Chapter 7: Cooperation

The words fell silent,

Ran Qingmo gazed at the man before her—handsome, earnest in his gaze—and saw nothing in his eyes to betray the storm of thoughts swirling within her mind.

Xu Yuan did not press. He waited, still and quiet, for her answer.

No one wanted to die, and he was no exception.

Though the third prince of the original body held power that stretched across the entire Da Yin, it was distant help, irrelevant to the present.

In this current state of isolation and utter vulnerability, the only person Xu Yuan could truly rely upon was the very one who had bound him—Ran Qingmo.

Everyone else wanted to kill him. But she? She had only taken him by force.

After Yan Ling Mang died, blood gushed forth, thick and searing, like molten lava, rising in waves of mist in the cold winter rain, sealing out the desolation beyond the cave's entrance.

In silence,

"Very well. Say on."

Ran Qingmo's clear voice slowly echoed in the quiet cave.

Xu Yuan exhaled slightly, easing the tension.

He truly feared that at this moment, she might strike him again.

Choosing his words carefully, Xu Yuan looked at her and spoke softly,

"Mr. Ran, what I want to say is simple— for my life, and for yours, we should cooperate."

Ran Qingmo stared at him silently, waiting for his next words.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan continued, speaking in a gentle, measured tone:

"I know that with my current status as a prisoner, saying this may seem presumptuous. But just now, Mr. Ran, you saw for yourself— if it weren't for your intervention, I would already be dead."

Pausing briefly, Xu Yuan smiled faintly, a self-deprecating twist to his lips:

"I understand that because of my father, many people in this world wish for my death. But I believe a beast dwelling in the Wanheng Mountains wouldn't be affected by his influence."

Saying this, Xu Yuan looked into Ran Qingmo's eyes:

"Yet this cobra seeks to kill me. The fire-spirit cobra, so fearful of death that even at the seventh inch—when you pierced it through—still fought desperately to kill me."

"Mr. Ran, don't you find this strange?"

The continuous sound of rain drifted softly into the cave, where silence reigned.

Ran Qingmo's clear, serene eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded gently.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath:

"Somebody wants me to die on the road to where you have taken me."

"If I die here, my father will assume you killed me."

Pausing,

Xu Yuan spoke slowly, one word at a time:

"You will also die."

The woman before me, always dressed in black, her nature as still as water—she was truly formidable.

Yet in this world, strong individuals were not just her alone. The very act of capturing Xu Changtian and causing his death marked the beginning of her own demise.

In "Cangyuan," Xu Yuan had actually quite enjoyed the character of Ran Qingmo.

She counted as a half-heroine—half because each time, she died before the player could develop feelings for her, never even removing her veil, vanishing suddenly and swiftly.

Among the twenty-five endings in "Cangyuan," Ran Qingmo had only one official Easter egg: fleeing overseas. But to achieve that, the player had to actively cheat—boosting attributes to their maximum, defeating a boss that, under normal circumstances, was utterly impossible to overcome, only then could she be saved.

Once, Xu Yuan found this easter egg amusing.

A character's fate could shift based on the player's choices—but those shifts were limited, unless one cheated.

Now, however, he suddenly saw a strange kinship between her and himself—the original self. Two and a half world lines, twenty-five deaths, and still, they remained entwined like the legendary "Wolong Fengchu."

Ran Qingmo said nothing, her exposed eyes showing not a single flicker of emotion.

Before Xu Yuan's declaration of death threats, there was not the slightest wavering.

Xu Yuan realized that such a threat might not hold any weight against a woman like Ran Qingmo, took a deep breath, and changed his tone:

"Mr. Ran, you took me into custody for the sake of the four thousand disciples of the Sword Sect, correct?"

Ran Qingmo's gaze shifted slightly, and the warm air within the cave seemed to dim a little.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan understood immediately, and continued in a low voice:

"You don't have to look at me like that. I won't ask where you got your information, nor will you probe into how a fool like me came upon this news. Right now, we're on the same boat—digging deeper is pointless."

For a moment, the tension in Ran Qingmo's eyes softened.

Xu Yuan looked out at the massive serpent corpse, and spoke slowly:

"Even though I still don't agree with your assumption that seizing me would allow you to blackmail my father, I suppose—if you truly intend to blackmail him—then at the very least, you wouldn't use a corpse as leverage?"

"........."

Ran Qingmo remained silent for two seconds, and beneath the veil covering her face, a clear voice echoed:

"But you have no Qi."

Xu Yuan was startled by this, pondered for a moment, and then understood her meaning.

In this transcendent world, having no Qi meant being nothing more than an ordinary person.

To Ran Qingmo, a cultivator at her level, ordinary people were no different from ants.

If any third party dared to attack Xu Yuan before her, their strength would undoubtedly be formidable.

Should a confrontation ensue, the mere ripple of her power would be enough to kill Xu Yuan a hundred times over.

She herself had to protect Xu Yuan—there was no reason whatsoever for cooperation.

Xu Yuan had no intention of getting involved in the conflict at all. With a smile, he simply asked softly:

"Do you have a map of the Wanxing Mountain Range?"

Ran Qingmo blinked quickly, then turned and searched furiously through the deepest corner of the satchel, pulling out a scroll of leather and walking over to Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan settled into a seated position, unrolling the leather scroll by the flickering firelight and scanning the map with the shifting glow.

At first glance, Xu Yuan exhaled slightly, easing the tension in his chest.

Though some details differed, the overall layout of this map matched closely with the one from the *Cangyuan* game—of the Wanxing Mountain Range.

Pausing briefly, Xu Yuan gestured toward Ran Qingmo, inviting her to sit beside him.

"Once you confirm where we are, I can provide you with a place to hide."

Ran Qingmo slowly lifted the hem of her black dress and sat beside Xu Yuan, yet her gaze remained wary.

Xu Yuan noticed the awkwardness in his words.

Though a bit slow in action, Ran Qingmo shouldn't be foolish.

Gazing down at the map, hesitating slightly, Xu Yuan said casually:

"I know there are surely people from my father searching for me within the current Wanxing Mountain Range, but you really don't need to worry too much.

"I can't contact them, and in front of someone like you—a cultivator—I'm already transparent. There's no need to leave any traces.

"On the contrary, if you keep dragging me around randomly through the Wanxing Mountains, you might very well be discovered."

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan turned his gaze to meet her clear, quiet eyes, his voice still slightly hoarse:

"You can mask your aura, but I can't."

Like many other realms of the extraordinary, cultivators here can detect others through their qi signatures.

Ran Qingmo's eyes lingered in thought for a long while, and finally, she nodded gently, speaking seriously:

"I'll be watching you."

Xu Yuan gave a faint smile,

"Go ahead."

With that,

his gaze settled once more on the spread-out map, and he murmured softly:

"Back when I was a child, my father brought me and my two elder brothers here to the Wanxing Mountain Range. He had a cave sanctuary here, filled with countless cultivation resources—enough to sustain us for a very long time."

This was all made up by Xu Yuan. His cheap old dad had no idea about this hidden treasure, yet it didn’t matter—he could still lay the blame squarely on the other side.

After all, Ran Qingmo would never find the right person to confront face-to-face.

Upon hearing this, Ran Qingmo’s brows furrowed slightly, her voice cold and distant: "Did your father also know?"

Xu Yuan had already rehearsed this perfectly in his mind, and responded carelessly:

"Now my father must remain in the Imperial Capital, impossible to come personally to find me. His men wouldn't know of that place. And even if they did know of the cave sanctuary, Mr. Ran, in your opinion, what's the likelihood they would go there to search for me?"

"......" Ran Qingmo remained silent.

Xu Yuan gently tapped the parchment.

"Alright, point out where we are on this map, then hurry along."

Upon hearing this, Ran Qingmo nodded slightly, her beautiful eyes gently lowered.

Yet after staring at the map for a long while, she hesitantly extended a slender, delicate finger and lightly touched a spot.

Xu Yuan observed this, his narrow eyes narrowing slightly.

Quite close.

Before he could feel any joy,

the next moment,

He then saw that slender, delicate finger move again, tapping once on the other side.

Then three places, the fourth place...

"........"

Xu Yuan remained silent, lifting his gaze, hesitating to speak.

The flames flickered, their shadows dancing in silent confrontation,

Ran Qingmo shifted her gaze, whispering softly:

"I... I don't know."