Scram

*Slap!* A crisp, loud slap echoed through the silent cave. Ran Qingmo instinctively tightened her grip on her sword. Xu Yuan raised a hand to stop her, his eyes still fixed on Tianyan. Five bright red finger marks gradually surfaced on his handsome cheek, and blood faintly seeped inside his mouth. Tianyan had struck with great force. Tasting the metallic tang of blood between his lips and teeth, Xu Yuan wiped the corner of his mouth. Seeing the crimson on his fingertips, he smiled faintly. "Feel better now?" A flash of heartache flickered in Tianyan's eyes, but upon hearing his words, she immediately clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "No." "..." Xu Yuan said nothing more, merely turning the other side of his face toward her. At the sight, Tianyan's pupils shrank slightly, anger making her entire delicate frame tremble. Xu Yuan only looked at her with calm eyes. Their stances differed; there was nothing left to say. Even if sword intent had severed the emotions, those memories had long since fused into one with him. Whenever someone mentioned the Lord Chancellor, that unsmiling middle-aged man would involuntarily surface in his mind. Whenever anyone mentioned the Eldest Young Master, he would recall the elder brother who looked thoroughly disgusted yet was willing to play with him all day long. Whenever anyone mentioned the Second Young Master, he would recall the second brother who, whenever Xu Changge was about to beat him, would always stand in front of him with a stick, only to end up getting beaten alongside him. Xu Yuan and Xu Changtian had long since become one and the same. In the real world, there weren't so many love-struck fools from melodramas who believed love superseded everything. Xu Yuan could never do something like abandoning everything and betraying his family for love. He believed Tianyan couldn't do it either. Looking at the silent girl, Xu Yuan said softly, "Not hitting me anymore?" *Slap!* Another crimson palm print landed on Xu Yuan's cheek. Except it was on the same side as before. A burning, stinging pain. It seemed his words had just triggered this woman's rebellious streak. Yet after taking two slaps, Xu Yuan felt quite relieved. He did not regret the choice he had made, but putting himself in her shoes, he could understand Tianyan's feelings. Although most memories from the illusion had faded to the point where even the emotions were indistinct, the faint images and general impressions still gave him a rough idea of what the two of them had been through. It was only natural for her to come knocking on his door and give him a beating to vent her anger. After a long silence, seeing that she had no intention of striking him again, Xu Yuan looked at her and chuckled softly with deep helplessness. "I can roughly understand what you're feeling right now." "But I want to ask you a question, Tianyan." "..." "If you were me—or rather, if our cultivation and stances were completely swapped, and you stood in my shoes—what would you do?" "..." "Risk your life on an infinitesimal, illusory chance?" "..." "Or make the safest decision, like I did: leave first, then make other plans?" "..." A faint mist drifted across Tianyan's beautiful eyes. She said nothing, her delicate body trembling slightly. Xu Yuan looked at the girl before him and pressed with a slightly firmer tone: "Answer me, Tianyan." "..." Tianyan's red lips moved slightly. Turning her gaze away, she shook her head. "I... I don't know." Hearing her answer, Xu Yuan gently shook his head. "Tianyan, if I had cultivation like Xu Changge's right now... or even the cultivation of that Jinghe from the illusion, I wouldn't have run." As he spoke, Xu Yuan lowered his gaze to the Meishen Dao Charm in his palm and squeezed, dispersing it with force. "Though the events in the illusion are no longer vivid, your strength left a deep impression on me. Even with you afflicted by the Meishen flower poison and me in possession of the Meishen Dao Charm, I only dare to match strength against you while you are still wounded." "Reality is just like that: killing me would be as easy as flipping your hand, while I could barely resist." Xu Yuan spread his hands, gazing toward the snow at the cave entrance. "Heh, sitting in a dilapidated shack chatting with a passing stranger and having a midnight meal, only for someone to pop up and tail you all the way. I can't beat her, can't outrun her, and she can even overhear whispered secrets. On top of that, this person only ever gives me two choices: "First, join them. Second, die." Having said that, Xu Yuan turned back and stared intently into Tianyan's golden eyes. "Come on. "Tianyan, tell me: if our current cultivation levels were reversed, would you dare appear before me?" His words were calm, yet every single syllable struck straight into her heart. Tianyan remained silent. A breeze gently stirred inside the cave. Ran Qingmo wore a thoughtful expression, though she couldn't quite grasp what the two were talking about. Meat fat dripped into the bonfire as seconds ticked by. Tianyan suddenly raised a hand and pointed at the quiet, obedient big ice block beside them. "..." Ran Qingmo blinked, tightening her grip on her sword. Staring at Xu Yuan, Tianyan said word by word, "Then what about her? You keep harping on about stances—aren't your stance and hers worlds apart as well?" "..." Ran Qingmo blinked again, looking at Tianyan, then at Xu Yuan, a half-comprehending expression appearing on her exquisitely pretty face. Hearing this, Xu Yuan suddenly fell silent. Seeing this, Tianyan sneered. "What? Speak up! Why have you gone quiet now?" Xu Yuan raised a hand to cut her off, his eyes helpless. "Tianyan, stop making trouble out of nothing." Tianyan pointed a slender index finger at herself, laughing out of sheer anger. "You say I'm making trouble out of nothing?" Xu Yuan glanced at her, his eyes carrying both helplessness and calm. "Do you really need me to spell it out so clearly?" "..." Tianyan fell silent. Pausing for a moment, Xu Yuan enunciated each word: "How massive the difference is between you and Ran Qingmo—you should know very well in your own heart." Tianyan's breath hitched. Biting her lip with a canine tooth, she slowly lowered her eyes. She knew what Xu Yuan meant. From personality to background, experiences, and sense of belonging to their respective sects—across a whole host of factors, there was simply no comparison between her and Ran Qingmo. Xu Yuan slowly stood up and patted her shoulder. "I can put myself in your shoes and understand how you feel. Can't you spare a thought for me?" Tianyan looked at the man in front of her. Her burning rims could no longer hold back the welling tears; lowering her beautiful eyes, she closed them and sniffled. The anger in her chest had not subsided, yet she could no longer let it out. Helplessness. She wanted to vent by flattening this entire hill to the ground. Yet she also knew that even if she did so, it would be utterly useless. Xu Yuan took a deep breath. "Ran Qingmo, leave for a bit." Hearing this, Ran Qingmo's bright, dark eyes flickered for a moment. She looked at Xu Yuan, then at Tianyan, hesitating slightly. "Um... really?" Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "It's fine." Ran Qingmo blinked. Xu Yuan blinked back. "..." Tianyan kept her eyes closed, sharp nails digging into her palms as she gritted her teeth and snapped, "If you're leaving, get out already." Ran Qingmo hesitated a little and asked once more, "Then am I really going out?" "Yeah." Xu Yuan nodded. Ran Qingmo slowly rose. Hesitating briefly, she finished the roast porcupine on her bamboo skewer in two bites, asked Xu Yuan for a silk handkerchief, and only then took her sword and walked leisurely out of the cave. As that graceful, ink-black silhouetted figure disappeared at the cave entrance, "Still staring?" Tianyan opened her slightly reddened eyes, glanced at Xu Yuan, and sneered, "Is she pretty?" Xu Yuan turned back, thought for a moment, nodded, and smiled candidly. "Of course Ran Qingmo is pretty." "Shameless." "Thank you for the compliment." At those words, Xu Yuan acutely sensed a wave of Source Qi suffusing the air. Its source was naturally the washboard Saintess beside him. She looked as though she could barely restrain herself from hitting someone again. Xu Yuan looked at her calmly. "If you want to hit me to vent, you can go ahead. But if you want to keep following me, please allow me to refuse." Tianyan's dainty nostrils flared slightly. She dispersed the Source Qi and forced out three words: "Out of the question." Xu Yuan stared at her, his eyes filled with mild helplessness. "Then tell me, what do you want from following me? Do you want to restore my memories from the illusion? Though judging by how you look right now, you probably don't have a way to do that." At this point, the corners of Xu Yuan's lips curved faintly as he stared at Tianyan with a half-smile. "If it's for your so-called anchor point, what right do you have to come here demanding accountability from me?" Pausing, Xu Yuan shrugged. "Of course, you could also say you simply want to stay with me. But if you said that, would you even believe it yourself, Tianyan?" "..." Tianyan opened her mouth, but ultimately closed it again. Then, Xu Yuan gradually saw a flicker of wavering in the court-dressed young woman's eyes. He wasn't surprised. Ran Qingmo could coexist peacefully with him because there were so many certainties about the big ice block. In *Cangyuan*, besides the death routes where she was hunted down and killed by Xu Changge, she had a route where she fled overseas to survive. After the player defeated Xu Changge using "cheats," *Cangyuan* would offer two choices. One: accompany her to visit the ruins of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. Two: a chance encounter, goodbye across the pugilistic world. Choosing the second meant parting forever. Choosing the first, the player would accompany Ran Qingmo to the deepest part of Mount Tianyuan, where among the scorched bamboo grove, they would find what the old man of the Sword Sect had left for her. What her master had left her was neither a priceless treasure, nor a conviction for revenge, nor a grand ambition to revive the Sword Sect. Only a simple sentence: [Qingmo, live on.] To someone as pure as her, becoming sect master and protecting the Sword Sect was the destiny drilled into her since childhood, but that destiny was equally capable of being changed. Ran Qingmo was different from Tianyan. In *Cangyuan*, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion as a faction only ever had the "Heaven-Deducing Art" mentioned in the official guidebook. And whether judged by personality, methods, or shrewdness, Tianyan was not someone who would allow herself to be swayed by others. "..." Silence, as desolate and lonely as the snow extending for thousands of miles across the Wanxing Mountain Range. After who knew how long, as if having thought it through, Tianyan suddenly let out a soft laugh, raised her voluminous sleeve, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. After a while, she suddenly looked up, gazing at him with a smile playing upon her lips. "Xu Changtian, if you had your memories like I do, would you still have done that?" Xu Yuan pondered briefly, then smiled and asked in return, "If I said no, would you believe me?" *Pfft.* Tianyan burst into a giggle, her lovely eyes curving into two glistening crescents, radiant and charming. "I wouldn't believe you at all. A bastard like you would make the exact same choice even if you remembered." "Likewise." Xu Yuan didn't deny it. "Hmph." The girl gave a soft snort, but didn't deny it either. Smiling at each other, the biggest problem seemed to have been resolved. Xu Yuan took a breath, sat down on the stone slab behind him, and took a bamboo skewer of porcupine meat from the fire. "Here. You won't be eating anything I cook anytime soon." This time, she obediently sat down beside him, took the offered skewer, opened her small mouth, and took a bite. "You seem very certain that I'll let you leave." Xu Yuan shrugged. "If you really remember most things from the illusion and spent over a decade with me day and night, you should know very well what kind of person I am. Aside from casual lies to bluff someone when I have no other choice, under normal circumstances I don't shoot blanks." Hearing this, Tianyan giggled, almost choking on the food in her mouth. Swallowing it down, she shot him an exasperated glare. "Your shamelessness really hasn't changed a bit." Xu Yuan shrugged. "Can't help it. Born this way." Tianyan took another bite of the marbled porcupine meat, chewing as she retorted, "With such a loose mouth, how did you survive to this age?" "Relying on my dad, of course." Xu Yuan replied without shame. Tianyan said sarcastically, "True. If not for Xu Yinhe, the things you pulled in the Imperial Capital would have gotten your head chopped off dozens of times." "Heh..." Xu Yuan gave a chuckle. With those words, silence descended abruptly. Only their soft chewing sounds echoed faintly inside the cave. After who knew how long, Tianyan suddenly called his name softly: "Xu Changtian..." "Hm?" Xu Yuan replied nonchalantly. Tianyan asked casually, "The things in the illusion... um, did you really forget all of it?" "The vast majority of it, yeah." Xu Yuan didn't conceal anything. "I only remember a few things that left a deep impression." Tianyan suddenly looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat. She quickly finished the skewer in her hands in two bites. "Deep impression?" "Yeah." Xu Yuan nodded. "Like what?" Tianyan asked. Xu Yuan pondered slightly, looked at Tianyan, and said, "Pale pink." "?" Confusion flashed in Tianyan's eyes. Xu Yuan said nothing, merely giving a pointed glance down at the girl's body. The instant his gaze landed— *Whoosh!!* A bamboo skewer shot through the air straight toward him! Xu Yuan's pupils shrank abruptly, and he hurriedly dodged sideways. Looking back, he saw that the ordinary long bamboo skewer had sunk completely into the hard rock of the cave wall, leaving no trace behind. Xu Yuan's breath hitched. Turning around, he asked, "Tianyan, are you serious?" Tianyan clapped her hands and rolled her eyes at him. "Just testing whether you really have the qualifications to negotiate with me. Besides, who told you to speak such filth?" "What if it hit?" Xu Yuan rubbed his left shoulder. Tianyan tilted her head, curving her eyes into a smile. "It would only ruin an arm. When we first entered the illusion, you treated me the exact same way. You might have forgotten, but I remember it clear as day~" "..." Xu Yuan opened his mouth, then sighed, retrieving a small porcelain bottle from his Sumeru ring. The bottle featured carved celadon floral patterns, made of exceptional material. Seeing Xu Yuan take this out, Tianyan instinctively frowned. "What is this?" "Something good I found back in Nandu Commandery. Consider it an apology." "Wine?" "Yeah." Xu Yuan nodded. Taking out drinking vessels of his own accord, he tilted the porcelain bottle slightly. The moment the amber liquid poured out, a rich aroma of wine immediately filled the cave. "A tiny bottle of this 'Qionglu' costs three thousand taels—priceless, really, with demand far exceeding supply. Not only does it temper the intent-soul, but it also increases Source Qi. I usually can't even bear to drink it myself." "..." Instead, Tianyan shrank back slightly, her golden eyes tinged with caution. "Xu Changtian, you wouldn't be trying to drug me, would you?" "..." Xu Yuan's movement froze, his smile twitching. Between laughter and tears, he asked, "Is that the kind of person I am in your mind?" Tianyan looked at him with disdain. "Don't doubt it. In my mind, you're even trashier than that." Xu Yuan cleared his throat. "You can rest assured. Knocking you out with drugs does me no good right now. Besides, whether it's drugged or not, couldn't you tell for yourself?" "Meishen cherry blossoms are colorless and odorless," Tianyan said. "..." Xu Yuan. "Don't drink it then." Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup. Just as he was about to drink, the porcelain bottle was snatched away by the girl beside him. Xu Yuan looked on in surprise. Tianyan glared at him with her beautiful eyes. "If you dare drug it, you're dead." Xu Yuan gave a gentle smile. "All right." Just as he was about to hand Tianyan a cup— *Glug, glug, glug.* "..." Xu Yuan. Three thousand taels, gone. After the girl finished drinking, a post-alcohol flush surfaced on her small face at a speed visible to the naked eye. Fine Qionglu wine intoxicated the soul and went to one's head extraordinarily fast. Seeing Tianyan like this, Xu Yuan didn't say much either, drinking the wine in his own cup dry. "Why drink so hurriedly? It's not like there isn't more." With that, he produced two identical porcelain bottles of Qionglu from his Sumeru ring, refilled his cup, and looked at the girl opposite him, whose cheeks were flushed crimson. "Just to clarify in advance: if it goes to your head, don't go claiming I drugged you." "..." Tianyan said nothing. Slowly rising, she straddled his lap, looking down at him from above with a pair of beautiful eyes. "..." Xu Yuan. "..." Tianyan. "..." Ran Qingmo. "..." The Saint's remnant soul. Xu Yuan's hands instinctively rested on the girl's waist. "What are you trying to—" No words were spoken, yet her warm touch spread from his lips throughout his entire body. When their lips parted, Xu Yuan wiped the corner of his mouth and opened his lips to speak. Yet once again, she pressed a slender, elegant index finger against his lips. Tianyan smiled at him with eyes curved, stars seeming to twinkle within her golden gaze. "Once my injuries are fully healed, Xu Changtian, you'd best pray you never appear before me." With that, she stood up, raised a delicate jade hand, pressed it against Xu Yuan's chest, and softly uttered a single word: "Scram." *Boom!*