Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 158 - 137: Arrival (Combined - )_2

Chapter 158: Chapter 137: Arrival (Combined Chapter)_2

A leisurely iron-armored porcupine was strolling through the snowy woods, leaving a trail of scattered footprints on the snow behind it.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a faint step resounded from the forest afar.

Before the sound arrived, a dark shadow had already swept by.

Accompanied by her hand sweeping out with a sword, her black clothing dark as ink, the half a zhang long iron-armored porcupine fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan slowly emerged from a distance.

The iron-armored wild boar wasn’t strong, a demonic beast of about Sixth Grade; Xu Yuan could now overcome them easily.

However, to be on the safe side, even if he was itching to test his current strength, he still restrained himself.

He needed to use Origin Qi to act, but Ran Qingmo did not.

Although the shock caused by a Seventh Grade’s full force attack wasn’t big, who knew if that Tianyan woman would trace them through the Origin Qi.

When he approached the "crime scene," Xu Yuan looked down.

The iron-armored porcupine was dead. Although Ran Qingmo used the hilt of her sword, she still smashed the boar’s skull.

Before any blood could spill, Xu Yuan immediately collected it into his storage ring.

This was a bloody lesson.

For some reason, in recent days the demonic beasts within this area of the Wanxing Mountain Range had alarmingly increased in density.

If blood was seen, other demonic beasts would quickly track it.

At first, Xu Yuan didn’t know this; after slaughtering a Thunderwing Wolf at the cave entrance and starting a fire to cook, other demonic beasts swiftly chased him down.

But at that time, he wasn’t panicked, since Ran Qingmo and Old Man Luo were by his side, and they would kill any demonic beasts that came their way.

However, as time passed, the situation at the cave entrance became increasingly wrong.

The more demonic beasts they fought, the more appeared.

In the end, hundreds of various demonic beasts gathered, firmly surrounding them, and it was only with Ran Qingmo taking the risk of using Origin Qi that the two escaped from that mass of beasts.

After finishing the hunt, the two of them returned to the cave they had hewn with their swords, one after the other.

After placing the special Xun grass at the entrance to prevent the smell of blood from spilling, Xu Yuan started processing the ingredients, while Ran Qingmo sat quietly to the side watching him since cultivation could also produce fluctuations in Origin Qi.

While processing the ingredients, Xu Yuan said softly,

"We probably need another two or three days before we can get out."

As the days passed with him and Ran Qingmo wandering the Wanxing Mountain Range, the frequency with which they sensed Tianyan’s Origin Qi fluctuations gradually decreased.

From initially seven times every three days, to now just once every two days.

The Wanxing Mountain Range was simply too vast.

A few days ago, the area Tianyan combed through was small, but as time ticked away, and Xu Yuan and Ran Qingmo moved progressively further from the transmission formation exit, the area Tianyan had to search naturally expanded.

He and Big Ice Lump should soon be out of that Washboard Saintess’s tracking range.

"Oh..." Her reply was as brief as ever.

Xu Yuan was now accustomed to her brevity, and while smearing on marinade, continued on his own,

"This Wanxing Mountain Range is strange, why are there so many demonic beasts nearby? There weren’t this many the last time I came."

Ran Qingmo thought for a moment then shook her head,

"Hmm... I don’t know either."

Xu Yuan chuckled, glancing at her,

"I didn’t ask you, though."

"Then who are you asking?"

"..." Xu Yuan.

"Just making conversation."

Xu Yuan cleared his throat slightly and continued in a low voice while using Qingyu to skin the wild pig,

"I remember that you had a map of the Wanxing Mountain Range before, right?"

"I did before," Ran Qingmo said.

"What about now?" Xu Yuan felt a hint of something off.

"Threw it away."

"Why would you throw it away?"

"Because my travel pouch couldn’t fit it, " Ran Qingmo said, giving him a slightly odd look.

Xu Yuan sighed and fell silent as he finished peeling the entire skin and put it aside, then made a decision,

"After we travel northwest for half a month and completely shake off Tianyan, we’ll turn back and head east to return to Dayan. With so many demonic beasts around here, I’m not sure if it’s because something is going on at the Ancient Abyss."

Ran Qingmo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Do you suspect someone from the Ancient Abyss is going to make a move on you again?"

Xu Yuan shook his head,

"Because of Ji Qingyue’s incident, Xu Changge went to the Ancient Abyss and killed the Serpent Monster Clan’s princess. He came back unharmed, so those old monsters from the Ancient Abyss must have compromised. The Ancient Abyss is unlikely to act against me in the near term, but I’m worried about bystanders getting involved, and this Wanxing Mountain Range is sort of their private territory."

"Oh." Ran Qingmo nodded, seemingly grasping but not fully understanding, "What do you think it could be then?"

Xu Yuan smiled faintly, shaking his head,

"Not sure yet, haven’t seen any high-rank demonic beasts, just a bunch of low-rank ones roaming around."

Speaking of which,

Xu Yuan glanced out of the cave entrance and sighed, "I don’t know if a fierce demon can drive Tianyan away. Having him hover over my head every day, it’s just a dream, is it really worth getting so angry about?"

Ran Qingmo heard this and hesitated slightly, asking in a low voice,

"That... Xu Yuan, can Tianyan predict our location?"

Xu Yuan shook his head, "No, she can’t. I am unpredictable, she simply cannot calculate my whereabouts."

Ran Qingmo shook her head, "No, I mean can she calculate where I am?"

Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment, but then he still denied this possibility, saying,

"Still unlikely. The Yantian Art isn’t something that can be used at will to calculate others. Even just predicting someone’s location requires a lot of preparatory work."

"Oh..."

Ran Qingmo nodded, but soon asked in a low voice, "That... what happened between you and Tianyan in the dream realm?"

Xu Yuan looked up in some surprise, meeting her clear eyes as tranquil as deep pools.

After a second of silence, Xu Yuan smiled,

"Nothing much, just lived with Tianyan in the Illusionary Realm for over a decade."

"Over a decade?"

"Mhm."

"Oh."

Having said that, Ran Qingmo stopped talking and silently pulled out her Black Sword.

As Xu Yuan wondered what she was doing,

"Buzz—"

The sword blade suddenly unsheathed, dancing a dazzling flourish in mid-air, then Ran Qingmo placed the blade across her legs and quietly began to wipe and maintain it with her gaze lowered.

"..."

Xu Yuan watched her for a few moments, but seeing no particular emotion, he gently shook his head.

Treasured swords all require maintenance; Ran Qingmo’s actions were normal.

In the silence, time passed bit by bit.

The aroma of meat gradually filled the cave, accompanied by the sizzling sound, slices of wild boar meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat were being roasted over the campfire, dripping with oil.

Although, in the Illusionary Realm, there was no need to eat with high cultivation, but what’s the difference between life without ritual and being dead?

Having spent over a decade fleeing for life in the Illusionary Realm, most of that time was in the wilderness, which greatly improved Xu Yuan’s skills in cooking demonic beast delicacies.

Ran Qingmo subconsciously stopped wiping the sword, her beautiful eyes fixated on the roasting meat, as she lightly moistened her pink lips.

Since leaving Jingjiang City over a month ago, he had also revamped Big Ice Lump.

It was possible not to eat, but there was no need to refrain.

Xu Yuan took out some seasonings from the Sumeru Ring and sprinkled them onto the crackling meat, flipping it slightly, then took out a skewer and handed it to the eagerly awaiting Big Ice Lump,

"Here."

"..."

Ran Qingmo blinked, silently accepted it, holding the bamboo skewer in one hand and catching drips with the other, she blew gently on it a couple of times, then began to nibble quietly under Xu Yuan’s gaze.

Her mouth was greasy.

Xu Yuan casually handed her a handkerchief, softly smiling, "Eat slowly."

"Okay..."

Ran Qingmo dabbed at the oil on her red lips, her clear and dust-free cool complexion softened slightly; she meant to reach for the handkerchief but realized both her hands were greasy, hesitating as she looked at the embroidered handkerchief.

Xu Yuan smiled faintly,

"Let me help you."

Under her serene gaze, he naturally reached out and wiped the oil at the corner of her mouth for her.

As their eyes met,

a cheerful female voice with a laugh sounded from beside them,

"You look like you’re enjoying the food, I want some too..."

"Buzz—"

Before the voice had fallen,

a flash of sword light shot past in front of Xu Yuan without any warning, slashing toward the direction the voice came from.

"Stop."

With that word,

the sword blade instantly froze.

Other than the crackling of the campfire, the cave fell into silence.

Only then did Xu Yuan realize the sudden turn of events before him, looking to the side.

He saw,

in the flickering firelight,

a breathtakingly beautiful girl standing beside him barefoot, looking down at him from her elevated position.....