Jun Yelan sat in his chair as usual, his left hand bandaged. He turned his head and saw Lan Yan looking lost in thought, his eyes slightly darkening.
What was she thinking about!
Lan Yan didn't notice Jun Yelan's gaze. She offered him the teacup in her hand, "City Lord, please have some tea."
"Mm." Jun Yelan took it and smelled a faint fragrance, his mind immediately feeling less troubled. He took a sip; it tasted different from usual. "What kind of tea is this?"
Lan Yan's thoughts were pulled back. She looked at Jun Yelan with sympathy, "City Lord, this is flower tea. It can calm the mind." She had just figured it out; Jun Yelan had a miserable past, so she had to complete this mission well.
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan's dewy eyes and for a moment thought he had done something wrong. He felt a little unnatural. Facing Lan Yan, who had changed his tea, he just nodded.
In Lan Yan's eyes, it meant Jun Yelan liked this tea. To save Jun Yelan from his misery, she decided to brew this tea more often to at least make him happier.
Jun Yelan felt increasingly uneasy being stared at by Lan Yan.
Just then, Lüqi called from outside the hall, "City Lord, someone is here to report."
"Come in."
A person dressed in black walked in; he was a scout from the Dead City. He bowed his head respectfully and said, "City Lord, recently Alliance Leader Li has been rallying the major righteous sects. It seems there will be some action."
Jun Yelan curled his lips and sneered, "That old geezer is still so foolish after all these years. He wants to do a futile deed, let him." These sects had been too quiet for too long; it was time for some turbulence.
The scout added, "Many people in the city have also been making small moves. City Lord, should we handle it as before?"
"Once found, hang them at the city gate," Jun Yelan said casually.
The scout understood and withdrew.
Jun Yelan waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
Lan Yan quietly left, thinking about what she had just heard. That Alliance Leader Li was her scumbag father. Not only did he send his daughter to be a spy, but he was also making other moves outside. Truly an old geezer.
She was already in the city now and would not be controlled by her scumbag father, nor would she transmit any information. Even if she did, it would be fake. She remembered it was her turn to keep watch tonight, so she quickly grabbed her quilt and headed into the hall.
Jun Yelan was still leaning in his chair, his eyes tightly closed.
Lan Yan tiptoed, like a mouse, past Jun Yelan and went to a corner. She turned her head and saw that Jun Yelan showed no signs of waking up, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she began to make the bed. As she stepped back, she accidentally bumped into the pillar behind her. She panicked and turned to see Jun Yelan staring at her. Embarrassed, she said, "City Lord, it's cold in this hall. Would you like to sleep inside?"
Jun Yelan continued to look at her.
This made Lan Yan feel even more awkward. She got up and said, "City Lord, I'm sorry. I woke you up just now. I will be careful next time." After saying that, she lay down and closed her eyes.
After a while, she opened one eye and saw that Jun Yelan was still there, so she quickly closed it. She clutched the quilt with her fingers, wondering why Jun Yelan hadn't left yet.
After a long time, she heard footsteps, but Jun Yelan was walking towards her. He had been watching Lan Yan's small movements and listening to her words. He suddenly felt like continuing to watch and listen.
It was rare to find someone and something different in this city.
He looked at the window, which was not closed again. As he was about to close it and leave, his clothes were pulled. He looked down and saw Lan Yan's profile.
Lan Yan was groggy from sleep. She felt someone pass by and mumbled, "City Lord, no matter what happened to you before, now that I'm here, things will definitely change."
Mid-sentence, her voice grew fainter, and she drifted into sleep.
Jun Yelan was stunned. He crouched down and murmured, "You really are bold." He gently pulled his clothes free and walked towards the room inside the main hall.
There was a wall between them, yet he slept more soundly than usual.
The next morning, Lan Yan remembered her plan from yesterday to treat Jun Yelan well. She went to the kitchen to prepare a variety of things. Thinking of Jun Yelan's constant health problems, making a medicinal meal seemed like a good idea.
She went to the garden from yesterday, remembering there was an herb patch behind it. She went to the corner of the wall, dug up a few medicinal herbs, and happily brought them back. On her way back, she smelled a strange odor coming from behind the wall near the herb patch.
Looking over, she saw a palace, slightly smaller than the City Lord's Palace. She didn't know who lived there.
She didn't dwell on it and went back with the herbs.
When Lüqi came to the kitchen, she smelled a fragrance. She asked, "You didn't get these herbs from the medicinal patch, did you?"
"Yes," Lan Yan nodded and continued to simmer the soup.
Lüqi's pupils widened in shock. That medicinal patch belonged to the Holy Maiden. Someone had accidentally stepped into the Holy Maiden's medicinal patch before and was poisoned to death by her. She looked at Lan Yan's back as she simmered the soup, then got up and went to the hall to inform Jun Yelan.
"She just arrived here and knows nothing. City Lord, for her dedication to you, please spare her this time." Here, only the City Lord could contend with the Holy Maiden.
Jun Yelan nodded, "It's just a few herbs. If anyone asks, say it was this City Lord's doing." Although the Holy Maiden held his lifeline, he wasn't someone to be trifled with arbitrarily.
He usually didn't bother with such matters, but upon hearing about this today, he suddenly didn't want Lan Yan to die. He found this feeling unfamiliar. Had Lan Yan done something to him?
"You've been here for ten years. Why are you helping her?"
Lüqi respectfully replied, "She is different from the people here. When I look at her, I'm always reminded of my sister who left." For this reason, she paid a little more attention to Lan Yan.
"You may go," Jun Yelan was not interested in this reason; he just wanted to know why he felt the same way.
Lüqi left and happened to meet Lan Yan, who was coming to deliver the medicinal meal.
Lan Yan greeted her and, seeing Lüqi's heavy expression, curiously carried the medicinal meal inside. She walked to Jun Yelan's side and smiled, "City Lord, this is a soup I just brewed. Have some."
She handed him a spoon and looked at Jun Yelan expectantly.
Jun Yelan looked at the floating herbs in the soup, then at Lan Yan, thinking it was good that she knew nothing. He slowly began to drink, unable to taste anything.
His sense of taste had been lost due to the poison in his body. But looking at Lan Yan's eyes, he couldn't refuse and a strange thought arose in his mind, urging him not to refuse.
Lan Yan squatted on the ground, watching Jun Yelan from the side. She murmured in her heart, "Jun Yelan, I will always treat you like this from now on."
She always felt as if she had known Jun Yelan for a long time, and she hated seeing him miserable, wanting to make him better.