He then looked at Cen Ji and saw him sitting cross-legged on the bed in the prison, leaning against the stone wall, his lips chapped and his cheeks sunken, like a solitary rock that had endured a thousand years of wind and rain.
Cen Ji kept his eyes closed, and didn't open them even when he heard someone come in.
Xiong Sanniang looked around and frowned, saying, "I told you yesterday to add a charcoal fire here, why hasn't it been delivered yet?"
Cen Ji kept his eyes closed and remained silent.
Xiong Sanniang walked to his side and said, "Seventh Brother, if there's any misunderstanding you need to explain to Ban Lan, just tell me, and I'll pass it on for you, okay?"
Cen Ji shook his head.
It's happening again. Xiong Sanniang sighed helplessly.
"If you starve yourself to death, you'll only be able to explain to Ban Lan in your next life." Xiong San Niang felt like she was talking to herself, because Cen Ji was like a block of wood, ignoring her completely.
Xiong Sanniang could only say, "Seventh Brother, if I hadn't deliberately increased the dosage to alert you, would you have discovered you'd been drugged so quickly? Instead of thanking me, you're not even saying a word now."
Cen Ji remained silent.
Seeing this, Xiong San Niang sighed. "I don't believe this donkey won't open its eyes after hearing the next sentence!"
"Old Six went to Fish Eye Valley to find Ban Lan yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Cen Ji's expression shifted, and he opened his eyes to look at Xiong San Niang.
Xiong Sanniang smiled and said, "You've finally decided to talk to me. Let's eat something. If we don't eat, we probably won't even have the strength to talk, let alone explain."
"You're not lying to me?" Cen Ji asked, his voice hoarse and dry.
Xiong San Niang sighed and said, "We would love to help you too."
“Okay, I believe you,” Cen Ji said calmly.
lie
one,
Why did he make the worst mistake of his life by taking Ban Lan through a shortcut to see Cen Ji?
Ban Lan was restless the whole way. In the past, she never felt that the mountain ridge was long, but now, after walking for a short while, she felt that she would never reach the end.
She was looking down, her mind in turmoil, so she didn't notice when He Bi suddenly stopped.
Suddenly, she realized that He Bi's moon-white dress was no longer in her peripheral vision. She looked up and saw Wen Moyin.
Wen Moyin stood under an autumn sycamore tree in the side courtyard, quietly looking up at a wisp of thin, ethereal white cloud on the horizon, lost in thought.
Ban Lan suddenly remembered that one summer night, Wen Moyin had told her that if a person always liked to stare at the sky in a daze, then he was not looking at the sky, but at his own heart.
So, senior sister, are you looking at your own heart?
Ban Lan hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth and said, "Senior Sister."
The weather hadn't completely turned cold yet, but the north wind had already impatiently stirred up the desolation lurking in everyone's hearts.
Just like He Bi, when he realized he had done something very wrong, he didn't have much energy to feel uneasy. Instead, he suddenly realized that autumn was already so deep, so deep that he felt a nameless melancholy about the unknown. This melancholy was like the misty clouds swirling around the mountain peaks, so heavy that he couldn't even speak.
After a long while, Wen Moyin finally spoke, saying, "Tell me, since the clouds in the sky are always blown away by the wind, why do they bother to gather together?"
Wen Moyin didn't look at Ban Lan, as if she didn't exist.
But Ban Lan always felt that Wen Moyin was watching her, making her feel like she had nowhere to hide.
Ban Lan followed Wen Moyin's gaze and looked up at the sky. She rarely looked seriously at the drifting white clouds in the sky, because she felt that instead of gazing at the sky, she would rather do something else interesting, such as bullying Fang Huo.
Wen Moyin slowly lowered her head, and in her clear, watery eyes, she finally saw a figure in crimson, which burned her eyes with pain.
She smiled, but it was very faint, extremely faint.
She said, "Junior sister." Her voice was so soft that Ban Lan didn't even realize Wen Moyin was calling her.
Wen Moyin, her long dress trailing on the ground, gracefully approached. She gently took Ban Lan's hand and said, "If we hadn't bumped into each other by chance, would you have planned not to tell me of your arrival, Junior Sister?"
He Bi, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Please forgive me, Miss, I was simply unable to inform you of Miss Ban's visit..."
"Sixth Brother," Wen Moyin interrupted him coldly, "Go back to your own place first. I'll have someone deliver dinner to you."
Why be so abrupt? Wen Moyin's unspoken meaning was that he intended to place her under house arrest!
Wen Moyin stopped looking at him. She held Ban Lan's somewhat cold hand and said, "Alan, come with me."
Although He Bi was anxious, he could only watch as Ban Lan was obediently led step by step towards Wen Moyin's room.
For the first time in eighteen years, Ban Lan knew what it meant to be uneasy, so for the first time, when Wen Moyin pulled her along, she was as quiet as a docile kitten.
The room was filled with a faint fragrance of orchids, just like Wen Moyin herself, who stood there smiling, serene and gentle. Yes, Wen Moyin was always like this, so for a moment, Ban Lan even thought that Wen Moyin had never been angry with her.
But she was wrong. Wen Moyin was smiling, but that smile was more terrifying than if she weren't.
Because Wen Moyin said, "I want you to get out of Cen Ji's sight."
Ban Lan thought she had misheard, otherwise how could she see such a smile on Wen Moyin's face that didn't match her words?
"Get out of my way!" Wen Moyin finally stopped laughing and said sternly, "Get away from Cen Ji!"
Ban Lan was stunned.
She wasn't aggrieved. Ban Lan never felt wronged by being insulted, nor was she ever saddened by it. Because usually, those who dared to insult her would be rendered speechless by her insults. At worst, she'd roll up her sleeves and overturn the table; even if she got beaten black and blue, she'd make sure those who insulted her knew that Ban Lan wasn't someone to be trifled with.
But at this moment, Ban Lan stood there, mouth half-open, unable to utter a single word.
Because that person was Wen Moyin, and the person who insulted her was her favorite senior sister, Wen Moyin!
Besides Wei Li, Ban Lan admired Wen Moyin the most. But now, this senior sister, who rarely even raised her voice, told her to "get lost."
Ban Lan thought that perhaps her senior sister was still angry about her rudeness at the wedding banquet that day.
Ban Lan had lived for eighteen years, and the most common piece of advice she received was: "If you continue like this, you'll never get married in your life!" So she thought that perhaps a woman's life really was about marrying a good husband, and her outburst at the wedding banquet was truly destroying Wen Moyin's happiness.
Ban Lan suppressed her surprise, pursed her lips, and said, "Senior Sister, I came because He Bi said Cen Qi had something to say to me. After seeing Cen Qi, I will return..."
"There's no need to see him," Wen Moyin interrupted. "You should go back."
Ban Lan said, "But why mention Cen Qi..."
"It's none of your business." Wen Moyin gradually lost patience.
Ban Lan stared wide-eyed at Wen Moyin, saying incredulously, "Senior Sister, you... do you want Cen Qi dead?"
Wen Moyin slowly wiped away all her expressions and said, word by word, "Whether he lives or dies, he is mine, and has nothing to do with you."
Ban Lan said unhappily, "He and I have no relation whatsoever, but you went through a wedding ceremony with him, and he is your husband!"
"shut up!"
Ban Lan only felt a flash of yellow before her eyes, and then she was slapped across the face.
Wen Moyin moved with lightning speed, returning to her original spot in the blink of an eye, coldly staring at Ban Lan.
"Wedding ceremony?" Wen Moyin sneered. Mentioning that day, Wen Moyin wished she could kill Ban Lan on the spot! What she hated was that even though the wedding ceremony had already taken place, and the outcome was clear, Cen Ji still recklessly chased after her?! What good did the ceremony do? The more Wen Moyin thought about it, the angrier she became, a chill emanating from her body that caused the fragrance in the room to dissipate.
Ban Lan's face was covered with several bright red finger marks, as if they would bleed in the next blink of an eye.
A burning sensation spread across her right cheek, as if it were about to explode. But Ban Lan didn't touch it with her hand. She simply raised her head, meeting Wen Moyin's cold gaze, her crescent-shaped eyes gradually clearing.
“I’ve been fighting since I was a child, and seven out of ten times I’ve ended up covered in bruises. I know I’m not good at martial arts, but I never stand there and let people punch and kick me. So, senior sister, the reason I don’t fight back is not because I know I’m not as good as you, but because I feel I owe you too much.”
“But,” Ban Lan paused, “I will repay what I owe you, but not in this way!”
Wen Moyin's brows furrowed with anger. He said, "What a joke! You want to bargain with me? This is Kongshan Ridge, not Yumu Valley! Even Wei Li can't control me."
Hearing Wen Moyin call Wei Li by her name, Ban Lan frowned and said, "If you really lost face in front of so many martial arts figures that day, I can apologize to you in front of the whole world. After that, I will never set foot in Kongshan Ridge again."
Wen Moyin raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly.
“However,” Ban Lan pursed her lips, as if making a decision, “after apologizing, I want to see Cen Qi one more time.”
The mist in Wen Moyin's eyes cleared instantly. After a long while, her expression softened, and she said, "Alright. But I will only allow you to see Cen Ji one last time if you do as I say."
Ban Lan thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. Then, silently, she turned her back, leaving Wen Moyin with a thin, frail figure.
"After meeting Cen Qi, I will never set foot in Kongshan Ridge again."
Because I don't want to see either Cen Qi or you, Senior Sister, again...
two,
Cen Ji waited for two more days before Xiong San Niang opened the prison door and walked in.
"Seventh Brother, Miss invites you over. Miss Ban has arrived and is in the front hall."
Upon hearing this, Cen Ji immediately stood up and was about to leave.
"Seventh Brother!" Xiong Sanniang called out to Cen Ji, saying, "Why bother saying that? Miss Ban arrived at Kongshan Ridge yesterday, but was summoned away by the eldest young lady."
Cen Ji paused for a moment, but only for a second, before turning and leaving again.
He ran as fast as he could. Although he started eating after Xiong San Niang persuaded him, he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for days, and eating too much made his stomach uncomfortable, so he only drank a little porridge. By this time, his anxiety had completely exhausted the strength he had painstakingly accumulated. So, as he staggered towards the mountain, he lost his footing and fell down the slope.
Suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his arm, and a strong force lifted him up.
Just then, Xiong Sanniang's voice rang out from behind him: "You forgot I also need to go back to the front mountain, why are you in such a hurry? I'll give you a ride."
Cen Ji turned to look at him, finally managing a pale smile: "Thank you."
Xiong San Niang looked towards the mountains, where the withered branches and leaves, mixed in with the lush greenery, appeared mottled and worn.
"At this time of year, it's always been rainy and continuous..."