Her petite figure, standing at only 5'3 chi tall, leaned wearily against the courtyard gate. Unusually, her normally neat hair was let down, the long strands tousled and falling across her face, obscuring her expression. Her trademark adorable ponytails were gone.

 

Ji Wuye easily jumped down from the roof, landing softly in the courtyard. He approached Shen Bin, as he took in her disheveled appearance.

 

Reaching out, he gently touched her shoulder, the silk of her robe cool beneath his fingertips. "Senior Sister? Are you okay? Let's go inside first," he murmured, his voice low and soothing.

 

Though he didn't pry, the state she was in hinted at what might have occurred.

 

...

 

The unexpected torrent of rain grew stronger, the sound of the downpour like a roaring crescendo. Ji Wuye made his way from the living quarters to the moon window overlooking a ledge with a small stone table - a scenic spot for watching the moonlight.

 

"Here is your tea, Senior Sister." He set the steaming ceramic cup down carefully on the table before taking a seat himself, back straight. His gaze flicked over to Shen Bin, who was staring hollowly out at the rain-blurred moon, seemingly lost in thought.

 

Ji Wuye waited patiently, sipping his own tea. In his past life, many Senior Sisters had aided him through difficulties, but none were as close as Shen Bin.

 

She had always been there, protective, a steady presence, though their bond could not be called familial. "Is this perhaps related to the reminder I gave you?"he ventured after a moment, keeping his tone neutral.

 

His words seemed to jolt Shen Bin from her reverie. She flinched almost imperceptibly before turning to face him, brows furrowing as her cheeks puffed out briefly in a fleeting expression of frustration before she sighed, shoulders slumping.

 

"Junior..." she began in a low murmur, then paused, scrutinizing him. "You have changed." Her gaze raked over him appraisingly as she took a sip of tea, shifting to glance sidelong at the rainy view once more. "How can I say...you've become more...mature."

 

Though he faced forward, Ji Wuye watched her closely in his peripheral vision as he lifted the cup to his lips, drinking slowly.

 

"Your eyes..." Shen Bin continued haltingly. "I mean, your gaze...it used to be filled with love toward young lady Mu. But now..."

 

She trailed off, lips pressed tightly together as conflicting emotions flickered across her delicate features - concern, anxiety, uncertainty all warring in her expressive eyes. After a weighted pause, her mouth opened again. "But I'm glad..."

 

The smile she offered was faint and strained, lacking true warmth. Her gaze dropped briefly as her fingers fidgeted restlessly with the embroidery on her sleeve.

 

"From the looks of it, it seems you have found your goal, right?" Lifting her chin, she squinted at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling with the effort of maintaining that forced smile.

 

Beneath the table, her nervously clenched hands trembled with unvoiced hesitation.

 

Beyond her squinted gaze, Ji Wuye could sense the long-buried emotions she was struggling to hold back, a turbulent undercurrent threatening to break through her strained composure.

 

In one fluid motion, Ji Wuye moved forward and enveloped her in a firm embrace, catching Shen Bin completely off guard. Her eyes flew wide with disbelief as her petite frame stiffened in surprise against his chest.

 

"Shh...even if I've changed, if you have any problems, just tell me," Ji Wuye murmured, the words a gentle exhalation against her hair as he cradled her head.

 

Beneath his palms, he could feel the weight of her sodden martial robe clinging heavily to her slight form, as though she carried an immense, invisible burden of responsibilities.

 

"No—I don—" Shen Bin began to protest, instinctively bracing her hands against his chest as if to push him away.

 

But her feeble attempt quickly faltered, strength ebbing away as she seemed to realize the futility. This Ji Wuye, who had once trailed after her every step, had become an implacable wall she could not move.

 

"Just let it out, Senior Sister. You can drop your act now."

 

At his words, the last vestige of resistance crumbled within her. Ji Wuye felt the tension bleed from her muscles as Shen Bin sagged bonelessly against him, her facade shattering.

 

A cold dampness began to seep through the fabric of his robe where her face was pressed into the hollow of his shoulder.

 

"Hiks...I-I can't...I-I just killed a p-person..." The shaky, hesitant confession emerged between hiccuping sobs, the words almost unrecognizable coming from his normally cheerful, playfully teasing Senior Sister.

 

"H-he died...in my hands...It couldn't be helped..." Her petite frame trembled with the force of her anguish as she haltingly recounted the events.

 

"Y-you told me to be careful, so I was always wary of other challengers...Only to find the man I thought I could trust had stabbed me in the back..."

 

Ji Wuye remained silent, his hand gently stroking her disheveled hair as he listened to her brokenly whispered words and the keening cries she could no longer contain.

 

"S-so I had no choice...b-but to kill him..." Another hiccup punctuated the end of her fragmented explanation before trailing off into a muffled silence, as if those scant details were all she could bear to recount for now.

 

No elaboration followed regarding the fate of the other challengers.

 

"I-...it's not my fault..." The quiet declaration emerged from the stillness, barely audible amidst the rhythmic pattering of rain against the windowpane.

 

Then her eyes slid shut and her breathing evened out into the deep, measured cadence of slumber as sheer emotional exhaustion finally claimed her.

 

…

 

'It's just like her,' Ji Wuye reflected inwardly, carefully gathering Shen Bin's slumbering form into his arms to carry her to a his room.

 

Even in this fragile state, his Senior Sister had striven to appear strong, offering only the sparsest summary rather than a full account of the traumatic events.

 

But to Ji Wuye's experienced perception, the context was clear as day. This incident must have occurred during the 5th floor.

 

As merely an Outer Disciple, the majority of missions assigned to Shen Bin would not involve combat. Killing was still a foreign, horrific experience she had yet to become inured to.

 

The anguish and guilt tormenting her now was only compounded by the insidious effects of the Wardrum effect exploiting her innermost desires.

 

For a young girl who had witnessed her village ravaged by bandits, what wish could burn more fiercely than vengeance?

 

'But even if I give her detailed or partial information, there is no martial art or item that can counter the Wardrum's thrall,' Ji Wuye frowned inwardly as he gently lay Shen Bin onto the bed, tucking the covers snugly around her sleeping form.

 

Martial arts would require weeks or months to master - far too long to provide immediate aid. And specialized treasures like the Soul Anchor Amulet that could suppress the Wardrum effects were prohibitively expensive.

 

Thus, warning them ahead of time 'not to trust anyone' was likely the only feasible way to justify their actions under the Wardrum's inescapable influence.

 

"Or so I thought," a few moments later, coming out from the room, Ji Wuye was now sitting while sipping tea, enjoying the rainy day alone. But looking at his Senior Sister's situation now, it seemed not.

 

"Well, but at least it's better than in my previous life," Ji Wuye muttered, sipping the last of the tea before he also leaned against the wall.