Linyue tilted her head at his intense stare. "What?"
Shu Mingye continued staring. His brain had apparently decided to stop working, probably out of self-preservation.
She was soaked from head to toe, hair plastered to her cheeks, clothes dripping and heavy with water, and not a single trace of jade-dusted powder left. And somehow, she looked… ethereal. Not just the normal "pretty in the rain" kind of ethereal either. She looked like the kind of person you'd see in an ancient painting, except the artist probably cried out of frustration because no brushstroke could do her justice.
She was really beautiful. Stupidly beautiful.
Her face, though dripping wet, was delicate, almost unreal, like someone carved her out of moonlight and jade. Her jaw curved softly, her pale skin gleamed under the misty light, smooth and perfect in a way that made him question if she was entirely human.
And her eyes. Those quiet, deep eyes. Almond-shaped and dark as midnight ink, holding a calm depth that felt impossible to look away from. They were the kind of eyes that seemed to see right through him, the kind that told whole stories without speaking a word.
Her lips were soft pink, the natural color of peach blossoms after rain. Small and perfectly shaped, they looked like they were made for quiet sarcasm and the occasional unintentional compliment that ruined his self-control. Her brows were thin and graceful, sitting above her eyes like two ink strokes from a calligraphy master's hand—elegant without even trying.
In summary: unfair. Unreasonable. Probably illegal.
She had the face of a mountain fairy or a goddess who accidentally wandered into the mortal world, too serene to be just beautiful, too untouchable to feel entirely real.
Shu Mingye's brain finally decided this was too much work and simply… shut down. Every thought, every clever remark, every plan he had just dissolved into static. And then—
"Sister Linyue, your face!!" Song Meiyu's voice exploded behind them. Her eyes were wide, hands flying up to cover her mouth.
Linyue blinked, slowly raised a hand, and touched her cheek.
Oh. Right. The jade dust disguise. Completely gone. The furious waterfall had washed every trace of it away. She turned her head toward Shu Mingye, who was still staring. Absolutely unhelpful. He looked like he was trying to decide whether she had sprouted glowing wings, a halo, and a floating sign that read "Actually a celestial being," or if she was a soggy ghost back from the grave to haunt him personally. His eyes were a little too wide. His face a little too serious.
Linyue raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry. My face isn't cursed."
Shu Mingye flinched. "I wasn't—" he began, but the words got stuck somewhere between his pride and the back of his throat. He clamped his jaw shut and exhaled slowly. There was no saving himself. Yes. He had been staring. For too long. Far, far too long.
He had always told himself it didn't matter what she looked like. He respected her intelligence. Her cold logic. Her sharp tongue. Her willingness to poke first and ask questions never. He had convinced himself appearances were irrelevant. But… this?
This wasn't just beautiful. This was dangerous. Otherworldly. Unfair. Like a goddess had rolled down a mountain, landed in his arms, and then asked him if he had the audacity to gawk.
Of course she had been confident this whole time. Of course she had casually said she was beautiful without flinching. Of course she had been hiding a face that could probably start a war, end an empire, or make several kings consider early retirement just to win her favor. But she also kind of owed him an explanation. Or five. Or ten. Preferably with diagrams and footnotes.
He glanced around, forcing himself to focus on anything except the fact that he was still holding her. They were still half-submerged in the pool, soaked to the bone, hair plastered to their faces. Song Meiyu was loudly whispering something about how "unreasonable" it was to look that good after falling through a waterfall, which was not helping. Definitely not the best time for a serious interrogation.
Shu Mingye let out a slow sigh and dragged a wet hand through his even wetter hair. Fine. He would let it go. For now. But once they got back, there would be questions. Many questions. Possibly charts.
Clearing his throat, Shu Mingye managed to keep his voice cool and completely dignified. "I was just making sure your disguise wore off properly."
Linyue stared at him with the most unimpressed expression she could manage while dripping water onto everything. "That was nice of you," she said, her voice flat with just the right amount of sarcasm.
He nodded seriously, like he had just done her a great favor. Then, still holding her by the waist—because apparently his hands had decided they were on strike and refusing to let go—he guided them both toward the edge of the pool. When they reached solid ground, he lifted her out and set her gently on the rocks.
Very professional. Very calm. Very kingly.
At least, that was what he told himself. Inside, his brain was in full collapse mode. She was glowing. Not metaphorically. Actually glowing. The water caught the light and made her skin look like it had been painted with moonlight. Her hair dripped down her back in sleek, dark strands, and her soaked robes completely failing to make her look any less like a divine creature.
He forced his eyes away. Focus. Focus. Don't look directly. That's how people get turned to stone. Or worse, start writing bad poetry about eyes like stars and lips like rain-kissed petals.
Meanwhile, Linyue calmly stepped out of his arms as if she hadn't just shattered his entire definition of beauty and dignity in one effortless motion. She didn't even glance back.
Shu Mingye's fingers twitched once, curling reflexively like they weren't ready to give up holding onto disaster incarnate in human form. But he forced himself to let go, his hand falling to his side with quiet reluctance.
Linyue wandered ahead, completely unaffected, her attention fixed on their surroundings.
They had landed in a massive cave. The ceiling arched high above, one half made of rough black and brown stone like a normal, respectable cave. But the other half had clearly decided to show off.
An entire wall of translucent blue quartz glimmered like frozen starlight, catching every droplet of water and turning it into tiny glowing gems. The light scattered across the cavern in soft waves, turning the floor into a field of faintly glowing stars. It was so beautiful it felt almost wrong to make noise in here, like stepping into a temple or a dream you weren't sure you were supposed to see. It looked like the sort of place where legends were born. Or the sort of place where adventurers vanished mysteriously and became ghost stories.
Linyue stood in the middle of it all. She glanced up at the glowing quartz, eyes calm despite her soaked state. "So that's what it meant by In halls of glass where cool winds stay," she murmured. "The wall really does look like it's made of glass."
Shen Zhenyu, who was already somehow half-dry and radiating his usual "calm in the face of nonsense" energy, nodded slightly. "Yeah. I went ahead. There's a spring up there. The water's crystal clear. Definitely the place."
Song Meiyu clapped her hands so hard the sound bounced off the sparkling cave walls. Her face was glowing with excitement. "I knew it! Master Yin Xue was right! We found it!"
She grabbed Linyue's soaked sleeve and gave it an enthusiastic tug, splashing tiny droplets everywhere. "Come on! Let's go see the spring before someone else tries to drown us again!"
Shu Mingye, standing a little behind them, let out a quiet sigh. His eyes, just for a moment, flicked to Linyue. Then, as if catching himself, he quickly looked away.
He cleared his throat. "Why doesn't one of you even try to dry your clothes with fire spiritual energy?"
That single sentence made all three heads snap toward him.
Shen Zhenyu raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Dangerous," he said flatly.
Linyue nodded once, as if this was obvious knowledge.
Song Meiyu chimed in brightly. "Sister Linyue tried it once. Let's just say Master Tian Mo's eyebrows are still growing back."
Shu Mingye froze mid-step. His mouth twitched, caught somewhere between amusement and mild horror.
"…Noted," he said carefully.