The calmness of the place became awkward with the passing time.
An Bing Qing was sitting like a good little girl, quiet and immobile, but her smooth hands that were wrinkling the lower part of her white robe showed the opposite. Her pretty inky eyes too; they had been wandering all around, always keeping sure of avoiding looking on Wang Shu's direction though, that was at her left and not more than a foot from her.
He was resting his back against the green bamboos and the long fingers on both of his hands were playing with the greenery on the ground; his head was looking skyward but his eyes were closed. He had an impeccable elegance and a manly beauty that was highlighted by the sparse rays of sunlight that found their way through the shade of tall bamboos. But it was a pity; it was a pleasant sight that An Bing Qing was reluctant to look at.
Darkness descended and the sunlight rays were replaced by those of moonlight.
Amid this peaceful night, all of a sudden, Wang Shu opened his eyes and stood up. He advanced forward, making his long white sleeves flap with the cool breeze.
By now, An Bing Qing was at the point of falling asleep; she had been waking up pretty earlier the past days and hadn't taken the usual naps she takes from time to time. Therefore, she didn't notice his movements until she heard him say, "Follow me and keep close". The sound made echo in her ears and she got up with half-closed eyes.
She followed his tall figure from behind and she could see his silky black hair swing with the wind, making her sleepier. Her steps began to slow down while her blurry sight had lost track of him; she couldn't his white figure, only different shades of grey.
"Thud"
"Ugh", she had bumped into something like a soft but firm wall. Confused, she raised her hand to rub her head but a tickling feeling passed through her hand, making her stop her action half-way and lower her sight; she made her best to focus and was able to distinguish fine dark threads that made a good contrast with her milky hand.
She blinked and thought, 'Hair?'
Before she could confirm her guess, the voice she was so familiar with rose again, "Don't lag behind".
She raised her head to look up to the owner of the voice but she could only see his perfect side profile turning around.
She tilted her head to a side wanting to see his face before feeling the cool breeze blew on her face along with the tickling of his hair sliding from her hand as he stepped forward; with it, she couldn't help herself from stretching her hand and reach for his robes.
Once she took them, she asked with a drowsy tone while daydreaming, "Where are we going this time, Shu?"
Even though she was sleepy, her question had flowed smoothly; there was no shyness, no awkwardness, it was as though she was used to pronouncing all the said words.
'This time? Shu?' he thought as he halted. But he didn't ponder into it too much because of the tone of her voice; she didn't seem to have her six senses on earth.
However, before he gave her an answer, he remembered the familiarity he felt earlier, making him wonder deeply her close addressing and her obvious we-have-made-this-before phrase.
He turned around his head and looked down; he saw her hand holding onto his robes and her eyes that were barely opened. It was a funny sight that amazed him, how could she walk and perfectly talk on that state? As he pondered, a sudden thought went through his mind, 'If I ask her while she is like that, will I get the truth to the questions I have?'
His semblance grew serious as he looked at the vulnerable young girl...
'Better not to', at long last, he thought. Usually, he wouldn't have made that decision but he had the feeling he will come to know when it was meant for him to know it. It was like a kind of premonition and as the cultivator he was, he chose to follow it.