Chapter 98 – Stop 23: The Oddity

Chapter 98 - Stop 23: The Oddity

Diao Qingchang glanced at the girl dressed as a maid beside him and then turned to Yan Qiling, whose gentle smile never left his face.

"Are you sure about this?" Diao inquired.

Yan Qiling didn't elaborate but simply said, "Since she wants to help, let her. It doesn't interfere with our plan, does it?"

Diao nodded and looked around, asking, "Have you found Lin Yongjian? I haven't seen him, but Yu Kui has returned and is with me... I was thinking, should we let Yu Kui stay? I'll go look for Lin Yongjian."

Yan Qiling looked at him and replied, "Whether Yu Kui stays or not is irrelevant, but I would prefer if you brought him along."

Diao Qingchang once again reached for the blue Udanavarga flower around his neck, a seemingly habitual gesture.

"Well, then."

The handsome young man tapped the slender youth's shoulder and said:

"Let's go."

They vanished swiftly into the night.

The man who had watched them merge into the pale moonlight gently waved his hand, and in an instant, a slender red thread vanished into his fingertips, completely disappearing from sight.

A rustling behind him caught his attention, and he turned to see Lin Yongjian, looking rather disheveled.

Lin Yongjian stood quietly in place, not displaying his usual puppy-like grin at the sight of Yan Qiling as he had in the past.

His resolute face bore faint abrasions, but he seemed unconcerned about them.

His expressionless countenance donned its customary mask of sophistication, and with his eyes not smiling, the pouches beneath his triangular eyes were nearly invisible, stripping away the facade of harmless amiability.

Yan Qiling remained unperturbed by the change in Lin Yongjian's demeanor. He didn't make any effort to approach him, instead casually remarking as they brushed shoulders:

"Follow."

Lin Yongjian paused momentarily, then silently fell in step behind him.

They moved through the night, but Yan Qiling didn't need to be as cautious as others; not once did they encounter anyone else on the path he had chosen.

The surroundings were so quiet that Lin Yongjian momentarily believed they were the only two people left in the world.

In this seemingly secretive atmosphere, he swallowed his dry throat and asked,

"Who are you?"

The man walking ahead let out a surprising chuckle.

With that perpetually cool and pleasant voice, he spoke with an intriguing tone he had never displayed before:

"Why does everyone enjoy asking such dull questions?"

The man turned around, revealing eyes that were now suffused with a full-bodied lake blue instead of their previous red and blue heterochromia.

The lake blue resembled overflowing pigment, completely occupying those once desireless eyes.

He walked backward yet knew every obstacle on the cobblestone path like the back of his hand.

The man wore an unusual, leisurely expression:

"Would you believe me if I said I'm Yan Qiling?"

Lin Yongjian observed the stark contrast in the man's demeanor and aura. After a brief silence, he replied,

"I do."

"You believe anything, huh?"

The man raised his slender eyebrows, a subtle disdain surfacing on his pale face:

"Indeed, the master's disguise is always so useful."

He made a "shh" gesture:

"Fool, go to sleep."

Only then did Lin Yongjian realize that he had, at some point, been enveloped by that soft red thread. It pierced his skin, causing no pain but an irresistible drowsiness.

The Sandman ensnared him in a dark prison, robbing him of all ability to resist.

-

When Ming Yiyang arrived at the study, Yan Qiling was seated on a high-backed chair, flipping through a red parchment.

The black silk shirt slipped down like a stream between the armrest's gaps, while the gentle breeze from opening the door swayed the lightweight hem.

There was a moment when Ming Yiyang thought he was still trapped in the illusory dream of Azure Incense Burning.

Fortunately, on the slightly raised little finger of the other party, there shone a silver ring identical to his own.

Yan Qiling sat amidst the soft glow of flickering candlelight.

He turned to the sound with a demeanor that was like a bewitchingly beautiful figure in an ancient painting suddenly coming alive, exuding an eerie yet alluring charm that made one both hesitant to approach and yet unable to resist the compelling urge to delve deeper, drawing ever closer.

Ming Yiyang was well aware of how disheveled he looked at this moment, and he also knew that the person in front of him had an uncontrollable obsession with cleanliness.

He didn't intend to approach; he merely sought respite.

Choosing a spot further away from the other person, he was about to sit down when Yan Qiling silently rose and moved behind him.

The man's enchanting eyes held an unfathomable darkness as his usually gentle voice unexpectedly carried a trace of undisguised chill:

"What happened? How did you get hurt like this?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see what Fish Dragon Hall was up to, so I provoked them a bit, and it ended up like this."

Ming Yiyang casually replied. Upon sitting down, he noticed the other person still staring intently at his injuries, so he instinctively covered his face:

"What's wrong? Haven't you seen someone injured before?"

Yan Qiling gazed straight at him for a while, then turned and walked away.

A sigh of relief escaped Ming Yiyang's heart, but he couldn't help feeling a hint of inexplicable disappointment.

Looking up again, he found that the person he thought had left had somehow produced bandages, cotton, medical tape, and a small bottle of medicinal powder.

"Thank you."

Ming Yiyang reached out to take it, but the man's hands intercepted his.

Yan Qiling, with a detached expression, told him,

"I'll do it."

Thus, Ming Yiyang didn't attempt to help and watched as Yan Qiling cut the gauze into small pieces before applying them to his face.

As he worked, the man softly said,

"The wound is so deep that I can almost see your teeth."

Startled, Ming Yiyang covered the area with the gauze.

Although it was supposed to be a powder dressing, the gauze felt cold like liquid against his skin – was it his own blood?

Contemplating this, he did feel more pain on the inside of his jaw. Was the wound from the iron arrow really that deep, still bleeding even now...?

That icy hand lingered near his wound, and Ming Yiyang felt that surreal dissonance with reality once more.

Yan Qiling handled the situation with great dexterity, meticulously and swiftly.

He tidied up the remaining medicine and put it back without engaging Ming Yiyang in unnecessary conversation. Instead, he said directly,

"It's time to head to the embroidery room. There might be some unexpected events tonight. I'll explain on the way."

Ming Yiyang nodded, touching the silver tail ring again as he got up, swallowing the words that threatened to spill from his heart.

They moved through the night, avoiding prying eyes and ears, silently approaching the courtyard where the embroidery room was situated.

Unlike before, each window of the embroidery room now had a guard stationed, forming an impenetrable barrier.

Scaling the roof was out of the question this time.

But it mattered little; they could climb trees.

Sitting on a tree alongside Yan Qiling, Ming Yiyang felt a sense of disbelief:

"Are you over your obsession with cleanliness?"

"I don't have an obsession," Yan Qiling replied calmly. "I just prefer tidy things."

"Would you still like me with all this blood on me?"

The words slipped out of Ming Yiyang's mouth before he could stop them. His heart paused for a moment, and then he heard the person beside him say,

"As friends, it doesn't matter for now."

His heartbeat sank, then fell silently into a deep void.

A subtle smile played on the handsome face, and the young man's husky voice was as light as the rustling of leaves:

"What kind of friends kiss?"

Yan Qiling acted as if he hadn't heard, gazing at the moon above through the foliage.

Tonight's moon seemed particularly blue, like a perfectly bloomed rose.

It was closer than ever before, as if it were an omen of something ominous.

He asked,

"Can you see anything?"

Ming Yiyang's eyes glowed with a laser-like radiance, his irises shimmering with a subtle purple hue that exuded an alluring mystique, an unconscious charm.

Yan Qiling realized for the first time that he found great pleasure in gazing into this man's eyes.

The young man had slender eyes, with prominent and angular brows that cast a perfect frame for the overall shape of his eyes. The inner corners were slightly narrow, while the curve was smooth, and the outer corners slightly sharp. His irides sparkled like gemstones, yet held a mesmerizing enigma that defied a direct gaze into his soul.

Even in the purest and most sincere moments of this person, those eyes still exuded a chilling frostiness tinged with ice.

It seemed to be an innate wariness, almost impossible to eradicate from his very core.

Ming Yiyang was not someone one could easily get close to or become intimate with.

Yet he was an oven with exceptional control over its temperature.

Caution served as a perfect control knob for Yan Qiling; whenever he wished, he could manipulate this person's emotions and adjust their warmth through that lever.

Until it suited him.

Yan Qiling had always kept his distance from those whose every glance and smile brimmed with ardor and affection, like Lin Yongjian, for instance.

He was aware that his own temperature, both physically and emotionally, was too low.

If the other person burned with excessive passion, his thoughts would be disrupted by their intensity.

And if they were overly cold, they would merely be two blocks of black ice leaning against each other – no more than touching one's own hand.

But Ming Yiyang was different.

A paradoxical blend of warmth and coolness, yet strikingly balanced.

His body radiated heat, his temperature soaring.

Yet, he always wore an indifferent facade, even in the most emotionally stirring moments, carrying an unconscious detachment.

He seemed to be both in control and beyond the bounds of convention.

If he encountered such an intruder in his own domain... Yan Qiling mused, he would be greatly intrigued to ensnare this person within his grasp.

In truth, Ming Yiyang was indeed far more intriguing than an ordinary individual.

Unaware of the thoughts of the person beside him, the young man gazed at the sky for a while before retracting his supernatural ability:

"It's too distant. If we want a closer look, we'll need to ascend to a higher place."

"Mm."

Yan Qiling withdrew his gaze and responded nonchalantly:

"Let's find another opportunity later. Do you have any ideas about the exit?"

Ming Yiyang looked at his blood-stained palms and said:

"I have a strong suspicion that it's within the Wen family. Oh, right, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Can an Exquisite-level Voidscape Master conceal the exit using illusionary techniques?"

Yan Qiling didn't answer immediately. After a moment of thought, he said,

"It's not possible."

"Then why can't we find it?"

"Because it's not nearby."

Yan Qiling remained calm and composed as he spoke with composure,

"The exit is something even a Celestial-level Voidscape Master cannot hide, let alone with illusionary techniques. However, an Exquisite-level Master already has the ability to place the exit in some very cunning locations."

"I once encountered a Half-Exquisite-level Voidscape Master whose world was filled with boundless sand, but devoid of any ghosts."

"In the Sandworld, conditions are even harsher than in ordinary deserts, and the exit is placed at the edge of the desert. Most outsiders in that world perish from thirst, sandstorms, quicksand, or venomous creatures native to the desert."

It was the first time Ming Yiyang had heard such a thing.

"A Half-Arcane Level Wujie Master?"

"A Wujie Master with one foot in the Arcane realm," Yan Qiling explained. "To advance from the Human level to the Arcane, one must endure a certain amount of trials. Before fully overcoming these trials, we call them Half-Arcane."

Ming Yiyang: I don't quite understand what these Wujie Masters study every day.

He brushed the sweat-soaked side of his hair with his fingers and asked,

"This setup is quite innovative. So, apart from you, how did the others survive?"

Yan Qiling replied,

"Wujie Masters cannot create dead ends within the area where the Imprisonment Train resides. If they did, their world wouldn't have an 'entrance'."

Ming Yiyang was somewhat surprised; this was new knowledge for him.

"That means no soul can enter their realm, right?"

"Yes, eventually, They will wither away as Their power fails to sustain the consumption of Their own existence. This is a unique manner of death for the Rulers of the Endless."

The person spoke with such icy composure that Ming Yiyang was taken aback.

"Don't you need to sustain your own consumption, or does your world also have souls entering it?"

Yan Qiling gazed at him and smiled gently.

"Are you curious?"