Chapter 197 - Departure

A quarter of an hour later, the luminous-pattern lamp had been lit inside the pitch-black side room. Its white glow filled the entire chamber.

Before the square table, Xu Yuan sat bare-chested on a chair. Ran Qingmo sat across from him, her face expressionless. On the table lay that ink-black sword, sheathed this time.

Xu Xinyao, dressed in her sleeping clothes, stood beside Xu Yuan, carefully applying medicine to his wounds.

That sword cry had naturally woken her up. Still half-asleep, she had come out to take a look, only to see the hole sliced through the roof next door by sword qi. After standing there stunned for a moment, she had run next door and pushed the door open. Then she saw the bed inside the room had collapsed, Ran Qingmo holding a sword, and Xu Yuan lying in a pile of firewood.

The room was very quiet. No one spoke. The only sounds were the faint rustle of Xu Xinyao handling medicine jars and tearing strips of bandages.

The drilling pain from his ribs made Xu Yuan’s brows knot tightly, but he did not make a sound. Two of his ribs were broken, and the bones in his hand were probably cracked too.

That sword qi had not cut him. If it had, Xu Xinyao would be sweeping his grave right now, not applying medicine.

As he endured the pain, Xu Yuan stared at the iceberg of a woman across from him, who somehow managed to look innocent.

After Ran Qingmo kissed his cheek, she had lightly released his hand and prepared to rise. Could he really let meat delivered right to his mouth walk away? Of course not. Naturally, he had to eat his fill.

That was what Xu Yuan thought, and that was what he did. One hand went to her waist. The other went to the back of her head. Facts proved that no matter how cold a woman seemed, her body was still warm, especially her red lips and her waist. He had just been about to use his hand to feel the big ice block’s heartbeat.

Then... Then there was no then. He was finished.

The instant their lips met, Xu Yuan saw her beautiful eyes widen, full of astonishment. But the very next moment, the hand she had just released was grasped again, followed by a crisp crack.

In the silent room, it rang clear as day.

It must have been a good hand, because the sound it made was rather nice.

The only problem was that it hurt a little. Before the pain had time to spread through his whole body, a sword cry rang beside his ear. The ink-black sword buried in the bedboard was yanked upward by the iceberg of a woman.

The house was sliced open.

At the same time, she struck out with a palm and hit him square in the chest. The bed could not bear the burden and collapsed with a crash.

Thinking back to this point, Xu Yuan drew in a deep breath, only for the pain from his ribs to make him grimace.

And just then, a gentle voice sounded beside him. “Third Brother, don’t move. I’m going to bind it in place. This ointment needs time to seep in.”

Hearing this, Xu Yuan stopped moving, but his eyes remained fixed on the black robed woman across from him.

Seeing Xu Yuan’s gaze, Xu Xinyao hesitated a little, then advised him in a low voice. “Third Brother... if Sister Qingmo isn’t willing, you really shouldn’t force her right now.”

Xu Yuan turned his eyes back to his little sister. Because of his injuries, he could only speak in a soft, gentle voice. “I’m forcing her? Take a look. Whose room is this?”

Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes flicked toward the cold, expressionless woman across from them. After a brief hesitation, she said quietly, “If Sister Qingmo were willing, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

“Xu Yuan.” At that moment, Ran Qingmo, who had been silent this whole time, spoke softly.

“What?” Xu Yuan glanced at her.

“Master said, if...”

“Enough with what your master said.” Xu Yuan cut her off and looked at her. “Did your master ever tell you what it means when a woman climbs into a man’s bed in the middle of the night and kisses him?”

He truly could not understand it. A woman climbed into a man’s bed in the dead of night, lay on top of him, and kissed him. What did that mean? It meant she was asking for something more. One hundred percent. That was what it meant.

Across both his lives, Xu Yuan had never seen a single exception. That was until tonight.

Ran Qingmo was silent for a moment, then replied softly, “No.”

Xu Yuan sighed. “Good. Then I’ll tell you now. It means she wants to share his bed.”

“Is that so... I understand.” Ran Qingmo’s beautiful eyes froze for an instant. After saying that, she looked at his injuries and brooded for a long while before finally saying in a low voice, “Xu Yuan... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Xu Yuan pulled the corner of his mouth into a grin and looked at her with faint amusement. “So you did it on purpose?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose either.” Ran Qingmo answered honestly. “If you’re angry, I can let you strike me with one palm too.”

Shen then slowly rose and started walking toward him.

“Enough, enough. I’m not angry.” Xu Yuan froze for a moment, then slowly raised a hand and rubbed his brow. Looking at her as she came right up to him without the slightest guard, he suddenly felt very helpless.

Ran Qingmo stood there without moving. Seeing Xu Yuan’s expression, she still did not give up. “Then should I strike myself with one palm?”

“I said it’s fine.” Xu Yuan shook his head. “If you had really wanted to hurt me just now, Xinyao would be collecting my corpse right now.”

“You really don’t need me to?” Ran Qingmo asked.

“Just don’t let there be a next time.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not talking about kissing me.”

“Then what are you talking about?”

“You’re not allowed to hit me.”

Xu Xinyao fell silent.

Ran Qingmo asked very seriously, “What if I can’t hold back? Just now, I couldn’t hold back.”

Xu Yuan’s facial muscles twitched slightly. All of a sudden, he yearned for strength...

The small estate had three side rooms in total. Since Xu Yuan’s room had been split open by Ran Qingmo, Xu Xinyao packed up and moved over to stay with Ran Qingmo.

He had originally wanted Ran Qingmo to stay with him instead, but Xu Xinyao refused and told him to nurse his injuries properly by himself.

ᯓ➤

And so, the days in Sageridge passed quickly.

Because of his injuries, Xu Yuan spent every day in his room recovering. Ran Qingmo cultivated next door, while Xu Xinyao put on a veiled hat every day and went into the town to save people.

At first, Xu Yuan thought this life would continue until reinforcements from the surrounding commanderies and counties arrived. Then they would deal with the beast tide trapped inside the illusory mist array together before leaving with General Wang. But after only seven days, word came from the Chancellor’s Manor that he could set out for the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

The 40,000 Blackscale troops, marching in separate batches, had assembled faster than expected.

Although the rendezvous points were all in uninhabited areas near the Myriad Manifestations Sect, there were simply too many people. If they delayed for too long, it would become very difficult to hide their tracks.

As the person in charge personally appointed by the Chancellor, Xu Yuan had to go over first and wait there.

After a week, his injuries had not fully healed, but the bones had more or less knitted back together. The common saying that injured tendons and broken bones needed a hundred days to recover did not apply in this world.

At least, it did not apply to Xu Yuan.

On the same day he received the message, Xu Yuan took the two women, both wearing veiled hats, to bid farewell to General Wang.

The man was somewhat surprised when he heard the news, but he did not say anything. He only waited until Xu Yuan’s figure vanished into the mist, then bowed in the direction he had gone.

ᯓ➤

Seven days later.

An unremarkable beast-drawn carriage traveled along the broad official road. Suddenly, the curtain was pulled open from inside.

Xu Yuan glanced out through the carriage window.

The town walls towered high. The official road was wide. All kinds of travelers bustled around the town gate entrance. Though it could not compare to Stillwater, it was still far, far better than an ordinary commandery town.

Like other prosperous prefectures, provinces, and counties, the settlement of the Myriad Manifestations Sect had set up a sizable transit station outside each of its gates to divert the flow of people. The tax office needed to collect taxes from merchant caravans, and this was far more efficient. The crowds were guided in an orderly manner toward different small gate tunnels, each meant for a different purpose.

There was still a line, but after the crowds were divided, the process was not slow. In only fifteen minutes, Xu Yuan’s carriage passed through the gate tunnel and entered the town.

The beast-drawn carriage rolled at an easy pace through the busy streets. Xu Yuan swept his gaze around briefly, then lowered the curtain and said with a smile, “This town is fairly prosperous. I only hope the people in power at the Myriad Manifestations Sect know what’s good for them.”

Xu Xinyao sat quietly opposite him beside Ran Qingmo. Seeing Xu Yuan withdraw his gaze, she asked softly, “Third Brother, what do you plan to do now?”

Xu Yuan lightly rubbed his fingers together. After a brief pause, he said in a low voice, “That Yuan Hao that Father mentioned has already arrived. We’ll go find him now.”