Third Young Master

Run? Xu Yuan froze in his tracks, turning back in shock toward the giant Buddha head, whose eyes were slowly dimming in the darkness. Details he had overlooked earlier surfaced in his mind, and he suddenly seemed to understand a few things. Reality wasn't anime or a movie; if an enemy had the chance to ambush and kill you, they wouldn't strike a pose and wait for you to notice them. Yet this giant Buddha, after approaching him without making a sound, hadn't attacked right away. It had waited until he retreated to the edge of the hall before engaging the woman in black. Outside, the rain continued to patter down. Inside the temple, the air felt cold enough to freeze. *Third Young Master...* Xu Yuan looked down at his frail, sickly body and let out a long breath. What the giant Buddha had called him, the state of this body, and the events that had just unfolded gave him a faint guess about the world he had transmigrated into. It was too similar. What had just happened was virtually identical to a scene from *Cangyuan*, the 2.5D pixel-art game he had played. A giant Buddha, a ruined temple, a young master in brocade robes, and an icy woman clad in black. Only, shifting from 2.5D pixel art directly to a first-person, real-life perspective was such a drastic difference that Xu Yuan, having just transmigrated, hadn't connected the two right away. But the giant Buddha's "Third Young Master" had suddenly jarred his memory. He had become the Prime Minister's Third Young Master. The most pitiful Third Young Master in *Cangyuan*, who, across twenty-five worldlines, ended up dead twenty-five times in twenty-five different ways. Yet upon realizing this, Xu Yuan's tense heart eased slightly. He looked ahead. Time seemed to slow down. Rain dripping from the eaves splashed into bright silver streaks in the dark. His eyes, having adjusted to the gloom, allowed him to faintly make out the slender figure walking toward him. Her footsteps were light, yet distinct. Darkness spread rapidly through the temple hall as the cold wind of the rainy night howled. Finally, Xu Yuan met the woman's eyes, clear and faintly luminous in the darkness. "You are..." A gentle, languid male voice, smooth as water, resonated in the dark. From the sound of it alone, one could picture a graceful, jade-like young gentleman. *This Third Young Master's body must have pretty good looks.* With such random thoughts running through his head, Xu Yuan continued: "...Ran Qingmo?" Before his words had fully settled, a gleam of cold light quietly flitted through the woman's clear eyes. Yet seeing that bone-chilling frost in her gaze, Xu Yuan relaxed completely instead. He had guessed right; this was indeed that game's world. With the present situation aligning with the plot he knew, Xu Yuan immediately recalled that the giant block of ice before him had come to capture him, not kill him. Because she still needed him to "persuade" his boss of a father, who was about to wage war. No matter how he might die in the future, his immediate threat to life was gone for now, and the pressure dropped drastically. After meeting his gaze for a few seconds, the chill in the woman's eyes slowly faded. Turning around, she said flatly, "Keep up." Xu Yuan realized she was preparing to relocate and make a run for it. The corpses outside and the "Spirit Buddha" inside this hall were all subordinates of this body's father. Even though her sword had left no survivors, this shelter clearly couldn't be held for long. Yet if she wanted to leave, Xu Yuan absolutely could not just follow her out like that. In *Cangyuan*, players could reach many different endings depending on their choices. On several of those routes, this minor villain of an original host had died while being kidnapped by this giant block of ice. Although his deaths on those routes had been glossed over in a single line, dead was dead. So Xu Yuan stood his ground without moving, staring at her back in the darkness. Making his voice sound as clear and composed as possible, he asked: "Mister Ran, do you know what you are doing right now?" "Mister Ran" was the respectful form of address the game's protagonist used for Ran Qingmo. "......" Xu Yuan speaking up so suddenly seemed to catch the woman in black somewhat off guard. She paused. Her gaze swept over him, cool and sharp as a blade, instantly raising goosebumps all over Xu Yuan behind her. She said nothing, merely standing in the darkness and watching him quietly. Being stared at by this block of ice didn't feel great, but Xu Yuan mentally reviewed the game's plot again and again, confirming she couldn't possibly kill him at this plot point. She repeated, "Keep up." Xu Yuan maintained his composure, enunciating each word: "You won't kill me." Ran Qingmo waved her hand casually, drawing a long, thick wooden stick into her grasp from the ground. Holding the stick, she stood in place, quietly staring at Xu Yuan. "......" Xu Yuan fell silent. Taking a deep breath, he fell in behind her. Putting on an appearance of calm indifference, Xu Yuan spoke in a measured tone: "Mister Ran, capturing me serves no purpose." Ran Qingmo still said nothing. Holding her sword in one hand and the wooden stick in the other, she walked silently toward the temple exit. Xu Yuan strove to keep his voice steady: "A man like my father will not change his decisions over whether I live or die." Ran Qingmo finally spoke softly, her voice still just as aloof: "What are you trying to say?" The rain outside continued to fall, stringing from the eaves like beads and sending ripples across the puddles. Hearing her finally respond, Xu Yuan replied immediately: "I am speaking, of course, about your purpose in capturing me." He offered a faint smile. "Mister Ran, you captured me because you want to save the forty thousand disciples of the Sword Sect—" *Hum—* Before his words had even finished, time in the temple seemed to freeze. A chilling, murderous intent surged abruptly. A gale erupted outward with the woman at its center, whipping Xu Yuan's robes into a frantic rustle! An immense, invisible pressure radiated bit by bit from the silhouette cloaked in darkness. Merely standing there was enough to nearly force Xu Yuan to his knees. Forced back two steps by the crushing weight, he clenched his fists tight inside his wide sleeves and braced himself against a wooden pillar to hold his ground. In the gloom, the biting killing intent radiating from her made every hair on his body stand on end. The sudden turn caught Xu Yuan completely unprepared; he could not fathom why Ran Qingmo would react so violently to those words. In a flash, his mind raced through the game's plot, and Xu Yuan suddenly realized he seemed to have said the wrong thing. The grand event of the Prime Minister annihilating the Tianyuan Sword Sect was something he, as a "player," naturally took for granted. Yet to the people of this world, this plan was supposed to still be in its preparatory stages—a secret among secrets. Those who knew of it were likely only his old man and a handful of his most trusted confidants. At this point in time, the sect master of the Sword Sect was still the esteemed Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yan Dynasty, and still an old friend who had worked alongside his Prime Minister father for decades. If someone claimed that the Prime Minister intended to destroy the Sword Sect, perhaps not even the sect master himself would believe it. Although this body was the noble third legitimate son of the Prime Minister, a playboy who indulged in drinking, feasting, whoring, and gambling could not possibly know such classified intelligence at this point. Cold sweat poured down his back. *I'm done for.* Now, Ran Qingmo turned fully around, her eyes glowing with a faint blue light in the dark. Drawing the blade from its sheath, she stepped toward Xu Yuan: "How do you know that?"