Proud Sword Sect, Western Peak.
“Senior Brother, have you finished that purple sandalwood incense yet?”
Lin Shengyu lowered her head slightly as her small hands busily cleared the bowls and chopsticks from the wooden table. She glanced at Yun Hao, who was sitting beside her in a slight daze, and asked casually.
Yun Hao, however, didn’t seem to hear her. He remained lost in thought.
Seeing her senior brother like this, Lin Shengyu felt a faint sense of disappointment in her heart, but she still kept her temper in check and gently called out again.
“Senior Brother?”
Only then did Yun Hao snap out of it. He looked at his junior sister with some embarrassment.
“Ah!? …What is it, Yu’er?”
“I was asking about the purple sandalwood incense I gave you a few days ago. Have you finished it yet?”
Only then did he remember the incense Lin Shengyu had given him.
When Yun Hao had first moved to Western Peak, he had been unable to sleep well and would often wake up in the middle of the night. Once, his shouts during a midday nap had even startled Lin Shengyu. After hearing him mention that he frequently had nightmares, she had gone to her room and brought out several slender sticks of incense, handing one to him.
Later, under his junior sister’s somewhat forceful questioning, he had slowly admitted that he kept having nightmares and couldn’t sleep soundly. After receiving the incense, Yun Hao had followed her instructions and burned it every night. Although he still had nightmares, he no longer woke up suddenly. His sleep had indeed improved somewhat.
“…About a foot left…?”
Lin Shengyu’s hands paused while clearing the table. She lowered her eyes and avoided looking at Yun Hao. A thought flashed through her mind, and a complete stick of purple sandalwood incense appeared in her hand.
She handed the incense to her seated senior brother and continued speaking.
“Then use this new one tonight, Senior Brother. As for the old one, don’t use it anymore for now.”
Yun Hao was puzzled. There was still about a foot of the old incense left. Why couldn’t he use it? His long-standing habit of being frugal made him ask without thinking.
“There’s still a foot left. It should last another night. I think I’ll just use the old one tonight. It would be a waste not to finish it.”
Lin Shengyu’s reaction was suddenly quite strong. She even accidentally knocked against a plate, producing a crisp sound. Her jade-like hands were visibly tense, and for once, she looked somewhat flustered.
“…? Is it… not usable anymore?”
Yun Hao was startled by his junior sister’s reaction. Why had she suddenly raised her voice? He looked at the girl cautiously.
Lin Shengyu quickly realized she had lost her composure. She hurriedly calmed her nervous heart and said softly,
“It’s not that it can’t be used. It’s just that the effect of the last bit isn’t very good. You’ve finally started to improve, Senior Brother. It’s better to use this new one tonight.”
She finished speaking in one breath and didn’t wait for Yun Hao’s response. She turned and walked straight behind the bamboo house, never once looking back at him. This made the already sensitive youth feel uneasy all of a sudden.
Yun Hao sat on the bamboo chair, feeling somewhat awkward and restless. He wondered if he had done something wrong and upset his junior sister.
He carefully thought back over everything, but after a long while, he still couldn’t figure out what he might have done wrong. In the end, he could only suppress his doubts and obediently follow his junior sister’s words.
(Since Yu’er said so, I should just listen to her. She’s always doing what’s best for me.)
Thinking this way, Yun Hao felt he should do something in return. After a moment, he picked up the new incense his junior sister had given him and slowly returned to his room.
Lin Shengyu hid behind the bamboo house and secretly watched her senior brother leave. Only after confirming that he was gone did she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
(Phew~ That was close. I almost gave myself away.)
The girl finally relaxed the heart that had been hanging in suspense. She had just lied. The remaining old purple sandalwood incense could still be used, and its effect was no different from usual. But she had her own little scheme.
This new stick of purple sandalwood incense had a much stronger calming and sleep-inducing effect. She had spent several days carefully adjusting the formula. She had personally tested it — after using it, one would sleep so deeply that they would have no awareness at all.
Thinking this, Lin Shengyu let out another somewhat dejected sigh. She was a smart girl. She knew that her senior brother’s frequent nightmares were most likely related to Senior Sister Luo Shuiling. She had already noticed it during the first few days.
But she hadn’t found the right opportunity to bring it up until that afternoon, when her senior brother had another restless nap. Only then did she seize the chance to force the issue and make him speak. That was how she had managed to give him the incense.
Her usual companionship didn’t seem to be very effective, which frustrated Lin Shengyu greatly. At the same time, a small, uncontrollable wave of dissatisfaction and jealousy rose in her heart.
She swore it was only a tiny bit. Just a tiny bit.
She could still endure it at first, but every night, her senior brother would space out. It had been fine at the beginning — once every few days — but recently, it happened almost every single night. Lin Shengyu felt that no matter how tolerant she was, it was still painful to watch the person she loved constantly ignoring her. And given her senior brother’s personality, he was most likely thinking about Senior Sister Luo Shuiling again.
Every time she saw him like that, she felt extremely upset. Most importantly, even though she and her senior brother had been living together for more than ten days, he still acted completely proper. He hadn’t done anything at all. Even holding hands was something she had to initiate.
Lin Shengyu’s delicate ears turned slightly red. Every night, she…
That was why she had made this specially prepared purple sandalwood incense. Its calming and sleep-inducing effects were enhanced so that her senior brother could rest properly while she could also fulfill some of her small wishes.
Thinking this, she turned and left. The bowls and chopsticks still needed to be washed. After finishing, she would adjust her expression and go find her senior brother again. She wanted to personally light the incense for him to prevent any strange accidents from happening.
Yun Hao returned to his room and looked at the extinguished purple sandalwood incense. After hesitating for a moment, he still pulled the remaining piece out of the incense burner.
Although he still felt it was a pity and was reluctant to waste it, he decided to listen to his junior sister and use the new one tonight.
He thought for a bit, then gently walked outside. He felt he should return this remaining old incense to her. When he felt a little better one day, he could ask her to give it back to him.
Having made up his mind, Yun Hao had just stepped outside when he ran into Lin Shengyu. Both of them spoke at the same time.
“Junior Sister, you should take back this remaining purple sandalwood incense.”
“Senior Brother, give me that remaining purple sandalwood incense.”
As soon as the words left their mouths, both of them froze for a moment. They suddenly found the situation somewhat amusing, though their thoughts were completely different.
(As expected, returning the remaining incense to Yu’er was the right decision.)
Yun Hao felt a sense of relief and quiet joy in his heart.
(This is truly heaven helping me! I didn’t expect Senior Brother to take the initiative and return the old incense to me.)
Lin Shengyu was overjoyed. She didn’t even need to come up with an excuse — her senior brother had voluntarily given her the incense.
She smiled sweetly and said,
“Then hurry up and give it to me, Senior Brother.”
As she spoke, she stretched out her hand. Her eager appearance was rather cute.
Seeing how much his junior sister wanted it, Yun Hao didn’t hesitate and handed over the remaining foot-long piece of purple sandalwood incense.
The two of them chatted for a while afterward. Then Lin Shengyu began urging Yun Hao to rest. The youth found it strange — it wasn’t even that late yet. Why was his junior sister already telling him to go to bed?
Lin Shengyu was particularly firm, saying that his mental state hadn’t been very good recently and that he needed to rest early and recover properly.
She personally lit the new purple sandalwood incense for him. Watching the smoke slowly rise, she instructed,
“Close the windows and everything. That way the effect will be maximized.”
She nodded in satisfaction. Before leaving, she specifically added,
“Senior Brother, make sure to rest early!”
She gave Yun Hao a sweet smile, then withdrew. Although Yun Hao still found her behavior a little odd, under the influence of the incense, he soon began to feel drowsy and gradually lost consciousness.
Steady breathing sounds slowly emerged.
After leaving the bamboo house, Lin Shengyu didn’t go far. She patiently waited nearby. After some time had passed, she could no longer suppress her excitement. She gently knocked on the door and softly called out,
“Senior Brother… are you asleep?”