Chapter 18
The Wen family mansion was bustling with activity today, with a constant stream of visitors coming and going.
Wen Wan casually grabbed a passerby and asked, "Is there some good news at the Wen residence today? Why is it so lively?"
Passersby could tell from her appearance that she was a cultivator, so they quickly bowed and said politely, "The Wen family is truly blessed. Master Wen only has one son and one daughter. Fifteen years ago, his daughter received guidance from an immortal and became a cultivator. Naturally, the Wen family's status has also risen accordingly."
Cultivators often descend from the mountains to deal with evil spirits, which is why they have always been highly respected among the common people.
"Today, the Wen family's son achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examination. His Majesty has issued a decree that he will serve as the magistrate of Weiwei County in three days. Weiwei County is a great place now, so everyone has come to offer their congratulations."
"Oh dear, sir, I must keep my distance. I need to hurry inside while it's still early and see if I can get a chance to say a few words to the top scholar." After saying this, the passerby bowed to Wen Wan again and left in a hurry.
Weiwei County? What a coincidence! She's going to Weiwei County too.
Wen Wan was overjoyed. Wen Ze had become the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination. As his older sister, she had to show her appreciation.
Wen Wan rummaged through the space for a while and finally took out a pen.
The Fate-Controlling Brush, with its sharp blade, is perfectly suited for writing characters or incantations, imbuing them with powerful magic. Although Wen Ze himself lacks spiritual power, making his writing less effective, it's still useful against ordinary demons and monsters, and can even buy time to save his life in critical moments.
The person just said that Weiwei County was a good place, but as far as she knew, Weiwei County was a place where succubi ran rampant.
It seems that information doesn't flow between the common people and the cultivation world, so my brother's job as county magistrate is probably not going to be easy.
Wen Wan swaggered through the main entrance she had been longing for, carrying her congratulatory gifts. The first thing she saw was Old Master Wen inside, cheerfully welcoming her guests.
Fifteen years have passed, and Grandpa Wen looks more like an honest businessman now. His hair is neatly combed, but he is getting old and you can still see some gray hairs, which makes him look even more kind.
As the saying goes, good news makes people feel refreshed. Old Master Wen accepted everyone's congratulations with a beaming smile. Standing to the side was Madam Xu, and they looked like a loving couple.
"Oh my, a celestial being has come to offer congratulations! I am so sorry for not welcoming you properly." Old Master Wen knew from Wen Wan's clothes and demeanor that she was a cultivator, so he dared not be negligent and hurriedly came forward to greet her.
Wen Wan raised an eyebrow. She did resemble her beautiful mother somewhat, yet her cheap father hadn't recognized her.
That's true, girls change a lot as they grow up, and her adoptive father hadn't seen her for fifteen years. They weren't close to each other to begin with, so it's understandable.
Seeing this, Wenwan pretended not to recognize him and asked politely, "May I ask where your son is? I heard that your son has achieved the third rank in the imperial examination, so I have come to congratulate him. I have a gift to present to him personally. Please show me the way, sir."
Grandpa Wen looked flattered and said, "I'll trouble you, Immortal. I'll have someone take you there right away."
Old Master Wen quickly beckoned to a servant and said, "Take our distinguished guest to find the young master."
"yes."
The servant agreed, not surprised that the other party was a cultivator. Cultivators often went down the mountain to train and liked to join in the fun among the common people. After all, they had all been ordinary people and missed the past.
He respectfully said to Wen Wan, "Please come with me, Immortal."
The two took a few turns and arrived at the backyard of the Wen residence, where a group of young men were chatting.
Behind Wenwan was a familiar figure, dressed in a white robe, with a refined and scholarly air.
"My brother Wen is well-versed in the classics, possesses an outstanding temperament, and has a dignified appearance. He is also the third-ranked scholar bestowed by the current emperor. He truly deserves it! He truly deserves it!"
A man across from them put one foot on the stone table and said excitedly.
Another man stood up and chimed in: "As everyone knows, there are three ranks: the top scholar, the second-place scholar, and the third-place scholar. Among them, the third-place scholar is the most popular."
"The top scholar has a discerning eye and is knowledgeable, but our third-ranked scholar is different. In addition to being learned, he must also be handsome. This year's third-ranked scholar is none other than Brother Wen!"
"Handsome and talented, the third-ranked scholar truly deserves the title!"
Faced with the two's flattery, Wen Wan thought that the white-clad figure would stand up and be modest, but to her surprise, the other party stood up and said smugly, "I, Wen Yu'an, am exceptionally talented and handsome. Your eyes are just as discerning as His Majesty's: you have a keen eye for talent."
Wen Ze gave the two of them a thumbs up. Wen Yu'an was the courtesy name his father had given him after he came of age.
After he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.
Seeing this scene, Wen Wan, who had overheard the whole thing, burst out laughing. Only then did everyone notice that someone had appeared behind them at some point.
"Who are you?" someone asked, puzzled.
"Yu An, she's laughing at us on your own turf!" another person complained.
Wen Ze looked closely and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Wan'er?"
Wen Wan nodded in agreement: He really is her younger brother. Her father didn't recognize her after saying a few words, but Wen Ze recognized her at a glance.
Wen Yu'an slapped the head of the person who had complained without hesitation: "Chen Hansi, look carefully, this is my sister."
Wen Ze spoke with a proud expression. Everyone in Cloud City knew that the eldest daughter of the Wen family had entered the world of cultivation at a young age, becoming a cultivator that ordinary people could only dream of. Thanks to her sister, their family had enjoyed smooth sailing all these years, and everyone was afraid of offending them and risking the Wen family's eldest daughter's revenge after she returned from her studies.
"Sister Wan'er, these are my close friends Chen Hansi and Kong Jiang," Wen Ze introduced them to each other.
Wen Wan observed the two of them. Chen Hansi was carefree and thoughtless, while Kong Jiang was gentle and steady, seemingly a thoughtful person, but neither of them seemed to have any bad intentions.
"Thank you for taking care of Wenze." Since he was her younger brother's friend, Wen Wan naturally treated him with courtesy.
"Miss Wen, you flatter me. It is Brother Wen who has taken good care of us." Kong Jiang was a person who had etiquette firmly engraved in his mind, and he politely bowed to Wen Wan.
The other party was not only a cultivator, but also her friend's older sister.
Seeing this, Chen Hansi remembered his manners and bowed to Wen Wan with his right hand on each side, saying, "Miss Wen, I apologize for my rudeness earlier."
Recalling the embarrassing incident just now, the group tacitly restrained themselves.
"Sister Wan'er, you're wrong. It's not that they're taking care of me; it's clearly that I'm the one taking care of them," Wen Ze continued shamelessly.
Wen Wan: Okay, it's clear that they have a really good relationship.
"You little rascal," Wen Wan said with a laugh.
"Then, Brother Yu'an, we'll take our leave now. You haven't seen each other for many years, so you should catch up properly. We'll come back in three days to see you off."
Kong Jiang tactfully pulled Chen Hansi away.
"Goodbye, Yu An, see you next time, sister." Chen Hansi, who was forced to leave, stopped pretending and waved goodbye with tears in his eyes.
"Little Wenze, your two friends are quite interesting," Wen Wan said to Wenze as she watched the two leave.
"Sister Wan'er, you can call me Yu An or Wen Ze, but you can't add the 'little' part, because I've already come of age."
Wen Ze silently thought to himself: I'm already an adult, and Sister Wan'er isn't even that much older than me. How come I was so easily fooled when I was little, always calling her "sister" all the time? If I had been a little smarter when I was little, I might have been able to fool Sister Wan'er and make her call me "brother".
Unfortunately, it was too late; the die was cast.
“I’m the older sister, so it’s not wrong for me to call you Little Wenze.” Wen Wan didn’t care and took out the Fate-Brush: “Here, congratulations on winning the title of Third Scholar for my outstanding, handsome, elegant, knowledgeable, talented and brilliant younger brother. This is a congratulatory gift that your older sister has prepared for you.”
Hearing Wen Wan's long string of praise, Wen Ze's face flushed. Wasn't this exactly what they had just said? His sister had overheard everything!
But when he saw the pen that Wen Wan took out, he couldn't hold back anymore and quickly took it to examine it carefully.
The pen that Sister Wan'er took out looked extraordinary; it was definitely not an ordinary object.
The upper part of the pen is blue and the lower part is white. It feels heavy and cool to the touch, indicating that it is made of high-quality jade and exudes an extraordinary aura.
"Sister Wan'er, is this the magic brush among your cultivators? If I use it to draw talismans, will I be able to create incredibly powerful spells that can subdue demons and monsters?!"
Wen Ze exclaimed excitedly, "I'll go learn how to draw talismans right away!!"
Wen Wan sighed, "With a brain like yours, how did you manage to become the third-highest scorer in the imperial examination?"
He said helplessly, "The pen is indeed a good pen, but if you want to draw powerful talismans that can subdue demons, you still need spiritual power."
"You can write a few proverbs. They're not very powerful, but they can still deal with some minor demons and monsters, and they can even save your life in a critical moment."
Some demons are afraid of the uprightness of scholars, which can even increase their power.
After hearing this, Wen Ze looked disappointed: "Ah? Wouldn't it be a waste to give me such a fine pen?"
Wen Wan said arrogantly, "You are my younger brother, of course I have to give you good things. It's just a high-grade Fate-Controlling Pen."
In the world of cultivators, weapons, like spiritual herbs, are divided into low-grade, common, medium-grade, high-grade, top-grade, and immortal-grade.
High-grade is already very rare. Although Wen Ze doesn't understand it, he knows it's a good thing. For an ordinary person like him to use such a good pen is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Seeing that Wen Ze was still hesitating, Wen Wan pretended to be a little angry: "I spent a lot of time choosing this for you."
It's not long, just a few minutes.
He pretended to snatch the pen back: "Give it back to me if you don't want it."
Wen Ze quickly hugged her tightly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes."
This is the first time his sister has ever given him a gift; it's quite a rare occasion.
The two were separated when they were five years old. During that time, the older sister secretly came back a few times, but they didn't say much. Since she gave him a gift this time, he couldn't possibly return it!
Wen Wan was finally satisfied: "That's more like it."
"By the way, where is my mother?"
Today, Wen Ze is the main character, so she came to see him as soon as possible. Her adoptive father and Madam Xu were both at the door to greet the guests, but her own mother was nowhere to be seen.
For some reason, I have a bad feeling.
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