Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

Late at night, when all was quiet, a frail young girl supported a man step by step across the courtyard, all the way to the door of the main room.

The door opened, then shut.

THUD! A muffled sound rang out.

The moment they entered the side chamber, Xu Yuan was flung more than ten meters away by Tian Yan, who wore a look of absolute disgust. He landed sprawled on the soft bed.

Tian Yan stared at the drunken Xu Yuan lying there.

Xu Yuan remained sprawled on the bed, reeking of wine, as if he truly had passed out. After a few breaths of silence, he sighed softly, rubbed the shoulder he had landed on, and said with a smile, “As childhood sweethearts who grew up depending on each other, I feel like you could be just a little gentler.”

Tian Yan glanced at him, ignored his babbling, and walked over to sit at the redwood table in the center of the room. “Why did you pretend to be drunk?”

Xu Yuan got up, walked over, and sat down beside her. Instead of answering, he asked, “If I hadn’t pretended to be drunk, where would we be sleeping tonight? We’re strangers in a strange place, and between the two of us, we don’t have so much as a single tael of silver.”

Tian Yan shot him a look. She was faintly surprised by how carefully he had thought it through. “Fine. You heard what they were talking about just now, didn’t you?”

“Of course,” Xu Yuan said.

“What do you think?”

“What do I think?” Xu Yuan grinned. “I think the real question right now is what you think.”

Tian Yan’s current identity was destined to become the tree spirit of the Beguiling Divine Sakura in the future. And now that the cherry blossom tree had already appeared, following the course of history, she would be refined into a tree spirit.

“Do you have a solution?” Tian Yan asked, a gloomy look on her face.

“Your current physique is different from Wang Yuchu’s back then. If this illusion really follows reality, it shouldn’t be your turn.”

“Refining a tree spirit does not depend on physique. It depends on the soul.”

“Your soul...”

“The Heaven Deriving Divine Soul.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. You’ll be refined into a tree spirit, and I’ll be spared the trouble of doing it myself.” Xu Yuan laughed out loud.

Tian Yan stared at him silently, her gaze dark and eerie.

They looked at each other for several breaths.

Then Xu Yuan raised his hands in surrender like a proper French soldier and said with a smile, “All right, no more jokes. With the relationship between us, there’s no way I’d just sit by and watch them refine you into a tree spirit. I’ll help you.”

Tian Yan’s voice was cold and clear. “Xu Changtian, don’t make it sound so noble. If I’m refined into a tree spirit, you won’t be escaping either.”

Xu Yuan did not refute that. From the conversation among those spoiled young masters at the gathering earlier, it was obvious that Jing He was not only highly talented in cultivation, but had also taken first place in the last sect tournament among the second-generation disciples.

If Tian Yan were refined into a tree spirit, then given the close, mutually dependent relationship between the two of them, the sect would never allow a powerful person harboring such a hidden grudge to remain alive.

When cutting weeds, one had to pull out the roots. That was probably how Jing He had been refined into the Leech King back then.

And besides that, there was one more thing Xu Yuan had to consider. Ever since entering this illusion, he had been thinking about one thing. The purpose behind the Beguiling Divine Sakura’s tree spirit creating this illusion. As long as a person was not insane, there would always be some logic behind their actions.

Wang Yuchu had been lucid in her final moments. She had let him enter this self-forgetting illusion while he was conscious. She must have had a reason.

Ten thousand years ago, one person turned into a cherry blossom tree, and the other became a leech.

And Xu Yuan knew about her and Jing He’s story. Had she let him enter the illusion with a clear mind because she wanted him to change the ending?

Wang Yuchu had blown herself apart on the verge of death to create such a mysterious and wondrous illusion. Surely she had not done it just to watch the events of the past play out all over again.

As thoughts churned through his mind, Xu Yuan finally let out a soft sigh. He really did hate people who spoke in riddles. No matter how one looked at it, he had helped Wang Yuchu fulfill an obsession she had carried for ten thousand years. Could she not have given him a little more useful information before blowing herself up?

One thank you, One sorry. Who in the world was supposed to guess what she wanted by dragging him in here?

Gathering his thoughts, Xu Yuan said in a low voice, “Actually, there’s no need for us to worry too much about this for now. Wang Yuchu was only refined into the tree spirit of the Beguiling Divine Sakura after she became a Saintess of the Splendorbloom Sect. Right now, you’re still just an ordinary second-generation disciple. Before that happens, we only need to find a way out.”

Hearing this, Tian Yan froze slightly. She had noticed the problem in Xu Yuan’s words. Why did this guy know that Wang Yuchu had only been refined into a tree spirit after becoming a Saintess?

After thinking for a moment, she gave Xu Yuan a deep look. In perfect tacit understanding, she did not ask about it, and instead changed the subject.

Those wastrel disciples of Splendorbloom Sect had basically been completely unguarded around the two of them. Because of that, Xu Yuan and Tian Yan had managed to fish out quite a lot of useful information while chatting with them.

The title of Saintess held different meanings in different sects.

In some sects, a Saintess simply had an exalted status. In others, she was the one responsible for presiding over sacrificial ceremonies. In some, she was directly regarded as the next successor of the sect, much like the crown prince of an imperial dynasty.

In the Splendorbloom Sect, the titles of Saintess and Saint belonged to the first category. They were merely symbols of status. Aside from receiving far better treatment than ordinary disciples, they held no actual sect authority.

At the moment, however, the position of Saint in Splendorbloom Sect was vacant. The previous Saint had died the year before last while out gaining experience, and the current higher-ups of Splendorbloom Sect did not seem to be in any hurry to choose a new one.

So Tian Yan and Xu Yuan still had some time.

The two of them discussed their plans from here on.

Then Xu Yuan suddenly thought of something and said in a low voice, “Tian Yan, you noticed it too, didn’t you?”

“Noticed what?” Tian Yan asked.

Xu Yuan pointed at the sundial placed in the courtyard and said quietly, “The flow of time in this illusion is different from the outside world.”

Tian Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly at his words, but she soon understood. It was a very simple matter. If time flowed at the same speed in the illusion as it did in reality, then she might already be dead by now.

Before losing consciousness in reality, she had indeed placed a barrier over her body for protection. But with her soul trapped in this illusion, several hours would have been more than enough for Ran Qingmo to blast that barrier open. And that was not even mentioning the fact that Xu Yuan had that traitorous Sage Venerable by his side too...

Wait. The traitorous Sage Venerable...? At this thought, Tian Yan’s mind suddenly froze. She looked at Xu Yuan with astonishment in her beautiful eyes.

Seeing that look on her face, Xu Yuan was slightly surprised. “What is it?”

Tian Yan did not speak. She simply pointed at the index finger where he wore the soul ring.

Silence descended all at once.

From the moment they had entered the illusion until now, both of them had overlooked one thing.

Ran Qingmo had been too far away and was not present at the scene, but the Sage’s remnant soul had been on Xu Yuan all along.

And yet, he had not entered the illusion.

After a long silence, Xu Yuan asked tentatively, “Tian Yan, do you know why the Sage’s remnant soul wasn’t dragged into this illusion?”

The dazzling cherry blossoms that had dragged him into this illusion were clearly aimed at the soul. As a soul body, there was no reason for the Sage’s remnant soul to escape unscathed.

Tian Yan thought for a long while. Her pleasant voice carried a hint of hesitation.

“If it were any other illusion, that traitorous Sage Venerable might have some way to break free with his methods. But an illusion created by the Beguiling Divine Sakura’s tree spirit should be basically impossible, unless...”

At this point, her voice paused. The look she gave Xu Yuan turned a little strange.

“Unless the Beguiling Divine Sakura’s tree spirit deliberately chose not to pull him in.”

“Why?”

“How would I know why?”

“...”

Xu Yuan and Tian Yan stared at each other, puzzled.