Departure

Half a quarter of an hour later. The bright-pattern lamp had been lit inside the pitch-black wing room, bathing the entire chamber in white light. At a square table, Xu Yuan sat bare-chested on a chair, while Ran Qingmo sat opposite him with an expressionless face. The ink sword rested on the table between them, returned to its scabbard. Dressed in nightclothes, Xu Xinyao stood beside Xu Yuan, carefully applying medicine to his wounds. The ringing hum of the sword had naturally jolted her awake. Groggy, she had stepped outside to look, only to see a gaping hole carved through the neighboring roof by sword qi. After a stunned pause, she had rushed over and pushed open the door, only to find the bed collapsed, Ran Qingmo standing there with her sword, and her Third Brother sprawled amid a pile of shattered firewood. The room was utterly quiet. No one spoke; there was only the soft clatter of Xu Xinyao handling medicine jars and the tear of gauze. A piercing ache from his ribs made Xu Yuan knit his brows tightly, though he did not make a sound. Two of his ribs were broken, and the bones in his hand were likely cracked as well. That slash of sword qi had not been aimed at him. If it had, Xu Xinyao would be making offerings at his grave right now instead of tending his wounds. Enduring the agony, Xu Yuan glared at the innocent-looking block of ice across the table. After kissing his cheek, Ran Qingmo had gently loosened her grip on his hand, preparing to rise. Could he really let meat delivered right to his mouth slip away? Of course not. He had to devour every last bite. That had been Xu Yuan's thought, and he had acted on it. One hand around her waist, the other behind her head. As it turned out, no matter how cold a woman seemed, her body was warm—especially her red lips and slender waist. He was just about to press a hand over the block of ice's chest to feel her heartbeat. And then... Then there was no "and then." He got wrecked. The instant their lips met, Xu Yuan saw her lovely eyes widen in sheer shock. But immediately after, he felt the hand she had just released seized once more, followed by a sharp crack. In the quiet room, it sounded crisp and clear. It must have been a fine hand, given how melodious the snap was, though it hurt quite a bit. Before the agony could even spread through his body, the ringing hum of a blade sounded right beside his ear. Still stuck in the bedboard, the ink sword was whipped upward by the block of ice. The roof was sliced open. At the same time, her palm thrust out, slamming straight into his chest. Unable to bear the force, the bed collapsed with a loud crash. Thinking back to it, Xu Yuan took a deep breath, only to grimace and bare his teeth as the pain flared in his ribs. Just then, a soft voice sounded beside him: "Third Brother, don't move. I'm about to bind it. The medicinal salve needs time to seep in." Hearing this, Xu Yuan went still, but his gaze remained fixed on the black-clad woman opposite him. Noticing his stare, Xu Xinyao hesitated slightly, then advised in a low voice, "Third Brother... if Sister Qingmo is unwilling, you really shouldn't force her." "..." Xu Yuan glanced back at his fourth sister, forced by his injuries to speak in a hushed, gentle tone. "Me, force her? Take a look around. Whose room is this?" Xu Xinyao turned her lovely eyes toward the expressionless, aloof woman across from them. Hesitating briefly, she whispered, "If Sister Qingmo were willing, it wouldn't have ended up like this." "Xu Yuan..." At that moment, Ran Qingmo, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke in a quiet voice. "What?" Xu Yuan shot her a glance. "Master said, if—" "Don't start with 'Master said.'" Xu Yuan cut her off and looked straight at her. "Did your master ever tell you what it means when a woman sneaks into a man's bed in the middle of the night and kisses him?" He truly could not understand it. What did it mean when a woman climbed onto a man's bed in the dead of night, leaned over his body, and kissed him? It meant she was asking for interaction. One hundred percent meant that. Across both of Xu Yuan's lifetimes combined, he had never seen an exception. Except for today. "..." Ran Qingmo was silent for a moment. "No." Xu Yuan let out a sigh. "Of course not. Let me tell you right now: it means she wants to consummate the night." Ran Qingmo's lovely eyes went blank for a second. "Is that so... I understand now." With that, she looked at his injuries, fell into thought for a long while, and then said softly, "Xu Yuan... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Xu Yuan's lips twitched into a wry grin, and he looked at her with a trace of amusement. "So you did it on purpose?" "I didn't do it on purpose either," Ran Qingmo answered honestly. "If you're angry, I'll let you strike me with a palm too." As she spoke, Ran Qingmo slowly rose to her feet and prepared to walk over to him. "..." Xu Yuan froze for an instant, then slowly raised a hand to rub the bridge of his brow. "Fine, fine. I'm not angry." Looking at her approaching without the slightest guard up, Xu Yuan suddenly felt thoroughly helpless. Ran Qingmo halted where she stood. Watching his expression, she did not give up: "How about I strike myself with a palm?" "I already said it's fine." Xu Yuan shook his head. "If you had actually intended to harm me back then, Xinyao would be collecting my corpse right now." "Really no need?" Ran Qingmo asked. "Just don't let it happen again." "Oh..." "I don't mean kissing me." "Then what do you mean?" "You're not allowed to hit me." "..." Xu Xinyao was speechless. "..." Ran Qingmo asked very seriously, "What if I can't hold back? Just now, I couldn't hold back." The muscles in Xu Yuan's face twitched slightly. He suddenly felt a deep yearning for strength. * * * The entire courtyard had only three wing rooms in total. Since Xu Yuan's room had been sliced open by Ran Qingmo, Xu Xinyao packed up her things and moved in to share with Ran Qingmo. Xu Yuan had originally wanted Ran Qingmo to stay with him, but Xu Xinyao had refused, telling him to focus on recovering from his injuries. Their days in Shengshan County slipped by quickly. Because of his injuries, Xu Yuan spent every day resting and recuperating inside the wing room. Ran Qingmo cultivated next door, while Xu Xinyao donned a muli veil each day and ran into the town to treat the wounded. Xu Yuan had assumed this routine would continue until reinforcements from the surrounding commanderies and counties arrived, and that they would only depart with Colonel Wang after clearing out the demonic beast horde trapped within the Illusory Mist Grand Array. But scarcely more than half a ten-day had passed when word arrived from the Chancellor's Manor, instructing him that he could set out for the Wanxiang Sect. The forty thousand troops of the Black Scale Army, marching in separate detachments, had assembled more efficiently than anticipated. Although the designated rendezvous points were all in uninhabited wilderness near Wanxiang City, the force was simply too large; hiding their tracks for an extended period would prove difficult. As the supervisor personally appointed by the Prime Minister, he needed to head there ahead of time to await them. Over the course of seven or eight days, while his injuries had not fully healed, his bones had largely knit back together. The common wisdom that mending sinews and bones required a hundred days did not apply in this world—or at least, not to Xu Yuan. On the day the message arrived, Xu Yuan, accompanied by the two women wearing muli veils, went to bid farewell to Colonel Wang. Colonel Wang was somewhat surprised upon hearing the news, but said nothing. He merely offered a deep bow toward the direction of Xu Yuan's departure after the young man's figure vanished into the mist. * * * Seven days later, Wanxiang City, West Gate. An unremarkable demonic beast carriage traveled along the broad official road. Suddenly, the carriage curtain was pulled aside from within. Xu Yuan glanced out the window. The city walls towered high, the official road stretched broad, and a diverse throng of travelers bustled around the gate entrance. While it could not match Jingjiang Prefecture, it was far grander than any ordinary commandery seat. Like other prosperous prefectures and commanderies, Wanxiang City maintained a sizable transit station outside each gate to divert the flow of people, allowing the Tax Bureau to collect transit tariffs from merchant caravans efficiently. The crowds were guided in an orderly fashion toward various smaller gates designated for different purposes. Though travelers had to queue, the diversion kept the pace steady. After merely a quarter of an hour, Xu Yuan's carriage passed through the archway and entered Wanxiang City. The demonic beast carriage rolled unhurriedly through the bustling market streets. Xu Yuan swept his gaze over the scene, then let the curtain fall, remarking with a smile, "Wanxiang City is quite prosperous after all. Let's hope those in power at the Wanxiang Sect know what's good for them." Xu Xinyao sat quietly opposite him, side by side with 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, paused in thought, and replied in a low voice: "The Yuan Hao Father spoke of has already arrived. We're going to find him now."