Volume One: The Celestial Cloud Palace Chapter 28: Affection

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Affection

“No, no, no... Last time was my fault. I came to see if your injury had recovered, and... and to give you a bottle of Grass Return Pill.” Normally, Yu Nan was every bit the proud lady, but now she seemed at a loss, her words hesitant and faltering.

“What did you say? Senior Sister Yu, did I hear that right? You came to check up on my condition? And you want to give me medicinal pills?” As soon as Zhou Hao heard this, his expression shifted, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the tall figure before him.

Had this happened before, Yu Nan would surely have slapped him, but today, for some reason, her beautiful cheeks flushed hotly, as if shy, her eyes darting everywhere, unable to meet his, and her hands uncertain where to rest.

This feeling was entirely new to her, and Yu Nan could not understand her own behavior. She should have hated him—he was the disciple of her enemy, someone she was supposed to despise—but everything had been turned upside down. Now, she felt compelled to know this person, her mind replaying images of him again and again.

Wounded and battered, yet he stood unbowed, his steadfast gaze fixed upon her as if she were a celestial maiden. She was the challenger, yet others came in her stead, trampling his dignity as a man time and again. Twenty years of cultivation, and still he faced formidable foes without fear, pouring his courage and resolve into a challenge against her. In that instant, Yu Nan’s heart was utterly shaken—his figure was forever branded in her memory!

“Here.” Yu Nan produced a finely crafted white jade bottle and extended her delicate hand forward.

Zhou Hao was momentarily stunned, unsure how to react, leaving Yu Nan’s hand suspended in midair.

“Hey, buddy, buddy!” Cao Shuang nudged Zhou Hao, struggling to suppress a laugh, though his composure held.

“Ah, well… Senior Sister Yu, my injury has healed. Besides, you weren’t really at fault that day. If I’d fought you from the start, I might have fared much worse.” Zhou Hao thought aloud.

“So, such a precious Grass Return Pill shouldn’t be wasted on me!”

Hearing Zhou Hao’s self-deprecating words, Yu Nan felt a pang of sadness, her heart inexplicably blocked.

“Senior Sister, let it go. Since he doesn’t appreciate our kindness, why should we stoop to give him medicine?” Xiao Shanshan interjected, her adorable face now even more charming with anger.

Without waiting for Yu Nan’s response, Xiao Shanshan tugged at her hand to leave. She could see, after all, that her senior sister had developed feelings for Zhou Hao—a truth obvious even to her.

“Wait,” Yu Nan spoke, suddenly smiling, a faint, gentle smile.

“Zhou Hao, I hope that ten years from now, we can fight side by side. I was wrong before. Yun Fang is Yun Fang, you are you. I shouldn’t have vented my hatred on you.”

“From now on, I won’t disturb your sword practice. These years you’ve spent at Yun Miao must have bred resentment toward me; after all, a new disciple faced hostility and attacks without cause. Anyone would bear a grudge. Here, I sincerely apologize to you.”

With that, Yu Nan bowed deeply to Zhou Hao, drawing shocked looks from the crowd; many disciples gathered to witness.

“My goodness! What am I seeing? Fairy Yu Nan actually bowed to Zhou Hao? Am I hallucinating?”

“Is this a dream? Unbelievable, absurd—what is Fairy Yu Nan doing?”

“What did Zhou Hao do? Is she admitting fault to him?”

“Is Zhou Hao some kind of divine being? I’ll never joke about him and Yun Fang again.” Hundreds of disciples exclaimed.

“Senior Sister, everyone’s watching. What are you doing?” Xiao Shanshan hurriedly tried to pull her away.

“Senior Sister Yu, you... you really don’t need to do this!” Zhou Hao was equally astonished, unable to fathom what had gotten into Yu Nan.

“Come on, Shanshan, let’s go!” Yu Nan straightened, her graceful hair trailing across Zhou Hao’s fingertips as she and her junior sister walked away under the gaze of three hundred disciples.

“She… apologized to me?” Zhou Hao stared at Yu Nan’s departing figure, moved within, the silken feel of her hair lingering on his fingers.

“Everyone’s gone, time to disperse!” Cao Shuang shooed away the disciples.

“Senior Brother, what’s with Yu Nan today? Why did she say those things to me?” Zhou Hao asked.

“I’m baffled. Yu Nan always acts the proud lady. The sun must have risen in the west today,” Cao Shuang shook his head.

“Wait, could it be…?”

“Could it be what?” Zhou Hao pressed, seeing Cao Shuang hesitate.

“Hehe, only one possibility—Yu Nan… likes you!” Cao Shuang said mischievously.

“Likes me? Don’t be ridiculous. She’s hated me for ages, tried to trip me up multiple times. Now you say she likes me? Is that possible?” Zhou Hao was utterly incredulous.

“Junior Brother, trust your Senior Brother’s intuition. She wasn’t pretending just now—her eyes sparkled when she looked at you. She apologized because she likes you.”

“Stop it, my mind can’t handle this. This must be a joke.”

...

Beneath blue skies and white clouds, Zhou Hao flew on his sword, still pondering Yu Nan’s words and her bow.

“Yu Nan, Yu Nan—what did she mean?”

“She likes… me? Impossible! I dislike her, she dislikes me—that’s how things should be.”

No matter how he tried, he couldn’t make sense of it. The wind howled in his ears as he flew, arriving over an Elder’s Immortal Mountain. He meant to fly on, but there, he spotted a familiar figure.

That figure looked up just then, their eyes meeting. Neither spoke. At length, the figure below called out, “Since you’re here, why not come down for a chat?”

Zhou Hao, as if compelled by fate, nodded, descending gracefully onto the Elder’s mountain.

The mountain flourished with flowers and spirit plants, surpassing Yun Fang’s in grandeur. At its peak stood a treasure tower, majestic as a guardian war god.

Before the tower, a pristine, flat boulder stretched to the mountain’s edge, shaped like the prow of a ship. That figure had been meditating on the stone’s edge.

Heavy mist shrouded the summit, rainbows arching through the fog—a perfect place to cultivate. The boulder itself was no ordinary stone: crystalline as jade, its surface bathed in a blue aura under the sun, glowing like a star from afar.

Standing atop it, Zhou Hao felt its immense power, as though he was treading the heart of a fierce beast, a testament to its extraordinary nature.

Perhaps sensing his curiosity, or wishing to break the silence, Yu Nan explained.

“This is Starlight Stone. When meteors streak the night sky, they shine brilliantly—what people call meteor showers. Most of these lights vanish in the cosmos, but some encounter space dust, and the light quickly envelops them. Over time, the light grows, and when it falls to earth, it’s not a pitted meteorite, but a pristine, icy Starlight Stone like this!” Yu Nan, clad in red, retained her enchanting air, but her eyes held less dominance, more dreamy innocence.

Listening quietly to this familiar yet strange girl recount the stone’s origin, Zhou Hao found himself spellbound.

Yu Nan was dazzling now; her vivid red lips moved as if telling a fairy tale, her beauty heightened by her serene expression. The bewildered youth was utterly captivated.

Immortal mountain, beauty, youth, the tale of Starlight Stone… all seemed wondrous.

“Zhou Hao, what fate do you think Starlight Stone finds on earth? Is it lucky, or is it tragic?” Yu Nan gazed at Zhou Hao, whose eyes were somewhat unfocused.

He closed his eyes, then opened them, finally understanding—the girl before him, in red, was truly changed. Or rather, she had reclaimed her authentic self.

Yes, those autumn-clear eyes told Zhou Hao she was truly a good girl, only wounded—a wound of the heart, not cured by medicine, but by affection.

And he was her remedy. In just two days, Yu Nan could no longer bear to be apart from him; thoughts of him mended the cracks in her heart, each memory healing another wound. So she longed for him all the more.

And he was oblivious.

“Was it her brother? Did his death bring her endless heartache, masked by coldness and authority?” Zhou Hao murmured inwardly.

“Why are you silent? Do you still resent me, hate me, despise me?” Yu Nan lowered her delicate head, a self-mocking smile on her lips.

“This is my first time seeing such a stone, and learning its origin. From your story, I see a world full of fortune. But fate itself is illusory—how can one speak of luck or tragedy? People are the same. If we believe in fate, why should we live at all? Thank you for telling me the tale of Starlight Stone, and thank you for letting me know a girl whom I like as well!” Zhou Hao smiled at the girl who stood as tall as himself.

“You… you say… you like me?” Yu Nan abruptly looked up, her large eyes glistening with tears.

“From now on, let Senior Sister teach me swordsmanship. I have much to learn from you!” Zhou Hao spoke gently, his right hand reaching out to wipe away Yu Nan’s tears.

“Mm.” The girl in red could no longer restrain her heart, rushing into the youth’s embrace, feeling as if she held all the world’s luck.

Zhou Hao stood stiffly, gazing at the girl in his arms. He wanted to explain he hadn’t meant it quite that way, but he couldn’t bear to disappoint her.

He wrapped his arms around her, softly stroking her hair.

At the mountain’s summit, amid white clouds and stone, their figures entwined—a sight so lovely time itself must envy, and in a heartbeat, they would bid farewell.

“Zhou Hao, I… I like you! I know you must be surprised; I am even more so. But after seeing your determination in the battle with Fei Ling, I realized all the harm I did was just to get closer to you… No man ever made me want to approach him like you do. You are the first! I like you.”

“Senior Sister…”

Zhou Hao had just started to speak when Yu Nan pressed a jade-like finger to his lips, silencing him.

“Say my name,” Yu Nan whispered.

“…Yu Nan, well, actually, maybe I don’t dislike you as much as I thought. If you’re willing, teach me swordsmanship tomorrow? Given my status, it’s best if I don’t linger here.”

“All right, but let me look at you a bit longer!”

At noon, after three hours together, Zhou Hao had to leave—the mountain belonged to Nangong Xun, who at midday would emerge from the tower to harness sunlight for alchemy, and would certainly see Zhou Hao.

As for Nangong Xun’s other disciples, they remained inside the tower, desperately refining pills, including Xiao Shanshan. Yu Nan, gifted and accomplished, no longer needed to practice alchemy, so Nangong Xun allowed her to train alone on the Starlight Stone, believing one person would benefit more than a crowd.

Cheng Yan and Nangong Ying—Cheng Yan remained with his father, Elder Cheng Bing, striving to improve since Zhou Hao defeated him. Nangong Ying was still in seclusion, driven to overcome his loss and wash away his shame.

But neither could have imagined their aloof sister or junior would be nestled in the arms of the one they hated most. If they knew, they’d likely faint from rage!

Yun Fang Immortal Mountain.

A figure dropped with a splash into the blue lake; after a long while, he surfaced, his delicate face still bearing a hint of unease.

“Calm down, calm down, I need to calm myself.”

“How long has it been? Enemies turned lovers—hard to believe.”

“Stop thinking, stop thinking. Even after becoming immortal, I can’t control my feelings—I need to empty my mind.”

After swimming ten more laps, Zhou Hao finally shed all distractions. He had to maintain inner clarity, or risk the growth of heart demons—a deadly threat for those on the immortal path.

He climbed ashore and made his way toward his bamboo hut.