The laughter was loud and soft, the louder one belonging to Hua Chongyang, and the softer one to Lan Fushun, both laughing hysterically and incessantly. Lan Wuxie threw down her handkerchief, glanced back, and turned to go back to her room, seemingly annoyed by the noise. But just as she took a step, she heard a shrewish woman's loud curses:
"Fu Shun, get back here right now!"
Accompanied by the tender laughter of a child.
Then came another roar:
"You brat! Get my clothes back to me!"
Lan Cao stared stiffly at Lan Wuxie, who frowned deeply.
"This place isn't quiet enough; we'll find another inn tomorrow. Lan Cao, go and get some—"
Before he could finish speaking, Lan Fushun, carrying a pile of clothes, stumbled across the bamboo bridge, laughing loudly as he ran. The clothes dragged on the ground. After only a few steps, his short legs got caught on the clothes, and he tumbled to the ground.
Lan Cao ran towards the bridge almost without thinking:
"Oh my god--"
The maid standing nearby looked up in surprise to examine Lan Wuxie's expression—in her memory, this seemed to be the first time that Lan Ying Palace's chief protector, Francao, had disregarded the pavilion master.
95. Fengqiao Cave (Part Two)
Lan Cao ran to the bridge and helped Lan Fushun up. Lan Fushun was still smiling, his chubby little hands tugging at the clothes wrapped around him. Lan Wuxie and the maid stared speechlessly as Lan Cao, like a nagging father, picked up Fushun and tenderly squeezed his little hands and feet.
"Did you hurt yourself? Did you bump yourself anywhere?"
Fu Shun shook his head seriously:
"It doesn't hurt."
"Why run so fast for no reason? Really," Lan Cao muttered, raising her hand to smooth Fu Shun's hair. "You ran outside with your hair still wet."
Fu Shun avoided Lan Cao's hand, still smiling:
"When Mom tickles me, she takes away her clothes, and then she can't catch me."
"……"
Lan Cao was speechless for a moment, then carried Lan Fushun to the maid's side, took the handkerchief from her hand, and casually dried Lan Fushun's wet hair:
"Good boy, Fu Shun, it's just your bad luck to have such a heartless, crazy mother—"
He stopped mid-sentence, slowly looked up, and saw Lan Wuxie still standing there, whom he had seriously ignored. His smile froze instantly.
Lan Wuxie stared at the handkerchief in his hand.
There's an unwritten rule in Lan Ying Palace: anything Lan Wuxie has used, they'd rather throw away than let anyone else touch it.
Caught off guard, Lancao forced a smile in panic, her face turning green as she turned to Fushun in her arms:
"...Uh, Fu Shun, look, this—uh, Uncle, isn't he good-looking?"
The maid beside her was completely bewildered by Lan Cao's constant erratic behavior today.
Lan Wuxie remained indifferent.
The maid immediately suspected that the Grand Protector had lost his mind today, daring to praise the Pavilion Master's good looks in front of him—after all, the last infatuated girl who stared at the Pavilion Master had probably been blinded by his poison.
But after looking at Lan Wuxie for a long time, Fu Shun solemnly shook his head:
"It's not good-looking."
The orchid's color turned from green to black.
Fu Shun, having completely inherited his father's outspoken personality, gripped the towel tightly and said in a measured tone:
"My mother says that the most handsome person in the world is my father. Everyone else is not good-looking."
Lan Cao's complexion changed from black to white again.
At this point, he finally understood one thing: none of the family he served, regardless of age or gender, were easy to deal with. But he couldn't think about that now—his biggest fear was that if Lan Wuxie were to get angry and attack Lan Fushun, none of them would be able to stop him. Lan Wuxie had lost his memories, but his martial arts skills remained.
Lan Wuxie stared at Fu Shun for a long time before taking a step forward.
Lancao was terrified and took a step back, then another, while holding onto Fushun.
Lan Wuxie took another step, then another, and finally, looking at the orchid, extended her hands to Fu Shun:
"Give me."
"The Pavilion Master is just a child; he speaks without thinking—"
"Give me."
Lan Wuxie's tone left no room for argument. With a swift movement of her long, slender fingers, she had already pulled Fu Shun into her arms, holding him in a somewhat awkward posture. Her tone instantly softened.
"You say your dad is the best-looking, then tell me, what does your dad look like?"
Fu Shun stared wide-eyed, fidgeting with his fingers for a long time before looking up at Lan Wuxie and pouting:
"...Anyway, my dad is very, very handsome, no one can compare."
Lan Cao's heart was in her throat.
Everyone with the surname Lan is a big shot, and none of them are willing to back down; nowadays, when the big shots meet the little shots, only he is caught in the middle, feeling anxious and apprehensive.
To everyone's surprise, Lan Wuxie stared into Fu Shun's dark, bright eyes, and suddenly curled the corners of her lips into a smile:
"Really? But I also think my dad is the best-looking person in the world."
Lancao's expression suddenly changed; she instantly understood what "blood is thicker than water" meant.
It had been many years since I had seen Lan Wuxie so "stubborn". He never argued with anyone. If he encountered someone who opposed him, he would kill them if he could beat them, and if he couldn't, he would remain silent and turn back to practice martial arts until he could beat them, and then go and kill them.
But the little man in front of him is his son. Even if he doesn't remember, blood is thicker than water.
Fu Shun looked troubled.
Lan Wuxie watched as his delicate brows furrowed in distress, then her smile widened as she pressed the tiny figure in her arms, barely two feet tall, for answers:
"What do you think we should do?"
Fu Shun thought about it for a long time, then frowned and pursed his lips before making a decision:
"Then when I find my father, I'll have him compete with your father, and then we'll see who's the most handsome."
Before he could finish speaking, a series of footsteps sounded.
The orchid turns back.
On the other side of the bridge, a woman with disheveled hair dripping wet and wearing a tattered cloak came running towards them, her steps uneven.
"You brat, come back here! You got my clothes—"
Lan Fushun was so frightened that he lowered his head and burrowed into Lan Wuxie's arms, shouting incoherently as he did so, both scared and amused:
"Oh no, Mom's coming! She's going to spank me!"
It's not that he's afraid; it's just that the mother and son are used to playing tag, so Fu Shun is only "pretending to be afraid."
To everyone's surprise, Lan Wuxie frowned slightly, gently patted Fu Shun in her arms, and whispered, "Don't be afraid," before uttering something that nearly made Lan Cao break her neck:
"How could such an obedient child end up with such a shrew as his mother?"
Lan Cao couldn't hold back any longer and muttered to herself: "Grandpa, can you blame anyone else for this?"
96. Shrew
From the orchids, it's clear that Lan Wuxie was furious with the "shrew"—because the "shrew" snatched the child from Lan Wuxie's arms as soon as she arrived, and the process of snatching the child left the Pavilion Master Lan quite frustrated.
Shrew: Fu Shun, come here to your mother!
Fu Shun (with wide, watery eyes, looking timid): Mother…
Wu Xie: Don't be afraid, I'm here, she won't dare to touch you.
The shrew (continuously ignoring Lan Wuxie, her voice low and gloomy, grinding her teeth): ...Fu Shun.
Fu Shun (fearing his mother's tyranny, he begins to struggle to break free from Lan Wuxie's embrace): ...
Wu Xie (ignoring the shrew as well, gently coaxing the child): Come back to the courtyard over there with me, I'll have someone give you some snacks.
Shrew (turning away): Fine, if you're not leaving, then I'll go back and lock the door to sleep myself.
Hua Chongyang turned around without looking back, singing a little tune as he walked away.
Lan Fushun slapped Lan Wuxie's face away with his small hand, struggling and shouting:
"Mother! Mother! Fushun doesn't want you to leave--"
Lan Wuxie bent down and put Fushun on the ground, watching the two-foot-tall child chase after his mother, one foot high and one foot low...
The above is the process.
Lan Wuxie was clearly in a bad mood. He turned and walked into the courtyard without saying a word. Lan Cao, who was following behind him, was at a loss for what to do. But when Lan Wuxie passed the rose trellis outside the door, he slowed down and suddenly reached out to hold onto the wooden railing beside him.
Lan Cao paused for a moment, then rushed forward to support Lan Wuxie:
"Sect Master! Sect Master!"
Lanterns hung beside the wooden railing. Under their light, Lan Wuxie's face was ashen, his brows furrowed. He slowly pushed aside the orchids.
"...It's alright."
Lan Cao removed her hand, frowned, and took a step back. She watched as Lan Wuxie straightened up and took a step. One step, two steps, and on the third step, his body swayed and he fell to the ground.
He rushed forward and caught him halfway before he hit the ground, then shouted:
"Guards! Guards!"
Lan Wuxie had been unconscious for almost a day, and even in his unconscious state, he was constantly sweating profusely and his face was ashen. During this time, the "shrew" Hua Chongyang stayed by his side the entire time. The hastily summoned doctor took his pulse, said, "The unconsciousness is caused by pain," and turned to leave. The "shrew" Hua Chongyang grabbed the doctor's arm:
"Is there no cure, and all we can do is endure it?"
The doctor looked helpless, turned back, and gently pinched the acupoint on Lan Wuxie's head with his withered fingers:
"It's not that I'm unwilling to prescribe medicine, but this young master's acupoints on the top of his head have been sealed by a master, and I dare not unseal them."
"...A master?"
"This young master must have suffered from a mental illness before, so someone sealed a major acupoint on his head to stop the illness. This person's medical skills far surpass mine. Prescribing medicine haphazardly would only make things worse."
Hua Chongyang released his grip, letting the doctor leave, and turned to look at Lan Cao. Lan Cao frowned:
"what to do?"
Hua Chongyang sat down by the bed, his expression calm and composed.