Night

Within the wing room, their heartbeats were audible. In his drunken stupor, Xu Yuan had truly thought the young woman before him was merely someone he was seeing in a dream, but the delicate, gentle warmth immediately made him realize that everything was real. It turned out that no matter how cold an ice block was, she was warm to the touch. To move freely, Ran Qingmo had never been in the habit of wearing silk. The dark garment she wore was made from a composite fabric unique to the Sword Sect. It was not particularly soft to the touch, but even so, the palm Xu Yuan placed against her waist through the dark cloth could still feel the supple curve beneath. Of course, she was also genuinely cold. Being locked in by Ran Qingmo's Dao charm was by no means pleasant, giving Xu Yuan a chilling sensation that he might drop dead at any second. Even with his eyes closed, his spiritual vision allowed Xu Yuan to clearly sense the big ice block's slightly wary gaze shifting back and forth over his face. Following her gaze was the Dao charm that had already permeated every corner of the room. Xu Yuan tried to piece together what had just happened. He could understand blacking out. After drinking, he had merely been holding on by sheer willpower, so slipping on the snow in the courtyard and having that become the final straw was hardly surprising. What he truly could not fathom was why he had slipped so inexplicably in the first place, much less why Ran Qingmo had appeared in his room while he was blacked out. It felt as though an invisible hand were pulling the strings behind all of this. Xu Yuan suspected his old man was behind it, but he had no proof, nor could he understand his reason for doing so. As chaotic thoughts sprawled and wandered through his mind, Xu Yuan suddenly realized his mind was drifting too far afield. He really was drunk. The Centennial Illusory Sword Brew had immense lingering strength. Even with Ran Qingmo's biting-cold Dao charm looming right in front of him, drunkenness continued to surge upward. Anyone who had been drunk knew that the moment you closed your eyes, you felt as if you had been thrown into a washing machine drum, with the world around you constantly spinning and swaying. The nausea and vertigo from intoxication made Xu Yuan instinctively pull the girl before him a little tighter. The warmth emanating into his hands brought a reassuring sense of solid ground beneath his feet. Soon, however, Xu Yuan began to regret it. He sensed that the girl in front of him was already poised to strike. The big ice block was different from the rational, chest-binding princess, and even more different from the prudent washboard Saintess. If triggered, this girl would actually draw her sword and hack someone. Back in Shengshan County, Ran Qingmo had sheared off an entire roof with a single slash. Once the drunkenness was momentarily suppressed by a flash of alarm, Xu Yuan's rekindled thoughts immediately calmed down instead. Experience from his past life told him that being drunk was his protective coloration. No matter what kind of woman she was, when faced with an intoxicated man, her tolerance would increase dramatically, no matter how much disdain she voiced. Of course, that might depend somewhat on looks and somewhat on favorability. Xu Yuan lacked neither, so he did not panic in the slightest. *Rustle...* The two lay on their sides facing each other on the bed. A soft rustle of rubbing fabric broke the silence of the room as Xu Yuan buried his head intimately against Ran Qingmo's collarbone, wrapped beneath her dark garment. As the faint, coiling fragrance of sandalwood in the room, mingled with the fresh scent of the girl's neck, reached the tip of his nose, Xu Yuan felt the big ice block in his arms begin to tremble slightly. Her beautiful eyes blinked repeatedly, her lips pressed together in tension, and a jade-like hand pushed lightly against his chest. Xu Yuan did not think Ran Qingmo was flirting. The moment her fingertips touched his chest, wisps of faint blue frost had already begun to spread outward. After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan murmured as if unconsciously, "Ran Qingmo..." "M-mm?" Hearing the sudden voice, Ran Qingmo flinched like a startled rabbit. Coming back to her senses, she hurriedly dispersed the Dao charm on her hand and asked in a low whisper, "What's wrong... Xu Yuan?" "I missed you." "..." As the gentle words entered her ears, Ran Qingmo's watery eyes instantly went wide, blinking as she gazed at the sleeping face before her. She actually had many things she wanted to ask Xu Yuan. She wanted to ask about his betrothal to that Princess Wuyuan, and why he refused to see her. But upon hearing that soft, tender sentence, she felt an inexplicable burst of quiet joy. With that tiny surge of delight, the icy Dao charm gradually dissipated. At that moment, Xu Yuan sincerely felt that spiritual vision was a wonderful thing. Without spiritual vision, with his mere Flesh Integration Realm cultivation, let alone probing the big ice block's Dao charm, he likely would have been caught red-handed the instant he tried to sense her condition. Tightening his arm around the girl's waist again, before she could react, Xu Yuan murmured softly, "I'm so cold..." Looking at the man who had practically buried his head against her chest, Ran Qingmo pressed her lips together lightly. After hesitating again and again, she lifted her arm and gently cradled his head. Her master's wife had told her that a girl's body could not be casually touched by men, especially her chest. Still, Xu Yuan had touched it so many times before, and through clothing, it probably didn't count... Xu Yuan felt he was about to succeed. The drunken haze reduced his thoughts to almost a single thread. He could only focus on one thing at a time, without considering the consequences, without considering trivialities, and without considering that the big ice block in front of him might hack him if she was triggered. For a time, the only sounds coming from the bed within the dim Prime Minister's Manor were intoxicated murmurs and the rustle of clothes, until... *Crack, crack, crack.* A crisp sound of grinding bone replaced the rustling of clothes. Ran Qingmo's quiet, cool eyes looked at Xu Yuan with a hint of irritation, her small hand catching the wrist that had been wandering over her body. She had tried hard to control her strength, so she was not using much force, but Xu Yuan's wrist still emitted faint popping sounds. It felt as if it were about to snap. His drunkenness made the pain slow to arrive, but the obstruction of his movement caused Xu Yuan to instinctively look up at the girl in his arms. Her pitch-black eyes were still clear, but at this moment, they held a faint trace of anger. After returning to the Sword Sect, her master's wife had sat with her in her bedchamber and told her a great many things about men and women, along with the numerous tricks men used to coax girls out of their chastity. Ran Qingmo had dutifully remembered every single one. Even in anger, Ran Qingmo's voice was as cool and quiet as ice: "Xu Yuan... you're not cold, are you?" "..." The cold voice shattered the stillness of the room and cleared the haze of drunkenness from Xu Yuan's eyes. He looked at Ran Qingmo, and Ran Qingmo looked back at him. After a brief silence, Xu Yuan gave a slight nod to the girl in his arms: "Yeah." "Then you aren't drunk either?" "I might be a little drunk, but my head is clear." "Oh." Ran Qingmo acknowledged, then asked solemnly, "Then why were you acting?" Her words fell into silence. Outside, the cold wind howled, and falling snow blanketed the world in bitter chill, while the bed held only warmth. The two were very close. She watched him, waiting for his answer. Xu Yuan's narrow eyes drooped slightly, and his lips parted softly. "I just missed you. If I didn't pretend to be drunk and put on an act, I was afraid you would leave right away." As the soft words gently settled, the only light in the wing room came from the flickering embers of the incense burner, and the grip on his wrist instinctively loosened. Ran Qingmo did not look away. She pondered seriously for a moment. "I just won't leave, then..." "Really?" Xu Yuan looked at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Ran Qingmo gave a slight nod. The slender corners of her eyes remained solemn as she said with utmost seriousness, "But you can't keep touching me." "Why?" "I feel a strange sensation in my heart." "..." The blunt answer caught Xu Yuan off guard, but a warm, amused feeling soon welled up within him. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Then can I just hold you?" "Just hold me..." Ran Qingmo blinked her pretty eyes, seemingly weighing the idea. After a while, she said softly, "Only holding..." "Mm, I want to sleep." "Okay." With a rustle, Ran Qingmo turned over on the bed to face away from Xu Yuan. She silently pulled his hand and placed it around her waist, then added softly, "You can only hold me like this, Xu Yuan." "Mm, alright." Silence fell. The snowy night slipped by amid the warmth of the room. Just as Xu Yuan was about to drift to sleep from his drunkenness, a murmur from the big ice block in his arms broke through his drowsiness: "Xu Yuan, are you asleep?" "Mm... no. What is it?" Xu Yuan replied softly. Ran Qingmo gently placed her hand over his wrist and asked in a low voice, "Um, does it still hurt here?" The big ice block's hand was as chilly as ever, and the cold touch on his wrist gave Xu Yuan a slight pause. Drunkenness dulled all the senses, even for cultivators. After a moment's thought, he recalled the cracking sound from earlier and chuckled with mild amusement. "I'm a little drunk, so I can't feel it right now. I probably won't know until tomorrow." Ran Qingmo asked in a small voice, "Oh... should we put some medicine on it?" "Medicine?" "Mm." Ran Qingmo's voice was cool yet earnest. "This time when I went back to the Sword Sect, I had my master's wife teach me so many things. If you get sick again, I shouldn't let you freeze." Rendered speechless for a moment, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "I have a cultivation base now." "You don't need it anymore?" "Well... it's not that I don't need it. Learning more is always good, but my wrist probably doesn't need any." As Xu Yuan spoke softly, he instinctively moved to pat the big ice block's head with his other hand. But just as he moved, he heard a soft, pained murmur: "Oof..." "What happened?" Xu Yuan halted his movement and asked softly. "You're pinning down my hair." "..." The familiar yet distant phrase rendered Xu Yuan silent for a moment. He could hardly remember how long it had been since he last heard those words. Familiar with the gesture, he pulled his hand free and gently smoothed her supple, long black hair, apologizing in a low voice, "Sorry." "It's fine," Ran Qingmo answered. "Heh." Xu Yuan chuckled softly. Seeming to recall something, he suddenly asked half-jokingly, "Ran Qingmo, do you know how babies are born?" "I know." "Hmm? You really know?" Xu Yuan sounded skeptical. "I do know!" Ran Qingmo's voice carried a hint of vigilance. After a pause, she answered in a low voice, "My master's wife gave me a booklet about that before." "Huh?" Xu Yuan was taken aback. Ran Qingmo explained matter-of-factly, "It was a booklet with contents quite similar to that dual cultivation manual we got in the Qionghua secret realm." *Well, looks like I can't fool her after all.* With that thought, Xu Yuan sighed inwardly. "Alright, let's just go to sleep then." "Mm, go to sleep. I won't leave." "..." "..." "..." That night, Xu Yuan had a dream. Based on past experience, sharing a bed with the big ice block while intoxicated should have led to sweet dreams about her, but once he fell asleep, he found himself directly inside a pure-white space. In that space, he saw a flawless sword, and he also saw that uncle of his. It was a lucid dream. By the time Xu Yuan regained awareness, his uncle was already swinging a sword toward him. Operating on the principle that he couldn't let himself be bullied even inside his own dream, Xu Yuan prepared to give this uncle a sound beating to vent his frustration. As it turned out, he still got bullied in his dreams. Fortunately, there was no sensation of pain. That part was quite pleasant. Decapitation, bisection, vertical cleaves—exchange after exchange of sword techniques, dissipating and reforming time and again. The drawn-out process drew Xu Yuan entirely into it. But after yet another clash of blades, the flawless sword in the white space suddenly moved. It formed a phantom silhouette. Then, that phantom silhouette inexplicably began fighting Feng Jiuxuan. Though it was a dream, everything felt exceptionally real. Because it was a dream, Xu Yuan could clearly see every single detail of the two exchanging blows. Sword techniques as graceful as startled swans and agile as swimming dragons poured forth endlessly as the two figures crossed paths. Peerless sword forms, breathtaking sword craft. It was gorgeous, so gorgeous that Xu Yuan completely forgot his initial desire to dream of the big ice block, immersing himself entirely in pure sword artistry. *Hum—* At last, with a resonant hum, the two figures began to blur. The white space began to shatter, fragments of white peeling away one by one as warm amber light pierced through the fractures. *Crack.* Everything returned to silence. Then, Xu Yuan groggily opened his eyes, the flood of information leaving his consciousness briefly muddled. What met his gaze was the familiar wing room. The morning winter sunlight filtered gently through the window lattice onto his eyes, slightly dazzling and comfortably warm. "Mm..." After a faint murmur, Xu Yuan suddenly realized there was a soft, warm "object" in his arms. Lowering his gaze, he was met by glossy black hair that gave off a clean, faint scent. Memories of the previous night rushed back in that instant. His uncle's Illusory Sword Brew was truly fine wine; even after blacking out, he woke without any hangover headache or nausea today, allowing Xu Yuan to immediately recognize who the "object" in his arms was. Ran Qingmo was still wearing that dark garment, and his hand remained resting against her delicate lower abdomen, holding her slender body tightly. Ordinarily, the movement of his waking should have roused a Grandmaster like Ran Qingmo, yet she remained utterly still in his embrace. Just as he was wondering about this, Xu Yuan caught sight of a palm-sized Source Crystal held in the ice block's hand. "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. *Sleeping with me for a whole night, and you still didn't forget to cultivate, did you?* Just as he was thinking this, the dark-robed girl facing away from him dispersed her technique, and her quiet voice drifted over softly: "You're awake..." Xu Yuan replied in a low voice, "Mm." "...Then can you let go of me?" Saying so, Ran Qingmo shifted her soft body forward slightly. Turning her eyes halfway back, she said faintly, "Xu Yuan, that sword hilt at your waist was poking into me all night. It was rather uncomfortable."