Chapter 122: Cangfeng Xuan Residence

The same tactic had worked with Xia Qingyue back then because Yun Che had been assisting her with profound energy for several consecutive days, leaving him utterly exhausted and weak in the middle of the night. Moreover, their genuine status as husband and wife meant that even if Xia Qingyue was resolute and chaste, she wouldn't bear to let Yun Che sleep on the floor again. Yun Che, for his part, had vehemently insisted he would rather die than let a woman sleep on the floor while he took the bed. This is how they ended up sharing a bed, though nothing happened.

However, using the same tactic on Lan Xueruo was evidently far simpler.

Lan Xueruo was, after all, two years older than Yun Che, and subconsciously, she had always harbored a desire to care for him like a younger brother. Furthermore, unlike Xia Qingyue's cold demeanor, Lan Xueruo possessed a soft and gentle nature. How could she possibly bear to let Yun Che, who had selflessly risked his life to save her on multiple occasions, sleep on the cold floor?

Thus, the outcome was inevitable.

Lan Xueruo slept on the inner side, Yun Che on the outer, separated by a long blanket that Lan Xueruo had rolled up.

"Your body isn't allowed to cross this blanket, otherwise… otherwise..." Lan Xueruo declared with a serious expression. However, her warning gaze conveyed no sense of deterrence to Yun Che; instead, he found it quite pleasing to behold.

"Doesn't Senior Sister trust me?" Yun Che said with a grin, then lay flat, muttering to himself, "But... what if Senior Sister secretly comes over to my side...? Should I run away, or pretend I don't know anything...?"

Lan Xueruo was momentarily flustered, but pretended not to hear, turning to lie on her side facing the inside of the bed.

The lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. In the silence, Lan Xueruo, though her eyes were closed, found herself unable to sleep for a long time. Her heart pounded uncontrollably, so loudly she could almost hear it.

Recalling her encounters and time spent with Yun Che, she couldn't deny that she had always been drawn to and moved by him. And tonight, to actually be sleeping in the same bed with him... sharing a bed, she realized that her heart was filled only with apprehension and nervousness, without a hint of fear or repulsion. This gave her a vague sense of danger, yet she found herself unable to resist or dispel it.

That she was sleeping in the same bed as a man—and that she had been the one to suggest it—made the situation feel incredibly unbelievable to her, a scenario she had never even conceived of. She began to wonder: in the same situation, if Yun Che were replaced by someone else, would she still act out of compassion and concern?

She pondered for a while, imagining many different individuals, and the answer she invariably arrived at was: absolutely not!

Was she trusting him too much? It must be so. After all, he had even risked his own life to protect her, and he was so forthright and courageous. Surely, he wouldn't do anything disrespectful in this situation...

As Lan Xueruo's thoughts churned, Yun Che's steady breathing reached her ears, indicating he had fallen peacefully asleep.

The tension in Lan Xueruo's heart immediately eased, though a faint, inexplicable sense of emptiness lingered. With her mind mostly calm, a wave of weariness swept over her, and before long, she drifted into slumber.

Lan Xueruo had expected a sleepless night, but to her surprise, she fell asleep quickly and slept soundly. In her dream, she vaguely felt herself sinking into a warm embrace. This warmth brought a great sense of stability and peace to her heart, making her yearn to draw closer and embrace it. Only after holding that warmth tightly did she contentedly fall into a deeper sleep, not waking once throughout the night and experiencing no nightmares.

The following day.

When Lan Xueruo awoke, the light reaching her eyes was already quite strong. As her vision sharpened from its hazy state, her gaze instinctively drifted upward, and she immediately saw Yun Che's eyes, which held a faint, knowing smile.

"Good morning, Senior Sister."

Lan Xueruo instinctively prepared to reply, but as her lips parted, what escaped was a startled cry.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around his upper body, her full bosom pressed against his chest, and her slender left leg was entwined around his waist. Her entire being was pressed against him without the slightest gap.

Lan Xueruo sprang away from Yun Che as if electrocuted, frantically straightening her disheveled hair and clothes. Her heart pounded like a drum, and her face was flushed crimson.

"Senior Sister, you seem very insecure when you sleep. Is there something you're afraid of?" Yun Che asked, looking into her eyes.

"I... no... no..." Lan Xueruo stammered, flustered. She vaguely recalled the inexplicably comforting warmth from her dream and now fully understood that this warmth had come from Yun Che. And she, subconsciously craving that feeling, had actively moved closer and hugged him tightly.

Yun Che had woken much earlier but had quietly maintained his original posture until Lan Xueruo stirred. Her instinctively holding him tightly didn't evoke any romantic feelings in him, but rather a faint sense of compassion and pity. Her sleeping posture revealed that beneath her calm and elegant exterior lay countless hidden anxieties and even fears, though he didn't know what troubled or frightened her.

Yun Che sat up, then suddenly reached out and cupped Lan Xueruo's soft, delicate right hand in his. "Senior Sister," he said sincerely, "though I don't know your identity, your family background, or what you've been through... I promise you, as long as I am by your side, I will protect you with all my might and never let you suffer any harm again."

Having her hand suddenly held so intimately by a man, and hearing his tender words, Lan Xueruo, who had never experienced anything like it, was instantly stunned, her mind a complete blank. She let him hold her hand for a good while before she finally came to her senses, then hastily pulled her hand from his grasp and, looking flustered, jumped off the bed.

"You... you already have a wife..."

Uttering a sentence she didn't even know how she'd managed to blurt out, Lan Xueruo quickly ran away. Her beautiful figure clearly conveyed the sense of a hasty retreat.

After Lan Xueruo had fled, Yun Che shook his head with a chuckle, then tapped his chin thoughtfully, murmuring to himself, "It seems I was mistaken. Her reaction definitely isn't a sign of deep affection for me; it's just a fondness she herself doesn't quite understand. But then why did she treat me that way before... even risking immense danger to rescue me alone from the Xiao Sect branch?"

In the suddenly awkward and ambiguous atmosphere, the two continued their journey towards the Azure Wind Empire. As night fell and they sought lodging for the second time, this inn also claimed to have only one room left. Just like the previous one, the innkeeper insisted it was the only establishment within a hundred-mile radius, implying they either took the room or slept on the streets.

Yun Che and Lan Xueruo, with feigned helplessness, had no choice but to take the single room.

Having experienced it once, the second time was much simpler and more natural. The two once again shared a bed, still separated by the rolled-up blanket...

And upon waking the next day, Lan Xueruo found the situation identical to yesterday's: the blanket was nowhere to be seen, and she was clutching Yun Che tightly, like an octopus, her entire body wrapped around him...

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day...

It was as if the inns they encountered each time had conspired, for they invariably had exactly one room left—no more, no less. Some areas had only a single inn, while others had several, but all of them mysteriously had only one room available, making Lan Xueruo feel that something was eerily off each time. After the second and third occurrences, the fourth and fifth became even more natural. Throughout these days, Lan Xueruo would wake up every morning to find herself clinging tightly to Yun Che, despite her earnest efforts to remind herself before sleeping. Each time, she seemed to be holding him even tighter.

Because of these days of sharing a bed, her subconscious resistance to such close physical contact with Yun Che had quietly vanished.

By the sixth day, upon arriving at an inn, Yun Che simply slapped his hand on the counter and confidently declared, "Innkeeper, one room, please."

Lan Xueruo merely parted her lips, then lowered her head, offering no objection.

If Lan Xueruo had been traveling with any other man, she wouldn't have allowed him to touch even her finger, let alone share a bed. However, when faced with Yun Che, a seasoned individual with the experiences of two lifetimes yet possessing the appearance of a youth, it was inevitable that she would quietly succumb, regardless of her age—whether eighteen or even twenty-eight. She herself remained completely oblivious to this process.

Azure Wind Imperial City, the capital of the Azure Wind Empire, was located in the north-central region of the empire's territory. It was also the largest city in the Azure Wind Empire, more than thirty times the size of New Moon City. At the very center of the Imperial City stood the Imperial Palace, the highest seat of power in the Azure Wind Empire.

Forty miles directly north of the Imperial Palace was the location of the Azure Wind Profound Palace, the highest profound academy in the Azure Wind Empire.

The Azure Wind Profound Palace boasted a thousand-year history, established by the Azure Wind Imperial Family as a cultivation ground for high-level profound practitioners. It was also a sacred place that countless young profound practitioners in the Azure Wind Empire yearned for. The Azure Wind Profound Palace was divided into three levels: the Outer Palace, the Middle Palace, and the Inner Palace. Those who could enter the Middle Palace, if they later chose to serve the Imperial Family, would be highly valued. If they joined the military, their starting rank would be at least that of a captain. Furthermore, if a profound practitioner managed to enter the Inner Palace, they would receive the highest regard from the Imperial Family, be granted superior resources and the best conditions during their time in the Palace, and their every progression would be closely observed by the Imperial Family. Before they even left the Azure Wind Profound Palace, they would receive a warm invitation from the Imperial Family. Once they joined the Imperial Family, being granted titles and peerage would be secondary; their entire family would attain wealth and glory, rising dramatically in status.

Therefore, gaining entry into the Inner Palace of the Azure Wind Profound Palace was the dream—or perhaps even the extravagant hope—of countless young profound practitioners.

However, as the Azure Wind Profound Palace was, after all, the highest profound academy in the Azure Wind Empire, the requirements were extremely stringent, even for the lowest-tier Outer Palace, let alone the Inner Palace. These rigorous conditions were enough to deter over ninety percent of profound practitioners who aspired to join, forcing them to settle for the imperial profound academies in smaller cities.