I Just Won't Play By The Book
chapter-26

Choosing Option Three, Jiang Beiran shook his head and said, "No need to apologize to me. Why do you think I appeared so timely? Actually, I had already been following you when you walked out of the inn. The reason why I didn't stop you was because I wanted to make you suffer."

Fang Qiuyao was stunned after hearing this. She had thought that since she was still injured, even if it meant lying to her, the senior Brother would first comfort her with a couple of sentences. She hadn't expected him to make such a harsh statement.

"I…" Fang Qiuyao was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to reply.

"Quickly take your medicine. We will depart in two hours." Jiang Beiran finished speaking, pushed open the door, and left the room.

Listening to the sound of the door being closed, Fang Qiuyao's expression instantly crumbled. She turned her head to look at Liu Zijin and asked, "Sister Zijin… am I really annoying?"

Sitting beside Fang Qiuyao, Liu Zijin had also not expected the senior Brother to teach Qiuyao a lesson when she was so weak. She sat stunned for a long time before saying, "How could it be? I can't even treasure you enough. Come, take the medicine first."

"But the senior Brother, he…"

"No buts. Brother Jiang is also in a fit of anger. You see, he has said so much to us all along the way, but you didn't listen to a word. You've also opposed him at every turn. He can…" Halfway through the sentence, Liu Zijin suddenly noticed Fang Qiuyao's eyes filling up with tears.

"Eh, don't cry, don't cry. I've been too heavy with my words. Actually, you just need to realize what you did wrong and slowly change in the future. Brother Jiang will definitely not be so mean to you again," Liu Zijin said.

Fang Qiuyao listened and wiped her tears with her hand, nodding. "Okay… I am now really regretful. Brother is right, it's really dangerous down the mountain. I obviously just wanted to help them, but they scolded me, harmed me. I…"

Seeing Fang Qiuyao so aggrieved that she wanted to cry, Liu Zijin quickly poured her a cup of tea, sat on the bedside, and said to Fang Qiuyao, "Alright, don't think about this. First, take the medicine. Don't cause us to delay our departure or Brother Jiang would nag you again."

Hearing the last sentence, Fang Qiuyao hurriedly swallowed the Heart-clearing Pill in her hand.

"Here. Drink some water." Liu Zijin handed the teacup to Fang Qiuyao.

Fang Qiuyao was surprised for a moment before saying, "The pill that Brother gave me has a refreshing fragrance. It smells good."

"A refreshing fragrance?" Liu Zijin asked.

"Yep! If you don't believe me, Sister Zijin, you can smell it for yourself," Fang Qiuyao said, and then breathed out towards Liu Zijin.

Liu Zijin caught a whiff and exclaimed, "Really, it seems like the smell of the Frost Leaf Flowers."

"And… my stomach seems to feel much better, too." Fang Qiuyao rubbed her stomach with a surprised expression.

Before swallowing the Heart-clearing Pill, she had been feeling nauseous but didn't have the strength to throw up. However, now she was completely well.

"So, you aren't drinking the tea anymore?"

Fang Qiuyao nodded. "Yep. The pill smells good. I want it to stay in my mouth for a little longer," she replied.

Liu Zijin smiled after hearing that, put the teacup aside, and pulled the blanket over Fang Qiuyao again. "Then rest for a little longer."

Just as Liu Zijin was about to get up and leave, Fang Qiuyao suddenly reached out with her hand and tugged at the hem of her clothes.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Liu Zijin asked as she turned back.

"Sister Zijin… can you just sit next to me and stay with me for a while? I… I'm a little scared," Fang Qiuyao said.

Looking at Fang Qiuyao's nervous expression, Liu Zijin sat back down again at the side of the bed and took her hand to comfort her. "Don't be afraid. You are back and everything is fine."

Feeling that Fang Qiuyao's hand was a bit cold, Liu Zijin massaged them for her while changing the topic. "But Brother Jiang is really capable. It's like there's nothing he can't do."

"Yeah, yeah." Fang Qiuyao nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice, then whispered, "Have you noticed, Sister Zijin, that ever since we put on the straw hat and scorched cloth that senior Brother gave us, that people don't seem to see us?"

"Of course I noticed it, but Brother Jiang doesn't seem to like people prying into his privacy, so it's better if you don't go chasing after him to ask about it," she replied.

"Yep, I understand." Fang Qiuyao nodded. She wanted to say something again but swallowed back the words at the tip of her tongue.

‘How powerful are senior Brother's abilities…?' she wondered.

Fang Qiuyao knew clearly how big the difference in capabilities between the two of them was when she fought for her life against that knife-wielding warrior yesterday. His capabilities had probably already gone beyond the Qi Refining Period and reached the Mystic level.

But senior Brother was able to save her easily right before the man's eyes. It was definitely not just because of that black smoke.

But senior Brother obviously found it taboo, so Fang Qiuyao still decided not to say anything about it.

Seeing Fang Qiuyao suddenly descending into silence, Liu Zijin smiled and held her hand gently, saying, "Why don't you sleep for a while? We still have to get going later."

"Okay… Thank you, Sister Zijin." Fang Qiuyao slowly closed her eyes after she finished speaking.

Two hours passed quickly, and Jiang Beiran knocked on the door of Liu Zijin's room on time.

With a creak, Liu Zijin pushed the door open and bowed to Jiang Beiran. "Brother, we are all ready," she said.

Jiang Beiran glanced into the room and found that Fang Qiuyao had already changed her clothes and put on her straw hat.

"Are you feeling any more discomfort?" Jiang Beiran asked, expressionless, as he looked at Fang Qiuyao.

Fang Qiuyao shook her head. "No. The medicine you gave me is very useful, Brother."

"Alright. Then let's get ready to leave," he said.

At this time the three Sisters of the Yu family had come out of the room next door, saw Jiang Beiran, then bowed neatly in unison and said, "Good day, Brother."

Jiang Beiran nodded calmly towards them, but in his heart, he was very curious.

Yesterday, after looking at the size of the Mortal Grade room, the Yu Sisters did not indicate that they wanted an additional room, so the three of them slept in the same one for one night.

‘Could it be that they have a bed stuffed in their storage ring?' he wondered.

But Jiang Beiran was not overly curious. He looked around at the five Sisters and said, "Since you're all ready, let's go."

"Yes!" five voices answered at the same time.

‘Eh?'

The three Sisters of the Yu family looked at Fang Qiuyao, who had just walked out of the room, somewhat wondering why she wasn't acting up today. Clearly, she had simply ignored the senior Brother yesterday.

After being puzzled, the three Sisters looked at each other for a while, then together they looked at Jiang Beiran and Fang Qiuyao, showing identical expressions.

‘I'm curious!'

…

After going downstairs and settling the bill for the rooms, Jiang Beiran left Luoxia Town with the five Sisters and continued to walk in the direction of Jifu Village.

At noon, the Xiafei Inn welcomed visitors from all directions as usual. Several servers were busy running here and there, delivering plates of delicious food to the tables of the guests.

In front of the counter, the manager of Xiafei Inn was pouring wine when he turned his head and saw a familiar figure coming in the doorway.. Scared, he hurriedly put down the wine, ran to the man, bowed, and shouted, "Master Chen, it's a great honor to have you visit our inn."