Chapter 196 - Agreement (2)

Night fell.

As the benefactor of Sageridge, the lodging and food General Wang provided for the three of them could probably be considered the best Sageridge had to offer at present.

It was basically arranged according to pre-disaster standards, expensive demonic beast ingredients paired with fine wine.

And General Wang was very good at handling people. He even had several pretty, delicate-looking maidservants sent over to attend to Xu Yuan’s daily needs for the next few days.

However, one glance was enough to tell that these young girls had most likely just been bought, washed, changed into clean clothes, and immediately sent over. In the wake of a great disaster, many people could only sell their sons and abandon their daughters just to survive.

Xu Yuan refused them. When they were rejected, the pretty young girls wept and refused to leave. He understood them. Right now, in Sageridge, the cheapest thing was probably human life. He said plenty to them, but they would not listen. In the end, after telling them to scream, the girls finally left obediently.

Seeing this, Xu Xinyao looked at Xu Yuan as if she were looking at some kind of monster.

In her memory, this Third Brother of hers had basically never been happy without women around. But after glancing at Ran Qingmo beside them, who had been silently staring at those girls the entire time, Xu Xinyao was relieved.

Xu Xinyao wanted to take in those poor girls, but in the end, she did not speak.

Xu Yuan was very satisfied with this. He had originally thought Xu Xinyao would be overwhelmed by sympathy, but in the end, she had actually held back.

Blind kindness was not kindness. They were merely passing through, destined to leave. It was better to let General Wang arrange something for the girls.

During dinner, Xu Yuan ate happily because the food tasted good. Xu Xinyao only listlessly picked at a few mouthfuls of spirit rice.

Ran Qingmo did not eat at all. She had something on her mind.

Once dinner was finished, Xu Yuan was the first to return to his room to cultivate, while Xu Xinyao and Ran Qingmo stayed behind whispering to each other.

The cultivation efficiency of the Nine Origin Calming Art was only about two-thirds of ordinary cultivation, and it did not receive any boost from source crystals. When one had the time and energy, sitting down properly to meditate was still the most efficient method.

Because of the flying demonic beasts, the mist in the sky still had not dispersed. Tonight was a moonless night.

Xu Yuan absorbed the source qi seeping out from the source crystal into his body, then guided it along his meridians in one dull circuit after another.

At around five and a half in the morning, when the night was deep and all was quiet, he completed another full cycle. With a soft pop, Xu Yuan broke through to sixth rank as naturally as water flowing downhill. There was still no bottleneck whatsoever.

Because his cultivation art was different, even after reaching the Iron Body Realm, his body did not gain the copper skin and iron bones of an ordinary martial apprentice.

He lowered his eyes and looked at his palm, then gently shook his head, put away the source crystal, tidied his long hair, and flopped straight back onto the bed.

After his cultivation had grown stronger bit by bit, Xu Yuan could no longer pull off the grand feat of breaking through two realms in a single month like before. Still, the feeling of growing stronger was good.

With this breakthrough, his reserve of source qi had increased by more than half, and his hearing and sight had become clearer as well. Even without circulating his cultivation method, he could now roughly hear people whispering from a dozen meters away.

His mind focused. He circulated his cultivation art, and through the door, Xu Yuan clearly heard Xu Xinyao’s heartbeat in her sleep from the guest room next door.

After a brief thought, Xu Yuan pushed the technique to full strength and extended his senses farther, toward the room beside Xu Xinyao’s.

He wanted to hear what the iceberg of a woman was doing. She had not cultivated tonight. If she had, all the source qi in the area would have been snatched clean by her.

Several breaths later, he heard nothing. No breathing. No heartbeat.

Just as expected. Once most people cultivated to fourth rank Body Integration, they would learn to control bodily instincts like their heartbeat, just in case they ever needed it.

With that thought, Xu Yuan gave up. He sighed, dispersed his cultivation art, and slowly opened his eyes. Then, he saw a black shadow standing quietly on his bed. Yes. Standing on the bed, not beside it.

The air froze.

There was no moonlight, no inscription lamp, only a faint glow drifting in from the distant bonfires on the street.

The black shadow stood over his waist, a pair of long, slender jade legs planted on either side of him. A pair of cool, quiet eyes looked down at him from above.

Xu Yuan was frightened. Late at night, close your eyes, open them again, and suddenly there was another person on your bed. His first instinct was to undo the restriction on the Sage's remnant soul and call for help, but in the next moment, he recognized the person on top of him through those familiar eyes.

He let out a long breath. His mind relaxed, and he smiled. “Ran Qingmo, what are you playing at...”

Halfway through speaking, Xu Yuan’s gaze slowly moved downward.

And he saw the ink-black sword in her hand.

The ink-black sword gave off no light, but judging by its rough outline, it was probably not in its sheath.

“P-p-playing... playing at?” Xu Yuan’s smile froze. He stammered his way through the rest of the sentence. What the hell is going on...?

After a brief pause, “Ahem. I think whatever it is, we can talk this over properly. First, put the...”

Xu Yuan looked at the woman above him, his eyes gradually widening as he spoke. His mind spun at top speed, trying to figure out when exactly he had offended this iceberg of a woman.

BUZZ! The thought had only just begun to turn when the black shadow flickered.

Xu Yuan felt a chill brush past the side of his face and immediately shut his mouth.

Fine. As expected, no sheath. The ink-black sword was now stabbed directly beside his head, piercing through the pillow, and a cold, bone-deep chill instantly seeped out.

Then, Xu Yuan saw her, standing over his waist and abdomen, slowly begin to move. She bent down inch by inch, and the ink-black sword sank deeper with her, piercing through the entire pillow, then into the wooden bed.

Time, in that moment, became very, very slow.

Xu Yuan raised a hand, only for her to catch it with a backhanded grip and press it down against the bed.

He wanted to struggle, but it was useless.

Ran Qingmo was far, far stronger than him. Even circulating his cultivation art did nothing.

But gradually, Xu Yuan realized something was wrong, because the force in her hand was increasing bit by bit.

By the time she sat down on his waist, Xu Yuan finally could not hold back anymore. “Agghhhhh... Ran Qingmo, it’s going to break. Lighter!”

Ran Qingmo came back to herself. Her beautiful eyes blinked in the darkness. After thinking for a moment, she loosened her grip slightly, though she still did not let go.

Once the pain faded, Xu Yuan simply stopped resisting. He breathed in the faint waves of fragrance coming from the woman above him, while the cold air constantly spilling from the ink-black sword began to freeze the surroundings.

And after doing all this, she suddenly stopped. Sitting on top of him, she seemed to be thinking.

For a time, the two of them were frozen there just like that.

After meeting that cool, quiet gaze for a good while, Xu Yuan smiled. “So are you here to kill me... or sleep with me?”

After thinking for a moment, the woman above him honestly shook her head.

“...Neither. You... said so.”

“Said what?”

“...”

She did not answer, but her orchid-sweet breath gently brushed across his cheek.

In silence, her red lips lightly pressed against his face.

When she raised her head again, Xu Yuan looked up at her and saw, in those dark, quiet eyes, a mistiness he had never seen before.

After a moment of silence, he seemed to understand what he ought to do now.

“...” Xu Yuan stared into Ran Qingmo’s eyes.

“...” She stared back.

One breath later, a clear sword cry rang through the entire room.