Fairy, Please Listen to My Explanation

Chapter 14: The Wager

Ran Qingmo had arrived.

The thin veil covering half her face was torn, revealing glimpses of her flawless beauty beneath as the mountain breeze stirred it.

A single glance, and it felt like an eternity.

Coming back to his senses, Xu Yuan slowly rose, his brow gradually furrowing.

Except for that same serene look in her eyes as when they first met, her physical state was visibly battered.

Her sword-wielding right arm hung limply at her side. A large portion of her black robe was shredded, with the left sleeve nearly shredded entirely, exposing delicate, unblemished skin. Thin trails of blood seeped from wounds on her arm, winding like crimson serpents down to her fingertips before dripping steadily.

Xu Yuan’s gaze flickered to the massive serpent head at Ran Qingmo’s feet, a monstrous thing easily three or four stories high in size.

Atop the snake’s head bloomed seven lotus flowers, six of which had already bloomed lifelike and vibrant.

The moment his brain finally digested the information, Xu Yuan’s pupils suddenly constricted.

He recognized the giant python before him.

The Seven Lives Python.

Seven Lives Pythons could shed their skin and cultivate anew seven times. During the seventh transformation, it could truly take human form, with a cultivation speed indistinguishable from humans.

A natural ruler among snake demons—if it was her, it would explain why the Flame Serpent had been so desperate to kill him.

But—

Why would she die here?

How could she die here?

Xu Yuan stared at the Seven Lives Python’s lifeless, enormous eyes with a sense of absurdity and bewilderment that gradually filled his heart.

This giant python was supposed to be one of the female leads in the future!

After her seventh shedding, she would transform into her human form and was supposed to travel to the Great Yan Dynasty, assuming the form of a big boobed loli under the name of Ji Qingyue. Then she would encounter the protagonist in Jingjiang City, starting the storyline of that location.

Yet at this point in time, she had been so easily slain by Ran Qingmo?

The gears of the once-familiar plot had already begun to shift subtly due to his arrival.

While Xu Yuan stood there in a daze, the black-robed woman atop the snake’s head quietly moved her sword-wielding hand, casually swinging downward.

A streak of blood-light flashed.

By the time Xu Yuan came back to his senses, a deep bloody gash had split the python’s lotus-crowned head.

Then, a small, blood-red lotus floated in the air.

The moment it appeared, an overwhelming metallic stench swept across the entire mountain peak.

The Snake Heart Lotus.

To be precise, it was a Six-Cycle Snake Heart Lotus, worth a fortune. One of Ancient Origin’s top-tier alchemical materials. It could be used to refine Golden Scale Pills or Blood Spirit Transformation Pills.

The Golden Scale Pill could be used for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks.

The Blood Spirit Transformation Pill, on the other hand, could stabilize the soul and merge it with the body, precisely what Xu Yuan needed right now to completely merge his soul with this body without leaving any flaws.

But at this moment, Xu Yuan had no time to think about these things.

While playing Ancient Origin, Xu Yuan had been quite fond of Ji Qingyue, the quirky little loli, but that was merely affection for a fictional character.

But compared to the death of a fictional waifu, he was far more concerned about the ripple effects her demise might have on the world’s trajectory. Beyond it lay the Ancient Abyss, a forbidden land where dozens of different demon tribes had united to form a loosely organized Demon Kingdom.

Ji Qingyue hailed from there.

Now that the esteemed snake princess had her head lopped off by Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan had no idea whether the Demon Emperor, under pressure from the snake demon tribe, would deviate from the original plot or not.

But soon, he realized he needn’t worry about any of that.

Because he might not live long enough to see it.

After extracting Ji Qingyue’s Snake Heart Lotus, the black-robed woman on the snake’s head suddenly swayed, tumbling down the massive serpent’s skull toward the ground.

Snapping back to reality, Xu Yuan rushed forward and caught her falling form, frowning as he called out to her.

“Heroine Ran? Heroine Ran?”

Gently shaking her shoulders, he tried to rouse her, but her eyes remained tightly shut.

After her fierce battle with Ji Qingyue, this woman in ink-black robes had clearly reached her limit.

Soon, Xu Yuan noticed her faint breathing growing increasingly ragged. The fair skin visible beneath her tattered veil turned crimson. Her chest beneath the robes rose and fell rapidly, her body temperature climbing at a visible rate.

Observing these changes in Ran Qingmo, many thoughts flashed through Xu Yuan’s mind before he let out a long sigh.

He remembered that the Seven Lives Python didn’t possess the aphrodisiac venom that people found so entertaining.

So Ran Qingmo’s condition must be due to something else.

Maybe she was circulating her Qi to heal herself, or maybe it was the symptom of some poison taking effect.

Either way, there was nothing Xu Yuan could do.

The rudimentary first aid knowledge he had learned in his previous life obviously couldn’t treat the superhumans of this world.

The helplessness of leaving his fate in another’s hands was unbearable.

If Ran Qingmo died, or if Ji Qingyue’s subordinates or his original father’s men arrived while Ran Qingmo was recovering, he was as good as dead.

Yet all he could do now was wait.

He carried her body to a large tree on the mountain peak and propped her against it before sitting guard beside her.

Time passed second by second.

The newly risen sun had somehow already climbed high in the sky, yet Ran Qingmo’s feverish condition showed no signs of subsiding.

After who knows how long, a desolate cold wind blew past, and Ran Qingmo’s voice came weakly from beside him, “Where is the cave dwelling you mentioned?”

She was awake, but her voice betrayed her weakness.

Hearing her voice, Xu Yuan immediately turned to check her condition.

“Beneath the Suspended Heaven Cliff.”

After a pause, he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“…”

Ran Qingmo didn’t answer. She simply closed her eyes again.

After a long silence, she murmured, eyes still shut.

“Xu Changtian’s father’s subordinates will be here soon.”

“…”

Hearing this, Xu Yuan’s pupils suddenly constricted.

Her voice was soft, yet it exploded like a bomb in Xu Yuan’s mind.

“What did you say?”

Ran Qingmo repeated, her voice devoid of any emotion, “Xu Changtian’s father’s subordinates will be here soon.”

His heartbeat gradually accelerated as Xu Yuan slowly stood up. “How much time do we have?”

Ran Qingmo replied softly, “Less than half a quarter-hour.”

Half a quarter-hour?

Xu Yuan’s mind reeled.

He took a steadying breath. “How is your condition now?”

Ran Qingmo, still leaning against the tree, cracked an eye open to study him. Instead of answering, she asked, “You seem very anxious. Why? I won’t reveal your secret.”

Xu Yuan’s gaze darted across the mist-shrouded peak as he forced his scrambling mind back under control. “Don’t you know that soul possession can be detected?”

“…”

Ran Qingmo stared at Xu Yuan with a puzzled expression.

It seemed she only knew about Soul Rejection but not about the methods that could detect body possession after Soul Rejection subsided.

Xu Yuan didn’t bother explaining the intricacies of this world’s setting to Ran Qingmo. He pressed on, “Can you fly in your current state?”

Ran Qingmo remained silent, then shook her head. “I’m severely injured.”

Xu Yuan pressed his fingers to his temples. “Then how can you sense that someone is coming?”

Ran Qingmo answered matter-of-factly, “Physical wounds don’t impair the soul’s perception.”

Xu Yuan said nothing more, his mind racing through possible strategies for what came next.

What should he do?

Stay and wait for his “father’s” men to arrive, then try to act his part?

At this point in time, they wouldn’t know that it was Ran Qingmo who had kidnapped the original Xu Changtian.

He could pin the blame on Ji Qingyue and claim that Ran Qingmo had saved him. That was a pretty safe strategy as the dead couldn’t tell.

But the problem was that Ancient Origin merely mentioned that Xu Changtian was a wastrel proficient in all forms of vice, without detailing his specific habits and mannerisms.

Once something seemed off, they could immediately tell, and that’s no different from resigning himself to death.

What to do? What to do!

Countless complicated schemes flashed through his mind.

Then, Xu Yuan suddenly let out a long breath as if resigned to his fate.

He was done overthinking.

He gave up.

Xu Yuan looked at the black-robed woman leaning against the tree. “Can you walk?”

“…” Ran Qingmo didn’t understand Xu Yuan’s sudden question.

“Can you walk?” Xu Yuan repeated, his voice flat.

Ran Qingmo was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

Wordlessly, Xu Yuan bent down, scooped up the Snake Heart Lotus, and tucked it into his robes. Then he slid one arm beneath Ran Qingmo’s knees and the other behind her back and lifted her into a princess carry, much to her surprise.

Her body was supple and weightless, so light that this sickly wastrel of a young master could easily carry her.

“…”

The air stilled.

Ran Qingmo didn’t resist. Even as he held her in his arms, she simply watched him with that same detached calm.

Ran Qingmo stared at Xu Yuan, but Xu Yuan didn’t look back at her.

Cradling her, Xu Yuan walked toward the edge of the Suspended Heaven Cliff while speaking to her. “Heroine Ran, do you want to die?”

“…”

Ran Qingmo didn’t understand Xu Yuan’s question, but she didn’t want to die, so she shook her head.

Xu Yuan caught this from the corner of his eye and smiled slightly.

“That’s right. No one wants to die. Staying here means death either way; it’s only a matter of dying sooner or later.”

As he spoke, Xu Yuan had already carried Ran Qingmo to the edge of the Suspended Heaven Cliff.

The cold wind tugged his robes. One more step, and they’d plunge into the abyss below.

Ran Qingmo immediately grasped his intent.

“You want me to jump down with you?”

“Scared?” Xu Yuan teased.

Ran Qingmo looked at the mist-covered abyss, then looked at him as if he were an idiot. “But this is the Suspended Heaven Cliff.”

Xu Yuan met her eyes and chuckled. “Better to splatter on the rocks than be tortured to death by the Grand Chancellor’s men, no?”

Ran Qingmo considered this seriously. “Oh, you jump then.”

Xu Yuan wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he looked at Ran Qingmo and said with a smile, “Heroine Ran, let’s make a bet, shall we?”

Ran Qingmo was baffled why the man before her was being so dramatic. But replied nonetheless.  “Go on.”

“If we survive, you’ll owe me a favor. You’ll have to do one thing for me.”

Ran Qingmo peered into the abyss again. “But we won’t survive.”

“I mean, if by chance we do survive,” Xu Yuan chuckled.

Ran Qingmo was silent for a moment, then slowly muttered, “Why would I owe you a favor if we survive by some miracle?”

“…” Xu Yuan nearly choked.

Anyway, the life-or-death moments he had experienced in a short time had stripped away many of his reservations; he pressed on. “If we live, it’ll be because my cave saved us. I think your life should be worth a favor, right?”

Ran Qingmo mulled it over, finding his reasoning sensible, and nodded. “Very well. If we survive, I’ll owe you a favor.”

“Remember your words.”

With that—

Xu Yuan stepped off the cliff without hesitation.

The mountain peak’s cold wind caused the black-robed woman’s veil to flutter away.

Everything in the world seemed to grow quiet in this moment. Piercing through the misty clouds, his senses gradually fade away.

All that remained was the rushing wind in his ears and the warmth of the woman’s body in his arms.

He didn’t know how long they fell within this misty abyss.

He lowered his gaze to look at the woman in his arms with her eyes closed as she waited for death.

He then suddenly remembered one fact.

Ran Qingmo’s Luck stat was over 93 points.