Chapter 7

Chapter 7: You Did It On Purpose, Didn’t You?

He waved the wine jar and said with a grin he always wore when he meant to tease her: “Just right, I brought back a few jars of fine wine today, so do me a favor and carry them back to Thunder-Scale Peak.”

With a flick of his finger, several wine jars nearly as tall as a person appeared over her head. Feng He Yun casually withdrew his spiritual power, and the jars dropped toward Shen Sang Ruo.

Even before her cultivation was scattered, she would have struggled with them. Now, with only the first layer of Qi Refining, it was impossible.

Feng He Yun took a sip and spoke lazily while waiting to watch the show: “If you can’t catch them, then you don’t need to go to my brewery anymore.”

He had always been this unserious, always “joking” with her. His kind of joking, anyway. Two years ago, when Bai Mu Mu returned, he was the first to say in her ear: “The Sect Master’s real daughter is back, so the Sect Master doesn’t want you. Master and the senior brothers don’t want you either. Soon the fake will be kicked out.” At that time, everyone’s attention was on Bai Mu Mu. She didn’t believe it at first, but she couldn’t stand how he said it to her day after day, and he made her cry many times. His words pushed her fear of losing them.

Later he told her: “Follow your senior brother. I’ll cover you. With me here, no one can bully you.” Then he added, “See how good I am to you. Shouldn’t you repay me?” And then, “I still need someone I can trust to watch my brewery. Only someone I trust will set my mind at ease.”

He would slap and then hand out a sweet date. She was deeply moved. Back then, he was the only one willing to care about her, the only one who treated her as important. He looked satisfied when she nodded over and over and agreed, yet he only treated her like a tool. At the end he always tacked on: “I’m entrusting you with this because I value you. Don’t let me down. If you ever make me angry, I won’t let you into my brewery.”

Because of those words, Shen Sang Ruo never dared make Feng He Yun angry. Even when managing the huge brewery took most of her energy, she never refused. He even forgot her inside more than once and locked her in when he closed up, yet she never snapped at him. Barring her from the brewery had become the best way to make her obey.

Now, hearing his “threat” again, the only thing left in her eyes was coldness. She didn’t try to catch the jars. She stepped aside.

The jars hit the ground one after another and shattered with thunderous cracks, drawing a crowd at once. Wine splashed everywhere, and a strong scent filled the air.

Watching the wine he had spent more than ten days collecting soak into the earth, Feng He Yun’s smile froze. He stared, stunned, then his anger exploded. He shouted: “Shen Sang Ruo, you did that on purpose, didn’t you!”

He had brought those jars especially for a certain junior sister. Now she wouldn’t get a single taste. All gone.

He glared at Shen Sang Ruo and ranted: “I was only asking you for a hand. I wasn’t trying to make things hard for you. If you didn’t want to help, you could have said so. Did you have to go that far? From now on, don’t bother helping at the brewery!”

Though she had dodged the falling jars, the splashing wine had soaked a large patch of her clothes. She met his eyes, the cold in hers almost frightening.

She answered in an even voice: “Not trying to make things hard? Are you really as open as you say, senior brother? Is watching your brewery such an honor? Every day I spent most of my energy guarding tens of thousands of jars, and I still had to watch out for you locking me inside. At the slightest mistake, I was scolded and belittled. For such a thankless job, thank you for letting me go. I won’t go again.”

She was neither humble nor arrogant as she spoke. Compared with the junior sister in his memory who could be cowed with a few words, she seemed like someone else. For a moment, even his anger was mostly covered by shock.

Was this still his Fifth Junior Sister? Shen Sang Ruo had never spoken to him like that. Even using the brewery to threaten her didn’t work anymore. She really said she would never go back.

Had he drunk so much he was hallucinating? He wanted to raise a hand and feel her forehead to see if she had a fever, but the onlookers kept growing, and he started to feel his face burn with embarrassment. Yes, she was telling the truth, but she couldn’t say it in front of so many people. She wasn’t giving him any face at all. No sense of measure, and nothing like Junior Sister Bai.

So he stiffened his neck and bluffed: “When did I ever do those things? You begged me to let you manage the brewery. Now you’re turning your back on me.” He snorted and added, “Fine, fine! Keep acting tough. Even if you kneel and beg me later, I won’t let you into my brewery.”

He swore to himself to freeze her out for a few months, make her taste regret, and only forgive her after she gave him a proper apology. How dare she treat him like this. Had Shen Sang Ruo forgotten her place on Thunder-Scale Peak? He was the only one who bothered with her, and she still didn’t know what was good for her. She wasn’t cute at all.

Shen Sang Ruo was unmoved as she replied: “Why would I go to the brewery? You and I both know the reason. This is best. Rest easy, senior brother. I won’t step inside the brewery again.”

“You!” Feng He Yun clenched his teeth. Seeing how cold she looked made his temper flare even more. What a cursed day. Why was Shen Sang Ruo acting so differently?

The cultivators crowding around were mostly disciples of the Flying Cloud Sect, and they quickly recognized them. Whispered comments rose one over another: “Isn’t that Shen Sang Ruo, the one Master Ling Xiao sent to the Confinement Chamber? When did she get out?” “That imposter enjoyed more than ten years of being treated like the Sect Master’s daughter, then pushed the real daughter into a valley. What a heartless wolf.” “We haven’t seen Junior Sister Bai these days because she’s recovering.” “Good thing Junior Sister Bai is fine. Otherwise Sect Master Shen and Master Ling Xiao would never let her off.” “I heard she refused to admit it at first, but after a few days in the Confinement Chamber, she finally confessed.” “She still has the face to come out. With someone like that in the sect, what bad luck.”

So many days had passed, and not one of Shen Dao Chen, Master Ling Xiao, Wen Xuan, or Lu Shi Qing had said a single word to explain for her. They let her carry the infamy and would not give her back her innocence. These were the people she had loved and respected as family in this life.

Standing in the center of the storm of voices, Shen Sang Ruo’s face stayed calm. [My feelings for them are already gone. I won’t feel disappointed or angry anymore.]

“What? Shen Sang Ruo, you actually dared to push Junior Sister into a valley?!” Hearing the crowd’s words, Feng He Yun’s eyes caught fire as he shouted.