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nAs Wu Long went to sleep with Shen Min cuddled in his embrace that night, he sank into deeper slumber.

n*Sst*

nWu Long’s foot softly landed on a mountain peak, his expression revealing a smile as he turned to look behind him, where a woman in white clothes stood looking at him with an interested gaze.

n“Well, young man? Did you enjoy your gift?”, she asked with a mysterious smile on his face.

n“I certainly did, not that it has anything to do with you”, Wu Long chuckled, as her eyebrows went up in slight surprise.

n“My, how cold of you”, she then revealed a grin to which he shrugged his shoulders, putting his hands behind his back as he turned to look at the scenery, a world on the verge of crumbling down around them.

n“I must say, I am impressed. Even if this is a memory that I revisit in my dreams quite often you were able to slip into it despite how strong my resistance is”, his smile was carefree and completely calm, which could not be said about the woman behind him who revealed a shocked look in her eyes.

n“…how?”, fell from her lips as he chuckled.

n“Mostly because I knew about your presence beforehand, and on the other hand because you underestimated me”, he turned to look at her as her eyes flashed with a gentle pink color, and then her lips curled up in a less modest and more aggressive smile.

n“K-hahahahaha! Wow! Count me impressed!”, she clapped, her laughter revealing genuine amusement.

n“However, no matter how impressed I am and eager to exchange pleasantries, this is not the time or place”, he said and one hand went from behind his back to forward, and gently moved forward in pushing motion.

n“…?!”, her right eyebrow arched up revealing genuine surprise once more, and then even more amusement appeared in her expression, “Hahahaha! What is that supposed to do? Are you seriously hoping to expel me?! Don’t you think-…”

nBut as she was speaking with clear ridicule in her voice, his palm produced a ripple, as the whole crumbling world around them bent in that ripple, that was spreading toward her.

n“…! This is…! Impossible!!! Who are you?!?! I-…”, her eyes revealed utter shock, a heavy and harsh one unlike the previous lighthearted ones, raising her voice in bewilderment.

n“Don’t worry, and no need to be hasty. We’ll meet soon, I will visit you as soon as I am done with a few things”, Wu Long chuckled, as her figure started unraveling into a misty one, her shocked eyes not leaving his gently smiling face.

n“Fuu~”, he exhaled as his eyes opened in his room.

nHe then carefully left the bed, kissing Shen Min on the forehead and telling her to continue sleeping as he wore clothes and stepped into a cloud of black smoke, appearing on the roof of the tallest tower on the ship.

n“Were you so displeased your appearance and identity was used by someone that you decided to finally come out?”, he chuckled, as the woman standing on the rooftop revealed a slightly disgruntled look, which changed to surprise at his words.

n“You knew I was around?”, she spoke as he made a light laughter.

n“Hahaha, no, but I had a suspicion that I was able to confirm now”, Wu Long smiled looking at the woman, whose features started changing, his eyes slightly widening at the sight of a woman with golden eyes. 𝒻𝘸𝘦𝓿.𝑐𝘰

n“Heh, I guess it is nice to see you make that expression at least”, she chuckled, as she didn’t want to be left the only one at disadvantage after he got her to take the bait, and a wry smile appeared on his lips.

n“You are not going to ask any questions?”, she then asked with a bit of surprise.

n“Are you going to answer?”, he chuckled, and she revealed a mischievous smile.

n“Hahaha, as always, your instincts are good, Young Man”, she lightly laughed as he shrugged his shoulders.

n“I would prefer if you called me Wu Long”

n“…Xun Yawen”

n“It is nice to finally know the name of my benefactor”

n“Hahaha, what happened to not liking that word? Hard to avoid when you are in that position, isn’t it?”, she revealed a pleased look as he made a wry smile once more.

n“However, you really don’t have to think about me in that way. It is a little complicated, but contrary to what you may think, my involvement in what happened to you is actually minimal”, she then made a mysterious smile as she turned to the horizon where the sky was getting slightly lighter.

n“…”, he slowly processed her words, looking at her profile.

n“I was mostly an observer, only making minor adjustments to smooth out unnecessary complications. And while it lasted, it was quite interesting, for that I have to thank you, Wu Long”, she said as she turned only her face to him, the cold winds flapping her black hair and white clothes.

n“Spoken like someone who is leaving”, he said with a complicated expression. He had a lot of questions, and the thing she just said about her role in his fate created many more. But he knew that she would not answer, and thus focused his reply on the implication in her words.

n“Haha, correct. I still have things to do, however bored and free I may look. Besides, my departure is a positive to you, as my continuous stay in your vicinity may not work in your favor. It can bring complications even I cannot save you from”

nHer words caused a pondering look to appear on his face.

n“Hahaha, thinking about those things is nothing good for you. It is meddling in affairs that could be dangerous that got you to that point in that crumbling world, was it not?”, she lightly laughed as she could tell he was pondering the nature of the complications she talked about.

n“I may not be on the level of dealing with it now, but that will not always remain so”, he spoke with a chuckle, the absolute confidence in his voice causing her to reveal a look that was quickly hidden.

n“Maybe… if it is you, it just may be possible. There are so many unexplainable things about you… something that I am not used to… and that makes it fun to watch your path”, she said with a tone full of hesitation, and at the same time wonder, as well as a tinge of amusement.

n“Haa~… however, you picked a hard, thorny path Wu Long. Even I cannot predict where it would lead and whether you will be able to tread far or get stuck somewhere on it”, she sighed as she looked at him, approaching a little closer, and looking him in the eyes.

n“But for some reason, I have faith in you. I may be leaving but it does not mean that I will never see you again. And I am very curious of what I will witness when I see you next time”, she added with a cheerful smile on her face as she distanced herself again.

n“As a last favor before departing I will tell you a few things though. There is no one you look for on this continent either. Your Old Yen would not be able to find anyone in the Three Continents no matter how vastly his network spreads. There is no need for you to search the Boundless Mortal World either.

nThus you don’t need to wait for this link to become stable. You can use one that leads directly to the Boundless Profound World, you know where it is”

nShe then spoke as his gaze revealed a grateful look.

n“Thank you”

n“Hahaha, say that if you do find what you look for when we meet again”, she lightly laughed, and then disappeared like a vision, a beautiful dream in the first rays of morning sun.

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