Chapter 145: A Pleasant Meeting

When the courtyard door was gently pushed open, the hanging wind chime made a short, clear ding-dong sound.

Bai Hang almost tip-toed, holding her breath as she stepped into the courtyard—on her left was Bai Lu holding a snack bag, face full of excited curiosity, and on her right was the "strict landlord" system.

As the three just crossed the threshold, Bai Hang's gaze hurriedly turned toward the living room.

Warm white smart light streamed from the living room windows, spreading a neat patch of light across the bluestone floor.

She could see the silhouette of the figure sitting by the window chair—straight and still.

(Phew, phew.)

Bai Hang first breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately tensed up—because there was still a little ancestor beside her!

She hurried through the small courtyard, adjusted her breath at the living room door, and tried to make her voice sound natural with a hint of apology: "Guest! Sorry for the wait! We bought some late-night snacks back……"

She spoke as she walked into the living room.

Jing Liu had already slightly turned her head at the moment she spoke, the black eye mask "gazing" toward the doorway.

She didn't rise, merely nodding to indicate: "It's fine."

Her voice remained cool and flat, with no discernible emotion, but Bai Hang felt that beneath the eye mask, some kind of scrutiny seemed to be taking place.

Especially when Jing Liu's gaze fell on Bai Lu behind her.

Bai Lu also poked her head in at this time.

She first curiously sized up this aloof woman sitting in the shadows, her gaze naturally falling on the black silk eye mask on the other's face.

Little Dragon Girl blinked, and her medical instinct prompted her to make a judgment:

(Does this older sister have an eye ailment? Wearing an eye mask… should I be worried?)

She was about to ask when Jing Liu withdrew her gaze first, her brows slightly furrowed.

This furrow was extremely quick, so quick it almost felt like an illusion.

Bai Hang caught it—the direction of the furrow seemed to have first looked at her, then shifted to Bai Lu, then back to her, carrying a rare hint of… hesitation?

(What's going on?)

Bai Hang's heart pounded.

Jing Liu was indeed hesitating.

Before Bai Lu appeared, all her attention was focused on this woman who called herself Bai Xing, yet whose appearance and aura resembled those of her old friend Bai Hang.

She could sense a certain concealment on the person, like viewing someone through frosted glass—similar outline, blurred details.

But when Bai Lu stepped into the room……

that was a more subtle sense of familiarity.

This feeling, compared to the deliberately concealed "Bai Xing" beside her, was more like the memory of her old friend who perished in the Sudden Chaos.

What made Jing Liu's heart sink further was that she, of course, knew who Bai Lu was.

After the Drinking Moon Chaos, the legacy of the Sustaining Light Dragon Sovereign changed hands, and the existence of this Medicine-Holding Dragon Girl was no secret.

She had never delved deeply into it before, but now, with Bai Xing and Bai Lu standing before her simultaneously, that strange sense of familiarity stacked upon itself, causing her heart—steady as a rock after a millennium of sword-gripping—to ripple with the faintest wave.

(One disguises herself like her, the other essentially is her… interesting.)

This thought only swirled in Jing Liu's heart for a moment before sinking into the deep pool.

Her face remained calm, merely the slightly furrowed brows had quietly smoothed out.

"Who is this?"

Jing Liu spoke up first, her voice calm, betraying no oddity, as if she had merely met a stranger.

"Ah! This is Miss Bai Lu!"

Bai Hang hurriedly took over, stepping aside to make room, and introduced, "Medicine-Holding Dragon Girl, currently studying at the Elixir Bureau……"

She chose a relatively neutral word, "We just happened to meet on the street earlier."

Bai Lu, however, was poised and generous, stepping forward and mimicking an adult's salute with a slightly awkward but earnest motion: "Hello! I'm Bai Lu! Are you a friend of Older Sister Bai Xing?"

Jing Liu gave a slight nod, her tone still flat, yet unusually adding a few words: "I've long heard of the Medicine-Holding Dragon Girl's name. A pleasure to meet you. Jing Liu."

"You know me?"

Bai Lu was a bit surprised, but quickly grew happy, "Then that's even better! Jing Liu…… older sister?"

She tentatively called out, seeing no objection, then went on, "Are your eyes uncomfortable? Why do you wear an eye mask? I'm a healer, want me to check them?"

As she spoke, she really stepped forward two steps, her small hand unconsciously lifting, as if wanting to touch that black silk.

Bai Hang was so frightened her soul nearly fled, almost performing her "cover-mouth" stunt again—this time the target was Bai Lu!

She darted forward to block Bai Lu, forcing a laugh to smooth things over: "Miss Bai Lu! Guest… her eyes aren't seriously impaired! Just, just a personal habit! Right, guest?"

Facing the Little Dragon Girl who had nearly come up to her eye level, Jing Liu didn't move her posture, merely leaning back slightly to create a bit of distance.

She refused in a steady voice: "Thank you for the kindness. No serious issue, just an old habit."

Bai Lu, stopped, felt a bit disappointed but didn't insist, merely muttering, "But wearing an eye mask is so inconvenient… really no need to check? My medical skills aren't bad!"

"Miss Bai Lu,"

Jing Liu suddenly shifted the topic, that black "gaze" lightly sweeping between her and Bai Hang, "How did you get to know Miss Bai Xing?"

The question came naturally, as if merely a host's ordinary curiosity about a guest's friend.

Bai Hang's heart gave a little thump.

Bai Lu, however, had no guard up; upon being asked, she instantly recalled today's "adventure," her eyes lighting up again as she opened her chatterbox:

"Talking about this is quite fun!"

She gestured animatedly, "This miss's first time sneaking out… uh, first time coming out to relax, I almost got caught by the Elixir Bureau's attendants! It was Older Sister Bai Xing who helped me cover, pointing them in the wrong direction to send them away!"

Bai Hang beside her struggled to keep a smile, while her mind frantically recalled what excuse she had made up then.

"And then we ran into each other again today!"

Bai Lu continued, "I was just casually strolling, and then Older Sister Xi Tong——"

She pointed at the system quietly standing by the door as a backdrop, "Xi Tong Jie said she'd take me somewhere fun! Though Bai Xing Jie looks a bit nervous…"

Bai Hang: "……"

Jing Liu listened silently; her face behind the Eye Mask showed no emotion.

Just as Bai Lu described "Bai Xing Jie helped me cover" and "pointed the wrong direction", the finger resting on her knee twitched slightly.

(Yeah…… she always used to be like that.)

In Memory, the figure with Fox Ears and a bright smile would always, at various "improper" moments, use seemingly casual little tricks or loud laughter to divert attention and help those nearby out of a bind.

It wasn't a carefully plotted scheme, but rather a reaction that carried a hint of adventure and pure goodwill.

The manner of this "Bai Xing" before me…… is just too similar.

And Bai Lu's unreserved trust and affection while speaking were exactly like those who surrounded Bai Hang in Memory.

(Coincidence? Intentional? Or……)

Jing Liu did not continue to press further.

She merely waited for Bai Lu to finish, then gave a slight nod: "I see. Miss Bai Xing, very enthusiastic."

These words were spoken plainly, yet to Bai Hang's ears they inexplicably gave her goosebumps.

She hurriedly waved her hands: "No, no! It's nothing! Miss Bai Lu is so cute, I was just helping a little!"

After a pause, feeling she needed to take control of the situation, she said: "Um… sir, Miss Bai Lu might need to stay overnight… what do you think?"

She asked cautiously, already prepared in her heart to be questioned or refused.

Jing Liu merely nodded again, her voice giving no hint of joy or anger: "Hmm."

Just that simple?

Bai Hang could hardly believe it.

"The room…" she probed.

"You can arrange it." Jing Liu had already turned her head back, once again gazing at the sparse starlight outside the window, a look of not wanting to say more.

Bai Hang, feeling as if pardoned, hurriedly pulled Bai Lu, who was still eager to try and say a few more words to Jing Liu, and gestured with her eyes for the system to follow; the three tiptoed out of the living room and headed toward the stairs.

Until their footsteps faded on the second floor, the living room was left with only Jing Liu once again.

She still maintained that upright posture, motionless for a long time.

The night wind blew through the half-open window, bringing faint distant city sounds and stirring the leaves of a small potted plant by the window.

Jing Liu seemed to glance at that leaf, yet also seemed not to.

She merely let out a soft sigh.

That sigh drifted in the night wind, lighter than a feather falling.

(Bai Hang……)

That name silently traced across her heart, carrying the scorching heat of blood and fire from centuries past, as well as the icy cold and dust settled over long ages.

(If it really is you…… why don't you dare acknowledge me?)

(If it isn't you…… this coincidence is too much.)

(And that dragon maiden……)

The hand resting on her knee slowly clenched, then gradually relaxed.

In the end, all the surging thoughts settled into a deep-pond-like silence.

Only beneath that black eye mask did a resolve colder than ice and deeper than night silently coalesce.

The night is still long.

And some people, some things, always wait for a moment of "seeing clearly."

She, has patience.