"Ha, you're mistaken."
"And for what purpose?"
“The price is a kind of capital; the more you squander, the less you have. I just don’t want,” Cen Ji paused abruptly, then continued, “to have no price left to pay to get back what I love most.”
"Looks like you've run into someone?"
"I think you don't need to know."
Rong Fu suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "Haha, you really are a very interesting person!"
Cen Ji's expression turned somewhat strange. "You're the first person to say I'm interesting." After saying that, he pointed to the painting on the wall and said, "You still haven't answered my question."
“Alright,” Rong Fu said with a helpless expression, “I think I should take back what I just said.”
“No need,” Cen Ji said calmly, “I won’t remember.”
Rong Fu sighed softly and said, "You guessed right, the reason I've stayed here for ten years is indeed because of her."
"who is she?"
"Wen Jinlan".
"Wen Jinlan?"
"She is Wen Moyin's older sister."
Cen Ji was stunned, and after a long while, he said, "Mo Yin has an older sister? Why have I never seen her, nor have I ever heard her mention her?"
Rong Fu said, "You haven't seen her because the year before you came to Kongshan Ridge, Jinlan was expelled from Kongshan Ridge by the previous Kongshan Master, who was also her father. You've never heard the young lady mention it because she doesn't want to. Everyone has things they don't want to talk about, right?"
Cen Jiwei paused for a moment, then asked, "Why was Wen Jinlan expelled from Kongshan Ridge?"
"Because of a scoundrel in a cult."
"you?"
Rong Fu smiled bitterly.
"Did you paint these?"
"no."
Who is that?
"Master Kongshan".
Cen Ji was startled again.
He felt his mind starting to get confused, a jumbled mess he couldn't unravel.
Rong Fu seemed tired of standing, so he slowly walked to the huge stone chair and sat down.
"In short, Wen Jinlan fell in love with me. Because I was expelled from Kongshan Ridge, and I rejected her due to temporary concerns, she married the current Master Kongshan in a fit of anger." As he said this, the usual nonchalance and languor in Rong Fu's eyes disappeared without him noticing.
Rongfu spoke simply, as if he were recounting someone else's memories.
But Cen Ji knew that it was only because he didn't want to mention it, but he had no choice but to, so he could only gloss over it.
"From these paintings, you should be able to tell that the master loves Jinlan very much."
Cen Ji remained silent.
“Actually, when he married Jinlan, Master knew she didn’t love him, but he still treated her very well. Very well, very well.” Rong Fu was somewhat lost in thought. He remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, “A man like Master Kongshan, very few women in the world could resist him, and Jinlan was no exception. But…”
"But what?" Seeing that Rong Fu remained silent for a long time, Cen Ji couldn't help but ask.
Don't you think that a person's initial persistence is actually a precious thing?
Cen Ji did not answer.
"When Jinlan actually fell into someone else's arms, I regretted it. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
"It is indeed laughable."
Rong Fu was taken aback. "Ha, you're really direct."
These words sounded so familiar. Cen Ji rubbed his forehead, his large right hand covering the expression on his face.
"And then what?"
"She died later. Because of a difficult childbirth."
Cen Ji couldn't help but look up at him, only to see him lean back, all his expressions disappearing into the darkness.
"Jinlan is dead, and I have no desire to remain in the position of sect leader. However, considering the opposition of some elders in the sect, I cannot immediately relinquish my position. Therefore, I have changed my name and come here to accompany Jinlan, taking advantage of the great battle with Kongshan Ridge ten years ago."
"Accompany Jinlan?" Cen Ji couldn't help but repeat.
Rong Fu said in a deep voice, "Before Jinlan died, she said she wanted to be buried back in Kongshan Ridge. Do you still remember the green pool at the entrance?"
Cen Ji nodded.
"That's it."
"She...was buried at the bottom of the pool?"
Rong Fu did not answer. He lowered his head, his gaze seemingly fixed on something else.