Peerless Spirit Master - Chapter 14

It truly was a fateful entanglement.

Round and round, one has to admit that Miss Ye-even including her current self-and Liu Ruyu are truly destined to cross paths.

Such a coincidence isn’t even the stuff of main characters in a romance; she herself found it hard to believe.

Fortunately, this time Liu Ruyu hurried past, and there was no interaction.

Ye Guilan turned her head and asked, “Uncle Song, what is it like inside the small sects? Could you tell me about it?”

Song Jiu nodded with a cheerful smile. “The small sects are the entryway to the Four Great Sects. Although they are far less mysterious and grand than the Four Great Sects, they are the only path to enter them. In the human domain of this continent, there are no fewer than several thousand small sects.”

Ye Guilan nodded. The small sects were equivalent to middle and high schools in her previous life, while the Four Great Sects were the highest academies. Only by entering a school to study could one qualify to apply to the higher academies.

This continent was so vast, with such a large human population, that thousands of small sects were not surprising.

Song Jiu was about to continue, but there was a commotion outside the private room door, as if someone had arrived. “President Song, are you inside?”

Song Jiu’s previously smiling face instantly turned cold. Ye He took a sip of tea. “That’s enough catching up for now. We’ll be leaving.”

Ye He stood up and gestured to Ye Guilan, who was sitting across from him, indicating the window. Before Ye Guilan could react, Ye He had already leapt out, his movements graceful as the wind. Ye Guilan blinked-such skill… marvelous!

“What a buzzkill.” Song Jiu sat there with a dark expression, shaking his head helplessly. “Little Guilan, we’ll talk about the small sects next time.”

“Alright, Uncle Song.”

Ye Guilan smiled and, without hesitation, leapt out the window as well. She was far less nimble than her father, and as she landed, she soon heard Song Jiu’s impatient voice from the second floor. Only then did Ye Guilan realize that Liu Ruyu, whom she had just seen here, was actually here to see Song Jiu.

Ye He’s lips curled into a smile. “Business is done. Let’s go home.”

In the carriage on the way back, Ye Guilan could barely contain her curiosity, though she was too embarrassed to ask. Ye He looked at her, amused by her hesitant expression, and chuckled softly. “Are you wondering how I know Song Jiu?”

Ye Guilan nodded. Ye He paused for a few seconds. “A fateful entanglement, I suppose.”

Ye Guilan nearly choked on her own saliva. Ye He raised an eyebrow lightly. “I’ve never liked living too strictly by the rules, let alone placing myself in such a rigid organization. I’ve known him for decades, and we occasionally spar in alchemy.”

Ye Guilan nodded inwardly; she was the same.

She didn’t like rules and restrictions, nor being bound.

A person like Ye He, drifting outside the Alchemist Guild, must have been someone Song Jiu wanted to recruit for a long time, but simply couldn’t.

At first, Ye Guilan thought he was just an overly doting father. Then she learned he was an overly doting, wealthy father. Then she found out he was an overly doting, wealthy Alchemist father.

Now he had become an overly doting, wealthy Alchemist father who refused to join the guild.

Ye Guilan leaned back on the soft cushion with a smile. “My mother must have been just like you, someone unafraid of worldly constraints.”

Ye He, who had been talkative moments ago, suddenly fell silent, his body leaning back, most of him hidden in the carriage’s shadow.

Ye Guilan immediately thought she’d said something wrong. Sixteen years, and Miss Ye had no memory of her mother-not a single detail.

Miss Ye’s mother passed away soon after giving birth to her, and all these years, Miss Ye had never heard a word about her mother from Ye He. Clearly, Ye He didn’t want to talk about it.

“Your mother…” Ye He spoke softly, his tone so light it seemed it could drift away at any moment. “I don’t remember very well.”

Don’t remember very well?

Ye Guilan didn’t know how to respond. How could he truly not remember? If he really didn’t, with Ye He’s wealth and looks, he could easily have found Miss Ye a stepmother.

But he hadn’t. He’d devoted himself to his daughter, never considering it.

If not for the love left behind in his child, how could he care so deeply?

An awkward silence filled the carriage. Ye Guilan curled up quietly, not speaking again. Ye He, who usually loved to tease her, was unusually quiet, as if resting with his eyes closed.

The carriage swayed gently through the night, returning to Chunyuan Town. In this rhythm, Ye Guilan was soon half-asleep. When the carriage stopped, she felt herself being gently lifted.

She opened her eyes slightly, and her father’s devastatingly handsome face was right before her.

Ye Guilan was placed on her own bed, and Ye He left silently. Ye Guilan drifted back to sleep, her dreams a chaotic jumble.

“Miss! Miss!”

It was still Xiao Ju’s pig-like hollering. Ye Guilan resignedly opened her eyes, watching Xiao Ju burst through the door like a little pig. “Miss!”

“I heard you.”
Ye Guilan frowned and spoke, while Xiao Ju excitedly took out clothes to dress her. “Miss! Someone’s looking for you again!”

Ye Guilan’s temples throbbed violently. “Didn’t I say I won’t see anyone?”

“This time it’s different, this time it’s a handsome man!”

“No matter how handsome, I’m not seeing him!”

Ye Guilan tossed the clothes aside, but the little maid just smiled and picked them up again. “Miss, he said his name is Song Haoran, and he’ll wait until you come out to see him.”

Hearing this, Ye Guilan quickly put on her clothes with a dark expression and strode out.

“Last time it was Bai Ruirui, now it’s you. You two really are…”

Song Haoran was taken aback, his handsome face flushing slightly. “Sorry, my personal matters have caused you trouble.”

Ye Guilan sat down, feeling stifled, and got straight to the point. “Did you really break off the engagement because of me?”

“No.”

Song Haoran shook his head. “I’ve wanted to break off the engagement with the Bai family for a long time, but for certain reasons, my elders at home wouldn’t agree.”

“Then why did you break it off this time? Weren’t they refusing to agree?”

“Because of your Cloud Armor Leopard. That was the condition for me to break off the engagement.”

Song Haoran’s words made Ye Guilan fall silent for a moment. In the end, she concluded that it really did have something to do with her.

“Didn’t you say it was to save someone? How did it get tied to breaking off the engagement?”

“That’s a private family matter. Saving someone is true, and the condition for breaking off the engagement is also true.”

Song Haoran looked at Ye Guilan and sighed. “I’m sorry, my affairs have involved you.”

Ye Guilan waved her hand. “Did you make things clear to Bai Ruirui?”

“I’ve made it clear to her long ago. She doesn’t seem to listen, and I don’t intend to waste any more time.”

Song Haoran’s words resonated with Ye Guilan somewhat. As far as Bai Ruirui was concerned, she really didn’t listen, stubbornly insisting on what she believed was right.

“I’m here to apologize to you.”

Ye Guilan looked at him for a while. In the end, the broken engagement really was related to her, and to the Cloud Armor Leopard she sold him.

“Forget it. Bai Ruirui only talks tough; her feelings for you…”

Ye Guilan stood up. “I don’t want to get involved in your affairs. There’s no need to apologize. Go back.”

Seeing how decisively she was sending him away, Song Haoran could only smile bitterly in his heart.

“Miss Ye, we… I mean, can I be friends with you?”

That fleeting glimpse outside the Trading House had left him amazed by Ye Guilan’s beauty-everyone appreciates beauty. The subsequent misunderstandings made him feel ashamed, but he hadn’t expected her not to care at all.

People called her a lovesick fool, but he didn’t see it.

Song Haoran did have some fondness for Ye Guilan, finding her beautiful on the outside and interesting within, different from the other girls he’d met.

But this girl… Song Haoran couldn’t help feeling a little down.

He wasn’t ugly, his family background was decent, and while his talent wasn’t outstanding, it was better than most. So why couldn’t he catch her attention?

“No!”

Ye Guilan replied instantly, feeling a bit awkward herself as soon as she spoke.

“Bai Ruirui has deep feelings for you. I don’t want to provoke her. Who knows what she might do.”

Song Haoran smiled bitterly. “I…”

“Just acquaintances is enough.” Ye Guilan thought for a moment. “I don’t want to invite more trouble for myself.”

Song Haoran wanted to say more, but Ye Guilan interrupted him. “Just greet each other when we meet, that’s enough.”

Ye Guilan stood up. “Xiao Ju, see the guest out!”

Seeing that she was about to leave, Song Haoran couldn’t help but speak up. “Miss Ye, I do have some feelings for you. Can’t you sense it?”

Ye Guilan turned around. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way about you.”

Song Haoran stood there awkwardly, finally forcing a smile before turning to leave. He hadn’t intended to say it out loud, but Ye Guilan’s cold rejection left him no choice but to blurt it out.

The little maid came over, watching Song Haoran leave. She was about to speak when Ye Guilan’s gaze swept over.

“No questions. And let me repeat: I won’t see anyone who comes looking for me.”

“Miss, you…”

Ye Guilan hurried toward the pharmacy room. Not to mention she had no interest in Song Haoran-even if she did, she had no time for romance right now.

Rather than talk about feelings, she’d rather spend time with her father!

The door to the pharmacy room was pushed open. Ye He looked at his daughter with a beaming smile, showing no trace of last night’s sorrowful demeanor. “A handsome young man came looking for you just now?”

Ye Guilan’s expression didn’t change at all. “What handsome young man? Dad, you must have misheard.”

She sat down at the pharmacy table, her bright black eyes shining as she looked at Ye He. “Dad, can you teach me that thing today?”

Ye He chuckled softly. “Alright, whichever you want to learn, I’ll teach you.”

During the lesson, Ye He’s gaze fell on his daughter. Whatever she wanted to do, he would help her achieve it.

Guilan, Dad truly wants to protect you for a lifetime.