Chapter 189 I Trust Him!

Chapter 189 I Trust Him!

Li Yundong glanced towards the door at the sound of three sharp knocks. He was just about to wrap up his packing.

Crap. Was it 8 AM already?

"Just a sec!" he yelled, returning his attention to his backpack.

The knob turned, and the door creaked open. Li Yundong looked up sharply and saw Zi Yuan poking her head in. He didn't even want to know how she managed to open the door, which he was pretty sure was locked from the inside.

Zi Yuan strode in casually, shutting the door behind her. "The car's ready to leave. What's taking you so long?"

Li Yundong sighed and pointed at three objects on the bed. "These."

Zi Yuan stopped at the edge of the bed and studied the three objects he'd laid on top of the folded blanket.

Li Yundong watched Zi Yuan's expression carefully. He didn't know how she would react to him being in possession of these magical objects.

Zi Yuan's eyes roamed over the objects. Her expression was inscrutable, though she did frown a little when her eyes traveled over the two orb-like beads.

She bent down and picked up the red, leather whip.

"The Ophidian Whip," Zi Yuan said, pulling the whip taut. "A Yin-based weapon capable of magic from the Fire element." Zi Yuan studied the whip using the sunlight streaming in from the window. Suddenly, she turned away from the whip and met his gaze. "Where's the other one? It's supposed to come in pairs."

Li Yundong gave her a sheepish look. "I destroyed it." He shrugged. "Sliced it in half."

Zi Yuan looked a little surprised at that. "Sliced it in half? You mean with…"

"Yeah…" Li Yundong nodded. "With one of the mudras."

Zi Yuan turned back to the whip in her hands and studied it for a moment. "It matters not." She started coiling up the whip. "In terms of strength, I'd place the Ophidian Whip somewhere in the middle on the power-scale. But in the right hands, it can become a formidable weapon." She lay the whip back onto the bed. "Keep it. It might come in handy."

Li Yundong sighed in relief. Minutes after Li Yundong had begun walking away from the base camps, Dorjee Tenzin ran up to him with those weapons, insisting that he take them with him. Dorjee Tenzin thought it would be a bad idea to leave those weapons lying around for someone else to find. He said that those magical weapons would endanger the lives of those who found them, especially if the people who found them were non-Cultivators. Li Yundong had agreed to take them because he thought Zi Yuan would know what to do with them. He didn't expect that she would ask him to keep them.

Zi Yuan was already walking away from the bed. She didn't even spare the beads a second glance.

"Wait, what about those beads?"

Zi Yuan stopped in front of the door and turned around. "The Beads of Gore are evil in nature. I wouldn't use it lightly." Zi Yuan glanced down at her watch. "Come on. We have to go."

The door closed, leaving Li Yundong alone in the room.

He looked towards his backpack again.

Time to go home.

***

Ao Wushuang stepped into the condo's elevator, carrying bags of Dongwu City's finest delicacies in one hand. With her free hand, she pressed the button for the nineteenth floor.

The doors slid shut and the elevator started rising.

Ao Wushuang might not have any culinary skills to speak of, as that ungrateful disciple of hers so often reminded her, but she could still put good food on the table. Not that Chan'er had ever overtly expressed gratitude to Ao Wushuang for catering to her dietary needs. The closest thing to appreciation Ao Wushuang had ever gotten out of Chan'er was an offhanded: "Ooh! That's as good as Yundong's beer duck stew!"

Ao Wushuang didn't even know what beer duck stew was.

A soft ding announced the end of her elevator ride. Ao Wushuang strode out after the doors opened, then made a beeline towards the apartment she had leased two months ago. One thing nice about Dongwu City was that it was easy to look for Cultivation-friendly accommodations. Then again, the entire Dongwu City was Cultivation-friendly to begin with.

A few men leered at her along the way, but she ignored them. She wondered if those puny men would still look at her the same way if they knew that she could turn them into a pile of ashes with a mere flick of her finger.

Ao Wushuang made a sharp right turn and arrived at a long hallway, the end of which lay her and Chan'er's shared lodgings.

That idiot girl better still be busy training when she returned, or else…

Ao Wushuang had some qualms at first about leaving Chan'er alone while she went out to buy food. If it weren't for the fact that Chan'er had a lot of training to catch up on, Ao Wushuang would've brought Chan'er out with her just so she could keep an eye on her.

But still, Chan'er had been super obedient and acquiescent after learning about the Heir's success in passing the Zhuji phase. She'd even made a bit of progress in her training.

Ao Wushuang pushed the door open and strode into the apartment. She turned and headed straight for the old-fashioned square table beside the living room.

"Chan'er! Dinner time!" Ao Wushuang yelled, setting the bags onto the table.

Yeah. That's right. They should hurry up and get dinner out of the way. After all, Ao Wushuang had tons of research to get back to. She'd made some progress in coming up with a solution to the Heir's conundrum. Finally! After two months of endless research and brain racking.

Her idea was ingenious, and she couldn't wait to work out all the details. First, she had to do some calculations, and then run a simulation using a projection spell…

Ao Wushuang shook herself before she became so engrossed in her thoughts that she forgot about everything else, like Chan'er's current whereabouts, for instance.

"Chan'er! Hurry up! Dinner's ready!"

Silence.

Ao Wushuang frowned. Usually, Chan'er would come running out and cheering at the mere mention of food—even though the food wasn't prepared by her beloved Yundong.

Ao Wushuang crossed the large expanse of the living room and headed towards Chan'er's bedroom. The door was still closed.

Surely that silly girl wouldn't run away again after Ao Wushuang had threatened to renounce her discipleship if she pulled another escape stunt. Ao Wushuang stood in front of the bedroom door for a moment. Then, she looked towards the front door. Chan'er's shoes were still neatly placed on the shoe rack.

Ao Wushuang turned around to face Chan'er's bedroom door again.

Maybe she was just in a deep meditative state. Ao Wushuang turned the door knob slowly and pushed the door gently lest her entrance disrupt Chan'er's meditation.

It turned out that her worries were unfounded because the room was empty.

Ao Wushuang stormed into the room. "Chan'er!"

A small note sat on top of the meditation cushion beside the foot of the bed: Master, I'm just going back to take a quick look at him. Just a quick look. I'll be back soon!

Ao Wushuang growled. Red flames rose from her palm, burning the note to ashes.

"You idiot disciple! You really think you can escape from me?"

Ao Wushuang did a hand sign.

Shadow Mist! Wisps of mists floated up from the ground. Ao Wushuang quickly switched to another hand sign. Shadow Dance! Under the cover of the mist, Ao Wushuang moved to a corner of the room and waited. Seconds later, the mist thinned out, leaving a clone of her right where she'd been standing before she moved.

"I'll get you for this, Chan'er!" her clone yelled.

A second later, the door opened and her clone stormed out.

Smirking, Ao Wushuang stood at the corner of the room and waited.

About a minute later, Chan'er crawled out from under the bed.

Ao Wushuang shook her head. How Chan'er had managed to fit herself under that bed was beyond Ao Wushuang.

Oh, you think you're so clever, Chan'er.

Insolent girl. Clearly, she had forgotten who her master was.

Chan'er cheered and jumped around a few times. "Hehehe! Master… Now you can't end my discipleship even if I go out," she whispered to herself. "Because this won't count as me sneaking out! I'm just going out to look for my beloved Master because I'm such a loyal disciple!"

Ao Wushuang had to bite the inside of her cheek to stifle her laugh. Heavens bless this girl and her infinite cuteness.

"Hmm. Should I bring something for Yundong…? Nah. I'll just go and take a quick look as promised…"

Ao Wushuang rolled her eyes. Enough was enough.

Ao Wushuang did a hand sign. The mist thickened and drifted towards Chan'er's back before falling away to reveal Ao Wushuang's full form.

"Nice try, Chan'er…" Ao Wushuang reached out to pinch Chan'er's Shentang. "But that's not enough to fool—"

Ao Wushuang's eyes widened when her finger went through Chan'er's shoulder blade instead of touching it. Then, Chan'er's figure faded into nothingness.

A talisman fluttered in the air and landed on the floor.

Ao Wushuang bent down and picked up the talisman. It was a standard cloning spell, an inferior version of the Shadow Dance that required a talisman to work.

Ao Wushuang flipped the talisman over and look at its back, where a large smiley with its tongue stuck out was drawn.

A simple line was written under the smiley face: Gotcha, Master! Hehehe!

A ball of fire erupted from Ao Wushuang's palm and engulfed the talisman.

"You insolent disciple!!!"

A billow of thin mist drifted towards the balcony of apartment 19A of New Hongsheng District. It slipped through the gaps between the balusters forming the railing and then lingered there for a moment, staying close to the floor the whole time. No light came from inside 19A; the occupants were either out or asleep.

The mist glided along the floor of the balcony, stopping only when it was inches away from the balcony. It rose from the floor and swirled, slowly losing its transparency until it formed an opaque clump.

Seconds later, the clump morphed into the delicate figure of Su Chan.

"Phew…" Su Chan said and leaned herself against the sliding door. The glass trembled under her weight. Idiot, Chan'er! She thought, wincing. Be quiet! Master is still upstairs!

Su Chan knew that Master would get here before she did. For one, Master could fly way faster than Su Chan ever could. Besides, Master had left the corn-door building before Su Chan did.

Corn-door. What a strange name to call a house by. Why would anyone name a building after some crop? Had a farmer constructed that building? Then again, she didn't understand why Mac Doo Nurls was called Mac Doo Nurls either.

Mortals and their strange nomenclature.

Anyway. Su Chan had been flying around—in her mist form—their apartment block ever since she arrived at New Hongsheng District. She hadn't seen Master leave their apartment—20A—yet, so she knew that Master was still in there, waiting for Su Chan to show up.

Speaking of which…

Yippee!!!

Su Chan had managed to hoodwink the great Ao Wushuang!

Su Chan felt like doing cartwheels and somersaults right then and there, but that was probably a bad idea. Oh, yes. It would be a terrible idea indeed, considering Master was just one floor up.

The plan was pretty straightforward.

If Master arrived at the apartment before Su Chan, she would no doubt hide inside the apartment and wait until Su Chan showed up inside the apartment. So, if Su Chan waited long enough, Master would eventually leave the apartment and look for her elsewhere. Su Chan would then sneak in once she was sure that Master had left the building.

Of course, Master would search through the whole apartment before leaving just to make sure that Su Chan wasn't hiding anywhere inside the apartment—Master had always been meticulous. But still, Master would eventually be convinced that Su Chan wasn't there, because… well, she really wasn't.

Ideally, Master would fly back to Dongwu City after she left the apartment, though Su Chan doubted Master would do that. Master was too clever for that. She would definitely linger in Tiannan City and eventually find a way to track Su Chan down. Even more so considering the huge arsenal of spells Master had at her disposal…

Nevertheless, Su Chan was confident that this little scheme of hers could buy her more time to stay at the apartment. Maybe she could even stay long enough until Yundong came home from his journey…

Su Chan slid down against the glass door until her butt touched the balcony floor. The balcony above was quiet. There were no sounds of the sliding door opening, nor did she hear any footsteps.

Master was still inside apartment 20A.

Su Chan sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. Master would be so mad at her though…

Fear coursed through Su Chan.

Would Master really toss Su Chan aside after this? Su Chan had blatantly defied Master's orders after all. Su Chan wondered what kind of punishment she would receive when she got back. Maybe Master would ground Su Chan for weeks by placing powerful talismans around the corn-door building.

Or maybe Master would unleash her culinary skills on Su Chan…

Su Chan shuddered at the thought.

After a while, Su Chan's fear turned into a niggling sensation of guilt. Master had been working so hard to save Yundong's life. All those long hours she'd spent inside the study, poring through books and scrolls, drawing talismans…

Su Chan didn't think Master slept or rested at all. Well, Master didn't really need sleep or rest, but still…

Su Chan sighed again. She should really stop causing Master so much trouble after this. It wasn't like she wanted to disobey Master. It was just that Master had forbidden any form of contact with Yundong. Not even a phone call. Or a letter…

She missed Yundong so much that her heart ached. She didn't even have a photo or picture of Yundong she could stare at whenever she missed him.

A soft thud sounded on the balcony above. Su Chan rose to her feet and hid herself behind the railing. Was Master leaving already?

Su Chan took a peek from the top of the railing. There was a bright flash, after which a green streak shot into the sky at blinding speed. Wow. Master's speed was amazing as always.

Su Chan rose to her full height and flew upwards until she reached the balcony above. Home sweet home, she thought when her feet touched the floor.

She walked away from the railing and stopped in front of the sliding door. Master had closed it before she left.

Standing in front of the glass door, Su Chan peered into the apartment through the glass. Darkness greeted her eyes.

A wave of disappointment settled at the pit of her stomach.

Yundong wasn't home yet.

Su Chan opened the sliding door and stepped into the apartment. She stopped at the center of the living room and soaked in the familiarity of her home. Everything looked the same: the couch; the TV box, the shoe rack; her fluffy cartoon slippers; the round table in front of the couch; the rectangular table where they had their meals.

Tears stung Su Chan's eyes. She thought that being here would make her feel better, but it didn't. It actually made her feel worse.

She was such an idiot.

Something wet slid down Su Chan's cheeks, but she did nothing to stop its flow.

It hurt so much. Her chest hurt so much. She missed him so much.

Su Chan's vision blurred. "Yundong…"

"Now do you understand why I keep denying your request to come here?"

Su Chan gasped and turned around. Despite the blurriness in her vision, Su Chan could still make out Master's beautiful figure.

Su Chan's legs moved on their own. Seconds later, Su Chan threw herself into the arms of the woman who had taught her the first ever spell she knew, the woman who had raised her like her own daughter.

"I'm s- sorry, Master…" Su Chan cried. "I'm so sorry!"

Su Chan felt a series of gentle pats on her back.

"Shh… It's okay, Chan'er… It's okay. Just let it out."

Su Chan kept sobbing into Master's chest, not caring at all that she was ruining the front of Master's dress.

"I- I miss him, Master…" said Su Chan after her sobs had turned into snivels.

Master sighed. "I know you do, Chan'er… I know." Master pulled back so that she could look into Su Chan's eyes. "But if you can't even handle a brief separation like this, how are ever you going to survive longer separations in the future?"

The answer was plain. She couldn't.

Su Chan sniffed and looked away.

"That's why you need to learn how to be self-sufficient," Master continued. "Yes, you love him, I get it. But right now, you're acting like a child."

Su Chan's cheeks heated in shame. "I'm sorry…" She lowered her head.

Su Chan felt a gentle pat on her head. Then, she heard Master's chuckle.

"It's okay. You're still so young." Master sighed. "I guess I should've seen this coming."

Su Chan raised her gaze. "Why did you come back here so quickly, Master? Did you leave something behind?"

"Come back?" Master laughed loudly. "I never left!"

Su Chan gaped. "B- But… I saw you fly off— Kyaa!" Su Chan rubbed her head where Master had poked her. "Oww…"

"Oh, Heavens above…" Master said. "Your lovesickness must've really messed with your head if you think you can actually fool me, Chan'er."

Su Chan pouted. "But I did fool you…" she mumbled. "I tricked you the first time back at—"

"Tsk! Such insolence!"

Su Chan made a face at Master, who merely smiled back at her.

After a while, Master's expression turned serious. "You listen to me well, Chan'er…"

Su Chan stood at attention. Master's tone wasn't reprimanding, but Su Chan knew that tone. Whatever Master's next words were, Su Chan had better give Master her full attention.

"Mmm!" Su Chan nodded.

"Do you think your beloved has what it takes to become a great Cultivator?"

"Mmm!" Su Chan bobbed her head up and down. "I have faith in him!"

Master arched a brow. "In that case, shouldn't you be working hard to grow stronger as well?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Y- Yes…"

Master's brow rose even higher. "Surely you want to become a Cultivator worthy of the Heir's affections?"

Su Chan pondered Master's words quietly.

"If you truly love him, then you ought to do what's best for him."

Su Chan fiddled with the hem of her dress.

"And what do you think is the best for him now, hmm?" Master paused. "What do you think he should be focusing on right now?"

Su Chan sneaked a glance at Master.

Master was clearly waiting for an answer.

"S- Surviving his divine punishment?"

There was a snort. "Oh, so you do know what's good for him then…"

Su Chan sneaked another glance at Master. A pair of stern eyes made her look down again.

"Right now he needs to focus on strengthening his meridians and his Vital Orb." Master's sharp tone echoed in the room. "He can't afford to be distracted, do you understand?"

But wouldn't he be distracted too if he missed her? Su Chan could barely concentrate on her own training because she missed Yundong too much. Wait. What if Yundong didn't miss her at all?

"And you need to focus on your own training so you don't become a burden to him in the future," Master said sternly. There was a brief pause, like Master was thinking about something. "Has it ever occurred to you that the Heir might have powerful enemies in the future?"

Su Chan nodded meekly. He had powerful enemies even now.

"And what do you think would happen if those powerful enemies decide to use you to get to him?" Master continued.

Su Chan stared quietly at her feet. Somewhere in the living room, the clock chimed. She counted twelve times.

"If you're so weak that you can't even defend yourself," Master continued, "then you'll eventually lead the Heir to his death!"

Su Chan's head snapped up.

Master gave her a stern look. "Make no mistake, Chan'er. That man would gladly give his life to save you."

So would I, Su Chan wanted to say, but she bit her tongue.

"The best way to protect him is to not put him in a position where he has to risk his life for you at all," Master said. "And that means improving your skills so that you can hold your own against his enemies." There was a pause. "You don't have to defeat them, of course. But you need to at least be able to defend yourself when you're up against them. Otherwise, you'll just become his Achilles' heel."

The truth of Master's words echoed inside Su Chan's mind.

"Do you want that, Chan'er? Do you want to end up becoming your beloved's ultimate weakness?"

Su Chan shook her head frantically.

Master arched her brow. "Do you want to become the reason for his downfall? The source of his doom?"

Su Chan shook her head even harder. She thought her neck muscles were about to tear.

"Good." Master nodded. "It seems like we are finally on the same page."

Su Chan stared up at Master, waiting for her next words.

"Now. Are you ready to go back and resume your training?"

***

Ao Wushuang sent a prayer of gratitude to the Heavens the moment she saw Chan'er's nod. If that little speech wouldn't work, she didn't know what else would. Not even Ao Wushuang's threats of disownment had worked, for Heavens' sake.

"Come. Let's head back." When Ao Wushuang began to step away, she felt a tug on her sleeve.

Ao Wushuang turned around.

There it was again, Chan'er's signature I'm-the-most-pitiful-little-fox-in-the-whole-world eyes.

Heavens give me strength. Ao Wushuang sighed. "Spit it out."

"C- Can I just… um…"

"What," Ao Wushuang snapped. Her tone must have sounded too harsh because Chan'er flinched. She softened her tone. "What is it?"

"Can I check out his bedroom?!" Chan'er spoke in a hurried tone.

Ao Wushuang stared at Chan'er in disbelief.

"Just for a moment! It won't take long! I promise!" Chan'er pressed her palms together. "Please? I…" Chan'er blushed. "I miss his scent…"

Ao Wushuang stared up at the ceiling and shook her head. Heavens save her soul. Scratch that. Not even the Heavens could save her from this torture.

"Fine…" Ao Wushuang waved her hand tiredly. "Go. Do whatever you want."

"Yay!!!"

For the following few seconds, the only thing Ao Wushuang heard was the pitter-patter of Chan'er's footsteps.

"Silly disciple," Ao Wushuang grumbled, then walked over to the couch and sat down.

Fifteen minutes later, Ao Wushuang stood up from the couch in a fit of impatience.

"Chan'er! What's taking you so long?!"

Ao Wushuang had kept Eryue activated, so she knew that Chan'er was still inside the apartment.

Ao Wushuang stood outside the bedroom whose door was closed and waited for Chan'er to come out.

"Chan'er!" Ao Wushuang rapped her knuckles on the door's surface. "Hurry up already, geez!"

Seconds passed in silence, which then turned into a minute.

Ao Wushuang huffed out in frustration, then twisted the door knob. She stormed in.

"Chan'er—"

Ao Wushuang stopped short. Chan'er was sitting on the bed with a blank expression, hugging a… Hello Kitty piggy bank?

Ao Wushuang approached the bed quietly. "What's wrong, Chan'er?"

A grin lit up Chan'er's face, and she raised the piggy bank as if she was trying to show it off to Ao Wushuang. "Hello Keedee…" The piggy bank clinked noisily when Chan'er shook it a few times. "Hello Keedee…"

Ao Wushuang had never felt so confused in her life.

"What are you talking about?"

"My Hello Keedee…" Chan'er said, again with that silly grin on her face.

Maybe a healing spell was required because Chan'er was clearly getting a little loopy here.

"Tsk. It's just a piggy bank," Ao Wushuang said.

Chan'er shook her head. "Yundong bought Hello Keedee for me."

Ao Wushuang sighed heavily. Perhaps Ao Wushuang was the one who would be needing a healing spell after this.

"So?"

That silly grin returned to Chan'er's face again. "I found it on the bed, Master! Right beside his pillow!"

You'd think Chan'er had just found out she'd become a Shenxian judging by the happy look on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he put your piggy bank beside his pillow. How sweet of him," Ao Wushuang said impatiently. "Now are you done?"

"It means he did miss me while we were apart…"

"But he wasn't even here," Ao Wushuang mumbled to herself. The guy was thousands of kilometers away, conquering Tibetan mountains.

"He must've missed me so much that he kept the piggy bank beside his pillow…"

Ao Wushuang wondered if she would be having an aneurysm right about now if she weren't a powerful seven-tailed fox spirit. "Okay…. Fine. He misses you. Are you happy now? Let's go already. I've got a lot of work to do—"

"Master, Master! Can I leave a note?" Chan'er bounced on the bed a few times. "Please, please, please?"

Ao Wushuang stared at her through narrowed eyes.

Chan'er held three fingers beside her temple like she was swearing an oath. "Chan'er will be obedient from now on, Master!"

Ao Wushuang sighed. "Fine."

"Hooray!!!"

"But you're not allowed to give him clues about our location," Ao Wushuang said sternly.

Chan'er bobbed her head up and down, then spent the next few minutes running around the bedroom.

"What are you looking for?"

Chan'er closed the wardrobe with a bang. "A backpack… His backpack… The one he always brought to school…"

Chan'er began to crawl on the floor to check under the bed.

Ao Wushuang sighed. "What does it look like?"

Chan'er crawled towards the head of the bed. "It looks like a bag."

Ao Wushuang suddenly felt an urge to burn this whole building down with the Five Thunders Spell. "Of course it looks like a bag, you silly girl. You—" Ao Wushuang took a deep, calming breath. "Tell me its color."

"Black…" Chan'er's voice was muffled. Not a surprise since her head was currently buried somewhere under the bed.

"Should've said so earlier," Ao Wushuang mumbled.

A simple spell from the Water element should do the trick. Ao Wushuang closed her eyes and muttered a quick incantation. Then, she opened her eyes and held out her palm. Seconds later, the water vapor from every corner of the room gathered into a ball of mist above Ao Wushuang's palm.

Ao Wushuang mumbled another incantation.

The mist dispersed and moved out of the bedroom before spreading out to all corners of the apartment.

Ao Wushuang closed her eyes again. This simple spell was merely a variation of the Observer Cloud spell used for long-range surveillance.

Seconds later, Ao Wushuang opened her eyes. "It's on the chair beside the dining table."

Chan'er leaped up from the floor and ran out.

Moments later, Chan'er returned with a notepad and a pen.

Ao Wushuang leaned over Chan'er's shoulder to see what she was writing—just in case the girl had other forms of mischief in mind.

Chan'er wrote down a line: Beloved! I was home! I missed you so much! Do you miss me?

Suddenly, Chan'er stopped writing and stared off into space.

Before Ao Wushuang could say anything, Chan'er tore the page and crumpled the paper.

On a new page, Chan'er wrote: Congratulations, Yundong! You've passed the Zhuji phase. I miss you… I miss you so, so, so, so… so… much.

Chan'er hesitated for a moment, then tore the page again.

Ao Wushuang huffed out in frustration. "Oh, for Heavens' sake. It's just a note! How hard can it be?"

"Sorry! Master! Sorry!" Chan'er looked up at her. "I- I don't think I can write it with you looking over my shoulders, Master…"

Ao Wushuang gave her a stern look. "Remember what I said—"

"I won't reveal our location." Chan'er raised three fingers again. "I swear!"

Ao Wushuang sighed and backed away a few steps. Then, she watched from a few feet away as Chan'er wrote down a few lines and folded the paper into a neat square. After that, Chan'er brought the note to the bed and placed it under the piggy bank.

"You're not worried that he might miss the note if you put it there?"

Chan'er beamed. "He won't miss it."

Ao Wushuang raised a brow. "You're that sure?" Ao Wushuang looked around the room. "Isn't it better to leave the note at a more conspicuous place?"

Chan'er smiled. "If he truly cares about the piggy bank, then he'll find the note, Master."

Ao Wushuang snorted. "And what if he doesn't care at all? Wouldn't that just break your heart?"

Chan'er leaped off the bed and looped her arm through the crook of Ao Wushuang's elbow. "He'll find it, Master. I trust him!" Chan'er patted her own chest. "I trust him with my heart!"

Ao Wushuang chuckled and shook her head wryly.

Young love indeed.