A Shared Legacy and a Playful Tease

The following day, Qin Yan abruptly opened his eyes, having unexpectedly fallen into a deep slumber in the latter half of the night, perhaps due to the previous day’s excessive expenditure of spiritual energy.

“You’re awake?”

A young girl’s clear, crisp voice drifted into Qin Yan’s ears.

Gazing at Fangyuan, who was practically leaning in close, Qin Yan could discern the fine downy hairs on the girl’s face with startling clarity.

While Fangyuan appeared to be of a similar age to him, she was, in fact, a cultivator reborn after an unknown number of centuries.

Considering Fangyuan’s profound honesty with him the day before, Qin Yan felt a pang of self-reproach, realizing he had been somewhat preoccupied with superficial appearances.

Meanwhile, Fangyuan observed Qin Yan, who still seemed somewhat groggy.

The face she had once only dared to gaze upon from afar was now intimately close.

Her slender, well-defined fingers involuntarily reached out to caress Qin Yan’s cheek.

This unexpected gesture sent a shiver down Qin Yan’s spine, raising goosebumps on his skin.

“What are you doing?”

Qin Yan gently removed the girl’s hand, then rose to his feet, looking down at Fangyuan before him.

He stood remarkably tall, surpassing the average height of men in this world.

Fangyuan, being roughly half a head shorter than him, had to tilt her head back slightly when their eyes met.

“Hmph!” Fangyuan glared at Qin Yan’s large hand still gripping her arm. “After all I told you yesterday, Qin Yan, is this how you treat me?”

This gesture, to some extent, wounded her pride as a woman.

How could a woman possibly be shorter than a man?

Yet, Qin Yan’s slender and towering physique was likely considered an impressive ‘big carriage’ in the eyes of most women.

“You startled me.”

Qin Yan released the girl’s hand, responding with a serious tone.

A soft chuckle escaped Fangyuan’s lips.

Fangyuan laughed, then spoke: “I’m not some man-eating beast, you know.

But it’s good that you possess such a keen sense of vigilance, Qin Yan.

After all, your handsome appearance is truly quite captivating.”

“Who’s to say you weren’t trying to take advantage of me, getting so close?”

“I was taking advantage of you.

I’ve been taking advantage of you ever since you fell asleep, watching your sleeping face, listening to your breathing.

A rising prodigy of the Northern Lands, a favored son of heaven, asleep right before me, Fangyuan.

Forget anyone else, if your senior sister knew, who knows how furious she would be.”

Fangyuan remarked leisurely, a smile playing on her lips.

Her words seemed intended to provoke Qin Yan; if he were truly a native man of this world, he might well have become anxious, overthinking things, and growing annoyed.

However, observing Qin Yan’s indifferent expression, Fangyuan realized he genuinely paid no mind to her words.

“How boring.”

She reverted to her usual cool demeanor, then, without a word, took Qin Yan’s hand.

“Come with me.

I’ve discovered something peculiar deep within this cave.

It’s possible we’ve stumbled upon a cultivator’s legacy.”

“How could it be so easy to find a cultivator’s legacy?”

Qin Yan replied, observing himself being led forward by the young girl without attempting to break free.

“Who knows?”

Fangyuan simply answered.

During the time Qin Yan had been asleep, she had been exploring the cave.

Following its winding path, she had come upon a stone wall in the latter section, only to discover it was hollow within.

Soon, Fangyuan led Qin Yan to this very stone wall.

“Thump-thump—”

Fangyuan summoned a Gu worm, which struck the stone wall, producing that very sound.

It was clear there was another space beyond the wall.

“Qin Yan, step back—”

She declared, then summoned a Gu worm: the Blood Leech Gu from before.

Having absorbed the blood of the half-step Golden Core bird demon, it had grown even more mystifying, now large enough to cover half of the girl’s body.

“Bang—”

With a short run-up, the girl then directly crashed through the stone wall before them.

A long, narrow passage appeared before their eyes.

Fangyuan, not retracting her Gu worm, declared, “See, Qin Yan?

I’ve also benefited from your luck.

You truly live up to your reputation as the renowned Fairy Qin Yan of the Northern Lands.”

“I don’t like being called ‘Fairy‘,” Qin Yan grumbled, then looked at the passage before them. “Shall we go in?”

“Qin Yan, do you have a Gu worm that conceals your aura?”

Fangyuan asked abruptly.

“A Gu worm?” Qin Yan frowned, wondering where he would get such a thing.

Yet, concealing one’s aura…

He pulled out his ‘Void’, asking, “Is this it?”

“Yes, that’s it!”

Fangyuan nodded, then gazed at Qin Yan.

It seemed yesterday’s candid confessions had significantly eased their relationship, elevating it, at the very least, to the level of friendship.

After all, ordinary people wouldn’t know about artifacts like that.

However, something as monumental as rebirth was even more strictly guarded, not to be revealed to others.

Indeed, Fangyuan had not misjudged Qin Yan; he understood the principle of ‘returning a favor for a peach’.

“This is called a Void Gu, a third-rank Gu worm.

My cicada sensed it before, which is how I discovered your location,” Fangyuan explained.

“Unfortunately, it’s already dead.

Most likely, a cultivator unfamiliar with Gu worms captured it and forcibly refined it into an artifact.”

As she spoke, a hint of regret flickered across Fangyuan’s face.

“Can you revive it?” Qin Yan asked curiously, knowing the girl before him was a master of Gu worms.

He merely posed the question as a test.

Fangyuan shook her head. “Gu worms are like people; once they die, they are gone.

No one can do anything, unless they pay an enormous price.

But who would pay such a hefty price just to save a small, third-rank Gu worm?”

Qin Yan noticed Fangyuan’s gaze lingering on the dead Gu worm in his hand.

“Do you want it, Fangyuan?”

“Are you going to give it to me?”

Hearing this, Fangyuan looked at Qin Yan with intrigued eyes.

“No.”

Qin Yan retracted the artifact into his hand, clearly amused by his playful jab.

Fangyuan showed no annoyance. “It’s just a dead Gu worm.

If you truly wanted one, Qin Yan, I could find you a much better one.

But for now, use it to conceal our auras so we can enter this passage.”

The girl’s reaction, however, greatly surprised Qin Yan.

He hadn’t made the playful remark merely for amusement, but rather to observe Fangyuan’s response.

There was no sign of embarrassment or anger; instead, a hint of amusement danced in her eyes.

Perhaps he didn’t realize how adorable this scene appeared in Fangyuan’s eyes.

The aloof and haughty ‘Fairy’ of her previous life now seemed like a charmingly ‘small man’ before her.

“Alright!”

Since Fangyuan remained so composed, Qin Yan ceased his probing.

Fangyuan took his hand, and enveloped in a flash of white light, they entered the ‘Void Gate’, their auras now completely hidden.

The passage was rather narrow, and Qin Yan’s stature was considered tall.

Although Fangyuan possessed a petite, girlish figure, their combined presence made navigating the confined space somewhat awkward.

A scent reminiscent of fresh green bamboo wafted from the girl’s body, utterly captivating and soul-stirring.

Qin Yan was a perfectly normal man, indeed, quite normal.

With their hands intertwined and their bodies pressed closely together, it was inevitable he would feel the subtle warmth emanating from the girl’s delicate form.

And Fangyuan, how could she be any different?

“Perhaps we should try a different position.”

Fangyuan spoke at this time.