No matter how rare or good a man was, as long as he did not hold affections for Jun’er, it would merely spell disaster for his beloved sister. It was better that she acknowledge the truth sooner rather than later.
Huo Ruojun eyed the pile of books on the table. They were all obscure tomes recording fragments of the Wushang Continent’s history. Perhaps one of those books contained information on a path leading to the Xuantian Continent. Seeing the serious look on her Imperial Brother’s face, she resolved to find the information she sought.
“Imperial Brother, you wouldn’t be brokering a deal with Si Mobai; you would be helping me find happiness!” Huo Ruojun did not give up. Glaring at those hateful books taking up her brother’s time, she wanted nothing more but to burn them. No. It was best she did not look at them.
“What you’re asking of me will do you more harm than good. I have no intention of forcing such a marriage. It’s well and good that you like him, but let your affections rest at that. Don’t force something that you’ll come to regret. Si Mobai isn’t the man for you.”
Hearing her brother’s stern rebuke, Huo Ruojun felt a surge of anger prickling her skin. “I like him; that should be good enough of a reason.”“You’ll need more than that to attain his affections. I’d say you’d need to be a doctor and force him to ingest some drug to render him amnesic; else, you’d get nowhere with this willfulness of yours.” Huo Mingcheng glanced at his sister, whose pugnacious face was scrunched up in thought. It seemed she was seriously contemplating the very act of erasing Si Mobai’s memories.
His face immediately darkened.
Putting the book he had been reading aside, Huo Mingcheng patted his sister’s head gently and said, “Don’t let your imagination run wild. Even if he were to lose his memory, he still wouldn’t like you.”
“Imperial Brother!” His words ignited Huo Ruojun’s short fuse. She was not as bad as her brother made her out to be! In what way could she not compare to a woman from some other continent?
Huo Mingcheng’s face darkened as he asked solemnly, “Have you forgotten all that I have taught you?”
“… Always be open and forthright. Never do anything against one’s own conscience.” Huo Ruojun recited weakly. ” You said that as long as I live by these tenets, you’d always stand by my side regardless of how willful or mischievous I am.”
Her Imperial brother doted on her, but he would not budge on matters of principle. A person had to have principles and a bottom line. Once she crossed that line, he would punish her.Huo Mingcheng nodded in satisfaction. Earnestly, he repeated himself, “It’s alright for you to like him. I would even close an eye if you were to pursue him seriously, but I will not condone any trickery or deception. The world does not solely revolve around you, even if you’d like to think so. Think of how your actions would hurt that girl. Don’t hurt another to satisfy your own selfish desires.”
Huo Ruojun nodded like she was pounding garlic. “I understand. I’ll heed your advice, brother. I’ll be good.”
“Good. Now, I need your help finding some way to travel to the Xuantian Continent.” Huo Mingcheng threw her a book when he had finished speaking. He trusted his sister. After all, if she really had any tricks up her sleeve, she would have used them already. She did not have waited for Si Mobai to awaken before employing them.
Yet, he still could not help but worry seeing his sister sink deeper and deeper into the sickly clutches of love. He was afraid an accident might somehow occur. It was best he kept his eye on her for the time being.
Huo Ruojun flipped through the pages with an air of disinterest. Pouting, she mocked herself good-naturedly, “I’ve never seen a more useless person than me. I even need help finding a fiancée for myself.”
Huo Mingcheng smiled, scanning the pages of the book he was perusing. He really wanted to help Si Mobai. He felt it would be quite a pity if a faithful man like Si Mobai were to have his dreams buried like this.
…
Feng Tianlan had not seen He Lianhuang since the day they parted. She could not bear the thought of allowing Xi Lin to face the terrible situation that had befallen the Xi Yuan Nation alone- not while she was injured. As such, Feng Tianlan had chosen to remain behind, afraid that Chen Xinyi would hurt Sister Lin.
Shui Jue arrived in Xi Yuan Nation a while after. With him came the news of the United Mercenary Regiment and their attack. Thankfully, they had not suffered a serious blow to their forces. Mei’er and the others were safe and sound.
Only when she had verified the authenticity of the information brought did she heave a sigh of relief. She had lived up to her expectations.
Wearing a red cloak as she ploughed through the heavy snow, Chen Xinyi stopped by Feng Tianlan’s side. The relaxed expression on Feng Tianlan’s face caused her to frown. “Feng Tianlan.”
