Reunion

"......" The crude oil lamp on the table flickered in the draft, casting warm, scattered light that threw their tangled shadows onto the wall. It had to be said that Li Junwu's legs were remarkably long. Forced into a vertical split and viewed from above, the sight was intensely striking. Naturally, the chief reason was that she wore only a pair of intricate, Western Regions–style shorts tonight, leaving the bare skin of her legs completely exposed to the open air. *Wait a moment.* Why on earth had this bosom buddy of his dressed in only a pair of shorts tonight, knowing full well he was coming? *She sure kept her word.* The thought flashed through his mind and vanished. Xu Yuan suddenly noticed that the hand gripping Li Junwu's sword had released its strength. It seemed the misunderstanding had been cleared up. "Let go..." Just as Xu Yuan was about to speak, Li Junwu's murmur reached his ears. Raising a brow with a faint smile, Xu Yuan teased the woman close before him, "Tsk, tsk, tsk... finally recognize me?" "Who could possibly recognize you looking like that?" Li Junwu looked away, refusing to meet his eyes, a trace of anger coloring her voice. Xu Yuan instinctively looked closer. The room was dim, the oil lamp providing meager illumination, and her hanging hair obscured her expression, making it hard to see clearly. As Xu Yuan stared blankly, Li Junwu gently placed her other hand against his chest to steady herself, snapping, "I told you to let go! This posture is miserable..." "......" A split was indeed uncomfortable; even dance students from his past life could not hold one for long. At a loss for a moment, Xu Yuan did not immediately release his grip. If he let go like this, his bosom buddy would be making intimate contact with the floorboards. Hooking his arm around her calf, he slowly stepped closer to her. Following his movement, Li Junwu was able to stand upright from the downward stretch of the split, though her slender, fair leg remained cradled in Xu Yuan's palm—the point of support merely sliding from her ankle along her calf down to the crook of her knee. The smooth, warm touch at the back of her knee transmitted through his palm. Seeing the indignant annoyance on Li Junwu's stunning face mere inches away, Xu Yuan abruptly realized how overly suggestive this posture was. The breeze stirred the flickering candle, followed by an instant of silence. "Hey. You're poking my stomach." "......" Xu Yuan fell silent. Moonlight spilled through the cracks along the window frame, accompanied by the cold night wind. After that brief farce, the door shut, and silence descended upon the room once more. In the swaying firelight, Li Junwu sat at the edge of the bed, her slender, beautiful eyes scrutinizing the familiar man who bore a stranger's face not far away. The wooden bed was small, already crowded by two women and a dog, so Xu Yuan naturally had no intention of climbing on as well. Pulling out a wooden stool, he sat down, poured himself a cup from the teapot on the table, and drained it in a single gulp. It was the lowest grade of tartary buckwheat tea, yet it still left a faint sweet aftertaste. Feeling the gaze prickling at his back like needles, Xu Yuan suddenly sighed. Without the slightest trace of embarrassment, he glanced back and retorted, "I already said, that was just a normal physiological reaction earlier." Li Junwu raised an eyebrow, lightly swinging her long, pale legs, a subtle smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "So you harbored wicked thoughts toward your friend? Tsk, tsk..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan shot back tartly, "Wicked thoughts? Why don't you look at what you're wearing right now and tell me if there's enough fabric to weave a handkerchief?" "......" Li Junwu lowered her gaze to look at her attire, only to see the deep valley peeking between the folds of her chest wrap. Snapping her head back up, she saw Xu Changtian staring directly at it. The delicate corners of her eyes curved slightly, and Li Junwu gave an indifferent shrug. "Making a fuss over nothing. Isn't this normal attire for the Western Desert?" "......" Xu Yuan solemnly appraised his bosom buddy's outfit for the night. Yes, it was indeed the style of the Western Regions. With designs bearing a touch of aesthetic flair reminiscent of his past life, it barely covered her chest and pert hips, leaving her flat belly and long legs exposed to the air, accentuating her alluring curves. Still... "Are you sure that's normal clothing? If I'm not mistaken, these are Western Regions undergarments?" "Uh-huh." Li Junwu neither denied it nor attempted to cover up. Generously endowed and unashamedly unbothered, she leaned back slightly, propping her arms behind her on the wooden bed with her legs crossed. "Formal wear for going out here in the Western Desert doesn't use much more fabric than undergarments anyway. It's all the same." With that, she tilted her head, twirling a strand of long hair around a slender index finger, and spoke with casual indifference, "Besides, it's not like you've never seen me in an undergarment before." "......" Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh, picked up the wooden stool, placed it by the bedside, and sat down, having no desire to entertain his bosom buddy's nonsense. "Cut the idle chatter. Let's talk business first." As he spoke, Xu Yuan shifted his gaze toward the other woman—or rather, the real-world embodiment of his former fictional waifu. Jiayi. Yet this slender-waisted enchantress was not showing any waist. A thin blanket wrapped her figure tightly. Beneath it, she was presumably dressed just like Li Junwu, in a set of undergarments. Meeting her gaze for an instant, Xu Yuan caught an unmistakable flicker of disgust within the Great Desert Divine Maiden's gem-like, crystal-clear green eyes. This woman seemed hostile toward him. Just as he was wondering where this hostility stemmed from, a voice transmission suddenly sounded beside his ear. It was slightly awkward Great Yan speech, coming from the Great Desert Divine Maiden, Jiayi: "Li Junwu, why is the friend you spoke of a man?" Li Junwu replied in a light, casual tone, "Hm? Did I ever say he was a woman?" A trace of suppressed anger surfaced in Jiayi's transmission: "Since he is a man, why didn't you warn me to put clothes on instead of making me look foolish?" "You overslept on your own. What does that have to do with me?" "You— Humph! Never mind, but are you just going to let this man look at you like that?" "Mm? Look at what?" "What do you think look at?!" "Oh, that. Whose eyes this lady chooses to let look at her own body is this lady's own business." "......" "......" *She's completely bare under there?* Glancing over the thin blanket, Xu Yuan eavesdropped on the two women's exchange while keeping his face perfectly impassive. Jiayi seemed thoroughly infuriated. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she remained silent for a while, offering no further words, though the hostility radiating from her grew considerably thicker. Seeing this, Xu Yuan suppressed his urge to enjoy the drama, pointed at the somewhat familiar large yellow dog, and asked Li Junwu in a low voice, "Is this dog Linlang?" "......" Li Junwu looked slightly puzzled and slowly turned her head. The moment she saw the local mutt sprawled in the corner of the wooden bed, her gaze instantly turned icy cold. Her attention had been entirely on Xu Yuan earlier, so she had not even noticed when this damned dog had sneaked up onto the bed. After a moment's hesitation, Li Junwu flipped onto the bed, slowly crawling in a low kneeling posture toward the large yellow dog playing dead. Seeing her reaction, Xu Yuan was momentarily stunned, his breath catching in his throat. Soft hips swayed, a breathtaking sight blossoming before his eyes. At the sight, both of their hearts involuntarily began to beat faster. Yet that racing heartbeat lasted for only a fleeting breath. With a rustle of fabric, his bosom buddy's generous display was abruptly blocked by the other woman on the bed. A hurried voice transmission rang out in the ears of both Xu Yuan and Li Junwu at the same time: "C-Can't you mind your manners a little? There's still a man in the room!" "......" The moment she heard the transmission, Li Junwu felt the movement behind her and instinctively gritted her teeth, clutching the bedsheet tight. The large yellow dog looked pleadingly at the fierce woman before it, wagging its tail furiously like a rattle-drum as it cowered and tried to retreat, only to be seized firmly by the scruff of its fated neck. "*Awoo...*" With a pitiful whimper, the dog was hurled straight onto the Great Desert Divine Maiden by the scruff of its neck. Turning around, Li Junwu answered word by word, "This dog is indeed Linlang, but it is merely one of Linlang's external avatars. If you want to know the true Linlang's location, you will have to ask this Divine Maiden of the Great Desert!"