Compared to Lin Yuyan's overflowing joy, Jiang Beiran found himself somewhat conflicted—debating whether he should go to Water Mirror Hall today or not. Amidst this hesitation, Jiang Beiran completed his daily "mountain patrol," though the points he earned today weren't many—only five. 'The sect's resources are getting harder to exploit...'
Just as he was considering whether to visit Boundless Cliff Peak tomorrow, Jiang Beiran spotted a familiar figure standing at the entrance of his small cottage. With a rather complicated mood, Jiang Beiran stepped forward and bowed to Yu Manwen.
"Greetings, Guardian Yu."
Seeing Jiang Beiran take the initiative to greet her, Yu Manwen inexplicably felt a surge of emotion she could only describe as moved. Nodding slightly, she replied, "The Hall Master noticed you hadn’t come for a while, so she sent me to fetch you."
Jiang Beiran had assumed that after yesterday’s awkwardness, Hall Master Shi would need a few days to cool off. But it seemed he had overthought it.
"My apologies for troubling Guardian Yu to make this trip."
'As expected, he didn’t ask what he should’ve asked, nor did he pry into what he shouldn’t.' Looking at Jiang Beiran’s predictably restrained behavior, Yu Manwen suddenly felt that his temperament had its merits. Cutting to the chase, Yu Manwen soon led Jiang Beiran to Shi Fenglan’s residence—the Pavilion of Orchids by the Water.
Under the guidance of a maidservant, they quickly found Shi Fenglan painting in a corner of the flower garden. Hearing footsteps, Shi Fenglan set down her brush and the purple clay palette in her hand before turning to Jiang Beiran.
"Little Beiran, why didn’t you take the Jade Fragrance back with you yesterday?"
Jiang Beiran’s first thought was that she must have blacked out. But upon further consideration, it couldn’t be that simple—after all, once she woke up, she would’ve noticed the smeared "tattoos" on her arm.
'Hmm...
So everyone’s decided to tacitly ignore yesterday’s incident... Good, I like that.' With a cupped-hand salute, Jiang Beiran replied, "This disciple was overwhelmed by the wine yesterday and remembers nothing afterward."
"Haha, I knew I was unbeatable at finger-guessing! So, how about today we—" Before Shi Fenglan could finish, she felt Yu Manwen’s sharp gaze land on her.
"Urk..."
Letting out a small, aggrieved noise, Shi Fenglan continued, "According to Guardian Yu, it was this Hall Master who passed out first yesterday, so you may take the Jade Fragrance with you."
"Many thanks, Hall Master."
"And don’t forget about tending to my plants."
"This disciple will remember."
Seeing that she truly didn’t seem to care about yesterday’s events, Jiang Beiran sighed in relief—after all, he still very much wanted those flower seeds.
"Good. You may go tend to them now. I must continue my painting."
"As you wish."
Jiang Beiran turned and walked toward the center of the garden, while Yu Manwen quietly followed behind. Only when Jiang Beiran began trimming the fourth potted plant did Yu Manwen finally speak up.
"Are you truly not the least bit curious about what happened after you left yesterday?"
"Indeed."
Jiang Beiran’s reply was crisp.
"You really are..."
Yu Manwen shook her head with a sigh.
"I don’t know whether to call you deep or simply indifferent."
"Just afraid of dying, that’s all."
"Pfft—" The bluntness of Jiang Beiran’s words made Yu Manwen burst into laughter.
Ahem.
Clearing her throat and regaining her composure, Yu Manwen pulled over a small stool and sat beside Jiang Beiran.
"Do you really see the Heart Returning Sect as so dangerous?"
"No." Jiang Beiran shook his head.
"I think the entire continent is dangerous."
"That... isn’t wrong. The sect’s rules requiring disciples to descend the mountain monthly and the establishment of the Iron Seal position are meant to instill this awareness in all disciples. But you..."
Yu Manwen hesitated before swallowing the rest of her words and changing the subject.
"Zijin and the others are my favorite new disciples in this batch. But they’re all too naive—I’ve always worried about their trial missions. Yet I never expected Zijin to dig you out. I suppose this counts as fate."
"No. Absolutely not."
Jiang Beiran’s resolute denial left Yu Manwen at a loss. She could only shift topics again.
"But last time, didn’t you say you’d comprehended new chess techniques and needed to go into seclusion?"
"Hm?"
Jiang Beiran gave Yu Manwen a puzzled look.
"Last time Guardian Yu came, didn’t you ask if I was secluding myself to avoid you? And I answered yes."
'This conversation is impossible!' Yu Manwen abruptly stood up, kicking the small stool over in the process. Seeing Yu Manwen’s chest heaving with anger, Jiang Beiran cupped his hands.
"Guardian Yu, please calm down. If this disciple said something wrong, I’ll apologize."
"No, you didn’t. Every word you said was the truth—that’s good."
As if convincing herself, Yu Manwen’s breathing suddenly steadied. Just as she was about to sit back down, Yu Manwen turned her head and noticed Shi Fenglan had approached at some point.
"Hall Master, is something the matter?"
Yu Manwen asked. Shi Fenglan shook her head.
"Nothing much. But Manwen, why are you still here? Didn’t you have hall patrol duty today?"
"I entrusted that to Guardian Sun. So today, I’ll be staying here the whole time."
"Ah...?"
The moment Yu Manwen finished speaking, both Shi Fenglan and Jiang Beiran made sounds of clear disdain. This infuriated Yu Manwen to the point her silver teeth clenched her lips, and her entire body trembled slightly. Realizing they shouldn’t provoke her further, Jiang Beiran and Shi Fenglan promptly turned back to their own tasks.
After a long silence, as Jiang Beiran was fertilizing a pot of morning glories, a voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"Beiran, think of a way to get Manwen to leave so we can play finger-guessing again!"
Glancing at Shi Fenglan, who was vigorously signaling him from a distance, Jiang Beiran spread his hands helplessly.
"Hm? You don’t know how to use Secret Voice Transmission?"
Shi Fenglan asked. Jiang Beiran nodded.
"Ah, then just listen—I’ll teach you how to..."
Halfway through her transmission, Shi Fenglan watched as Jiang Beiran stood up and bowed to Yu Manwen.
"Guardian Yu, Hall Master Shi says she wishes to continue playing finger-guessing with me and hopes you won’t interfere."
"What!?"
Both Yu Manwen and Shi Fenglan froze in shock, neither expecting Jiang Beiran to do this. But Yu Manwen recovered quickly and stormed over to Shi Fenglan.
"Hall Master, have you forgotten our three agreements?"
"I didn’t... Jiang Beiran is lying, I really didn’t..."
"Hall Master!"
"Fine... I was wrong." ......
Listening to their exchange, Jiang Beiran couldn’t tell who the real Hall Master of Water Mirror Hall was—but both were equally troublesome.
'Sigh...
Just to get some seeds, must I go through all this...?' PS: Finally managed to write it out. People really do need to push themselves sometimes.
I’m off to sleep—see you tonight.
(Dark circles under eyes) (End of Chapter)