Chapter 11: Not Angry

Shu Wan hid to the side and held her breath, signaling with her eyes for them to begin.

Song Fang turned her gaze to her younger brother.

Under the pressure of his two older sisters, Song Yuan had no choice but to suppress his shyness. He summoned his courage, and knock on the door. “Brother Ah Lan, are you there?”

The door opened quickly. Yi Chenlan looked at the two children standing outside who were not even half his height, utterly confused about what was going on.

Song Yuan rubbed his hands together and said awkwardly: “Brother Ah Lan, my sister and I want to play with you. Can we come in?”

Yi Chenlan stepped aside. “Mm, come in.”

After lifting the two children onto the soft couch, he sat on the side and resumed reading.

After all, he had only recently been reborn. Just a few days ago, he had died under Jiang Yang’s sword. Before closing his eyes, he had seen the faces of this brother and sister, filled with the satisfaction of having avenged a great hatred…

After all, he had destroyed the Zhongshan Sect, and Song Anzhi had died because of him. It was perfectly understandable that they hated him.

As for the siblings themselves, he did not hold any particular feelings.

Song Anzhi had hated Yi Heng deeply, yet had always restrained himself and never vented his anger on him.

Later, he even went to Snowy Night Mountain to find him, trying to make amends and show him affection.

For Song family, Yi Chenlan truly bore no resentment.

He did not know why, in this life, the siblings had suddenly come to find him. In their past life at the Zhongshan Sect, they had barely exchanged a handful of words.

Yi Chenlan had no interest in socializing with the two children. After letting them into the room, he simply left them to the side.

The room was quiet.

Song Fang felt a little uneasy. After some thought, she decided to get straight to the point and fulfill her mission. “Brother Ah Lan, don’t be angry at Sister Wan Wan anymore.”

Song Yuan nodded and added: “Yeah, you haven’t spoken to Sister Wan Wan for days. She’s so upset that she can’t eat. She’s even lost weight.”

Yi Chenlan’s fingers curled slightly around the book he held. After a brief silence, he put down the book, walked over, and squatted in front of the two children. “Did Sister Wan Wan tell you I’m angry at her?”

“Yes.” Song Fang replied, recalling how she and her brother acted after a quarrel. She described: “She was really sad. She even cried. No matter how we tried to comfort her, it didn’t work.”

Yi Chenlan was slightly taken aback. She cried…?

Song Yuan noticed the change in Yi Chenlan’s expression and somehow felt hopeful. “Brother Ah Lan, just give Sister Wan Wan a chance and forgive her. She’s been longing to come see you, but you never let her in. She’s still waiting outside. Don’t you think she’s pitiful?”

Yi Chenlan couldn’t help but glance at the tightly shut door. “She’s outside?”

Song Fang said. “Of course. She said she’d come in when the time was right and even told us to pretend we didn’t see her then. I don’t know why we have to pretend…” She sounded genuinely troubled.

Song Yuan patted his sister’s hand. “Maybe this is how adults make up. When Sister Wan Wan comes in later, we mustn’t look at her…”

Yi Chenlan thought for a moment, then walked to the door. He hesitated for a second but opened it anyway.

Shu Wan was standing just behind the door. She had been listening in and was now filled with regret.

She had long wanted to barge in and give those two idiots a good beating. But when she suddenly sensed Yi Chenlan approaching, panic set in, and she had no idea how to face him.

So embarrassing…

Yi Chenlan looked at Shu Wan, who stood there staring blankly at him. Her fingers twisted nervously together, looking exactly like a child caught red-handed after doing something wrong.

His eyelashes trembled slightly as he lowered his gaze and gave a light cough. “I’m not angry at you.”

“Really?” Shu Wan immediately lit up with a smile, but when her eyes met Yi Chenlan’s, she still stammered a bit. “Y-You’re not angry, that’s good. Um… then c-could I… could I come see you? Your meridian injury… it’s better if someone helps you…”

If untreated, it could lead to paralysis or even death—this delicate little white flower!

Shu Wan, having been worried sick these past few days, stared nervously at Yi Chenlan after speaking.

Yi Chenlan pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long, long while. At last, he lifted his head. His beautiful phoenix eyes looked at her deeply. He parted his lips slightly and spoke in a soft voice. “Alright.”

---

Shu Wan finally began to tend to Yi Chenlan’s meridians. The moment she made contact, she was filled with rage. Though she tried to hold it back, she couldn’t—she didn’t even bother calling him Senior Brother anymore. “What have you been doing these past few days? You haven’t regulated your qi at all? Why are you still in the same state as that day?”

How could he treat his body so carelessly?

She was furious—she really wanted to smack the back of his head hard!

This time, being scolded felt completely different from before. Yi Chenlan felt the gentle force of her small hands on his back and unconsciously tugged at the corner of his robe. “…It wasn’t anything serious, really.”

Over the past few days, he had been thinking about how to escape from Zhongshan Sect. At the same time, he was mixing a few poisons that might be useful in the future. Some ingredients required time to mature, and if left until the last minute, it would be too late. As for repairing his meridians, he had simply put it off for the time being.

Shu Wan became even angrier after hearing that. “What do you mean it wasn’t anything serious? Did you forget what Uncle-Master Zhou said that day? You—”

“Why is Sister Wan Wan so fierce?” Song Yuan, who had been pretending not to see Shu Wan since she entered the room, could no longer keep up the act. “No wonder Brother Ah Lan doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. You’re too fierce.”

Song Fang frowned, her delicate brows drawing together in disapproval. “With this attitude, you’ll lose all your friends. Next time you argue with Brother Ah Lan, Xiao Yuan and I definitely won’t help you.”

Shu Wan: “……”

She wanted to show these two traitorous teammates what true fierceness looked like.

But from the corner of her eye, she noticed Yi Chenlan lower his head slightly. Shu Wan pursed her lips and asked in confusion: “Senior Brother Ah Lan, are you laughing at me?”

Yi Chenlan turned back, his expression calm. “No.”

Alright then. Shu Wan thought it over and admitted to herself that her tone earlier had indeed been a bit harsh. “I actually… actually wasn’t trying to be fierce with you, but you really don’t listen. It makes people worry. I thought you’d be tending to your own qi, but to find you’ve done absolutely nothing—who could bear that…”

She turned and glared at the two children. “And you two! Don’t interrupt when adults are talking.”

Song Fang was unimpressed and turned to ask Song Yuan: “How old is Sister Wan Wan? Is she that much older than us?”

“Just four or five years older? That counts as an adult?”

“I don’t think so. Anyway, Sister Wan Wan really is super fierce. She gets mad all the time. Brother Ah Lan still wants to hang out with her—he must be a really good person.”

“Yeah, Brother Ah Lan is really nice.” Song Yuan concluded.

The siblings had reached their verdict. Shu Wan no longer had anything to say. After all, her goal was to help them build a good relationship with Yi Chenlan, so he wouldn’t be left completely alone in the future.

Judging by their positive first impressions of him, her mission was complete.

As for whether or not she was really that fierce… well, that didn’t matter.

She withdrew her hands and gave him a worried reminder. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, don’t force your True Qi these next couple of days. If there’s any blockage, don’t try to push through it on your own—wait for me to help you. Alright, it’s getting late. You should rest early. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Yi Chenlan stood up and looked down at the girl who only reached his shoulder. He spoke softly. “You don’t need to come again. I’ll handle the rest myself.”

He didn’t dare ask for too much of this kindness. He’s afraid that if he indulged in it, he might become greedy.

If she were to show him heaven now, only to cast him into hell later… he had no idea what he might end up doing…

“Ah? Senior Brother Ah Lan, are you… still angry?” Shu Wan hadn’t expected Yi Chenlan to say such a thing.

Ugh… It seemed she really had said something wrong earlier.

“Not that.” Yi Chenlan immediately denied. He thought for a moment, then gave a reasonable excuse. “You’re too close to me—Master won’t be pleased.”

So that was the reason.

Shu Wan suddenly understood. Shu Qi hated Yi Chenlan so much that if she were to become close to him, it would indeed bring him trouble. Once she figured that out, she looked at Yi Chenlan again and felt only deep sympathy.

He was being treated like this… how pitiful. It was all that Shu Qi’s fault! No—no, it was her fault!

Shu Wan felt overwhelming guilt. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, don’t worry about that. I promise I won’t let my father bully you again!”

Yi Chenlan gave a faint smile, one that Shu Wan couldn’t quite understand.

“Don’t say things like that. Go back.”

---

On the way back, holding Song Fang and Song Yuan by the hands, Shu Wan was still turning Yi Chenlan’s words over in her mind.

What did he mean by that?

Did he not believe her promise?

Did he think she couldn’t stop her father?

Or… did he feel that what she said was somehow inappropriate?

Shu Wan puzzled over it for a long time and still couldn’t figure it out. Suddenly, Song Yuan poked her. “Sister Wan Wan, do you know why you had a fight with Brother Ah Lan before?”

“Oh.” Shu Wan replied offhandedly: “Because I was too fierce, obviously.”

“Not really.” Song Fang mysteriously raised a finger and shook her head. “Brother Ah Lan has such a good personality, there’s no way it’s just because of that. Xiao Yuan and I both agree that the reason he’s mad at you is because—well, you forgot his birthday.”

“Ah?”

Song Yuan shook her head, patiently explaining: “For example, every year before our birthdays, Father and Mother start preparing presents early. And before your birthday and Brother Ah Yang’s birthday, we come to talk to you about it. But tomorrow is Brother Ah Lan’s birthday, and you haven’t prepared anything at all. Honestly, I think it’s already really good that Brother Ah Lan is still willing to talk to you.”

Shu Wan caught the key point. “How do you two know that tomorrow is his birthday?”

“Because Brother Ah Yang and Brother Ah Lan’s birthdays are on the same day.” Song Fang explained. “Father pays extra attention to Brother Ah Yang and always tells us we must treat him well. We remember his birthday even better than our own.”

“And every year, when Father mentions Brother Ah Lan, he’s… not happy about it, so we remembered it.” Song Yuan said, looking at Shu Wan with innocent eyes. “Brother Ah Yang and Brother Ah Lan’s birthdays are the same day.”

Damn, it was another thing she wrote.

Shu Wan nearly collapsed.

She hadn’t forgotten that their birthdays were on the same day, but she hadn’t written down the exact date, so she didn’t realize it was tomorrow.

Wait?

Shu Wan suddenly remembered something. If the current timeline had Yi Chenlan already punished with one hundred lashes, then he must be celebrating his eighteenth birthday tomorrow—this was a significant plot point.

In the original book, Yi Chenlan had his arm chopped off on his eighteenth birthday.