Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The two Young Misses of the Na Lan family

"Enemies?!" Na Lan Yan Rou spluttered. Then she began laughing. "You're joking, right, Brother Cong?"

"Well, I might have been exaggerating," I admitted with a shrug.

"I knew it! There's no way a guy like you will be enemies with Sister! She's like the number one beauty in Gao Zhong High School! Some might even say the whole of Cheng Shi City!"

Na Lan Yan Rou couldn't help but gush over her sister, her eyes lighting up in excitement. I wondered if she had a sister complex.

"Speaking of which, your moves earlier…are you a martial artist?" Na Lan Yan Rou was gazing at me in admiration. "You don't seem like an ordinary person."

"Oh, I assure you, I'm a normal guy. But I guess you can say that I've learned a bit of martial arts."

The truth was a lot more complicated, but I didn't want to burden her with it.

Na Lan Yan Rou continued to study me, fascinated. She whirled around playfully before stopping to consider a possibility.

"Are you maybe a…cultivator?"

"Where did you hear that term from?" I asked, though I wasn't surprised. I remembered Kai Li Si telling me that the Na Lan family was a clan of cultivators. If I played this right, perhaps I might be able to find other cultivators. But I also reminded myself that I couldn't trust them, especially if what Kai Li Si said was true.

"I knew it! So you are a cultivator!" Na Lan Yan Rou clapped her hands in delight. Then her eyes lit up. "That's right! Father said something about Sister having an engagement with a cultivator from some legendary sect. Don't tell me, you are her fiancé?"

"No…"

"So cool! That makes sense! Brother-in-law is so strong! You'll be a great match for her!"

"No, that's why I'm saying, I'm not…"

"Those techniques you used earlier, though…I don't recognize them." Na Lan Yan Rou tilted her head innocently. "You hardly used any qi, but then given the caliber of your opponents, I guess there was no need for it. But I haven't seen such martial arts before."

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I smirked proudly. "That's because they aren't martial arts."

"Huh? Really? You're lying!"

I merely shrugged, but didn't reply. At that moment, a limousine pulled up and a bunch of men in suits and sunglasses poured out. They took up position, surrounding Na Lan Yan Rou. Several of them approached me aggressively, but Na Lan Yan Rou immediately stepped in front of me, her arms stretched out.

"Don't mix Brother-in-law up with the bad guys! He's the one who saved me!"

The men in suits looked skeptical, but they obeyed. Already a few of them were rounding up the unconscious gangsters and apprehending them. Wow, being staff for the Na Lan family really meant they had major influence all over the city. I couldn't believe they were actually handling this privately instead of leaving it to the police.

I guess you could really do anything as long as you had the money…

"Brother-in-law, follow me!" Na Lan Yan Rou tugged my hand and pulled me toward the limousine. "I'll bring you to Father and Sister!"

"No, there's no need to. And I'm not…"

"Come on, you really should meet them!"

"You're misunderstanding something. I am not…"

I never got to finish my sentence because one of the men in suits barged in, holding his smartphone. He nodded toward me.

"Sir, the master and first young miss would like to meet you."

"Eh? Father and Sister already know about this?" Even Na Lan Yan Rou was surprised by the new piece of information. The bodyguard nodded.

"They heard that you were being pursued and would like to personally thank the person who helped you."

"Oh, that's why they want to meet Brother-in-law." Na Lan Yan Rou seemed disappointed. On the other hand, I wished she would stop calling me that.

"You're misunderstanding something. I am not…"

"Please," the bodyguard said as he opened the door. Na Lan Yan Rou climbed into the limousine without paying attention to me. Sighing, I shook my head and got into the car. If the Na Lan family wanted to meet me, then I might as well politely indulge them. It would help explain things better, for instance, that Na Lan Yan Rou was mixing me up with someone else.

Na Lan Yan Rou was on the phone during the journey, trying to assure her mother that she was all right.

"They didn't succeed!" she was insisting. "Don't worry, Mother! I'm safe! I'm currently on the way home! I'll explain to you more in detail later!"

I leaned against the window and stared outside. We were heading out of the urban districts and into a more isolated neighborhood – the area where rich people lived. Enormous estates, grand mansions and luxurious lawns stretched out for as far as the eye could see, barricaded by iron fences and patrolled by security.

Welcome to the world of the rich. I felt as if I had just set foot into another country.

The limousine pulled up into the main gate, and the sentry there confirmed the identities of the passengers before allowing the long vehicle to enter. The luxurious car halted by the main door of the massive mansion, and a bodyguard opened the door to allow Na Lan Yan Rou out.

"Mother, I've finally reached home, so I'm hanging up now, okay? Don't worry. I'll see you shortly. I've brought a guest."

Na Lan Yan Rou's frantic mother finally let her off the hook – I could literally hear her panicky voice even from opposite the ten-year-old. The poor lady sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. I couldn't bear to interrupt them to clear up the misunderstanding.

The little lady nodded to a main dressed in a black and white frilly dress, complete with the apron and everything. She then disappeared somewhere into the house, leaving the maid to lead me to the guest room, where I was served some tea.

Leaning back in my chair, I looked around nervously. The interior was made of pristine marble, and the single mahogany table in front of me probably cost more than all of the furniture in my parents' house put together. Even the damned tea probably cost more than any of the furniture in my house!

As such, I didn't dare to drink it. I could only watch it as it slowly turned cold, and then realized that it would be even more of a waste if I didn't drink it, considering that they would simply pour it away. That was literally pouring a drink worth several thousand yuan into the sink.

So I ended up drinking it anyway.

After a while, I glanced at my smartphone impatiently and realized that over an hour had passed. My hosts were taking their sweet time. Bloody hell, I should have run away instead of coming along.

"…what's taking them so long? I want to go home already."

I sighed, already regretting my decision to tag along.

"I didn't think we would meet again so soon, Shu Cong."

Finally. I sighed and rose to my feet when I heard the voice. To my lack of surprise, the owner was a beautiful girl my age, with long hair and an icy expression. She was dressed in an expensively tailored suit that was made of a white blouse, a gray business jacket and straight skirt. Even though she was clearly the same age as me, she didn't give off the impression that she was a high school student. I couldn't help but shiver when I caught sight of her glacial blue eyes.

"Honestly, I wanted to avoid running into you again, Na Lan Yan Ran." I shook my head, exasperated. "But your sister insisted. Also, according to one of your staff, you were the one who wanted to see me."

"That is correct."

"So what do you want?" I asked tiredly. "I've wasted too much time here already, so I would rather get this meeting done and over with."

"Don't be so hostile, Brother-in-law!" Na Lan Yan Rou popped up behind her sister, looking eager. Na Lan Yan Ran glanced at the younger girl, causing her to flinch, before she turned back to me.

"I've heard the gist from Yan Rou. Thank you for saving my sister."

"Not at all. I only did what others would have done in my place."

"Clearly not." Na Lan Yan Rou stuck her tongue out. "Didn't you see what everyone else was doing? You were the only one brave enough to help me. All the others were standing around, simply watching and even recording the event to upload on social media. Except you, not a single one of them offered any assistance."

"I'm sure they would eventually."

"You're being too humble."

"Indeed." Na Lan Yan Ran cleared her throat. "But that's beside the point. As I said, I appreciate your help for saving my sister, and I will definitely ensure that you will be compensated fairly for the trouble. But I cannot and will not marry you."

"Uh, you are…"

I never got to finish my sentence because Na Lan Yan Rou jumped in, rudely interrupting me with an outburst.

"What?! You can't do that, Sister! He saved my life! Brother-in-law is really strong, you know? You should have seen him fight! You'll make a good match!"

"I'm sure you understand," Na Lan Yan Ran continued, as if she hadn't heard her sister speak. Her blue eyes were riveted coldly on me, causing me to shiver. "The both of us are from completely different worlds. I have conducted a background check on your family. You're just from an ordinary family, middle class at best. I will not accuse you of wanting to marry into my family because you have an eye on our wealth, but please understand that I will naturally be cautious of that. In any case, I cannot lower myself. You are not qualified to be my husband."

"Sister!" Na Lan Yan Rou protested. "You can't…!"

"I hope you understand. I will transfer the money to your account shortly, so you can leave now. I'm sure that is your goal for coming here, right? Name your price…"

"Both of you sisters, could you just shut up and listen to others at once?"

At my outburst, both sisters stared at me in shock. I rose from my chair, my eyes blazing. It took every ounce of my willpower to clamp down on my qi, to prevent it from leaking out and crumbling the surroundings.

I certainly couldn't afford to pay for any damages in this expensive room.

"You appear to be misunderstanding something. The both of you. I was merely in the right place at the right time. I have no motives whatsoever for helping you, whether it was in the park or the library. I am not your fiancé nor have I ever intended to get involved with the matters of your family."

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down. Honestly, if the both of them had listened to me from the start instead of running their damned mouths off.

Na Lan Yan Ran nodded and glanced at her sister.

"Indeed, this is a misunderstanding. I already have a fiancé. He is the first disciple of the Divine Dragon Sect."

"Eh?" Na Lan Yan Rou stared at her sister. "The…first disciple of the Divine Dragon Sect?"

"That's right. The first disciple of the renowned Divine Dragon Sect. He is definitely qualified to be my husband. I'll venture to say that he is the only one in Hua Xia qualified to be my future husband."

This was the first time I saw her smile. Beside her, Na Lan Yan Rou frowned.

"Sister, if you don't want Shu Cong, I'll take him then!"

Na Lan Yan Ran looked a little taken back. She then glared at me, deliberately interposing herself between us.

"If you have any funny ideas about my little sister, I don't care how strong you are, I'll definitely throw you into jail and ensure you're imprisoned for the rest of your life!"

"Don't need to worry," I assured her wearily. "I'm not a lolicon."

"Ugh…stop treating me like a child!"

"But you're a child," both Na Lan Yan Ran and I said. Na Lan Yan Rou couldn't help but giggle.

"See? The both of you are in synch! Are you sure about this, Sister?"

"Very. Now stop meddling in my business. You're still too young to talk about marriage. I told you, our Na Lan family cannot afford to simply marry just any man. We have to marry only the best."

"Okay." I sighed, not wanting to listen to this nonsense. However, I had heard something that was very important to me. "Earlier, you mentioned the Divine Dragon Sect, didn't you?"

"That's right." Na Lan Yan Ran nodded coldly. "What about it?"

"Can you please provide me with information regarding the Divine Dragon Sect? Including their location, how to contact them, etc.?"

"What do you need the information for?" Na Lan Yan Ran asked suspiciously.

"To pay my respects," I replied. I doubted I could tell her I intended to join the Divine Dragon Sect. she would surely tell me off arrogantly, saying something along the lines of me not knowing my place and being deluded…that I didn't have the talent or qualifications to join the Divine Dragon Sect.

Like hell I was going to give her the opportunity to insult me.

"Very well." Na Lan Yan Ran nodded. From her expression, she did suspect my intentions and I could see the scorn and contempt on her beautiful face. "I'll email you the relevant information later tonight."

"Thank you very much." I bowed. No sense being antagonistic when she was doing me a favor. Right now, she was my only lead to the Divine Dragon Sect, so I had best put up with her condescending attitude. "I'll be relying on you then."

"Not at all. Compared to what you've done for us sisters, this is but a small matter." Na Lan Yan Ran hesitated, a sour expression on her face. "Do you have any other requests?"

"No, I don't. Was there anything you needed?"

"Huh?" Na Lan Yan Ran frowned. "It's not like we needed anything from you."

"No, I mean you wanted to see me, right?" I sighed, annoyed at how short-term her memory was. "Unless the whole reason you wanted to see me was to reject marriage or whatever nonsense you were talking about earlier."

The uncomfortable silence that Na Lan Yan Ran emanated said nothing, yet said everything.

I shook my head in exasperation, wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of this stupid place. Evidently Na Lan Yan Ran had quite the inflated opinion of herself. The less I had to do with her, the better.

"Now that we're done, can I go home?"

"Ah, yes. Of course." Na Lan Yan Ran nodded. "I'll have our driver send you home. Sorry for the trouble, and thank you very much."

"Not at all."

Unfortunately, I hadn't taken more than a few steps when a middle-aged man with a mustache barged in, excited. He was holding the marriage document in his hand. When he caught sight of me, his eyes lit up.

"Thank you very much for saving my daughter!" he bowed deeply. "I heard you guys talking about the Divine Dragon Sect earlier! Are you the fiancé from the Divine Dragon Sect? It's an honor to meet you."

"No, I'm not. I'm not from the Divine Dragon Sect. I was just inquiring about it." Hopefully to join it and learn cultivation techniques from them. Right now, I couldn't do much with the little bit of Heaven and Earth Formula that I knew. I also didn't trust the Na Lan family enough to ask them to teach me, especially after what I had learned from Kai Li Si.

"Oh, I see."

Immediately, the middle-aged man's attitude changed. His warm smile froze into chilly indifference.

"Father, I'll ask Uncle Jia to send Shu Cong home. We'll reward him for saving Yan Rou." Na Lan Yan Ran quickly intervened. So this man was her father.

"Oh, right. I'll leave that to you." Her father nodded and cocked his head to me, his tone now somewhat lukewarm. "Thanks for saving my daughter. If you'd like, I'll send a recommendation for you to the Divine Dragon Sect later. But I'm afraid I can't guarantee anything. They have very strict requirements. Only the best are accepted."

He was clearly disappointed that I was not the first disciple of Divine Dragon Sect. He also obviously didn��t think that I would be accepted into the Divine Dragon Sect. Like father, like daughter. Both of them visibly believed that I was overreaching myself. That only reinforced my distrust and dislike of them.

"Thank you very much. I'll be counting on you then." I bowed politely and then left the room. Honestly, I had enough of dealing with the Na Lan family.

Na Lan Yan Ran was right. We belonged to two completely different worlds.

"Brother Cong!"

Before I could reach the main doors, Na Lan Yan Rou ran up to me. She looked forlorn, clutching at my sleeve before I could step outside.

"I'm very sorry. My sister and father, they…they were pretty rude."

"No, not at all. It's nothing to apologize for." I smiled and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her long hair. "As long as you're safe, that's the most important thing. Take care of yourself and be more careful next time."

"I…I will!" Na Lan Yan Rou stood up a little straighter. "And…Brother Cong, even if you're not my brother-in-law, you'll always be my older brother!"

"Uh, I don't know about that. We've only met today. You still don't know me that well."

"My mother says it's not about quantity, but quality! You're a good person! I know that for sure!" She sniffed a little and wiped at her eyes. "Like I said, not many people would have chosen to help me. Someone who has the courage to intervene and save others is definitely not a bad person!"

"Uh, thanks." I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed. "I appreciate it."

"I'm sure we'll see each other again. Perhaps you'll prove Father and Sister wrong then!"

"Right." I decided not to tell her that cold, harsh reality didn't work that way. Most likely, we would never meet each other again. The paths that we both took deviated too far away from each other. But I wasn't cruel enough to shatter the dreams and hopes of a kid, so I nodded. "If fate wills it."

Na Lan Yan Rou smiled. "It definitely will! I'll see you again, Brother Cong!"

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