Xu Yuan naturally understood what that signified.
Wen Xinyun was the root cause, growing strong through Li Yaoxuan, and ultimately detonated through the hands of Li Zhaoyuan.
The moment that design was completed, the undercurrents once threaded through the shadows would turn into a surging torrent of circumstance bearing down upon his shoulders, leaving that father no choice but to march forward, even knowing that death lay ahead.
Vast though the world was,
it could no longer accommodate the ambitious hegemon named Xu Yinhe.
This was a grand scheme of the entire realm pitted against one single man.
Life was ever a series of brief meetings and long departures. After parting ways with Lou Ji in Daying Province, Xu Yuan resumed his solitary journey, just as he had traveled before that chance encounter.
It was customary for scions of noble families to travel the world. Since arriving in this realm, Xu Yuan’s footprints had quietly traced across more than half of the Central Plains' fourteen provinces—from the Wanxing Mountain Range to Jingjiang Prefecture and Di'an, and from Di'an to the Northern Border and Western Desert.
Yet before this, wherever Xu Yuan went, he had always traveled in haste, following the official roads and lingering amid bustling human settlements; even when he briefly stepped away, it was only to return to them.
Retracing the paths he had once walked, nearly all the places Xu Yuan passed through were desolate wildernesses devoid of human presence, and the sights he beheld were vastly different from those of the past.
Away from mortal civilization, Xu Yuan discovered that this land was truly breathtaking.
Vast and magnificent, it shimmered with splendor like a precious jewel.
Snowfields.
Gobi deserts.
Grasslands where ten thousand wild steeds galloped,
Mountain ranges soaring straight into the clouds,
And inland lakes vast and boundless as the sea.
As he walked across this land, Xu Yuan saw many traces left behind by the departed. Though those people and events had long since faded away, they had etched their own memories into the mountains and rivers of the world.
Ancient cities still stood upon the wilderness ten thousand years later; once-splendid palaces lay concealed deep within seas of trees; spiderwebs wove dark patterns among rotting eaves; and rust slowly crept along the weapons clutched firmly by withered skeletons...
Yet just as every story had an end, every journey reached its destination.
For his final stop before returning to the capital,
Xu Yuan arrived at the Guanyin Mountain Range, where he had once set foot before.
A snowy, moonless night.
Strolling along the mountain path in his memory, it did not take long before Xu Yuan spotted the abandoned village perched on the mountainside, as well as the dilapidated cottage that had once surfaced in his dreams.
Revisiting familiar ground, memories of the past felt like yesterday.
Back then, in search of the Qionghua Secret Realm, he and Ran Qingmo had stayed here for half a month, only for their plans to be derailed by an "uninvited guest."
A few springs and autumns had passed, and the world had moved on.
The cottage still stood amidst the snow. The only difference, perhaps, was that the hole in the roof had grown considerably larger, while the people who had once sheltered beneath it had long since gone their separate ways.
*Creak—*
The wooden door swung open with a shrill screech like the wail of a mountain ghost.
He stepped inside.
For a cottage in an abandoned village, there was surprisingly little dust inside. Fallen rubble had been tidily stacked, and a good amount of chopped firewood sat in the corner; travelers had evidently sheltered in this deserted dwelling over the years.
Dispensing with the fastidiousness of his previous visit, Xu Yuan casually found a stone platform strewn with dry straw and sat down. Staring at the familiar yet strange surroundings inside the dilapidated house, his expression turned complex. In the end, though, his gaze settled on the girl deep within the room.
Those golden eyes were as brilliant as ever.
She carried the same cold demeanor as when they had first met, but unlike their first encounter, he could now effortlessly see through her concealed presence.
Snow drifted down from the heavens through the large hole in the center of the roof, like an invisible curtain dividing the little cottage into two.
The snow fell in silence.
In the end, Xu Yuan broke the quiet with a smile:
"Coming to find me this time, you probably aren't here to kill me."
Running into Tianyan again after leaving the capital had not caught Xu Yuan off guard. Or rather, from the moment he departed the capital alone, he had already prepared himself for the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to come knocking once more.
The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion could pinpoint anyone possessing a Heavenly Yan divine soul, and as luck would have it, Xu Yuan was one of only four people under heaven who possessed one.
A biting chill swept in through the open wooden door, swirling the falling snow like drifting flower petals. The girl slowly opened those brilliant golden eyes:
"Mm. Not to kill you."
"I thought the person coming for me would be Tianye."
"She wanted to come, but I judged that you would run, so I talked her out of it."
"..." Xu Yuan was speechless.
For some reason, he felt inexplicably touched, yet at the same time didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Looking at those unruffled golden eyes, Xu Yuan sighed softly and chuckled. "Alright. So you came looking for me because the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion wants to plot something with me again?"
"You should know that all matters of cooperation between the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion and your Prime Minister's Manor have been exhausted."
"..."
The smile faded from Xu Yuan's face, turning solemn and complex.
Tracing things back to their roots, the stances of the Prime Minister's Manor and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion were not entirely mutually exclusive; in some sense, they even shared common ground. Their current complete opposition was largely due to him personally.
Xu Yuan did not know how to evaluate this former hegemon of the world. Its position was complex, yet undeniably pure.
Guarding humanity.
Xu Yuan had once assumed it was merely a slogan, a title used to justify the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's own legitimacy, a righteous cause that allowed them to unite the realm under their authority.
Yet how should he put it?
As his status rose and his experiences broadened, Xu Yuan had come to realize that the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had truly been upholding that slogan given to the people of the world—or rather, that promise.
For the sake of this promise, Tianye, a "Tianyan" who had already broken free of her shackles, could meet death with open arms.
To safeguard this promise, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion at its peak ten thousand years ago had willingly borne the catastrophic backlash that nearly severed its lineage and wiped it out.
Even in the present age, up until this very moment, everything the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion did revolved around this promise—guarding humanity, slaying the calamity.
As an opponent, Xu Yuan respected the sacrifices they made for their ideals. But as the very calamity they had singled out, Xu Yuan only felt they were out of their damn minds.
Clearly, the current Pavilion Master and Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion were two of the people who understood him best in this world. Clearly, both of them knew full well he had no intention of destroying humanity. Yet the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion still judged him to be a calamity.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan hunched forward on the stone platform, resting his elbows on his thighs, and rubbed between his brows with force:
"In your current state, you wouldn't be here to reminisce either. So what is it you actually came to tell me?"
Tianyan replied without expression, "To relay some words to you on Tianye's behalf."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan frowned. "Tianye?"
Tianyan gave a slight nod. "She had some things she wanted to say to you, but the moment you saw her, you would inevitably flee without giving her any chance to speak. That is why I am relaying them in her stead."
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, confusion rising in his heart.
Back at the Sword Sect's mountain gate, he had clearly sensed that Tianye's murderous intent toward him was genuine; she truly sought to fulfill her duty as the Pavilion Master of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. Having Tianyan deliver a message this time couldn't possibly be to catch up on old times, could it?
Thinking up to this point, Xu Yuan felt somewhat unsure.
Because a chaotic woman like Tianye, who lived for amusement, was truly capable of doing something like that.
Under Xu Yuan's watchful gaze, the girl slowly posed the question that made his pupils contract—
"Are you wondering why the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion insists on branding you as the Evernight Calamity?"
Chapter 793