Outside the cavern, sunlight cascaded like a waterfall; inside, ice crystals and frigid mist lingered everywhere, while the beast-hide blanket wrapped around him provided an abundance of warmth.
Wrapping oneself in a little quilt inside an air-conditioned room—what a nostalgic sensation.
The dream had ended.
He had been awake for about a quarter of an hour, yet Xu Yuan had not made a single sound.
Because he did not dare to.
The atmosphere inside the crystalline cavern was eerily quiet.
Ran Qingmo, still clad in her ink-black robes and neatly dressed, sat cross-legged at the cave entrance, her back turned so that her expression was hidden.
Su Jinxuan still lay on her back near the edge of the cavern entrance. After a night, the bump on the succubus's head had swollen even larger, but the tattered plain dress she had been wearing had somehow been replaced with an elaborate crimson silk gown.
The dress looked slightly disheveled, likely slipped onto her by someone while she was unconscious.
At a glance,
her sleeping face was delicate and enchanting, thoroughly captivating.
Bai Muxi had changed clothes as well, wearing a turquoise-green dharma robe. With brows dark as painted peaks, she sat quietly by his side looking pristine and ethereal, tending to him, occasionally reaching out a jade-like hand to smooth over the surface of the mink-fur blanket.
At such close range, Xiao Bai must have noticed he was awake, but she sensibly refrained from speaking up.
Xu Yuan cautiously observed everything in the ice cavern.
If something had indeed occurred, beneath the blanket he was fully dressed; though his clothes were slightly rumpled, the waistband of his trousers was tied tight, and there were no telltale bloodstains on the ice from any "white blade in, red blade out."
If nothing had occurred, all three women in the cave had changed their clothes, the atmosphere was eerily dead, and the big ice block was not by his side looking after him.
Xu Yuan was somewhat at a loss regarding the current situation.
In his past life, wild as he had been—perhaps pushing the boundaries of public decency and morals—he had never crossed into criminal territory.
As for this life, glorious though his track record might be, it had all been purely physical without catching feelings—fleshy indulgence in pleasure houses, playing along for the occasion.
This kind of situation was a first for him.
After pondering for a long time, Xu Yuan decided to get up and test the waters.
Everything was unfamiliar the first time and natural the second; he had to build experience somewhere.
Before that, however, he needed to ascertain whether last night's dream of passion had been an illusion or reality.
And if it was real, which woman in the cave was the other party.
Rustle—
Slowly sitting up, the beast-hide blanket slipped down with a rustle. Feigning grogginess, Xu Yuan swept his gaze across the ice cavern, rubbing his temples as he murmured in apparent agony:
"My head hurts..."
As he spoke, Xu Yuan's gaze inconspicuously drifted toward the big ice block seated at the cavern entrance, covertly gauging her reaction.
Ran Qingmo paid no heed to his muttering, remaining quietly seated at the entrance, gazing blankly out at the loess canyon.
Committing this abnormal reaction to memory, Xu Yuan felt fairly certain of what had transpired, but when he used his Source Qi to inspect his physical state, that certainty wobbled precariously.
He did not feel the slightest sensation of depletion.
Essence and blood—essence came before blood.
Cultivators possessed superhuman constitutions compared to mortals, yet the bedroom art adhered to the natural order and the balancing path of endless reproduction.
For a cultivator, intimacy imposed a far greater toll and depletion on the body than for an ordinary person.
Because it siphoned off a portion of their life essence.
To counter this, the ancients had devised numerous secret techniques and cultivation methods to lock in their life essence.
Xu Yuan had learned a few just in case, but under yesterday's circumstances, he shouldn't have had the chance to circulate them.
In his suspicion, Xu Yuan realized that rather than wildly speculating on his own, it would be far better to ask one of the suspects directly.
It was not convenient to ask the big ice block, but there was no need for reservations with the Biluochun beside him.
Having made up his mind, Xu Yuan used his spiritual vision to examine every inch of the ice crystals, looking for any leftover evidence of battle, while secretly asking via voice transmission:
"Muxi, did something happen yesterday?"
"......"
Bai Muxi's bright eyes flickered. Pressing her lips together, she did not answer right away, though a blush rose across her fair cheeks first.
The moment Xu Yuan saw the Biluochun's reaction, he immediately glared at her:
"Tell the truth."
Xiao Bai lowered her eyes somewhat crestfallen and replied in a hushed transmission:
"Young Master, Muxi doesn't know the exact details either, but when I regained consciousness..."
Here, Xiao Bai glanced toward the entrance.
"...I was naked, and Mr. Ran was helping me get dressed."
Xu Yuan frowned and immediately pressed:
"What about Ran Qingmo's own clothes?"
Recalling briefly, Bai Muxi said softly:
"She was wearing hers, of course. You and Su Jinxuan were both dressed as well—oh, Miss Su was actually naked, just draped in an outer robe. That red gown was something I retrieved from Miss Su's Sumeru ring."
At this point, afraid Xu Yuan might misunderstand, Bai Muxi hastily added an explanation:
"Neither my clothes nor Mr. Ran's fit Miss Su, and Mr. Ran was unwilling to touch someone else's Sumeru ring, so I had to retrieve one from hers."
"......" Xu Yuan.
"......" Tianyan.
Opening his mouth, Xu Yuan suppressed the corner of his lips that was beginning to curl upward and asked in a solemn tone:
"Then your body... do you feel any discomfort?"
Bai Muxi instinctively shook her head:
"After waking up, that feverish sensation had already subsided..."
Midway through her sentence, Bai Muxi seemed to realize something. Lifting her eyes, she blinked and stared at Xu Yuan for several breaths, then raised a slender, jade-like hand to cradle her lower abdomen, averting her gaze:
"Though... my lower abdomen hurts a little."
With that,
she stole another peek at the young master, only to meet Xu Yuan's suspicious, scrutinizing stare.
Xu Yuan suspected this woman had slipped into drama queen mode again, putting on an act for him.
The Biluochun's craving for his body was not something new.
The first step was always the hardest; once the ice was broken, everything else would follow naturally.
It seemed he would have to test the big ice block herself in a bit, or wait until Su Jinxuan woke up and ask her directly.
The little succubus probably wouldn't lie to him.
Thinking of Succubus Su, Xu Yuan suddenly realized something.
The Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique could charm anyone with whom one engaged in deep intimacy, yet his feelings for her did not seem to have deepened.
In other words, Succubus Su could be ruled out?
Yet after a moment's thought, Xu Yuan felt that conclusion was flawed.
Not necessarily. After all, his current constitution was extraordinarily unique. The soul-devouring arts of the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art could absorb traits from other intent-souls—part of which included the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique—and his damaged Heavenly Yan divine soul might well grant immunity.
It was best to be cautious.
Experience told him that when a woman lost her innocence, she would inevitably feel insecure and anxious to some degree. He had to handle the situation delicately, or he could easily hurt their feelings.
Thinking this over, Xu Yuan stood up from beneath the beast-hide blanket and walked across the ice toward Ran Qingmo, who was sitting cross-legged at the entrance.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
......
Just three steps in, Xu Yuan's feet came to an abrupt halt.
His spiritual vision caught an anomaly in the ice cavern.
Startled, thinking he had found evidence, he instinctively looked over.
And then,
amidst the dim light,
he met a pair of magnificent, pure golden pupils.
A stunning young girl in a pale pink palace gown was quietly squatting in the darkest corner of the ice cave, lotus-root arms wrapped around her jade-like legs, revealing those eyes blazing with piercing golden light.
The gaze directed at him was as cold as eternal ice,
as if...
she were looking at a dead man.
Chapter 588