Chapter 69 - Drinking congee with the other small pitiful one.
Nowadays, there were many things waiting to be done in the martial arts world, so the days were filled with wave after wave of official business discussions. These Jianghu people needed to host a banquet to discuss business, so it turned into wave after wave of dinner parties, and every time it was clearly indicated that Ye Tan and I should attend. I used my recuperation as an excuse to tactfully decline, so I could quietly relax in the rear courtyard. Ye Tan attended for a few days, but was unable to put up with it any longer, so he sent Qiu Wujiu to replace him one time.
This resulted in Qiu Wujiu fighting with everyone after eating half a meal, demanding every faction under the heavens change their surname to One Sword Tomb, and causing a great commotion. Ye Tan had to clean up the mess, and afterwards he had no choice but to honestly attend the banquets himself.
Today, I was petting a cat in the courtyard, when a servant girl came to report that Ye Lan had woken up.
Actually, even though Ye Lan had been seriously injured, being unconscious for so many days was already a little abnormal, but it was good that he was awake, so I happily hurried to the eastern side room to pay him a visit.
But the servant girl was a little anxious: “There’s something wrong with Young Master Ye Lan.”
I pushed aside the heavy curtains near the bed, Ye Lan seemed perfectly all right as he lay on the bed with his eyes open, but his eyes were dark and dull, with not a single trace of life in them. He wasn’t making any sounds, his complexion was deathly ashen and tears were streaming down his face.
“Ye Lan? Hey?” I called out to him a few times but he didn’t react at all, he appeared to not be able to see anything, and just kept crying.
The servant girl sighed and said: “He’s been like this since he woke up, he’s already been crying for a very long time.”
I grabbed a towel and wiped at him as I asked: “Where’s Ye Xiao?”
The servant girl answered: “Answering the Master, Young Master Ye Xiao was taken along by Young Master Ye Tan to discuss official business.”
I waved my hand: “Quickly go tell him that Ye Lan is awake, and have him come over.”
Not long after the servant girl withdrew, I saw Ye Xiao slowly making his way in through the western window, gracefully landing on the table, and frowning once he caught sight of Ye Lan’s expression. I knew he and Ye Lan had always been very close, so he must be worried about him now. I was just about to console him, but Ye Xiao clicked his tongue: “Why did this guy revert again.”
I was puzzled: “Huh?”
Ye Xiao scratched his head in annoyance: “He gets stupid like this every few years, where he doesn’t understand what is said to him and doesn’t recognise anyone. I take the trouble and struggle to raise him up to be a little normal for a few years, but then he reverts back to being stupid. This is the third time, it’s really annoying.”
Ye Xiao complained with his words, but he couldn’t hide the distress in his eyes. He pushed me aside and sat on the bedside, softly calling out next to him: “Bing Xu.”
Upon hearing these words, Ye Lan suddenly jumped up from the bed as though he had gotten an electric shock. But the broken bones on his four limbs hadn’t healed, so he fell back down again and again and Ye Xiao hurried to press him back down by the shoulders: “Don’t flail about, hey, my ancestor! It’s okay if you’re stupid but it’s not okay if you injure yourself.”
Ye Lan struggled to get up as though he hadn’t heard, his silent tears had turned into wails, and he repeated indistinctly: “Gui Mao, I couldn’t save you again.”
“It’s me, it’s me, I’m fine. Hey, don’t cry, be good.” Ye Xiao soothed him in a kind tone for a long time, then took advantage of the short moment when Ye Lan calmed down to touch his sleeping acupoint, letting him fall asleep again.
I stood to the side and watched silently for a long time, then summed up: “It seems like you’re very proficient at this.”
“It’s been like this from the start.” Ye Xiao’s face was gloomy, “I’m used to it. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and starts to wail, I coax him and he calms down, it makes me feel like I’m a breastfeeding mother.”
I said: “Pfff, that’s really exhausting. Later we’ll take him to look for famous doctors all over, so hopefully he’ll be cured and you won’t have to worry so much.”
I hadn’t finished speaking when someone suddenly interjected:
“You still have the guts to keep Ye Lan by your side?”
It was Ye Tan’s tone of voice, but it carried a pure shade of chilly resentment. I could feel my back growing cold as I heard it, and I immediately guessed who it was.
Jun Wuwang.
The man with the fox mast quietly appeared in the room, even Ye Xiao hadn’t sensed him at all, and he immediately became guarded, unsheathing his dagger. Jun Wuwang having crushed Ye Lan’s hands and feet was still vivid in my mind, and I was scared witless of him, retreating a few steps.
Jun Wuwang looked at Ye Xiao, and impatiently said: “To this day, you still haven’t understood?”
Ye Xiao’s head was full of question marks.
Jun Wuwang said: “The content of the Nightrunner’s ‘Great Trial’ is whatever your heart fears most. Ye Lan worries for you in his heart, and watched helplessly as you were murdered during the trial. Every time you put yourself in death’s way, Ye Lan falls apart. The Great Trial takes place every five years, and Ye Lan has gone mad twice.”
Ye Xiao was stunned: “You….. what are you talking about? How did you know?”
Jun Wuwang laughed in contempt, not feeling like paying attention to him any more and turning his gaze back towards me.
“Ye Lan holds murderous intent towards you, yet you still dare to keep him? Your life or death is of no concern to me, but if you die——” Jun Wuwang paused, and his tone finally softened, “If you die, what would Ye Tan do?”
I started getting more and more suspicious, why did he care about Ye Tan in this way? He clearly cared about Ye Tan, yet he was unwilling to meet him. I asked in bewilderment: “Who on earth are you? Don’t tell me you——”
Jun Wuwang quietly stared at me, using his eyes to stop the latter half of my sentence.
I stopped speaking, and Jun Wuwang said: “We’ll go somewhere else and talk alone.”
Not waiting for me to reply, he left first.
Ye Xiao hurriedly stopped me: “Boss, how could you spend time alone with such a dangerous person!”
I waved my hand as I said: “Jun Wuwang was so fast when he stabbed the Second Young Master, you also saw it with your own eyes. If he really was hostile towards me, would I be able to escape?”
I went out and followed the path along the winding corridor for a short time, then saw Jun Wuwang leaning against a locust tree waiting for me, speaking as I approached: “Here is fine.”
I shook my head: “No, I want to sit down, it’s cold here and I’m hungry.”
“I’m an injured person, ah, I’m already being a pretty good friend by not laying down.”
Jun Wuwang snorted in resentment: “Unreasonable.” But he obediently followed me.
We moved to the west side room and ignited the charcoal fire, then I ordered a servant girl to bring a pot of shrimp congee, putting some into a bowl and passing it to Jun Wuwang.
Jun Wuwang glanced at it: “I don’t need to eat.”
I: “But it’s tasty, you try it.”
Jun Wuwang sighed and took off his mask. Sure enough, under that mask he looked like Ye Tan, but his pupils were a dangerous crimson colour.
I thought that I could guess who he was.
Jun Wuwang simply narrated everything again, and I was finally able to clarify the whole series of events.
It turns out that in that first time, that is, my first reincarnation, I died by Ye Lan’s hands at Zhongli Court, and reloaded the file to start over countless times after that, all of which were unsatisfactory.
I experienced countless reincarnations, but Ye Tan was unable to fall in love with me like he did the first time so that he could have a good end.
I was helpless and had no alternative but to create a copy of myself, randomly erase the memories of one, and let everything happen in the exact same way as it did on that first reincarnation, only using Jun Wuwang to intervene at the very end to rewrite the original hopeless situation, which led to our current circumstances.
It turned out that the person that really had System Privileges, with the power to alter everything, was not me, but Jun Wuwang.
Jun Wuwang’s purpose was to protect Ye Tan’s life——regardless of who he liked, on the premise that he interfered and influenced things as little as possible.
Since I created this world, it was known as a “Sub World”, and the place where I came from in reality was the “Main World”.
In order to ensure there are enough resources to be distributed in the Main World, it is strictly forbidden for the population to increase, so making copies of oneself is also banned.
Since the death penalty doesn’t exist in this life, if someone violated the ban, the most serious punishment was to be banished to the Sub World and become a mortal, to live and die like an ordinary person.
But, since this would only lead to the population of the Main World to decrease and not increase, it would only bring about the extinction of the population in the long-term, so there was a follow-up to this prohibition:
People who are caught and punished can choose one sub-person from the Sub World they created, and lead them in being promoted into a person of the Main World.
Since it was me, I had no doubts about who would take this place.
“A-Tan, he….. after this reincarnation ends, will he go to the Main World and become a person there?” I excitedly said.
Jun Wuwang nodded.
I was so happy I simply wanted to give him a high-five.
If it could be like this, then I really had no regrets at all.
My heart was suddenly moved, and I asked: “Since you have the authority, shouldn’t you be able to cure Ye Lan and let him go back to normal?”
“It’s no use.” Jun Wuwang shook his head, “I’ve tried, regardless of whether Ye Lan’s intelligence is normal or not, he always sacrifices you for Ye Xiao——when he’s normal, his moves are even more ruthless and cruel.” Jun Wuwang’s tone was firm, without any room to turn back, “It’s best to persuade Ye Xiao and Ye Lan to go far away, if you’re unwilling, I will be forced to eliminate them.”
I frowned, very unwilling to do so.
Jun Wuwang spoke again: “You don’t want to? Ye Lan is an insignificant little character, his life or death has no effect on you and Ye Tan. Why should you take such risk for him? If Ye Lan doesn’t die, I won’t be at peace.”
I didn’t speak.
Seeing me silently holding back, Jun Wuwang slowed down his speech: “Did I scare you? I don’t have any other intentions, and I don’t want to make things deliberately hard for you. It’s only that Ye Lan is truly dangerous, I’ve fallen in his hands too many times.”
I shook my head and said: “No. It’s just, I suddenly feel like you remind me of someone…..”
I sucked on the spoon for a moment as I thought, then suddenly realised: “Ah, it’s the Second Young Master.”
Jun Wuwang also paused.
I seriously spoke: “Cautious and paranoid, ruthless and extreme, with no forgiveness or tolerance even if killing was a mistake. It’s clearly for the sake of protecting someone, but the methods always bring fear to people. Hey, it’s really similar.”
Jun Wuwang was silent for a long time, looking like he was carefully considering it, then he muttered: “…..I see.”
I was puzzled: “What?”
“It’s no wonder….. I always thought that I was making his life more and more safe, more and more comfortable, but he only feared me more and more, and we grew further and further apart.” Jun Wuwang mocked himself with a bitter laugh, “I unconsciously grew up into the type of personality I once hated the most.”
“Fine. Since he likes the kind of person you are, you make a decision by yourself. But you must not lower your guard and become overconfident with your power again, we are already not eligible to come back into the file again.” Jun Wuwang sighed in disappointment, and bitterly said:
“I’m also not sure I can really protect you and Ye Tan completely, after all….. after all I’ve already failed many, many times.”
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T/N: The main story is winding down, only one chapter left to go. There are still *plenty* of extras left, tho.