Chapter 112

Following closely after the last traces of red dissolved, Chen Shu pushed the door open, her excited face appearing behind it.

Oddly enough, despite the alterations to her features making her seem like an entirely different person, the moment she smiled, casting that radiant gaze into the crowd, it wasn’t actually difficult to recognize her. That vibrant sparkle in her eyes was truly unforgettable.

Behind her, indeed, was He Yu.

Between the two, it was He Yu who was taller and burlier, his large frame nearly too big to squeeze through the inn’s narrow doorway. Combined with his eye-patch, a stranger would surely be frightened into taking a detour around him. Yet, between him and Chen Shu, it was he who had been trailing her, gasping for breath. As he entered the room, the light revealed a light sweat beading on his forehead.

Chen Shu, on the other hand, bounced in, her face alight with joy, showing not an ounce of fatigue—and none of the awkwardness from her earlier run-in with Yun Shen either.

“Really! Big Brother He says I really look like a boy now! How did you do it?” Chen Shu asked, running into the room, plopping down beside Yun Shen, and tilting her head back to gaze up at him.

He Yu, finally squeezing through the doorway, caught his breath and added, “It’s true. Brother Yun’s skill here is remarkable. Even we craftsmen feel inadequate…”

Yun Shen laughed, turning to look at Chen Shu, who had already completely forgotten the earlier commotion. He openly reached out, pinching her cheeks, examining this side then that.

Chen Shu, seeming unbothered, docilely turned her head according to the pressure of his fingers, first one way then back, still fixing him with those bright, light-filled eyes, her gaze so focused that it made his Adam’s apple bob as he subtly drew in a breath. She asked, “Well? Need to fix it more? Make me into an exceptionally handsome young lord, the kind that will make the Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance’s daughter fall for me at first sight—”

“—The competition is about martial arts, not looks,” Yun Shen said, applying a bit more pressure. His fingertips sank into the soft flesh of her cheek, silencing her and prompting a meek “Oh.”

But the hopeful, expectant gleam remained in her eyes. Though tempered now by caution, it still held that innate, open sincerity. The moment Yun Shen’s gaze met it, he involuntarily loosened his grip and turned his face away. The instant his hand relaxed, he heard Chen Shu’s voice beside his ear, accompanied by a whisper of breath as she spoke, both invading his senses.

“…So fix it a bit more, then! I know you hadn’t finished earlier!”

Indeed, although she looked more mature, even somewhat masculine, paired with that exuberant smile, it wasn’t truly enough to fool someone who knew her well, especially not someone like Xu Yuan. Yun Shen had initially intended to add a few more “touches,” but her earlier outburst had delayed him. Faced now with Chen Shu’s excited and curious reaction, who could resist responding?

Especially Yun Shen, this Yun Shen whose moods were so easily swayed by Chen Shu. When he turned his head back towards her, perhaps he didn’t even notice that an irrepressible smile had already reached the corners of his eyes. But on the surface, he managed to feign deliberation, letting out a vague “Hmm,” and answered ambiguously:

“What happened before is past. What matters is now.”

“You’re arguing with me again!… Anyway, I can never win an argument against you. I surrender. Just hurry up and do it again for me—”

Chen Shu’s final words faded on her lips; only the first half of the sentence escaped, slipping out the window into the clamor of the busy street below. Because Yun Shen abruptly turned fully towards her, leaning forward as he lowered his head until the tips of their noses almost touched, their gazes caught off guard yet instantly entwining, drawing tighter and tighter. He blocked out the daylight reflected in Chen Shu’s eyes, yet those orbs never lost their light. Her round, dark pupils studied him intently, and in turn, drew his own concentrated gaze deeper into her own.

In the room, He Yu abruptly stood up straight, grabbing the not-quite-open door and pressing it shut, causing it to slam shut with a sudden bang. The noise masked Yun Shen’s nearly inaudible muttering of a cryptic couplet.

The charged stillness lasted but a fleeting moment. He then lightly stroked Chen Shu’s flushed cheek and softly said, “Done.”

“…What? What’s done?” He Yu blurted out, holding the door firmly shut, his voice laced with suspicion. “What were you two just…?”

“He finished my disguise!” Chen Shu beat He Yu to the explanation, withdrawing from Yun Shen without a trace of hesitation. She popped up from the bed, turning back to beam at He Yu. “See! Less like myself now, right? I think I understand! Let me guess… Brother Yun’s secret technique—does it have to involve touch? Like kissing? Or contact with my—”

“—No.” Yun Shen cut her off sharply.

On the other side of the room, He Yu’s gaping mouth slowly closed.

“—I wasn’t finished! How do you know it’s not?” Chen Shu spun back around to Yun Shen, a flash of annoyance in her eyes.

Yun Shen’s retort came instantly, almost before she finished. “I say it isn’t, so it isn’t. Who understands disguise, you or me?” After speaking, he seemed to realize his own rare curtness, disguising it by reaching out to fuss with some jars and bottles beside him.

Chen Shu wasn’t ready to let it go. “Then when you leaned so close to me earlier, that time too—”

“—Regardless of how well the ‘disguise’ looks,” Yun Shen interrupted, facing her directly again, expression stern, “as long as you don’t learn to conceal your nature, people who should be able to see through it still will.” He hesitated a fraction, adding, gaze deliberately averted, “And then there’s your clothes. They may look like ordinary cultivator attire, but the cut of the fabric, that hairpiece… the hair tie—these are all things women use. And then your build…” Chen Shu retained the physique of youth, and her temperament, shaped by a mountain upbringing, was naturally more innocent than most, but she wasn’t a child. There was the subtle, pitifully slight swell beneath her chest, a small curve pushing against the fabric.

Though Yun Shen phrased it obliquely, the key areas to conceal when a woman masquerades as a man didn’t require explicit description at all. In their focus on the facial disguise, all three had simply neglected it. Yun Shen’s mention alone was enough; not only He Yu remembered instantly, but so did Chen Shu herself.

He Yu possessed thick skin, and what little blush might burn wouldn’t show. Chen Shu, however… straightened her back even further.

“Is it obvious?” she asked proudly, her voice ringing. “That’s muscle I’ve trained!”

Upon uttering those words, something subtle became unmistakably overt. What should have been an inconvenient matter to dwell upon was made clear by Chen Shu’s interruption, dissolving any lingering ambiguous tension and instead causing the scene to shift towards the humorous.

He Yu froze for a moment, then burst into laughter, clapping his hands and exclaiming “Well said!” three times.

In the corner of the room, Yun Shen, who had already averted his gaze and no longer looked at Chen Shu, couldn’t resist revealing a trace of amusement beneath his stony expression. Yet he hardened his tone to retort, “In that case, shouldn’t you also quickly change into something more accommodating?”

“Just go buy one right now?” Chen Shu countered, her eyes darting around before settling on Yun Shen. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “…Yours looks pretty good to me!”

Hearing this, Yun Shen turned back in surprise. Coincidentally, He Yu, by the door, also turned to look at him, quickly adding even before Yun Shen could respond, “He’s right. Your clothes really do elongate your figure. The key is how they’re a drab gray—look at that robe, quite practical at concealing one’s shape. Truly, even the most oversized garment hasn’t got that kind of subtlety.”

Two people, three eyes—all fixed expectantly on Yun Shen. After all, how well something might fit remains unknown without trying it on, and browsing at a tailor’s risked attracting more attention than discreetly borrowing an existing garment.

Looking down at his robe himself, Yun Shen’s expression seemed to flicker toward compromise, as if an inner struggle loosened within him. He sighed and seemed about to speak when Chen Shu—as though concerned he might demur—hurried over to his side and earnestly interjected,

“Don’t worry! You can change all alone right inside the room—we won’t spy on you!”

Such a promise rendered him speechless. He was silent for a moment, then eventually exhaled a subdued sigh that might approximate agreement before retorting, “Then why hesitate still?”

“You agreed!” Chen Shu cheered, completely unmindful of Yun Shen’s deliberate show of impatience. She leapt off the bed and promptly began shoving He Yu—tall as a mountain—toward the threshold. “Quickly, quickly!” she urged. “Go out! Let him change peacefully—”

“Ah? Do I have to lea…?” He Yu’s words were interrupted as Chen Shu pushed him into the hall.

Then came the resonant thud of a door slamming shut, kicking up a swirl of dust before it quietly settled.

It might have been resignation or relief; all that could be faintly heard from inside the now solitary, cramped quarters was Yun Shen heaving another prolonged exhalation.

Outside briefly echoed fragments of conversation between Chen Shu and He Yu; but then, muffled by rising noise both from outside and the friction of Yun Shen’s clothes being shed, those snippets faded away. Moments later, when Yun Shen had stripped down to his undergarments and the tell-tale rustling paused, finally clear became the heavy silence of the hall. Only then did He Yu call through the door, “Little Shu mentioned she’d slip out to buy some cover first—something to shield her face? She’ll browse awhile and pick you out a few… ummm, ‘dashing’ outfits as compensation.”

A quiet chuckle sounded behind the partition. Yun Shen seemed to taste the odd phrase Little Shu had slipped into his instructions before raising his voice to question, “Only one change of clothes—what great favor do I owe her? Or rather… what great debt have I incurred?”

He Yu also chuckled. “Exactly. Hard to know what thoughts run through that girl’s mind. Years training intently in swordsmanship—gifted beyond natural limits probably—her logic naturally strays beyond mere mortal bounds… You done changing yet? May I come in?”

“Enter,” Yun Shen signaled consent.

Between them lay no matter needing any real discretion. After all, it was merely because Chen Shu had, moments prior, forcefully shoved He Yu from the room that this pointless act of privacy ensued.

Having heard Yun Shen’s approval, He Yu pushed the door and came inside.

Within that room sunlight poured in as before; yet Yun Shen wore no outer robe. His exceedingly slender figure beneath the semi-opaque undergarment seemed even frailer in the direct glare of daylight. Disturbed by He Yu’s entrance, Yun Shen only kept his back turned as he leaned low to retrieve the stack of garments he had earlier removed and placed by his bed.

Leaning thus, the loose edge of his unfastened undershirt slipped open—exposing a sliver of Yun Shen’s back. At precisely this fleeting moment something vaguely glimmered on the uncovered expanse. He Yu paused, caught midway closing the door. But then he quietly resumed the movement without any outward reaction, shutting it finally and accepting the clothes when Yun Shen reached them over. He casually smoothed out a few wrinkles.

Following the motion, almost as an offhand thought, He Yu inquired smoothly, “Earlier when… ‘disguising’ took place… Little Shu brought up some sort of… ‘contact’…”

“She blurted nonsense. It was merely that she thrashed so wildly our frames accidentally bumped,” came Yun Shen’s swift reply. He lifted his eyes, held He Yu’s gaze steadily, and let out a wry laugh. “What? You actually take her prattling seriously?”