Third Young Master

Run?

Xu Yuan's footsteps faltered, and he stood frozen in place, turning his head with a look of astonishment to gaze at the giant Buddha head, whose eyes were gradually dimming in the darkness.

Details he had previously overlooked surfaced in his mind, and Xu Yuan suddenly seemed to understand something.

Reality is not an anime or a movie; if an enemy can ambush and kill you, they wouldn't strike a pose and wait for you to discover them.

Yet, this giant Buddha had arrived silently beside him without launching a direct attack, only choosing to engage the woman in black after he had retreated to the edge of the temple hall.

The rain outside the temple continued to patter, and the air inside felt cold enough to freeze.

Third Young Master.

Xu Yuan looked down at his own frail body and suddenly let out a long breath.

The giant Buddha's form of address, the state of this body, and the events that had just transpired gave him a vague guess about the world he had transmigrated into.

It was too similar.

What had just happened was almost identical to a segment of the plot from Cangyuan, a 2.5D pixel-style game he had once played.

The giant Buddha, the dilapidated temple, the young master in silk robes, and the woman in black as cold as ice.

It was just that the transition from the original 2.5D pixel style to a first-person, real-life perspective was so jarring that Xu Yuan, having just arrived, couldn't immediately connect the two.

But now, the giant Buddha's utterance of "Third Young Master" had suddenly awakened him.

He had become the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's estate.

The most miserable Third Young Master in Cangyuan, who had been killed in twenty-five different ways across twenty-five world lines.

Yet, upon realizing this, Xu Yuan's tightly coiled heart relaxed slightly, and he cast his gaze forward.

Time seemed to slow down in that moment; the rainwater sliding off the eaves splashed into silver, luminous streaks in the darkness.

His eyes, now adjusted to the gloom, allowed Xu Yuan to vaguely make out that graceful figure walking toward him.

The woman's footsteps were light, yet clearly audible.

The darkness of the temple hall spread rapidly, and the cold wind of the rainy night whistled.

Finally, Xu Yuan met the woman in black's eyes, which glowed with a serene, chilling light in the dark.

"You are..."

A male voice, as calm and gentle as water, rang out in the darkness.

Just hearing the tone, one could imagine a refined and elegant young master.

This Third Young Master's body must have a decent appearance.

Thinking these scattered thoughts, Xu Yuan continued:

"...Ran Qingmo?"

Before the words had even faded, a flash of cold light flickered in the woman's serene eyes.

Yet, upon seeing this bone-chilling coldness in her gaze, Xu Yuan felt completely at ease.

He had guessed correctly; this was indeed the world of that game.

With the current situation aligning with the plot he knew, Xu Yuan immediately recalled that the goal of this "big block of ice" was to capture him, not to kill him.

Because the other party needed to use him to "persuade" his boss of a father, who was on the verge of starting a war.

No matter how he might die in the future, his immediate threat to life was lifted for now, and the pressure eased significantly.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, the cold light in the woman's eyes faded bit by bit, and she turned around, her tone flat:

"Follow."

Xu Yuan realized that she was preparing to relocate and flee.

The corpses outside and the "Spirit Buddha" within this temple were all subordinates of this body's father. Although the woman hadn't left a single survivor under her blade, this foothold was clearly no longer safe to stay in.

But while she wanted to leave, Xu Yuan absolutely could not just follow her and depart.

The game Cangyuan allowed for many different endings based on the choices the player made, and in several of those lines, the original owner—this minor villain—died on the road while being kidnapped by this "big block of ice."

Although the deaths in those lines were glossed over, he had indeed died.

So, Xu Yuan stood his ground, staring at her back in the darkness, his voice as clear and calm as he could manage:

"Miss Ran, do you know what you are doing right now?"

"Miss Ran" was the respectful title the protagonist of Cangyuan used for Ran Qingmo.

"..."

Xu Yuan's sudden act of speaking seemed to catch the woman in black off guard.

She paused, her gaze, serene yet sharp as a blade, sweeping over him and causing goosebumps to erupt across Xu Yuan's skin.

She did not speak, merely standing quietly in the darkness, watching him.

The feeling of being watched by this "big block of ice" was not pleasant, but Xu Yuan repeatedly recalled the game's plot in his mind, confirming that she could not possibly kill him at this specific plot point.

She repeated:

"Follow."

Xu Yuan maintained his composure, enunciating each word clearly:

"You will not kill me."

Ran Qingmo made a casual gesture, drawing a thick, long wooden staff from the ground toward her.

She held the staff, standing in place and staring at Xu Yuan in silence.

"..." Xu Yuan.

Taking a deep breath, he followed behind the woman.

Xu Yuan maintained an air of nonchalance on the surface, speaking slowly:

"Master Ran, capturing me serves no purpose."

Ran Qingmo still did not speak; with a sword in one hand and the wooden staff in the other, she walked silently toward the outside of the temple.

Xu Yuan tried his best to keep his voice at a steady pitch:

"A man like my father will not change the decisions he has made because of whether I live or die."

Ran Qingmo finally spoke softly, her voice as indifferent as ever:

"What are you trying to say?"

The rain continued to fall outside the temple, cascading off the eaves in strings and splashing ripples into the puddles.

Hearing her finally speak, Xu Yuan immediately replied:

"Naturally, I am talking about your motive for capturing me."

As he spoke, he smiled slightly:

"Master Ran, you captured me because you want to save the forty thousand disciples of the Tianyuan Sword Sect—"

Hum—

Before his words could fade, time within the temple seemed to freeze.

A murderous chill surged abruptly, and a gale erupted from the woman as its center, whipping Xu Yuan's robes until they snapped loudly!

An invisible, immense pressure radiated bit by bit from the woman's silhouette, which was hidden in the darkness; merely standing there was enough to make Xu Yuan feel as though he were on the verge of kneeling.

Xu Yuan was forced back two steps by the pressure, his hands clenching tightly within his wide sleeves as he gripped a nearby wooden pillar to forcibly steady himself.

In the darkness, the biting killing intent radiating from the woman made his hair stand on end.

Such a sudden turn of events caught Xu Yuan off guard; he could not understand why Ran Qingmo had reacted so violently to his words.

In a flash of lightning, as he frantically recalled the game's plot in his mind, Xu Yuan suddenly realized that he had said the wrong thing.

The Prime Minister's destruction of the Tianyuan Sword Sect was a major event that he, as a "player," was naturally expected to know.

But to the people of this world, this matter should still be in the planning stages, a secret among secrets known only to his cheap father and a few of his most trusted confidants.

At this point in time, the Sect Master of the Sword Sect was still the esteemed Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yan Dynasty and remained an old friend who had worked alongside his Prime Minister father for decades.

If one were to say that the Prime Minister intended to destroy the Sword Sect, even the Sect Master himself might not believe it.

Although the original body was the third legitimate son of the Prime Minister, his reputation as a playboy proficient in every vice made it impossible for him to know such a secret at this point in time.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

He was done for.

At this moment, Ran Qingmo turned around completely, her eyes glowing with a faint blue light in the darkness as she walked toward Xu Yuan, drawing the blade in her hand:

"How do you know?"