Chapter 117 - 97: Liu Wenshan (2)
"Second, I don’t believe you would do something like that.
"So, I’m waiting for your explanation."
Jiang Ran tilted his head to look at her, then smiled.
"Your Senior Sister Ye can give you an explanation later."
"Hm?"
Shi Miao’s eyes narrowed slightly, then she nodded.
"Just as I thought."
Jiang Ran stood up. "It’s about time. I’ll be taking my leave."
"Where are you going?"
"To find your Senior Sister Ye."
With those words, Jiang Ran’s figure melted into the night.
Shi Miao watched silently as his figure disappeared. The Sword Qi around her flickered erratically. She slowly closed her eyes, gradually withdrawing all of her Sword Intent and Sword Qi.
’Hide the sword in the heart, and wait for the right moment to strike.’
Meanwhile, Jiang Ran arrived at the inn with practiced ease and found the window he was looking for.
He pushed it open and saw Ye Jingshuang sitting on a chair.
Her face was tinged with exhaustion as she dozed with her head bowed.
Jiang Ran closed the window behind him and glanced toward the bed. Liu Wenshan still showed no sign of waking.
At least that girl, Mingyue, wasn’t here pestering them tonight.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Ran walked over to Ye Jingshuang’s side.
As if sensing his presence, the young woman’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them. But when she saw who it was, her expression changed to one of pure joy.
"Brother Jiang!?"
Jiang Ran gave a slight nod.
"Get some sleep. I’ll stand watch."
Ye Jingshuang was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Then I... I’ll rest for a bit. These past two days have been exhausting..."
Jiang Ran didn’t reply right away, simply sitting down beside her.
"Alright. I’m here, so you can rest easy."
Ye Jingshuang closed her eyes, but the slight movement beneath her lids showed she couldn’t fall asleep.
After a moment, she began to speak softly.
"Uncle Tong... is completely different from the Uncle Tong I used to know.
"Today’s rumors must have been his doing.
"He’s trying to force me to marry Tong Yan.
"He thinks that if my reputation is ruined, I’ll have no other choice."
"That’s certainly not the work of an honorable man,"
Jiang Ran said in a low voice.
"But don’t worry. We’ll set things right."
"Mm."
Ye Jingshuang nodded.
"Of course I believe you. It’s just... these past two days, whenever I think about him, a chill runs through my heart.
"I thought that after finding him, I would finally have someone to rely on.
"But now I feel like I’m sitting on pins and needles, a thorn in my back... having to put on an act around him all the time is just mentally and emotionally exhausting."
"I remember when I first met Shuang’Er, you weren’t like this."
Jiang Ran chuckled. "Back then, you were dealing with Zhang Dongxuan while telling me to run. You faced life and death without batting an eye. A true heroine."
"...I’d rather have a straightforward fight."
Ye Jingshuang sighed. "But I understand now. Tong Wanli isn’t working alone. The reason you went from operating in the open to the shadows... was it because you considered this?"
"What have you figured out?"
"The way the news spread."
Ye Jingshuang said,
"The rumors spread too fiercely. There’s no way they came from a single source.
"He must have accomplices we haven’t seen yet..."
Jiang Ran was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly.
"But for now, it’s just speculation. We can’t jump to conclusions.
"We’ll probably need a little more patience."
But Ye Jingshuang said,
"I think they’ll be showing themselves to me soon."
"Oh?"
Jiang Ran was taken aback. "What do you know?"
"Today, Tong Wanli told me that some of his closest friends will be arriving.
"He said these people have incredible Divine Techniques and will help us deal with the Heartless Ghost Mansion."
"So he’s getting impatient."
Jiang Ran smiled.
"That’s not a bad thing...
"Alright, you should rest. I’ll keep watch tonight. I’ll wake you before dawn."
"Okay."
Ye Jingshuang nodded. She really was incredibly tired from the past two days.
Now that Jiang Ran was here, an indescribable sense of peace washed over her. It was as if she could let down all her defenses as long as he was by her side.
She hadn’t been able to sleep before because she wanted to talk with him.
Now, however, exhaustion unconsciously took over, and within moments, her breathing became even.
Jiang Ran watched her, a faint smile touching his lips.
Once she was sound asleep, Jiang Ran turned his gaze to Liu Wenshan.
After a moment of contemplation, he slowly rose and walked to the bedside.
"I gave you time to figure out the situation.
"This is likely your last chance.
"Will you choose to wake up, or will you continue to sleep?"
Liu Wenshan’s eyes remained tightly shut, showing no sign of waking.
Jiang Ran didn’t seem to mind and simply sat quietly by the bed, watching him.
After a long while, Liu Wenshan, who had kept his eyes shut the whole time, slowly opened them.
His gaze wasn’t sharp. His eyes seemed gentle, but they held an indescribable exhaustion and a deeply hidden apprehension.
Seeing this, Jiang Ran smiled faintly.
"How impressive. No wonder the young miss of the Ye family chose a frail scholar like you all those years ago.
"There can’t be many frail scholars in this world capable of fooling all of us."
Liu Wenshan’s expression changed.
"You... you were bluffing?"
His voice was dry and sounded extremely hoarse.
"Not exactly. I just wasn’t certain."
Jiang Ran stood, walked to the table, and quietly poured a cup of tea, handing it to Liu Wenshan.
Liu Wenshan frowned slightly but still took the cup and had a sip.
The water soothed his throat, and his voice sounded much better.
"Are you... after the Jiaowei zither?"