The Wun Mansion was much quieter now, on the fourth day of the New Year. Many of the older generations had returned to their own homes and were preparing to resume work. After all, the Wun Clan’s businesses only went on holiday from the first to the fourth day of the New Year.
Wun Fan felt and looked completely different by the time he walked out of the mountain. There was an air of confidence to him now! Even the servants could feel like Wun Fan was different now with his air of assurance, though they couldn’t say what exactly was different about him.
“Chun, did you see the third young master? Why do I feel like he seems to be, somewhat, a little bit different?” One of the maids immediately pulled another maid aside to gossip after she saw Wun Fan.
“What’s different? It’s just Young Master Fan, like always,” the maid pulled aside was a little impatient at being disturbed while working. After all, she was one of those weirdos who liked working.
“I think, he looks even more handsome than before.” The maid clasped her face, blushing as her eyelids fluttered.
“You thirsty little skank! Stop daydreaming, will you? And help me fill this bucket. We still have to help Lady Siu Lan change.” The maid who loved working ignored her and walked away.
“Wait for me!”
Similar things happened throughout the morning. Everyone was saying that Wun Fan looked more radiant or more energised, nothing like someone who had just recovered from an illness. News of Wun Fan falling unconscious when training had spread throughout the Wun Clan. Everyone was saying that he had had a training accident and had lost all his powers.
However, those rumours were completely dispelled after today.
Wun Fan remembered Old Lei’s instruction for him before they left the mountain to get used to his new powers within seven days. He was thinking about how he should go about doing that when he walked into the training arena. He saw a servant counting sandbags. At a glance, there seemed to be a whole pile of sandbags, and an idea came to his mind. He walked over to the servant.
“Morning.” Wun Fan’s smile was as bright as the sun and just as comfortable.
The servant was panicked a little to see Wun Fan being so polite to him. “Young Master Fan.”
“Say, are you in charge of counting the sandbags?” Wun Fan patted the pile of sandbags. On a closer look, he noticed that there were many different shapes and types of sandbags. Some were long, with two extensions on each end of the bags. It was obvious that these were tied to the body and used for weight training.
“Young master, I am indeed in charge of keeping count of all the sandbag weights used in the arena,” the servant replied respectfully.
All the servants of the Wun Clan agreed that Wun Fan was the most polite and respectful person in the entire clan. No one had ever sensed any disrespect from Wun Fan when talking to him. Those who respect others will earn respect in return. As such, none of the servants had ever looked down on Wun Fan for his disease. In fact, they treated him as respectfully as they could.
“Very well then. Help me prepare thirty sandbags. I want weights for my limbs, hips and back,” Wun Fan estimated the number of sandbags he needed and told the servant what he needed. As the third young master of the clan, it should be no problem for him to ask for thirty sandbags. He wanted to use the sandbags for weight training, so he could get used to his much stronger body now.
“Yes, young master. May I ask where I should send these sandbags to?”
“That mountain in the back, please.” Wun Fan gave the location without much thought.
“Oh no, young master, I’m afraid that won’t do. The clan master gave strict orders that no one is to approach the mountain, let alone enter it, ever since you fainted there. People already found it weird when you walked out of the mountain earlier. Did no one from the Enforcer’s Hall stop and search you along the way?”
“Er… About that, I don’t think anyone tried to stop me.” Wun Fan really didn’t know that Wun Ching Yeung actually declared the mountain off-limits after what had happened to him that night. Apparently, he had even deployed the Enforcer’s Hall to enforce the rule. Wun Fan knew that it probably had to do with that burst of aura from that night.
“That’s strange. The Enforcer’s Hall is running on more frequent four-hour shifts now. If they had lookouts at the mountain, it would be quite impossible for most people to even enter,” The servant continued talking.
However, Wun Fan immediately knew something was wrong when he heard this. His sixth sense was telling him that there was some sort of conspiracy behind all this. Especially since there really did seem to be two disciples at the mountain’s entrance last night, though they didn’t stop him.
“Well then, never mind.” After some thought, Wun Fan decided to give up on the sandbags for now. After all, he couldn’t just put all those sandbags in his room.
The servant said something in response and hurried back to his work. He hauled the sandbags onto a cart and pushed it away. It was quite strange to see the servant move around such heavy sandbags despite having no martial training at all.
“Wun Fan.” That familiar and heartwarming voice rang out again. A silhouette walked towards Wun Fan from a distance. The young girl was wearing a sky-blue dress today, radiating beauty and simple elegance despite the plain mask on her face. Her smooth raven hair was combed back and danced in the wind. She was the centre of attention wherever she went, and a single smile from her would make flowers bloom.
“Siu Lan.” Wun Fan loved rubbing Siu Lan’s on her head. She had a moderately-sized head that was a little pointed at the top. It was inexplicable and oddly fun to rub her head.
“Fan, don’t you know there’s a saying that a woman’s hair is their life? You can’t just touch it.” Siu Lan slapped Wun Fan’s hand aside and stared at him as she said, “I just washed my hair last night. It’s gonna get all oily now that you’ve touched it.”
The two talked as they walked until they found an empty spot in the arena to sit down. The arena was filled with younger disciples who were under sixteen years old. Everyone was training. Typically, the non-house disciples did not live in the Wun Clan, but they would come here to train. They came for the sandbag weights and training dummies, as well as the atmosphere. After all, humans were lazy by nature. It was hard to find the motivation to train hard when alone.
The young boy and girl felt a slight breeze. They turned and saw a boy dressed in lavish and expensive clothes enter the arena, flocked by a dozen disciples in uniforms. The boy at the head of the entourage was Wun Ping! His gaze landed on Wun Fan. It wasn’t hard to guess that he had come to find trouble with him again.
“Here he comes.”
Wun Fan couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he made light of the situation.
However, Wun Fan was quite surprised. Wun Ping had been injured by the great elder on the first year of the New Year’s, so much so that he had fallen unconscious on the spot. Yet, he recovered in just three days’ time. Judging from the colour of his face, he was mostly healed up and didn’t seem to be affected by his injury at all. However, Wun Fan could tell that the rising and falling of Wun Ping’s chest was a little erratic. His breathing wasn’t as smooth as before. It seemed like he still had some recovery to do.
Wun Siu Lan leaned by Wun Fan’s ear and whispered in her sweet voice, “His dogshit father bought a really good healing pill from the Chan Clan. It’s the pill that’s letting him jump around like this after just three days. Otherwise, he should still be lying on a bed like a sick dog.”
Wun Fan flicked Wun Siu Lan across her white cheeks, leaving a red mark. “Young girl, don’t go around saying all those swear words. If you’re not careful, no one’s gonna want you for a bride.” Wun Fan was quite curious how a ten-year-old girl like her knew of all these words.
“Hmph! So what if no one wants me as a bride? I couldn’t care less.” Wun Fan pouted and clasped her face. She put on an indifferent expression, though her gaze lingered on Wun Fan, as if she was trying to say something else.
With what Wun Siu Lan had told her, Wun Fan finally understood why Wun Ping had been able to recover so quickly. He thought to himself, So it was the Chan Clan.”
He remembered the two phrases that some nosey poets had coined to describe the four major clans of the Nap-Lan Empire.
Wind and clouds bid the rising storm, raging seas flood the crimson dust.
Wind, the Fung Clan, the military clan. A clan of brave generals and loyal soldiers, embers of their clan could often be seen at the Empire’s borders.
Cloud, the Wun Clan, the martial clan. Famed throughout Nap-Lan for their martial might, they were home to the most powerful martial artists in the Empire. They had set up branch houses across the realm, each helmed by a powerful individual.
Crimson, the Hung Clan, the political clan. Possessing tremendous political influence in court, they were practically uncontested within the government and its many offices. The mayor of Green Sea Town was a member of the Hung Clan.
Dust, the Chan Clan, the mercantile clan. Unrivalled in the trading world, the clan’s wealth could only be measured in shipments of gold and treasures. Their business and shops could be found in every street and every alley of the Empire.
The pill that the second elder had bought for Wun Ping was probably purchased from the Chan Clan.
While Wun Fan and Wun Siu Lan had their short exchange, Wun Ping and his lackeys arrived before them. The air was tense and hostile. A fight was brewing. All the disciples in the arena knew this was a storm in the making when they saw the two young masters face off, so they moved as far away as possible. The ordinary Wun Clan disciple could not afford to piss off a madman like Wun Ping.
The second elder was far more subdued now after the altercation with the great elder. The technique that the great elder had left on him was still an effective threat against him.
However, the second elder still wielded his power and influence. His presence was still necessary to the Wun Clan, and he was still someone to be feared and respected. As such, Wun Ping still very much had his way in the clan.
“Hey, Wun Fan. I heard you had an accident in the mountain and passed out. As your older brother, I’m quite worried about you,” Wun Ping opened his mouth, as arrogant as always. He had a nasty look on his face, which reminded Wun Fan of a phrase—crocodile tears.245Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsWzHlmaUX
and then Add to home screen.