Chapter 260: What a Small World (3rd Update)

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Old Man Lü Dao walked in. The couple locked eyes, yet there was only icy coldness.

“Close the door,” murmured Madam Yu. Old Man Lü Dao silently turned around to do as told.

The door concealed every word; what conversation went on inside was a mystery.

Ye Wenxin, who had been watching from a distance, grew quite bored. “So cautious; I’m not going to peek at you two doing it¹.”

She smoothly climbed down from the eaves and returned to her own room.

Compared to the relay station’s residence, everything in Green Isle Manor seemed to revolve around the color green.

With Qiao Ni’s personality in mind, she put Soul Sealing Ring back on, then laid down and fell asleep.

Ye Wenxin had a very long dream.

She dreamed of the past, when she had already parted ways with Long Qingyue. On the road, she had picked up the orphaned Liu Churan.

However, Ye Wenxin’s heavy reliance on Flower Burial at the time had constantly led to Qi Deviation. So for several years, her memory was almost blank.

She only remembered how small Liu Churan was, unable to hold the adult Ye Wenxin. Even as she kept crying, she would pull Ye Wenxin up. Together, they stumbled and wandered.

During that time, Ye Wenxin lived in a daze, not even knowing how she eventually came to her senses. By the time she realized it, Liu Churan had grown up beside her, transforming from a little girl into a beautiful young lady.

Ye Wenxin still remembered Liu Churan’s expression then, as if seeing her was like seeing the light of the whole world.

“You’re finally conscious!” Liu Churan exclaimed, and as she spoke, tears started falling. It was unclear how much effort she had put into making Ye Wenxin lucid again.

Dream Ye Wenxin nodded her head. She had wanted to say ‘I’m back’, but then she felt a tightening around her neck.

She saw Liu Churan licking her lips thirstily, her breath fragrant like orchids.

“Since you’re conscious, dream with me.” She tightened the chain around Ye Wenxin’s neck, quickly closing the distance between them.

Ye Wenxin then saw the young Liu Churan suddenly grow up, transforming from a little girl into the renowed Liu Churan of the Wind and Moon Palace.

Ye Wenxin abruptly pushed her away, waking from the dream.

Someone let out a sound of surprise.

Realizing something was wrong, Ye Wenxin opened her eyes and glanced around. She noticed Qiao Ni, pushed off to the floor by her, grimacing in pain.

Ye Wenxin was still a little dazed. When she finally recognized Qiao Ni, she hastily pulled this little ancestor back onto her feet.

“Are you hurt?” Just as she said this, she found that her voice sounded a bit hoarse for some reason.

“No, but Sister, you kept yelling just now.” Qiao Ni rubbed her butt, still feeling the pain from the fall. But judging from Ye Wenxin’s expression, it seemed she just had a nightmare. Suddenly, Qiao Ni couldn’t bring herself to complain.

“I was?”

“Yes, very terribly.”

“What was I yelling?” Ye Wenxin didn’t understand. She seldom had nightmares, let alone behaving weirdly like screaming in her dream.

“I didn’t hear clearly. When I got closer to listen, you pushed me off,” Qiao Ni explained the reason she was on Ye Wenxin’s bed, but looking at her shifty eyes, Ye Wenxin was somewhat distrustful.

She stared at Qiao Ni. Seeing the girl was hiding her right hand behind her, she figured Qiao Ni was holding something.

“Are you following your mother’s example, using something to place around my neck?”

Ye Wenxin thought of the sensation when her nostalgic dream had suddenly turned into a nightmare of being dominated by Liu Churan.

She was even more confused why she would suddenly have this dream after more than a year. It gave her an inexplicable sense of unease.

“I just wanted to put this on you, but who knew you would react so violently?” Seeing as she could no longer dodge the subject, Qiao Ni uncovered her hand, showing Ye Wenxin a red jade pendant.

The jade pendant was adorned with red, auspicious clouds. Just looking at its quality, one could tell it was invaluable.

Ye Wenxin found it somewhat familiar; she remembered gifting a similar one to Liu Churan years ago. Because of its distinctive design, it left a deep impression on her memory.

Ye Wenxin reached out and picked up the jade pendant. Gently turning it over, she saw a big ‘Liu’ character written crookedly in Earth’s Mandarin.

Ye Wenxin confirmed at a glance that it was the same pendant she gave Liu Churan.

“Where did you get this?”

“Mother gave it to me.”

“Huh?” This answer shocked Ye Wenxin. Thinking back to that weird dream, she couldn’t help feeling there was a reason behind it.

“Ni Ni, is your aunt’s name Liu Churan?” Ye Wenxin couldn’t refrain from asking.

Although there were too many confusing points, this jade pendant gave her the persistent feeling that Madam Yu was indeed, related to Liu Churan.

But Qiao Ni shook her head, her face blank. “I don’t know Auntie’s name.”

Somehow, Ye Wenxin was increasingly convinced by this.

If Liu Churan had deliberately concealed her identity, then Qiao Ni couldn’t have known her aunt’s name, let alone the connection Madam Yu had with a demon sect.

“Then what does she look like?” Ye Wenxin asked again.

“I don’t know. Auntie wears a veil, and she never takes it off in front of us.” Qiao Ni shook her head again, completely clueless about this aunt of hers.

Ye Wenxin shuddered involuntarily, then cautiously posed another question: “When was the last time you saw your aunt?”

Ye Wenxin thought, if this also hit the mark, then Liu Churan and Madam Yu would really have familial ties.

But why didn’t Liu Churan tell her that she still had family around? Unless, she feared Ye Wenxin would make her go home, so she hid the truth?

While Ye Wenxin’s mind was a mess, Qiao Ni finally reported the last time she met her aunt.

“I only met my aunt before going to the Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.” Qiao Ni gave an unexpected answer.

Ye Wenxin considered the one-year agreement she made with Liu Churan; the timing seemed to fit. She felt some panic, but quickly composed herself.

Even if Liu Churan was Qiao Ni’s aunt, it had nothing to do with her, Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin consoled herself, forcing down the unease she felt in her heart.

Qiao Ni, seeing her complicated expression, seemed like she wanted to say more, but then she heard Madam Yu’s voice from afar.

Qiao Ni immediately closed her mouth, and winked conspiratorially at Ye Wenxin.

---

Footnotes:

1. – Author used the term ‘cloud and rain’ here, which is euphemism for s**. ↩︎