Compared to Ran Qingmo's, Tianyan's hand was slightly smaller, carrying less of that bony chill and a touch more soft warmth.
Cozy and warm.
A gale swept past, and the white mist churning beneath the abyss roiled and boiled.
Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the young girl beside him, expertly prying open her fingers with his own to interlock their hands.
Tianyan glanced down toward her sleeve and frowned slightly, but in the end, she let his little maneuver slide.
Fingers intertwined, feeling the warmth emanating from her hand, a trace of tenderness surfaced in Xu Yuan's eyes.
There were things Tianyan might never say aloud in her lifetime, but her actions did not lie.
Feeling the cool breeze after the rain brush against his face, Xu Yuan suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
"This spot is really quite nice. Jumping down from here... doesn't it kind of feel like dying together for love?"
"Dying for love?"
Tianyan's voice was the exact opposite of her warm little hand—crisp, cold, and sharp-tongued.
"Young Master Xu certainly has refined leisure to indulge in such thoughts."
Xu Yuan shrugged, nonchalant.
"Pursuers behind us, an uncertain path ahead, and a ghost mist of such immense scale. Even though both of us are in the Origin Realm, neither of us can be entirely sure of surviving it. If we die, wouldn't that be dying for love?"
Tianyan cut him off coldly. "Shut your jinx of a mouth."
Xu Yuan blinked and chuckled softly.
"Fine, I know you can't bear to see me die—hiss! My mistake, my mistake, it hurts!"
Tianyan squeezed his hand, sending a piercing ache radiating from their interlaced knuckles.
Even between those in the Origin Realm, there were vast disparities, to say nothing of an empty shell like Xu Yuan.
Having already achieved Dao fusion, Tianyan operated on an entirely different level of combat strength.
If they were to clash right now, without relying on the Meishen Dao Charm to trigger her aphrodisiac poison, she would probably have him thoroughly disciplined in under three exchanges.
Seeing Xu Yuan grimacing in pain, a fleeting smile flickered across Tianyan's icy expression.
"Let's go, idiot."
With that, giving Xu Yuan no time to react, she yanked him along and leapt straight down.
Their bodies plummeted at high speed, plunging into the cloud-like white mist below in mere moments.
Buzz—
The instant they entered the fog, Xu Yuan's head buzzed.
The white mist visible from the cliff vanished, replaced by boundless darkness.
Chilly, dead, and utterly devoid of sound.
With every breath, faint stray thoughts crept and spread through his chest.
Had Xu Yuan not been in the Origin Realm, these impulses would have been so subtle as to be imperceptible.
They were stray thoughts blended from all manner of extreme emotions and desires:
Slaughter, jealousy, greed, lust...
After seven years, he was actually encountering ghost mist again, and in this manner.
Moreover, compared to observing it from outside the formation back then, stepping into the ghost mist in person truly made him perceive its horror.
Frowning, a streak of blood-red light ignited in Xu Yuan's eyes, instantly wiping away all those stray impulses.
To mortals, ghost mist was indeed an insoluble, terrifying phenomenon.
To enter was to die.
Yet to cultivators, especially high-ranking ones, the mist itself was nothing formidable. The real threat came from the demon-ghosts lurking within.
Aside from that, there was also the mist's gradual erosion of the mortal body.
However, this process was extremely slow. Given his and Tianyan's cultivation levels, as long as they didn't stay inside for eight or ten years, ghost transformation was practically impossible.
Once his cultivation technique began circulating, the darkness in Xu Yuan's vision receded, restoring everything to normal.
The white mist was still just white mist, and the girl beside him was staring at him with a teasing look.
Xu Yuan smacked his lips and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Tianyan's bright golden eyes shone like the morning sun within the ghost mist, yet her exquisite face was brimming with disdain.
"A pewter spearhead—all show and no substance. To think you actually have the cultivation of the Origin Realm, yet you succumbed to a mere ghost mist. Truly pathetic."
Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched. Then, entirely shameless, he grinned.
"Yeah, I really am that weak."
With that, he tugged lightly on their interlaced hands, pulling the young girl straight into his arms.
"That's why I need you, Big Sister, to protect me."
Tianyan braced her hands against him, pushing him back with a glare.
"As a young master of the Prime Minister's Manor, a dignified seven-foot man, you behave like a local rogue without an ounce of backbone."
Pushed away, Xu Yuan leaned right back in with a beaming smile.
"It's been seven years. Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"
"...Hmph."
Tianyan's petite, slender frame trembled slightly, and she let out a scoff. "Stop clinging to me. Don't distract me inside the ghost mist."
Looking at her expression, Xu Yuan smiled gently.
"Then I'll do as you say, Yan'er."
"Hmph..."
Tianyan scoffed, then snapped her head up, her eyes flashing with indignant fury. "What did you just call me?"
Xu Yuan replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "Yan'er."
"You are not permitted to call me that." Tianyan's gaze chilled.
Xu Yuan gave a dry smile. "All right, Yan'er."
The moment the words left his mouth, what met Xu Yuan was not shy acquiescence, but her chilly, low snap:
"Xu Yuan, do you want to die?"
"..." Xu Yuan froze slightly.
Tianyan narrowed her beautiful eyes into two sparkling slits, glaring at him. "Who gave you permission to call me that?"
The rushing wind from their descent roared past their ears, fluttering their sleeves as he clearly saw the exasperation in her eyes.
She was truly angry.
Pondering for a moment, understanding dawned on Xu Yuan.
He had been too hasty.
Tianyan's acquiescence to physical intimacy had led him to subconsciously believe that the knot in her heart was mostly untangled and that he could press his advantage. But in doing so, he had overlooked her awkward, conflicted temperament.
She had yet to make the choice between reality and her feelings.
Out of affection for him, she could silently accept physical closeness, but verbally, she still could not bring herself to poke through that layer of window paper.
Because once she acknowledged it, there would be no turning back.
The present Tianyan needed high-sounding excuses to disguise the emotions in her heart.
Like dispelling the aphrodisiac poison, or... the excuse he had just used to hold her hand.
The ghost mist was dangerous; he was afraid of getting lost, so he needed her protection.
Even though the pretext was utterly absurd, it served as the protective camouflage that allowed her to tacitly accept his insolence.
"..."
At that thought, Xu Yuan looked at the girl's icy expression and inwardly curled his lip.
What an awkward personality.
Still, this was fine too. If they didn't settle their relationship now, once they had some "in-depth communication" later, there would be plenty of time for her to cry.
As their eyes met, Tianyan also realized she had lost her composure. A flicker of regret passed through her eyes, and her tone softened slightly.
"Do not call me Yan'er."
Xu Yuan blinked, his expression innocent.
"Then what should I call you? 'Hey'?"
Tianyan looked away, her voice growing even quieter.
"It's not like I don't have a name."
"Tianyan?"
"Mm."
"Then call me Xu Yuan from now on too."
"Hm?"
"I prefer it when people call me Xu Yuan instead of Changtian."
Chapter 382