Zhan Chun - Chapter 20
Shu Jun slapped him hard on the head and whispered, "You've caused me so much trouble! You're going to have to be the bad guy again!"
The little pumpkin grinned and chuckled secretly: "You were never a good person to begin with... Ouch!"
Yang Shen's icy gaze swept over them, and the two men, master and servant, who harbored ulterior motives, immediately sat up straight and buried their heads in their food.
Yichun climbed back into the house through the window, scratching his head, his face slightly flushed, and said with a smile, "Sorry, I left for a moment. Let's continue."
Yang Shen beckoned to her: "Senior sister, come here."
He quickly shoved something into her hand, gestured for her to put it away, and said deliberately, "I think everyone is having a great time today, so why don't we have them bring up two more jars of wine?"
Yichun inexplicably squeezed the object; it felt hard, like… pieces of silver? She looked up at him; the boy's face was slightly flushed, and his eyes were fierce, as if warning her: If you spend all my money, you will have to pay me back tenfold someday!
She immediately understood what he meant, and couldn't help but smile, squeezing his hand tightly: Don't worry, I definitely won't squander the money.
Just as they were about to call the girls outside to bring two more jars of wine, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the corridor, and Young Master Yan's tall figure appeared in front of them.
He smiled and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "I never expected to meet you all here. It is truly fate."
Shu Jun buried his head in his food, pretending not to know him, and Little Pumpkin had no choice but to follow suit, also pretending not to know him. Yang Shen didn't know him in the first place, so he pretended not to know him either. Yi Chun really wanted to pretend not to know him too, but how embarrassing it would be if no one paid attention when someone came over to greet her.
She could only manage a forced laugh and say, "H-hello there."
Young Master Yan didn't take it to heart and said with a faint smile, "Back at Xiaoyao Sect, I was only forced by circumstances. I didn't mean to hurt you, so please don't take offense."
Yichun waved her hand and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing. Anyway, everyone is fine now."
Young Master Yan glanced at Shu Jun, noticing that he didn't look up and was clearly pretending to be oblivious. Although the two had never met, Shu Jun must have heard of the reputation of the second young master of the Yan family. Since he ignored him, it proved that Shu Jun was not someone easy to win over.
He then said, "My name is Yan Yufei of the Yan family. May I ask how you, young lady and the other young heroes, address me?"
Yi Chun might not react much to the name "Yanmen" because she didn't know it. But Yang Shen knew it; those two names were legendary among martial arts practitioners.
Unlike the Jianlan Manor, which passed down its lineage through a single blood relative, the Yan Clan, while also a blood-related clan, still had countless disciples from other surnames, who revered the young master of the Yan family like stars surrounding the moon. The master held the Yan Clan in extremely high regard; unlike the increasingly declining Jianlan Manor, the Yan Clan was a renowned martial arts family, steadily rising in prominence and achieving great glory.
Perhaps it was in the hope that Jianlan Manor could become the next Yan Clan that Master began to make an exception and accept outsiders as disciples. Unfortunately, he only had two outstanding disciples in this generation, and Mo Yunqing was not cut out for great things. It seems that Jianlan Manor still has a long way to go to restore its former glory.
This man is named Yan Yufei, and should be the second son of the Yan family. It is said that the Yan family head has four sons, all of whom are very capable, and the most capable of them all is this second young master, Yan Yufei.
He looked young, in his early twenties, but his demeanor already revealed his worldliness and composure. His purpose in coming to greet them might not have been to get to know the two inexperienced newcomers, but rather to take the opportunity to meet Shu Jun.
Yichun was honest and generous. Since they had apologized, she wouldn't be angry anymore. She readily said, "My name is Ge Yichun, and this is my junior brother, Yang Shen. We are from Jianlan Manor. As for these two..."
Before she could finish speaking, Shu Jun interrupted, "An unknown nobody, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."
Yichun looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he refused.
In this situation, staying any longer would only lead to awkwardness, so we should stop here for today. Yan Yufei smiled and said, "I offended you at Xiaoyao Gate a few days ago, and I feel guilty. How about I treat you to a meal today to express my apologies?"
"Uh? No need, um..." Before Yi Chun could finish speaking, he handed two silver ingots to the girl guarding the door and said softly, "I'll cover the cost of the food and drinks in this elegant room. Also, bring a pot of specially brewed Fenjiu."
The special-brewed Fenjiu was vastly different from the ordinary Fenjiu they drank from the jars; one tael of silver could only buy one pot.
The wine was poured from the pot into the cups, the liquid clear and fragrant. Yan Yufei poured four cups and personally handed them to the four people. Yi Chun couldn't refuse this time, since he was the one who paid. As the saying goes, "He who takes a bribe is bound to be obliged." She could only hold the wine cup with trepidation, hesitating again and again.
"I apologize for disturbing your enjoyment." He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, then poured another cup, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yi Chun, and said, "Miss Ge, please."
With the arrow already on the bowstring, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and swallow the specially brewed Fenjiu liquor, which was so spicy that tears welled up in her eyes.
Then she heard Yan Yufei's soft voice: "Although I haven't known you for long, I can tell you are a kind-hearted and forthright person. However, there are some things I must say. You are new to the martial world, so it's best not to get involved in certain matters, and avoid offending certain people. For example, if you encounter something like the Xiaoyao Sect again, I hope you will think twice before acting."
His words were loaded with meaning, using the Xiaoyao Sect as a pretext to remind her that she shouldn't have given money to that poor father and daughter earlier.
Yichun felt a little dizzy and opened her mouth to retort, but when she looked up, the person was already gone.
Seeing that she was dizzy and her skin was flushed, Yang Shen knew that she was reacting to the alcohol. He could only go over to support her and whispered, "Senior Sister, he's gone! Are you feeling unwell? Why don't you go back to the inn to rest?"
Yi Chun managed to sort out her chaotic thoughts and was about to speak when she suddenly heard Shu Jun laugh from behind, "You've really had too much to drink. Let's go, Young Hero Yang, let's take your senior sister back together."
Yang Shen utterly despised this person, and without uttering a word, helped Yi Chun downstairs. Shu Jun followed behind with a smile, his thick skin completely unconcerned, chatting and laughing with Little Pumpkin.
A cool night breeze woke Yichun up. She rubbed her aching head and said, "Yang Shen, we're really lucky today. We had a sucker to help us spend the money. We've escaped a disaster."
Yang Shen was somewhat amused and exasperated: "Do you know how much we spent today?"
Yi Chun nodded seriously: "That Yanzi Yufei, I peeked at the bill when it was paid, it was six taels of silver in total. I couldn't eat that much for half a year, thank goodness!"
Yang Shen couldn't help but laugh: "Looks like you're not drunk yet. But since that young master Yan paid the bill, we've already done him a favor. If we meet again in the future, it'll be considered a favor from him. Senior sister, this is what real friendship is. You and Shu Jun... he's just extorting you."
Yi Chun smiled but didn't say anything. Looking back at the master and servant, who were still chatting and laughing, she patted Yang Shen's arm and slowed her pace to wait for Shu Jun to walk to her side.
Little Pumpkin cleverly ran ahead and started pestering Yang Shen to talk.
Yichun asked with a smile, "Shujun, is the food to your liking?"
He gave a forced smile and said solicitously, "Of course it's a good match. I truly admire Xiao Ge's kind heart. If there were more people like Xiao Ge in the martial arts world, things wouldn't be so chaotic."
Yichun said in a low voice, "You all like to say one thing and mean another, always changing the subject, as if you're afraid of being bothered by others."
Shu Jun was taken aback and looked down at her. Although the young girl was a little drunk, her face was flushed, but her eyes were very bright, clear and bright, looking at him directly and firmly.
It turns out she knew all along.
He gave her a smile and casually said, "Little Ge is just talking nonsense."
Yi Chun brushed aside her slightly disheveled hair and said calmly, "I invited you to dinner simply because I wanted to and felt it was worth it. So you don't need to overthink it, and you don't need to say any more nice words."
She looked at him, her white teeth gleaming as she smiled: "When you've been in the world for too long, do you all forget your original intentions? Life must be so tiring."