Parting

The cataclysm of the seven saints assaulting the city had long since spread throughout Great Yan's ruling class. The imperial court had plotted the overthrow of the northern sects, and the sects had immediately struck back in the Western Desert by destroying Zhenxi Prefectural City. Even though the imperial court still seemed calm and tranquil on the surface, beneath it surged a colossal undercurrent. The flimsy sheet of paper standing between Great Yan's imperial court and Great Yan's sects had been thoroughly soaked red with the blood of the Northern Border sects and Zhenxi Prefectural City. Many powerhouses who received word fled the Imperial Capital to escape disaster, yet even more swarmed in like hyenas scenting blood. Every thread converged toward the heart of Great Yan. Ran Qingmo, having broken through to the Origin Realm, was very strong, but she was still not strong enough. An ordinary Origin Realm expert could already protect themselves in Di'an City, and could perhaps even seek an opportunity to advance further in these turbulent times. But Ran Qingmo could not—purely because she was the Sect Alliance Master's disciple. Even setting aside the political implications of traveling alongside Xu Yuan, Ran Qingmo still had to leave. If Ran Qingmo went to Di'an, her role would mirror Li Junwu's during the battle of Zhenxi Prefectural City. Just as there were people who wanted Xu Yuan dead, there were people who would also want Ran Qingmo dead. Ran Qingmo had to leave. The three left the side hall in silence. As they strolled through the sky garden awaiting Ran Qingmo, the Old Celestial Master, who had been walking alongside them, suddenly picked up his pace and widened the distance between himself and the two juniors. Xu Yuan found this somewhat curious. The old man had been so resolute and uncompromising inside the hall, yet once outside, he was actually willing to give Xu Yuan a chance to speak with his sister-in-law. As he was wondering about it, Tang Weijun's voice drifted over softly: "Little—cough, Third Young Master, I'm sorry. Master truly has no room to choose. I hope you won't take offense at his attitude back in the hall." Xu Yuan gathered his thoughts, curving his eyes into a smile: "'Third Young Master' is for outsiders. Sister-in-law, you can simply call me Changtian. Of course, if you'd like to call me 'brat,' that's fine too." Tang Weijun paused for a moment. A faint blush crept across her handsome face before she spat lightly: "You're full-blooded brothers, yet you're completely unlike him, you little brat—so slick and smooth-tongued." Walking through the grove of flowers, the fragrance overflowed around them. Seeing bashful shyness on someone dressed as a handsome man felt rather bizarre to Xu Yuan. He teased: "I thought you'd deny it, Sister-in-law. After all, when we met last time, that preten—cough, Xu Changge almost came to blows with you. It seems something happened when he visited earlier?" Tang Weijun lowered her eyelids, her fingertips brushing past waist-high blossoms alongside the path as she smiled: "A few things did indeed happen." "That couldn't have been easy." Xu Yuan was unstinting with praise for his sister-in-law: "Even as his brother, I want to pummel him every time we meet. To endure him for so long, Sister-in-law, you're truly incredible." "..." Tang Weijun's cheek twitched. Her hand subconsciously clenched, crushing the flower at her fingertips into powder that scattered into the air, while a resentment so dark it was practically black billowed off her. After several breaths, Tang Weijun suddenly let out a soft snort of laughter, murmuring faintly: "Well, I've endured him for over twenty years. I should be used to it by now." "Huh? How many years?" Xu Yuan froze for a second. Tang Weijun turned back as if stating the obvious, giving Xu Yuan a wink: "Little brat, before you were born, we were neighbors." Childhood sweethearts. No wonder. Xu Yuan came to a sudden realization. It seemed the family's King of Posturing Unit 02 had pretty good luck. Without this childhood friend, he probably would have walked the exact same path as Unit 01. After a brief pause, Xu Yuan shook his head: "Still incredible. I've been around Xu Changge for over twenty years as well, yet whenever I see him, I still want to pummel him." Tang Weijun gave a soft huff: "Ever since we were young, plenty of people have wanted to pummel him, but unfortunately, nobody except me has ever succeeded. You, little brat, in this life—hmm?" Midway through her sentence, the woman's gaze abruptly shifted. She stared fixedly at Xu Yuan for quite a while before hesitating: "Brat, you..." "Transcendent Realm," Xu Yuan answered preemptively. He wondered if every acquaintance back in the Imperial Capital was going to ask him this exact same question. Making a fuss over nothing. Had they never seen a generation-suppressing genius before? As the thought crossed his mind, Xu Yuan noticed his sister-in-law's gaze turning keenly interested, even tinged with excitement. "..." During the brief silence, Xu Yuan gave a light cough and was about to speak when Tang Weijun beat him to it. Her usually crisp, valiant voice softened, her beautiful eyes fluttering: "Changtian, do... do you remember that hefty meeting gift I gave you last time? Could you do your sister a favor?" "Uh... Sister-in-law, tell me what it is first..." "It shouldn't be too hard for you." "No, I... I need to see what—" "Help your sister beat the shit out of—" "Sister-in-law's command is Changtian's quest!" "..." Tang Weijun fell silent. The high-altitude breeze was a touch chilly. As their gazes met, both saw the resentment accumulated over more than twenty years toward the King of Posturing Unit 02 in each other's eyes. The brother-and-sister-in-law united front against their common foe had been formed. Xu Yuan suddenly asked curiously: "By the way, Sister-in-law, since you were neighbors with my family back then, how did you end up becoming the Young Celestial Master?" Over twenty years ago, his father had already been the Chancellor of the realm. Those residing next to the Chancellor's estate were all imperial royalty and noble elites; theoretically speaking, there was no way they could have ties to sects... "Your father had my family's estate raided and seized." "..." Xu Yuan's expression froze. "Heheh~" Tang Weijun gave a musical chuckle and patted the younger brother's shoulder. "Teasing you is so fun~ Your sister here was the daughter of a concubine. Before the raid, my mother had already died at the hands of the first wife. Truth be told, I should thank your father for avenging me." Xu Yuan breathed a small sigh of relief. To a certain degree, the status of a concubine's daughter was even lower than that of a maidservant's child. In Great Yan, concubines were occasionally arranged to entertain guests. Xu Yuan said hesitantly, "Is that so?" Tang Weijun waved her hand dismissively: "It's fine. On the day your father raided the estate, your brother took me out of the city in advance." At this point, her resentment deepened once more as she muttered: "Though when parting, that fellow didn't say a single word. He just dumped me there and left. When I tried to stop him, he even beat me up." Xu Yuan found it hard to keep a straight face. Beating up a girl before saying goodbye. Classic Xu Changge. "Thinking back now, he probably just didn't know what to say. After all, from his perspective, it was his father who wiped out my entire clan." Tang Weijun huffed softly and gazed toward the northern horizon, murmuring: "After that, I began wandering the realm. Once I arrived in Daying Province, I happened by chance to be saved by a world-entering disciple of the Celestial Master Manor, who took me into the sect..." Another ruthless character. Hearing his sister-in-law's wistful recounting, Xu Yuan thought to himself. A little girl not even ten years old, crossing two vast provinces—the last time Xu Yuan had met someone that badass was the head of the Black Scale Guards. As she finished speaking, Tang Weijun turned back to look at Xu Yuan, saying in all earnestness: "So I'm sorry, Changtian. "Celestial Master Manor gave me a second life. It taught me the reason to cultivate, and taught me what is righteous. "I know your father acts for the common people as well, but perhaps the rules left by our founding ancestor are simply too idealistic. Your father's ideals naturally clash with Celestial Master Manor. The disciples of our sect will never accept a Chancellor's Manor that recklessly stirs up war, nor will they accept sects that suck the common folk dry like leeches. "Protecting the peace of the people of this single region is already Celestial Master Manor's limit. I cannot plunge the entire Celestial Master Manor and the people we protect into danger for my own selfish desires." "..." Amid the silence, Xu Yuan smiled softly. At this moment, he understood why Celestial Master Manor had always remained neutral, never once entering the fray across the complex timelines of Cangyuan. For the sake of the ideal left behind by their founding ancestor. If Celestial Master Manor involved itself in this struggle of grand tides, the very foundation upon which it was established would be shaken. Even if it ultimately emerged victorious, even if Celestial Master Manor grew and prospered as a result, the soul of its ideal would scatter and fade away. This was a utopia founded by a group of idealists whose morals were frighteningly high—a paradise untainted by human greed and selfish desires. Yet precisely because of this, its scale could never become massive, and it was exceptionally fragile. Even a slight wavering at the very top would see the entire utopia corrupted by selfish desires. Perhaps the fourth brother at home insisted that the sects could still be redeemed because of the existence of sects like Celestial Master Manor. Xu Yuan pressed no further, nor could he force the issue. While waiting for Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan casually chatted back and forth with his sister-in-law about many amusing anecdotes from Xu Changge's past. Xu Yuan was more than happy to hear romance stories about the King of Posturing. For instance, the first time they met, she had beaten Xu Changge up—though that was the only time, as Xu Changge was on guard against her ever since. Or another: she was the King of Posturing Unit 02's childhood friend who dropped in from the sky. When Xu Changge was sixteen and went to participate in the Tianyuan Grand Tournament, Tang Weijun accompanied the elders of Celestial Master Manor there as well. When she excitedly tracked down her childhood friend, what greeted her wasn't the joy of reunion, but a calm question from Xu Changge: "Who are you?" Tang Weijun had her defenses shattered on the spot. She rolled up her sleeves and charged, only to be soundly beaten by Xu Changge once more. Hearing this, Xu Yuan couldn't hold back a laugh. His sister-in-law was truly pitiable. Beaten upon parting, and beaten upon reuniting. Still, Xu Changge had likely feigned ignorance on purpose. That had probably been right around the time their mother passed away, and during that Tianyuan Grand Tournament, virtually every sect disciple who crossed hands with his eldest brother ended up dead or crippled. The Young Celestial Master had merely received a beating, which in itself spoke volumes. After the two had chatted for a long while, Ran Qingmo finally came walking over at a sluggish pace, looking deeply reluctant, as if she already knew why Xu Yuan had called her here. On second thought, that made sense. The big ice block was only airheaded, not stupid. Upon seeing Ran Qingmo approach, Tang Weijun patted Xu Yuan's shoulder gently and left to rejoin her master. Before leaving, she secretly slipped Xu Yuan two of Celestial Master Manor's secret projection array stones, telling him to record Xu Changge getting beaten up. One was for her, and the other was for him to keep as a souvenir. Xu Yuan chuckled softly at that. Victory was assured. Only after Tang Weijun had walked far away did Ran Qingmo finally make her way over. The black-clad girl wore a muli veil atop her head, keeping her face turned away to look at the lush flowers by the path without saying a word. Xu Yuan said softly: "Dressed so neatly—do you already know why I called you over?" "...Mm." "The next time we meet will probably be at the Sword Sect." "...Oh!" Hearing this, Ran Qingmo immediately raised her eyes to Xu Yuan, her dark pupils peering through the veil, her voice trembling slightly: "Xu Yuan... you promised me!" Xu Yuan smiled faintly, his eyes curving as he spoke in a warm tone: "Those forty thousand disciples of your Sword Sect—I, Xu Changtian, will save them, Mr. Ran." "...Oh, good." Ran Qingmo's expression eased, and she murmured, "Ran Qingmo." Xu Yuan found it amusing: "Just a joke." As he spoke, Xu Yuan reached out to brush aside the veil covering her cool, detached face, asking gently: "After we parted at Shengshan County, the thing I asked you to find and bring to your master—you gave it to him, right?" "I found it." Ran Qingmo murmured, glancing at him before asking with some confusion, "Is that thing very important? Master seemed very agitated at the time..." Xu Yuan stroked his chin and said softly: "It should be considered a lost treasure of your Sword Sect. With it, when I save the Sword Sect, a lot of unnecessary deaths can be avoided." "Oh," Ran Qingmo acknowledged, asking no further questions. "..." After that, the two lapsed into silence. Theoretically, looking at each other without speaking was either awkward or flirtatious, yet at this moment Xu Yuan felt neither. The big ice block's expressionless demeanor was simply far too cool and detached. In the silence, Xu Yuan chuckled softly and said: "It's getting late. Let's go find the Old Celestial Master and the others." Ran Qingmo remained rooted to the spot, her dark eyes fixed intently on him. Finding this strange, Xu Yuan spread his arms and joked: "What, looking for a parting hug?" "..." Ran Qingmo said nothing. Removing her veil, she stepped forward in silence and threw herself into his embrace, her clear voice murmuring: "Xu Yuan, after I leave, don't be sad anymore, okay?" Holding the girl's soft, seemingly boneless body and drinking in the fragrant scent of her hair, Xu Yuan murmured: "...Thank you." "'Thank you' is—" "Alright, I know, I know." "Mm." "...By the way." Still holding the girl in his arms, Xu Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice: "Back in that cave when I was afflicted by the charm poison..." Midway through his words, Xu Yuan felt the black-clad girl in his arms breathe erratically. Then, the big ice block began to struggle, trying to pull away from him. Unfortunately, this time, husbandly authority was fully asserted. An Origin Realm cultivator could not resist a Transcendent Realm powerhouse. Only after quite a while did Xu Yuan softly murmur into her flushed ear: "So it was you, after all." "..." Ran Qingmo buried her face in his chest, clutching her veil tightly without giving a direct answer: "I... I should go. Let go." Chuckling softly, Xu Yuan didn't refuse, releasing her: "Alright, let's head over." "N-no need. I can go over by myself." With that, Ran Qingmo grabbed a book from her Sumeru ring and tossed it to Xu Yuan. Leaving behind a flustered "...I'll wait for you at the Sword Sect," she hastily pulled the veil back over her head and scurried away as if fleeing for her life. Xu Yuan didn't give chase. Standing where he was, he examined the book the big ice block had left him with some curiosity. It was a secret dual-cultivation method—a proper, legitimate one. It was likely the one Ran Qingmo had obtained in the Qionghua Secret Realm. After a moment of quiet, Xu Yuan was about to put it away with a smile when he suddenly froze. Something was off about this dual-cultivation technique—the name was off. Hanxue Xing. Flipping through it for a few seconds, Xu Yuan's cheek twitched. Wait a minute... This cultivation method... didn't use the front door?