Her robes and skirt fluttered gracefully in the wind, and the girl's eyes, burning with azure-gold flames, were as captivating as shooting stars across the night sky.
Pursuing the girl's silhouette from behind, an involuntary smile tugged at the corner of Xu Yuan's lips.
Seven years of living together day and night, leaning on one another under the immense pressure of relentless pursuit, had brought him and this washboard Saintess vastly closer together.
Be it in mind or body.
He still remembered the very first time he had laid a hand on this washboard Saintess's skin—the woman had straight-up collapsed the cave they were hiding in.
Nowadays, however, she merely put up a token resistance before letting him have his way with her.
Of course, such skin-to-skin contact was strictly limited to treating her injuries.
With Tianyan's awkward, tsundere temperament, she guarded against him like she would a thief.
Under normal circumstances, it was utterly impossible for Xu Yuan to steal a taste of her charms.
At the thought, Xu Yuan chuckled softly and muttered under his breath, "What a difficult woman."
"What did you say?" Tianyan had sharp hearing, and her brows furrowed as she shot him a glare.
Relying on his Origin Realm physical body to weave and vault through the dense woods, Xu Yuan gave a bright laugh and sent a voice transmission: "I said Ran Qingmo is far more straightforward than you."
"..."
Tianyan fell silent for a few breaths, then let out a cold snort.
"Hmph, then go find your Ran Qingmo. Stop following me."
Her previous good mood vanished instantly. Clenching her fists, she sped with all her might toward the depths of the forest.
Beaming cheekily, Xu Yuan accelerated to catch up beside her. "Huh? Older Sister, didn't you just say you were going to protect me?"
"Piss off!"
"So heartless?"
"Xu Changtian, how can you be so shameless?"
"Repeating what you just said makes me shameless, Older Sister?"
"Haaah... hah."
Glancing at his grinning, brazen face, Tianyan drew a deep breath. With a frost-cold expression, she chose to ignore the bastard altogether.
Seeing the look on her face, Xu Yuan gave a wry chuckle.
Well, she had blocked her hearing again.
Every time she got mad but could not beat him in an argument, this washboard Saintess would simply give up and play the ostrich.
Although he could transmit his voice with his intent-soul, Xu Yuan shelved the idea of teasing her further.
If he pushed it any more, this big sister Tianyan would genuinely break down.
She was like this every time he attempted to advance their relationship a step further.
Still, since she called herself an older sister, she couldn't possibly be some centuries-old crone trapped in a child's body like the Child Grandma of Mount Tian, could she?
It was likely just as Tianyan had said: this generation's Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master could no longer afford the price of constantly deducing heavenly secrets.
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and their flight proceeded without any mishaps.
Inside a cave in the dense woods,
the dim interior faintly outlined the silhouettes of a man and a woman.
The woman sat cross-legged on a white-furred cushion, eyes closed to rest her spirit.
The man leaned back against the cave wall, looking sideways at her.
Today, Tianyan wore a plain black, form-fitting dress that accentuated her petite, exquisite figure to the utmost. Though she was as flat-chested as ever, her waist and hips possessed seductive, curvaceous lines that remained devilishly hot. Her dark hair was gathered with a hair ribbon, resembling fluttering spirit butterflies, or perhaps pure, pristine snow.
Sure enough, beautiful people looked gorgeous in anything.
Yet this breathtaking young woman had barely spared him a word over the past month.
She was angry.
All because he had said earlier that she was inferior to that big block of ice.
With her eyes still closed, the girl suddenly spoke up out of the blue:
"Look again, and I'll gouge your eyeballs out."
Xu Yuan folded his arms across his chest, the corners of his lips curving slightly. His gentle voice echoed softly in the quiet cave:
"Didn't you put on such a beautiful black dress just for me to look at?"
Tianyan remained completely unmoved, her clear voice level and cold.
"For you?"
"Is there anyone else around here?"
"Shame is a wonderful thing to have."
"Heh."
Xu Yuan chuckled. After a brief silence, he suddenly asked, "Was it really necessary? Staying mad for an entire month just over a single mention of Ran Qingmo?"
Tianyan spoke like an orchid hidden in a deserted valley: "Mad? What would I be mad about?"
"You're really not mad?"
"No."
"If you're not mad, why wouldn't you even let me visit a pleasure house back in Chongdu Prefecture?" Xu Yuan asked with interest.
With that, Xu Yuan mimicked her tone: "'You're not allowed to go! We just settled down and you're already seeking pleasure?'"
"..."
Tianyan's delicate frame trembled slightly, yet her voice remained steady.
"What does that have to do with Ran Qingmo?"
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
Xu Yuan did not answer immediately. He stepped forward at an unhurried pace, his footsteps echoing through the cave.
Reaching the girl, he retrieved a cushion from his Sumeru ring and sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with her. He nudged her gently with his shoulder and chuckled, "Of course it's related. Ran Qingmo wouldn't stop me from visiting a pleasure house~"
Tianyan frowned slightly and shifted aside, adopting a strictly businesslike tone: "Pleasure houses and brothels have always been the greatest source of leaked intelligence. What if you went there and exposed us?"
Xu Yuan seemed to have anticipated this long ago and smiled. "I am in the Origin Realm, while the madam of that pleasure house was merely at Body Integration. Do you think they could see through my disguise?"
As he spoke, Xu Yuan leaned his face right in front of hers, staring unblinkingly at her expression.
One breath.
Three breaths.
"Get away!"
Tianyan reached out a slender, soft hand, planted it against Xu Yuan's face, and shoved him away. Opening her eyes, she glared at him coldly.
"To escape, I went through nine deaths and one life! The moment we're safe, you want to run off and seek pleasure? By what right?"
"A fine excuse."
"Xu Changtian! What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing much. It's just that people who speak contrary to their hearts always end up as the losers."
"..."
Tianyan suddenly rose to her feet. Glancing down at the seated man, she spoke bluntly, a hint of mockery in her tone: "Do you mean to say I harbor romantic feelings for you? That I stopped you from going because I was jealous?"
Xu Yuan blinked, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He had not expected that, with her difficult temperament, she would actually lay the matter bare so directly.
Yet it suited him just fine.
In his previous life, after seven years together day and night, he could have straightened out someone completely crooked. Yet with this washboard Saintess, they were still playing this game of push and pull.
"Isn't that so?" Xu Yuan asked with a smile.
"..."
Meeting his gaze, Tianyan's heart inexplicably picked up speed.
Yet after a brief pause,
a flicker of revulsion surfaced on her breathtaking visage, and the girl's voice turned chillingly cold:
"Xu Changtian, do you truly possess no self-awareness whatsoever regarding your own behavior?"
"..." Xu Yuan froze.
"With the things you've done, what makes you think I could ever fall for someone like you?"
"..."
"If there were anyone else I could trust, do you think I would ever choose to stay with a rake like you? Don't make me laugh."
Silence fell with her words.
He looked at her, his eyes carrying an aptly measured look of complexity.
After a long while,
he let out a soft, low chuckle, shook his head, pushed against his knees, and stood up.
Without a word, without looking at her again, he lowered his gaze and walked toward the cave entrance.
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
The gentle footsteps echoed in both their hearts.
Suddenly,
"Hey."
Tianyan stood where she was, biting her lower lip. Watching his somewhat forlorn back, she clenched her fists slightly. Forcing the words out, she asked coldly:
"Where are you going?"
Xu Yuan looked back over his shoulder.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Chapter 379