Han Chen understood it all, really, and did not particularly hate them. Resenting others because of his own uselessness would have been the most contemptible thing of all.
He also understood that the two of them meant well, so he kept his distance from them as much as possible to minimize the trouble he caused.
In private, however, Nalan Yanran still pretended to wander over by chance, visiting the rear mountain several times to bring him nice things.
Han Chen was grateful, but he simply could not bring himself to call her his big sister.
Counting his previous life and this one, he was at least thirty or forty years old. Calling a fifteen-year-old girl his big sister felt awkward no matter how he looked at it.
So he coughed twice and pretended not to have heard Nalan Yanran.
"What are you talking about, Young Sect Master? This humble disciple has something to discuss with Sect Master Yun Yun. Is she here?"
Seeing Han Chen act like this, Nalan Yanran stamped her foot in anger. Though she was furious, she was also helpless.
Han Chen was grown now, no longer the little six- or seven-year-old she could push around as she pleased.
He was so weak that she could not use dou qi on him, either, so there was little else she could do.
"Master isn't here. She went out on business. What did you want to see her about? Don't tell me Yun Ling and the others have been bullying you again?"
As soon as Nalan Yanran heard that Han Chen wanted to see Yun Yun, she assumed he had been bullied again. After all, it happened often.
Han Chen shook his head, though he very much wanted to shout that yes, that old bastard Yun Ling had been bullying him.
But until he had strength, he had to learn to keep his mouth shut. That was what his years of struggling through life in the Mist Cloud Sect had taught him.
"No one's been bullying me. I just wanted to tell the sect master that since I can't cultivate, I might as well leave the Mist Cloud Sect sooner rather than later.
"Go out into the world and travel around. Maybe I'll even find a way to cure this strange condition of mine."
"No. I won't let you leave. You're not even a Dou Practitioner. Where could you possibly go? Any random bandit out there could kill you."
When Nalan Yanran heard that Han Chen actually wanted to leave the Mist Cloud Sect, she immediately grew agitated. She reached out, seized his arm, and dragged him toward the room.
At that moment, she forgot all about Han Chen being an ordinary person and channeled dou qi into her hand.
With Nalan Yanran tugging him like that, Han Chen could not keep his footing at all.
Han Chen was already weak, and with Nalan Yanran actually using dou qi, she nearly pulled him straight to the ground.
Had Nalan Yanran not caught him at the last moment and pulled him into her arms, he might have ended up taking a mouthful of the threshold.
"Couldn't you slow down a little? I'm not a Dou Practitioner. What if you tore my arm off?"
"Don't say things like that! What nonsense are you talking about? You're my little brother. How could I do that to you?
"I don't care. Wherever you want to go, you need my permission. If I don't allow it, you're not leaving!"
As Nalan Yanran spoke, she lowered her head, brought her lips close to his ear, and gently blew a breath against it.
She held Han Chen tightly in her arms, patting his back as though to soothe him.
"Don't be afraid. I know Yun Ling and the others must have bullied you again. I'll go settle the score with them in a little while.
"They're absolutely shameless. Why don't they come to me if they have a problem? Why insist on making things difficult for a child?
"If it comes to it, I'll send you back to the Nalan Family. Let's see how Yun Ling bothers you then."
Resting in Nalan Yanran's arms, Han Chen felt the softness against the back of his head and smelled the delicate fragrance at his nose. His cheeks could not help growing hot.
Things between him and Nalan Yanran were no longer like they had been in childhood. They had both grown up.
Now that both of their bodies had fully developed, holding each other like this inevitably meant intimate physical contact.
"Could you let go of me first? It wouldn't look good if someone saw us like this."
"What's wrong with it? You're my little brother. What's wrong with me hugging you? Who would dare say anything?
"Listen to me. Come back to the side hall with me in a little while, and I'll get you something to eat. When Master returns, I'll make the decision to send you back to the Nalan residence and let Grandpa look after you."
Hearing Nalan Yanran's unquestionable tone, Han Chen did not know what to say for a moment. He remembered her being forceful, but not like this.
Knowing he could not force the issue, Han Chen could only give in for now and look for a chance to slip away that night.
While cleaning the forest of steles on the rear mountain, he had scouted out a few small paths. As long as he was careful, he could leave the Mist Cloud Sect safely.
Once he was outside the central grounds, he could circle around to the main road, head straight to the nearby Magic Beast Mountain Range, and follow its outskirts.
"All right, then. I'll head back first. Cleaning the rear mountain today wore me out."
Pretending he had no choice, Han Chen reached out and patted Nalan Yanran's arms where they held him.
At this, Nalan Yanran's face lit up, and she smiled as she pinched his cheek.
"That's right. Now you're being my good little brother. Just wait-tomorrow I'll cook your favorite dishes."
Han Chen did not linger. He took off running and soon left the main peak.
But rather than returning to the area where the ordinary disciples lived, he ran straight toward the rear mountain.
He had not expected Nalan Yanran to react so strongly.
Logically, he was someone of no importance. Even if spending several years together had made Nalan Yanran reluctant to part with him, she should not have stopped him from leaving.
Her reaction had left him a little scared. The longer he waited, the more things could go wrong. He had better get away quickly.
Han Chen ran to the forest of steles on the rear mountain, took out the Yellow Dragon Pills he had retrieved from his storage space and tucked into his robes, and swallowed two.
He had not eaten for two days. His physique was poor to begin with, and climbing a mountain was strenuous work.
If he fainted from hunger halfway through the climb and fell, that would be the end of this life. He could not count on finding a cliff down at the foot of the mountain, as Xiao Yan had described.
After swallowing the pills, Han Chen felt a warm current flow from his mouth into his body. It circulated once, then settled in his abdomen.
"These Yellow Dragon Pills really are amazing. They're only basic pills for strengthening the body and nourishing vitality, but for me right now, they're excellent.
"No time to waste. I'd better get away first. Once I'm out, I can also see where the Flame Emperor, who'll one day become famous throughout the Great Thousand World, is now."
Han Chen proceeded cautiously, slipping through the woods out of sight, and finally reached the edge of a cliff at nightfall.
Looking down at the pitch-black cliff face, Han Chen took a deep breath. It had all sounded so good in his head: climb down here, and he could leave.
But he could not even see the bottom. Now that he actually had to do it, his legs were trembling a little.
"What am I afraid of? I've practiced so many times, and I've taken the Yellow Dragon Pills. Nothing will go wrong. Let's do this."
Just as Han Chen finished bolstering his courage and prepared to climb down,
a graceful figure who had been quietly watching him from a distant treetop suddenly flashed over to him,
and hauled Han Chen back up in one swift tug when he was already halfway over the edge.
"I... I wasn't trying to run away. I just dropped something down there and wanted to get it."
Caught in that grip, Han Chen thought his escape plan had been exposed. His backside clenched, and he hurriedly shut his eyes and begged for mercy, hoping only that whoever had caught him would go easy when beating him.
"Chen, why are you out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
As that steady, clear, melodious voice reached his ears, the cliff top, where fierce winds had been howling, seemed especially quiet.
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