Comfort

Xu Yuan raised his eyes. Those eyes, limpid as a secluded spring, were quietly gazing at him. Smiling, Xu Yuan looked at Ran Qingmo and asked, "What brings you over?" Setting the ink sword on the table, Ran Qingmo glanced outside the door and confessed honestly, "Um... Xinyao just came to see me." Xu Yuan felt somewhat helpless. "To complain about me?" Ran Qingmo shook her head. "She said you might be feeling bad inside, and told me to come comfort you." "..." Xu Yuan paused, then sighed inwardly. She was overwhelmed with distress herself, yet still found the heart to worry about someone else. What a foolish little sister. Xu Yuan reined in his thoughts, took her hand, stood up, and smiled. "That's right, I am feeling bad. So, how do you plan to comfort me?" Ran Qingmo pondered seriously before asking, "Why are you feeling bad?" Xu Yuan sighed, keeping nothing from her. "Because of an order of mine, excluding the soldiers, roughly two thousand people died." Ran Qingmo was not one for words, merely saying, "Two thousand people... isn't really that many." In her travels, whenever demonic beasts raided a village or bandits plundered grain, dozens of households in an entire village were frequently slaughtered to the last soul. Xu Yuan's voice sounded quite relaxed. "Mm, from the perspective of the whole realm, these two thousand-odd people really aren't many." With that, Xu Yuan led Ran Qingmo to sit on the soft couch beside them, speaking softly: "To be honest, I really wish I could be like one of those grand chivalric heroes—drawing my blade to strike down whatever displeases me. Mm, just like the things we encountered on the road before: slaying demons when we meet demons, killing bandits when we meet bandits, handing out some coin to the poor. Only caring about dealing with the grievances right in front of us, disregarding everything else, wandering free and unfettered through the pugilistic world... How wonderful that would be." "Then why don't you do it?" Her hand tightened slightly, and she asked softly. Xu Yuan sighed, looking out through the open room at the cloudless, azure sky, his tone somewhat uncertain. "Probably because of responsibility?" "..." Ran Qingmo didn't understand. Xu Yuan smiled helplessly, his gaze complex. "Those memories are etched vividly in my mind. Besides, I truly admire what my old man in the Imperial Capital wants to achieve." With that, Xu Yuan turned his gaze toward Ran Qingmo, his voice very gentle: "When all of this is over, do you want to come see the world with me?" "..." Ran Qingmo's eyes held seriousness, and she nodded vigorously. "Mm. Okay." Xu Yuan smiled faintly and leaned close to her ear. "Relax." "..." Ran Qingmo obediently lowered her guard. While Ran Qingmo was unguarded, Xu Yuan employed the technique he had learned from the Saint's remnant soul to link with Ran Qingmo's intent-soul, transmitting his voice: "You're heading back to the Sword Sect. Make a trip to the Wuhua Mountain Range in Huai'an Province. Wander around inside for several laps. If you can find a cavern, go inside and bring the items within to your master, saying you stumbled upon them by chance. "If you can't find it, that's fine too. With me taking over, my current father shouldn't be in such a rush to destroy the Sword Sect. When you return, we can search for it together just the same." Having finished his instructions, Xu Yuan leaned straight back. Looking at the giant block of ice with her ever-aloof, earnest expression, he chuckled and said, "So, how do you plan to comfort me? I haven't felt comforted by your coming here at all." Ran Qingmo pursed her lips and pondered for a moment. As if recalling something, she suddenly stood up. Xu Yuan was startled by her sudden action. Ran Qingmo silently pulled Xu Yuan along as she walked to the side. Xu Yuan was bewildered, but then his eyes narrowed slightly. Because... The giant block of ice was heading straight for the bed. Reaching the bed, Ran Qingmo slipped off her cloth shoes and crawled onto the bedding. Looking at her kneeling on the bed, Xu Yuan immediately circulated his technique, shutting the open door from a distance, and climbed into bed as well. In the silence, Xu Yuan reached out toward the giant block of ice's delicate shoulders, intending to help her undress. And then— Clap! His hand in midair was caught firmly in her grip. Ran Qingmo's gaze was somewhat cool and wary. "Xu Yuan, I memorized a charm technique back at the Qionghua Sect." "..." Xu Yuan. While Xu Yuan was still in a daze, he felt the world spin around him. By the time he came to his senses, his head was resting on the maiden's kneeling, jade-like lap. Their eyes met in the quiet air, and Xu Yuan felt a sense of relief instead. Right, how could this giant block of ice ever be so forward? As he thought this, Xu Yuan watched as Ran Qingmo slowly lowered her head toward him. The air was quiet to perfection. Her drooping black hair brushed against his face, tickling slightly. If that Colonel Wang dared knock on the door at this moment, Xu Yuan felt he might actually want to kill someone. Yet evidently, Xu Xinyao was not that fast. So Xu Yuan began wondering if he ought to close his eyes, for he could feel this giant block of ice trembling slightly. Yet in the end, after that peerless, enchanting face drew close, she made no further move, staring eagerly at him from point-blank range: "Xu Yuan... are you feeling better?" "..." After a brief silence, Xu Yuan asked tentatively, "What are you doing?" "Mistress said doing this makes people feel better." "Huh?" "Is it not so...?" Ran Qingmo sounded somewhat disappointed, murmuring under her breath, "But when I was little, whenever Mistress did this, Master's mood would always get better." "Did you fail to watch the whole thing? Did you only see the beginning before getting tossed out every time?" Ran Qingmo was puzzled. "What do you mean, didn't watch the whole thing?" Looking at her serious expression, Xu Yuan cleared his throat softly. "It doesn't matter if you didn't see it all. I can teach you." Ran Qingmo knitted her brows and subconsciously glanced toward the ink sword on the table. After a slight hesitation, she asked, "How?" Xu Yuan crooked his finger, gesturing for her to come closer. Ran Qingmo remained wary and did not move, keeping a distance of about twenty centimeters. "What do you want to do?" she whispered. Xu Yuan looked earnest, his tone grave. "Don't worry, I wouldn't lie to you. You definitely didn't see the whole thing." Ran Qingmo lowered her head a little more until Xu Yuan could feel the warmth of her breath, fragrant as orchids... Their red lips brushed softly. The next instant, Buzz— The ink sword pierced straight through the bed again. Looking at the ink sword radiating frigid chill and the giant block of ice, Xu Yuan's lips began to twitch. Wait, wasn't that sword on the table just now? How could this thing teleport? Sitting up and retreating across the bed, Xu Yuan calmly and rapidly racked his brain for a countermeasure. Ran Qingmo, however, made no further move. She simply wiped her red lips with the back of her hand, gripped the ink sword, and fixed her dark, secluded gaze upon him on the bed. A few breaths later, Ran Qingmo silently stood up, put on her shoes, and silently carried her ink sword out of the wing. She seemed angry. Xu Yuan subconsciously wanted to pull her back and coax her, but in the end, he only slapped himself on the face and fell back onto the bed. Given Ran Qingmo's speed, no matter how close the distance was, evading him would have been effortlessly easy. So, she had been willing. Lying in bed and staring up at the bed canopy, Xu Yuan sighed. As for that ink sword... Tianyan.