Chapter 143

He led her to a quiet corner, away from the blue lanterns that provided light. The endless noise gradually faded away with the eerie light source, leaving only Bai Jun and Xue Yi on the field.

"Xue Yi, I have something to tell you. I hope you can be mentally prepared beforehand."

"I... I understand..."

Hearing Bai Jun's words, Xue Yi quietly lowered her head, nervously biting her lower lip. Deep down, she secretly hoped for something, and she tightened her grip on Bai Jun's palm.

"But before we get to the main topic, let me mention something else. Xue Yi, of course I'm overjoyed to see you safe and sound, but putting that aside, I'm still a little angry about your behavior just now..."

Bai Jun suddenly changed his tone, pulled his left hand away from Xue Yi's tight grip, and his merciless words pierced Xue Yi's heart.

The reason is what Xue Yi just did. When facing the final blow from the fire giant, she chose to close her eyes and give up struggling, as if calmly awaiting the destruction of her body. If we think rationally, for someone like Xue Yi who can change bodies at any time, such a choice is not a big problem.

However, from Bai Jun's perspective, he couldn't help but feel somewhat unhappy about her actions of not sparing her body at all.

"I remember telling you this countless times, but you always ignore me, disregarding your own safety and putting yourself in extremely dangerous situations. I'm not criticizing your behavior, it's just that you never seem to value yourself."

Bai Jun's voice was icy and thorough, rebuking Xue Yi for her behavior and excuses so far.

"No, no, I didn't... I'm sorry, I just wanted to protect others as much as possible, Bai Jun, please don't be angry..."

Xue Yi poured out her emotions in a jumbled, incoherent way, while at the same time, a sadness welled up in her heart that had nothing to do with her indifference until now.

Just as Xue Yi was about to be engulfed by the unknown flames, she suddenly felt a gentle touch on her head.

Bai Jun gently placed his hand on her head, and the bitter smile spreading from his handsome face cleansed her soul.

"If you don't want me to be angry, then don't make me worry so much, okay? Xue Yi."

Xue Yi's crimson eyes suddenly widened.

"In my eyes, you have never been a tool, but a girl named Xue Yi. So I hope you will not always see yourself as a tool of the Ten Lords Bureau, destroying your body like a weapon, even if you are just an insignificant mechanical doll."

Bai Jun knew that Xue Yi's actions stemmed entirely from the girl's kind nature.

She wanted to atone for her past sins and save more innocent lives from suffering, attempting to take all the blame and responsibility upon herself, whom she considered a sinner.

Therefore, Bai Jun had to harden his heart and ruthlessly burst this absurd bubble, both to help Xue Yi get rid of her subconscious belief that she was a tool as soon as possible, and to correct the wrong view that had been tormenting her heart until now.

"You need to learn to cherish things, not just weapons, but yourself as well. Only if you do that will I stop being angry with you."

Bai Jun looked at Xue Yi, a gentle smile spreading across his face.

The hand that roughly rubbed my head was full of warmth.

Xue Yi stared blankly at Bai Jun, as if her heart was melting deep inside, her taut nerves finally snapping, and a wave of bitterness washing over her.

"I understand, thank you..."

Her voice trembled without her even realizing it; if she had a normal body, she would probably be sobbing uncontrollably right now.

Bai Jun noticed this and took a step forward, gently pulling Xue Yi into his arms. He stroked her hair tenderly, as if comforting a crying child. Xue Yi didn't struggle or make a fuss; she buried her face in Bai Jun 'Bai Jun chest and hugged his back tightly with both hands.

This heartwarming scene didn't last long. Bai Jun was worried that wasting too much time would arouse suspicion from others, so he gently released Xue Yi from his arms.

"Now it's time to get down to business, that is..."

Bai Jun coughed lightly, straightening his collar as he did so. Feeling Xue Yi's intense gaze and recalling his own problem, the emotions he had finally mustered suddenly deflated. He then asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Xue Yi, what are your measurements? I need them."

"My measurements are... no, I don't know either."

The answer that was about to come out of Xue Yi's mouth suddenly stopped. Out of personal selfishness, she lied to Bai Jun for the first time.

"Really? That's a real headache..."

Bai Jun sighed heavily in distress, crossing his arms in front of him, at a loss for what to do. Just then, just like Bai Jun had done earlier, Xue Yi took a step forward. She abandoned her obedient attitude and boldly took Bai Jun's hands, placing them on her slender waist.

"It's alright, Bai Jun, aren't you a blacksmith? So, so, if it's just measurements, you should be able to take them easily, right..."

Faced with Bai Jun's dumbfounded gaze, Xue Yi lowered her head shyly, as if embarrassed to voice her thoughts.

It's so unlike me; I've become a woman who greedily takes what doesn't belong to me, a princess waiting to be rescued by a hero.

No, actually, she did yearn for that kind of scenario a little bit.

Really, just a little bit, I envy the fantasy stories that the Hanya often reads to itself.

"Alright, alright, Xue Yi, what you said doesn't mean there's no fault of yours. Then please forgive my rudeness..."

Feeling the soft touch from his palm, Bai Jun admitted that he could do what Xue Yi said, but the method was somewhat inappropriate.

But since Xue Yi had now placed Bai Jun's hand on her slender waist, Bai Jun had no choice but to stiffly agree to her suggestion. He then knelt down on one knee in front of Xue Yi to measure her waist at a suitable height.

He had initially thought that Xue Yi's current body was merely a puppet body provided by the Ten Lords Bureau, nothing serious. He figured that as long as he avoided looking at Xue Yi's face and focused on quickly taking the measurements, everything would be fine. However, reality dealt Bai Jun a heavy blow.

That is to say, the puppetry technology of the Ten Lords Bureau and the Artisanship Commission is not as bad as Bai Jun imagined.

With just a little pressure from the fingers touching her skin, one could hear Xue Yi's soft breathing. Her usually doll-like, expressionless face was unusually, and beautifully, tinged with shy innocence. This caused Bai Jun to gradually forget his original intentions, and he began to playfully tease and provoke this aloof and ingenious girl.

But quickly, Bai Jun regained his senses and shook his head, inwardly shouting, "This won't do!"

To the untrained eye, changing a doll's body might seem like an easy and casual thing.

In fact, each person's soul has its own shape, and there are strict requirements for the size and shape of the body that different souls are suited to. For example, Xue Yi often has to face severe physical damage and temporarily transfer her soul consciousness to a temporary device such as Cycrane, which results in a severe rejection reaction.

Creating a suitable doll for Xue Yi is no trivial matter; the consequences of errors in the data would be unimaginable. Therefore, Bai Jun must draw a rigorous conclusion.

"Xue Yi, your waist is so slim! I'd roughly estimate it to be around 57cm?"

"I... I... I don't know either. These were Huo Huo and my little sister's responsibility."

Bai Jun temporarily set aside those useless thoughts, grasped Xue Yi's slender waist with both hands, and pondered deeply. Xue Yi was breathing slightly, her left hand resting weakly on his shoulder, and an unprecedentedly cute expression appeared on her face.

Crunch--

The sound of a branch snapping suddenly rang out.

Bai Jun, who was intently playing with... no, measuring the doll's dimensions, turned around at the sound of the commotion around him, only to come face to face with Huo Huo's tearful gaze and Hanya's grief-stricken stare.

Seeing that Bai Jun and Xue Yi were so close that their faces were almost touching their lower abdomens, Hanya came to her senses and found that her eyes were already fixed on the two of them.

How should I put it? The distance between them bothered her a lot.

Even though the other person was his most important family member and his beloved, the first feeling that came to Hanya was loss. It was that lonely feeling that the two of them were about to abandon him and fly away. He felt both relieved and lonely. In short, Hanya didn't know how to deal with this unclear emotion and became restless.

"Bai, Bai Jun, what are you doing to my sister...?"

"Lord Bai Jun, you could have easily done that to me!"

As for Bai Jun and Xue Yi, they were both taken aback when they saw the two of them suddenly run over and interrupt.

In particular, a line of cold sweat slowly trickled down Bai Jun's cheek. Considering his current posture and actions, even if he was acting out of pure intentions, his behavior would be interpreted in a completely different way by others, and could even be said to be a matter of course being misunderstood.

This is bad, extremely bad. If we don't explain this situation properly, we'll definitely be labeled as "traitors"!

However, before Bai Jun could explain, Xue Yi spoke first, "Uh, this, that... I, I mean... I'm also... sorry..."

She lowered her head, unsure of what expression to make, and unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes, speaking in an embarrassed voice that couldn't be quieter.

(My older sister is so cute!)

(Lady Xue Yi is so cute!)

Huo Huo and Hanya's psychological defenses were completely shattered by Xue Yi's cuteness. The two clutched their hearts as if struck by lightning and collapsed with tearful expressions.

The two fell, and two others took their place.

"Bai Jun, were you just doing, doing, doing, doing that kind of thing with that pretty judge sister? And, and..."

"Bai Jun, I could do that kind of thing too, right? If you're really interested in that kind of thing, just tell me. No, wait, I shouldn't be so casual. At least you should invite me to dinner a few times and send me some flowers..."

Su Chang, her face flushed red with Sushang, her shoulders heaving violently as she covered her tear-streaked eyes and screamed incoherently. Guinaifen, meanwhile, pointed to her slender waist and grumbled with a look of regret.

"No, that's not how it is, let me explain!"

Bai Jun's painful, muttering explanations, clutching his forehead, were utterly ineffective. The two girls, lost in their own confusion, ignored his explanations and remained engrossed in their own worlds. Seeing this scene, Bai Jun couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I knew it would turn out like this," and gave up struggling.

As expected, the worst-case scenario that Bai Jun had predicted still happened. He shrugged helplessly and laughed in despair.

Looking at the young man who was dejected and radiating a dark aura as if the end of the world had arrived, even Huo Huo and Hanya were a little intimidated and wondered if they had misunderstood him.

Just as Huo Huo was about to step forward to hear Bai Jun's explanation, the voice of a ghost messenger suddenly came from afar:

"Lady Hanya! Lady Xue Yi! Lord Bai Jun! Something has happened here, and we really don't know how to handle it. Please come and take a look!"

The voice was like heavenly music, perfectly timed, undoubtedly the perfect opportunity to help Bai Jun escape the quagmire. Bai Jun immediately focused his attention, using "I'll handle it" as an excuse, and almost fled, disappearing from the spot in an instant. His speed was so fast that others couldn't even see his figure.

"Have we misunderstood Lord Bai Jun...?"

"Even if it's true, judging by how fast he ran, he must be hiding something he's guilty of."

The Hanya snorted irritably, denying Huo Huo's timid guess.

Meanwhile, Bai Jun, who was far away from Verdant Hill Terrace and increasingly distant from it, followed the underworld messenger to the site of the incident, asking the messenger about the details along the way.

The Furynox has lost most of its gathered power and is temporarily no longer a threat, but as long as it exists, it will remain a hidden danger...

Fortunately, the Ten Lords Bureau had already prepared the magical artifact to suppress Suiyang. All they needed to do was use the Moon-Gathering Gourd to collect the scattered fragments, then use the ruined garden of Verdant Hill Terrace to form an array, throwing it under the tower to imprison Suiyang. The Xianzhou had survived its ordeal today.

And that's where things got complicated.

"Bastards, bastards, bastards, bastards! Tail, you, and those judges, one day, one day I will find my chance to tear you to shreds, to grind your bones until they crack, to drain every last bit of strength from you, and to spit you into the ground like phlegm..."

The underworld officials painstakingly located the largest fragment of the Furynox, only to discover that the remaining strength of the opponent far exceeded their expectations. After suffering the painful lesson of destroying dozens of Moon-Gathering Gourd, the underworld officials were forced to change their strategy and painstakingly imprisoned it in a temporary magic array to restrain the Suiyang.

Unable to use the Moon-Gathering Gourd, the most urgent task now is to figure out how to transfer it to the formation of Verdant Hill Terrace.

"I understand. Leave the rest to me."

After learning the whole story from the underworld messenger, Bai Jun walked alone towards the temporary magic array that restrained Suiyang. The array was located in the exact opposite direction from Verdant Hill Terrace. As Bai Jun walked, he suddenly felt a familiar aura following him.

"That guy, like me, is one of the fragments of 'Ignamar,' named Furynox. I remember we even fought a battle over sovereignty before."

After detaching from Huo Huo's Mr. Tail floated over to Bai Jun's side and carefully explained to him the origin of the fire giant they had just seen.

"Furynox? You seem to know quite a lot... Wait, shouldn't you be with Huo Huo? Why did you follow me here?"

"I'm not a nanny. I wouldn't bother following that coward around unless there's something important to do. Besides... I haven't seen another 'Ignamar' fragment in a long time, so I'm a little nostalgic and wanted to mock him."

Bai Jun turned his head slightly and looked at the ball of blue flame floating beside him. Although the Tail said it was vicious, it still couldn't control its emotions well. You could see a strange sadness on the round wolf head. Bai Jun didn't say anything and let the Tail continue to follow.

Soon, the one- Suiyang arrived near the temporary restraint formation.

Even though they were far apart, Bai Jun and Tail could still hear the roars and mockery coming from the center of the formation, as if they wanted to pour out all their resentment and drive away the fear deep in their souls. The voices never stopped.

"Damn it, why did you run away? Only now do you realize you're scared, you mere underworld messengers? Hahahaha, an insect is an insect, born cowardly and timid, a pathetic existence unworthy of dignity and glory. I despise you from the bottom of my heart—you idiot!!!"

However, when Furynox saw Bai Jun's figure, the arrogant flames instantly became docile, curling up in a corner of the magic circle like a harmless little rabbit, and even showing signs of trembling on its blue-green flames.

"Do you think it's funny? Keep yelling and shouting! Where's all that bravado from before?"

"Ahhh, I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."

Bai Jun kicked the constructed array with a gruff kick. The resulting tremor frightened Furynox, who was hiding in the corner, so much that she curled up even tighter. This time, she didn't even dare to lift her head, trembling like a bullied little girl.

Having faced Bai Jun's two attacks—one through the perspective of his clone and the other just now—and truly experiencing the terrifying power that was completely impossible to resist, Furynox was utterly terrified. Upon seeing Bai Jun, he not only failed to resist, but even his courage and dignity to look him in the eye completely vanished.

At first, Bai Jun found it quite interesting, but after discovering that Furynox wasn't acting, he completely lost interest.

"Speaking of which, aren't the Suiyang capable of merging with each other? With your strength, Tail, couldn't you just absorb and merge this guy directly? That would save us the trouble of bringing it to Verdant Hill Terrace; it's better to deal with it on the spot."

Bai Jun looked at the azure flames in the sky and calmly uttered words that made Suiyang's heart tremble.

"I've only just realized you're actually a hidden schemer. But unfortunately, things aren't as easy as you think. For ordinary Suiyang to merge, there must be some kind of shared 'consensus,' whether it's a belief in some kind of being, a powerful adversary, a common desire, or even just a shared stench. Suiyang must have a 'consensus' to have the opportunity to merge. And there are exceptions: the stronger the Suiyang, the less likely they are to merge. That's why there are so many different kinds of Greater Suiyang. Otherwise, we Suiyang would have been unified long ago, and what would you Xianzhou native have to do with it?"

It flicked its Tail, its flames swaying, and explained to Bai Jun while making sarcastic remarks.

"Really? This is the first time I've heard of such a claim..."

"To be honest, even I can't explain this kind of mysterious thing clearly. You're not Suiyang, it would be a miracle if you knew."

Bai Jun nodded in disappointment, and had no choice but to give up the idea of having Tail devour Furynox. Tail looked at his tone, which seemed to understand Suiyang better than itself, and couldn't help but complain. Unconsciously, it had evolved from the arrogant Suiyang of the past into the current complainer.

"Don't say that. No matter what, I'm an expert at arresting Suiyang. I even won a big prize back in the Zhuming Dynasty."

"Do you really think it's appropriate for you to say such things in front of a Greater Suiyang like me? Be careful, or I might bite you... Oops, I've gone off on a tangent again. Let's get back to the point. How exactly are you planning to take Furynox away? If all else fails, I wouldn't mind revealing my true form and taking Furynox away myself—"

"Since we can't use magical artifacts or anything like that, we might as well just grab it. What's so difficult about that?"

"You've completely transcended common sense; who knows what you're even made of...?"

With a dumbfounded expression on his Tail, Bai Jun released the temporary restraint array, ignoring the high temperature on the surface of Suiyang and the principle that Suiyang and the human body cannot directly contact each other. He easily caught Furynox as if he were catching fish in a river, and even twirled it between his fingertips with ease.

Tail was speechless with frustration as he prepared to follow Bai Jun back—

"Drink it all!!!"

Suddenly, a deafening shout came from afar, and at the same time, a huge explosion occurred at the twelve o'clock position.