18 Past Events (Part Seven)

"You've misunderstood."

For some reason, Lou Tinglan hesitated for a few moments before extinguishing the shimmering spirit leaf in her sleeve.

The woman before her, "Ran Qinghe," had already drunk the drugged coming-of-age wine with a smile. Her mother-in-law, who was in charge of her teaching, nodded in satisfaction, and in the silence, Ran Qinghe collapsed into her arms.

She took Ran Qinghe's arms and handed her over to the two men who came in, coldly instructing them, "Take her there."

As for where it will be sent, that goes without saying.

The sisters who had been laughing and joking around Ran Qinghe just two days ago suddenly fell silent, looking down at their noses and focusing on their own thoughts, as if they had expected this situation.

After the mother-in-law left, someone finally couldn't help but whisper, "Sister Qinghe has always been so good to us, are we really going to abandon her?"

"Can we control her? The one who has his eye on her is Ran Zheng, the biggest imperial merchant in the entire capital. The entire orphanage depends on him for its livelihood. He also said that after we leave, we won't have to do any manual labor anymore."

"But Sister Qinghe is unwilling..."

"Why are you worrying about this? It's better to be a rich man's concubine than a poor man's wife. Once she's in that golden house, she'll naturally understand."

The two servants carried Ran Qinghe onto a carriage at the side gate of the orphanage. The carriage slowly drove away and finally stopped in front of a secluded residence. This residence was not as imposing as an official's mansion; instead, it exuded the shrewdness of a merchant from the very entrance. Gilded door studs, white marble thresholds—luxury was everywhere.

"Is it alright to just leave her here?" the two whispered. Although it was daytime, the carved wooden windows of this room were covered with heavy curtains, and the only light source was the scattered red candles in all directions. Under the glow of the red candles, long whips, chains, and even more unsightly things hung in the corners of the walls. The two dared not look at them for long, threw her onto the bed, and left quickly.

Ran Qinghe lay on the bed with her eyes closed, unconscious.

Lou Tinglan gripped the hilt of the Tranquil Heart Sword, reminding himself once again that he could not interfere with the events in the Mirror of Past Lives. Once he made his move, no one could predict what would happen next.

"It's hot...so hot..."

Ran Qinghe pulled at her collar, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin, her cheeks flushed, and murmured a call.

He panicked and turned away. Reason told him that he should respond to Qi Feng's spirit leaf and head to the imperial city, but his steps seemed to be held back by something. In the depths of his mind, he hypnotized himself, saying that perhaps this was also a breakthrough point and he should not leave.

As the effects of the medicine gradually wore off, Ran Qinghe half-opened her eyes, only to feel the scenery in front of her swaying and overlapping slightly.

With a creak, the heavy wooden door opened, and a pair of cloud-patterned brocade boots stepped inside.

Ran Qinghe struggled to get up, her mind oscillating between clarity and confusion, but her body was out of her control.

"Qinghe, is that right?" the newcomer asked, adopting the demeanor of a virtuous gentleman.

Ran Qinghe dug her nails into her palms, trying to stay awake for a moment with the pain.

"Master Ran...?"

He had visited the orphanage many times before and had shown her his affections both openly and secretly, but she pretended not to know. Unexpectedly, in broad daylight, this man dared to do this and forcibly abduct her.

"Your name is quite nice. Did you choose it yourself?" Although the girls in the orphanage all had the surname "Ran," their given names were already given when they entered.

He said with a smile like a tiger, "It's a good name. It's quite a coincidence that it's the same as my daughter's name, except that my daughter's name is Qinghe, which means lotus flower."

Although Ran Qinghe was disoriented, she instantly regained her senses. She bit her lower lip, trying to suppress any moans, until she tasted a hint of rust. Then she exhaled, "You're disgusting..."

Ran Zheng snapped his folding fan shut and burst into laughter, saying, "You're really smart." With just one sentence, he revealed the unspeakable thoughts hidden deep in Ran Zheng's heart.

His voice carried a hint of seduction: "Speaking of which, Qinghe, you probably haven't had a chance to properly look at this house yet. I bought it especially for you. Silks, satins, gold and jade—if you want them, they can be displayed before you like flowing water for you to enjoy. Isn't that nice?"

Ran Qinghe spat out a mouthful of blood, which landed on his face: "Don't even think about it. Under the emperor's nose, how can you bear the responsibility for forcibly taking a woman from the people?"

"Your Majesty, are you referring to the current emperor who is critically ill and near death?"

He took out a handkerchief, slowly wiped his face clean, and said slowly, "If you won't listen to a polite toast, you'll have to drink a penalty cup."

He turned and walked to the corner, taking down the gift he had carefully prepared over the past few days. Ran Qinghe took the opportunity to pull out the silver hairpin from her hair and hide it in her palm. Then, with all her might, she swept the vase off the low table beside the bed. The vase crashed to the ground with a bang, shards scattering everywhere. Ran Zheng lightly kicked the shards away, as if mocking her overestimation of her abilities.

"Aren't you afraid your daughter will find out about your behavior outside?"

Everyone knows that Ran Zheng, a wealthy merchant in the capital, never remarried after losing his wife, and doted on his only daughter. However, despite his outward appearance of loving his daughter dearly, he harbors such despicable thoughts behind the scenes.

Ran Zheng shook the shackles on his hands, his face cold as he approached step by step, looking down at his prey's futile struggle.

He grabbed Ran Qinghe's wrist and snapped the shackles on, then reached for her other hand.

Suddenly, his knee felt as if it had been slashed by a knife. He bent over in pain, lost his balance, and knelt heavily on the scattered pieces of debris beside the bed.

He cursed inwardly and was about to get up when Ran Qinghe pulled him back along the shackles and plunged the hairpin hidden in his sleeve into his neck, where his pulse was throbbing.

The playful smile on Ran Zheng's lips vanished abruptly, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief. Before losing consciousness, he saw the girl's icy face.

Everything came to an abrupt end the moment the hairpin pierced the flesh.

There was no resistance as expected; it didn't feel like a piercing through flesh and blood, but rather like a piercing through a piece of soft ointment. Then, all was silent.

The grip on her wrist dissipated, and before her hand could even twitch, it fell limply to her side. Drops of blood stained her red silk skirt, covering the embroidery on the hem and obscuring the original design.

She pulled out the hairpin, a silver hairpin given to her by her mother-in-law as a coming-of-age gift, and the first piece of jewelry she had ever received. She tried to wipe the blood off the hairpin with her sleeve, but as she raised her hand, she suddenly remembered that the skirt had been embroidered by her sisters in shifts for over a month, and she couldn't let it get dirty.

With trembling hands, she took out a relatively clean handkerchief from her bosom and tried to wipe the blood off her dress.

The other three broke in at that moment.

The Imperial Advisor glanced at Ran Zheng lying on the porcelain shards with disgust: "Just one step away." His tone seemed to carry a hint of regret for not being able to make it in time. He took a step forward, as if to drag Ran Zheng's body away as well, but was stopped by Qi Feng's sword behind him: "Senior Brother Lou, have you forgotten that past matters cannot be interfered with?"

On the surface, the words were addressed to the imperial advisor who was impersonating Lou Tinglan, but they also made Lou Tinglan pause in surprise.

The Imperial Advisor glanced around; with all three present, he feared he wouldn't gain any advantage. He gave Ran Zheng on the ground a deep look, then immediately flew away as if he were in a hurry to do something.

Lou Tinglan and Qi Feng exchanged a glance, and Qi Feng followed the Imperial Preceptor once again.

Ran Qinghe stood frozen in place, staring at the face on the bed that looked exactly like hers. She took a small half-step back, as if instinctively wanting to create some distance.

The Imperial Advisor and she had been going in circles for two days, but unexpectedly, their final destination was here. Only now did Ran Qinghe finally realize that the Mirror of Past Lives had been activated, and that she was the protagonist in this process of rewinding time.

No wonder the Imperial Preceptor made a three-day agreement with her, forbidding her from hindering any of his actions. Naturally, she wouldn't obediently abide by any agreement, but instead secretly followed the Imperial Preceptor to search for the whereabouts of the Mirror of Past Lives, unaware that she was already inside the Mirror of Past Lives.

In the city, the bell and drum towers sounded in turn, announcing the time to all the people in the city.

She vaguely realized that in the Mirror of Past Lives, Ran Zheng's death had come sooner than expected...

She looked at Lou Tinglan, but he simply lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

The tolling of the bells seemed to awaken Ran Qinghe, who was lying on the bed with her head down and knees drawn up. Her previously empty eyes suddenly focused, staring at the hairpin in her hand. As if she had made up her mind, she gripped the hairpin tightly, and the moment the end of the hairpin touched her cheek, her skin instinctively trembled slightly.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then, with a forceful slash of her wrist, cut down without hesitation. Warm drops of blood gushed from the wound, pooling together and flowing over her fair skin.

One after another.

Blood seeped into the deep red collar of his clothes, until the bloodstains intertwined, obscuring his original face.

Lou Tinglan's fingers, hidden in her sleeve, rose and fell again.

Ran Zheng is dead. If the Ran family were to investigate, the entire orphanage would likely face certain death. But now, "Ran Qinghe" is using this method to sever herself from the orphanage.

The hairpin ultimately pierced her own heart...

She finally stopped, and the hairpin clattered to the ground. At that moment, the sparse spiritual energy in the mortal realm surged into her body, stopping the bleeding from her cheeks and chest.

The spiritual energy swept over her body at an extremely slow speed, and her original wounds slowly healed. Her meridians, bones, and dantian were constantly cleansed and reshaped. Finally, the spiritual energy accumulated in her dantian slowly condensed into a long sword the size of a palm, which is the natal sword of a sword cultivator.

Ran Qinghe has attained enlightenment...

There was no need to watch any further. Lou Tinglan grabbed Ran Qinghe's wrist. "Let's go."

But unusually, they didn't take out the shackles from the Discipline Hall; they simply followed the trail left by Qi Feng.

Ran Qinghe let him grab her, then, as if in a fit of pique, she clenched and unclenched her fists, and said resentfully:

"If you want to save them, then keep saving them. You can save them one minute and then not the next. Do whatever you want, why are you bothering me? What do I have to do with you?"

Lou Tinglan was completely confused. "What do you mean?"

Ran Qinghe looked directly into his eyes. His eyes were very light, as clean as glass, as if they could not tolerate any filth.

She stated directly, "Those outside the mirror should not interfere with anything that happens within the mirror of past lives. Why did you harm him?"

She gave a cold laugh: "Could it be that Lord Lou took pity on me and felt some compassion?"

"Since Lord Lou is so fond of showing kindness, why did you stand idly by while the vengeful spirits harmed people in Tianhai Valley before?"

Lou Tinglan was also in a state of turmoil. He didn't know why he had lost control or why he had suddenly made a move. The words in his mind were swirling in his head. After several attempts to speak, he finally blurted out, "You've misunderstood."