The lotus pond beneath the blue flowers looked like a place straight out of someone's beautiful dream. The breeze gently brushed the flowers from the tree, falling onto the heads of the disciples in the lotus pond below, who had been carefully searching for the dangerous snake hidden in the lotus pond for quite some time. Bao Fang, sitting on a branch, was busy admonishing all the disciples. "Look everywhere, don't miss a corner!" Bao Fang yelled at the disciples scattered around.

  Bao Fang glanced at the distant bamboo groves that lined a long, winding path, like a trail.

  "I hope the first disciples are all right," Bao Fang said, gazing at the bamboo groves. But his eyes could only see the surface, not the silent conversation within.

  Duie was standing with his back against a thick bamboo tree, his eyes closed as if taking a nap. Next to his, sitting with his back against the same thick bamboo, was Su Nian, who had just pretended to his fellow disciples that he had sprained his ankle.

  Su Nian was also quiet and taking a short nap with his eyes closed, but his conscious gaze was on Duie standing nearby, whose clothes were brushing against his shoulder due to the light breeze. Su Nian could smell the scent of Mo Yan's chambers on Duie's clothes. Then Su Nian broke the silence and asked, "So, did the chewn spell seal help the Emperor?"

  Su Nian said this with his eyes closed, as if he knew Duie's attention was on his. Suddenly, the taste of Su Nian's words made Duie open his eyes slightly, and he looked down at Su Nian, who was still resting with his eyes closed.

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  "Of course, my spells are never wrong. They've helped the Emperor a lot."

  Duie said, looking at Su Nian and slowly came and sat down next to him. Su Nian guessed from the movement of his body that Duie had sat down next to him. But then, as he sat down, Duie's hand accidentally brushed against Su Nian's, causing a sudden heat to rise in the atmosphere. At that very moment, Su Nian's eyes fluttered open, as if he had just had a nightmare. Duie felt as if he had touched not Su Nian's hand, but a burning fire. Duie's eyes widened slightly when he realized that, even if by mistake, he had been sitting so close to Su Nian. It was gone, but he still didn't try to get up and remained sitting.

  Duie relaxed, resting his head back against the bamboo poles and looking up at the leaves above, swaying in the wind and casting shadows on the two of them. His mind flashed with memories of when Yu Sui had first told him about Mo Yan. Dui often visited Su Nian and talked to his about Yu Sui and Mo Yan. This was the only topic he liked to discuss. Duie did all this just to talk about them. Thinking about this, a slight smile appeared on Duie's face, which Su Nian could sense without even realizing it, even as he closed his eyes once again. Then Duie would spend hours discussing Mo Yan's loneliness without Yu Sui, sometimes reminiscing about their past and sometimes laughing at Duie's jokes. It wasn't just laughter, Duie and Su Nian shared things and saw each other every day.

  But neither of them knew when those casual conversations would blossom into a deep bond... an unspoken feeling that lingered in every glance, every pause, every touch.

  Every evening, they would eat dinner together. They would giggle like children, trying to catch butterflies together.

  Some they caught, some escaped.

  And Duie... he would always make a special lotus tea for Su Nian... the lotus tea Su Nian would sometimes bring himself and leave in his room so Duie could make it for him, because it had his own unique blend, one meant only for Su Nian.

  Bao Fang, on the other hand, stood in the lotus pond, scratching his head and looking around. "It's strange. We've been in the pond for so long, but why haven't we found anything?"

  Bao Fang's astonished eyes were still staring intently at the lotus pond. But to no avail, none of the disciples could find anything anywhere. Not even a snake, not even a frog, was present.

  But the alluring peace of Su Nian and Duie was a far cry from the chaos of the lotus pond.