CHAPTER 28

Premonition

LUO FAN

The way back to Xianru had taken us over two months. Along the way, we had dropped by the residence of a famous alchemist named Ma Huan.

He was a level six so I was confident that he would do a fine job with the rare plant. It would take him a month to finish refining the elixir so Ruan Yanjun had decided that we should just come back for it later because anyway, we’d be traveling back to Kan Empire after a couple of months.

I suspected that Ruan Yanjun had intentionally set that up. He knew it would take a while to refine the herb and had decided to leave it in Wun Empire so I’d be forced to travel with him again.

I really meant to fulfill my promise to him, but he probably could not trust me enough and wanted an additional guarantee.

It was already late at night when we made it to Jinjing’s house. Ruan Yanjun got out of the carriage first and reached for my hand as I went down.

“You have a week to rest,” he said. “Early morning on Monday, I’ll come pick you up.”

I nodded. “Lord Ruan, thank you very much for all the help.”

Just as I turned away, he grabbed my hand. I stopped and turned back to him.

“Your enemies are now aware that you’re here,” he said. “Are you sure you’re safe here? Why don’t you stay in my residence instead? Take the woman with you.”

“I thank you for the offer, but we won’t feel very comfortable surrounded by servants. We are both servants ourselves.”

“Tell her I’m offering her a job in my residence. I’ll pay three times what she earns in that brothel. That way, she may be saved from people’s prejudice. It will save both yours and her reputation.”

“I have to talk to her about that.”

He sighed and stepped closer to me, too close that I froze. I may not have stepped back, but I put my guard up. The moment he attempted to touch me inappropriately again, I would not hesitate to punch him in the face regardless of the consequences.

“A-Fan.” His voice was very tender as he gently squeezed my hand. It gave me that spine-chilling sensation once again. “I’ve given my word to your former master that I will protect you, but since I have to attend to some important matters and you refuse to come along, I’ll be leaving some of my disciples to look after you. So if you see them lurking about your house, don’t mind them. They’re just doing their job.”

I nodded. “Lord Ruan worries too much. I don’t think those who wish me dead will come all the way here. They might have already seen how worthless I have become. They will not waste their time on me anymore.”

He smirked and gently tapped my cheek. “My A-Fan is really naïve. Once you learn the truth, you will not think that way.”

I did not bother to let him elaborate anymore. He had been telling me that same thing several times already. Even if I asked, he would not answer me anyway.

I pulled my hand off his grip and took a step back. “Goodnight, my lord,” I said and turned away again.

“I’ll wait here until she opens the door for you.”

I knocked on the gate. A moment later, I heard the door open.

“Who is it?” Jinjing asked. That was already her soft voice, but it was still too loud especially since the night was so quiet.

The wall surrounding the front yard was only at the height of my chest. From where I stood, I saw a frame of an approaching woman holding a lantern.

My heart fluttered. It had been months and I missed her. “It’s me.”

She suddenly stopped with a gasp. “Fan?” she asked. Suddenly, she ran to the gate and pulled it open. “Fan!” she exclaimed as she put down the lantern and hugged me tight. “I was so afraid that you had forgotten me already. You’ve been away for too long.”

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I gently wrapped my arms around her and stroked her back. “Why should I forget you? I promised you I’d be back, didn’t I?”

“I’m so happy! I miss you so much!”

“I miss you too.” While she was on the verge of laughing and screaming, I tried to pacify her, especially since Ruan Yanjun was just behind me.

Then I heard the sound of a carriage leaving. When I turned, Ruan Yanjun was not there anymore, and the carriage was already several yards away.

He did not even greet Jinjing. Not even a word of goodbye to me.

Did he get jealous? Was he annoyed by the emotional reunion between me and Jinjing?

I smiled inwardly. If he were indeed jealous, I should be happy. That must have hit him hard. That would teach him not to take me for his toy, because unlike him, I was not into men.

*****

I stroked my forehead. My surroundings seemed to spin around and I felt dizzy. Everything was pitch black.

I tried to feel the ground under my feet, but there was nothing but air. It felt like I was floating in the abyss.

Where am I? Have I gotten totally blind now?

Then in the middle of that darkness, a faint purplish light appeared, and from that light, a man emerged, and he was heading in my direction.

The frame of his body looked familiar. The way his long, thick hair swayed with the breeze and the way he walked with those pair of long legs told me it could only be one person.

“Where are we?” I asked.

He did not answer.

As he approached, my vision became clearer, until the face of a handsome man came into view.

My lips parted as I stared in disbelief.

Is this the face of Ruan Yanjun?

No. The face of a devil isn’t supposed to look this good.

He stopped about two steps away from me. There was a soft glow in his eyes as he stared at me, and when he smiled, it looked so warm and tender.

I frowned.

Something was not right. They said that Ruan Yanjun’s eyes were the very devil themselves, but that wasn’t what I was seeing at that moment.

This must be another person.

“This is your dream,” he said.

His voice made me frown even deeper. Compared to Ruan Yanjun’s authoritative tone, this man’s speech was both polite and mellow, and he displayed a very modest personality.

“May I know who this esteemed gentleman is?” I asked.

His lips pulled to a slight smile, and as he did that, his eyes brightened.

This would have been a normal sight for any other person. It’s only natural for the eyes to glow when a person smiles, however, I would not have expected anything normal from Ruan Yanjun.

This has to be a dream—a nightmare. How in the world could that devil turn into a very pleasant man such as this one?

When I looked at him again, the glow in his eyes had suddenly vanished, replaced by a fierce gaze instead. His soft facial expressions hardened.

This must be the real Ruan Yanjun revealing himself.

He breached the gap between us until our bodies almost touched. I tried to step back but I found myself unable to move.

“A-Fan,” he said.

A shiver ran down my spine when I recognized the voice of the Ruan Yanjun that I knew. Where did that man from earlier go?

He held my chin and tilted my head upward. I quickly closed my eyes, unwilling to look at him while we were too close.

“Open your eyes,” he said. “There’s something I need you to see.”

I did not want to, but then I remembered that this was just a dream. There should be nothing to fear.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and I regretted it instantly.

His eyes were black as obsidian. It looked hollow and terrifying.

I froze in horror.

“You are mine,” he whispered. His eyes glowed red as flames literally burned in them.

I woke up with a startled gasp.

I found myself seated on the mattress on the floor, panting, cold sweat all over my forehead.

What was that?

Why did I dream of something so horrible?

Is that the real Ruan Yanjun? Is he really a devil in the guise of a human? Or is that a premonition of what he would soon become the moment he breached the stage of Descension? And those words that he’d said… Is he claiming me?

I shook my head.

I must not think about it. I must not remember anything about that dream, not especially those final words that he’d said.

I put myself in a lotus position and closed my eyes. Only by meditating could I calm myself down. I had to get that dream off my mind. I did not want to remember even a fragment of it.

I didn't know how long had passed when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw Jinjing’s frame.

“Are you alright?” she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

I briefly examined myself. My breathing had regulated and my pulse was back to normal. Daylight was already creeping through the window. I must have been meditating for hours already.

I smiled at her. “I’m fine.”

“Why did you spend the night sitting like that?” she asked.

“I had not meditated for so long. I thought it would be nice to start again.”

“You mean you’re going to start cultivating again?”

“Not necessarily, but it can help me fight off this illness.”

She nodded. “That’s good. Continue what you’re doing then. I’ll go prepare breakfast.”

I started to rise. “I should help you.”

“No.” She pushed me back to a sitting position. “You’ve been traveling for so long. Just rest.”

I watched as she stood up and headed for the kitchen.

“Jinjing,” I called. “Thank you.”

She chuckled. “No need to tell me that all the time. We’re like a family now.”

Family? Of course, we are, except that…

I remembered how the neighbors mocked her behind her back, calling her derogatory names for taking in a man she was not married to in her house.

She had been really good to me, and this time, I wanted to repay her kindness. I also wanted to save her reputation that my arrival had damaged.

“Jinjing,” I called again. “Do you want to go somewhere later?”

“Sure,” she replied. “What do you have in mind?”

I smiled. “It’s a surprise.”