Journey Through Realms: Fulfilling Last Wishes

Chapter 21: The Naive Lotus of the Demon Sect

After dinner, Shen Yu and An Ran prepared to go out. They had initially planned to leave after lunch, but since An Ran wanted to explore Yongcheng’s vibrant night market, they postponed their outing to the evening. After all, if their guess was correct, Qin Yuan would appear whenever they did, regardless of the time. There was no need to accommodate him; they could go about their plans as they pleased, as long as it didn’t inconvenience them. Letting Qin Yuan follow was sufficient.

“Shen Yu gege, why is Yongcheng so prosperous? It even has nightlife.”

An Ran had been curious about this for a long time. She hadn’t had the chance to ask before, but now that they were heading out, she couldn’t resist satisfying her curiosity.

“Oh, that’s because Yongcheng is the foundation of the Shen family. Seventy percent of the city’s industries belong to us. In the capital, there are also Shen family members in the government. The Demon Sect is merely one of our enterprises,” Shen Yu explained indifferently, as if it were nothing extraordinary.

An Ran was stunned. The Shen family turned out to be a truly powerful family. Judging by Yongcheng’s level of prosperity, making a fortune daily seemed like a trivial matter. There were even members of the family in government positions, and they didn’t appear to hold low ranks either. Otherwise, how could they hold onto such a prime location like Yongcheng without interference?

Moreover, the Demon Sect was merely considered an ‘enterprise’. This was said so lightly, yet a single Demon Sect was enough to terrify the entire martial world! The Shen family was simply too formidable.

It seemed Shen Mo established the Demon Sect in just a month, with half of that time spent on choosing a location. It appeared the Shen family excelled at putting effort into whatever they did. Even for something as temporary as a sect, they paid great attention to detail.

After rescuing An Ran, they decided to protect her under the guise of a martial sect. Compared to a family status, a sect identity was simpler and more intimidating. After all, the bloody methods they used to annihilate two sects were enough to deter anyone who harbored ill intentions toward An Ran. Besides, Shen Mo preferred simple and direct solutions, given his confidence and resources.

Sigh.

The original An Ran had such strong family support, yet she ended up being used as a medicinal catalyst. It was confusing. Shen Yu’s death was also suspicious. With such a powerful family, how could he not have guards to protect him? What caused the rapid decline of the Demon Sect? The more An Ran learned, the more questions arose. The information she had seemed incomplete, with many details left out.

Never mind, answers would come eventually. Perhaps as long as she found the person behind Jianhai Manor, everything could be explained. After all, the records showed that the last major conflict was instigated by Jianhai Manor, but now it seemed unlikely. It appeared that extracting information from Qin Yuan tonight was crucial.

“Ouch, who bumped into me? Don’t people watch where they’re going? So rude.”

An Ran, walking with her head down, suddenly collided with someone. She was annoyed. Who was so careless? Her head hurt from the collision.

“Ranran, it’s my fault. I noticed you weren’t keeping up and stopped to wait for you, but you walked right into me,” Shen Yu said helplessly. He had noticed An Ran lost in thought and slowing down, so he stopped to wait for her. Who could have guessed she would bump into him directly?

“Did it hurt? Let me rub it for you. It seems a bit red.”

Shen Yu gently rubbed her head with an apologetic look, full of concern. He blamed himself for not catching her earlier and letting her bump her head.

“Ah, Shen Yu gege, it’s not your fault. I wasn’t paying attention because I was lost in thought. It’s my carelessness. Just rub it for me—it’ll be fine. Don’t blame yourself,” An Ran said, feeling embarrassed upon realizing it was Shen Yu she had bumped into. She quickly tried to console him.

“What are you two doing? Shen Yu, how can you behave like this with an unmarried woman in public? It’s improper!”

A sudden voice broke the intimate atmosphere. The speaker was Qin Yuan. He had been following them for a while. Initially, he thought An Ran was being forced to follow Shen Yu. But after observing for some time, he realized the situation wasn’t as he had imagined. Seeing Shen Yu tenderly care for An Ran and An Ran quickly forgiving him, Qin Yuan couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Who are you? Why are you interfering? We’re happy like this—what’s it to you?” An Ran glared at Qin Yuan.

“An Ran, I’m saying this for your own good. A young woman should keep her distance from men. A ruined reputation could affect your future prospects,” Qin Yuan said, believing he was being considerate.

An Ran rolled her eyes.

“Does anyone here even know us? If no one says anything, they’ll just assume Shen Yu gege and I are newlyweds. How could my reputation be ruined? Unless someone deliberately spreads rumors—and the only person who knows we’re not married is you.”

“An Ran, that’s not what I meant. I was just worried someone with bad intentions might exploit the situation,” Qin Yuan said, feeling wronged.

“Qin Yuan, An Ran’s reputation is none of your concern. She has me, and I’ll take responsibility for everything,” Shen Yu said coldly.

“You think you can protect her? Don’t think I don’t know—you’re poisoned, and there’s no cure!” Qin Yuan retorted.

“Who poisoned me? Don’t tell me you don’t even know, Qin Yuan,” Shen Yu replied sarcastically. He turned to An Ran, suggesting they leave. An Ran agreed, ready to explore the night market instead of arguing further.

An Ran pulled Shen Yu to the ring toss booth and asked the owner about the game rules.

“Ten coins for five rings, twenty coins for fifteen rings. If the ring lands on an item, you can take it home,” the owner explained fluently.

“Alright, I’ll take the twenty-coin option,” An Ran said, feeling that the game was incredibly cheap.

She looked at the items on the booth, ranging from vases and decorations to silver jewelry. None of these things could be worth only twenty coins, and with such a large ring, it seemed easy to win. The owner must have been well-off to offer such a deal.

“Here are fifteen rings. Take them,” the owner handed over the rings to An Ran.

Excited, An Ran eagerly started tossing. She decided to aim for the closest item first—a small, simple silver bracelet with two little bells. She carefully targeted it and tossed the ring, but despite the apparent simplicity, the ring seemed to have a mind of its own and flew straight towards a vase instead.

“Too much force this time—less strength next time.”

“Now not enough force—apply more strength.”

“The direction is slightly off this time—adjust a little.”

Before she knew it, An Ran had used up all her rings but won nothing.

“Owner, another fifteen!”

“Owner, another fifteen!”

“Owner…”

The more rings An Ran bought, the more frustrated she became, yet she still couldn’t win anything.

Passerby A: “Look, someone else is throwing money away at that booth.”

Passerby B: “I’ve been watching this booth for a long time, and I’ve never seen anyone win.”

Passerby C: “It’s just a scam to fool outsiders.”

The sound of An Ran tossing rings attracted a crowd. People began murmuring among themselves, speculating about the fairness of the game.

Hearing the chatter, Shen Yu frowned. He noticed something was off but couldn’t figure out exactly what the problem was.

“Shen Yu gege, help me! I just want that silver bracelet,” An Ran pleaded, feeling disheartened. She turned to Shen Yu, realizing he might have better luck.

An Ran had already realized something was amiss but lacked the internal strength to counter it. She was confident that Shen Yu could succeed, so she placed her hopes on him.

“Alright, I’ll win it for you,” Shen Yu promised, taking three rings from her hands.

“Shen Yu gege, he’s using inner force to interfere with me. You toss while I focus on countering him,” An Ran warned, ensuring Shen Yu understood the stakes.

Shen Yu nodded and threw the first ring toward a distant vase. An Ran was puzzled by his aim but quickly activated her internal strength to neutralize the interference coming from the owner.

Moments later, An Ran left the booth, wearing her beloved bracelet on her wrist, a golden hairpin in her hair, and carrying a large vase in her arms.

Behind them, the owner’s face was dark with anger, but he didn’t dare say a word. He could only watch in pain as they walked away with their prizes, knowing he had no grounds to accuse them of cheating.