Chapter 13: With Him

Every year on Jiang Yang’s birthday, Shu Qi would host a grand celebration, even more extravagant than the ones for Shu Wan.

And before every feast, Shu Qi would always do one thing.

He would lead Jiang Yang to offer incense to his father, Jiang Xuanfeng, while Yi Chenlan would kneel beneath Jiang Xuanfeng’s tablet for twelve hours, repenting for his father’s sins.

This act was quite malicious, aimed at ensuring that Jiang Xuanfeng could not rest in peace in the afterlife.

When Shu Wan woke up and remembered this scene while washing up, she was stunned for a moment.

To be honest, if Jiang Xuanfeng really had a spirit in heaven and lightning were to strike down, wouldn’t she be the first one to be struck?

What have I written!

The more Shu Wan thought about it, the angrier she became at herself.

She threw the cloth towel into the basin. No! She could not bear to have her villain suffer such injustice!

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Shu Wan did not even properly comb her hair, hastily tying it up with a headband before rushing to the ancestral hall.

As expected, when she arrived, Shu Qi and Jiang Yang were already there. Yi Chenlan was kneeling beneath the tablet, his posture tall and solitary.

Immediately, a psychological description of Yi Chenlan sprang to mind—“He silently knelt on the cold ground, clearly and willingly bearing his father’s debts. He longed for the day when he could repay it all, no longer bearing his father’s reproach, no longer enduring humiliation and disdain. He could rise up, stand tall before others, and live properly for himself, for his own sake.”

I can’t think about it anymore! The more I think, the more heartbroken I become!

Shu Wan immediately ran over.

At this moment, Yi Chenlan, the little white flower who had suffered so much in her heart, lowered his head, cleverly hiding the faint curve of his lips that was turning upwards.

After many years, he was once again kneeling here, in front of Jiang Xuanfeng, but his state of mind had greatly changed.

He would no longer foolishly and laughably hope for anything. In his past life, after holding the slaughter knife, he realized that, rather than being a chivalrous hero, he was more suited to being a demon.

I’ve thought about escape, and I’ve thought about the end, Yi Chenlan murmured in his heart as he looked at Jiang Xuanfeng’s solemn tablet. But heaven wouldn’t let me go. They made me be reborn.

What is the meaning of rebirth?

Heaven knew that he was an evil ghost.

Yi Chenlan sneered coldly. Knowing yet acting deliberately, perhaps it was to tacitly allow him to turn this world into a sea of fire and a hellish purgatory.

He did not care about such humiliation. He still did not have the strength to oppose Shu Qi. There was no rush. He had plenty of patience. This time, he would play slowly.

Yi Chenlan was lost in thought when suddenly, a petite young girl knelt beside him. She was like a small, finely crafted statue—her eyes clear and pure, her long, thick black hair cleanly falling to her waist.

It was none other than Shu Wan.

Yi Chenlan quickly averted his gaze, as if burned, his eyes fixed intently on the tablet above. Yet, his fingers unconsciously reached down and tightly grasped the corner of the scattered cloth on the ground.

In this life and the previous one, he had knelt countless times. Yet, he had always been alone.

People came and went around him, but no one had ever stayed to accompany him, even for a moment.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, but no one saw.

“Wan Wan, why did you come here?” Shu Qi furrowed his brows and walked over to help her up. “Why are you kneeling?”

“I need to offer incense to Grand Senior Martial Uncle, of course I have to kneel.” Shu Wan did not rise.

Shu Qi’s expression shifted into a strange smile. “Today is not a sacrificial day. There’s no need for such a grand ceremony. Stand up.”

“Then why does Senior Brother Ah Lan have to kneel?”

Yi Chenlan’s grip on the corner of his garment had already wrinkled it, though he was unaware of it. He was just staring at Shu Wan for a moment in slight surprise.

Shu Qi’s gaze darkened. “Ah Lan did something wrong. Of course, he must kneel. Isn’t that right, Ah Lan?”

His tone carried an underlying threat.

Yi Chenlan sneered inwardly, his gaze dropping back to Jiang Xuanfeng’s tablet.

He slightly parted his lips, reciting the answers he had been taught countless times in his past life: “Yes. My father was a demon lord, his hands stained with the blood of countless innocent people. He killed Great Hero Jiang and caused Senior Brother Jiang to become an orphan. I must repay my father’s debts and be grateful that Zhongshan Sect raised me and taught me to atone for my sins…”

Shu Wan clenched her fists in silence, her eyes filled with defiance as she looked at Shu Qi. “But from what I heard, Senior Brother Ah Lan didn’t do anything wrong. Didn’t Father often teach my fellow Disciple that one must bear their own mistakes?”

“Indeed.” Shu Qi said, not understanding why his daughter was being so persistent today. His tone softened slightly. “But repaying one’s father’s debt is only natural.”

“Father often says he owes Grand Senior Martial Uncle, that he has no face to face Grand Senior Martial Uncle, so it must be that he did something wrong.” Shu Wan waited for him to say this. “Since that’s the case, I can repay the debt for you. I’ll kneel here today, alongside Senior Brother Ah Lan.”

Yi Chenlan kept his gaze fixed on the tablet above, his face calm, though the hand hidden in his wide sleeves trembled slightly.

Shu Qi opened his mouth, realizing that his little daughter had entangled him.

She had blocked both sides of the argument, and after thinking for a moment, he forced a cheerful smile, not showing any change in expression. “Alright then, you both can rise.”

Shu Qi turned his back on them, his face darkening.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Shu Wan and Yi Chenlan kneeling side by side, and his gaze grew even more obscure.

They looked so close.

Shu Qi slowly clenched his fist, his back turned to everyone, his face dark with calculating thoughts.

Shu Wan, seeing that Shu Qi had indeed compromised, understood that he never wanted to lose his gentlemanly image.

As the author, wasn’t it easy for her to grasp the psychology of this little character?

Plan successful, Shu Wan, like a little fox, quietly smiled to herself. She gently tugged at Yi Chenlan’s sleeve and whispered: “Senior Brother Ah Lan, quickly get up.”