Chapter 73.1

Lan Xun, Ru Yi’s Lover

Who could these two girls, in Duke Lan Yu’s study, be to make Nian Bing so surprised? It was Ru Yi and Ru Meng, the sisters that he had encountered in the whorehouse several months ago, in Ice Orchid City. His mind went blank for a moment, then he immediately knew their identities.

Though he knew that they were assigned by some other country to spy on the Ice Moon Empire and the Profound Orchid Empire, it was very obvious where their loyalties lay now, as they stood in the office military head of the Profound Orchid Empire, Duke Lan Yu. When Ru meng had spoke to him about a benefactor it probably was Duke Lan Yu, and the benefactor’s daughter should be the absent Lan Chen.

Lan Yu looked at Nian Bing with renewed surprise. “You know each other?”

Ru Yi snorted coldly. “Lord Duke, the strange young man I spoke about earlier is him. We have suffered setbacks from the magic reaper because of him. Don’t let him leave so that the magic reaper will come.” She then placed her hand onto her sword.

“Big Sister, he is not a bad person.” Ru Meng rushed forward to stay her hand. When they had been reporting to the duke, only Ru Yi had been talking, nevertheless she had wanted to interject several times, but she never got an opportunity.

Ru Yi shouted angrily, “How could a good person come to a place like a whorehouse. Get out of my way. If you hadn’t let him go, then I wouldn’t have been humiliated by the magic reaper.”

Lan Yu ordered, “Ru Yi stop. Do not be impudent.”

If another person had spoken, Ru Yi would not have heeded them, but as she had complete and utter respect for Lan Yu, she hurriedly put away her sword and withdrew. “Sorry, Lord Duke.”

Lan Yu turned to Nian Bing, his brows wrinkling slightly. “Boy, as a man you can pursue affairs of the heart, but you cannot be crass about it. Don’t go to those low-class places anymore… Now, I want to know how this magic reaper is related to you.”

Nian Bing said cooly, “What you want to know is not what my relationship is with him, but the history of the Ice and Fire Source. If another person asked, I definitely would not say a word, but since you are Auntie Yu’s husband, I won’t hide anything.The truth is that I am the magic reaper, and the magic reaper is me. Back then, I disguised myself to punish Miss Ru Yi because she was indiscriminately killing. To be honest, if it weren’t for Miss Ru Meng interceding on her behalf, she might have already died by my hand.”

A light twinkled deep in Lan Yu’s eyes. “So you are the magic reaper, then I hope you can explain.” Shock could be seen in Ru Yi’s and Ru Meng’s eyes.

Nian Bing stuck out his chest and said coldly, “I don’t have any explanation for this, nor do i need to explain anything for that matter. Miss Ru Yi is your subordinate; you should believe what she says.” At this moment, he felt like a needle was piercing his heart because his most revered person, Aunt Yu Ru Yan, was giving him a cold and harsh look from where she stood by the desk. Indeed, Auntie Yu had such a high position in his heart, but the grim truth was that they had only seen each other twice in so many years. What basis did he have for her to believe him?

Yu Ru Yan walked forward from around the desk. “Nian Bing, you can leave. From now on, I don’t want to see you anymore. You attacked Ru Yi and her sister. I can excuse you on behalf of the passion of youth, but I won’t show mercy next time.”

Nian Bing smiled, and the intense sorrow in his eyes made Yu Ru Yan’s heart tremble. Nian Bing’s own heart was very, very cold. Since he had left the Peach Blossom Forest, he had remained alert at all times, keeping his distance from everyone. Even Feng Nu was not excepted. But when he saw Yu Ru Yan yesterday, the gates around his heart came crashing down.

The loss of his parents was his greatest sorrow. In his mind, Yu Ru Yan was gentle and kind just like his mother. Though he knew that it was normal for Yu Ru Yan and Lan Yu to doubt him, he couldn’t help but feel intense pain.

He then inhaled deeply, forcibly vanishing his emotions. He did not even spare Ru Yi a glance and said emotionlessly, “Auntie, no matter how you view me, in my heart, you are a revered person. I will leave and won’t come back. But I hope you can give me the chance to make you a meal; then I will leave immediately.” He took off the Heavenly Flower Tile, which had not left his person in over seven years. Afterward, he walked over to the table, gazing deeply at the red gem in the jade tile one last time. He then sighed, and put it on the table.

Yu Ru Yan asked coldly, “You really have no explanation?”

Nian Bing shook his head. “I am an outsider to you and Lord Duke. Meeting you at that time was a kind of fate, but it seems that all of our fate has been used up now.”

A cold light flashed in her eyes.”Nian Bing, from my experience, I have come to hate fickle men the most, especially men who make women suffer for their own pleasures. I have watched Ru Yi grow up. I know her personality is intense, but she definitely wouldn’t lie. So I choose to believe her. You have a very good appearance but if you use it to bully women, then you are innately flawed. Get out. Now I have no heart to eat anything, especially anything you want me to eat.”

“Auntie, can’t you give me a chance to repay you?” Nian Bing suddenly felt his breathing grow labored, and his vision fuzzy.

Yu Ru Yan was about to say something, but Duke Lan Yu spoke first. “Ru Yan, let him do it. I think that this child is not that kind of person. Perhaps it was a just a mistake on his part.”

Yu Ru Yan first looked at her husband, then looked at Nian Bing. The coldness in her eyes changed slightly and she snorted lightly, but did not say anything.

Nian Bing was calm as he bowed to the duke. “Many thanks, Lord Duke, for giving me this opportunity. Could I trouble you to put a stove on the training ground? It would be hard to showcase this in a kitchen. I would also need a large table to put the food on. I have already prepared everything else.”

Lan Yu nodded. “Okay. Ru Yi, you go and instruct the servants to do as Nian Bing says. The rest of us will go to the training ground.”

Ru Yi agreed and left the study, but not before shooting Nian Bing an icy glare. Nian Bing simply followed after her and didn’t say anything. Now that his heart had calmed down, he had nothing he wanted to say. Moreover, Ru Yi had always been a pitiable person.

Seeing Nian Bing leave, Ru Meng said impatiently, “Lord Duke, Madam, you are wrong. The truth is that Nian Bing is not that kind of person.”

While they were both stunned at this statement, Yu Ru Yan frowned and asked. “What you mean to say is that Ru Yi was lying to us?”

Ru Meng stiffened. “No, actually, Big Sister… Big Sister is just being a little extreme.” Then she relayed what happened on that day from her point of view.

After listening to Ru Meng, Lan Yu furrowed his brow. “No way! To my knowledge, although Ru Yi has a strong personality, she was someone who could see the big picture. Otherwise I would not have let her be in charge of the northern intelligence system. I really cannot believe that her personality would have had such a big change. Ru Meng, is there something that you’re hiding from me? What happened to Ru Yi?” Wise as he was, he could already see some gaps in her story. A person’s personality doesn’t change for no reason.

Ru Meng immediately knelt to the ground with an audible thud. “Lord Duke, Madam, I cannot say. This is related to Big Sister’s reputation. Big Sister… Big Sister she is already so pitiful. Please don’t investigate this, please.”

A shudder ran through Yu Ru Yan, and a light flashed in her eyes. “I understand. So it was him. I know why Ru Yi suddenly asked for an outside assignment. Hmph, I won’t let him off lightly.”

Ru Meng was shocked but hurried to say,” Madam, you can’t actually blame Big Brother Lan Xun. He has his own suffering in terms of feelings…” As she said this, she suddenly discovered that Yu Ru Yan’s expression had changed. Then she understood, she had been duped. “Madam, I…”

A silver light encased Yu Ru Yan’s whole form. “Lan Xun, so it was actually Lan Xun, that brat. You really have worked hard in hiding this from me. Ru Meng, tell me everything related to this. Did you know that your sister treated Nian Bing’s life with utter disregard. If you don’t say anything, I will have to punish her.”

As Lan Yu’s wife, Yu Ru Yan was not somebody that a young woman like Ru Meng could contend with. In just one sentence, she had delved into the truth. Now she finally understood Nian Bing’s expression from before, and her heart filled with remorse. But right now she needed to know what happened to Ru Yi.

Nian Bing arrived at the training field and walked over to a shaded area by himself. Today there wasn’t anyone drilling, so the field was resoundly empty. Occasionally, one of the servants of the mansion would pass by. He suddenly thought of what Zha Ji had said to him when he was passing down his culinary skills.

Zha Ji had said that an ordinary chef had one aspect they really needed to watch out for when they were cooking. That was, to control their emotions. In order to bring out their full potential, they could not let their emotions affect the taste of their food.

However, when a chef’s skills reached the peak, they had to take the complete opposite view on the matter of emotions. Instead of controlling them, he should express them fully and use the emotions to make better food. For a top rate chef, different emotions could change the food. Even if it was the same dish, they would taste completely different. Emotions were what high-ranked chefs needed to study the most.

Right now, he was full of sorrow. What kind of dish would he make? He didn’t know, he really didn’t. After breathing in deeply, he exhaled slowly. Anyway, after making this meal, a period would end. There would no longer be a connection between Yu Ru Yan and him.

“Excuse me, I haven’t seen you here before,” came a warm voice from behind him. Nian Bing shook. He had not discovered this person getting near him at all. He really was being too careless. He turned around to see a young man standing behind him dressed in blue warrior’s clothes and a long sword at his waist.

The man was handsome, nicely complemented by his heroic vibe. It was very easy for him to give others a good impression. He could sense a faintly discernable aura that he was at least a great swordmaster, or perhaps even a martial master.

“Hello, I just came to the duke’s mansion,” Nian Bing responded politely.

When the blue clad warrior saw Nian Bing, he couldn’t help but feel alarmed. He had always flaunted himself as someone with outstanding looks, but he was still much inferior to the golden haired, white robed, youth in front of him. “Brother is indeed a good-looking fellow. My name is Lan Xun, a guard in Lord Duke’s service. What is your name? What did you come here for?”

Nian Bing smiled thinly. “My name is Nian Bing. I came here as a chef for the duke and his wife.”

“A chef?” His surprise spilled out of his eyes, and he sized Nian Bing up all over. A strange look came to his eyes. “You are a chef.”

Nian Bing grinned. “What of it, do I not look like one? In a moment, I can prove it to you.”

Just as he finished saying this, Ru Yi had arrived at the training grounds, leading some servants. She motioned for the servants to set down the stove. As she inadvertently raised her head up, she saw Nian Bing and Lan Xun standing together. Frost immediately covered her pretty face and she cursed quietly, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Nian Bing was standing not far from the center of the field, and after eating so much of the Iron Thread Snake Gall’s his auditory and visual acuity had improved by leaps and bounds. His heart jumped involuntarily when she heard what he said. He looked back at Lan Xun. Presently, a change had appeared on Lan Xun’s face. Complicated emotions were being expressed in his black eyes.

“Are you the man who failed Ru Yi?” Nian Bing’s voice had turned cold. The tenseness between him and Auntie Yu were because of what Ru Yi had said to the duke. And Ru Yi’s changes were because of this heartless man.

Lan Xun’s face changed. “What are you saying? I never failed Ru Yi. It was her who wanted to leave me. It seems you really know quite a bit.”

Nian Bing was shocked. “You didn’t betray her? But then why did I hear you ignored her for a beautiful girl?”

Pain appeared in Lan Xun’s eyes. “I don’t know what Ru Yi told you, but my feelings for her were genuine. Ai, Ru Yi, she is just too stubborn.”