Chapter 30

“Did I ever say it was a person’s name?” The man’s low, husky voice carried a bewitching undertone.

Lou Yue’s breathing grew ragged.

Xiao Rangchen was bluffing her. He still wasn’t certain.

She had changed her appearance—and even her gender. There was no way he could recognize her. As long as she refused to admit anything, at most, he could only harbor suspicions.

She did her best to keep her voice calm. “It sounds like a person’s name.”

Xiao Rangchen did not respond. He took another step toward her, bending slightly at the waist.

Lou Yue tried to retreat, but her right leg refused to obey. She failed to put any distance between them.

Xiao Rangchen paused for a moment above her shoulder before stepping back two paces, a withered leaf pinched between his fingers, as though he had merely plucked it from her clothes.

But how was that possible?

Long Aotian helping someone remove a leaf stuck to them... No matter how she looked at it, that was bizarre.

Lou Yue was full of confusion. Was he no longer going to pursue the matter of her identity? Had he really picked off a leaf and called it a day? What was going on?

Xiao Rangchen closed his hand around the withered leaf and turned away, walking two steps to the side.

From the angle Lou Yue could not see, the deep, tranquil pools of his eyes suddenly surged with raging waves.

His long lashes lowered, concealing the emotions roiling beneath them.

Wait. What does this mean? She’s that boy? Yu Youchun’s voice echoed through his consciousness in astonishment. Could you have mistaken her?

It’s her.

A person could change their appearance, voice, and figure, but it was difficult to change their temperament and habits. Their instinctive reactions would expose their true nature.

He had only put on the mask two years ago, after entering the Wasteland. The very first time she saw him after arriving there, she had followed him. That meant she was familiar with him.

Her long hair and the entirely black magical weapon she carried were both identical to Lou Yue’s.

The confidence and flamboyance she revealed unconsciously, her carefree way of doing things, the way she refused to suffer even the slightest loss, and the tone she used whenever she lost her temper—all of them were exactly like the Lou Yue in his memories.

Yet that alone was not enough to prove she was Lou Yue. That was why, earlier, he had only felt a momentary suspicion.

But just now, she had called him by name. When he uttered the two words “Lou Yue,” her first reaction had been shock. If she were not the person herself, why would she lose color at the sound of two unfamiliar words?

And when he moved closer to her, he had been making his final confirmation.

Sure enough.

He had caught it—that sweet, warm floral scent that belonged exclusively to Lou Yue.

It was incredibly faint, but to someone who had become addicted to it, who craved it even in his dreams, a single wisp was enough to awaken every instinct in his body.

The way every hair on his body abruptly rose. The boiling surge of blood racing through his meridians.

The wild intuition of a beast that had searched and searched, only to finally find the unique scent of its prey.

She was Lou Yue.

Because only she could have done it.

When Yu Youchun heard the certainty in his voice, he asked in puzzlement, Then why don’t you expose her?

Xiao Rangchen slowly crushed the withered leaf between his fingers, feeling it crumble in his palm and cling to his fingertips. She once said that we were not on the same path. Now that we are, if I expose her, she will leave immediately.

Yu Youchun fell silent for a while before suddenly saying, Though I never noticed she had a penchant for disguising herself as a woman...

...She probably doesn’t want anyone to recognize her.

...If she doesn’t want anyone to recognize her, she disguises herself as a woman?

...

Yu Youchun reached a conclusion. So it’s still a hobby.

Xiao Rangchen stood in silence, unable to find any way to refute his master.

With his back to Lou Yue, Xiao Rangchen remained still. Lou Yue, meanwhile, stared at his back, her eyes filled with confusion.

Had Xiao Rangchen recognized her or not?

If he had recognized her, he should have exposed her. He would not be standing there silently like this. Even with his cold personality, he should at least have been shocked to discover that she was a woman.

Then he was still only suspicious. He had not recognized her?

As she pondered, Xiao Rangchen turned around. Lou Yue hurriedly shifted her gaze, letting it fall casually to one side.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him release the withered leaf he had crushed to pieces in his palm. It fell to the ground. Then he walked toward her.

“Let’s go. We’ll look for a path leading to the core area.” His voice was calm, without the slightest trace of anything unusual.

He didn’t recognize me... right? Lou Yue thought again.

Xiao Rangchen stopped two meters away and looked at her, as if waiting for a response.

Wasn’t ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍he cold and intimidating before? Why did he seem less unapproachable now? Had he recognized her? But if he had, wouldn’t he be even more distant? No, that didn’t seem right either. Given their relationship, he should be keeping her at arm’s length. So had he recognized her or not?

Lou Yue felt as though her head were about to explode. Yet Xiao Rangchen’s expression remained utterly composed, making him impossible to read.

“Not coming?” he asked again, his tone neither cold nor warm.

Lou Yue licked her lips. “You go ahead. I want to stay here and enjoy the scenery for a while.”

Xiao Rangchen glanced around them. “The scenery?”

Lou Yue paused and looked around as well.

Everywhere she looked were the enormous skeletons of ancient beasts. Even the ground beneath her feet was covered in a pile of withered leaves embedded with unknown fangs, teeth, and claws. It was plainly a burial ground of bones.

“...Actually, it’s not so bad,” she said stiffly.

Xiao Rangchen’s gaze lingered on her for a moment. Then he suddenly walked over and crouched down in front of her.

Lou Yue wanted to retreat, but her body refused to obey.

When she had fallen through the spatial rift, her leg had slammed into something hard. Her mind had been filled with anger, so she had not paid any attention to it when she got back on her feet. Now, however, she could not move it at all.

Xiao Rangchen raised a hand and touched her trembling right leg. At last, his five fingers closed lightly around her knee.

A sharp, piercing pain exploded through her. Lou Yue’s entire body jolted. As she tilted to the side, her right hand instinctively braced against his shoulder.

She did not want to touch him. But the dull ache she had ignored before had become so excruciating after his squeeze that she felt as though she might as well chop off her entire leg. At this point, whether she wanted to touch him was no longer relevant.

“Your bone is cracked.” He looked up at her, his voice deepening. “Where else does it hurt?”

Lou Yue’s arms were trembling, and cold sweat covered her back. He was asking where she hurt? Please. After he squeezed it, her entire leg hurt so badly she wanted to hack it off.

She bit her lip and swallowed the cry of pain that had reached the tip of her tongue, refusing to say a word.

Xiao Rangchen looked up at her stubborn, unyielding expression. His brows drew together as he rose and lifted her horizontally into his arms.

Lou Yue was startled. She raised a hand to push against his chest. “What are you doing?”

Xiao Rangchen set her down on a relatively flat section of an enormous beast’s skeleton. Then he knelt on one knee in front of her and gently raised her right foot, resting it across his leg.

“No, I can do it myself!” Lou Yue said hurriedly. Planting both hands against the skeleton, she tried to move backward.

Xiao Rangchen paused. He did not argue with her, merely looking at her in silence. His eyes seemed to say, Go on, then.

Lou Yue pressed her lips tightly together and bent down to reach for her leg. She managed to bend only halfway before she could go no farther. Cold sweat beaded on the tip of her nose, and her arms were nearly unable to support her body.

Xiao Rangchen stopped indulging her. He reached out and removed her right shoe and sock.

Her pale, lustrous foot was revealed, her toes curled slightly. The delicate sheen of her skin was almost dazzling.

Xiao Rangchen froze, his movements slowing for half a beat. Lou Yue felt a strange discomfort in her heart and let her gaze drift aimlessly to the crown of his head.

Xiao Rangchen steadied himself and pulled up her pant leg, deliberately avoiding any unnecessary contact. He stopped only after her knee was exposed.

Her leg was as pale as moonlight, but a large, glaring bruise stained its front. Dark blue and black marks spread upward, gathering into an even deeper, more ominous swelling over her knee.

Spiritual power gathered in his palm and, without touching her, covered the shocking bruise.

Threads of coolness gradually suppressed the fiery pain raging through Lou Yue’s leg.

The ugly purple-black bruising slowly faded before her eyes, returning to its original pearly whiteness.

Xiao Rangchen’s gaze lingered there for a moment before moving up to her knee. As before, he infused it with spiritual energy.

The swelling and bruising gradually faded, but all he could do was ease her pain. He could not mend the fracture. She would need someone skilled in alchemical healing—or wait for it to heal on its own.

Lou Yue watched as he calmly lowered her pant leg back into place, then picked up her shoes and socks to put them on for her. Her fingers curled slightly as she spoke.

“Don’t you know that men and women should keep their distance?”

Xiao Rangchen raised his head, the gaze behind his mask settling on her slightly arched brows.

“You take care of every woman you’ve just met like this?” Lou Yue pressed, trying to find a flaw in his composure.

He gave a quiet “Mm.” Then, his low voice carrying a magnetic quality, he turned the question back on her. “Does it bother you?”

What did he mean, does it bother her? She was the one being taken care of—what was there for her to care about?

Lou Yue had only wanted to test whether he had recognized her. Skirting around the question, she stared at him and asked again, “Is ‘Lou Yue’ actually a person’s name?”

Xiao Rangchen lowered his head and slipped a sock onto her foot. “Mm.”

“What is she to you?”

He looked up, seeing the probing in Lou Yue’s eyes. After a brief silence, he clearly enunciated, “The woman I love.”

Liar. Lou Yue sneered inwardly.

But outwardly, she still feigned surprise and continued probing. “Oh? Then why aren’t you together? Doesn’t she like you?”

He paused for a long while, as though deliberating. Then he answered in a tone that was difficult to read, “We’re in love with each other.”

“...”

Who was in love with him?! What a lying scumbag!

Lou Yue instantly lost all interest in sparring with him and decided to end this round of probing.

Unexpectedly, he gazed at her with quiet intensity. “You’re not going to wish us well?”

“...”

Lou Yue ground her back teeth together and forced a fake smile. “I thought you were cold by nature. I didn’t expect you to be so quick to warm up to strangers.”

“Does it bother you?” His tone dipped, carrying a hint of teasing seduction.

The question had come full circle again. Lou Yue turned her eyes away and replied perfunctorily, “Of course not.”

He said nothing more, merely lowering his head to put her shoes back on.

When he had finished, he gently set her foot down and stood.

“Still want to look at the scenery?”

Lou Yue: “...”

He was mocking her!

She was just about to fire back when movement came from inside her storage ring. She lifted a finger, and a communication butterfly flew out. Liufeng Xin’s voice came through in broken fragments:

“Zzz— you— safe— what— happened— ah—”

Lou Yue frowned. “I’m fine. There’s interference. I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

“Zzz— hear— zzz—”

“Don’t go into the inner zone again while I’m away. I’m worried about you.”

“Zzz— go in— zzz—”

Lou Yue’s voice tightened. “You are not allowed to go back in. You haven’t even reached the Nascent Soul stage. Wait there for me to come get you.”

“Zzz—I want to— together— promise—”

Lou Yue replied helplessly, her voice softening. “Be good and listen to me. Don’t make a fuss.”

“Zzz— zzz—fine.”

The static stabbed painfully at Lou Yue’s eardrums. She cut off the transmission, then raised her hand and wrote in the air:

Stay put at Suoyun Road. Don’t run off on your own. Wait for me.

She sent the message into the communication butterfly. Only after confirming that it had been delivered did she return it to her storage ring.

When she looked up again, she met a pair of dark, fathomless eyes.

Within them, shadows seemed to churn, as though capable of devouring everything, slowly and thread by thread spilling outward.