Chapter 23: Another Soul

It was a stormy day when they arrived at Zhou Yuan’s place. Shu Wan hadn’t expected that Zhou Yuan would be standing at the entrance of the courtyard, waiting for them.

His usual emotionless face finally showed an expression, though it wasn’t particularly friendly. With a slightly mocking tone, he said: “You’ve come? I knew it. Am I some kind of shelter from the rain? This is the fourth time in the past ten days. Every time it rains, heh, you all show up.”

Sigh… It was the plum rain season, so there was no helping it. Shu Wan immediately put on a smiling face to smooth things over: “Uncle-Master Zhou, we weren’t sure if coming too frequently would upset you, haha…”

Zhou Yuan rolled his eyes and looked at Yi Chenlan. His expression softened a little, but his words were still sharp. “If you didn’t have some talent, I wouldn’t bother with you. Come in.”

Shu Wan happily pulled Yi Chenlan inside. She had always known that Zhou Yuan was a person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Though he wasn’t particularly skilled in worldly affairs, his heart was definitely not bad.

That said, he was also a difficult person to deal with. If they ever annoyed him too much, he might just shut them out without mercy next time.

But what surprised Shu Wan was that Yi Chenlan was so capable, with such high medical talent, that he managed to earn Zhou Yuan’s respect. It was even obvious that Zhou Yuan seemed to like Yi Chenlan more than other younger disciples.

After all, Zhou Yuan was somewhat slow to react, and he didn’t care much about the grudges in the Jianghu. He didn’t follow the trend of disliking Yi Chenlan, and his thoughts were very straightforward. It was only natural for him to admire Yi Chenlan for his intelligence and medical talent.

“Today we’ll continue practicing bone-setting techniques. You’ll try them yourself in a bit.” Zhou Yuan said to Yi Chenlan, before glancing at Shu Wan with a cold expression. “You can just watch from the side.”

Shu Wan wasn’t bothered by Zhou Yuan’s apparent disdain. As long as he liked Yi Chenlan, that was enough for her. She immediately responded loudly: “Yes! Uncle-Master Zhou!”

Zhou Yuan ignored her and turned his attention to Yi Chenlan’s movements. Suddenly, he frowned. “Chenlan, why are you so distracted today?”

“Sorry.” Yi Chenlan rubbed his brow. “I was daydreaming.”

Shu Wan leaned closer, her face filled with concern. “Did you not rest well? Or are you feeling sick?”

“It’s nothing.” Yi Chenlan’s gaze was a little deep as he looked over. It seemed to carry a hint of introspection. Finally, he withdrew his gaze and smiled lightly. “I was just distracted for a moment. I’m not sick, don’t worry.”

Yi Chenlan silently followed the steps that Zhou Yuan had taught him, but his thoughts once again wandered. This time, however, Zhou Yuan didn’t notice anything unusual.

Since the second rainy day, he had felt something strange, though he couldn’t pinpoint the reason. By the third time, a vague suspicion began to form in his mind. Today, that suspicion was confirmed.

It seemed that Shu Wan had been intentionally helping him avoid certain harms he was destined to face.

It was on such a rainy day in his past life that he had been ruthlessly beaten by Shu Qi, his lungs severely injured, and he lost consciousness immediately.

It was because he had released Shi Tianlei. As long as he spoke, Shu Qi’s wrongdoings could be exposed.

Like a broken object, he had been thrown into a dark dungeon, imprisoned in despair and pain for half a year. Each time he coughed, it felt like his lungs were being burned, a suffering that accompanied him for the rest of his life until his death.

In this life, he had long considered ways to deal with this, but he hadn’t expected that Shu Wan seemed to be using her clumsy methods to protect him.

Every rainy day, Zhou Yuan could prove that he was with him all day, and there was no possibility that he had released Shi Tianlei. Zhou Yuan was practically the only person in the Zhongshan Sect who would help him, and whose words others would trust.

That was why Shu Wan always dragged him here whenever it rained.

Yi Chenlan glanced at Shu Wan again, secretly watching her.

But… how did she know?

First of all, she could never be like him, someone who had been reborn. If this was the same Shu Wan from his past life, the one he had killed, she would never act this way. Her eyes wouldn’t be so clear, and he would have known instantly whether her kindness was genuine or fake.

Aside from her face, she had no resemblance to the Shu Wan from his past life.

It was like… the same shell, but a completely different soul inside.

Having experienced rebirth, Yi Chenlan was more inclined to believe this guess. The young girl beside him was not the “Shu Wan” he had known.

She had never caused him any harm, always taking care of him, warming him, and showing concern for him. But he wondered… where did such a sweet and adorable person come from?

Yi Chenlan’s lips curled slightly. Where she came from wasn’t important; what mattered was that he would never let her leave.

“Senior Brother Ah Lan, is this enough? You make it look so simple when you do it. I still don’t quite understand…” Shu Wan propped her cheek on her hand and tapped her head, looking troubled.

Yi Chenlan couldn’t help but smile. It was the same face, yet in his past life, he had found it twisted and ugly. In this life, however, it seemed soft and adorable no matter how he looked at it. “Uncle-Master Zhou teaches quickly. If you don’t understand, I’ll teach you slowly next time.”

Shu Wan grinned at him. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, you’re so kind.”

Yi Chenlan paused for a moment, lowering his head slightly, his hands moving a bit faster as he tried to focus on the task at hand. He gently pressed his lips together, his ears turning faintly red.

“Hey—”

Zhou Yuan’s voice called out: “Go check the fire in the back for me. I’m refining medicine and can’t leave.”

Shu Wan immediately jumped up. “I’ll go! I’ll go! Senior Brother Ah Lan, you can keep doing yours.”

She skipped out the door, and Yi Chenlan’s gaze followed her small figure until it disappeared from his sight. His smile deepened as he stared at the empty doorway for a long time, the curve of his lips growing even more joyful.

—

The rain had lessened a bit by now. Shu Wan was in the backyard, watching the fire for Zhou Yuan. She had no idea what he was brewing, but it smelled bitter. Shu Wan furrowed her small brow and kept lifting the lid to check it.

She squatted down, propping her chin on her hand, and boredly poked at the fire with a small stick. Suddenly, her hand froze, and her expression grew more serious.

In the air, besides the bitter smell of the medicine, there was an unmistakable trace of blood…

Shu Wan quickly stood up, her body tensing as she looked warily behind her—

A disheveled man stood not far behind her, and she didn’t know how long he had been staring at her.

His hair was dull and matted, tangled with his thick, long beard, nearly covering his entire face. Only his cold, venomous eyes were visible. His clothes were torn and tattered, and his feet were bare, covered in dirt. A strong smell of blood radiated from him.

Crimson blood dripped from his hands, falling drop by drop onto the ground from his fingertips.

“Little girl, I have a question to ask you.”

“Do you know our young master? Oh… our young master’s name is Yi Chenlan.”

He spoke slowly, his tone strange, as if he hadn’t spoken in years and had forgotten how to form words properly. Shu Wan inwardly groaned. In the book, he had killed his way to Shu Qi, and yet, Zhou Yuan’s residence was far from Shu Qi’s place, yet here he was appearing right in front of her.

Why? She had taken Yi Chenlan far away, yet they still couldn’t avoid this person.

It was as though it was the fated conclusion. No matter how one tried to avoid it, those events would still find their way to them.

But… she had managed to avoid many close calls before, and this time would be no different. Shu Wan’s gaze grew firm as she looked at Shi Tianlei, her fists clenched with nervousness.

“There is no young master here. Please look elsewhere.” she said. She couldn’t let him see Yi Chenlan. If Shu Qi arrived with his people later, there would be no way to explain.

Shi Tianlei nodded mechanically, looking at her as though she were already dead. “Since you don’t know, it’s of no use. I’ll send you to accompany my master instead.”

Without any hesitation, Shi Tianlei’s words had barely left his mouth before he moved smoothly, his palm gathering a strong, powerful gust of wind.

Shu Wan knew he would say that—this was from the book. On his way to meet Shu Qi, Shi Tianlei had killed everyone he encountered without leaving a single survivor.

She silently took two steps back, a growing panic beginning to show in her eyes. The fear of facing Shi Tianlei expanded uncontrollably within her. In the book, he had been subdued and killed by Shu Qi and a few Zhongshan Sect masters.

But here, Yi Chenlan’s martial skills had just started to improve, and Zhou Yuan was barely even a third-rate fighter, not to mention the young apprentices who were even weaker.

Even if everyone in this place teamed up, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Shi Tianlei.