Chapter 2 The Third Son
Flee?
Xu Yuan's footsteps halted as he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes widened in astonishment as he looked back at the enormous Buddha head, whose eyes in the darkness were gradually fading.
Some details he had previously overlooked now surfaced in his mind, and Xu Yuan seemed to suddenly understand a few things.
Reality is not anime or movies; if an enemy can assassinate you with a sneak attack, they won't just pose and wait for you to discover them.
Yet this colossal Buddha had quietly approached him without launching a direct attack, only choosing to make a move against the woman in black after he had taken cover at the edge of the hall.
The rain outside the temple continued to pitter-patter, and the air inside seemed cold enough to freeze.
The Third Young Master...
Xu Yuan lowered his head to look at his extremely frail body and then let out a long breath.
The Buddha's designation for him, the state of this body, and the events that had just transpired led him to a vague guess about the world he had traversed into.
It was too similar.
The events that had just unfolded were almost identical to a part of the storyline in a 2.5D pixelated game, "Cangyuan Chronicles," which he had played before.
The giant Buddha, the dilapidated temple, the brocade-clad young master, and the woman in black as cold as ice.
Initially, the 2.5D pixel style translated directly into first-person live-action made it hard for Xu Yuan, who had just traversed to this world, to connect the two together.
However, now the Buddha's reference to the "Third Young Master" had suddenly enlightened him.
He had become the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's family.
The one in "Cangyuan Chronicles" who, in twenty-five different world lines, was killed in twenty-five different ways—the most tragic Third Young Master.
But realizing this, Xu Yuan's originally tense heart relaxed slightly, and he looked ahead.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment; raindrops slipping from the eaves glittered like silver threads in the dark.
Xu Yuan's eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, could faintly make out the graceful figure walking toward him.
The woman's steps were light, yet audibly clear.
The darkness spread quickly in the hall, and the cold wind of the rainy night howled.
Finally, Xu Yuan met the eyes of the woman in black—eyes that shone quietly in the dark.
"You are..."
A male voice, as mild and as gentle as water, rose from the darkness.
Just by hearing the voice, one could imagine it belonged to a graceful and refined young master.
This Third Young Master's body must be quite presentable.
Thinking of these random thoughts, Xu Yuan continued to speak:
"...Ran Qingmo?"
Before he finished speaking, a trace of cold light flickered quietly in the woman's tranquil eyes.
And seeing that chilling cold in her eyes, Xu Yuan instead became completely relaxed.
He had guessed right; this place was indeed the world from that game.
The situation he was facing now aligned with the plot he knew—Xu Yuan immediately remembered that the woman's purpose, nicknamed "Big Ice Lump," was to capture him, not to kill him.
Because she still needed to use him to "persuade" his father, the boss who was about to wage war.
No matter how he might die in the future, at this moment, Xu Yuan's immediate threat to his life had been lifted, and the pressure on him significantly reduced.
After locking gazes for a few seconds,
the cold light in the woman's eyes gradually receded, and she turned around, her tone level:
"Follow."
Xu Yuan realized that she was preparing to make a move to flee.
The corpses outside and the "Spiritual Buddha" inside this hall were all under his father's command. Although the woman had not left a single survivor with her sword, this resting place was clearly no longer safe for a prolonged stay.
But if she wanted to leave, Xu Yuan absolutely could not just follow her.
In the game "Cangyuan Chronicles," due to the different choices made by players, many different endings could unfold. In several of those storylines, the original character, a minor antagonist, ended up dead on the road after being kidnapped by this "Big Ice Lump."
Even though those death scenes were glossed over in the game, he indeed died.
Therefore, Xu Yuan stood still, staring at her retreating figure in the darkness, trying to keep his voice as clear and calm as possible:
"Miss Ran, do you realize what you are doing?"
Miss Ran, the term of respect used by the main character of "Cangyuan Chronicles" for Ran Qingmo.
"......"
Xu Yuan's sudden act of speaking seemed to catch the woman in black off guard.
She stopped in her tracks, and her clear, sharp gaze swept over him, raising goosebumps all over his body.
She didn't speak, just quietly stood in the darkness, watching him.
Being stared at by the Big Ice Lump in this way was not a pleasant feeling; Xu Yuan repeatedly recalled the game plot in his mind, confirming that the other party couldn't possibly kill him at this plot point.
She repeated:
"Keep up."
Xu Yuan maintained his composure, word by word:
"You won't kill me."
Ran Qingmo casually summoned a thick and long stick from the ground.
She stood there holding the stick, quietly staring at Xu Yuan.
"......" Xu Yuan.
Taking a deep breath, he followed behind the woman.
On the surface, Xu Yuan adopted a nonchalant demeanor and spoke slowly:
"Mr. Ran, capturing me is meaningless."
Ran Qingmo still didn't speak, holding the sword in one hand and the stick in the other, silently walking towards the outside of the temple.
Xu Yuan tried to keep his voice even:
"People like my father won't change their decisions because of my well-being or lack thereof."
Finally, Ran Qingmo softly broke the silence, her voice still so light:
"What are you trying to say?"
The rain continued to fall outside the temple, striking the eaves and creating ripples as it splashed into the puddles.
When Xu Yuan heard her finally speak, he immediately replied:
"Naturally, I'm talking about your purpose in capturing me."
With that, he gave a faint smile:
"Mr. Ran, you're capturing me to save the forty thousand disciples of the Sword Sect..."
Hum————
Before he could finish, it was as if time within the temple had frozen.
A chilling intent suddenly surged, and a gale spread out from the center of the woman, causing Xu Yuan's robes to flap loudly!
An invisible, massive pressure emanated bit by bit from the woman's silhouette hidden in the darkness, and just by standing there, Xu Yuan almost felt like kneeling.
Overwhelmed by the pressure, Xu Yuan took two steps back, clenching his hands hidden within his wide sleeves, stabilizing himself only by leaning on a wooden pillar.
In the darkness, the deadly aura emanating from the woman made his hair stand on end.
This sudden turn of events caught Xu Yuan off guard; he couldn't understand why Ran Qingmo had such a strong reaction to his words.
In the blink of an eye,
his mind raced through the game plot, and Xu Yuan realized he might have said the wrong thing.
The Prime Minister's overthrow of the Tianyuan Sword Sect was something he, as a "player," naturally knew about.
But to the people of this world, it was supposed to still be in the planning stage, a top-secret secret, known perhaps only to his cheap old dad and a few of his most trusted subordinates.
At this point in time,
the head of the Sword Sect was still the esteemed State Preceptor of the Dayan Empire and was still old friends with his Prime Minister father, having worked together for decades.
The Prime Minister overturning the Sword Sect, if spoken aloud, might not even be believed by the head of the Sword Sect himself.
Although this body was the legitimate third son of the Prime Minister, his profligate lifestyle proficient in all kinds of debauchery meant that, at this point in time, he couldn't possibly be privy to such secrets.
Cold sweat streamed down.
I'm screwed.
At that moment, Ran Qingmo fully turned around, her eyes glowing blue in the darkness, as she walked toward Xu Yuan, drawing the sword blade from its sheathe:
"How do you know?"