Tianyan glanced at the man sitting cross-legged beside the cliff and snorted coldly:
"Heartless and unprincipled."
Xu Yuan cracked a smile, locking eyes with her half-jokingly:
"Aren’t I doing this for both you and me?"
Tianyan, from her higher position, glanced down at him disdainfully:
"Xu Changtian, don’t play that game with me."
The corners of Xu Yuan’s mouth curled up slightly as he laid back on the grassy peak, lazily replying:
"Alright, alright, I won’t play these games with you."
With a silent snort in her heart, Tianyan said nothing more and turned to leave. However, after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped.
"Is there anything else?" Xu Yuan, with his hands cushioning his head, asked in a languid tone, "Can’t you say everything all at once?"
Tianyan did not turn around:
"After being so close for half a year, do you really have no feelings for her at all?"
After several breaths,
"Certainly, there are feelings," he spoke in a low voice, "After all, Zi Qiu is such a beauty like misty rain over water. What man wouldn’t be moved? But at most, that might be coveting her body."
"...." Tianyan thought to herself what a vulgar man, and then she saw him slowly sitting up.
Xu Yuan looked back at her retreating figure, his lips smiling:
"Love’s reasons are mysterious, which is why a deep love seems unlikely to happen to me.
"I always have a clear purpose in my actions. From the very beginning, their siblings were nothing more than tools to help us escape in my heart.
"With such an initial purpose, do you think I would get carried away with feelings for a mere tool?
As he spoke, Xu Yuan spread his hands:
"Moreover, this is the Illusionary Realm. We will eventually leave. To have a love affair that transcends time with a beauty who has been dead for a thousand years might sound romantic, but I have no desire to make myself suffer.
"I would rather not experience the agony of unrequited love again,
"So, I ought to stop the loss in time."
As he finished speaking,
the mountain wind caressed them, rustling their robes and stirring waves through the green grass.
She turned around abruptly, catching sight of the mirthful curve of his lips and the dark, still depths of his eyes, like a secluded pond...
Inside the cave, silence still prevailed.
Their gazes intertwined in the air.
Tianyan’s expression was stern, the jade hand beneath her sleeve tightly clenched.
She wanted to say something to ease the tension but suppressed that impulse.
Tianyan looked at him, her words unyielding and cold, with an imperceptible tremble:
"What does it have to do with me? Xu Changtian, what would happen to the Energy Mechanism if you leave of your own accord?"
She expected the bastard to retort with something like "What does my life or death have to do with you?"—expressions of petulance.
But Xu Yuan’s single, light reply threw her prepared speech into disarray:
"Are you out of your mind, or do you think I’m out of my mind?"
Tianyan was momentarily stunned:
Shaking his head lightly, Xu Yuan headed straight for the cave entrance:
"After so long on the run, I’ve not forgotten such basic precautions, there’s no need for you to worry. I’m just heading out to hunt some game to satisfy my appetite."
"Stop!" Tianyan’s voice rose.
Xu Yuan sighed lightly and paused again, sounding somewhat impatient:
"Tianyan, our relationship should be just a partnership, hmm... after seven years together, perhaps also friends, but with just that, why should I listen to you?"
Taking a deep breath, Tianyan asked:
"Are you angry? What are you throwing a tantrum for at such a time?"
Xu Yuan laughed upon hearing this, a bittersweet laugh: "Why should I be angry? Rather, I should thank you for what you just said."
Xu Yuan’s tone became gentle:
"After seven years together, I had almost forgotten this place is the Illusionary Realm. Thank you for reminding me.
"Heh... once we leave here, I will still be the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, and you will still be the Saintess of Jiatiange.
"With my unfathomable status, regardless of whether it’s for family power or on a personal level, there is an impassable chasm between us.
"So it’s better if we just keep it at cooperation."
Complex and sour emotions spread within her heart; she tried to maintain a composed facade.
What he spoke was precisely what she had been contemplating.
She settled back onto the cushion and closed her eyes, her voice detached, with the faintest trace of a tremble:
"You’d better take care of yourself."
Without another word, Xu Yuan walked out of the cave. The smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by complexity.
But once he passed beyond Tianyan’s range of detection, he regained his usual carefree demeanor.
Rather, how could he possibly be angry over such a trivial matter?
After seven years of knowing each other, he had a very clear understanding of Tianyan’s character.
Everything about her was soft except for her tough mouth.
To him, her complaints with an upright body could almost be considered an endearing trait.
The final words he had uttered were deliberate.
Sincerity could only make one a lapdog.
It’s playing the game that wins hearts.
Their relationship had reached a certain impasse, aware that this place was only the Illusionary Realm, and reality outside was where they truly lived.
This concern applied not only to him but also to Tianyan.
To let things keep developing uncontrolled would ultimately turn into a potent Source Crystal Bomb buried between them.
Better to trigger it prematurely.
If the wound could heal, then all would proceed naturally.
If not, then let events take their own course.
The forest was alive with cicadas’ din, and specks of light fell from the dense treetops.