Strange

There was some progress, but not much. Still, Rome wasn't built in a day. Although old Jiang He had always been secretly repurposing the civilian technology his fourth sister tinkered with for military use, it had all been done behind her back; she herself had never participated in the development of arrays or devices intended for mass slaughter. Now, her willingness to help develop a lethal array—even if only this once—was enough to leave Xu Yuan well satisfied. After all, once a line was crossed the first time, there would inevitably be a second and a third. Looking at his fourth sister, who obediently let him pinch her cheek, Xu Yuan pulled his hand back with a smile and asked softly, "Did you rush back in such a hurry just to make sure I was awake?" "Mm." Xu Xinyao raised the fair back of her hand and gently brushed the cheek he had just pinched, nodding softly. Her voice was gentle. "Lou Ji, Senior Luo, and I managed to stabilize your physical condition, but none of us could find any way to awaken your consciousness..." At that point, she paused slightly, a trace of inquiry creeping into her limpid, water-clear eyes. "Third Brother, what happened to make you wake up?" Xu Yuan had already prepared an answer to this question the moment he woke up and stepped out of his room. Given his father's meticulous nature, waking up so abruptly from such a state would inevitably arouse suspicion. Unfortunately, the old man hadn't asked at all. As always, he had chosen to respect and trust his offspring. Now that the question came from his fourth sister, Xu Yuan had no intention of concealing anything either. Raising his gaze toward a distant corner of the sky, a slight smile touched his lips. "I suppose an old friend saved me." "An old friend?" Hearing this answer, Xu Xinyao's clear, elegant eyes instinctively glanced toward the study where their father was. "Father and Uncle have both been in the manor these days." Xu Yuan blinked in surprise, then explained, "She doesn't really count as a human. She was residing in that willow ghost blade before, and during the previous turmoil, she fused into one with me." "..." Xu Xinyao blinked, an odd look flickering in her eyes. When developing the antidote for her third brother earlier, she had handled that bizarre blade and examined his intent-soul through various means, yet she had never discovered any foreign intent-soul residing within him. Was Third Brother lying, or had the three-party consultation failed to detect it back then? After a brief silence, a hint of hesitation entered Xu Xinyao's voice. "Brother, do you want to visit the Gewu Academy?" Even though he was awake now, it would be best to conduct a thorough examination. Xu Yuan was somewhat taken aback, then chuckled and asked, "Are you worried there's still a hidden danger lingering in my body?" Xu Xinyao nodded gently and explained in a hushed tone, "If another person's intent-soul remains in your sea of consciousness, I'm afraid you could face possession at any moment—" "You don't need to worry about that." Xu Yuan raised a hand to cut her off, speaking nonchalantly. "That was merely a wisp of a remnant soul separated from her true body. It has completely dissipated by now." Hearing this, an inexplicable pang of anxiety gripped Xu Xinyao's heart. Having spent nearly a month trying to save him, she knew all too well how terrible his physical condition had been. Yet seeing his indifferent expression, she could only tamp down her emotions and ask softly, "Third Brother, do you trust that 'old friend' of yours so much?" "..." At the question, the demonic Tianye—who always called him 'Brother Changtian'—instinctively surfaced in his mind. Without thinking, he answered offhandedly: "Emotionally, I don't want to trust that woman, but she does count as an adoptive sister I took in, after all. "Besides, although I don't remember it now, we probably loved each other once, so she should be trustworthy..." As the words left his lips, an involuntary smile tugged at the corner of Xu Yuan's mouth. He realized that every adoptive sister he had taken in was older than the last. Luo Xiran went without saying—she was Old Man Luo's sister. Tianye was practically an ancient fossil. Pulling his thoughts together, Xu Yuan snapped back to reality and looked at his fourth sister, only to notice an unusual blush creeping over Xu Xinyao's snow-white, delicate face. Her gaze instinctively drifted aside. A flash of confusion crossed his mind, and then his expression froze. He abruptly realized the ambiguity in his words. Damn it. He had nearly forgotten that the fourth sister in front of him wasn't his biological sister either. Dropping such an open-ended remark right before her, capped off with that ambiguous smile at the end... Hiss. For a moment, an eerie silence settled over the walkway outside the study courtyard. Amidst the quiet, panic began to rise in Xu Yuan's chest. Because he noticed his fourth sister's face was turning redder and redder. Damn it, Xu Xinyao, what are you blushing for?! His old man was in the study, and Xu Changge was in the neighboring courtyard. With their levels of cultivation, they had almost certainly overheard what he just said. If they misunderstood, he would face far worse than merely being hung up and beaten. Keeping his expression completely neutral, Xu Yuan reached out, ruffled her silky long hair, and asked with feigned curiosity, "Eh? Xinyao, why did your face turn so red all of a sudden?" "..." After a beat of silence, Xu Xinyao forced herself to lift her eyes and meet his gaze. Her gentle voice carried a slight tremble. "Xin... Xinyao just feels that what you're doing isn't quite right, Third Brother." "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. Hearing that, his vision went dark. This increasingly incriminating conversation made him feel as though one foot were already stepping through the Gates of Hell. Xu Xinyao seemed to realize this as well. The blush spread to the tips of her ears, but she maintained a steady voice as she added, "Sister Qingmo... she doesn't seem like the type who would accept you having other romantic interests, Third Brother." She smoothed it over. Xu Yuan let out a long breath of relief inwardly and shook his head lightly. "Ran Qingmo, is it...? We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. There are always more solutions than problems, and besides, she knows there are other women around me." With that, Xu Yuan seized the opportunity to shift the topic back to serious matters. "Still, if you're really that worried about my health, Xinyao, I don't mind taking a trip to the Gewu Academy. I happen to have something to ask you anyway." "..." Xu Xinyao had no idea why her cheeks had grown so hot upon hearing his earlier words, nor why her normally tranquil thoughts had been thrown into such disarray. Third Brother had always been such a libertine, after all... After a few moments of quiet, she forced down the turmoil within her, raised her eyes, and answered softly, "Mm, tell me, Third Brother." Xu Yuan casually pointed toward his own courtyard and began strolling in that direction, speaking nonchalantly as he walked: "Something went wrong with my body... ahem, with my cultivation. Because of this recent ordeal, it seems I can no longer absorb and cycle the world's Source Qi..."