Cooperation

As his words fell, Ran Qingmo gazed at the handsome, earnest face before her, her eyes revealing nothing of what she was thinking. Xu Yuan did not press her, quietly waiting for her reply. Nobody wanted to die, and he was no exception. Although his predecessor, the Third Young Master, belonged to a family whose power overshadowed all of Great Yan, distant water could not quench an immediate thirst. In his current isolated and helpless predicament, the only person Xu Yuan could rely on was ironically Ran Qingmo, the very woman who had kidnapped him. Everyone else wanted him dead, but she had merely taken him hostage. Blood gushed steadily from the slain Flame Spirit Python, scalding as magma, sending up plumes of mist in the cold winter rain that walled off the desolate landscape outside. Amid the silence, "Fine. Speak." Ran Qingmo's placid voice slowly broke the quiet of the cave. Xu Yuan let out a subtle breath of relief. He had genuinely feared she might knock him unconscious with another blow. Weighing his words, Xu Yuan looked at her and said softly, "Mr. Ran, what I want to propose is very simple. For the sake of my life—and yours—we had best cooperate." Ran Qingmo watched him quietly, awaiting what he had to say next. Seeing this, Xu Yuan continued in a calm, gentle tone, "I know that speaking like this as your captive might seem a bit presumptuous. But just now, Mr. Ran, you saw it yourself: if you hadn't stepped in, I'd already be dead." Pausing, a self-deprecating smile touched the corners of his lips. "I know that many people in this world want me dead because of my father, but I doubt a demon beast living out here in the Wanxing Mountain Range would be influenced by him." With that, Xu Yuan looked into Ran Qingmo's eyes. "Yet this python wanted to kill me. Even after you pierced its vital spot, a creature naturally terrified of death still fought desperately just to end my life. Mr. Ran, don't you find that strange?" The continuous patter of rain drifted softly into the cave, where silence reigned. Ran Qingmo's tranquil eyes flickered slightly, and she gave a faint nod. Xu Yuan took a deep breath. "Someone wants me to die while being abducted by you. If I die here, my father will assume by default that you killed me." He paused, enunciating each word with deliberate weight: "And you will die as well." The woman before him, perpetually cloaked in black and calm as still water, was undeniably formidable. Yet she was far from the only powerful figure in this world. Capturing Xu Changtian and causing his death would mark the beginning of her own demise. Back when he played *Cangyuan*, Xu Yuan had actually been quite fond of Ran Qingmo as a character. She was half a heroine—half, because she always died before any mutual feelings could blossom with the player, meeting an untimely end before she could even remove her veil. Across the twenty-five endings of *Cangyuan*, Ran Qingmo had only a single official Easter egg where she fled overseas. However, the prerequisite for unlocking it was that the player had to actively use cheats. Only by maxing out stats to forcefully defeat a boss that was strictly impossible for normal players to beat could one save her. Xu Yuan had once found this Easter egg amusing. A character's fate could change based on the choices a player made, yet the reach of that change was limited—unless one cheated. Now, though, he suddenly felt that she and his predecessor were quite the tragic pair—dying twenty-five times across twenty-five worldlines. Ran Qingmo did not speak, nor was there the slightest ripple of emotion in the eyes visible above her veil. She was entirely unmoved by his threat of death. Realizing this approach wouldn't work on a woman like her, Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and changed tack. "Mr. Ran, you captured me for the sake of the Sword Sect's forty thousand disciples, right?" Ran Qingmo's eyes shifted, and the warm air inside the cave seemed to drop a few degrees. Understanding her reaction, Xu Yuan kept his voice low. "You don't need to look at me like that. I won't ask about your sources, and you don't need to wonder how a useless wretch like me learned of it. We're in the same boat now; digging into it serves no purpose." The tension in Ran Qingmo's gaze softened for an instant. Xu Yuan glanced at the carcass outside and said slowly, "Though I still don't agree with your logic that capturing me will let you blackmail my father, I imagine that even if you want to threaten him, you can't very well do it with a corpse, can you?" "......" Ran Qingmo fell silent for a couple of seconds before her crisp voice emerged from behind the black veil: "But you have no qi." Xu Yuan blinked, pausing to think before grasping her meaning. In this supernatural world, having no qi meant being an ordinary mortal. And to a cultivator of Ran Qingmo's caliber, a mortal was practically no different from an ant. If a third party dared to make a move on Xu Yuan right under her nose, their strength would certainly not be meager. Once a clash broke out between her and such foes, the mere aftershocks would be enough to kill him a hundred times over. Since she was already bound to protect him, there was no real need for any "cooperation." Xu Yuan had never intended to get involved in any fighting in the first place. Chuckling, he asked in a low voice, "Do you have a map of the Wanxing Mountain Range?" Ran Qingmo blinked, turned around, and rummaged through the travel pack at the deepest part of the cave. She returned holding a sheepskin scroll and handed it to Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan sat cross-legged and unfurled the scroll beside the campfire, scanning the map by the flickering light. The moment he saw it, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Though there were discrepancies in the details, the map was broadly consistent with the Wanxing Mountain Range from *Cangyuan*. Pausing, Xu Yuan waved to Ran Qingmo, gesturing for her to sit as well. "As long as you can confirm where we are, I can provide a place to hide." Ran Qingmo lifted the hem of her black robe and sat down beside him, though her gaze remained wary. Xu Yuan also realized the flaw in what he had said. Though she could be a bit airheaded in her actions, Ran Qingmo was certainly no fool. Looking down at the map and weighing his words, Xu Yuan said casually, "I know my father's people are surely searching for me in these mountains right now, but you really don't need to worry too much. "I can't contact them, and in front of a cultivator like you, anything I do would be completely obvious, so you don't have to worry about me leaving trail marks. "On the contrary, if you keep dragging me around blindly in the Wanxing Mountain Range, the chances of being discovered will only increase." With that, Xu Yuan turned to meet her cool, tranquil eyes, his voice still somewhat raspy: "You can conceal your aura, but I can't." Like many supernatural worlds, cultivators here could track people by sensing their vital energy. Ran Qingmo pondered for a long while before finally giving a slight nod. "I will keep an eye on you," she said in all earnestness. Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "Suit yourself." Having said that, he turned his attention back to the unrolled map and murmured, "When I was young, my father brought me and my two elder brothers to the Wanxing Mountain Range. He has an immortal's cave here stocked with abundant cultivation resources, more than enough for the two of us to live in for a long time." Xu Yuan had fabricated this entirely. His cheap father had no clue this treasure trove existed, but that didn't stop him from pinning the excuse on him. In any case, Ran Qingmo could hardly go and confront the man in person. Hearing this, Ran Qingmo knitted her delicate brows, her voice cool: "Your father knows about it too?" Xu Yuan had already prepared his response and replied offhandedly, "Right now, my father has to oversee the Imperial Capital. He can't come looking for me in person, and his subordinates wouldn't know about that place. Even if they did know of the cave, Mr. Ran, what are the odds they would think to search for me there?" "......" Ran Qingmo remained silent. Xu Yuan lightly tapped the sheepskin scroll. "All right, point out where we are on here, and we'll set out as soon as possible." Ran Qingmo nodded gently, lowering her beautiful eyes. Yet after staring at the map for quite a while, she hesitated before extending a slender, jade-like finger and lightly tapping a spot. Seeing where she pointed, Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. *That's pretty close.* Before he could celebrate, however, In the next moment, He watched as that slender, delicate finger shifted and tapped another spot entirely. Then a third spot. A fourth... "......" Xu Yuan fell silent and looked up, words failing him. The firelight flickered as they stared at each other in silence. Ran Qingmo averted her gaze and whispered, "I... I don't know."