Chapter 10

“Where did this come from?”

Wen Wuning pinched the flower stem, her expression sharp.

The junior brother who had delivered the flower trembled, not knowing what he had done wrong. “I-I don’t know. This was… Senior Brother asked me to bring it to Senior Sister.”

“Elder Brother?”

Where had Elder Brother gotten a Peacock White Feather? The only person Wen Wuning knew who possessed a Peacock White Feather was that one person. That person actually still dared to approach people from the Wen family!

The delicate flower trembled pitifully in Wen Wuning’s hand. Its poor stem was almost snapped by her grip.

“Where is Elder Brother now?”

“Senior Brother, he… he went out.”

Wen Ran knew his younger sister’s temper, and he also knew that helping Sheng Baihe deliver the flower would anger Wen Wuning. But at the time, he had no way to refuse Sheng Baihe. After all, Sheng Baihe had helped the Wen family greatly. So he sent a junior brother to deliver it for him, while he himself went out to hide.

Not knowing why her elder brother would help that shameless bastard Sheng Baihe, Wen Wuning felt both hurt and furious. Even more than that, she feared that her elder brother had been deceived by Sheng Baihe.

After dismissing the junior brother who had delivered the flower, Wen Wuning saw the flower in her hand and immediately thought of Sheng Baihe’s false and hateful face. Her grip tightened unconsciously. With a crack, the flower stem finally snapped, drooping crookedly in her hand.

Wen Wuning threw the flower to the ground in disgust and turned her back.

That sinister villain Sheng Baihe!

A faint movement came from behind her. Wen Wuning turned around and saw that the White Feather flower on the ground had disappeared. From behind a red-lacquered round pillar nearby, a familiar little head poked out.

The White Feather flower was being carefully protected in its arms.

“Why are you here?”

Ever since she had left Lan Fei’er’s place last time, they would occasionally meet during morning class, but Lan Fei’er usually only greeted her from afar like the other disciples, then left.

It seemed she did not want to have anything to do with her.

When the ginseng doll heard Wen Wuning’s question, it walked out from behind the pillar, waving its hands and feet while squeaking. Wen Wuning could not understand what it was saying and only assumed it had come because it coveted this White Feather flower.

“The flower is yours. Hurry back.”

The ginseng doll was so pleasantly surprised that it jumped three chi high, then held the flower and bounced around Wen Wuning in circles.

Wen Wuning’s heart had originally been heavy with frustration, but after being stirred up by it like this, that gloom faded somewhat.

The ginseng doll happily returned to Lan Fei’er’s residence. It sat on the steps outside, peeled open the petals, and very preciously sucked at the flower dew hidden inside.

“You’re back, so why aren’t you coming in?!” The voice of ​bailiantales.com​the tyrant Lan Fei’er rang out from inside the room.

Like a child who had done something wrong, the ginseng doll hid the White Feather flower behind its back with both hands and shuffled into the room, lowering its head as it accepted the scrutiny of Lan Fei’er, this exploiter.

“What are you holding?”

Squeak, squeak, squeak~

“White Feather flower? What’s that? Bring it here and let me see.”

The ginseng doll was unwilling. This was something Wen Wuning had given it. It did not want to give it to Lan Fei’er.

“What are you dawdling for?!”

Tears immediately gathered in the ginseng doll’s eyes, and it unwillingly handed it to Lan Fei’er.

Lan Fei’er took it and looked it over, not taking it seriously. Wasn’t it just a slightly prettier flower? She threw it back to the ginseng doll and asked lazily, “Where did it come from?”

The ginseng doll immediately treasured it and put it away. Squeak, squeak, squeak~

Lan Fei’er suddenly put away her careless attitude, sat up, stared at the ginseng doll, and asked, “Wen Wuning gave it to you? Why would she give you something?”

The ginseng doll wanted to say, Of course it was because she’s a good person, but if it said that, it would definitely get beaten again. Squeak, squeak, squeak~

“She threw it away? You really do pick up every piece of trash and bring it home.” Lan Fei’er lay back down.

The ginseng doll squeaked softly in protest. This was not trash. The Peacock White Feather was a treasure of the peacock clan. If made into incense and carried on one’s person, it had miraculous effects for calming the spirit and gathering qi.

Peacock White Feather? Hearing this familiar name, Lan Fei’er flipped over and sat up again. Wasn’t this the thing the male lead had risked his life to find in order to please the female lead?

Looking at the white flower the ginseng doll was treasuring beyond measure, and thinking of the expression Wen Wuning must have had when she received this flower, Lan Fei’er shook her head and smiled helplessly and mockingly. Wen Wuning, ah, Wen Wuning. The male lead really was like a dog-skin plaster. No matter how hard you tried, you could not shake him off.

For the male lead to return to the Wen family so quickly and even openly send flowers to Wen Wuning, he really was not simple.

Since she had not expected the male lead to act so quickly, the ginseng doll gained another task: keep an eye on Sheng Baihe’s movements. Whenever he came to the Wen family, whoever he met, and whatever he did, it had to pay attention.

But before it discovered any unusual movements from Sheng Baihe, the Wen family first had a matter break out that was neither particularly big nor particularly small. Strictly speaking, it was even somewhat awkward. It was a family matter.

On this day, everyone in the Wen family, whether from the main family or outer-surname disciples, was trembling with fear and did not dare leave their rooms.

It was only because Wen Wuning, who had always obeyed Father Wen’s every command, had suddenly gotten into a huge argument with him. In her fury, she had even overturned the qionghua tree in front of Father Wen’s door, the one he loved most.

This qionghua tree was already around two hundred years old. When Mother Wen had still been alive, she had loved this qionghua tree the most. After she passed away, Father Wen had always cared for it meticulously, often using the tree to remember his deceased wife.

Father Wen had originally felt guilty toward Wen Wuning because of Sheng Baihe’s matter. But seeing the perfectly fine qionghua tree ruined like this, he took a deep breath and said in a tone that brooked no argument, “Go to the back mountain and reflect on your mistakes. You are not allowed to come down until three full months have passed!”

Wen Wuning was already feeling guilty over impulsively overturning her father’s beloved qionghua tree, but seeing that her father and elder brother still did not believe her, she was both hurt and furious. She headed straight for the back mountain.

After Wen Wuning left, Wen Ran stayed with Father Wen to clean up the mess in the courtyard and assigned people to bailiantales.com help prop the qionghua tree back up.

“Father, don’t be angry with Wuning,” Wen Ran said.

Father Wen picked up the scattered yellow soil on the ground and put it back into the pit. Calmly, he said, “I am not angry with her. She dislikes Sheng Baihe, but during this period, he will inevitably have to come and go from the house. Sending her to the back mountain also prevents them from clashing. And when trouble comes, I’m afraid we may not have the attention to spare for her.”

Wen Ran knew what his father was referring to and nodded.

Wen Wuning was not weak, but as her father and elder brother, the two of them still could not help wanting to protect her in the palms of their hands.

Wen Wuning being punished to reflect on her mistakes on the back mountain was a family matter, and Father Wen strictly ordered that it not be spread outside. Because of that, aside from the Wen family disciples who had been home that day, even Sheng Baihe did not know about it.

Every time Sheng Baihe came to the Wen family, he shut himself in a room with Wen Ran and Father Wen, as if they were plotting some shameful, major affair.

The ginseng doll was too timid to get too close, so it knew nothing about the contents of their conversations. All it could tell Lan Fei’er was when Sheng Baihe came again, and whom he met.

Lan Fei’er felt something was wrong. As the days passed one by one, she became increasingly uneasy. But in her memory, nothing major was supposed to happen in Ancheng during these two years. She did not know if she was overthinking things, but she felt that the guards on the back mountain had increased, and the entire Wen family was in a state of alarm.

Lan Fei’er was not someone who would sit still and wait for death, but she was also a careful and cautious person.

First of all, Wen Wuning definitely did not know what Sheng Baihe and the two Wen family men were plotting. Father Wen had sent her to the back mountain to reflect on her mistakes. The back mountain was the safest place in the entire Wen family, so he wanted her to stay away from trouble. It seemed something really was about to happen to the Wen family.

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Lan Fei’er did not sleep in her room. The several senior and junior brothers who lived in the same courtyard had already fallen into dreamland.

Only when a small figure silently emerged from the floor did Lan Fei’er [stolen content]ask, “Sheng Baihe left?”

The little ginseng doll nodded. Lan Fei’er sat in the darkness and thought for a very long time. In the end, she turned her gaze onto the ginseng doll. The little ginseng doll’s scalp prickled under her stare, and when it saw her suddenly rise and walk toward it, it became even more frightened, trembling all over.

Lan Fei’er crouched in front of it and took a small jar from her robes. Pulling out the wooden stopper, she released a fresh fragrance from inside. The ginseng doll, which had still been afraid, immediately jumped up in surprise as soon as it smelled it, staring at the little jar with shining eyes.

Lan Fei’er placed the jar in its arms.

This was the flower dew she had collected within a radius of ten li that day in the mustard-seed space in order to catch this ginseng doll. She had collected this one jar.

“Tonight, follow him and take a look.”

The excited little ginseng doll had not yet recovered. It lifted its head and stared blankly at Lan Fei’er.

“Follow more closely.” Lan Fei’er’s eyes were hidden in shadow as she continued speaking.

She could not personally go and take the risk. But if the ginseng doll was discovered, with its ability to flee for its life, it might still be able to escape back. Even if it could not escape, that was fine too.

You could not catch a wolf without sacrificing the child.

Lan Fei’er lifted the bottom of the little jar slightly, signaling for it to drink first. The little ginseng doll could not wait. Ever since it had followed Lan Fei’er away from Tomb Mountain to the Wen family, it had not tasted such pure, spiritually rich flower dew again. The flower dew from that White Feather flower had been too little, so it had automatically ignored it.

After the little ginseng doll gulped down several big mouthfuls, it remembered that it would have nothing to drink for a long time afterward. It immediately put down the jar and carefully put it away, saving it for later.

The little ginseng doll seemed to have something similar to a storage space on its body. The jar vanished as soon as it placed it against itself.

Seeing this movement, Lan Fei’er said nothing. Instead, after watching it finish, she suddenly moved as fast as lightning and bit open two fingers, then pressed them forcefully against the little ginseng doll’s forehead. Her eyes widened, spiritual energy flared open, and with her other hand, she formed a hand seal while rapidly chanting an incantation she had seen in the book.

The little ginseng doll was completely unprepared and immediately screamed in pain. It wanted to escape, but the two fingers on its forehead held it firmly in place, as if stuck there. It could not get away.

Gritting her teeth, Lan Fei’er held down the struggling little ginseng doll. Sweat poured from her forehead. The speed of her chanting slowed, because every syllable seemed to be forced out against tremendous resistance. When the final sound was finally spoken with difficulty, the spiritual energy she had opened suddenly withdrew. The ginseng doll beneath her fingers staggered back two steps, fell onto its bottom, then instinctively burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

Lan Fei’er did not bother with it. She first returned to the bed and sat there to recover for a while. A moment later, she raised her right hand. The two fingers she had bitten open no longer had any trace of blood. She formed a hand seal with one hand, closed her eyes, and chanted.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw darkness. It was a pure black different from the darkness of night. Beside her ears were faint, whimpering cries, and the fishy smell of soil filled her nose.

Lan Fei’er lowered her hand, closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her vision returned to her familiar room.

A master could form a sensory resonance with a ginseng doll, but there were two prerequisites. First, the ginseng doll had to be at least five hundred years old. Second, the ginseng doll and its master had to have a deep bond.

Neither condition applied here, so Lan Fei’er could only use this forceful method to make it resonate with her senses. But this would only last ten hours, and it would cause enormous harm to the ginseng doll.

Guilt was an emotion Lan Fei’er would absolutely never have. In her eyes, either one did not do something, or once it was done, one did not regret it.

Lan Fei’er knew the ginseng doll was definitely still in the room. It was merely hiding from her underground.

“Go follow Sheng Baihe. Follow him closely,” Lan Fei’er said unhurriedly. “If you come back alive this time, I’ll consider being more patient with you in the future.”

Lan Fei’er sat cross-legged properly on the bed and said no more.

She was not afraid that the ginseng doll would disobey her, because it could not defy the power of the contract seal.