Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

The question was this. If the stunning, seductive courtesan in front of him really meant to kill herself, would Xu Yuan stop her? The answer was no.

Any normal man would probably feel some regret watching a beauty like this die right in front of him, and Xu Yuan was no exception. He would regret it, but he would never step in to stop her.

Before entering this Bamboo Garden, Xu Yuan had already known Su Jinxuan’s identity. Naturally, he had prepared himself for what that meant. If this courtesan, who had clearly come specifically for him, wanted to commit suicide, then more likely than not, he would just sit there smiling and enjoy the show.

He would watch her act, watch her play the pitiful victim, act delicate and wronged, act stubborn and helpless, and perform so hard she ended up embarrassing herself.

As someone who had brushed up against death more times than he could count, Xu Yuan simply did not believe that, when given a choice, Su Jinxuan would really end her own life without hesitation.

And yet the truth was that every bit of mental preparation he had done turned out to be a complete joke.

The moment he saw this woman, his legs stopped working. If he had not set himself a clear course of action before stepping into the Bamboo Garden, then the instant she brought up music, he probably would have followed her lead without even thinking.

But even with a firm plan in mind, when the time came to act, Xu Yuan still found his judgment shaken by the emotions rising inside him. It was not normal, but at the time he himself could not see that. Only when the Blood Origin Heartfall Art began to circulate did he suddenly realize something was wrong.

That woman had been stirring his emotions, and when he examined himself more carefully, his heart shook.. On the surface of his soul, there were tiny drifting particles clinging to it. Their appearance had caused no discomfort at all. They were not dense, just scattered here and there across the surface of his soul, as though they had fused with it.

Only after Xu Yuan consciously focused his senses did he realize those floating particles were actually moving. They were desperately burrowing into his soul, and yet that burrowing brought him no pain whatsoever. On the contrary, the faint aura those particles gave off even made him feel a trace of comfort.

Unfortunately for them, even with Xu Yuan completely off guard, the sheer refinement of his Innate Dao Physique meant those invisible particles could not force their way in anytime soon. Just like in the original story, the Su Jinxuan before him clearly had no cultivation at all. Otherwise, Zhou Chen would not have wished him success in battle before leaving. And yet this had still happened.

So in this world, beyond source qi cultivation, there was actually this kind of bizarre method of attack too? The moment he realized that, Xu Yuan opened his mouth to call for help. Fight her one-on-one? Not a chance. I have bodyguards.

But the moment he opened his mouth, he discovered that he could no longer speak.

Damn... Xu Yuan cursed inwardly. He sensed that the grain-like things clinging to the surface of his soul had suddenly begun rising and falling in a strange rhythm.

And with that pulsing motion, he realized he was slowly losing control of his body. He could still see and hear. All five senses were perfectly normal. He just could not speak, and he could not move. He could only stand there in silence.

Su Jinxuan lowered her eyes and lightly pressed at her swollen wrist. A faintly bewitching glow flickered in her peach-blossom eyes as she bit her lip and spoke in a wounded tone.

“Young Master Xu, you...” The moment her voice sounded, those granular things began pulsing violently.

In the next instant, Xu Yuan’s body moved on its own. He smiled faintly and lifted a hand to cut her off.

“Ah, Jinxuan.” As he spoke, his body started walking toward her. “To be honest, I did not want to treat you like that just now either. I was only afraid you might truly do something foolish and take your own life. I hope you will not blame me for it.”

Su Jinxuan fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised her eyes to look at Xu Yuan.

Sunlight streamed through the lattice window, falling across her alluring face, leaving half in shadow and half in light.

As their gazes met, Xu Yuan seemed to glimpse blooming peach blossoms stirring in her eyes. And in that brief haze of distraction, who knew how many more drifting particles had settled onto the surface of his soul.

Her voice carried a trace of humble pleading. “Young Master Xu, your status is exalted. How could I ever dare blame you? I only beg you not to force me to do what I do not wish to do.”

“Force you?” As the conversation continued, Xu Yuan’s body sat back down on the round cushion again and let out a soft laugh. “That depends on how well you perform. If you can manage to interest me, I would not mind keeping you around for a while and playing with you a little longer. Heh. This tea is too bland. Someone, bring me wine.”

The subject between them also shifted. What had begun with Xu Yuan bluntly demanding what he wanted gradually turned into the usual flirtatious banter between a noble young master and a high-class courtesan. They drank together, listened to music, discussed melody and rhythm, and chatted about little bits of gossip from the city.

Watching his own body speak on its own and move on its own sent a flicker of panic through Xu Yuan’s heart. But that panic vanished almost at once, replaced by the calm he had long since trained himself to fall back on whenever things went wrong.

At this point, the situation could not have been clearer.

Su Jinxuan was stalling for time. She needed enough time for those strange drifting particles to burrow into his soul.

As for what would happen once they got inside... Xu Yuan thought of the Third Young Master’s almost crazed behavior in the story.

Tch. So that’s what this is. Kotoamatsukami[1] or something?

This kind of mind control was far too bizarre. With no experience dealing with anything like it, Xu Yuan could not think of any way to counter it. As the seconds ticked by, he could feel that the surface of his soul was now densely covered with those strange floating particles. But helplessly, for all their swarming, those things still could not burrow into his soul. The toughness of his Innate Physique held them back.

A growing sense of powerlessness rose in Xu Yuan’s chest. The lack of any clue what to do, coupled with the constant awareness of those drifting particles, gradually threw his thoughts into disorder. Ever since transmigrating into this world, he had thought himself cautious enough.

Reality had just slapped him hard across the face. He was not cautious. He was arrogant. He knew full well that something was wrong with Su Jinxuan, yet he had still chosen to come alone. Part of the reason was that Ying’er was nearby to protect him. But an even bigger part was that the god’s-eye view he once possessed had made him think he could control this breathtaking, dangerous woman by himself.

How stupid. Arrogance, so idiotic it was beyond saving.

Regret was useless. Xu Yuan forcibly steadied his thoughts and began sifting through his memories from beginning to end, piece by piece, searching for anything he could use.

Ying’er still had not intervened, which clearly meant she had not sensed the danger he was in. So now, he had to save himself.

As his thoughts stretched onward, Xu Yuan thought of the Blood Origin Heartfall Art.

The Blood Origin Heartfall Art was profound and intricate, but everything recorded in it concerned ways of using source qi. As for the soul, it contained only the most basic methods for sensing it and using it to gather source qi. Even if those methods were far more efficient than what ordinary cultivation arts offered, they were completely useless in his current situation.

There was some frustration in him, but even more than that, despair. This Blood Origin Heartfall Art could create both an Innate Physique and an Innate Soul Physique, and yet the latter existed only to serve the former’s cultivation speed?

Back when he had been cultivating it, that had seemed perfectly reasonable. After all, he had assumed source qi cultivation decided everything. But this world seemed to contain powers beyond source qi cultivation. And if that was the case, then this Blood-tier cultivation manual was absurdly lopsided.

Wait. A manual? Xu Yuan’s thoughts paused. He suddenly remembered that nameless manual that came paired with the Blood Origin Heartfall Art. Back in those first days at the cave dwelling, when he had been learning nonstop, he did not know how many times he had read those two manuals together.

It was just that human energy was limited. Xu Yuan had thrown all of his effort into cultivating source qi, and so he had left the other one aside. It was like a man drowning in darkness suddenly spotting a sliver of light.

Xu Yuan’s mind jolted, and he began recalling the contents of that nameless manual. As the memories returned bit by bit, he realized that it really was a secret art for cultivating the soul. And not only that, it was an offensive one. Its method of attack was simple enough to sum up in two words, devouring souls.

Besides the usual tempering and strengthening of one’s soul, it also allowed the practitioner to directly devour other people’s souls to nourish and enlarge their own. Ordinary cultivators would never dare do such a thing. The clash between souls would most likely drive them into deviation or madness.

But an Innate Soul Physique did not have that problem. It was a perfect match for the defining trait of an Innate Soul Physique, the extraordinary refinement of the soul.

At that thought, Xu Yuan finally relaxed a little. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately buried himself in studying the manual’s logic and method of cultivation.

In cultivation, time slipped by without a trace. He had no idea how long had passed before he finally drew his awareness back out of his sea of consciousness and returned it to the outside world.

By then, the sun was long gone. The stars had shifted, the moon hung high in the sky, and its clear silver light spilled through the bamboo grove into the room. And all the while, his body had still been talking with Su Jinxuan.

The tension from daytime had long since disappeared between them. Now they were smiling and chatting warmly, their eyes seeming to speak just as much as their words.

Sandalwood incense drifted softly through the room, hazy and intoxicating, and the topic Su Jinxuan had so carefully staged and guided was finally nearing its end.

A faint flush from the wine made her already enchanting face look even more seductive. With a smile at her lips, she cast a sidelong glance at the moonlight outside and said in a tactful voice,

“Young Master Xu, it’s getting late.”

Xu Yuan’s body let out a chuckle at that and reached out to catch her slender wrist. “It is getting late. Jinxuan, a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold.”

Su Jinxuan’s expression stiffened ever so slightly, perfectly timed, though she let him hold her hand. Her voice dropped low. “Young Master Xu, earlier you said you wouldn’t force me, didn’t you?”

His body fell silent for a moment, then gave a soft sigh. “Fine, I’ll do as you say. I won’t touch you tonight, but you’ll have to let me stay here.”

“But...” Su Jinxuan looked like she still wanted to say something.

At that, Xu Yuan’s body directly frowned.

As if helpless, Su Jinxuan gave a small nod.

“All right. Then I’ll trust in Young Master Xu’s character. But we sleep fully clothed.”

“Fine, Jinxuan... I’ll listen to you.”

Listening to the two of them, Xu Yuan was genuinely starting to lose it a little. This woman was writing, directing, and acting the whole scene herself. If she did not become a playwright or write storybooks, it would truly be a waste of talent.

Still, this exchange did tell Xu Yuan one thing. His current condition could not stand close scrutiny, and he most likely could not stray too far from Su Jinxuan. Otherwise, there was no way she would have agreed to let him stay the night.

Once that was settled, Su Jinxuan called in a maid to bring a bronze basin so the two of them could wash up. Then the lone lamplight in the bamboo grove was extinguished, leaving only the moonlight filtering softly through the lattice window into the room.

The bed curtains were drawn back, and the two of them climbed into bed fully dressed. Feeling the softness of the mattress beneath him, smelling the faint fragrance clinging to the woman beside him, Xu Yuan’s vision sank into darkness.

But after only a few breaths, his body suddenly moved. He turned slightly and gently wrapped an arm around the bonelessly soft body of the woman beside him.

Then her voice came, trembling a little. “Y Young Master...”

Xu Yuan’s body answered softly, “Sleep.”

Xu Yuan gathered his thoughts and stilled his mind. In the silent darkness, the secret art of the nameless manual slowly began to circulate.

1. Suprrise Naruto reference. ☜