Here She Comes

Only after sensing someone's Source Qi fluctuations recede into the distance did Ran Qingmo take her hand away from Xu Yuan's mouth. Looking at him, she asked in a soft voice, "Why is she looking for you like this? This is already the seventh time." A strange expression crossed Xu Yuan's face as he gently shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. Maybe she wants to place an anchor point on me. After all, that was her purpose for coming to find me in the first place." "Oh." Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered. It was impossible to tell whether she believed him, but she said no more. Just then, the voice of the Saint's remnant soul chimed in opportunely at the bottom of Xu Yuan's heart, tinged with amusement: "Heh, brat, are you sure that girl is only trying to set an anchor point? It's been nearly ten days now." Xu Yuan glanced at the ring on his index finger and answered inwardly, "What else could it be?" The Saint's remnant soul chuckled. "Didn't you bully the poor girl using a method that required no cultivation? From how you described it earlier, it seems the two of you stayed in that illusion for quite a long time." Xu Yuan lowered his eyes slightly. After a brief silence, he shook his head gently. "It was merely a fleeting golden millet dream." The Saint's remnant soul replied with deeper meaning, "As long as one remains human, none can escape the snare of sentiment. You spent so much time in that dream—it was more than long enough to etch itself into the marrow of your bones." Xu Yuan shook his head. "No matter how long it lasted, it was still just a dream. Old Man Luo, would you fall in love with someone from your own dream?" The Saint's remnant soul let out a low chuckle. "Ever since this old man became a spirit, I have never had another dream. I forgot what that felt like long ago." "Sand through fingers." "Hmm?" "I said, the things in dreams are like sand slipping through your fingers," Xu Yuan said, gazing in the direction where the Source Qi fluctuations had vanished. The Saint's remnant soul observed Xu Yuan for a few breaths, said nothing more, and lapsed into silence. Xu Yuan did not speak again either. He walked forward on foot, his mind drifting back to the memories of that dream. After a grand dream, the scenes and emotions from it would linger and roam in one's heart upon first waking, making them feel real. But as time passed, those memories and feelings quickly faded. These recollections were indeed like sand slipping between one's fingers. The more one tried to recall them, the faster they dissipated. In reality, very few people could remember what had specifically happened on a particular day several years ago, let alone within an illusion that was like a dream. Xu Yuan had already forgotten almost all of the beginning of the illusion, and even the latter half remained only as fragmented recollections. Lost in thought, Xu Yuan slowly raised a hand. A faint surge of Source Qi stirred. A crimson spiral bone drill, as thin as a toothpick, materialized in his palm, transforming into a crimson streak of light that shuttled swiftly between his palm and fingertips. It moved as naturally as an extension of his own arm. After several breaths, he took a deep breath and clenched his fist. The spiral bone drill instantly dissolved into a wisp of crimson Source Qi and dispersed into the air. Watching this, Xu Yuan's eyes lowered. Though unrelated to memory, certain physical habits had indeed remained. After walking in silence for some distance, Xu Yuan suddenly raised his eyes toward where the young Tianyan's Source Qi had vanished earlier, a somewhat complicated look in his gaze. He could actually guess roughly why Tianyan was so furious. Although most of his memories were indistinct, leaving only vague impressions, the events of the illusion's final moments were still quite vivid. After re-enacting the scene of the Qionghua Sect's destruction, he and Tianyan had abruptly appeared before that hillside courtyard from back then. It was where he and Tianyan had lived during their days in the Qionghua Sect. The wind brushed across the grass, sending ripples through the wheat fields, and Yuchu stood waiting for them under the peach tree outside the courtyard. Xu Yuan could no longer clearly remember Yuchu's appearance, only recalling that she was a woman whose smile was as brilliant as peach blossoms. She was utterly at peace with her impending death, even yearning for it. Before that familiar courtyard, Yuchu had answered many of their questions. She had given them detailed explanations about everything within the illusion, including the fact that once they left, their memories of the illusion would fade away... Standing beneath the blooming peach tree, Yuchu looked at the two of them with a gentle smile on her lips. "The things that happened in this illusion... you will probably forget them, like a beautiful dream." A beautiful dream... It truly had been a wonderful dream. His thoughts wandering, the corners of Xu Yuan's lips curved slightly, but he immediately sighed again. At the very end, when he had made the request for Yuchu to trap Tianyan within the illusion, the girl beside him had flown into a rage, just as he had expected. A furious, hysterical rage. Looking back now, Xu Yuan thought she must have viewed it as a betrayal at the time. At the thought, Xu Yuan sighed and shook his head. Heh, he could take out the "must have." At that moment, such an action was betrayal. Naked betrayal. According to his memory, even he himself had emotionally viewed it as betrayal at the end of the illusion, and he had been extremely reluctant to do such a thing. Yet rationality had compelled him to do it anyway. This was thanks to the girlfriends he had dated in his past life, from middle school up until the years before he transmigrated. Xu Yuan had always been very rational when it came to love. He had never quite believed in things like one person, one lifetime, one pair. Therefore, Xu Yuan did not regret his choice to flee, and he even felt somewhat fortunate that he had not let those "illusory" emotions dictate his actions back then. Because now, four days later, the joy, sorrow, tenderness, and other feelings from the illusion had almost completely slipped away like sand through his fingers... Yuchu had not lied to him. It truly had been a wonderful dream. Now that the dream was over, everything ought to come to an end. *** The sun sank westward, casting a blood-red sunset across the snow-clad woods. An ironhide porcupine strolled leisurely through the snowy forest, leaving a trail of fine footprints in the snow behind it. *Thump!* Suddenly, the faint sound of a footstep rang out from the woods in the distance. Before the sound even registered, a dark shadow had already swept past. With a flick of her ink-black robes and a strike of her sword, the five-foot-long ironhide porcupine collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Xu Yuan strolled out from the distance at an unhurried pace. An ironhide porcupine was not particularly strong, merely a Sixth-Rank demonic beast. With Xu Yuan's current strength, he could even kill it by punching above his rank. However, to be safe, even though his hands itched to test his new capabilities, he still held back. If he fought, he had to use Source Qi, whereas Ran Qingmo did not. Although the Source Qi tremors caused by a Seventh-Rank going all out were not huge, who knew if that woman Tianyan might trace the Source Qi straight to them? Approaching the "crime scene," Xu Yuan cast his eyes down for a look. The ironhide porcupine was dead. Even though Ran Qingmo had struck with the hilt of her sword, she had still directly shattered the porcupine's skull. Before any blood could spill out, Xu Yuan immediately stored the carcass into his Sumeru ring. This was a lesson learned the hard way. For some reason, the demonic beasts in this region of the Wanxing Mountain Range had been terrifyingly dense over the past few days. If blood was drawn, other demonic beasts would track them down in no time. At first, Xu Yuan had not realized this. After slaughtering a thunderwing wolf at the cave entrance, he had built a fire on the spot to roast the meat, only for other demonic beasts to quickly close in. Back then, he had not panicked. With Ran Qingmo and Old Man Luo at his side, they could simply slaughter however many beasts showed up. Yet as time went on, the situation outside the cave grew increasingly bizarre. The more beasts they killed, the more appeared. In the end, several hundred demonic beasts of various kinds had gathered, trapping them tightly. It was only when Ran Qingmo risked using her Source Qi that the two of them managed to break out of the horde. With the hunt over, the two returned one after the other to the cave they had carved out with a sword. After placing special xun grass at the entrance to prevent the scent of blood from leaking out, Xu Yuan began preparing the meat, while Ran Qingmo sat quietly to the side watching him. After all, cultivating would also generate Source Qi fluctuations. As he dressed the meat, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "We should be able to get out of here in about two to three days." As the days he and Ran Qingmo spent wandering the Wanxing Mountain Range went by, the frequency with which they sensed Tianyan's Source Qi fluctuations grew lower and lower. From seven times in three days initially, it had dropped to once every two days now. The Wanxing Mountain Range was simply too vast. During the first few days, the search area Tianyan needed to cover had been relatively small. But as time passed and Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo moved farther from the teleportation array's exit, the region she had to scour naturally grew much larger. He and the icy block should soon be out of that washboard Saintess's tracking range. "Oh." Her reply was as curt as ever. Accustomed to her reticence, Xu Yuan continued to talk to himself while brushing on the sauce: "This Wanxing Mountain Range is strange, too. Why are there so many demonic beasts around here? There weren't nearly this many the last time I came." Ran Qingmo thought for a moment and shook her head. "Mm... I don't know either." Xu Yuan cast an amused glance at her. "I wasn't asking you." "Then who were you asking?" "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. "Just thinking out loud." Xu Yuan cleared his throat lightly, using Qingyu to skin the beast as he murmured, "I remember you had a map of the Wanxing Mountain Range earlier?" "I used to," Ran Qingmo said. "And now?" Xu Yuan had a bad premonition. "Threw it away." "Why would you throw it away?" "Because it didn't fit in the satchel." Ran Qingmo shot him a slightly puzzled glance. Xu Yuan sighed, silently peeling off the entire hide and setting it aside before making up his mind: "We'll head northwest for another five days to thoroughly shake off Tianyan, then turn east to head back to Great Yan. With so many demonic beasts around here, who knows if Guyuan is making moves again." Ran Qingmo's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "You suspect someone from Guyuan wants to target you again?" Xu Yuan shook his head. "Because of Ji Qingyue's matter, Xu Changge went to Guyuan and killed the serpent demon clan's eldest princess. Since he returned completely unharmed, those old monsters in Guyuan most likely compromised. In the short term, Guyuan shouldn't make a move against me. I'm just afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. After all, this Wanxing Mountain Range is practically half their backyard." "Oh." Ran Qingmo nodded, only half-understanding. "Then what do you think it is?" Xu Yuan smiled faintly and shook his head. "No idea. We haven't seen any high-rank demonic beasts yet, just a bunch of low-rank beasts wandering around." Saying so, Xu Yuan glanced out the cave mouth and sighed. "I wonder if some fierce demon could show up and chase Tianyan away. Having her hovering overhead every day is exhausting. It was just a dream—is there any need to be this angry?" Hearing this, Ran Qingmo hesitated slightly before asking in a low voice, "Um... Xu Yuan, could Tianyan deduce our location?" Xu Yuan shook his head. "No, she can't. I'm an Unfathomable; she can't deduce anything about me at all." Ran Qingmo shook her head. "No, I mean deducing my location." Xu Yuan started, but then rejected the idea anyway. "Still unlikely. Using the Heaven-Deducing Art to divine someone's whereabouts can't be done on a whim. Even if it's just deducing a person's location, it requires a great deal of preparatory work." "Oh." Ran Qingmo nodded, but soon asked in a low voice once more, "Um... in the dream... did something happen between you two?" Xu Yuan looked up in slight surprise, only to meet her eyes, which were as clear as a secluded pool. After a second of silence, Xu Yuan smiled. "Nothing much. I just lived together with Tianyan in the illusion for over a decade." "Over a decade?" "Mm." "Oh." With that, Ran Qingmo said nothing more, quietly retrieving her black sword. Just as Xu Yuan was feeling puzzled— *Hum—* The blade suddenly unsheathed, tracing a dazzling arc in the air before Ran Qingmo rested it across her lap, lowering her eyes to quietly and meticulously wipe and maintain it. "..." Xu Yuan stared at her lowered eyes for several breaths. Seeing no emotion on her face, he gently shook his head. Precious swords always needed maintenance; it was perfectly normal for Ran Qingmo to do this. Time ticked away in silence. A savory aroma gradually filled the cave, accompanied by sizzling sounds as fatty and lean cuts of porcupine meat roasted over the campfire, dripping with sizzling juices. Although their high cultivation in the illusion meant they had no need to eat, if life lacked a sense of ritual, how was it any different from being dead? After fleeing for their lives for more than a decade in the illusion, they had spent over half that time out in the wild. Consequently, Xu Yuan's skill at preparing game from demonic beasts had improved tremendously. Ran Qingmo unconsciously paused her blade-wiping. Her beautiful eyes locked onto the roasted meat, and she gently pressed her red lips together. In the month and more since leaving Jingjiang City, this big ice block had also been reshaped by him. She didn't need to eat, but there was no reason not to. Xu Yuan took some seasonings from his Sumeru ring and sprinkled them over the sizzling meat. After turning the skewers a few more times, he pulled one out and offered it to the eagerly waiting ice block: "Here." "..." Ran Qingmo blinked, reached out, and took it silently. Holding the bamboo skewer in one hand with her other cupped beneath it, she blew on it softly a couple of times, then opened her mouth and began nibbling away under Xu Yuan's gaze. Her mouth was smeared with oil. Xu Yuan casually handed her a handkerchief, saying with a gentle smile, "Eat slowly." "Okay." Ran Qingmo pressed her oily red lips together. A hint of softness surfaced on her dustless, aloof countenance. She reached out to take the handkerchief, but finding both hands greasy, she looked at the cloth with some hesitation. Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "Let me." Under her quiet gaze, he naturally reached forward and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth. As their eyes met— A pleasant, laughing female voice drifted from beside them: "You're certainly enjoying your meal. I want some too..." *Hum—* Before the voice even finished, a cold flash of sword light swept past Xu Yuan without warning, slashing toward the direction of the voice. "Freeze." As the word fell, the sword instantly locked in place. The cave fell dead silent, save for the crackling of the campfire. Only then did Xu Yuan react to the sudden turn of events, turning his head to look. There, in the flickering firelight, stood a breathtakingly beautiful, barefoot young girl, quietly looking down at him from beside them.