Chapter 346: Sword

Immortal Scenery Garden, the Jiang Qiao residence.

Chen Chen Jingjing took out the key and opened the door for Lu Ran.

Lu Ran smiled and shook his head.

Clearly returning to his own home, yet requiring an outsider to help open the door.

"I'll wait for you; no need to rush," Chen Chen Jingjing said softly.

"I'll be out immediately." Lu Ran quickly changed his shoes and walked into the living room.

Rosy Clouds and Silent Night spread out the fabric and lifted it into the air to prevent the petals from falling.

Lu Ran also sheathed the Ba Huang Dao into the scabbard on his back.

He stood in the living room, his gaze sweeping back and forth between his mother's bedroom and the study.

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Ran chose the study.

His mother's study.

The forbidden ground of the household.

Even the small shrine and the divine statue of Liangye Jian Yi were placed in Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun's large bedroom, not in the study.

Lu Ran had lived in this home for three years.

Yet he had entered this study only once.

Lu Ran had once, in the dead of night, holding a cup of hot milk, come to the door of my lord Mother's study.

That time was shortly after Father's sacrifice, when Mother had just brought Lu Ran home.

At that time, he had wanted to seize the opportunity to grow slightly closer to Mama.

Lu Ran did not deny that there was a hint of ingratiating himself in this.

Perhaps, between mother and son, there should not be such a mindset.

But Lu Ran truly had not seen his mother for a very long time.

After Father's sacrifice, the boy's sky had collapsed.

In his dazed state, Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun had appeared before him, gently taking his hand and leading him back to Jingcheng.

That night, that cup of hot milk had ultimately been delivered into the study.

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun had allowed Lu Ran to enter the room.

It was only when he left that Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun softly told her son not to disturb her in the study next time.

Lu Ran would forever remember the feeling in his heart when he heard those words.

He lowered his head, departed in silence, and gently closed the door.

Mother seemed to have realized something as well.

But she did not follow him out; indeed, that night, she did not even step out of the study.

It was only after that night that she became even gentler toward Lu Ran.

Little Jiang Qiao Yuanxi had once made a scene, claiming that Mama only liked her older brother, only showed a pleasant face to her older brother, and simply did not love her.

In the following days, little Jiang Qiao Yuanxi made such a fierce scene that Mother punished her to kneel for an entire day.

It was also on that late night,

that Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi received, for the first time, a hamburger secretly passed to her by her guilt-ridden older brother.

In any case,

ever since Lu Ran had delivered that hot milk, he had never again set foot in the study.

"Hu—"

Lu Ran took a deep breath, stood at the study door, and hesitated once more.

Should he enter?

Not entering was also fine; he could place the flowers in the living room, on the balcony, or even in Mother's bedroom.

But Lu Ran wanted to enter.

He ultimately had to reconcile with his younger self.

That inferior, sensitive, and cautious version of himself.

Mother was not unreasonable; on the contrary, she loved him very much.

It was just that when Lu Ran had first arrived, she had not yet found a suitable way to get along with him.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

Lu Ran stood before the study, lightly knocked on the door, and said softly:

"Excuse the disturbance."

After waiting a moment with no sound from within, Lu Ran held the flower pot, opened the door, and walked in.

The study was quite large, yet very plain.

So plain that it did not even have a single potted plant.

There was no office desk or computer in the room; instead, a writing desk was placed there.

On the writing desk lay brush, ink, paper, and inkstone; perhaps Mother had left in such haste during her last departure that she had not put them away properly.

On the bookshelf to the side were many books, and on the wall hung a massive piece of calligraphy.

Sword.

On the vertically hanging scroll, there was only a single large character.

With a swallow-tail blade start and strokes of iron and silver hooks.

In Lu Ran's eyes, this was not a character written with a brush, but rather a form composed of countless sharp swords pieced together.

Between each horizontal and vertical, each left-falling and right-falling stroke, the crossing of sword edges was faintly visible.

Lu Ran did not know who had written this character.

His memories of everything in the room were very vague, after all, he had only been here once.

Yet this time, when Lu Ran saw this calligraphy again, he froze entirely at the doorway.

The feeling was profound and mysterious.

It was as if...

The words written on the paper had never changed.

When Lu Ran was young and ignorant, he could recognize every single character within it.

After he started school, he could understand the meaning of that sentence.

And when he entered society, having endured all manner of trials, reading this sentence again allowed him to comprehend the metaphors behind it even more deeply.

Was this character "Sword" written by Mother?

Fierce and unyielding, with bones of clanging pride!

Had she... suffered some grievance?

Was she resisting something?

"Hum~"

"Hum!"

Suddenly, a trembling sound of blades came from the right side.

Lu Ran turned to look.

Two precious swords hanging on the wall abruptly flew down.

These were a pair of divine weapons!

Cold light glared sharply, their edges fully exposed!

They hummed continuously, as if expressing dissatisfaction, displeased that Lu Ran had lingered too long.

"Hum!"

"Hum!"

Xia Guang Dao and Zhan Ye Dao vibrated in unison!

The two blades swiftly flew into the study, blocking in front of the two precious swords.

Xia Guang Dao shone with brilliant light.

Zhan Ye Dao brimmed with killing intent!

Face to face in opposition, the divine weapons protected their master!

Accompanied by the crisp sound of "clang clang," the two blades and two swords intertwined.

"Stop!" Lu Ran shouted sternly.

Before opening the door, the reason Lu Ran had knocked and said "Excuse the disturbance" was specifically for the two swords inside the room.

The Lu Ran of the past had known nothing at all.

It was not until he returned here last time for the New Year that Lu Ran realized:

Inside Mother's study, divine weapons existed!

Of course, at that time, Lu Ran had never entered the study either.

It was Xia Guang Dao and the Reincarnation Coin that informed Lu Ran that within that room, whose door had always remained tightly shut, an aura of their own kind existed.

"I am the son of your master."

As Lu Ran spoke, he signaled his own divine weapons to retreat.

The two blades slowly released their force, drifting backward under Xu Xu's guidance, yet they still remained blocking in front of Lu Ran.

"I will put the flower down and leave immediately."

Holding the flowerpot, Lu Ran stepped forward; under the glaring watch of the pair of precious swords, he arrived before the writing desk.

He lifted the pot and placed the Drooping Immortal Jasmine on the corner of the desk.

Unintentionally, he caught sight of an unfinished piece of calligraphy on the desk, containing only half a sentence:

"Do not say that women are not heroic beings..."

Lu Ran's brows knitted tightly together.

He was not looking at the poem, nor reading its meaning.

Rather, he was looking at the stroke by stroke, at the sword-like brush tips revealing threads of grief and indignation.

Grief and indignation?

"Hum!" The three-foot green blade trembled once more, as if reminding Lu Ran to leave.

Lu Ran turned to look at the divine weapon, his face grim as water, and spoke lightly:

"That's enough."

The other sword suddenly pressed against the trembling three-foot green blade, forcing it to retreat half an inch.

Lu Ran turned his head to look at the Drooping Immortal Jasmine, his expression softening slightly.

This rare flower and strange grass from the Demon Lair had branches and petals that were very delicate.

Yet its vitality was extremely tenacious!

It did not even need light or water.

The Drooping Immortal Jasmine would quietly draw energy from between heaven and earth to replenish itself, releasing the excess energy outward.

This was also what the soldiers of the Demon Lair had told Lu Ran.

At first, Lu Ran had thought this flower produced energy on its own.

It turned out, it was merely a porter of nature...

Regardless, its beauty, fragrance, and rarity are all undeniably real.

This faint jasmine scent would also make Lu Ran think of Jiangjiang Ruyi.

After meeting Mother, I should mention it to her as well.

In this way, every time Mother enters the study, sees the beautiful Weeping Silk Immortal Jasmine, and smells its sweet fragrance, she will think of Jiangjiang Ruyi too.

Over time, Mother's impression of Jiangjiang Ruyi will surely improve, right?

Lu Ran exited the study and gently closed the door.

He took out his phone, thinking of the unfinished poem on the desk, and immediately began searching.

A few seconds later, Lu Ran raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Do not say women are not heroic; night after night, the Dragon Spring sword rings upon the wall."

Lu Ran silently read it for a long while, then sighed deeply.

"Lu Xiao Lu Lu?" A soft call came from the doorway.

"Ah, Sister, let's go." Lu Ran walked quickly toward the doorway.

Chen Chen Jingjing: "Just now?"

Lu Ran shook his head: "Nothing."

Chen Chen Jingjing had faintly heard the sound of blades clashing and also heard Lu Ran's command.

Out of trust in Lu Ran, she did not enter.

Another reason was that this was Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun's residence; without a clear order from the Peak Master, Chen Chen Jingjing could not rashly break in.

"Should we eat something first?" Chen Chen Jingjing led Lu Ran toward the elevator.

"Does Sister Chen Jingjing still eat meals now?" Lu Ran was quite surprised.

Chen Chen Jingjing shook her head: "Rarely. The last time was when we ate with you at Autumn Water Residence."

Lu Ran: "."

Then let's forget it; urgent matters come first.

The two drove away from Immortal Scenery Garden, heading straight for Jinghong Peak.

On the way, Lu Ran sent Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi a WeChat message, fearing she might return home and not find him.

But Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi did not reply; she was probably very busy at school.

Accompanied by the gradually setting sun, Chen and Lu arrived at the foot of Jinghong Peak.

As a man, Lu Ran did not rashly climb the sacred mountain of Liangye Jian Yi's sect.

He handed Xia Guang Dao to Chen Chen Jingjing and waited for her at the foot of the mountain.

I hope Xia Guang can protect Sister Chen Jingjing completely.

Come to think of it, the divine weapons in the study should belong to my lord Mother.

Through the divine weapons, Lu Ran could contact Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun directly.

However, judging by the attitude of those two swords, Lu Ran did not wish to invite embarrassment.

Moreover, in Lu Ran's view, coming to the foot of the mountain to request an audience should have a higher chance of success, right?

Soon, Lu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

Xia Guang Dao brought good news: my lord Mother agreed to see him!

Hmm, that's good.

Putting aside the mother-son relationship, at least I am the greatest genius of Great Xia.

What if Peak Master Jiang Qiao closed her door and refused to see me...

Don't I have any face to lose?

Afterwards, Lu Ran saw Chen Chen Jingjing flying down rapidly with a joyful expression.

She led Lu Ran around half the base of the mountain, then flew straight upward.

"Lu Xiao Lu Lu."

At the mid-mountain slope, Chen Chen Jingjing suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Lu Ran looked down, seeing Chen Chen Jingjing hovering on her sword.

"I won't go. Peak Master Jiang Qiao wants you to go up alone."

"Troublesome, Sister Chen Jingjing."

"Young Master, please do not be so polite in the future." Chen Chen Jingjing waved with a smiling face and slowly descended.

Lu Ran: "."

Gripping Zhan Ye Dao, he flew straight up, heading directly for the summit of the back mountain of Jinghong Peak.

Under the setting sun's afterglow,

the summit was covered in white snow.

A stunning figure like a startled goose suddenly entered Lu Ran's sight.

She wore a long gown of gold and white, ancient in style and charm; the mountain wind blew, causing the skirt hem to flutter lightly along with her long black hair.

The sunset painted a warm hue upon her face.

Yet it treated the symptoms but not the root cause.

Her eyebrows were like distant mountains holding dark green; her eyes resembled deep water in a quiet pool.

Only when Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun also looked at him did Lu Ran see that faint warmth emanating from those deep, cold eyes.

"I thought you had forgotten me."

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun stood with hands behind her back and spoke softly.

"Ah?" Lu Ran, gripping the blade, hovered outside the cliff edge.

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun smiled softly: "When you came last time, how did you promise Mom?"

Lu Ran suddenly remembered that Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Wanjun had once asked him if he would come to see her if she entered seclusion here.

At that time, Lu Ran had agreed readily.

"Heh."

Suddenly, Lu Ran laughed.

Looking at the woman before him, her brows gentle.

I worried about being turned away, afraid you'd drive me off.

But in the end,

you were waiting for me to come.

(End of this chapter)