Chapter 32: The Curse

When Duan Yuexian introduced herself, Yi Chenlan lowered his gaze slightly, silently studying her for a few moments without saying a word.

Duan Yuexian clutched her chest, seemingly in discomfort, as she subtly suppressed the poison within her. Taking a step forward, she said: “I did not deceive you. I am indeed the owner of Luo Xian Mountain Villa. Three days… Ten years ago, I came to Zhongshan Sect to stop Jiang Xuanfeng from fighting Yi Heng. He refused to listen to my advice and went anyway. I was so furious that we had a big argument, and I intended to return to the villa and sever ties with him. But I never anticipated that I had fallen for Shu Qi’s cunning trick! It… it…”

She trailed off with “it.” evidently too enraged to find the right words. Duan Yuexian closed her eyes to calm herself, then spoke again: “If I hadn’t known the technique of concealing my breath, I would not have survived until now. But this cultivation method harms the body and can no longer be used. Since I woke up two days ago, I’ve been looking for a way out, but I have found no clue… It’s infuriating that I don’t even know why that vile man wanted to harm me!”

She did not know, but Yi Chenlan understood perfectly—she had mistaken him for Jiang Yang upon their first meeting. She must have seen Jiang Xuanfeng’s wife before.

Having lived again, he knew that he resembled her.

Seeing Yi Chenlan remain silent in contemplation, Duan Yuexian furrowed her brows and said: “I am a friend of your father, I will not harm you. Quickly, cure the poison within me.” She pointed at Shu Wan. “This is Shu Qi’s daughter, right? Hand her over to me.”

As soon as her words fell, Yi Chenlan’s gaze swept toward her—disinterested yet carrying an intimidating pressure.

Duan Yuexian froze for a moment, involuntarily stepping back half a pace.

Yi Chenlan glanced down at Shu Wan, who slept quietly in his arms. Her pale face looked innocent and harmless, though her body was dirty, giving her a pitiful, disheveled appearance.

A trace of softness finally appeared on his face.

Duan Yuexian opened her mouth: “Jiang Yang—”

“I am Yi Chenlan.”

Yi Chenlan raised his head and calmly looked at her. “You have mistaken the person.”

“Impossible!” Duan Yuexian immediately denied, crying out: “How can you not be Jiang Yang?! You look exactly like your mother! Yi Chenlan… Yi Chenlan… I understand now! It was Shu Qi who deceived you! He tricked you…”

She muttered as she shook her head: “I knew it, he harbored hatred for Jiang Xuanfeng and could only think of such vile schemes. No wonder he wanted to harm me—he feared I would recognize you if I stayed alive… Did he tell you that you are Yi Heng’s son? You are not!”

“Quickly, cure the poison in me! We need to go outside and clear things up! Let Shu Qi’s evil deeds be exposed to the world!”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, while Yi Chenlan remained composed. He tightened his hold on Shu Wan in his arms and calmly rejected Duan Yuexian: “I cannot cure the poison. Once your Internal Energy is restored, it will harm her life. My martial arts are not as strong as yours—how could I stop you then?”

Duan Yuexian stared at Yi Chenlan in disbelief. “Are you crazy? You’re protecting her?! She is Shu Qi’s daughter!”

Yi Chenlan answered indifferently: “And so what?”

“You are Jiang Xuanfeng’s son. All these years, you and the world have been deceived! I can be your witness, you—” Duan Yuexian scanned Yi Chenlan from top to bottom, her voice filled with hatred. “Look at your back, covered in whip scars. You must have had a terrible time these years, right? Shu Qi, that hypocrite, must have tortured you in countless ways. Don’t you want revenge?”

“I can help you, tear off Shu Qi’s disgusting mask, crush him underfoot, and make sure he never rises again. And you’re willing to kill me just to protect this little slut?!”

Yi Chenlan’s expression darkened abruptly. “Duan Villa Master, out of respect for your past friendship with Jiang Xuanfeng, I will grant you a swift death. If you continue to insult me, I will make sure your suffering will be worse than death.”

“I will tear off his mask.” he added: “but I don’t need anyone’s help.”

Duan Yuexian had endured for so long, but was finally losing her strength. She bent over slightly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then weakly seethed: “I help you… and you still refuse? If you miss this opportunity, you will forever bear the name of the Demon Lord’s son, and be trampled by the world! No one will pity you! No one will treat you kindly!”

Yi Chenlan’s fingers curled slightly as he looked down at the peacefully sleeping Shu Wan. He gently rubbed her small hand a couple of times, then softly laughed: “You don’t need to say more. If you restore your martial arts, she will be in danger. As for being Jiang Xuanfeng’s son, I don’t care for that.”

Duan Yuexian gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. “Cure the poison in me, and I guarantee you—I will not kill her.”

Yi Chenlan smiled faintly but still refused to relent. “I never place my bets on someone else’s promises.”

Duan Yuexian suddenly coughed violently, spewing several mouthfuls of blood. She slowly knelt to the ground, gasping for air, her eyes locking onto Yi Chenlan with an oddly twisted smile.

“Fate is truly cruel… Jiang Xuanfeng, the Great Hero of the era, could never have imagined that he would have a son like you—one who is full of poison. You are impressive… very impressive, far better than your spineless and weak father.”

“But still, it is a pity. Though you are more decisive and ruthless than him, your end will undoubtedly be more tragic than his… Do you believe that?”

“What good could a thief like Shu Qi teach you? You are truly naive… One day, all your pride will break in a warm embrace, and you will be as helpless as mud, unable to rise again. I will watch from above, watching the day when you regret today’s choices.”

Duan Yuexian clenched her chest, curling up into a ball, her mouth spewing blood as she forced out her final words. She stared with wide eyes, but slowly, her breath faded.

Yi Chenlan glanced at her and then turned his gaze away. Having lived two lives, he had accumulated countless debts of death; he was indifferent to adding one more. Besides, she had just injured Shu Wan, which made her deserving of death in his eyes.

He picked up Shu Wan, holding her horizontally, and placed her gently on the steps beside the platform. Then, sitting down beside her, he hesitated for a moment before greedily pulling her into his arms, enveloping her delicate form completely.

Duan Yuexian’s cursed words echoed in his mind like a chaotic chant—

“No one will pity you! No one will treat you kindly!”

“What good could a thief like Shu Qi teach you?”

“I will watch from above, seeing the day when you regret today…”

…

No one will treat him kindly? Yi Chenlan lowered his head and looked at Shu Wan’s innocent, soft little face, gazing at it for a long time. Finally, he couldn’t help but gently rub her cheek with his hand.

She had unknowingly stolen his heart, without even realizing it, without taking responsibility. Did she think that by acting so innocent and obedient, he would simply let her off?

Shu Qi, of course, had taught her much the same as he had been taught. Yi Chenlan knew that well. But the girl in his arms, this warm and gentle little one, was clearly not taught by Shu Qi.

Yi Chenlan’s gaze remained fixed on Shu Wan’s face, as though he couldn’t look away. It wasn’t until Shu Wan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, her brow furrowing as if she was about to wake, that Yi Chenlan suddenly snapped back to reality. He hastily pulled his arms away in a bit of panic, silently chastising himself for such a lapse in manners. Had he truly lost his sense of propriety? Was he under some sort of spell?

A faint flush crept up Yi Chenlan’s ears, and he rubbed his fingers restlessly, as if he could still feel the lingering warmth from just moments ago.

He gently leaned Shu Wan’s head against his shoulder, avoiding looking in that direction, trying to maintain an air of a proper gentleman, as if he wasn’t the one who had just struggled to hold himself back from getting too close.

“Senior Brother Ah Lan.” After a short while, Shu Wan groggily opened her eyes. “What happened to me? Hmm… I feel so tired…”

She blinked in confusion and slowly sat up, asking: “How did I fall asleep?”

Before Yi Chenlan could respond, Shu Wan’s mind exploded with questions, and without waiting for an answer, she fired off another one. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, how did you find me? Are you hurt? When she dragged me away, I thought it was you. But when she suddenly spoke, I almost died from fright…”

“Huh? Where did she go?” Shu Wan, half in distress, suddenly noticed the woman was gone and began to look around anxiously.

Yi Chenlan felt both amused and exasperated. “Your voice is still hoarse, so say less.”

Though her throat hurt, Shu Wan wasn’t about to stop talking at this point. She urgently looked at Yi Chenlan. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, please answer me.”

Yi Chenlan paused for a moment, recalling that when the stone wall had collapsed, he hadn’t had a blade with him—just poison. Fortunately, one of the poisons he had used to kill Shi Tianlei that day had high corrosion properties, which helped him break through the stone wall quickly.

As he thought about it, his fingers curled instinctively, but he didn’t expect Shu Wan, who had been carefully watching him, to notice.

“Senior Brother Ah Lan… What happened to your hand?” Shu Wan asked cautiously, hesitant to touch it. How could such a beautiful hand be injured so badly?

Yi Chenlan naturally moved his hand away. “It’s nothing, just some blood from earlier.”

“You’re lying!” Shu Wan exclaimed anxiously. “Let me see! Your fingers were fine when we entered the forbidden area!”

Unable to refuse Shu Wan, and fearing she might cry, Yi Chenlan sighed and softly reassured her: “It’s just a small scrape. It’s nothing serious. It’ll heal soon.”

“Once we’re out, you need to properly treat it.” Shu Wan whispered, holding Yi Chenlan’s hand gently. “I’ll check it every day.”

Yi Chenlan smiled and nodded. “Alright.”

“Senior Brother Ah Lan, what happened just now? Where did that person go?” Shu Wan suddenly remembered and asked again. “She was very dangerous, and her martial arts were so high…”

Yi Chenlan sighed lightly in his heart, knowing this was something he would have to explain to her sooner or later. He lowered his voice and said: “The situation was chaotic at that time. I knew you were taken by her, so I quietly followed behind, waiting for the right moment to act.”

Shu Wan asked nervously: “Wait for the right moment to act?”

“Yes.” Yi Chenlan nodded, hesitating for a moment. He took out a tiny wooden tube from his robes and slowly continued: “Actually… that woman is already dead. I was hiding behind the wooden door, took out this plug, and released a highly dispersive poison that killed her.”

As he spoke, he casually observed Shu Wan’s reaction.

Shu Wan gasped: “She’s dead? The person from just now… She had such high martial arts, did she fight you? Are you hurt?”

Her expression first showed confusion and fear, then suddenly shifted to concern. Yi Chenlan watched for a while, but didn’t detect any trace of wariness or disgust in her gaze.

He smiled slightly, no longer furrowing his brow. His expression softened considerably. “I’m fine. She was poisoned, and her Internal Energy dissipated, so she couldn’t fight me.”

Shu Wan slapped her hand in realization. “I understand now! The pill you gave me earlier, it was to detoxify, right?”

Yi Chenlan’s poison was so potent, she had naturally been affected by it as well. No wonder he had been so eager to give her the pill as soon as he arrived.

“Yes…” Yi Chenlan reluctantly admitted. “Wan Wan, I know using poison like that might seem…”

“Senior Brother Ah Lan, you’re overthinking again.” Shu Wan tugged at Yi Chenlan’s sleeve and shook her head. “It was just a way to save my life, there’s no shame in it.”

Yi Chenlan’s expression softened, and his phoenix eyes became gentle once more, just like they usually were. “Poison techniques come from all walks of life. You won’t look down on me, will you?”

Shu Wan was exasperated. She couldn’t help but gently tap Yi Chenlan’s forehead. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died just now. You saved me—how could I look down on you? I’m not an ingrate.”

Though he had been lightly tapped, Yi Chenlan actually smiled faintly.

This moment was different from the darkness of earlier, and now they could see each other’s faces clearly. Shu Wan noticed that while Yi Chenlan appeared to be in good spirits, his lips were still pale, and the wounds on his body were oozing blood.

Shu Wan suddenly slapped her forehead, remembering the most important thing in the forbidden area. She hurriedly scrambled to her feet and ran toward the high platform. “Senior Brother Ah Lan, wait for me! I need to get something!”

She was in such a hurry that Yi Chenlan couldn’t help but laugh softly as he followed her up the steps at a slower pace.

As soon as Shu Wan reached the top of the platform, she froze. She touched the back of her head and looked around suspiciously, muttering to herself: “How strange…”

“What’s wrong?” Yi Chenlan walked up to her and, seeing her dazed and somewhat silly expression, asked with a smile.

Shu Wan pursed her lips. She couldn’t tell Yi Chenlan that there was supposed to be a nameless white bone here.

After all, it was part of the book’s setup, and she couldn’t explain it.

Shu Wan shook her head in disappointment. “Nothing…” She felt a little down, wondering why the plot had deviated so much. The white bone was gone, and the treasure that was supposed to be in front of it was missing too. To make matters worse, there was now a mad, alive person instead.

Wait… hold on…

By the timeline, the events where Yi Chenlan wiped out Zhongshan Sect and Jiang Yang led people into the forbidden area should have happened two years later. However, her presence had altered the story, causing the entry into the forbidden area to happen earlier.

Two years later, Jiang Yang would have found a withered corpse here; but right now, they had encountered a living person.

It seemed… to match up.

“Senior Brother Ah Lan, the person from earlier… where is she?” Shu Wan grabbed Yi Chenlan’s hand eagerly, her clear eyes full of anticipation.

She wanted to bring everything of the best to Senior Brother Ah Lan.

This was just the beginning.