Shen Tanqi made up his mind. From now on, he’d play the villain role right, wait for the perfect moment, and make a run for it. The farther from the male lead, the better. Once the plot wrapped up, he’d be heading straight home.
Returning the life spirit bead to Consort Shen, he carefully instructed her, “Make sure nothing happens to Yu Ce’s younger brother. Take good care of him.” Consort Shen, puzzled by his actions, reluctantly agreed due to her status.
Just before leaving, she gave Shen Tanqi a deep look and remarked with a hidden meaning, “Young master seems to have turned into a completely different person.”
Seeing her off with an unchanged expression, Shen Tanqi replied casually, “People change, Auntie.”
As if hearing a funny joke, Consort Shen chuckled softly. Leaning on her cane, she walked to the door, observing the passing cultivators outside, each standing tall like pines. She subtly shook her shoulders, straightening her increasingly hunched back. Clearing her throat, she said, “Being steady is a good thing.”
After a pause, seemingly nonchalant, she asked, “By the way, young master, do you still have that string of Bronze coins with you?”
Shen Tanqi keenly sensed an underlying meaning in her words. Skillfully, he retrieved the string of Bronze coins from within his robe, giving them a playful shake before saying, “Of course, the symbol of the family head. How could I lose this?”
Staring at the Bronze coins for a while, Consort Shen gradually collected her gaze. Leaning on her cane, she stepped over the threshold. Lost in thought, her voice aged and deep, she murmured, “Good, good…”
“In the future, the vast Shen family will all be yours. Take care of it, young master. I’m leaving,” she added.
Seeing Consort Shen off, the snow outside the hall had long stopped. Winter clouds covered the sky, and thick fog enveloped the peaks of the numerous mountains within the Rongyun Sect.
The fog was beautiful, and so were the mountains.
From now on, how much longer could he enjoy this kind of mist and these mountains?
Shen Tanqi sighed, staring at the scenery for a while. He tucked the string of Bronze coins back into his robe, accidentally brushing against the cold jade pendant.
Taking out the jade pendant, though it was cold, it still retained a hint of his warmth. In the faint daylight, Shen Tanqi carefully examined the delicate dragon patterns. Lost in thought, he murmured to himself.
What is Bai Long doing now?
Does he have these worries too?
Compared to him, raising a child would probably be more troublesome.
Bai Long,
I hope you are safe and everything is going well for you.
Time flies, and the mist comes and goes.
In the blink of an eye, three years have passed. The date for the sect’s grand competition is looming, and half a month later, as spring transitions to summer on the Kong Hou Mountain of the Rongyun Sect, the once-every-four-years event will welcome disciples from various sects.
It’s called a myriad sects gathering, which might be a bit exaggerated. In reality, it’s just a dozen or so disciples from well-known sects coming to participate in the competition.
The entire Rongyun Sect is bustling with activity. Although the competition is set on Kong Hou Mountain, the surrounding four cities are also within the competition range, requiring the Rongyun Sect to handle various arrangements.
The four cities under the protection of the Rongyun Sect include Shuoxia, Wenqiu, Nianchun, and Yudong.
The competition is divided into exorcism, alchemy, mystical realms, and swordsmanship. Each category takes place in one of the four cities, featuring a series of challenging trials. The ultimate winner will be rewarded with a rare worldly sword, which will be unveiled during the award ceremony.
To organize these ‘trials,’ ensuring fairness, justice, and safety, has been a headache for the Rongyun Sect. Even Shen Tanqi has been called in to help arrange many things.
As the senior disciple of the inner sect, Fang Wenxun has more on his plate. Aside from his regular cultivation, he also needs to send letters to disciples scattered across various locations, urging them to return to the sect and contribute to the Rongyun Sect’s rankings.
“Junior Brother Yu Ce, Zhan Xin’an1‘Zhan Xin’an’ means wishing you well when you open the letter. It is often used at the beginning of letters..”
He dipped his brush in ink, suddenly at a loss for words.
What should he write?
This letter is for Yu Ce, a personal request from the Sect Master. For this sect competition, it was crucial to have Yu Ce return. After all, looking around, only Yu Ce possesses exceptional talents, excelling in exorcism, alchemy, mystical realms, and swordsmanship.
However, after much thought, Fang Wenxun genuinely doesn’t know what to write to persuade Yu Ce to return to the sect.
Back then, Yu Ce was determined to embark on his journey, and even the Sect Master couldn’t stop him. If the Sect Master’s words were ineffective, what could Fang Wenxun possibly do?
After a while, Fang Wenxun, chewing on the end of his pen, carefully wrote, “With the sect competition approaching, all of Rongyun eagerly awaits your return to seize victory.”
This wording seemed too direct; Yu Ce, being someone averse to conflict, might lose interest after just one glance. So, after some thought, Fang Wenxun quickly added a touch of personal sentiment, “Junior Brother, it’s been years since you left, and both I and Senior Brother Shen miss you dearly.”
Over the years, Fang Wenxun and Shen Tanqi had grown much closer, to the point where Fang Wenxun sometimes forgot how arrogant Shen Tanqi used to be. Subconsciously, he included Shen Tanqi as one of ‘us’ in the letter.
Pausing for a moment, realizing the nonsense he had written, Fang Wenxun hurriedly considered scratching out the part about Senior Brother Shen.
Who was Senior Brother Shen anyway? Yu Ce would probably be even less inclined to return if he saw Shen Tanqi mentioned. The two of them never got along from the start.
Just as he was about to scratch out the mention of Senior Brother Shen, Fang Wenxun suddenly remembered that Yu Ce might have left the sect in the first place because Shen Tanqi had constantly made things difficult for him, leading Yu Ce to leave in order to escape humiliation.
Now, Shen Tanqi seemed to have undergone a significant transformation, becoming much kinder, especially since he had developed feelings for Xiao Qingyu. If Yu Ce knew that Shen Tanqi wouldn’t trouble him anymore, would he be more willing to come back?
With this thought in mind, instead of erasing the words ‘Senior Brother Shen,’ Fang Wenxun confidently continued writing, “Rest assured and return. Your Senior Brother Shen is now devoted to his junior, having changed for the better. He has become gentle as jade, warm, courteous, and considerate. He definitely won’t trouble you.”
He rambled on about the sect competition, and Fang Wenxun was quite satisfied when he flattened the paper on the desk, leaning over to blow on the wet ink.
Now, Yu Ce should feel assured about coming back. With him at Rongyun Sect, they could undoubtedly secure the top spot.
After drying the ink, he rolled the letter into a bamboo tube and cast a simple communication spell.
In the next moment, the bamboo tube, enchanted by the spell, disappeared from its original location.
At the same time, the bamboo tube that disappeared from Rongyun Sect materialized out of thin air on the windowsill of a small paper window.
Suddenly, delicate jade-like hands, naturally suited for plucking strings on a zither, gently picked up the bamboo tube.
The fingers were distinct and exquisitely beautiful. Only by observing the fair skin with faint blue veins, and the calluses formed at the base of the fingers from wielding a sword could one distinguish that this was a young man in white.
The young man in white slowly opened the bamboo tube and unfolded the letter inside.
“The sect competition is approaching…”
His fingertip paused slightly, as if he didn’t want to read further.
Sect competitions were nothing more than trials established by a dozen or so sects to determine superiority or inferiority.
This kind of competition was extremely dull.
Suddenly, those tender hands, as smooth as jade, were grabbed by a soft, squishy little hand.
“Dad, I want a hug…”
The young man in white’s lips curved slightly, and he single-handedly lifted the little one with a full body of baby fragrance into his embrace, whispering, “And where’s your little brother?”
The little one nuzzled into the crook of his neck, sniffling a bit, and said with a hint of grievance, “Little brother says I’m dumb. I can’t even unlock puzzle locks. He doesn’t want to play with me anymore…”
Hearing this, the young man freed his other hand to pat the little one’s head, gently consoling, “Dandan isn’t dumb. Your little brother is just too clever.”
The comfort seemed less effective than intended, but fortunately, the little one didn’t quite understand and just grinned foolishly, burrowing further into the young man’s arms. “Yeah, little brother is very clever. That’s great.”
After comforting the child, the young man’s gaze returned to the letter.
Though the nursing period for the two children had passed, they were still quite tender. With no one to take care of them and numerous dangers outside, he couldn’t possibly participate in the sect competition.
He decided to write a letter to gracefully decline.
However, as he was about to put away the letter, his gaze slowly slid down to the words ‘Senior Brother Shen’ at the bottom.
Those three words seemed to possess a mysterious power, causing his fingertips to tremble momentarily. It was as if he couldn’t believe what was in front of him. He stared fixedly at the line, ‘I and Senior Brother Shen miss you dearly.’
Senior Brother Shen?
Senior Brother Shen missed him?
Would Senior Brother really think about him and their children?
In an instant, his heart raced, and he stood frozen in place until the little one began fiddling with the crumpled collar of his robe.
Lowering his head, the young man couldn’t resist pinching the little one’s chubby cheeks, smiling tenderly. “Does Dandan want to see Daddy?”
Dandan looked up at him, holding his hand and tilting his little head. In a soft voice, he asked, “Aren’t you Daddy?”
Amused by the innocent words of the child, the young man explained in a low voice, “It’s another Daddy, the one who gave birth to you and your little brother.”
Dandan seemed to recall a very distant memory. At that time, he was very hungry and wanted to eat sweet cakes. He told Daddy that he was very hungry and wanted to eat cakes.
The Daddy back then did give him the sweet cakes. In his memories, the Daddy who gave birth to him had the sweet aroma of sticky rice cakes. It was fragrant, and he liked Daddy.
Dandan’s little hands reached out into the air, as if trying to grasp the Daddy from his memories. He murmured softly, “Dad, I want to see Daddy.”
This sentence completely warmed the young man’s heart. He gently placed Dandan on the ground, his expression softening like melting spring snow. He lightly nudged the child’s shoulder, “Go, tell your little brother to pack, we’ll set off in a few days to see Daddy.”
“Okay.” Dandan landed on both feet, happily running outside to find his little brother.
After seeing Dandan off, the young man turned back to the letter. He intended to continue reading about Senior Brother Shen, but as soon as he glanced at it, his smile froze on his lips.
‘Rest assured and return. Your Senior Brother Shen is now devoted to his junior, having changed for the better. He has become gentle as jade, warm, courteous, and considerate. He definitely won’t trouble you.’
Devoted to… his junior?
And even changed for the better, gentle as jade, warm, courteous, and considerate?
Where did this junior come from?
Aside from him, who else could be Shen Tanqi’s junior brother?
After a while, he remembered.
That year when Shen Tanqi fell from the Bloodthirsty Cliff—it was to help his junior, to pluck life-saving herbs.
His gaze deepened, and when he snapped out of his thoughts, the letter had already been crumpled into a ball between his fingers, the ink smudged and blurred.
He had to go back as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, no, today.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
