Chapter 25: Heartfelt Worries

Shu Wan sank deeply into a heavy sleep.

She saw, in the bamboo forest among the mountains, an extraordinarily beautiful young boy. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a bamboo stalk, crying sorrowfully.

The soft whimpers of the child made her heart tighten. She rushed forward, wanting to pat his little head and wipe away his tears. As she reached out, however, she realized that her hand was even smaller than his.

Even her voice was beyond her control: “Senior Brother Ah Lan…”

The young boy raised his head, revealing a delicate and adorable face. His large eyes already hinted at the shape of phoenix eyes, looking as beautiful as the little child under Guanyin’s seat.

His gaze was timid, carrying a trace of hope.

Shu Wan looked at him with great affection, but before she could say anything, the scene before her suddenly changed—

All around her, there was a cacophony of chaotic sounds.

“Swear to kill the Demon Lord! Cleanse the Wulin!”

“Eliminate the harm from Jianghu!”

“Attack Snowy Night Mountain! Crush Yi Chenlan to dust!”

She saw Jiang Yang charging toward Yi Chenlan with the Sword of Heaven in his hand, and Yi Chenlan neither dodged nor resisted. The sword struck him straight in the chest, piercing through his body, and blood immediately spurted out.

He collapsed to the ground, his long black hair spreading out, yet his face remained as stunningly beautiful as ever, captivating anyone who laid eyes on him.

Shu Wan suddenly remembered. She had dreamed of this scene the night before she crossed over—exactly the same, this very image. It was the first time she had seen Yi Chenlan. She even remembered him saying those words with a voice filled with despair: “The thing I wanted… I can finally have it once…”

Indeed, Yi Chenlan slightly parted his lips. His face was so pale, his expression even more pained than before, and his voice was filled with such despair that it made one reluctant to hear it.

However, what he said was: “Wan Wan, Senior Brother Ah Lan has come to be with you…”

…

When Shu Wan woke up, her head was heavy and dizzy. She felt as though she had dreamt many, many dreams, but she couldn’t remember a single one. Jiang Yang was standing guard beside her. As soon as he saw her open her eyes, he immediately beamed with joy and said: “Little Junior Sister! You’ve finally woken up. These past few days, Uncle-Master Zhou exhausted all his efforts, and at last, he managed to save your life. Now that you’re awake, we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

“…I was unconscious for a long time?” Her voice was hoarse, and she felt extremely weak.

“Oh no, Wan Wan, let me get you a glass of water.” Jiang Yang quickly brought over some water. “Drink a bit to soothe your throat. Look at your voice, you’ve been unconscious for five days, you must be really dehydrated.”

Shu Wan slowly drank some water from Jiang Yang’s hand. She slowly glanced around, her hands anxiously twisting together, and softly asked: “Where is Senior Brother Ah Lan?”

Before she had lost consciousness, she only remembered being held in Senior Brother Ah Lan’s arms. His embrace was incredibly strong, making her feel particularly safe. She recalled how he gently whispered in her ear, radiating the feeling of protection.

But… but what happened to him?

Seeing Shu Wan’s anxiety, Jiang Yang scratched his head, thinking for a moment. “Ah Lan… he’s still alive.”

His words were cryptic, and Shu Wan immediately grew anxious. “What do you mean? Was Senior Brother Ah Lan injured? Did… did that strange person hurt him? Is he badly injured? Is he awake now?”

She spoke urgently, unable to stop herself from coughing violently.

Jiang Yang quickly stood up and patted her gently: “Hey, hey, calm down… Ah Lan was injured, badly even, but it wasn’t that person named Shi Tianlei who did it. It was Master.”

Shu Wan’s mind went blank, and her voice became choked with emotion. “Master did it? Why would he hit Senior Brother Ah Lan? How serious is the injury? Where is he hurt? I need to see him!”

As she spoke, Shu Wan tried to get out of bed. Jiang Yang immediately rushed to stop her. “No, no! Wan Wan, don’t move around! You’re still hurt, Uncle-Master Zhou said you need to rest!” He was genuinely anxious, having answered Little Junior Sister’s questions earnestly, but why did it seem like his words didn’t comfort her at all? Instead, they only made her more distressed?

“Little Junior Sister! Don’t disregard your own health, Ah Lan brought this upon himself. He…”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Shu Wan glared at Jiang Yang like an angry little beast, her pale face turning red with fury. “Don’t stop me! Move away!”

“What’s going on here? Why are you arguing?” Zhou Yuan walked in, holding medicine, and frowned at Jiang Yang. “Ah Yang, you can go out for now.”

Shu Wan immediately looked at Zhou Yuan with pitiful eyes. “Uncle-Master Zhou, how is Senior Brother Ah Lan? Is he badly hurt? Where exactly is he hurt? Where is he now…”

“Is his arm still there?” Shu Wan’s eyes widened in terror, fearing that Zhou Yuan might say that Yi Chenlan had any permanent damage.

Zhou Yuan placed the medicine in her hand. “Drink this first.”

Shu Wan refused immediately. She set the bowl of medicine aside and pleaded: “Uncle-Master Zhou, can you tell me? I’m scared…”

“Drink the medicine, and I’ll tell you. Otherwise, I’ll make you sleep with acupoint pressure.”

Shu Wan hurriedly brought the bowl of medicine back and obediently drank it all. Her clear gaze turned back to Zhou Yuan, who sighed deeply.

His sigh made Shu Wan’s heart tighten. “Uncle-Master Zhou, what happened? Why did my father strike Senior Brother Ah Lan?”

“I don’t really understand what your father was thinking that day.” Zhou Yuan said, still puzzled. “Shi Tianlei’s escape made him very angry. But how did he conclude that Yi Chenlan was colluding with Shi Tianlei? There was no evidence…”

Shu Wan’s heart sank. Shu Qi wouldn’t care about evidence. Anything that could torment Yi Chenlan, he would certainly seize upon. “And then? Uncle-Master Zhou, please, tell me clearly.”

“That day, I was testing some acupuncture points. Suddenly, Yi Chenlan brought you in. You were severely injured. I had just checked you, and then Senior Brother Shu and the others arrived. At that time, we didn’t know the truth. Now, I understand that Shi Tianlei, who had been imprisoned in the Zhongshan Sect, escaped and killed many people. They were pursuing him.”

“But after a brief conversation, Senior Brother Shu insisted that Yi Chenlan had colluded with Shi Tianlei to harm the sect members. The other brothers agreed. Senior Brother Shu kicked Yi Chenlan, and from his expression, I could tell it was a hard kick.”

Shu Wan pressed her lips together, looking deeply pained. “How could he… How could he do that… Is it because I was hurt that he took his anger out on Senior Brother Ah Lan?”

Zhou Yuan glanced at her and shook his head. “I don’t think it’s because of you. It was more likely his anger at Shi Tianlei escaping. Senior Brother Shu led people out of the mountain to hunt down Shi Tianlei, and didn’t even come to check on you before leaving. But he always puts righteousness first, worried about Jianghu’s turmoil. He didn’t focus on you at that time, but don’t take it personally. The thing is… everyone was so angry that they wanted to execute Yi Chenlan. They were discussing cutting off his arm as punishment…”

Tears immediately welled up in Shu Wan’s eyes. “No, that can’t be! They didn’t cut Senior Brother Ah Lan’s arm, did they? His arm is still okay, right?”

“No, they didn’t cut it off. I stopped them.” Zhou Yuan said sternly. “I still think this matter lacks evidence. If Yi Chenlan is truly guilty, then I have no objections to whatever punishment he receives. But jumping to conclusions like this is too hasty. Shi Tianlei has already escaped. We need to capture him and let him face Yi Chenlan for a proper confrontation before making a final judgment.”

“However, even though your father has been relentlessly pursuing Shi Tianlei and issued a Jianghu decree, it’s as if the man vanished into thin air. He hasn’t killed anyone since, and there’s no trace of him at all.”

Zhou Yuan patted Shu Wan’s hand, trying to offer comfort. “Don’t worry. Your father is not an unreasonable person. He has also said that if they don’t catch Shi Tianlei, there will be big trouble. Though we don’t know what he truly means, I believe he wouldn’t want to let Yi Chenlan suffer unjustly.”

So Shi Tianlei had escaped. No wonder Shu Qi wasn’t here; he was rushing to capture Shi Tianlei. Shu Wan naturally knew what the “big trouble” meant to Shu Qi—it was simply the fear that his own wrongdoings would be exposed. She gritted her teeth and asked: “Then where is Senior Brother Ah Lan now? Uncle-Master Zhou, have you checked on him? Is he okay? I… I want to see him. Please don’t tell my father, alright?”

This time, Zhou Yuan’s face showed hesitation. He thought for a long while before saying: “You’d better not go.”