LUO FAN
Ruan Yanjun smirked. "Do you think I don't know about your little secret? You've impregnated a woman and abandoned her in pursuit of your grand ambition, and when she died, you pretended to adopt your own son and made him your disciple. Am I correct?"
"Sect Leader Ruan," the alchemist growled. "How could you say those things right in front of an innocent child?"
"Oh, this child doesn't know?" Ruan Yanjun pretended to have made a mistake and looked at the boy. "How old are you?"
"S-seven."
"Hmm, then perhaps you understood what I said, right?"
The boy nodded.
"Tell me what you understood then."
"That he is my real father."
"Correct," Ruan Yanjun smiled mischievously. "You're a very smart boy, so unlike your foolish father."
"Lord Ruan." I approached him and took the boy from him. "Don't frighten the child."
The child immediately held on to my thighs, trembling in fear.
"A-Fan, didn't you see? I just wanted him to know the truth. Everyone deserves to know their origin. That's the same reason why we are traveling together."
I was confused, but I decided to ignore it.
Ruan Yanjun turned to Ma Huan. "Are you going to give me the elixir… or should I take your child instead? He has a good foundation. I can make him my disciple and turn him into an unscrupulous demon like me. I can implant a dark core into him right now, right before your eyes."
"Don't," the alchemist grunted.
"Then stop wasting my time!" Ruan Yanjun was losing his patience.
"Let him go and I'll give you the elixir."
"You give me the elixir and I will let him go."
"Since you both don't trust each other," I said as I moved back with the boy. "I'll hold the child. Give Lord Ruan the elixir and I will leave this child unharmed."
Ruan Yanjun smirked. "You heard what my lover said."
I glared at Ruan Yanjun. "Lord Ruan, do not utter such a despicable joke or they'd spread it around like a fact."
"It has been going around already. Haven't you heard that he called you my lover earlier? Even if you're going to deny it, will they believe it? No. So leave it be. If spreading rumors is that satisfying to them, then let them have their fill."
I sighed.
Ma Huan called for his assistant who nervously approached with a small wooden box in hand. He handed the box to Ruan Yanjun.
Ruan Yanjun opened the box and inspected its contents, but I knew that he was uncertain. "How long until it takes effect?"
"Your lover's body is weak so it might take days."
"Be more precise."
"Maybe a week."
"Then I'll be borrowing your child for a week. I'll return him to you the moment I see a result. If I don't, forget about seeing your child again."
"That was not the deal."
"Deceiving me was not part of our deal either. You only have yourself to blame for destroying my trust." Ruan Yanjun turned to me. "Darling, take our child back to the carriage. I'll be right over."
"Lord Ruan," I uttered, afraid of what he had in mind.
"Is my A-Fan questioning my decision once again?"
"Alright, but don't kill him."
He chuckled. "As you wish. Now, go."
Hesitantly, I took the boy away. In the carriage, I tried to pacify him. The boy did not even resist, as if he wanted to come along willingly.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Lin Qiu."
"My name is Fan."
"Fan? You only have one name?"
I nodded. "Because I have no family."
Hearing that, he fell quiet.
For a seven-year-old child, I thought he was quite strong, but eventually, he broke down.
He started sobbing on my lap. "Is he really my father?"
I stroked his hair. "Are you not happy?"
"I don't know. My mother said that my father had died before I was born. If he were indeed my father, why did he abandon me and my mother?"
"He has his reasons."
"My mother died because we had no money to buy medicines. If he really cares about us, why did he not help us when we needed him most?"
My heart was filled with compassion. Now, I understood the boy's predicament. This would be difficult for him to accept after his father had abandoned him and his mother in a terrible condition.
While the boy was still sobbing incessantly on my lap, Ruan Yanjun returned. He settled down and glared at the child between us.
"I can't stand crying children," he said and poked at Lin Qiu's acupoint.
The boy immediately fell into slumber.
I was about to utter an objection, but then I realized that it was probably best for the child to sleep and calm down.
"How do you feel?" Ruan Yanjun asked.
I did not answer and looked away. He probably noticed that I did not want to interact with him.
"Are you still upset about that lover thing?"
"If you find that amusing, I don't. I've already been ruined, why do you have to obliterate what little is left of my dignity?"
"Does it look like I am amused by it? Referring to you as my lover is quite offensive. I'd rather have them call you my partner."
My face and ears turned hot I wanted to punch him straight in the face.
"I'm joking," he said when he noticed my reaction. "Why do you always take things so seriously?"
"Lord Ruan, if you don't want people seeing us in such a way, then stop misleading them. In the first place, you've started this scandal yourself by acting inappropriately in public."
He laughed deeply. "I'll try to act appropriately from now on, however, there seems to be a discrepancy on what you deem appropriate from my own discernment."
"I'm sure you know which is appropriate from not, even if you don't believe it."
He sighed. "Now, I don't wonder why you only have a former prostitute for a friend. You are one very boring person."
"I don't see you having any friends either."
"It's because I prefer not to have one. Many try, even the emperors try their hardest, but I always draw a line. As for you, I don't even see anyone trying to befriend you, except maybe from that cousin of yours who's showing a dangerous level of obsession towards you."
Obsession? I have not seen anyone so obsessed with teasing a person of the same sex, for whatever wicked intention he has, more than this demon.
"Can I see the elixir?" I asked to change the subject.
"I'll give it to you once I confirm its authenticity. I don't want to risk you taking in another poison… Or shall I say… a destructive drug. I forgot that light cultivators don't consider anything refined by light energy as poison."
I did not try to argue. Until now, he still took offense over mere terminology.
"How will you confirm?"
"There's someone I know who lives near the border. We will have to take a small detour, but it won't cause us any significant delay."
"You know a lot of people."
"Of course, Wun Empire is also my territory."
I could not argue. I had forgotten that he was the one who had appointed the former emperor of Wun, so he definitely had a lot of connections around.
The power of this man was beyond me. Both as a cultivator and as a political person, he was almost invincible.
"And there's another reason why we have to take a detour," he continued.
"Why?"
"The alchemist just told me that there's an ambush waiting for us along the way. It's not that I cannot handle them, but their location is uncertain I'd rather not risk Lin Si's life."
"He confessed because his son is with us?" I guessed.
He smirked. "It seems that his initial claim was real after all. Someone has indeed threatened him, and since he failed to kill you, they might dispose of him, so I ordered him to seek refuge in Laozhong District, the domain of the Eternal Damnation Sect in Wun Empire."
"You chose to still save his life?" I was surprised that the devil had the heart to protect the life of a person who had just deceived him.
"It's only temporary," he replied. "Until I make certain that the elixir he had given is the authentic one."
I was mistaken. I forgot that this man had no heart, but he was wise and intelligent. He would not dispose of any person that could still be of use to him. He referred to these people as his assets.