While Qianye was hesitating, Li Kuanglan said, “The instinctive arousal only appears in the daytime it seems, so you don’t need to worry. I’m very clear as to what I’m saying.”

“Do you know what I’ll do?”

Li Kuanglan’s voice was calm. “I’ll accept it, no matter what you do. Just do what you did last night.”

“Maybe we can adopt a different position.” Qianye pondered deeply. He was fairly calm when trying to save Kuanglan’s life while she was out cold. Now that she was awake, however, it would be somewhat difficult to adopt that intimate position.

Li Kuanglan said resolutely, “No need, just do things the way you did last night.”

“But…”

“No buts! I don’t want to die yet. As for the other stuff, since I’ve already experienced it once already, a second time will make no difference.”

“There is a massive difference!” Qianye thought to himself.

Yet Li Kuanglan’s words made sense; only the most thorough method could ensure her safety. Both of them were talented geniuses, so there was nothing to fear if they could accept the situation.

“Fine, then your clothes…”

Li Kuanglan didn’t need further instructions. She started removing her armor and soon arrived completely naked before Qianye. She was fairly calm despite having all of her features in full display.

Qianye hugged her from behind. “Relax, don’t resist me with origin power.”

With the beating of his blood core, their rhythms soon started to synchronize.

The night was silent and gradually turning cold. Two living beings were snuggled up against one another, not for intimacy but for survival. The true cruelty of this world would become evident around midnight.

The faint glow of the sanguine flames threw their shadows on the wall and windows. Their silhouettes were closely tangled up in each other, and the world was so quiet that one could hear the other breathing. The cadence of their respiration was different—Qianye’s was gradually turning coarser, while hers was gentle and long. Even with the previous night’s experience, activating her heart and vitality was just as difficult.

Although Li Kuanglan had recovered consciousness and a good part of her origin power, her internal injuries were still present. Her innards had only healed very slightly. The cold night of this world affected one’s bodily functions and vitality, so origin power wasn’t really that useful against it.

It would seem Li Kuanglan also noticed Qianye’s strain. She suddenly turned about and embraced him tightly, pressing her own body against his. Qianye was shocked because this posture was beyond intimate, leaving only one thin line between them. If they didn’t have a long cold night to endure, he wasn’t so sure he would be able to control his urges.

Despite that, Qianye felt evidently relieved after the posture change. This was the posture he had adopted last night. Fortunately, turning around seemed to have used up most of Li Kuanglan’s strength, and she stopped moving afterward.

This was only two nights, but what about in the future? Li Kuanglan might not be able to get through the cold nights alone even after recovering from her injuries. The environment in this world was highly adverse and demanding of one's constitution. Humans held an advantage in origin power cultivation and not physical prowess. Most experts of the empire focused on secret arts, so their origin power cultivation was fairly lacking.

Something was bound to happen sooner or later if they kept using this method. Qianye couldn’t help but feel distressed at the thought of this. Even if they were able to leave this accursed place, how was he to face Li Kuanglan? They might be in a good deal of trouble if people were to find out about their experiences here. All others aside, the Li family would definitely hound him for the damage to their prestige, let alone her empress sister. Even simpletons would know better than to provoke a woman who could snatch away the empress position from Princess Zhao.

Midnight finally passed amidst the agonizing silence.

With the burden lessened, Qianye’s breathing gradually normalized. The sanguine flames were no longer wavering and continued to burn in a stable state.

It was at this time that Li Kuanglan said, “Let’s… do it.”

“What?” Qianye could hardly believe his ears.

“That thing.” This time, he was certain of what she meant.

“That… isn’t too appropriate, is it?” Qianye kept his tone as tactful as possible. Due to Song Zining’s teachings, Qianye knew how difficult dealing with women was—especially this kind of request—a single mishandling could turn love to hate, and they would become lifelong enemies.

“Nothing inappropriate about it.” Li Kuanglan was unexpectedly calm and her voice was as cold as her sword energy. “It’ll be daytime soon. The day might not be any safer than the night, it’s just that we have never encountered true danger. I don’t want to lose myself to instinctive urges while exploring. Since we’re going to lose control sooner or later, let’s do it now so that we can be at ease during the daytime. I’m still conscious right now. I don’t want to do this kind of thing out of base instinct, that’s no different from a beast.”

Qianye could feel a headache coming over him as he tried to placate her, “Don’t worry. You’re injured right now, but you’ll be able to regain control once you’ve recovered. Besides, I’ve adapted to this place somewhat. Rest assured, I’ll help you maintain control in the daytime.”

Li Kuanglan stared into Qianye’s eyes. “Why do you refuse me?”

Qianye sighed. “It’s true that very few people can refuse you, but I already have someone I love. I don’t want to betray her under any circumstances.”

“Nighteye?”

“Yes.”

“Do you plan to join Evernight?”

“Of course not,” Qianye said self-deprecatingly, “actually, it doesn’t make any difference whether I join them or not, does it? The empire doesn’t need me. Those of a different race will have traitorous thoughts. These words aren’t just for fun.”

“The empire doesn’t, but we do. Besides, everything back then was done by the imperial military, they still haven’t managed to clean up the mess.”

Qianye laughed. “That mess is probably me.”

Li Kuanglan’s hand slid down Qianye’s back. “I don’t think anyone can clean up this mess.”

“Kuanglan, it’s not dawn yet.”

Li Kuanglan said nonchalantly, “Are you trying to make an enemy out of me?”

“… Of course not.”

“As I see it, your daytime control is even worse than mine. Since that’s the case, why not do it now? Will you feel at ease only if you have an excuse?” Li Kuanglan’s words were as sharp as blades.

“We’ll discuss that when the time comes. There’s always a final moment, right?” Qianye laughed wryly.

“It’s useless in the end.” She stopped making any movement after this, allowing Qianye to heave a sigh of relief.

As the long night finally passed by and dawn arrived, the two separated to dress up. The atmosphere between them turned somewhat subtle after going through the night.

Now that they had enough meat and water, exploring the surroundings became their first priority. With enough time to spare before the hunt, Qianye asked for intel regarding the Great Maelstrom and, most importantly, how to get out.

“The Great Maelstrom is a massive world, this much has been proven by our predecessors. In the past, the passage would always open into the same area. We and the Evernight experts will spread out from that starting point, each seeking their own fortunes. At the same time, we’ll collect as much resources as we can while waiting for the next opening of the passage, and then return to the empire.”

“That means we have to return from where we came? But the passage we came in through is no longer there.”

Li Kuanglan nodded helplessly. “This is the true danger of the neutral-lands passage, the tunnel isn’t continuous. It only reaches the Great Maelstrom during this period, and there are numerous breaks in between. It’s like jogging in the void when one passes through those defects.”

“Then how do we confirm this is the Great Maelstrom?”

“There’s no way to confirm, but we should be in the right place. It’s just that I have no idea which region we’re in.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“My sister and the top divination experts of the empire calculated that the passage will only lead to the Great Maelstrom.”

Qianye hadn’t imagined Empress Li would be a divination expert. But, the Li family was famous in this field, so it only made sense that an outstanding character like the empress would be talented in this regard.

Qianye frowned. “Then how do we go back?”

“Two ways. One is to tear through the void and return the way we came.”

As Qianye saw it, this method was simply not feasible. Not to mention tearing through the void, even opening a spatial passage was only something heavenly monarchs could do. The fact that this passage was intermittent was enough for one to cross out going back via it. Having experienced it once, Qianye knew that it was impossible for him to discern the direction inside the spatial passage.

Fortunately, Li Kuanglan had no plans to keep him in suspense. “The other method is to find the imperial base at the entrance and wait for the next opening there.”

This was a plausible plan, but the difficulty lay in finding the imperial stronghold.

Li Kuanglan cut off a wooden board and started drawing on it. “This is a map of the Great Maelstrom under the Li family’s control. We might find the stronghold if we’re lucky enough to walk into the scope of this map.

The diagram looked fairly odd. The mountain ranges, crevices, and rivers all seemed especially twisted, a stark contrast from the usual geography seen in the Empire and Evernight. Despite the dense array of markings, Qianye simply couldn’t find any familiar landmark.”

But Qianye had seen such a geographical diagram before. Remembering something, he fished out a painting scroll and passed it to her. “Take a look at this.”

Li Kuanglan was shocked as she opened up the scroll. “Havenschild Pasture! Isn’t this a map of the Song clan’s domain in the Great Maelstrom?" Indeed, the Heavenschild Pasture is the Song clan’s core business. How could they have gotten this rich if not for its stable production throughout the years?