Volume 2 Chapter 31: A Shocking Change on a Rainy Night
Seeing that he was about to leave, Wan Xiu held onto the bed and called out, "Master Lin, are you leaving now?"
Madam Wan turned her head and saw Wan Xiu's anxious expression, with a bit of worry between her brows. She just looked at Lin Jianlan with reluctance. She was shocked and thought to herself, "Could it be..." But she didn't have time to think about it. She walked to the door quickly and said, "I was anxious just now and wrongly blamed Mr. Lin. You took Xiu to treat it. How can you leave just like that? At least sit for a while. I'll prepare some food. This time, please rest assured that Mr. Lin will taste my cooking." After saying that, she hurried out. When she stepped out of the corridor, she felt confused. Wan Xiu's expression was still in front of her. Madam Wan thought to herself, "Silly girl, why did you fall in love with him? The master behind Doctor Cheng has an unknown origin and is deliberately trying to harm Lin Jianlan. If I leave it alone, won't it be a mistake for you?"
However, Madam Wan thought that she could not accompany her daughter for her whole life. Would she never marry because of her daughter's illness? To be fair, Lin Jianlan was Lin Longqing's adopted son, handsome and smart, and he seemed to care about Ah Xiu's affairs. However, she thought that it was not easy to delay Ah Xiu's illness until today, and there was no cure for it. Maybe she would die before her. All these thoughts were entangled, and in the end, she could only sigh and walk slowly to the kitchen.
Lin Jianlan had no intention of eating her meal. He wanted to leave immediately to avoid parting with Wan Xiu and make her sad. But now he couldn't leave. He turned around and smiled bitterly, "Ah Xiu, I wanted to avoid this farewell with you, but I can't avoid it no matter what."
Wan Xiu saw Lin Jianlan standing by the door. The afterglow from the door shone on him, casting a long shadow on the ground, warm yet lonely. She looked up and saw that he also showed some reluctance. After a moment, he smiled again, closed the door, walked to her side and said, "Your mother was in such a hurry to go out that she forgot to close the door. But I dare not eat her meal."
Wan Xiu blushed and said, "She won't dare to do anything as long as I'm here." She lowered her head and said, "I, I didn't mean to stop you just now. Since Mr. Lin is leaving, I just want to say take care to you." But her voice became lower and lower.
Lin Jianlan said, "Ah Xiu, how come this parting seems to be a farewell forever? If you have any problems, just send someone to find me at any time." Then he told her where he was staying temporarily in Chang'an. Wan Xiu frowned and repeated it several times, and finally said, "I've got it in mind. I won't tell my mother about this place."
Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "It's no big deal. Don't think so badly of your mother." Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he said, "Wait for me for a moment." After that, he still jumped out of the window.
After a while, Wan Xiu heard a ringing sound outside the window, and then it became quiet again. The window creaked open, and Lin Jianlan poked his head in and waved, "A Xiu, bring your sunshade and sit by the window."
Wan Xiu didn't know what he meant, so she followed his instructions and slowly leaned against the wall to sit down by the window. She saw red ropes crisscrossing in a lush bamboo forest outside the window, with many bells densely hung on them. However, the weather was hot and windless, so the branches did not move at all, so the bells hung quietly on the red ropes without making any sound. She was just wondering in her heart, but she felt something stuffed in her hand. She looked down and saw that it was a handful of copper coins. She looked up and saw Lin Jianlan smiling, "I have recently practiced a fun move inspired by the bell-hanging elders of the Beggar Gang. I will only show it to you. Just throw money at me and I will catch all your money without making a sound."
Wan Xiu tilted his head and smiled, "Okay, then you can continue to receive my rewards." After that, he clenched a coin in his hand and threw it towards the bamboo forest.
Lin Jianlan never thought that she would start fighting as soon as she said so. She said "bad girl" softly and stepped back. She turned over a red rope as if she had eyes on her back, bent over and lay on her back. When she stood up again, she was holding a copper coin in her mouth and smiling triumphantly at Wan Xiu.
Wan Xiu also felt like playing, so he picked up another coin and threw it out, and immediately threw another one hard towards the red rope bell. Lin Jianlan had already drawn out his sword, leaping and moving in the forest, and grabbed the coin that arrived first in his hand. He quickly lowered his body and stretched out his sword backwards. The coin that was sent later was about to hit the bell, but was bounced back by the sword. It flew upwards with a "ding" sound, and fell again, landing in Lin Jianlan's hand. A few sparse copper coins had already flown nearby.
Wan Xiu didn't know what sword technique Lin Jianlan was using. She only saw his figure swaying in the bamboo forest like a piece of soft silk, so graceful, as if he was about to touch the bamboo poles or red ropes but then he smoothly avoided them. His body was like a flying crane, his sleeves were slowly gathered and rolled up, his long sword was opening and closing vertically, and sometimes he flew up and kicked up copper coins like a shuttlecock. As the copper coins in his hand were thrown out one after another, the clinking sound was endless, which made her dazzled.
At this moment, a breeze suddenly blew, and it seemed that a strong wind was about to blow. Wan Xiu saw that there were still several copper coins in her hand, so she smiled lightly and threw them all out. She was weak and could not throw too high or far. The copper coins had fallen to the height of Lin Jianlan's shoulders when they reached the bamboo forest. Seeing his body suddenly become several times faster, like a gust of wind, the shaking bamboo branches also trembled slightly. At this time, the sound of copper coins bouncing on the sword became more frequent, and dozens of coins bounced to very high places one after another. Lin Jianlan then let out a long whistle, jumped up, and gathered the copper coins one by one in his sleeves.
Wan Xiu saw a copper coin about to fall out of the forest. It seemed that he would not be able to catch it in time, so he cried out "Ah". Lin Jianlan calmly cut it with his sword and flew down. He threw the bamboo branch in his hand at the coin, but it was the last one to arrive and was nailed in the mud. The coin fell on the bamboo branch and pierced into it, but was blocked by the bamboo leaves and swayed gently on the thin branch.
Wan Xiu was about to clap her hands in admiration, but she saw Lin Jianlan turned over and stood on the wall, smiling at her from afar, waved his hand, and disappeared. She knew in her heart that this farewell would come sooner or later, but she had spent so much time thinking about it. At this time, the wind finally got stronger, and the bamboo forest swayed, making a rustling sound, which caused the bells on the red ropes to tremble, and the sounds of ding-dong gradually came in, which was very pleasant to the ears. Wan Xiu couldn't help but smile gently, but her heart was filled with melancholy.
Lin Jianlan returned to the courtyard he had not lived in for a long time. He found that the house had been covered with a thin layer of dust after not being lived in for several days. It was already night when he finished cleaning up. Facing the candlelight, he still felt difficult to calm down. The most difficult thing in life is separation, because one does not know when to meet again after separation, especially in the world of martial arts, where the situation is so treacherous. Wasn't he in the same mood when he parted with his grandmother, Lin Longqing, Yue Lingfeng and others? Thinking of this, Lin Jianlan felt that the room was a little stuffy, so he raised the window and felt a little cooler. He still sat upright on the bed, closed his eyes and recalled his movements in the bamboo forest today, and said in his heart: "After all, my combination of Liuyun Sword Technique and Dongliuyun Step can only be used for fun. Ah Xiu didn't throw it fast, so there is still a chance to turn it around. The bell on the red rope is also dead. If it is thrown by those hidden weapon masters in the Kuangyi Gang, how can I rescue it? What if the bell today is the bell on the long staff of the Beggar Gang disciples or even the elders, then what should I do?" All kinds of figures circled in his mind, as if there were several figures fighting against the enemy. If they could figure out a move, a smile would appear on the corners of their mouths. If they couldn't fight back no matter what, they would frown and look very distressed.
He was so absorbed in it that he didn't notice the time passing, but he was suddenly awakened by a rapid knock on the door. He opened his eyes and saw that it was already late at night outside. The wooden ruler on the window had been blown away by the wind at some point. He hurriedly took a few steps to open the door, but there was a cool breeze mixed with drizzle. The ground was wet, and it seemed as if there had just been a heavy rain that was only now easing. He wondered who had found this place, so he opened the gate and saw a person falling into his arms. A pale face under a cloak was looking up at him, shivering slightly. It was Wanxiu, whom he had just seen for half a day. He couldn't help but call out to her and led Wanxiu into the room and sat down.
Lin Jianlan took a quick look in the candlelight, then quickly re-lit the fire, put the teapot on the stove, took a chair from the bedside and placed it next to the stove, and helped Wan Xiu over. He saw that water was still dripping from her forehead, and her slender fingers were tightly grasping the branch. The lace on it was wet and black, and had lost its original color. The base color of the cloak should be light green, but it was stained with countless mud marks. I don't know how many times she fell on the road before she could barely find this place.
Seeing Wan Xiu like this, Lin Jianlan couldn't help but feel angry that she didn't take good care of her body, but he couldn't blame her. He just sat beside her and looked at the teapot and said, "Ah Xiu, you, ah, what can I say about you?"
Wan Xiu was about to speak, but her teeth chattered and she was too cold to speak. She only showed an anxious look to Lin Jianlan. Lin Jianlan sighed in her heart, and seeing that the water in the teapot had warmed up a little, she poured a cup and handed it to her. Wan Xiu held the teacup and gently rested her pointed chin on the edge of the cup. She suddenly felt a burst of warmth, and mist rose in the teacup. After a long while, she finally recovered and said, "Mr. Lin, I'm afraid something happened to your adoptive father!"
Lin Jianlan's heart suddenly skipped a beat. The teapot in his hand swayed and he could hardly hold it steady. He quickly put it on the stove and asked in a trembling voice, "Did Protector Qin really take action?"
Wan Xiu looked at him in astonishment, not knowing why Lin Jianlan could say the three words "Protector Qin" in one word. Seeing his anxious expression, Wan Xiu knew that the sudden visit and the words just now had greatly shaken Lin Jianlan's heart. He did not dare to delay any longer, and calmed down and said, "My father was originally handling things at the Jinzhou branch hall, but he came here at dinner time. In the past, he would come to my room to inquire about my condition as soon as he came home after going out for a few days, but today he just told me to rest in a deep voice."
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Wan Jianhong must have received the news from the headquarters and rushed to Chang'an from Jinzhou. Calculating the time, it was when Uncle Qing sent Fang and Yue here."
"I thought that my father looked so serious, which was out of character. Something must have happened. Maybe I could hear something about Master Lin..." At this point, Wan Xiu took a sip of water and continued, "I didn't dare to eavesdrop at the door of the meeting room, so I just listened outside the window. They thought I had gone to bed, and it was raining heavily outside. Fortunately, they didn't notice me. There were not only my parents in the meeting room, but also Doctor Cheng. When he saw my father, he smiled sinisterly and said, 'Master Wan is well-informed. He really acted on the news.'"
"My father snorted coldly and said, 'This is not the Jinzhou branch, and you are no longer the elder of the Kuangyi Gang. Doctor Cheng comes and goes in my place as if it were his own home. What's the reason for this?'
"Doctor Cheng was not angry either. He said, 'The rules of the hall say that the hall master cannot leave the branch hall without permission. How can Hall Master Wan consider himself a member of the Kuang Yi Gang? If you knew that something happened in the main hall, you should have rushed back to Hangzhou. Why did you come here? I guess the Kuang Yi Gang is about to collapse, so you have to find another backer and find another way out.' Alas, I vaguely remember that my father was very good friends with Gang Master Lin when I was young. I didn't expect that he would act like this when something happened to the Kuang Yi Gang . I feel really guilty."
Seeing Wan Xiu blaming herself, Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "Ah Xiu, you don't have to take all the responsibility for your parents. The ice is not formed in a day. The Kuang Yi Gang has undergone many changes in recent years, and it is inevitable that the leaders of each branch have their own thoughts."
Wan Xiu said, "My father's tone was somewhat resentful: 'The former world's number one gang has become what it is today, and Doctor Cheng has made a great contribution!' Doctor Cheng said, 'Isn't it too naive for Master Wan to say this? The Kuang Yi Gang has fallen into the hands of Lin Longqing and Cao Shujian. Everyone says that they are young and promising, but I, an old man, have to say that they are short-sighted! There are so many branches across the country, and the main hall is like a strict barrier. At this point, I don't know how many parties have been eyeing it. With such a huge force, some want to use it, and some want to disintegrate it! How could it be done by me alone?'"
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Buddhism says that all things are impermanent, and the winners will inevitably decline. The Kuangyi Gang has reached its peak, so naturally there will be such a day. The incident with Yin Yin's father was just the beginning." Thinking of this, he added two more pieces of charcoal to the stove and said, "If I'm not mistaken, your father might want to start a new business, right ?"
Wan Xiu shrank back uneasily and said, "Until then I didn't know what had happened. My father could only sigh: 'The dignified Kuang Yi Gang has fallen into the hands of a yellow-haired girl . I will never forgive Qin Tianxiong!" Just as he finished speaking, the fork holding the charcoal in Lin Jianlan's hand fell to the ground with a clang, and he immediately bent down to pick it up and threw it into the charcoal basket. Although he didn't say anything, it could be seen that he was very upset.
Lin Jianlan only looked at the fire, the icy face he saw for the first time in the courtyard, the way he secretly cried on the green waves of the Yangtze River, the slightly red face after fighting off the enemy on the Nine-Zigzag Bridge, and the cold eyes that looked around when he left Kuang Yi Hall. Even if it was fixed on him for only a moment, he would never forget it. Once it was mentioned again, all kinds of past events came flooding back and could never be shaken off. It turned out that -
I want to forget but I can't.
