Chapter 8: Man Proposes

So Zhao Lan had only come with his mother to the Su residence because he was certain Su Yanwei would reject the marriage proposal. Su Yanwei felt an odd sense of being used. She deliberately said,

“And how can you be so sure I’d refuse?”

“You already turned down Xie Yurong. Why would you look twice at me?” Zhao Lan replied calmly.
“I’m far inferior to Xie Yurong.”

Su Yanwei thought about it and figured he probably meant his looks weren’t as good as Xie Yurong’s. Xie Yurong was famously handsome in the cultivation world.

“But there can always be surprises,” she countered.

Zhao Lan looked at her and asked,

“So is this time a surprise?”

“No,” Su Yanwei answered unwillingly, annoyed. Damn! Why does this feel like losing?

Zhao Lan smiled. The handsome boy, with red lips and white teeth, looked like an immortal child when he smiled, so adorable.

“You don’t want to marry for politics,” Zhao Lan said, his tone certain.

Su Yanwei didn’t bother to hide it and admitted frankly,

“Neither do you, right?”

“Mm.” Zhao Lan nodded, then added,
“You want to run away from home.”

His tone was so sure.

Su Yanwei: …

She was stunned. How did he know!?

“I could see it,” Zhao Lan answered her unspoken question.

Su Yanwei’s mouth twitched.

“What, can you read minds or something?”

He even figured that out!?

Since she’d been seen through anyway, Su Yanwei simply confessed,

“Yes, I do want to run away. But I’m too young, and I can’t protect myself… sigh!”

“It’s a lovely idea, but reality is harsh,” she sighed.

Zhao Lan looked at her and suddenly said,

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“?” Su Yanwei lifted her head and looked at him.

“Do you know about the Sword Sovereign of the Clouds?” Zhao Lan asked.

Su Yanwei nodded.

“I’ve heard of him.”

The Sword Sovereign of the Clouds was a famous sword immortal of the Shushan Sword Sect, renowned for his mastery of the sword. His cultivation was profound, his sword skills immeasurable, and his battle feats legendary. Besides his power, he was also famous for his rare beauty, pure and noble, magnanimous and elegant.

“A month ago,” Zhao Lan said, “the Sword Sovereign’s disciple wiped out a nest of demonic cultivators in Mohe, but unfortunately was poisoned by Soul-Devouring Powder.”

“Soul-Devouring Powder!?” Su Yanwei was startled.

This poison was extremely rare. To understand it, you had to distinguish it from Spirit-Dissolving Powder. Spirit-Dissolving Powder temporarily dispersed a cultivator’s spiritual energy, making them powerless for a while, but once the effect wore off, they’d recover. But Soul-Devouring Powder, the “devouring” meant it would gradually consume and erode a cultivator’s spiritual power and even their spiritual root, eventually turning them into an ordinary mortal with no spiritual power at all.

Such a vicious poison had been banned a thousand years ago. Su Yanwei hadn’t expected there were still remnants of it in the world.

“That disciple was really unlucky!” Su Yanwei couldn’t help but sigh.
To get hit by something banned a thousand years ago…

“The Sword Sovereign’s disciple isn’t just any disciple,” Zhao Lan added.
“He’s the child left behind by the Sword Sovereign’s late older sister.”

So, his nephew.

Su Yanwei thought to herself. That really is special.

“But why are you telling me all this?” she asked curiously.

Zhao Lan looked at her and said,

“A few days ago, the Sword Sovereign came to your family to request a medicine, but was refused.”

“What!?” Su Yanwei was surprised.
That happened? I didn’t know.“What medicine was he asking for?”

“A thousand-year Snow Ganoderma,” Zhao Lan replied.

“Oh, that explains it.” Su Yanwei’s expression turned understanding.
“My father went through endless hardship to find that to save my life. Of course he wouldn’t give it away.”

She had been saved from the brink of death several times thanks to that Snow Ganoderma. It was no wonder her father wouldn’t part with it.

“Lin Xinghe is very important to the Sword Sovereign,” Zhao Lan emphasized.
“The Sword Sovereign won’t give up. After being refused, he didn’t leave Jade City. Right now, he’s staying at an inn in the city.”

Su Yanwei grew more puzzled.

“So?”

“Where do you plan to go after running away?” Zhao Lan suddenly asked.
“I’m thinking of going to Lingyin Temple to become a monk.”

“Huh!”
Su Yanwei’s eyes lit with surprise.
I didn’t think the little Buddha actually wants to become a real monk!

“It suits you,” she commented sincerely. Zhao Lan had a natural affinity for Buddhism; it fit him.

Hearing that, Zhao Lan smiled.

“You’re the first person who’s ever said that.”

“Really?” Su Yanwei said.
“Then those who said otherwise clearly have no eye for people.”

“If you have nowhere else to go, why not consider the Shushan Sword Sect?” Zhao Lan suggested seriously.

Su Yanwei didn’t answer right away.

The Shushan Sword Sect…?

Her original plan had been the Taibai Sect, the sect where her mother, Ye Qingmeng, had once cultivated. In the dream, after running away, Su Yanwei had also gone to the Taibai Sect.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Su Yanwei murmured softly. Then she asked,
“Which inn is the Sword Sovereign staying at?”

A serene, Buddha-like smile appeared on Zhao Lan’s face.

“The Yunlai Inn. Every day around the time of Shen (3–5 pm), he sits by the window on the second floor, drinking wine. If you go, you’ll recognize him.”

“Got it!” Su Yanwei replied happily.

Just what I needed! Zhao Lan was like a timely rain solving her urgent problem.

She’d been worrying about how to run away and now she had an idea.

Zhao Lan even asked considerately,

“Need help?”

“I can keep watch for you,” he offered tactfully.

Su Yanwei immediately understood his meaning: Zhao Lan thought she was planning to steal her father’s precious medicine to give to the Sword Sovereign.

No way! That Snow Ganoderma had cost her father so much effort to get for her sake; she could never betray his love.

“No need. I have a better way,” Su Yanwei replied.
“Something even more effective than the Snow Ganoderma.”

Hearing that, Zhao Lan’s face showed curiosity, but he restrained himself from asking. He only said,

“Then that’s good.”

“But tell me,” Su Yanwei asked curiously,
“Why go to so much trouble to help me? This has nothing to do with you, right?”

Obviously, Zhao Lan had come prepared; he must have worked hard to gather all this information. At his age, that wouldn’t have been easy.

Zhao Lan looked at her seriously.

“A fair exchange. After you join the Shushan Sword Sect, help me get out of the Zhao family.”

“I need an ally.”

Zhao Lan was an unusually perceptive child. From a young age, he’d understood his life wasn’t in his own hands, but trapped inside that grand, imposing mansion. He understood his mother’s powerless position there, and also saw clearly that his father neither loved him nor his mother.

He saw everything too clearly, too thoroughly and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

For a long time, Zhao Lan had lived in silent despair, withdrawn from the world. Until one day, a wandering monk from Lingyin Temple passed through the Zhao residence and stayed for a night. Seeing Zhao Lan, the monk had sighed,

“Born enlightened, a mind as clear as a mirror.”

He left behind a Buddhist scripture for Zhao Lan.

It was that scripture that sparked Zhao Lan’s affinity with Buddhism.

As a young child, Zhao Lan learned Buddhist wisdom from that book and found clarity.

Su Yanwei understood what Zhao Lan meant. And because she understood, she looked at this little Buddha-like boy before her with a gaze full of surprise.
With just a bit of information, he’d seen so much and used it to plan, to pave the way for his future.

This child was even more intelligent and sharp than she’d imagined.

He had seen through Su Yanwei, seen through the Sword Sovereign, seen through everyone. He made no attempt to hide his plans; he laid everything bare, openly and honestly and it made it impossible to refuse him.

“I understand,” Su Yanwei said.
“From now on, we’re allies on the same side!”

“Run first or run later, just wait for me!”

Hearing this, Zhao Lan gave her a smile.

Calm, detached from the world like an orchid, elegant and fragrant.

“The Sword Sovereign of the Clouds, huh…” Su Yanwei gently stroked her chin and murmured to herself,
“I just hope he doesn’t hit kids.”