Chapter 9: Frail Body

The curtain of rain thinned, leaving the deep mountain temple as silent as it had been when Xu Yuan and his companion departed, the pools of blood by the door already congealed.

Suddenly,

Two figures descended from the sky, landing upon the clearing stained crimson by the dead.

A man and a woman, both clad in sleek, tightly fitted martial attire that bore a striking resemblance to the uniforms of the dozens of corpses on the ground.

Black with crimson trim, the backs of their robes were embroidered in gold thread with a ferocious, coiled dragon.

Black leather boots stepped into the thickening blood, producing a viscous, squelching sound.

The man, sporting a rough stubble and a sword strapped across his back, cast a pair of frivolous eyes over the surrounding carnage, covered his nose, and gently shook his head:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... how brutal. It seems whoever abducted the third young master is no ordinary character."

The woman possessed a cold, severe countenance, her waist-length hair bound into a high, sweeping ponytail that drifted behind her, her waist slender, her full chest tightly bound by her form-fitting garb as her gaze swept over the corpses on the ground:

"Can you tell who did this?"

Walking leisurely among the corpses, the man stared at the bodies around him, shrugged casually, and spoke with a hint of amused curiosity:

"This seems odd—every wound is a simple slash of sword energy, no sword technique used at all."

The woman lowered her gaze slightly, scanned the positions of the corpses on the ground, and murmured softly:

"They formed a formation."

The man nodded:

"I know. Hmm... the wounds on their bodies aren't deep—each one died instantly, and all at once."

Instantly?

Upon hearing this, the woman furrowed her brow, looking at the man: "Can you really do that?"

The man raised a hand, rubbing his back of the head, glanced at her with a faint, amused tone:

"In your eyes, I must be utterly inadequate, then?"

Pausing briefly,

the man then gently shook his head, pointing with a finger at the body slumped beside a dry well on the empty courtyard of the temple, and smiled faintly through narrowed eyes:

"Nevertheless, you're right—what I can't do, at least not in the way Zhou Yuan died."

As the words settled, the woman focused her gaze.

At the side of the dry well stood a middle-aged man with a beard, his muscular frame visible beneath his clothing, though now his sleeves were completely gone, both arms severed at the roots. The fatal wound was a slender, precise cut along his neck.

The scene of his death was unmistakable.

A blade of energy shot from the main gate, and the man—acting as the array's focal point—tried to intercept it with his hands. But the blade pierced through his protective aura, severing both arms at the joints. The remaining energy then neatly sliced through his throat.

No extra force, no wasted effort.

"I could kill him with a single strike, but a martial artist of Zhou Yuan’s caliber—no, I cannot achieve such precision."

With that, the man feigned drawing a sword, chuckling lightly as he gestured in the air, miming the motion twice before the corpse.

"If I strike, his head will come off immediately."

Speaking this,

the man exhaled softly, glanced at the dark interior of the temple, his eyes deep and shadowed:

"The spiritual Buddha inside—without using 'Yuan Qi,' I cannot cut it down with a single sword."

His gaze darkened with seriousness:

"That person might be stronger than me."

The woman remained silent.

The man, lounging lazily, ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, sighed:

"Long's son has already come from the Imperial Capital to Jingjiang City due to the incident involving the Third Prince. Many people have died here now. You should return and report to him first. The person who carried out this act is likely a Grand Master."

The woman stared at the man, asking:

"What about you?"

The man reached up, brushing his stubbled chin, and grinned:

"Of course I'll keep going—with the third prince. Even a Grand Master can't outpace me. I'll leave markers along the way. Just remember to move quickly and return swiftly. Otherwise, when you catch up, I might already be nothing but dust~"

With that,

he patted the woman's shoulder, didn't wait for a reply, and leapt into the air—disappearing entirely into the blood-stained expanse before the temple.

The woman stood motionless for a long time, silent, before finally transforming into a fleeting shadow and racing off in the opposite direction from where the man had vanished.

...........

Two days later.

The rain had long ceased. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling golden light across the land. A few rays filtered through the tree branches, falling into the forest, carrying with them the scent of wild grass and fresh earth.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

Xu Yuan propped himself against a towering ancient tree, his waist tilted, and with great difficulty, spat out two words:

"Rest... rest."

The black-robed woman ahead turned her head, glancing at Xu Yuan’s pale, wan face—his features strained with the hollow ache of a man whose vitality had been drained—then fell silent, stopped, and sat down on the ground, closing her eyes to rest.

Xu Yuan simply slumped down onto the earth, breathing heavily, sweat soaking his brow.

He had never imagined a body could be so hollow, nor that such a frailness would be his own.

Even on flat ground, after merely a few kilometers, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably. His breathing, once steady, grew rapid. A burning sensation crept upward from his chest, spreading like a slow tide.

Over a short stretch, the pain in his lower back began to seep in—subtle at first, but growing with each step.

In the past few days, Xu Yuan had often felt—without any desire to act—that if it weren’t for Ran Qingmo’s intervention, the original body might have perished within mere years, crushed beneath a woman’s belly.

He could tolerate lack of desire, but he couldn’t believe he’d never exercised.

And worst of all, at random moments, a surge of restless energy would flare through him—like a craving for smoke, but ten times stronger, more insistent, more consuming.

This made Xu Yuan almost certain that the original body's third son was absolutely still taking drugs.

Transcending had not reset the body's ailments to factory settings; instead, they had been inherited intact by Xu Yuan, this unlucky soul.

The series of frailties in his body had slowed their progress through the forest of Wanxing Mountains to a crawl, like a tortoise dragging itself forward.

During a break, Xu Yuan's breathing gradually calmed. He looked across at the black-robed woman, her eyes closed in meditation.

Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, casting scattered spots of light onto her fair skin.

Looking at him, Xu Yuan suddenly spoke:

"Mr. Ran, with our current pace, we may still need a full month to reach Tianmen Mountain."

"I know," Ran Qingmo remained with her eyes closed, her voice calm and detached.

Xu Yuan paused briefly, then spoke softly: "With such a long duration, we could be caught at any moment."

"......" Ran Qingmo said nothing, merely opening her eyes and gazing at him silently.

Xu Yuan gave a slightly awkward smile.

He of course knew that all of this was due to his body, but every time he paused, it was only because he had pushed himself to the very edge of his physical limits before resting. And yet, sadly, that edge was so low.

Pausing for a moment, Xu Yuan hesitated slightly, and whispered softly:

"So... could you go catch a beast of the wild, um... and let me ride it?"

After careful consideration, he finally voiced the suggestion.

It carried risk, but not much.

If the beast proved dangerous, with Ran Qingmo's capabilities, she could simply eliminate it before it showed any sign of movement.

Ran Qingmo pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. She picked up her sword, stood in place for two seconds, then turned her gaze toward a direction, and vanished instantly.

As Xu Yuan stood in stunned silence, a thunderous roar echoed from afar, coming from a distance of a kilometer.

"ROAR!!!!"

And then came a dull crash.

"Boom!"

"Roar!!!!"

"Boom!"

"Oooww..."

"Boom!"

"Ugh..."