Chapter 006 Me and My Enemy Father and Brother
After they sat down, Ming Shaotu brought two cups of hot tea. Ning Bufan also changed his clothes and came out. He asked Chen Yunli and the other two to sit for a while, and then he went into the kitchen to cook.
Seeing this, Ming Shaotu quickly stopped him: "Brother, let me go."
Ning Bufan frowned in disapproval: "Why are you going? You're not well yet, go to bed and rest!"
Ming Shaotu was helpless: "Brother, you forgot? You don't even eat the neighbor's rhubarb that you cook."
“…”
The anger on Ning Bufan's face froze into embarrassment. He scratched his head, his handsome face wrinkled. "Then... go ahead. Be careful. If you feel unwell, stop and rest for a while. Don't force yourself."
"knew."
Ming Shaotu smiled and pushed him to sit at the table. After nodding politely to Chen Yunli and Chen Wenjian, he tied up his long hair, gathered his long clothes and walked into the kitchen.
"You two brothers have such a great relationship." Chen Yunli, the only child, sighed with envy. He glanced at Chen Wenjian beside him and said deliberately, "I wish I had a brother like this."
Chen Wenjian's long eyelashes moved slightly, and he tilted his head to look at him.
Chen Yunli's words were meant to sow discord in Chen Wenjian's heart. His mission in this world was to verify the positive impact of family ties on life experiences. In practical terms, this meant allowing Chen Wenjian, under his influence, to avoid a dark and destructive future.
But they are not related, and even if Chen Yunli really did this, he would probably still not pass the test without the issue of "family affection". Therefore, he wanted to develop Chen Wenjian into a half-brother, and now he was just laying the groundwork.
How can being as close as brothers not be considered family affection?
Being stared at by Chen Wenjian with a thoughtful gaze, Chen Yunli was a little nervous, but she reacted quickly and turned her head to smile at him: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Chen Wenjian stroked the coarse porcelain cup in his hand: "Having too many children in the family isn't a good thing. Not everyone..."
He didn't know what memory he recalled, and his heart was touched. He lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and abruptly finished his unfinished words.
Ning Bufan seemed completely oblivious to his change of mood and continued smoothly, "Yes! Especially in poor families, they have many children but raise few to adulthood. The fewer they raise, the more they have. If they can't afford to raise them, they'll just throw them away or sell them, which is a sin. It's better not to have children in the first place. But Shao Tu and I are different. We... aren't blood brothers."
Chen Yunli had no intention of prying into other people's family affairs, but Ning Bufan brought it up himself, and his gossipy nature made him unable to help but poke his head in and ask, "What's the story? I see you two have a good relationship, and you almost lost your life fishing for him."
Ning Bufan smiled and said frankly, "He was my stepmother's child and took her surname. Later, our parents died of illness, leaving us two to depend on each other. It's impossible for us to have a bad relationship."
Chen Yunli touched his chin and nodded. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a cup knocking against the table next to him. Chen Wenjian asked abruptly, "Aren't you from here? Where did you live before?"
"It's the area in Huangzhou with the most forests. Twelve years ago, Huangzhou suffered from drought and locust plagues, followed by plague and famine. Now it's become a barren land. My parents died in that plague, and to survive, Shao Tu and I fled all the way here."
Ning Bufan is a straightforward person. If Chen Wenjian asks him a question, he will take out all his family assets. Although his expression is a little heavy and helpless, he is obviously not entangled in the sufferings of the past, but is very open-minded.
Chen Yunli noticed that after Chen Wenjian heard his words, his mood became visibly depressed.
Thinking of his orphan status, Chen Yunli's heart skipped a beat. He asked hesitantly, "Did your family... also live in Huangzhou?"
His expression and tone were cautious, showing both a distant politeness and the unconscious concern and sympathy of a kind person for those suffering.
Chen Wenjian had never mentioned to anyone what happened before he went to the Sealed Sword Tower, especially his childhood. Now that Chen Yunli asked him about it, the string in his heart suddenly relaxed for a moment, and he nodded for some unknown reason.
It really is...
Chen Yunli sighed.
Almost all the big villains in movies and TV dramas have a tragic past. It would be exciting and thrilling to watch it from a God's perspective, but if these pains fall on specific people around you, even strangers, it is inevitable to arouse pity and regret.
Chen Wenjian lost his parents at a young age and became an orphan, probably due to several major disasters in Huangzhou. Twelve years ago, he was only five years old, and he entered the Sealed Sword Tower at the age of seventeen.
What did he go through during these twelve years? Could those experiences have been one of the factors that led to his dark turn?
Chen Yunli didn't want to think too much, so he patted Chen Wenjian on the back and said, "It's all over."
Ning Bufan nodded at the side: "Yes, yes, it's all in the past. There's no need to talk about the past. Drink tea, drink tea."
As he said this, he picked up Ming Shaotu's teacup and drank a large cup.
After his joke, the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed.
Chen Wenjian glanced at Chen Yunli's fingers that had just stroked his hair, thinking about his words "I wish I had a brother like this", and gradually leaves and branches grew on his heart, which was like a withered lonely tree.
A flawless state of mind was hard to come by, but easy to destroy. Once distracting thoughts arose, they could no longer be completely cleared away, undoubtedly causing great damage to his cultivation technique.
But after Chen Wenjian carefully weighed the pros and cons, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
The three of them sat around and chatted. Before they knew it, half an hour had passed. The aroma of grilled fish wafted from the direction of the kitchen.
Chen Yunli was originally holding up his chin to share with Chen Wenjian and Ning Bufan the interesting stories he had heard about fishermen, when suddenly his nostrils flared and he sat up abruptly: "It smells so good!"
Ning Bufan couldn't help laughing and felt a little proud at the same time: "My Shao Tu's cooking skills are very good, you can eat more later."
Chen Yunli smiled with his shining white teeth and was about to answer when he heard a knock on the door.
Ning Bufan looked back and said, "Ah! It's Brother Zhang from next door. He's probably here to get his precious fishing rod back! You guys sit down, I'll go return it."
As he said that, he stood up, picked up the fishing rod from the corner and walked out.
The living room is just a few steps away from the front door. Once the door is opened, people inside and outside can see each other.
Chen Yunli saw a tall man standing at the door holding a fish basket. He had no expression on his face at first, but when he saw the fishing rod, he smiled and reached out to take it from Ning Bufan.
As luck would have it, he looked into the house at this moment, and when he saw the two people sitting at the square table, his face changed drastically, his hand loosened, and the fishing rod fell to the ground with a snap.
His dark face looked as if it had been suddenly covered with a layer of flour, and the paleness gave way to a dark blue hue. His calloused hands were shaking violently in mid-air, and Ning Bufan was afraid that he would break from shaking.
"Brother Zhang?" Ning Bufan picked up the fishing rod and patted it, calling him in confusion.
Brother Zhang - Zhang Yuan suddenly came back to his senses, his lips trembled, and without saying anything, he snatched his fishing rod and turned around to leave, walking as if a ghost was chasing him.
Ning Bufan scratched his head in confusion: "What's going on? Is this a ghost in broad daylight?"
Chen Yunli glanced at Chen Wenjian. The man's surprise and fear just now were all directed at him.
Chen Wenjian naturally sensed this as well. After a moment's hesitation, he explained in a low voice, "I don't know him. I don't know why he's afraid of me."
Chen Yunli rubbed his chin: "Well... forget it, just treat it as if he saw a ghost."
As soon as he said this, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind. After he grasped the tail and thought about it carefully, he felt that it was nonsense.
The fear Zhang Yuan showed towards Chen Wenjian was almost equivalent to a human's reaction when faced with life-threatening danger. So, could he really have some special abilities, such as...knowing the future?
It seems unlikely.
Chen Yunli shook his head. The increasingly strong aroma from the kitchen dispelled his thoughts. He lowered his head and drank a sip of tea to satisfy his craving.
He leaned close to Chen Wenjian's ear and said, "Eat more later. You were injured last night, so you should replenish your energy."
Chen Wenjian curled the corners of his lips.
…
“Bang, bang, bang!”
"Old man Zhao!"
“Bang, bang, bang!”
"Open the door! Open the door!"
“Bang bang…”
The loud banging sound stopped abruptly, and Zhang Yuan's hand hit the person who opened the door due to inertia, but was blocked by an old and withered hand.
He rushed over from Ning Bufan's house without even noticing that his beloved fishing rod had fallen. He looked at the old man in front of him breathlessly, wanting to say something but unable to breathe, and his face flushed red.
The old man had his eyes closed, his face was like wrinkled bark, and his white hair was piled in a messy bun on top of his head, tied tightly with a wooden hairpin.
He was leaning on the ground with his right hand holding a crutch, and his left hand, which had just blocked Zhang Yuan's "attack", was now trembling slightly due to the pain.
"I'm not dead yet, why are you in such a hurry?" Old man Zhao asked while coughing, his voice filled with heavy breathing, like someone who had been ill for a long time.
Zhang Yuan took a deep breath, grabbed the end of his crutch and said through gritted teeth, "That person has appeared!"
Old man Zhao lifted his folded eyelids and asked, "Who is it?"
"That's the one! That person!" Zhang Yuan leaned close to his ear and whispered, "The one you saw...in 'Tianzhao'!"
Old man Zhao shuddered all over, and his eyes, which had been narrowed into slits due to old age, suddenly opened wide, revealing turbid deep blue pupils full of shock and fear.
He slammed the door shut, and with his skinny hands like pliers, he grabbed Zhang Yuan's wrist and dragged him into the inner room. His strength was so great that it didn't match his appearance. Even Zhang Yuan, a tall and strong man, could only stagger as he was dragged along.
Back inside, Old Man Zhao sealed the windows tightly and lit a green candle in the dim light. The eerie green light shone on his wrinkled face, giving it a creepy and strange feeling.
Even though Zhang Yuan was familiar with him, he couldn't help but take a few steps back in horror.
Old man Zhao didn't care about Zhang Yuan's reaction. He rummaged around in the wooden cabinet for a while, took out a brand new scroll, spread it out on the bed, and then stared at it in a daze.
Although Zhang Yuan was afraid, he was still curious and quietly moved forward to take a peek.
It would have been fine if he hadn't seen it, but once he did, he was so scared that he almost vomited bile.
The painting was covered with blood and corpses, with a white skull exposed on the blood-red ground, looking at the people outside the painting with its empty eye sockets.
There was a man standing in the middle of the picture, his clothes half white and half red, his handsome face splattered with blood, and in his hand he held a broken knife, which was also soaked in blood and flowed down along the broken blade.
If it was just looking at the painting, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the person in the painting was someone Zhang Yuan had just met not long ago, and it was Chen Wenjian.
“He…he…”
Zhang Yuan's teeth were chattering and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
"Although he has human form, he possesses the appearance of an evil spirit." Old Man Zhao pointed his bony fingers at the figure in the painting, his voice low and solemn, as if he were reciting a sutra: "He will cause this land, and indeed the entire dynasty, to flow like a river of blood..."
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