir up your emotions from time to time in order to avoid future backlash in your cultivation."