NHWSG chapter 57

“Wen Sheng…?”

“Huh?”

“Wen Sheng, it’s almost time for evening class. If you don’t get up soon, be careful of punishment—”

Sheng Zhao was drowsy and confused, hearing a buzzing sound in his ears, the sound of wind, rain, and various other faint noises mixed together, giving him a headache.

He didn’t know how he suddenly became so exhausted. It took him a lot of effort to barely open his eyelids a crack.

Outside, it was drizzling rain, and half of the window on the corridor was open, letting the outside light in, with fine dust floating in the air.

“Wen Sheng, wake up!” The voice sounded again, clearly a bit impatient, “Didn’t you hear? The evening class bell has rung twice already.”

Yes, yes, I heard, Sheng Zhao thought dully, please stop calling me, even my soul is about to be called out.

He tried to wake up from the chaotic sleep, struggling to move his fingers, attempting to regain control of his body.

“It’s over, it’s over,” the voice continued incessantly. “I told you, I won’t copy the scriptures for you this time. Last time—”

The noise was so loud that Sheng Zhao’s ears hurt. Finally unable to bear it, he was about to retort when he heard a faint creaking sound behind him. A ray of sunlight streamed in through the slightly open door crack, bringing in a refreshing, moist breeze.

“Don’t pester him anymore.” A soft female voice said, “It’s just evening class. If he doesn’t go, so be it. If someone asks, say he’s cleaning the altar for me.”

“Oh, thank goodness you have your sister to cover for you.” The person seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before saying, “Otherwise, you’d be in trouble today.”

Sheng Zhao’s eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t open them. After hearing this sentence, he inexplicably relaxed, almost without a chance to struggle, his head slumped back to sleep.

He slept deeply this time, not knowing how long it had passed before he woke up groggily from deep sleep.

The sky seemed to have cleared, and the scorching sun shone down on him, warming his entire body. Sheng Zhao felt his chest heavy and tight, as if a big rock was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.

“How—”

He opened his mouth with difficulty, wanting to rub his chest, but instead, he felt a furry object.

Sheng Zhao, puzzled, opened his eyes and found a huge fat rabbit lying on his chest.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

No wonder he felt as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on him, about to make him cough up blood any minute.

“Oh, don’t make that face as soon as you open your eyes,” the rabbit spoke in human language, shaking its head and saying, “Although you fell asleep while cleaning the courtyard, I won’t make fun of you — after all, you brought carrots last time, and they were particularly sweet.”

The rabbit seemed completely unaware of its weight, and Sheng Zhao struggled to catch his breath before weakly extending his hand and lifting the rabbit off himself.

“You nearly crushed me to death—” Sheng Zhao said feebly, “When did I bring carrots for you?”

“Oh dear, don’t deny it,” the chubby rabbit winked at him, saying, “There’s no one else here. That little cat demon is keeping watch at the door for you. If your senior brother comes, he’ll run in to notify you.”

Sheng Zhao was completely confused; he hadn’t fully woken up from his sleep. His first reaction was, “What senior brother?” and “Where did this senior brother come from?”

He sat up in bed, looking down at his hands. He found himself wearing a deep blue plain robe with slightly short sleeves, revealing the white inner garment underneath when he raised his hand. Perhaps because he had slept for a long time, the ties of his long socks were loose, and one foot sock had fallen halfway, exposing his slender calf.

Sheng Zhao inexplicably stared at his hands for a while before subconsciously touching his face and head. He didn’t feel anything else, but he did manage to remove a hairpin from his head.

With the hairpin gone, the knot of his long hair instantly fell apart, cascading down his shoulders.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Looking at the things in his hand, he felt utterly bewildered, as if he had slept for millions of years, lost in a dream, and couldn’t even grasp where he was.

“What’s wrong with you?” the chubby rabbit looked at him worriedly, whispering, “Are you still half asleep?”

Ignoring him, Sheng Zhao stared at the hairpin in his hand, feeling a strange sensation, as if something was not right with the current situation.

But before he could think further, a soft chime suddenly came from outside the courtyard, followed by a familiar, gentle female voice.

“Wen Sheng—”

Sheng Zhao instinctively responded.

He stood up from the bed, and in that casual turn, the strange feeling in his heart disappeared in an instant.

“Oh, Sister is here,” the chubby rabbit bounced a few times on the ground, happily patting Sheng Zhao’s thigh with its short hand, saying, “Now you don’t have to worry anymore. Even if your senior brother comes to scold you, Sister will support you.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Sheng Zhao retorted softly, “Senior brother is also doing it for my own good.”

He stood up, first calling out to the outside to wait, then quickly scooping a ladle of cold water from the corner of the courtyard onto his face. Finally, he let down his long hair, tying it back into a neat bun and securing it with the hairpin.

After doing all this, he dusted off his clothes, hurried to the courtyard gate, and pulled out the wooden bolt.

Outside the door stood a young woman with a beautiful face. She wore a light pink dress, her long hair half tied up and half draped over her shoulders, smiling gently.

…Ignoring the fluffy fox ears on her head and the fluffy tail behind her, she could still be considered a refreshing and beautiful woman at first sight.

“Are you hiding in the courtyard again?” the woman said, raising her hand to knock on the door frame, blinking and teasing, “They say a day in the mountains is a thousand years in the world. You’ve kept me out for decades with just a little bit of effort.”

As she raised her hand, her sleeve slipped down, revealing a silver ring with a seal engraved on her right wrist. Sheng Zhao’s gaze lingered on it for a while before he realized and averted his eyes.

“It’s nothing, Sister Yun,” Sheng Zhao forced a smile, quickly stepping aside to let her in, saying, “Please come in.”

Yun Feng straightened her thin gauze dress, walked to the stone table and chairs in the corner of the courtyard, brushed off the fallen leaves, and sat down casually.

Sheng Zhao put the broom back under the eaves for some reason. The strange feeling he had felt earlier returned, like a lingering shadow, making him feel flustered.

Yun Feng seemed to sense his unease and called him slowly, “Wen Sheng?”

“Hmm?” Sheng Zhao turned back at the sound, thinking she had come for a private matter, and quickly spoke before her, “I remember the time for cleaning the temple. You can rest assured.”

“Not about that,” Yun Feng’s brows furrowed slightly, and she looked at Sheng Zhao, saying worriedly, “Sheng Zhao, something seems off with you today.”

Sheng Zhao was stunned by her words, subconsciously touching his face and remaining silent.

In fact, even without Yun Feng’s reminder, he had noticed it himself — the courtyard was familiar to him, and the days had passed in the same routine, but he inexplicably felt that something was not right. Despite having to clean the courtyard every day, he still felt detached from it all, as if he were an outsider in his own actions.

It’s as if… he has been away from here for a long time.

“I don’t know what’s wrong either,” Sheng Zhao walked back to Yun Feng and honestly said, “After waking up today, I just felt off, like something was strange everywhere.”

Yun Feng patted his hand after touching the rabbit, then drew something on the back of his hand with her finger, as if trying to draw a pattern.

“Maybe you’ve been haunted by nightmares,” Yun Feng said.

• No.

This thought appeared abruptly and inexplicably. Sheng Zhao hadn’t reacted yet, but he instinctively pulled his hand back.

Yun Feng’s hand hung in the air, and Sheng Zhao himself was stunned, as if he couldn’t understand why he had such a strong reaction.

I can’t let her draw, Sheng Zhao thought, someone will be angry.

“I just wanted to draw a calming talisman for you,” Yun Feng gave him an out, explaining proactively.

“I know…” Sheng Zhao hesitated for a moment, awkwardly smiled at her, and put his hand behind his back, saying, “It’s really not necessary.”

Yun Feng glanced him up and down, her eyes showing a knowing smile.

“I see, you’re afraid they’ll get mad,” Yun Feng said.

Sheng Zhao was somewhat surprised because the thought just now came extremely illogically, even he himself didn’t understand it, yet Yun Feng seemed to have guessed his mind ahead of time.

But no matter why, at least she was right.

Sheng Zhao nervously rubbed his fingers, about to nod, but then heard Yun Feng continue, “But you don’t need to worry too much. After all, I’m different from them. Even if your master and senior brothers see my mark on you, they won’t say anything.”

Sheng Zhao’s half-nodding suddenly stopped, his jaw stuck in his collar, and the second inexplicable thought popped into his mind.

No—Sheng Zhao thought, I’m not concerned about them.