Chapter 146: Borrow it

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Borrow it

The next morning, when Sui Sui woke up, he felt as though he had just emerged from a long, hazy dream, unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to recall it, the details slipped away before he could grasp them. For a while, he lay in bed, blinking sleepily as he tried to gather his thoughts. The room was still dim, and the sun had yet to rise fully, with only a faint glow seeping through the windows.

It seemed his biological clock when he got ready for work at the herb garden was acting up again.

Since he couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep again, Sui Sui decided to get up early instead.

As he sat up in bed, he suddenly remembered that today was the fifteenth, meaning, it was the day of the sect’s scheduled lectures. He had heard from Senior Brother Ji Ling that this time, the lesson would focus on martial arts, which immediately caught his interest back then.

Although alchemy was his primary focus, Sui Sui figured there was no harm in learning a few martial techniques along the way. Take yesterday’s experience as an example, it had made him painfully aware of just how weak he was. When faced with danger, he hadn’t even been able to defend himself properly, let alone fight back.

He couldn’t expect someone to be there to protect him every single time, could he?

Of course, he didn’t expect to become a formidable fighter overnight. Still, learning a few basic offensive and defensive techniques would be better than having no means of protecting himself at all. That way, he could continue pursuing alchemy without worrying so much about being helpless whenever danger arose.

Having made up his mind to this plan, Sui Sui cheerfully climbed out of bed and began preparing for the day.

After washing up in the courtyard’s washroom, Sui Sui reached for his storage pouch to take out a fresh set of clothes. However, when he rummaged through it, he was surprised to find nothing inside.

"Huh? That’s strange. There should be more..."

He searched through the pouch again, even checking the corners as though a set of clothes might somehow have slipped out of sight. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he looked, the result remained the same. He had really run out of spare clothes.

Now that was a problem.

The clothes he had just taken off were already wet and dirty, and since he hadn’t learned any cleansing spells yet, there was no way for him to make them presentable again in time. He couldn’t very well put them back on and head out as if nothing had happened, could he? But if he wasn’t going to wear those, where was he supposed to find another set?

Sui Sui stood there for a moment, staring at his empty pouch as he tried to think of a solution. In the end, he could only slip into a thin bathrobe and sneak out of the washroom, making his way back to his room. He vaguely remembered having a cabinet there. Surely, he must have left some spare clothes inside?

With a glimmer of hope, he hurried over and opened the cabinet.

Empty.

Sui Sui stared at the bare shelves, his expression slowly falling. Not only had he run out of clothes in his storage pouch, but there wasn’t a single spare set in his room either. Just what was he supposed to do now?

Sui Sui thought about contacting Shi Qing with a communication talisman, but after trying several times without receiving a response, he could only give up. He then considered asking his elder brother for help, but if he remembered correctly, Bai Suichen should be entering closed-door cultivation around this time. Sui Sui didn’t want to disturb him over something as trivial as a change of clothes.

As for asking the other people in the sect, he found the idea rather embarrassing. It wasn’t as though he had run into some life-threatening emergency; he simply needed a fresh set of clothes. Bothering someone over such a small matter felt a little excessive.

After thinking it over, Sui Sui reluctantly arrived at his last option.

Borrow from Yizhou.

Having made up his mind, Sui Sui hurried over to the neighboring room, which he recognized as Yizhou’s from the illusion he had seen before. He stopped outside the door and knocked, but no one answered. After waiting for a moment, he knocked again, only to be met with the same silence.

"Huh? Could Senior Brother still be asleep?"

Sui Sui hesitated, glancing at the closed door. He didn’t particularly want to intrude, but the damp bathrobe clinging to his skin was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. After a brief internal struggle, he decided to take a look inside.

Carefully pushing the door open, he peered into the room, only to discover that it was completely empty.

"He’s not here?"

Perhaps Yizhou had gone out early?

Sui Sui took out his communication talisman and tried contacting him, but once again, there was no response. With no other options available, he decided to borrow a set of clothes first and ask for permission later. Surely, Yizhou wouldn’t mind lending him just one set right?

Sui Sui made his way toward the largest cabinet in the room and opened it. As expected, several sets of clothes hung neatly inside, most of them the standard uniforms of Wenjian Sect.

The only difference was that Yizhou’s name had been embroidered along the hem of each robe, the delicate stitching setting them apart from ordinary sect garments.

Personalized robes were one of the privileges enjoyed by inner disciples and those who had high-ranking cultivators as their masters. Aside from being tailored to their preferences, the embroidered names also served as a mark of status, distinguishing their wearers from ordinary disciples.

Sui Sui selected a set of robes from the rack, but just as he was about to take them, another problem occurred to him.

Would they even fit?

Although he and Yizhou were both men, their builds were quite different. Sui Sui was slender, with a figure that was neither particularly petite nor muscular. Yizhou, on the other hand, practiced martial arts and had a much broader, more toned physique.

Their heights also differed considerably. If Sui Sui remembered correctly, Yizhou was almost a head taller than him.

Since he didn’t have any other choice, Sui Sui could only take the robes and put them on. Whether they fit properly or not, he would just have to make do with them for now.

—

Meanwhile, after spending the entire night cooling off, Yizhou was finally on his way back to his courtyard. Just as he was approaching his room, his communication talisman lit up with an incoming call. He glanced at it and saw Sui Sui’s name, but before he could activate the talisman, the connection had already been cut off.

Yizhou stared at the talisman for a moment before putting it away. Since he was already nearby, there was no need to call back. Whatever the younger man wanted, he could simply ask him about it when he returned.

However, the moment he reached his door, he noticed something unusual. The door was slightly ajar, leaving a narrow gap where there should have been none.

Yizhou’s footsteps slowed. His gaze shifted to the floor, where a trail of damp footprints stretched from the entrance into the room. It seemed someone had come in after washing up, and judging by the small size of the footprints, he could already make a fairly good guess who his unexpected visitor was.

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead, he pushed the door open a little farther and stepped inside without making a sound.

A slender figure stood with his back to the entrance, seemingly unaware of his arrival. The person was busy putting on a set of robes, fumbling with the layers as though he hadn’t quite figured out how they were supposed to be worn.

Yizhou’s gaze settled on the familiar fabric, then slowly moved to the embroidered name along the hem.

It was his robes.

Seeing this scene, the corners of his lips begin to lift.

Well, well. It seemed his Junior Brother had made himself quite at home.

___

Sui Sui was having more trouble putting on the robes than he had expected. This set seemed slightly different from the uniform he usually wore, with several additional layers that he wasn’t quite sure how to arrange. After some fumbling, he had managed to put on only the innermost layer when he suddenly heard the faint sound of breathing behind him.

Before he could even turn around, a hand settled on his shoulder.

"Ah!"

Sui Sui nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to find Yizhou standing right behind him, wearing his usual faint smile as though he hadn’t just scared the life out of someone.

Good heavens! Why is this man always so quiet? Does he not make a sound when he walks?

Sui Sui clutched his chest, shooting his senior brother a reproachful look. He had almost been scared to death!

"Ehem! What is Junior Brother doing in my room so early in the morning?" Yizhou asked, his tone as pleasant as ever. Sui Sui blinked. For some reason, Yizhou’s voice sounded a little huskier than usual, though he couldn’t quite tell if he was imagining it.

"Uhhh..." He scratched his nose awkwardly. "I tried calling you earlier, but you didn’t answer. I wanted to ask if I could borrow some clothes?"

Yizhou’s gaze drifted briefly to the robes Sui Sui was struggling to put on before returning to his face.

"Oh? Of course. I don’t mind." He paused, then added with a faint smile, "But I think you’re wearing them wrong."

"Ah? Really?" Sui Sui immediately looked down at himself, trying to figure out what he had done incorrectly. He had already suspected that something was off, but hearing Yizhou confirm it only made him more certain.

"How about letting this Senior Brother help you?"

Since he had been struggling with the unfamiliar layers anyway, Sui Sui saw no reason to refuse. He obediently turned around as Yizhou loosened the outer garment and eased it from his shoulders. The fabric slipped down, revealing the thin inner layer beneath and the delicate line of his neck above the collar. A few strands of white hair brushed against Sui Sui’s cheek as he lowered his head.

Yizhou’s fingers paused briefly before he continued.

It should have been a simple matter, nothing more than helping a junior disciple dress properly. Yet, with Sui Sui standing so trustingly before him, Yizhou found it harder than expected to keep his attention on the clothes alone.

"Lift your arms a little."

Sui Sui obeyed, and the loose collar shifted enough to expose the curve of his collarbone. His fair skin stood out against the darker fabric, while the oversized sleeves slipped up his forearms. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Like this?"

"Mm. Stay still."

Yizhou’s reply came out lower and rougher than he intended. He cleared his throat quietly before arranging the next layer, straightening the collar against Sui Sui’s neck and bringing the two sides of the robe together. His movements remained careful and practiced, though he was increasingly conscious of how close they stood.

When he reached for the belt, Sui Sui straightened his back to make things easier. Yizhou drew the sash around his waist, secured the knot, and smoothed the gathered fabric flat. After adjusting the shoulders and sleeves, he stepped back to inspect the result.

"There. Much better."

With that finished, Sui Sui hurried over to a nearby mirror to inspect himself.

Although the robes were a little large, they looked surprisingly good on him. The sleeves were slightly long, and the hem fell lower than his usual uniform, but the layered garments were much lighter than he had expected. He could move his arms without difficulty and didn’t feel weighed down at all.

Sui Sui turned from side to side, examining his reflection with growing satisfaction.

Seeing how satisfied Sui Sui was with his borrowed robes, Yizhou couldn’t help feeling rather pleased with his own handiwork. He watched as Sui Sui turned this way and that in front of the mirror, inspecting the fit of the sleeves and the hem, before casually breaking the silence.

"So? Since Junior Brother got ready so early, does that mean you have somewhere to be?"

"Mm-hmm! I want to attend the martial arts lecture today!" Sui Sui turned around, his eyes bright with anticipation and unable to hide the excitement in his voice. He had afterall been looking forward to it ever since he learned about it,

"Oh?" Yizhou’s lips curved slightly. "In that case, why don’t I accompany you? This Senior Brother has been away for quite some time. I might as well take a stroll around the sect and see whether anything has changed."

Sui Sui was a little surprised by the suggestion, but he didn’t think too much of it. Yizhou had indeed been away for quite some time, so perhaps he really was curious about what had changed. Besides, having his senior brother accompany him wasn’t a bad thing.

"Sure!"

Yizhou’s smile deepened a fraction.

If only Sui Sui had known the commotion that would follow once he stepped outside with Yizhou, he would have taken that agreement back in a heartbeat.