Chapter 092 - The Smell on the Bed

After taking down the soundproofing formation, Xu Yuan led this iceberg of a woman toward the northern courtyard. He had something he wanted to discuss with Su Jinxuan. And while he was at it, he could use the chance to introduce Su Jinxuan and Ran Qingmo to each other.

Before he had gone very far, however, Zhou Chen and Si Ziyu, who had been sent flying earlier, finally dragged themselves back into the residence.

The moment they saw Xu Yuan, the two of them hurried over.

Zhou Chen landed, grinned, and cupped his fist in salute. “Third Young Master, are you all right?”

Xu Yuan glanced at Zhou Chen and frowned slightly. At this moment, the man looked utterly miserable. Not only was he covered in blood and weak of breath, Xu Yuan could even faintly sense source qi leaking from around him. He had been beaten so hard his qi was leaking.

“Your injuries...” Zhou Chen shook his head, then glanced sideways at Ran Qingmo and lowered his voice.

“Thank you for your concern, Third Young Master, but our injuries are nothing serious. Heh. Most of the force from that strike was blocked by Miss Ran.”

Xu Yuan turned to look at Ran Qingmo, concern faintly showing in his eyes.

Ran Qingmo shook her head, indicating that she was fine.

Seeing this, Zhou Chen chuckled and said, “Miss Ran is a peerless genius just like you, Third Young Master. How could ordinary mortals like us possibly compare to her?”

Xu Yuan fell silent. He coughed lightly, then casually tossed Zhou Chen a small half bottle of pills, and tossed Si Ziyu another half bottle of slightly lower-grade ones.

“You two worked hard this time. Consider this a small token of my appreciation.”

Zhou Chen’s eyes lit up the moment he caught the pills, and he thanked him at once. After thanking him, he even glanced sideways at Si Ziyu, who was standing there pretending to be an aloof expert.

Si Ziyu rolled his eyes, but there was a clear hint of temptation in his gaze. They were both Grandmasters. Yet the difference in treatment between someone who knew how to flatter and someone who did not was this obvious.

Xu Yuan saw both of their expressions but only smiled lightly. “I may be going out to travel for a while soon. Thank you for everything you’ve done these past few days.”

Zhou Chen froze for a moment.

While Si Ziyu was still hesitating, Zhou Chen had already bowed and cupped his fist. “Ahem. Third Young Master, traveling the world will surely be exhausting. I would be willing to drive your carriage and tend your horse.”

Zhou Chen felt nothing but disdain for his old friend’s hesitation. How much was face worth anyway? Even a wise bird knew to choose the right tree to nest in. He had seen all of the Third Young Master’s recent changes with his own eyes. Following him meant not only a bright future, but a profitable one too.

Besides, with the situation so tense right now, if he left the Third Young Master and went off to carry out some other mission, who knew when a fierce warrior might suddenly become a glorious martyr?

After saying this, Zhou Chen lowered his head and waited for Xu Yuan’s reply.

Xu Yuan was a little surprised by Zhou Chen’s reaction. After thinking for a moment, he quickly figured out the stakes involved. Before this, if a Grandmaster had offered in such a tone, he definitely would not have refused. But now, forget it. Bringing Zhou Chen along would make many things inconvenient.

And in terms of strength, the iceberg of a woman was clearly much stronger than Grandmaster Zhou.

After a long silence, Zhou Chen tentatively raised his eyes to glance at Xu Yuan. “Third Young Master...”

Xu Yuan said nothing. He only smiled and glanced at Ran Qingmo beside him.

Seeing this, Ran Qingmo also glanced at Zhou Chen.

That quiet, cold gaze swept over him, and the corner of Zhou Chen’s eye twitched.

Well then.. Guess I’m not needed. Zhou Chen gave a light cough and changed his tune without the slightest change in expression. “Ahem. But my injuries this time are truly too severe. Though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. For the time being, I’m afraid I can no longer protect you properly, Young Master. I hope you can forgive me.”

Xu Yuan smiled and shook his head. “No matter. I appreciate the thought.”

Zhou Chen tucked the pills into his sleeve, glanced at the route Xu Yuan had come from, and asked in a low voice, “Third Young Master, are you heading to the northern courtyard?”

Xu Yuan did not hide it and said, “I’m planning to go find Su Jinxuan. Before I leave, there are a few things I need to explain to her.”

Zhou Chen fell silent at once after hearing this. He looked at Xu Yuan, then at Ran Qingmo, and then finally toward the northern courtyard. In the end, his expression turned a little strange.

Xu Yuan did not bother saying anything extra after seeing Zhou Chen’s face. He knew what Grandmaster Zhou was thinking, but he did not particularly care. At most, the man probably thought letting the two women meet was an act of catastrophically low emotional intelligence.

He understood all that. They were friends, not girlfriends. If Su Jinxuan managed to survive after going undercover, they would have to meet sooner or later anyway. Whether it happened a little earlier or a little later made no difference.

Xu Yuan waved his hand, ready to leave.

But at that moment, Ran Qingmo beside him suddenly spoke softly. “She was taken away.”

Xu Yuan turned back to look at her.

Ran Qingmo’s quiet eyes stared at him calmly.

Their gazes met for two seconds.

Ran Qingmo’s voice remained as cool and plain as ever. “If you mean the woman hiding there, she was already rescued by that mysterious second rank cultivator earlier.”

Xu Yuan frowned. “Rescued?”

Earlier, Xu Yuan had only managed to see the instant that masked man attacked. By the time Ying’er put him down from her arms, that mysterious Origin Awakener cultivator had already vanished into the sky.

Ran Qingmo explained softly, “Mhm. He originally wanted to save the remnant soul, but Xu Changge’s aura had already locked onto him at the time. He didn’t have time to come over and deal with me, so he went down and rescued that woman instead.”

Xu Yuan fell silent when he heard this, his gaze turning a little complicated.

Ran Qingmo looked at him with his eyes lowered. After hesitating for a while, she asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yuan came back to himself, sighed, and gave a faint smile. “Nothing. I just think it’s a bit of a pity.”

He had originally thought that Su Jinxuan would one day be sent out as an undercover agent after undergoing systematic training from Ying’er. In the end, she had only trained for a few days before being forced into the field.

With that idiot woman’s ability to handle pressure... Thinking to this point, Xu Yuan gently shook his head. “Since she has already left, then forget it.”

At this point, all he could do was hope that Su Jinxuan would not waste the investment he had made in her.

Looking on the bright side, although he had not said it outright, he had already told her where the Grand Dual Cultivation Yin-Yang Art was located.

People were always forced into growth. If she was clever enough, and if her luck was good enough to obtain that demonic art that was a perfect match for the Bewitching Soul Devil Body...

The man-eating style of the Grand Dual Cultivation Yin-Yang Art, paired with the silent, invisible Bewitching Spores, might very well mean that the next time they met, Su Jinxuan would already be stronger than him.

Xu Yuan falling into danger, only for a bewitching enchantress to arrive at the perfect moment to save the day. A scene like that... Of course, that was only wishful thinking. For now, he just hoped she could survive.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Chen and Si Ziyu, Xu Yuan brought Ran Qingmo all the way back to his own pavilion.

There was no other meaning behind it. Given Ran Qingmo’s temperament, she would definitely cultivate. The cultivation chamber over at the martial training ground had already been destroyed, and right now, the only spirit-gathering array in the entire Xu residence was the one engraved inside his pavilion.

After entering the room, Xu Yuan caught up with Ran Qingmo for a long while before leaving directly.

Before he left, he even placed source crystals on the eye of the spirit-gathering array for that iceberg of a woman to use in cultivation.

Ran Qingmo quietly surveyed the layout of his room. Very quickly, her gaze locked onto the black-ice cold jade bed on one side of the chamber. It was the same bed from the cave dwelling. The two cold jade pillows on it were also exactly as they had been back then.

With light lotus steps, she walked over to the jade bed and stopped beside it. Suddenly, her small, delicate nose twitched. Her eyes turned puzzled as she stared at the jade bed for two seconds. Then, without a word, she turned around, sat down on the floor, and began cultivating.