The Test

Ran Qingmo most likely truly didn't know how to fly. Being held in her arms while she bolted was not a pleasant experience; in fact, it was downright miserable. With every stride she slammed against the ground, the tremendous acceleration made Xu Yuan feel as if he were strapped onto a drop tower ride from his previous life. And after entering that dark, spiraling passageway, he felt as though he were on a drop tower spiraling straight into the heavens. Upon reaching the surface, Ran Qingmo set Xu Yuan down from her embrace. She let go, but Xu Yuan did not. Having attained the Seventh Rank, Xu Yuan technically counted as post-human, but he was still a far cry from being a true superman. In under a minute, Ran Qingmo had carried him up the passage while spinning like a high-speed drill for hundreds, if not thousands, of revolutions. Waves of dizziness, nausea, and disorientation surged violently through him. "......" Ran Qingmo stared at the man clutching her shoulders and refusing to let go, a faint hesitation flickering in her cool eyes. Master had said there must be distance between men and women. A girl could not simply let a man touch her body. Thinking this over, Ran Qingmo shook her head again. Master had also said that extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Besides, this didn't seem to be the first time either. No longer minding Xu Yuan's hands, Ran Qingmo looked away and began sensing the Source Qi below that had been corrupted by the ghost mist. The clash between the Saint's remnant soul and that pseudo-Second-Rank demon-ghost seemed to have begun... A few breaths later, realizing they were safely on the surface, Xu Yuan unsteadily released Ran Qingmo. Ran Qingmo gathered her thoughts and looked at him. "Xu Yuan..." Fighting off the dizziness, Xu Yuan waved a hand. "Give me a moment." With that, he closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began circulating his qi to regulate his breathing. The Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art could also alleviate vertigo. About half a cup of tea later, the dizziness receded, and Xu Yuan reopened his eyes. Ash-gray soil, twisted ash-gray tree trunks, continuously roiling ghost mist, and the array preventing it from spilling out—everything was as deathly silent as when they had arrived. Slowly rising to his feet, Xu Yuan brushed the dust from his robes and said softly, "Ran Qingmo, we can simply wait here." Ran Qingmo asked, "You don't want me to go down and help?" Xu Yuan glanced at her. "Help? Who do you want to help down there?" Ran Qingmo ventured tentatively, "Help the Saint's soul form?" Xu Yuan arched an eyebrow, finding it slightly amusing. "Why help him?" Ran Qingmo tilted her head and asked in return, "Didn't your Chancellor's Manor reach an agreement with him?" Surprise flickered in Xu Yuan's eyes. He had never mentioned any agreement in front of Ran Qingmo; Xu Changge had merely handed him the soul ring in her presence. This great ice block actually deduced that on her own? Heh... She was pretty clever after all. "......" Noticing his gaze, Ran Qingmo sensed Xu Yuan was thinking something impolite. "What's wrong?" "Nothing." Xu Yuan shook his head. After two seconds of silence, Ran Qingmo spoke with utter earnestness in her eyes: "Xu Yuan, I'm not stupid." "Pfft—" Xu Yuan couldn't hold it in and chuckled aloud. Ran Qingmo quietly rested her hand on her sword hilt, staring at him without a word. Looking at the hilt, Xu Yuan inexplicably thought of a thick, long wooden stick. Clearing his throat, Xu Yuan assumed a solemn expression. "All right, I know. You're not stupid." "Mm." Ran Qingmo nodded in satisfaction. Xu Yuan composed himself once more, steering the conversation back on track. "Ran Qingmo, what you said was correct. Xu Changge and my father did indeed reach a cooperation of sorts with that Saint's remnant soul, but that doesn't stop us from taking action against him." Ran Qingmo pondered for a moment and asked, "You're going to break faith and abandon your word?" Xu Yuan felt a momentary pang of awkwardness. He coughed softly and said, "It's not like that. We're merely preempting him. Even if we call it a cooperation, that Saint's remnant soul harbors ill intentions of his own." Ran Qingmo blinked twice, seemingly convinced. "Oh." Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled and said no more. Ran Qingmo, however, still had something on her mind, whispering, "Then what about that demon-ghost?" Xu Yuan fell silent at her question. Demon-ghosts, formally known as yin ghosts. No one knew why yin ghosts came into being in this world, just as no one knew why Source Qi existed between heaven and earth. The principles behind their creation remained unknown, but countless texts concerning yin ghosts had been passed down from antiquity, and many of their traits had been established. The corpses of all living things bred ghost mist, and yin ghosts were born from that ghost mist. They possessed sentience, and even fragmented, scattered memories of the corpses from which they arose. Yet even with those memories, yin ghosts were almost entirely impossible to communicate with. Obsession, brutality, madness, flesh, slaughter. These words representing destruction seemed to be the very reason yin ghosts existed in this world. This was the knowledge Xu Yuan had gathered from the texts. And for that very reason, he could not truly understand why that withered old man, having completely undergone ghost transformation, would do what he had just done. Seeing Xu Yuan remain silent for so long, Ran Qingmo called to him softly, "Xu Yuan..." Xu Yuan slowly came back to his senses and shook his head gently. "Isn't Old Ghost at the Third Rank? Are you not his match?" Although he wasn't sure if Ran Qingmo could defeat his elder brother at the same rank, judging by that earth-shattering sword strike that had previously frozen the Saint's remnant soul and slain the protagonist of the plot, she could surely be considered virtually invincible among her peers, couldn't she? Ran Qingmo shook her head and said very seriously, "I could beat him before, but he's already a pseudo-Second-Rank now." "Before? Pseudo-Second-Rank?" Xu Yuan frowned, pondering for a moment before asking, "During that hour or so we were waiting?" The withered old man had only come down an hour or so after they entered the secret chamber; his sudden surge in strength had likely occurred during that window. "Mm. It looks like he devoured all the yin ghosts in that cavern." Ran Qingmo nodded. When they fled earlier, she had noticed that the yin ghosts in the cave were all gone. "......" Xu Yuan's pupils constricted slightly. The memory of the array operating in the cavern and the wailing of tens of thousands of ghosts echoed in his mind. Pondering for a second, Xu Yuan shook his head gently. A thought occurred to him. Xu Changge had been here before. He had formed a rough guess about the whole affair. Before devouring the myriad ghosts, the withered old man had at most bordered on the Second Rank. Even an actual Second-Rank powerhouse had been beaten by Xu Changge until only a head remained, let alone someone merely bordering on it. Could someone of such cultivation have survived Xu Changge's hands? Xu Yuan found that hard to believe. While he wasn't clear why Xu Changge had spared the withered old man after his complete ghost transformation, with his eldest brother's methods, daring to send him here meant he was bound to have things well in hand. In fact... Xu Yuan even suspected that Xu Changge was tucked away in some corner nearby, spying on them right now. After all, it was only a day's journey from Jingjiang Prefecture to this place. Having thought this through, Xu Yuan said softly, "No matter." "No matter?" Confusion filled Ran Qingmo's eyes. "But... you'll be in danger if you stay here." Xu Yuan smiled faintly and said in a low voice, "Xu Changge was here before. For Old Mr. Gui to be alive, there shouldn't be any problem." Saying so, Xu Yuan paused, suddenly scanning their surroundings. "Besides, I suspect he's hiding nearby right now." "......" Xu Changge. Hearing this, Ran Qingmo furrowed her delicate brows. "But why?" Why would Xu Changge go through all this trouble? If he had decided to turn hostile, wouldn't it be simpler for him to just come here directly? Xu Yuan shook his head without answering. The purpose was simple: this was likely a test set up by his eldest brother before departing. A test both of Ran Qingmo and of Xu Yuan's own capabilities. The overt and covert clues here were clearer than day. If, under these circumstances, Xu Yuan still directed Ran Qingmo to aid the Saint's remnant soul, he could forget about traveling the world. If he couldn't even manage something like this, he had no business asking for anything more. He might as well go back to the prefectural city and stay put like a good boy.