Rejection Syndrome

"......" The air seemed frozen in dead silence. Xu Yuan turned his head little by little, looking at the woman beside him. That vaguely familiar term, coupled with Ran Qingmo's cool, tranquil gaze that looked just as it had when they first met, made the hairs on his neck stand on end. He suddenly understood where that pain from the deepest depths of his marrow before he blacked out had come from. Rejection Syndrome. Absurdity, helplessness, and a flash of realization washed over him. [Upon reaching the Origin Realm: entering through the martial path, a single drop of blood can regenerate, granting an imperishable flesh. Entering through qi, the spirit and soul condense, able to leave the body and seize souls.] Possessing another body was a real possibility in this world, but who could have guessed that crossing over from another world would actually saddle him with Rejection Syndrome? Save for the whistling of the freezing wind, the vast snowy plain was utterly silent. Xu Yuan remained speechless for a long while before whispering, "Rejection Syndrome?" Ran Qingmo gazed at Xu Yuan and nodded. "Mm." Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, offering an ambiguous, light chuckle. "Mr. Ran, what do you mean by that?" Ran Qingmo looked straight into Xu Yuan's eyes. "You are not Xu Changtian." "......" Xu Yuan fell silent. Her voice remained as flat and indifferent as ever, as though she were stating the most ordinary matter in the world. Hearing her voice the suspicion he held in his heart, perhaps due to the grogginess from his prolonged unconsciousness, Xu Yuan found that he felt no panic at having his identity exposed. Only two paths lay before him now. Admit it, or deny it. If he denied it, what excuse could he use to fool her? If he admitted it, what would the consequences be? After a long silence, Xu Yuan slowly stood up. Under Ran Qingmo's watchful gaze, he picked up the waterskin beside him, gulping down a mouthful of Flame Spirit Fluid to warm himself. He lifted his gaze toward the unfathomably tall peak above, then, by the moonlight, looked down toward the boundless sea of trees rolling below the mountain. During the four days he had been unconscious, Ran Qingmo and that great white tiger had actually hauled him all the way to the mountainside of Tianmen Mountain. Having formed a rough plan in his mind, Xu Yuan looked back at Ran Qingmo and said slowly, "Does it really matter to you whether I am Xu Changtian?" He did not deny it; Xu Yuan calmly admitted the truth. All Ran Qingmo needed was a "living" Xu Changtian, a Third Young Master who could be used to blackmail the Prime Minister. How he was "alive" did not actually matter. Moreover, she must have already considered this point. Otherwise, she would never have carried him while he was unconscious and continued along their original route to Tianmen Mountain. Ran Qingmo pondered seriously for a moment, then shook her head. "It doesn't matter. But why don't you understand cultivation?" As she spoke, a genuine flicker of innocent confusion surfaced in her eyes. Xu Changtian's personality shift before and after falling unconscious had been explained, but if the man before her had clearly possessed a body and reincarnated, why was he like an infant when it came to cultivation? Xu Yuan sat down beside Ran Qingmo with the waterskin in hand. His heartbeat remained steady as he tapped his own head, speaking unhurriedly, "Because much of my memory is missing. Many things are fragmented." "Including the cave estate you mentioned?" "Naturally." "What about the things concerning Xu Changtian himself?" "I don't know. Perhaps the cultivation technique I practiced was unique. Among these fragmented memories, there are some from my past, and some of Xu Changtian's that happened to remain." "Then how did you know about the Sword Sect?" "......" Hearing this, Xu Yuan did not answer further. He smiled and shook his head. "Mr. Ran, didn't we agree not to pry into each other's business regarding this matter?" "......" At these words, the beautiful eyes visible above the black veil over Ran Qingmo's face flickered for a moment before she finally nodded. Seeing this, Xu Yuan seized the opportunity of their open confrontation to continue, "Though you probably won't listen, I still want to advise you: that man will never waver in his decision because of me—or rather, because of Xu Changtian." Saying this, he locked eyes with Ran Qingmo, enunciating each word carefully, "If you truly wish to stop the destruction of the Sword Sect, there are better ways. I can help you." The downfall of the Sword Sect was a major plot point in Cangyuan. By making good use of Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan could reap countless benefits. Yet the look in Ran Qingmo's eyes did not waver in the slightest. She merely watched him quietly. Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled faintly and dropped the subject. "My offer will always stand. If you change your mind, you can find me anytime." Ran Qingmo's refusal did not surprise Xu Yuan. Although the two of them were currently grasshoppers tied to the same rope, their respective identities meant that getting Ran Qingmo to trust him was virtually impossible. Her willingness to listen to his advice and head toward that hidden cave estate together was mostly because his strength was negligible, posing no threat to her at all. No threat? Wait. Xu Yuan's train of thought suddenly froze. He realized there was a flaw in his logic. The premise of heading to the cave estate was that his strength was so low that he posed no threat to Ran Qingmo. But the sudden onset of Rejection Syndrome had completely invalidated that premise. Upon reaching the Origin Realm, entering through qi, the spirit and soul condense, able to leave the body and seize souls. Anyone at that realm could be considered among the very pinnacle of the world. If Xu Yuan remembered correctly, at this point in time, Ran Qingmo had not yet reached that realm. The hidden cave estate he had spoken of would inevitably be seen in Ran Qingmo's eyes as one left behind from his previous life. In other words, in Ran Qingmo's eyes, Xu Yuan had transformed from a frail, dissolute young nobleman into a mysterious remnant soul capable of posing a genuine threat to her. Xu Yuan stared at the black-clad woman before him, who had once again closed her eyes to rest and nurture her spirit. Countless questions flooded his mind. Had she failed to realize this, or had she realized it and simply didn't care? No, Ran Qingmo couldn't possibly not care. Confidence was not arrogance. The defensive arrays and restrictions in a cave estate left behind by an Origin Realm powerhouse were more than capable of threatening the current Ran Qingmo. If that was the case, why did Ran Qingmo still dare follow him to that cave estate? At this thought, an ominous premonition gradually crept into Xu Yuan's heart. After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan slowly lowered his gaze to the waterskin in his hand, or rather, the Flame Spirit Fluid inside it. The foundation of their cooperation rested on the fact that whoever was behind the Flame Spirit Python wanted him dead while Ran Qingmo was abducting him. A thought struck him. Xu Yuan realized, During the days he had been unconscious, something must have happened. And that event had forced Ran Qingmo to have no choice but to head to that cave estate with him. Moonlight fell like a waterfall; the silence ran deep as water. Crunch, crunch— Amidst his swirling thoughts, the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow drifted from the distance. Xu Yuan immediately turned his head to look, and only when he saw the newcomer did his tense heart ease slightly. It was the great white tiger. Now, however, the white tiger was a full size larger than when he had first seen it four days ago. It seemed to have undergone some sort of mutation, likely from following Ran Qingmo and devouring quite a few demon cores over the past few days. Demon cores could not be directly consumed by humans, but to demonic beasts themselves, they were extraordinarily nourishing. The great white tiger bounded all the way over, carrying a snow wolf more than two meters long in its jaws. Its colossal frame trotted up beside Ran Qingmo. Dropping the snow wolf from its mouth, it foolishly rubbed its head against the hem of her black dress, cast a disdainful glance at Xu Yuan, and without even touching its prey, sprawled right beside Ran Qingmo to doze off. Everything returned to silence. In the snow-covered mountains bathed in moonlight, the ink-black woman and the colossal white tiger formed a harmonious, tranquil picture. Yet Xu Yuan's gaze remained fixed on the great white tiger's back. There, In the spot where he had once sat, A wound so deep that bone was exposed met his eyes.