CH 101

The little girl was pretty, and because girls developed faster, she was almost as tall as Ren Shuhan, the tallest among the children of her age.

Although she had a distant blood relation to the Jiang family and didn’t even share the Jiang surname, she was one of the only two children in the Jiang mansion with spiritual roots in recent years. Moreover, her aptitude was quite good, unlike those half-hearted people from the Jianghu who were taken away by Madam Jiang the day before yesterday.

Today, Madam Jiang thought for a moment and felt that there was no point in keeping her. Since girls should marry when they reach adulthood, it would be better to give her to Ren Shuhan as a favor.

Ren Shuhan had asked for a boy named Ah Lu from the mansion, but since Ah Lu was a boy after all, it might be better to actively arrange a girl for him. If he accepted her in the future, maybe they could have some children together. Ren Shuhan also remembered the kindness the Jiang mansion had shown him over the years.

Even if he didn’t consider the gratitude he owed for their upbringing over the years, he still had to consider the face of his relatives, right?

So, the girl came, respectfully saying, “My name is Wen Xin. Madam Jiang sent me to accompany the young master and study together at Jade Mountain in the future.”

Little Jiang Qingyue put down his chopsticks and looked at her warily. The porridge in his bowl immediately lost its fragrance.

“Oh, alright,” Ren Shuhan didn’t take it seriously and casually pointed to Ah Lu in the corner, “Then let him arrange accommodation for you. In the future, you two will eat together, and don’t worry about us.”

Ah Lu led Wen Xin downstairs and explained the rules to her.

“Ahem,” Ah Lu stood with his hands behind his back, not feeling embarrassed at all, and said seriously, “The young master doesn’t like being disturbed, and he only has Little Qingyue in his heart. You must behave yourself in the future and don’t have any crooked ideas, understand?”

Wen Xin nodded without expression, “Yes.”

So, on the days they didn’t go up the mountain, Wen Xin minimized her presence, to the extent that even Ah Lu forgot about her for a long time. It wasn’t until later that he realized there was an extra person in the courtyard, and every other day, she accompanied Ren Shuhan up the mountain, spending the whole day alone with him!

This level, it’s high.

One day, when Ren Shuhan and Wen Xin went up the mountain, Ah Lu accompanied Jiang Qingyue to weave cloth. Jiang Qingyue carefully selected the cloth, intending to make the most beautiful clothes for Ren Shuhan. Ah Lu watched on the side, thinking that he really liked Ren Shuhan a lot. Feeling a bit sour, he couldn’t help but say, “Little Young Master, you have to be careful with that Wen Xin.”

Little Jiang Qingyue was startled and understood what he meant, but didn’t reply.

“I think she’s quite powerful,” Ah Lu said mysteriously, “She’s usually quiet, but she’s already gained the young master’s trust behind his back.”

Ren Shuhan had mentioned Wen Xin twice, saying that her strength was not bad. Maybe because she was a girl, she was underestimated, but in fact, it should be no problem for her to reach the Golden Core stage in the future. Her personality was also good, worthy of deep friendship.

When Jiang Qingyue heard Ren Shuhan mention her, there was no hint of ambiguity in his tone, so he didn’t think too much about it.

But after Ah Lu mentioned it, he became a bit anxious.

Later, Jiang Qingyue listened carefully to the conversations of the people in the mansion and found that others still regarded him as a child. Although they respected Ren Shuhan, they thought Ren Shuhan was just spoiling him now and didn’t take him seriously. Compared to Wen Xin, they were even more disrespectful. Every month, they would give Wen Xin things that women often used, but there was no special treatment for him, and their conversations were cold and distant.

This made Little Jiang Qingyue a little sad. After all, he was someone who had to rely on others to eat. So, when he talked to the people in the mansion, he became even more lacking in confidence, and others looked down on him even more.

He was still too young and didn’t know how to hide his emotions. Anything he kept in his heart wouldn’t last long before Ren Shuhan noticed.

For example, every night, Ren Shuhan would teach him martial arts, guiding him step by step. Recently, he hadn’t been in the right state of mind.

Little Jiang Qingyue used to joke with him, saying he was tired and leaning on him, rubbing against him in his arms. Although Ren Shuhan would scold him with a serious face, he always indulged Little Jiang Qingyue, and in the end, they would mess around together because Ren Shuhan also enjoyed it…

At this age, they always loved to play.

But recently, Jiang Qingyue suddenly became more diligent. His eyes sparkled as he asked for praise from Ren Shuhan, tilting his little face up and asking, “How am I doing, how am I doing?”

“Pretty good,” Ren Shuhan lied against his will.

Jiang Qingyue asked again, “Am I better than Wen Xin?”

“Well,” Ren Shuhan looked at his big eyes and inexplicably told a lie, “Just a little worse than her.”

Jiang Qingyue was satisfied with this conclusion. “I’m not bad either, not that worse than Wen Xin.”

“And there’s no need to compare,” Ren Shuhan picked him up and carried him into the house, “Your cooking is even better than hers.”

At first, Little Jiang Qingyue was proud, but as he tossed and turned in bed that night, he became more and more puzzled: did Ren Shuhan’s last words mean that his cooking wasn’t actually as good as Wen Xin’s?

No way. The next morning, Little Jiang Qingyue slipped into Wen Xin’s kitchen, pretending to borrow some seasoning, and tasted the rice Wen Xin cooked. He found it was surprisingly delicious!

Didn’t that mean he didn’t have any advantage over Wen Xin at all?

That day, Ren Shuhan noticed that the child in his house was very worried, constantly looking outside during meals.

“What’s wrong?” Ren Shuhan served him soup.

“I tried Wen Xin’s cooking this morning,” Jiang Qingyue said nervously, looking at him. “Ah Lu’s cooking wasn’t good, but hers was delicious. Do you want to try it too?”

Ren Shuhan understood. “Sure, what do you want to eat? Just ask her to make it for you. Since she’s taking our monthly salary, if you feel embarrassed, I’ll give you some extra.”

Jiang Qingyue hesitated for a long time but ultimately didn’t say anything, trying to change the subject to avoid discussing this topic further.

Because Ren Shuhan had already been good enough to him. He had even explicitly said before that they only had each other. If he doubted Ren Shuhan’s future loyalty to him, that would be too childish! No, that wouldn’t do.

However, Ren Shuhan thought for a moment and tentatively said, “Speaking of Wen Xin, you should also try to get along well with her.”

Seeing Jiang Qingyue tense up, he couldn’t help but pinch Jiang Qingyue’s cheek lightly.

“I want her to protect you closely in the future.”

Jiang Qingyue relaxed again, his expression conflicted.

How cute… Ren Shuhan rubbed his nose and continued, “You know, there are many people in the mansion, and we’re actually outsiders here. But I have received a lot of care. I’m afraid that in the future, someone might hold a grudge against me and take it out on you.”

Listening to him say these things, Jiang Qingyue suddenly felt that Ren Shuhan was so mature!

“Yeah,” Jiang Qingyue looked at him admiringly.

“Wen Xin won’t do that because I won’t let her go to Jade Mountain in a few days. She wants to cultivate, and she needs to ask me for permission. If she wants to ask me, she has to stay in the mansion to take care of you,” Ren Shuhan also felt embarrassed and rubbed his ear. “And she also has ambitions. She wants to work with me in the future.”

So, Brother only wants to protect him… Jiang Qingyue was young, and Ren Shuhan’s words made him feel like he was floating on clouds. He instantly felt enlightened, ate a little more that night, and slept quickly after nightfall, holding Ren Shuhan tightly.

Ren Shuhan felt like he was holding a soft white rice cake in his arms, with a hint of milk fragrance.

But in truth, he wasn’t as flexible as a rice cake and was quite delicate. He needed to be protected well.

Ren Shuhan patted his back and decided to double his efforts from tomorrow onwards to inquire more about whether the mansion had any news about finding his lost master.

By a stroke of luck, this time there was actually some news.

The Jiang mansion was afraid they couldn’t hide it from him, so they had to embellish the truth a bit. They told him that a man claiming to be Jian Ci had come a few days ago, but Jian Ci had been practicing in the nearby Cold Mountain Sword Sect for years. He should have heard about Ren Shuhan long ago, but he waited until Ren Shuhan came down from Jade Mountain to come find him, so the mansion suspected he was fake. They arranged another time for him to meet Ren Shuhan, but he disappeared.

This statement contained some truth and some lies, but Ren Shuhan knew that most of it was probably true.

It seemed that he was growing up.

Jian Ci had been kind to him, and he couldn’t just ignore him because he had left him in recent years, especially since Jian Ci must have heard that the Jiang mansion was taking care of him. Ren Shuhan knew his master well; Jian Ci was such a slippery character in the Jianghu.

With his cleverness, he must have known about Ren Shuhan’s extraordinary talent and would come back to ingratiate himself with him. But he disappeared. If anything happened to him because of Ren Shuhan, he couldn’t just ignore it.

So, he took some time to visit Cold Mountain.

“Jian Ci? He has gone to the Immortal Realm,” the head of the Cold Mountain Sword Sect rambled on. “You’re his disciple? He used to mention you to me, saying you were living a good life in the Jiang mansion. Don’t blame him for not recognizing you; he’s just trying to make a living. After all, you eat so much…”

Ren Shuhan: “…”

He guessed it was probably the case with that old trickster.

“But as soon as he came back from the Jiang mansion, he seemed like a different person. He didn’t even respond when I asked him questions. Maybe he was under some stress,” the sect head analyzed, stroking his chin. “He just said he wanted to leave for a few years and cross the sea from Longmen Pass to the Immortal Realm.”

Ren Shuhan thanked him and made a decision as he descended the mountain:

After learning everything he could from Jade Mountain, and when he was a little older, he would go to the Immortal Realm to find his master. At the same time, he would continue to cultivate diligently.

Now that he could eat and drink well in the Jiang mansion, it was all because of his talent. If he couldn’t cultivate to the Golden Core stage, he wouldn’t be able to give Jiang Qingyue a better life, which was unacceptable. Qingyue had to be well-provided for.

He would tell Jiang Qingyue everything, just like he always did.

“This time, will you take me with you?” Jiang Qingyue asked hopefully. “I promise not to cause you any trouble.”

Ren Shuhan couldn’t bear to refuse, but he still shook his head. “The Immortal Realm is too dangerous for you. Let Wen Xin and Ah Lu stay behind to take care of you. I’ll come back to see you often.”

Little Jiang Qingyue couldn’t help but shed two tears.

But he didn’t make a scene. The next day, he quietly embroidered a hairband and gave it to Ren Shuhan, with a matching one for himself. He wanted to remind Ren Shuhan that even if he went out, there were still people waiting for him at home.

“It’s still early,” Ren Shuhan sighed with a wry smile. “The teacher on Jade Mountain said I have to be at least sixteen years old before I can leave the mountain.”

“Be prepared early.”

Jiang Qingyue was serious. Then he turned around and told Ah Lu about this matter, asking him to pay more attention to the news. Since Ah Lu knew a lot of people and talked a lot, he listened and watched all day long. It would be good if he could learn some more about the Immortal Realm.

Unfortunately, Ah Lu’s mind was focused on the mansion.

After a while, he came back with good news, but he looked worried. “Little Young Master, do you know what’s different about an immortal after they reach the Golden Core stage compared to us mortals?”

Jiang Qingyue shook his head blankly.

“Oh, they have eternal youth and immortality,” Ah Lu lamented. “No wonder… It’s just that, Young Master, after all, you’re still the Young Master. It’s normal not to care about mortals—what if he doesn’t come back for decades? By then, you and I will be old, but he will still be a young and dashing immortal!”

Jiang Qingyue’s heart sank.

And he had a new worry.

This time, he absolutely couldn’t complain to Ren Shuhan, lest he burden him.

By this time, Jiang Qingyue was fourteen years old. One night, he couldn’t sleep until late, and the next morning, he woke up before dawn. The bed was cold, and when he reached out, he found that Ren Shuhan was gone from beside him.

He sat on the bed for a long time, only hearing the sound of the door opening. Ren Shuhan entered the room, his back to Jiang Qingyue, busy with something, not even looking at him. But he brought up a request that Jiang Qingyue had never thought of before: “…Qingyue, we’re getting older now. Let’s sleep in separate rooms from now on?”

Wen Wen is back!!! But poor Qingyue worried a lot in this chapter lmao

Thank you for reading