Because that person was gradually approaching, Yan Jianglan finally heard that sound belonging exclusively to Sheng Jiao amid the chaotic crowd—the sound of scorched earth cracking. He immediately froze.
Sheng Jiao…?
How could Sheng Jiao be in Wuyin City?!
Yan Jianglan was dumbfounded on the spot, pushed back half a step unconsciously by Sheng Jiao’s nearly man-eating aura.
This action seemed for some reason to have infuriated Sheng Jiao. He walked slowly to Yan Jianglan’s side and removed his mask, his gaze cold and merciless as it fixed on him.
Yan Jianglan froze.
Though Sheng Jiao was usually as cold as ice, a tight-lipped fellow, Yan Jianglan, because of “Sound of Leisure,” could faintly perceive some truth of emotion beneath that thick layer of ice.
Since their youthful first meeting, after all these years, Yan Jianglan had never again seen Sheng Jiao with such a cold gaze.
And that gaze was directed at himself.
Amid such chaotic noise, even with his ears perked up, Yan Jianglan no longer heard the sound of flowers blooming—only the continuous sound of scorched earth cracking.
A thought suddenly surfaced in Yan Jianglan’s mind.
It’s over.
Sheng Jiao’s pupils stared at him hollowly. His lips moved slightly, speaking a few words.
Yan Jianglan was about to listen carefully when midnight arrived precisely.
Countless fireworks from Wuyin City rose into the pitch-black sky from all directions. After a burst of colorful light exploded, the crackling roar of fireworks instantly drowned out all sounds around.
Though Yan Jianglan no longer lost his soul hearing thunder, he still feared sudden loud noises. He immediately was startled into a daze, forgetting to even watch Sheng Jiao’s lip movements.
Sheng Jiao, seeing him frightened stiff, raised his hand coldly.
Yan Jianglan had moments ago timidly been thinking of going to voluntarily turn himself in to Sect Master Sheng. Yet truly seeing Sheng Jiao, he felt inexplicable fear. His heart raced without cease, leaving his mind in chaos.
Not knowing what he was thinking, Yan Jianglan, when Sheng Jiao reached out toward him, without a word turned around and…
Ran.
Yan Yuhu: “?”
Sheng Jiao watched expressionlessly at Yan Jianglan’s panicked and fleeing figure.
Yan Yuhu thought for a moment and understood.
Senior brother had completely shed the identity of “Xi Jue,” “Xi Jianglan,” and naturally must also completely sever all ties with other old acquaintances, including this yet-unmerged dao companion.
If senior brother truly wanted to rekindle the former affection with Sheng Jiao, he definitely wouldn’t run so fast, even using spiritual force.
Seeing Sheng Jiao step forward as if to pursue, Yan Yuhu raised his hand to block him, saying coldly: “Sect Master Sheng, have some self-respect.”
Sheng Jiao looked at him coldly, a faint blue-patterned light suddenly flashing in his pupils.
***
The momentary impulse and dread of danger made Yan Jianglan bolt to his feet and run. Spiritual force wrapped around his entire body. In an instant he pierced through the crowd and returned to the Evil Qi Road’s residence.
Before even stepping through the door to hide, the impulse scattered slowly as the cold wind blew.
Yan Jianglan stood in a daze at the door. The courage that had made him dare to flee before an enraged Sheng Jiao transformed into a small whirlwind and was carried away by the wind. His heart was left only with endless regret and fear.
“Ahhh—!” Yan Jianglan pathetically covered his eyes, staggering to sit on the steps. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. “Why did I run?!”
What on earth drove him to dare run before Sheng Jiao’s eyes?!
Sheng Jiao didn’t show emotions on his face, but that expression and tone just now indicated he was in an unprecedented fit of rage.
Yan Jianglan had feigned death and escaped for three whole months. Meeting again after separation was difficult enough, yet he’d acted like he’d seen a demon and bolted.
Yan Jianglan trembled as he thought: “Is there still time to go back and apologize now?”
Surely there wasn’t time.
Yan Jianglan painfully buried his face in his knees, wishing he were dead.
Yet after finally calming down completely, Yan Jianglan suddenly saw the bright side of things. He raised his hand and patted his burning hot cheeks: “He’s already so angry, he’ll definitely try every means to chase me down and catch me. At that time I…”
At that time, what should I do to make him stop being angry?
“Or perhaps…” Yan Jianglan suddenly had a wild idea. “I could pretend to have amnesia.”
A person with amnesia who sees someone wearing a ferocious demon mask looking like they want to eat him, even reaching out to grab hold and bite him on the spot, would definitely run away in terror, right?
Yes, very reasonable.
After thinking this through, Yan Jianglan fell silent for a long time before murmuring: “I really am an absolute bastard through and through.”
Not only hiding from Sheng Jiao all this time, but after reclaiming his identity, he was still planning to deceive him again.
Suddenly, there were footsteps nearby.
Yan Jianglan thought it was Sheng Jiao and immediately feigned calmness. Even if he was cowardly, he wouldn’t lose in bearing.
His claws were trembling, yet his face remained cold as he turned to look. He’d expected to see Sheng Jiao’s handsome face, but sweeping his gaze, what appeared before his eyes was Yu Tuishan instead.
Yan Jianglan: “…”
Yan Jianglan said expressionlessly: “Ugh.”
Yu Tuishan: “…”
Yu Tuishan clutched his heart in mock injury: “Why treat me this way? I’m your most beloved older brother, Ling-er!”
“Get away.” Yan Jianglan looked toward the long street. People came and went in the crowd, but none of them were the person he was waiting for. He immediately said impatiently, “Why are there so many people in Wuyin City today?”
It was annoying.
Yu Tuishan didn’t notice Yan Jianglan’s impatience at all. Upon seeing this, he immediately took credit: “Of course, I invited them all.”
Yan Jianglan’s gaze paused. He looked coldly at Yu Tuishan.
Yu Tuishan didn’t know his end was near. He said proudly: “I even invited Nuo opera and Nuo dancers. I invited every noteworthy person from the thirteen states. Afraid you’d think it wasn’t lively enough, I also promised that everyone who came to Wuyin City to celebrate your birthday could receive a portion of ‘Abandoned Immortal Bone.’ Hahaha, I had originally stopped producing ‘Abandoned Immortal Bone,’ but once this news spread, people from all over the thirteen states came in countless numbers. Ling-er, look, so many people!”
Yan Jianglan: “…”
Yan Jianglan smiled at him and said gently: “Big brother, did you also invite Sheng Jiao?”
“You’ve seen him already?” Yu Tuishan sat beside Yan Jianglan with a cheerful smile. “Good that he came. I was thinking that if he really didn’t come, I’d go to the Xiezhi Sect and kill him today.”
Yan Jianglan’s smile bloomed like a flower, the red mole at the corner of his eye nearly dripping blood.
Seeing Yan Jianglan so happy and even calling him “gege,” Yu Tuishan was immediately overjoyed: “Now you’re not angry anymore, right?”
Yan Jianglan smiled with his eyes narrowed. His five fingers hanging at the steps suddenly exerted force.
There was a crisp “pop” sound.
A notch was broken out of the blue stone steps, and the hard gravel was pulverized to dust on his fingertips.
Yu Tuishan: “…”
Yu Tuishan said warily: “You…you’re still angry?!”
Yan Jianglan smiled and said: “I’m not.”
Yu Tuishan couldn’t read people’s faces anyway. Upon hearing this, he sighed in relief again: “That’s good. I said such a grand celebration for your twenty-fourth birthday, how could you be even more angry? Looks like I was overthinking it. Oh right, this year is your natal year. If luck is poor, you might suffer great misfortune. Be careful…”
“Ahhhhh—!”
Yan Yuhu had just come over and heard a familiar piercing scream. He looked up and saw Yu Tuishan had been directly smashed into the high wall, creating a human-shaped hole.
Though he wouldn’t be injured in his split form, he looked utterly disheveled and covered in dust as he climbed up angrily, shouting: “Yan Ling!”
Yan Jianglan stood gracefully on the steps, saying coldly: “What?”
Yu Tuishan choked, his momentum immediately deflating. He said dryly: “Oh, oh it’s nothing. Just calling your name. Really a nice name.”
Yan Jianglan’s hands trembling inside his sleeves from anger, his head buzzing, he forced down his rage and asked Yan Yuhu with one last glimmer of hope: “Where’s Sheng Jiao?”
Why hadn’t he chased after him yet?
The resonating bell on his wrist also made no sound.
Yan Yuhu said matter-of-factly: “Senior brother didn’t want to see him, so I drove him away.”
Yan Jianglan: “…”
Yan Jianglan’s smile froze directly on his face. He nearly thought his ears had malfunctioned. Otherwise, how could even his most trusted junior brother have turned traitor?
“Drove…drove away?” Yan Jianglan said dryly. “He…he just left when driven away?”
After knowing him for so many years, how had he never known that Sect Master Sheng was so easy to dismiss?
Yan Yuhu nodded: “Mm, directly left without saying a word.”
Yan Jianglan: “…”
The three of them stared at each other.
Yan Jianglan suddenly turned expressionless and walked away.
Yu Tuishan called from the wall: “Ling-er, where are you going? Home is here.”
Yan Jianglan didn’t look back, sending out a wave of spiritual force that collapsed the family home with a thunderous boom.
Yan Yuhu: “…”
Yu Tuishan: “…”
Looks like he’s angry again. Tsk, no wonder he never grows taller.
Yan Jianglan’s heart raced with anger—angry at Sheng Jiao for not chasing after him to catch him, angry at Yu Tuishan and Yan Yuhu for their unhelpful interference, and even more angry at himself for missing the opportunity and swallowing the bitter fruit for nothing.
Yet wearing Yan Ling’s identity now, he inexplicably produced a fear like approaching home with trepidation. He didn’t dare think about what Sheng Jiao’s feelings truly were toward him now.
Why hadn’t Sheng Jiao pursued him as intensely as before?
Was it because his years of deception had made him completely impatient, not wanting any further intersection with him?
Yan Jianglan suddenly wanted to slap himself.
Honeyed words and flattery, lies upon lies—a liar.
Whoever associated with someone like him would eventually feel nothing but disgust.
Sheng Jiao wasn’t a saint. Wanting to escape from him after being deceived so many times was only natural.
Yan Jianglan walked through the bustling crowd alone. Faintly, he smelled the fragrance of osmanthus flowers. Raising his head slightly, he saw a golden-hued osmanthus tree by the roadside quietly blooming with golden clusters.
For some reason, Yan Jianglan laughed softly.
He walked back to where he’d first encountered Sheng Jiao. The place was already empty.
It was only natural—no one would ever wait for him in one place.
Yan Jianglan, muddled in thought, wanted to return home. Yet after considering it, he discovered he had nowhere to call home except Yanwen Mountain.
He’d lived at Zhuxing Zhai for four years, at Evil Qi Road for six years, and even temporarily stayed at Qingcheng Pavilion at the Xiezhi Sect after arranging it to his liking.
Yet none of them were truly his home.
Yan Jianglan silently changed direction and returned to Nowhere Lane’s Twelve Residences Medical Clinic.
This clinic for saving lives and healing wounds had been open for a long time but never actually operated. These past years Yan Jianglan had spent his days committing murder and never even gave it a name.
Now that the dust had settled, he finally wanted to seriously open the clinic.
He needed to give it a name first.
Yan Jianglan arranged a pile of tasks for himself, wanting to push Sheng Jiao from his mind. He’d be brave about it later.
With his spirit wandering, he returned to Nowhere Lane’s Twelve Residences. Before pushing the door open, he saw candlelight emanating from the carved wooden door.
Someone was there?
Yan Jianglan paused for a moment before recalling that before entering the “Yellow Millet Dream,” he’d had Yan Yuhu bring Endless Period back to Twelve Residences to avoid it being affected by the divine punishment.
He didn’t think much of it. He opened the door and said wearily: “I’m home.”
Endless Period: “Mrrow!”
Yan Jianglan said with a discouraged heart, indulging: “You should meow meow, come on and meow a few times to cheer me up.”
Endless Period: “Mrrow mrrow mew!”
Yan Jianglan had closed the door before realizing something was off with the surrounding sounds. He turned around confused and suddenly froze.
The spacious medical clinic was arranged in perfect order, nothing like the “ruins” ravaged by a cat for three months. The black cat that was Endless Period was bound with the Xiezhi Sect’s silken bonds into a writhing caterpillar, lying pathetically on the desk. It seemed to still have a silence seal on it, unable to speak a single word.
Upon seeing Yan Jianglan arrive, it suddenly burst into tears, struggling to mew frantically while desperately begging with its eyes to be saved.
The barrier beside the originally empty desk slowly dispersed, revealing the hidden figure within.
At the same time, the sound of scorched earth cracking belonging solely to Sheng Jiao suddenly reverberated in Yan Jianglan’s ears. The resonating bell on his wrist also followed suit, ringing with a soul-summoning chime.
Sheng Jiao sat in a soft chair, eyes lowered as he stroked the Winter Snow Sword. Beside him, a candle burned halfway down.
He had already waited a long time.
Yan Jianglan: “…”
Yan Jianglan unconsciously stepped back half a step, his back leaning against the carved wooden door with a loud “bang.”
Sheng Jiao didn’t even raise his head. He said coldly: “Keep running.”
Yan Jianglan’s entire body went rigid. Watching Sheng Jiao coldly wipe his sword while telling him to flee, Yan Jianglan had the illusion that if he truly did escape, that Winter Snow Sword might directly slit his throat.
Yan Jianglan swallowed with difficulty and, looking at the black cat bound beside him, said timidly: “B-big brother, my cat…”
Sheng Jiao didn’t even look at him. He suddenly swung the Winter Snow Sword.
The sword tip pointed directly at Endless Period, its bone-chilling sword intent seeming to freeze the person into ice. A cold light flashed.
The black cat froze in terror, nearly thinking it would die under the blade.
In the next instant, the silken bonds binding its body instantly fell away, quietly returning to Sheng Jiao’s wrist where it drifted ominously. It seemed he didn’t plan to put it away—there was still great use for it later.
The black cat was stunned, immediately crumpling to the ground on limp limbs. It crawled over sobbing and threw itself into Yan Jianglan’s arms, whimpering: “Meow meow! Meow meow meow! Why did you take so long to come rescue me?! He was about to make me into cat soup and drink it wuu!”
Yan Jianglan reached out to stroke the whimpering Endless Period, looking at Sheng Jiao with an expression of mixed feelings.
Endless Period wasn’t cat soup, but chicken soup.
Sheng Jiao was using a chicken to frighten the monkey.
Now the “monkey” had returned, so Endless Period was naturally no longer useful.
This affair was unlikely to end well. Yan Jianglan opened the door and placed Endless Period on the threshold, giving it a push: “Go play outside.”
The black cat was already fearful of Sheng Jiao. Now seeing him looking fierce and terrifying like a demon, it became even more worried about Yan Jianglan. Its paws went soft yet it still desperately scratched at the door, whimpering: “What about you?! Will he eat you?!”
Yan Jianglan didn’t respond. He silently closed the door.
The rain that had fallen since he was ten years old had finally stopped.
Now there was a new mad wind and torrential rain.
***
**
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1
Aw man, it’s gonna be a looong talk 😅 Either that or angry make up sex🤣
aaaaa please update