LUO FAN
When we reached his residence, he carried me again.
"Lord Lan." I finally got my voice back. "You don't have to carry me. I'll try to walk on my own."
"You have no sensation on your legs. How can you walk?"
"Then please don't carry me this way."
"Nonsense," he replied nonchalantly. "You are injured. Why should it matter how I carry you? Don't bother yourself with such trivial matters. It's my fault that this happened to you, so allow me to take care of you."
With due respect to him as the master of the house, I chose not to argue any further.
More servants met us in front of the door and I quickly looked away. I was too embarrassed to even look at them as shadows.
"Master, what happened?" one man, probably a disciple, asked. In my short stay in this residence, I had observed that the servants had always kept their mouths sealed unless they were required to speak. Only a disciple could dare ask a question.
"He was attacked by an assassin in the palace," Lord Lan replied. "Summon Physician Yang at once. Tell him it's a spine injury."
"Yes, Master."
I only felt relief when he entered my chamber and gently laid me down in bed. I grimaced as the mattress was pressed against my back.
"Bear with the pain for now," he said. "The physician is coming."
"Thank you, my lord."
He sat down beside me. "You might be wondering why I had to bring you all the way here instead of having the imperial physicians take a look at you."
Actually, I had not even thought about that, but now that he mentioned it… Why indeed did he have to bring me all the way to his residence while there were dozens of physicians who could have given me immediate relief in the palace?
"It's because the imperial physicians are not very fond of you," he continued. "Their credibility is threatened by the mysterious Priest Luo. They are afraid that you might find the answer to a puzzle that they cannot solve. Surely, they'd do anything to save face."
His explanation made sense.
"…I understand." Then I remembered the imperial guard. "How is Shao Wei?"
"He was still alive when they took him to the infirmary. He was mortally wounded. I'm not sure if he'd make it."
I felt somewhat guilty.
"Don't worry about that now. There are many physicians in the palace to take care of him. Whatever the outcome, you can't do anything about it anymore."
I sighed, then I remembered how this man had come to my rescue and moved like a tempest I hardly even saw or sensed anything.
I stared at him, wondering if he was indeed the infamous, mostly feared, yet highly regarded Ruan Yanjun.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked.
I flushed and quickly looked away. "Forgive me, my lord. I'm just thinking."
"What are you thinking?"
"When you fought that assassin earlier, I realized one thing."
"And that is?"
"That you are indeed… Ruan Yanjun."
He looked at me, and then he chortled. "You just figured that out?"
I was dumbfounded. I could not breathe. Even if I had long suspected it, and just moments ago was already so certain about it, hearing his confirmation still bewildered me.
Suddenly, he did not look, or rather feel, real to me.
Could this really be the infamous Ruan Yanjun? And he is right here, sitting right beside me, talking with me, taking care of me?
Isn't he supposed to be a demon? The Devil of the South as many people called him?
Have they been wrong?
Is Ruan Yanjun just but a victim of a widely spread false rumor?
"It is a pleasure to meet the highly acclaimed great immortal," I said.
"Highly acclaimed?" He laughed deeply. "I don't think that is precise. They won't even recognize the legitimacy of my superiority over everyone else. Those deceitful rankers had gone to such extent to make my existence nothing but a nuisance to everyone else, and to make it appear that my ninth-level cultivation is nothing but a rumor." He paused and leaned forward, lowering his head closer to mine. "Just like what they have done to the senior disciple of Ethereal Frost Sect… after he surpassed the level of his master." He paused again and smirked. "Haven't you suspected that your master must have felt insecure and insulted by your sudden rise, and everything that has happened to you must have something to do with him?"
His accusation shocked me. "My lord, my master has already died. I don't think it's proper to be accusing him of things, especially without concrete proof. And I don't think he is capable of doing such a thing to his disciple. He had always been proud of me and had actually wanted me to take over as the Chief of Frost Mountain after him… I had failed him and even cost him his life. I deserve the punishment I got. I only have myself to blame."
He laughed deeply. "You have very high regard for your master," he said. "Don't worry. Soon, you will get the answers to your questions. Even those that you couldn't dare to question will be answered."
My fingers twitched. There were indeed some questions that seemed to creep out from the depths of my mind but I did not dare entertain them.
How did he know about that? Does he know more about the situation I was involved in than I do?