Chapter 121 - Blue Wind Profound Palace
The reason as to why the same moves were able to succeed with Xia Qingyue, was because Yun Che had worked for consecutive days to open her Profound Entrances that time, exhausting his stamina in the middle of the night till he was extremely feeble. After all, they were legitimately a couple in name. No matter how cruel and pure as jade Xia Qingyue was, she could not bear to have Yun Che to continue sleeping on the ground… And Yun Che was also there clamoring to rather die than to let a woman sleep on the ground, which then resulted in him sharing the bed and pillow with Xia Qingyue… Although nothing happened at all.
However for Lan Xueruo, it was evident the same moves succeeded much easier.
After all, Lan Xueruo was older than Yun Che by two years in age, and she had always subconsciously treated Yun Che as if she were looking after a younger brother. Furthermore, with Lan Xueruo’s soft and gentle character which was completely different from Xia Qingyue’s coldness, how could she bear to have Yun Che, who had completely disregarded his own safety to save her multiple times, sleep on the ice-cold floor…
Thus, the logical result.
Lan Xueruo slept on the inside, Yun Che slept on the outside, and they were divided in the middle by a long blanket which had been rolled up by Lan Xueruo.
“Your body must not go past this blanket, or else… or else…” Lan Xueruo had a serious face, but her cautioning face did not makedeter Yun Che feel any deterence at all. On the contrary, it was a delightful sight for him to see.
“Does Senior Sister still not believe me?” Yun Che chuckled and laid down flat. He softly mumbled to himself: “However… if Senior Sister secretly come to my side… what should I do? Should I run away, or should I pretend to know nothing of it…”
Lan Xueruo was exasperated for a moment. Acting as if she hadn’t heard him, she laid on her side, facing inwards.
The lights were extinguished, and the room became pitch-black. Within the silence, even though Lan Xueruo had her eyes closed, she could not fall asleep for a long time. Her heartbeat was speeding up uncontrollably, almost to the extent that she could almost hear the sound of her own heartbeats.
Thinking back to meeting and acquainting with Yun Che, she couldn’t deny that she had always been attracted and moved by him during this entire time. And tonight she was actually sleeping on the same bed as him… Sleeping on the same bed. She discovered that within her heart there was only unease and tension, yet not a trace of fear or rejection. This made her feel a vague sense of danger, yet she was unable to resist or clear up that feeling.
She was actually sleeping with a man on the same bed… This was what she voluntarily proposed, yet it was precisely because of that, did it make her feel how unbelievable this situation was. Because for her, this was a scene that she simply could never have imagined. She started to imagine; if it was the same scene, yet Yun Che had been replaced by someone else, would she also do the same out of soft-heartedness and compa.s.sion…
She thought for a long time as she switched through many people. The conclusion she always arrived at was… She definitely would not!
Could it be that I’m trusting him too much… Probably. After all, he didn’t even hesitate to use his own life to protect me, and he was so generous and brave; certainly, he wouldn’t do anything to offend me in this situation, right…
As Lan Xueruo’s thoughts were in turmoil, she heard the sound of Yun Che’s even breathing from beside her ears. It appeared he had already fallen sound asleep.
Lan Xueruo’s anxiety immediately died down. But inexplicably, there was also a trace of an indescribable feeling of emptiness. Her heart had almost completely calmed down and a wave of fatigue washed over her. Not long after, she was immersed in her dreams.
That night, Lan Xueruo had initially expected to experience difficulty falling asleep throughout the entire night. However, she didn’t think that she would fall asleep so quickly, and even be able to sleep so peacefully. Within her dreams, she had a vague feeling of herself gradually immersing into a warm embrace. This kind of warmth made her heart become very peaceful, very calm; it made her desire to come close to it, to embrace this feeling of warmth. Only until she firmly embraced this warmth, was she finally satisfied and sunk deeper into her dreams. She did not wake throughout the night like she did before, nor did she have any more nightmares.
The next day.
When Lan Xueruo woke up, the rays of light that met her eyes were already quite intense. When her vision went from hazy to clear, her gaze subconsciously gazed upwards, and saw Yun Che’s eyes that seemed to be laughing at first glance.
“Senior Sister, morning.”
Lan Xueruo subconsciously prepared to reply, but when she opened her lips, what actually came out was an alarmed shriek.
Her two arms were currently firmly hugging onto his upper body, and even her supple b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed up against his chest. Her long and slender left leg coiled around his waist, as her entire body was pressed up against him without any sign of gaps.
Lan Xueruo’s entire being, as if electrocuted, sprung away from Yun Che’s body. In a panic, she arranged her slightly disordered hair and clothes. Her heart beated like a shocked deer, and her face flushed red like the sunset.
“Senior Sister, you didn"t seem to have any sense of security when you slept. Is there something you are afraid of?” Yun Che asked while looking at her in the eyes.
“I… d… don’t…” Lan Xueruo replied somewhat unprepared and fl.u.s.tered… She vaguely remembered that inexplicable warmth in her dreams which brought her a sense of peace; she had now also completely understood, that this kind of warm feeling had come from Yun Che. Yet, her subconscious desired for this kind of feeling, and voluntarily led her to continuously move closer and embrace him.
Yun Che had woken up a long time ago, but kept quiet and held his original position until Lan Xueruo woke up. Lan Xueruo embracing him on her own accord didn’t make him feel enticed, but instead made him feel a faint kind of pity and heartache. It was because such a sleeping position, proved that under her gentle and warm appearance, there actually hid innumerable worries and even fears; only, he didn’t know what she was worried and afraid of.
Yun Che sat up, then suddenly extended his hands and held Lan Xueruo’s right hand that was as tender as snow in his grasp. Sincerely, he said: “Senior Sister, even though I do not know your ident.i.ty, nor know your family background, and even more so don’t know what you have been through… But as I’ve said before; as long as I am by Senior Sister’s side, I will use all my strength to protect Senior Sister, and will never again allow Senior Sister to receive any harm.”
With her hand suddenly held by a man in such a dubious way, while his tender words also traveled to her ear, the Lan Xueruo who had never gone through these experiences was suddenly struck dumb as her mind completely blanked out. Only after letting her hand be held for a long time, did she finally act as if she had just woke up from the dream world; she hurriedly pulled her hand away from his grasp and with a panicked appearance, jumped off the bed.
“You… You already have a wife…”
Leaving behind a line that even she herself didn’t know where it had come from, Lan Xueruo swiftly ran off. That beautiful figure clearly contained a feeling of hastily fleeing.
After Lan Xueruo ran away, Yun Che shook his head and smiled. He then placed his hand on his chin, and spoke to himself: “It seems like I was mistaken. Her actions definitely showed that she isn’t deeply in love with me, but only have a kind of favorable impression that even she herself doesn’t fully understand. But why would she treat me like that earlier… To the extent of not hesitating to take the enormous risk of going to Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect, to save me by herself?”
Under the atmosphere that suddenly became awkward and dubious, the two continued on their journey to the Blue Wind Empire. But when night fell, just as they were looking for an inn to stay for the second time, this inn also only had a single room left. And just like the first one, this inn also stated that they were the only inn in the surrounding hundred kilometers. If they choose to stay, then they stay. If they don’t, then only the option was to sleep on the streets.
Yun Che and Lan Xueruo could only “extremely helplessly” stay in a single room once again.
And when there’s already the first time, the second time would be much more natural. The two again slept on the same bed, the middle still was divided by a rolled up blanket…
Yet on the morning of the second day, Lan Xueruo saw almost the exact same situation as the day before. The blanket was thrown to who knows where; her entire body hugged onto Yun Che like an octopus, and held on extremely firmly...
The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day…
The inns they arrived at every time, as if they had discussed with each other, no more and no less, always had exactly a single room left and absolutely no extras. Sometimes there was only a single inn, other times there were many inns, but every single one of them only had one room left… This made Lan Xueruo have a very bizarre feeling. With the second and the third time, the fourth time and the fifth time was even more natural. And during these days, every time Lan Xueruo woke up, the view that she she saw would always be herself tightly embracing Yun Che. Even when she constantly reminded herself before she fell asleep, it was still the same when she woke up. And furthermore, she was faintly embracing him tighter and tighter with each pa.s.sing day.
After experiencing these few days of sharing a bed, even last sliver of her subconscious rejection toward such a degree of physical contact with Yun Che, quietly disappeared.
And on the sixth day when they found an inn, Yun Che directly slammed the counter with his hand, and openly said: “Innkeeper, give me one room.”
Lan Xueruo only opened her lips, then lowered her head, not saying any words of rejection.
If Lan Xueruo was accompanying another man on a journey, not to mention sharing a bed, it was impossible to even let her fingers be touched by the other person. But when encountering a veteran like Yun Che with two lives of experiences and a juvenile appearance, let alone eighteen years old, even if she was twenty eight years old, she would still fall quietly like this… Even without being aware of it herself in the slightest.
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Blue Wind Imperial City, or Blue Wind Empire’s capital, was located in the Blue Wind Empire’s central-northern regions, and was also Blue Wind Empire’s biggest city; its area was more than thirty times the size of New Moon City. In the dead center of the imperial city, laid the pinnacle of authority in Blue Wind Empire —— The Imperial Palace.
Forty miles straight north from the location of the Imperial Palace laid the Blue Wind Empire’s greatest Profound Palace —— The Blue Wind Profound Palace.
The Blue Wind Profound Palace’s history spanned for thousands of years. Established by the Blue Wind Imperial Family, it was the location used by the royal family to cultivate advanced profound pract.i.tioners. Furthermore, it was the sacred location that countless Blue Wind Empire’s young pract.i.tioners dreamt to seek. The Blue Wind Profound Palace’s interior was divided into three levels: Outer Palace, Middle Palace, and Inner Palace. If one was able to enter the Middle Palace, and was willing to serve the Imperial Family, one would definitely be greatly valued by the Imperial Family. If one was to enter the military, the starting point would be the first rank commander of a thousand men. But for a pract.i.tioner that could enter the Inner Palace, he would receive the Imperial Family’s greatest attention, would receive extremely excellent resources in addition to the best conditions during his stay in Blue Wind Profound Palace. Any growth of theirs within the Blue Wind Profound Palace would receive the Imperial Family’s utmost attention. Before leaving the Blue Wind Profound Palace, one would receive an invitation to join the imperial family from the Imperial Family’s initiative. Once one joins the Imperial Family, getting an high position was only secondary; the most important part was that their entire family would be bathed in wealth and glory because of this. Even the chickens and dogs would become royalty.
As a result, to be able to enter Blue Wind Profound Palace’s Inner Palace was the dream of who knows how many young profound pract.i.tioners… It could be even said to be the most extravagant of hopes.
However, Blue Wind Profound Palace was after all, Blue Wind Empire’s greatest Profound Palace. Not to mention the Inner Palace, even the conditions to enter the Outer Palace which had the lowest of standards were also extremely daunting. It was enough to eliminate ninety percent of pract.i.tioners who hoped to enter the Blue Wind Profound Palace. They could only retreat for their second choice, entering the Profound Palaces established by the Imperial Family in the smaller cities.