The small courtyard was still covered in snow, and a cold wind was blowing.
The three people stood quietly.
Yun Wunian looked at Jiang Fei, who was standing lazily at the door, his expression casual and his eyes calm, without the slightest displeasure.
He hadn't expected her to admit so easily that she was his older sister.
But she was the one who brought him back and said she wanted him to be her childhood sweetheart.
Furthermore, if she is his older sister, then what about last night?
Which older sister would kiss him like she did last night?
He had intended to take responsibility for her, regardless of his true feelings.
Can……
"Brother Wunian?" Lin Ningyan's questioning voice came. She glanced at Yun Wunian, then looked at Jiang Fei, her eyebrows slightly pausing. This girl looked very familiar.
Upon hearing the sound, Yun Wunian suddenly snapped back to reality and looked at Lin Ningyan. The faint joy that had just risen in his heart was gradually dissipating, and he felt a heavy weight in his chest, as if a huge rock was pressing down on it.
"He's probably overjoyed to see Miss Lin and doesn't know what to do," Jiang Fei said with a smile. "It's cold outside, why don't you invite Miss Lin inside, Xiao Wunian?"
Yun Wunian glanced at her quickly and suddenly remembered that a few years ago, when he heard the news that Lin Ningyan might marry the general's son, Jiang Fei was still displeased. But today... how could she be so calm?
"Little Wunian?"
Yun Wunian pursed his lips, then turned slightly to the side, paused, and said, "...Miss Lin, please."
The moment he opened his mouth, he realized that he couldn't bring himself to say "Yan'er" anymore.
Lin Ningyan noticed the change in his address, her face paled slightly, and she bit her lower lip before picking up her bundle and walking towards the door.
Jiang Fei smiled and said, "Miss Lin, please come in and have a cup of tea to warm yourself up."
Yun Wunian looked at the smile on her lips, and his hands unconsciously clenched tightly.
Lin Ningyan glanced quickly at Yun Wunian and nodded: "Thank you... Sister."
Yun Wunian frowned slightly.
Jiang Fei had already turned around and walked back into the house. He glanced at the empty octagonal table, picked up the teapot, and was about to make tea.
When Yun Wunian entered the room, he saw Jiang Fei about to take a red clay pottery kettle that was boiling water and steaming on the stove. He paused for a moment, then subconsciously reached out and took it from him.
Jiang Fei, having found an opening, turned her head to look at him, raising an eyebrow: "What?"
Yun Wunian didn't look at her, but stared blankly at the pottery pot in his hand, his palm burning slightly.
Over the years, if he were here, she would never have to do these things; it had become a habit.
Her hands weren't suited for these tasks either.
Yun Wunian lowered his eyes: "You won't."
After saying that, he skillfully took the tea leaves and carefully brewed the hot tea.
Jiang Fei was at ease and walked back to the octagonal table, looking at Lin Ningyan: "He's probably worried that the tea I brewed won't suit Miss Lin's taste."
Yun Wunian paused in his tea-making, the teapot tilted, and hot water poured onto the back of his hand.
Lin Ningyan's expression was filled with fear and grievance. When she was young, no matter how much she teased Brother Wunian, he would never say another word except for his own name. But now he could speak frankly.
Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt that Brother Wunian was unusually indulgent towards the woman in front of her, in an incongruous way that didn't seem like that of siblings.
The woman in front of her... the more she looked at her, the more familiar she seemed.
As if realizing something, Lin Ningyan suddenly widened her eyes: "You're the older sister from the dilapidated temple back then?"
No wonder she looked familiar; how could she not? She was only six or seven years old when the woman before her looked exactly the same, and she hasn't changed at all since.
He felt inexplicably relieved. If he thought about it carefully, this girl was almost ten years older than Brother Wunian...
Jiang Fei smiled and did not deny it: "My name is Jiang Fei."
Lin Ningyan's expression brightened: "Sister Jiang Fei."
Just as Jiang Fei was about to respond, Yun Wunian brought over the tea.
Lin Ningyan kept glancing at Yun Wunian, wanting to say something several times, but finally lowered her head when she saw Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei understood, and stood up when Yun Wunian brought the tea to him: "You two haven't seen each other for a long time, you must have a lot to talk about, so I won't disturb you any longer."
After saying that, he was about to leave.
Suddenly, her wrist tightened, and Yun Wunian grabbed her almost immediately, his movements somewhat hurried.
"Hmm?" Jiang Fei turned her head, feigning confusion with a smile. "Is there something else, Xiao Wunian?" Yun Wunian looked at her, wanting to ask what she meant. Could it be... that she was trying to match him up with Lin Ningyan?
But he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Jiang Fei lost his patience: "Talk to Miss Lin properly."
After saying that, she twisted her wrist cunningly and broke free from him.
Yun Wunian's body stiffened, and he unconsciously took a small step forward.
“Brother Wunian!” Lin Ningyan suddenly said.
Yun Wunian paused, then finally stopped.
Hearing the footsteps behind him stop, Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow and smiled, then walked out the door.
Only two people remained inside.
Yun Wunian remained standing in the same spot, without saying a word.
After a long while, Lin Ningyan said softly, "Brother Wunian, it's been a long time."
Yun Wunian looked at her without saying a word.
Lin Ningyan remained silent for a long time: "I knew long ago that Brother Wunian was no ordinary person. I had heard of the name 'Young Master' in Lincheng. It is said that the 'Young Master' is excellent in both literature and martial arts. If I hadn't heard that the 'Young Master' had auspicious red clouds on his face, I wouldn't have believed that it was you, Brother Wunian. Even today, seeing you, I still can't believe it..."
Yun Wunian glanced at the bundle beside him and interrupted her: "What happened?"
Lin Ningyan was taken aback, and after a long while, she slowly stood up, her eyes slightly red: "Father wants me to marry the heir of the General's Mansion, but I don't like him at all. Brother Wunian, I don't want to marry someone I don't like..."
Looking at the pitiful eyes of the woman in front of him, Yun Wunian had thought that one day Lin Ningyan would come to him, stand in front of him, and gently call him "Brother Wunian" as always.
But for some reason, when the scene he had imagined actually appeared before his eyes, all he could recall were those slightly teasing "Little Wunian" calls.
"Brother Wunian, just say the word, just one word, and I'll go and beg Father to annul the engagement..." Lin Ningyan continued.
Yun Wunian realized that the girl in front of him had tears in her eyes and was looking at him intently.
It was just like the look in my eyes when I was in that dilapidated temple.
Yet it is somewhat different.
He knew what Lin Ningyan wanted to hear, and even... he thought he was also looking forward to this day, but when he opened his mouth, what came out was: "You shouldn't have come out."
Lin Ningyan was stunned: "Brother Wunian?"
“Your father must be worried because you ran away from home,” Yun Wunian said, trying to control the turmoil in his heart. “Besides, if others knew that you had run away from your arranged marriage, I’m afraid…”
"Brother Wunian, are you blaming me for not coming back these past few years?" Lin Ningyan took two steps toward him anxiously. "After I went back, I fell seriously ill, and Father forbade me to travel far away again. This escape took a lot of effort. Brother Wunian, I just want to find you."
Yun Wunian paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "Yan'er, we are no longer what we used to be. Now you are the daughter of a prefect, while I am just a commoner..."
"But I like you!" Lin Ningyan suddenly exclaimed.
Yun Wunian's expression tightened slightly as he looked at Lin Ningyan's eyes and brows. He felt a sharp pain in his temples, and blurry images kept popping into his mind.
"Master, I love you!"
"Master, Yan'er truly loves you. Yan'er will cultivate diligently to become someone worthy of you!"
"My master is the most powerful in the Three Realms, so I must become second only to the Immortal Venerable!"
"Master..."
The woman in his memory had such similar features to Lin Ningyan in front of him, yet he couldn't recall a single thing about her past.
"Yan'er?" Yun Wunian murmured, his brows furrowed.
Lin Ningyan was stunned, then looked at Yun Wunian with joy: "Brother Wunian, you finally called me 'Yan'er'?"
Yun Wunian remained oblivious, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
Lin Ningyan hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Brother Wunian, please don't send me away, okay?"
After saying that, she mustered up her courage and stepped forward to hug the boy in front of her.
...
On the other side.
After leaving the mansion, Jiang Fei strolled around the streets.
Because of her spiritual nature, she did not feel cold even though the weather was getting colder today.
With a 70% favorability rating, she wasn't worried that Yun Wunian would elope with Lin Ningyan, but as for other things...
If she were an observer, she would surely enjoy the reunion of childhood sweethearts after a long separation.
Unfortunately, she wasn't a spectator; she was a character in the play.
Jiang Fei sighed, then realized something and slightly raised her eyes, but naturally couldn't see anything.
However… Jiang Fei smiled faintly; her intuition was always accurate, and she knew someone was watching her.
On a pavilion not far away, a man stood suspended in mid-air, looking down at a woman walking alone in the street, and chuckled softly after a long while.
It seems that even in the human realm, his "medicinal ingredient" is still not doing very well.
Jiang Fei.
The first "medicinal herb" he remembered.
He was being protected by a "medicinal herb" who was willing to give everything for him, and he really wanted to give it a try.
The man smiled slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a carriage approaching from a distance. He raised an eyebrow, cast a spell to distract himself, and then casually pointed at the horse.
"Neigh—" The horse let out a long neigh, and then galloped madly toward the white figure in front of it.
"Watch out, the horse's gone mad!" The coachman strained the reins, but couldn't stop the horse. Finally, he shouted and jumped off the carriage.
Hearing the sound, Jiang Fei turned his head and saw a horse charging straight at him, its hooves raised high, about to trample him under its hooves.
The next moment, a gentle breeze came from behind, and Jiang Fei felt a large hand grab her waist. She was pulled into a fragrant embrace and flew to the side, avoiding the trampling of the horse's hooves.
Then, the man's voice came, clear and with a hint of amusement: "Miss, are you alright?"
Jiang Fei looked up and immediately met the face of a stranger. He had elegant features and a somewhat affected gentleness. He wore a blue robe and his dark hair was tied into a high ponytail with a blue ribbon, giving him a youthful air.
Jiang Fei couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Although this body was now a mortal and she couldn't see through the illusion, she could still see the bright sign above the man's head.
Rong Shu's favorability rating: 10.
"Miss?" Rong Shu called to her softly.
Jiang Fei looked slightly taken aback and murmured, "Have we met before?"
Rong Shu narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not only seen her before, but she was already his. He still smiled and asked, "What do you mean by that, young lady?"
Jiang Fei suddenly realized what had happened and said shyly, "I admit my mistake." Realizing that she was still in his arms, her ears turned slightly red. She quickly stood up from his embrace and said with lingering fear, "Thank you for saving me, young master."
He sneered inwardly.
Hero saves the damsel in distress? What a cliché plot.
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