Making a Move

*Gulp.* Looking at the barefoot girl over there, Xu Yuan instinctively swallowed his saliva. They stared at each other for several breaths. Xu Yuan parted his lips, forcing an awkward smile onto his face, wanting to say something. But the gaze from the eyes of the girl in the palace dress, crouched in the corner of the ice cavern, stuffed his words right back down his throat. His conversation with Xiao Bai earlier should have been carried out via sound transmission. Yet, if he remembered correctly... The Heavenly Yan divine soul could... seemingly, probably, maybe... penetrate sound transmissions? Xu Yuan felt a bit like crying, a bit like laughing, but mostly just wanted to give up and let things rot. His bad habits left over from his past life were acting up again at this moment. In his previous life, Xu Yuan had been caught red-handed and entangled in three nasty showdowns, but every single time had ended with him throwing up his hands and lying flat. Back then, Xu Yuan had never felt it was his fault; he even thought the other side had something wrong with their heads. Don't talk to him about cheating—after all, he had never once acknowledged an official relationship with either party. The fast ones went from striking up a conversation to dining, drinking, and heading straight to a hotel all in a single day. Even the slower ones took at most a week to hook up with. When it was that easy, wasn't it just mutual lust, two people craving each other's flesh? Neither side had ever established themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend, so what were these women tearing each other apart for? As scenes of his past life flashed through his mind, Xu Yuan abruptly reined in his thoughts. Damn it, he was scared so badly that his life was flashing before his eyes. Still, could those toxic women from his past life compare to the big and little ice blocks? No, he couldn't just give up yet. Steeling his resolve, Xu Yuan suddenly let out a soft chuckle. Adopting a gentle expression, he said with a smile: "Yesterday, I noticed the aura of the Heaven-Deducing Art inside Su Jinxuan's sea of consciousness. Tianyan, did you track us down through that escaping qi dynamic?" The moment the words left his mouth, the magnificent crystalline cavern fell utterly silent for an instant. A hint of shock surfaced in Bai Muxi's bright eyes. *The Saintess?* *The Saintess is here?* Ran Qingmo, sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance, harbored no doubts whatsoever and stood up immediately. Tianyan slowly lifted her small face from between her knees. Drooping her eyelids, she stared at him impassively, her crisp voice drawing out the words: "Ah... yeah, that's how I got here. You seem very unhappy, Xu Yuan?" "How could I not be happy?" Xu Yuan chuckled softly as he walked toward her. "Tianyan, we seem to have already—" "Don't come any closer!" Along with Tianyan's sharp rebuke, the massive crystalline cavern was cleaved directly in two, a fissure opening right before Xu Yuan's feet. Tianyan raised her eyelids and tilted her head with a smile, her magnificent golden eyes devoid of any highlight. "I know all your little tricks. Don't even think about getting close to me." She had not come in peace. Ran Qingmo's clear eyes flickered. Flipping her fair hand, she gripped the ink sword directly. Xu Yuan's mind was racing to devise a countermeasure, so he failed to notice Ran Qingmo's reaction. Tianyan, however, saw it. Her golden pupils swept straight over, her thin red lips curving upward slightly as Tianyan raised her slightly despondent tone: "Ha~ Ran Qingmo, are you holding your sword because you want to fight?" "..." Ran Qingmo did not speak, but vigilance filled her black eyes, and her grip on the hilt tightened slightly. The golden-eyed girl narrowed her eyes as the qi dynamic around her surged abruptly. Her slender figure rose directly into the air, her intricate palace dress billowing continuously with the gusts of qi. Tianyan locked her golden eyes onto the woman in black not far away, treading on empty air as she walked toward her step by step. *We're doomed, we're doomed, we're completely doomed...* Watching the two surging qi dynamics before him, Xu Yuan felt his scalp tingle with dread. From the fragmented memories in the Charm God Illusion realm, how could he not know that Tianyan had completely blown her top? Right now, this washboard Saintess truly would strike. The atmosphere inside the crystalline cavern grew increasingly tense as Tianyan drew nearer and nearer to Ran Qingmo. At this powder-keg moment, Bai Muxi clenched her hem tightly, gritted her teeth, and said in a hurried, hushed voice: "Lady Saintess, you seem to have misunderstood." Between the Saintess and Mr. Ran, she did not know whose side to take, but standing on the Young Master's side was never wrong. "A misunderstanding?" Tianyan's bare feet paused in midair. Bai Muxi pressed her lips together and spoke hurriedly, "What Muxi said earlier was actually just teasing the Young Ma—" Midway through her sentence, Bai Muxi's voice grew softer and softer until she shut her mouth completely. Because Tianyan's golden eyes had already swept toward her. The gaze in those eyes carried a dark, profound smile. If she uttered a single word more, Bai Muxi felt that in the Saintess's current mental state, she would definitely strike at her. *She... she seems broken.* Her footsteps across the void made no sound, the hem of her wide palace dress causing the ice to melt instantly wherever it brushed past. When Tianyan reached the middle of the cavern, Xu Yuan suddenly took a deep breath and transmitted his voice: "I was actually very worried about you." "Worried about me?" Tianyan's figure paused slightly, but then she looked toward Xu Yuan with amusement. Yet before the girl could speak, Xu Yuan continued his voice transmission, narrating in an unhurried manner: "The Black Scale Guards received word that you entered Thousand Thorns Gorge together with Su Jinxuan. "Yet earlier, when the three of us were inside that nameless manor belonging to the Saint Tier yin ghost, we only saw Su Jinxuan alone, while your whereabouts were unknown." As he reached the end, a trace of killing intent entered Xu Yuan's voice. "..." Listening to the man's words, Tianyan's beautiful eyes widened slightly, a ripple passing through the lusterless gold of her pupils. Having said this, Xu Yuan suddenly raised his gaze to look at Tianyan, saying with utmost earnestness: "If I wanted to obtain intelligence about you, I had to go through Su Jinxuan—and you should be well aware of her condition." His words fell, followed by silence. The barefoot girl lowered her eyelids, and the surging qi dynamic dispersing around her began to fade bit by bit. Seeing this, Xu Yuan was just about to step forward slowly when he heard her sudden, cold voice: "Why do you know that vixen is named Su Jinxuan, and that she possesses the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique? Are you really that familiar with her?" "..." Xu Yuan stared blankly for a moment. Tianyan didn't know about his relationship with Su Jinxuan? In that case, the Qin family and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion weren't on the same side? Without any hesitation, Xu Yuan opened his mouth and said: "She is a partner of the Black Scale Guards, as well as a covert agent planted in the Qin family by our Prime Minister's Manor." Hearing this, Tianyan suddenly burst into crisp laughter. Raising her eyelids, she stared at Xu Yuan: "Tee-hee-hee... But why has Su Jinxuan been muttering about a certain young master all along the way? "Xu Yuan... "Tell me... who is this young master she speaks of?" "..." The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched. Tianyan stared at his face for several breaths, her beautiful eyes reddening slightly, before slowly spitting out a single word: "...Liar." With that, Tianyan bit her lip and threw a punch straight toward his chest. Seeing this, Xu Yuan did not dodge; instead, he breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart. If this washboard Saintess was willing to hit him, it meant her anger had already subsided. Taking this punch would hurt, but it wouldn't cause any real harm. Yet an unexpected turn of events occurred abruptly at that very moment! The instant Tianyan's fist was about to strike his chest, a sudden pull came from behind him. In a flash, Xu Yuan caught a glimpse of an ink-black silhouette from the corner of his eye. *Damn it.* Holding her sword in one hand, Ran Qingmo grabbed the back of his collar with the other and flung him backward, while simultaneously raising the ink sword to block Tianyan's punch with its scabbard. *Thud!* A dull sound resonated as waves of air tumbled. Tianyan's flat chest heaved slightly, and her voice, smiling through gritted teeth, rang out softly: "Ran Qingmo, what right do you have to interfere in things between me and Xu Yuan?" Ran Qingmo's gaze was cool and quiet, her red lips parting slightly: "You are not allowed to hit Xu Yuan." "..." Watching the two women confronting each other over there, Xu Yuan parted his lips, wanting to say something to explain, but in the end he closed them, shutting his eyes along with them.