Waking Up

Ten days later. Fierce winds swept across the earth as a carriage traversed the vast desert like a tiny ant. Dust filled the sky, obscuring the morning sun on the horizon. The entire world seemed plunged into primordial chaos, while on the distant horizon, a colossal sandstorm rumbled onward, blotting out heaven and earth. Opening his eyes once again from unconsciousness, what met Xu Yuan's vision was partly the familiar ceiling of the carriage and partly a rounded curve of crimson. His physical weakness left his mind muddled. Xu Yuan stared upward with unfocused eyes for quite a while before his senses gradually returned. He was presumably resting his head on Su Jinxuan's lap—after all, of the four women, only the disgraceful succubus possessed such proportions. This was not the first time he had awakened. Over the past ten days, he had drifted awake seven or eight times in fits and starts, but on those occasions, he had fallen back unconscious almost immediately. This was the first time he had truly, completely awakened. During the period his consciousness had been lost in haze, Xu Yuan had often faintly heard bickering at the beginning. Most of it had been the voices of Tianyan and Ran Qingmo. Oh, no, it couldn't really be called bickering. Thinking back carefully now that his mind was clear, it had probably been Tianyan picking fights with Ran Qingmo entirely one-sidedly. This washboard Saintess was like a bristling battle cat. Every so often she would provoke Ran Qingmo, only to be rendered speechless by the Big Ice Block's retorts before silently sulking all by herself. Honestly, even Lou Ji, that big succubus, couldn't get the better of Ran Qingmo, let alone a washboard Saintess like her. Terrible at it, yet she just couldn't resist. Amusement welled up in his chest. Xu Yuan licked his somewhat dry lips and struggled to sit up, but his bodily weakness prevented him from accomplishing even this simple motion on his own. Fortunately, just as he started to move, a jade-like hand pressed against his back and supported him up. It was Su Jinxuan. Sitting up, Xu Yuan had barely exhaled when he keenly sensed that the atmosphere inside the carriage was rather off. Aside from him, there were four people in the carriage, yet not one of the four expressed any concern over his awakening. Even Su Jinxuan, who was closest and had helped him up, didn't say a single word. Xu Yuan cautiously swept his gaze across the carriage, trying to observe the expressions on the four women's faces. The carriage was not very large, and with five people packed inside, the space felt slightly cramped. Xiao Bai knelt obediently at the edge of the carriage. Ran Qingmo sat cross-legged with closed eyes, cultivating with a Source Crystal in hand. Noticing him looking over, Tianyan turned her gaze toward him as well. Her clear golden eyes held a trace of heartache and guilt, but the expression was fleeting, vanishing almost instantly into cold indifference. After casting him a glance, Tianyan let out a soft huff and looked away, seemingly sulking. In the end, Xu Yuan's gaze settled on Su Jinxuan beside him. He genuinely couldn't understand why his head had been resting on Su Jinxuan's lap while he was unconscious. Xiao Bai's opinion could be disregarded, and Ran Qingmo might bottle it up and say nothing, but Tianyan should have definitely exploded. Yet now, none of the women seemed to have any objection. Meeting those lovely eyes that seemed to hold an ocean of cherry blossoms for an instant, Xu Yuan was about to ask something when he saw the succubus blush and turn her head away. "..." Seeing this, Xu Yuan inexplicably recalled that night's dream of Mount Wu. His eyes grew slightly odd, and he wanted to take the chance to ask about it, but considering that a certain someone could eavesdrop on voice transmissions, he swallowed the words back down. After a long silence, Xu Yuan checked the injuries in his body, coughed twice, and asked in a weak, low voice: "Cough, cough... How did my injuries heal so quickly? With my current constitution, transferring cultivation to heal me shouldn't have been possible." The atmosphere right now was bizarre, so he had to be deliberate with how he broached a conversation. Although he had thrown himself into danger of his own accord, his injuries were genuinely inflicted by both the big and little ice blocks together. They cared for him so deeply that they were bound to feel guilt and heartache. So before his wounds fully healed, this was his golden shield against their wrath. Hearing this, Tianyan's slender frame trembled slightly, and she instinctively bit her lip. But in the next instant, as if remembering something, she suddenly glared at Xu Yuan. Ran Qingmo opened her eyes at this moment as well, looking at Xu Yuan with a faint trace of self-reproach, and explained softly: "...We really couldn't treat your injuries, nor could we feed you pills. Fortunately, Miss Su's cultivation art was able to help you." Saying this, Ran Qingmo lowered her eyelids, pursed her lips, and murmured as faintly as a mosquito: "Xu Yuan... I'm sorry." "What are you apologizing for?" Tianyan's voice suddenly rang out. Crossing her arms over her chest, she cast a sidelong glance at Ran Qingmo, her tone dripping with disdain. "Can't you tell this bastard did it on purpose?" With that, Tianyan's gaze swept over to Xu Yuan, her red lips curving with mockery. "Crashing into it himself just to make us feel guilty so we'd forgive him! But that's not the same thing at all. Still using a routine from hundreds of years ago!" "..." Xu Yuan. Damn, looks like that routine had been used in the past. Still, seeing the expression on Tianyan's delicate face, Xu Yuan couldn't help but feel a warmth flash through his heart. Who said an old trick couldn't work again and again? "..." Ran Qingmo looked at Tianyan half-comprehending, then looked at Xu Yuan, the despondency in her eyes deepening even further. Yet she said nothing more. Realizing he couldn't let the washboard Saintess corrupt the Big Ice Block, Xu Yuan hastily changed the subject, asking Su Jinxuan, "The Great Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art has this kind of effect too?" Su Jinxuan's face had been flushed since earlier, an alluring crimson spreading all the way to her ears. Hearing his question, she remained silent for a long while before speaking softly: "Young Master Xu, you were the one who gifted this cultivation art to Jinxuan. Could it be you don't even know its contents?" "..." The moment she spoke, Xu Yuan sensed disaster. Fire on the horizon. This disgraceful succubus was stirring up trouble too. Even now, the Great Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art had little renown in the world, but the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion certainly knew its true value. And sure enough, Tianyan's voice drifted over the very next moment: "Oho~ Young Master Xu is generous indeed, handing out such a closely guarded secret so casually." At those words, Su Jinxuan's glistening, alluring red lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, Xu Yuan took the initiative, cutting in with a smile: "If you want it, Tianyan, I can give it to you too. Whether it's the Great Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art or the primary art I cultivate now, or anything else—no matter what it is, if you want it, I'll give it to you." With that, Xu Yuan winked at Tianyan. Meeting his eyes for a moment, Tianyan's face flushed slightly, and she huffed, "As if I'd want any of your foul garbage." Pfft... If they were alone, Xu Yuan would definitely have seized the opportunity to tease her, but right now he decided against it. Chuckling softly, he lowered his voice and said: "Alright, let's leave that aside for now. Let's talk about Madame Wan first." At those words, both Tianyan and Su Jinxuan's expressions shifted slightly. After a brief silence, Tianyan asked with faint puzzlement, "That Saint Tier yin ghost's methods were terrifyingly dreadful. How on earth did the three of you manage to escape from that manor?" After Xu Yuan gave a brief recounting of what they had experienced, he continued: "Tianyan, why did you two enter that nameless manor? Was the contingency you planted in Su Jinxuan's sea of consciousness meant to deal with Madame Wan? Or...?"