How Could I Resist His Madness and Charm [Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Jia Yufang felt as if she had been struck by a sudden, overwhelming joy, her head spinning and her vision blurring. It took her a long moment before she could speak, her voice trembling. “Good child, I knew I hadn’t misjudged you.”

Zhu Yun, however, remained calm and only reminded her, “If any more cats or dogs come knocking in the future, just drive them away.”

Just as she was about to agree, Jia Yufang remembered something else and said with a sheepish smile, “But regarding Yan’er’s marriage, it ultimately depends on what she herself thinks.”

This sounded like she was backtracking, and fearing the young man might back out, she quickly added, “You two are still young, and you’re known as siblings. Why not wait until Yan’er comes of age before discussing it openly?”

Since he hadn’t yet grasped the importance of formal status, he casually nodded and said, “I’ll leave this matter to Grandmother’s discretion.”

This was the first time the young man had called her “Grandmother,” and Jia Yufang felt deeply gratified. She patted his shoulder and said, “As long as you and Yan’er grow up safe and sound, that’s all that matters.”

When Luo Yan returned home and saw her grandmother beaming with joy, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious. “Who made you so happy? Tell me quickly.”

Jia Yufang affectionately tapped her forehead and asked, “How is Cuiniang?”

“She seems well,” Luo Yan replied, recounting the situation at Qingcao’s home in detail. “Qingping has returned with her son and says she’ll stay until Aunt Cui is fully recovered. Qingcao can study with me again.”

“Good, I’m going out for a bit.”

Luo Yan hated being left out and quickly said, “I want to come too.”

“You silly child,” Jia Yufang explained. “I’m going to ask Dr. Liu to send a message to have someone fetch a few jars of wine from Cangxi.”

Seeing the girl’s confused expression, she teased with a wink, “To fetch the daughter’s wine.”

In the customs of the Great Li Kingdom, when a daughter is born, the family buries one or several jars of wine, to be dug up and served to relatives and friends when she marries.

The Luo family had naturally buried a few jars for their beloved daughter.

But Luo Yan didn’t feel that marriage had anything to do with her at the moment. Just as she was about to press for more details, her grandmother had already strode away briskly.

She turned to the young man in the courtyard, who was intently carving a piece of wood, and said indignantly, “Grandmother is so unfair, leaving us out of the fun.”

His hands were busy, and his eyes were occupied as well. He let Luo Yan wait for a moment before looking up and asking, “Are you from Cangxi?”

“…”

She had forgotten that someone had exceptionally sharp ears.

Now that they were familiar with each other, she saw no reason to hide it. Besides, even storytellers could openly talk about it, so it was no longer a secret.

She told Zhu Yun that the Luo family was a prominent household in Cangxi County, but after the turmoil, none of her relatives or servants survived except for her.

“Grandmother used to be an old servant of the Luo family,” Luo Yan recounted the story of a minor character briefly mentioned in the original book. “Two years before the incident, my parents, grateful for her loyalty, went to the authorities to remove her slave status. Grandmother didn’t want to return to Linchuan just yet, so she went to work as a manager at the estate.”

Without her contract tied to the Luo family and with the estate located far in the suburbs, Jia Yufang managed to escape the tragedy.

But the massacre had shaken the entire city, and as a manager, she was always well-informed. Setting aside her fear, she disguised herself as an ordinary woman and searched the Luo residence.

Coincidentally, she encountered a few black-clad warriors who rescued Luo Yan from her hiding place in a water vat and later helped the two of them leave Cangxi safely.

Luo Yan recounted it lightly, as she still felt little attachment to the world of the book.

Zhu Yun, however, listened with a grim expression and asked solemnly, “Do you want revenge?”

Judging by his stance, if Luo Yan gave the nod, he would charge over immediately.

“No, no,” she said, reaching out to smooth the furrow between the boy’s brows. “I only wish to live a peaceful life with Grandmother and you.”

As a cannon-fodder side character, Luo Yan’s greatest worry was whether she could survive past the age of fifteen.

As for other matters, she’d leave them to her cousin Cui, who had the protagonist’s halo.

–

After the interlude of the Wang family’s marriage proposal, life returned to its usual calm.

Zhu Yun continued his martial arts training on the mountain, rain or shine. Now that he was literate, his comprehension had improved, and since he no longer had to go out on missions, his progress was rapid.

After his routine patrol of the village, the boy sheathed his sword and went to the stream to wash his hands.

By the time he returned home, Luo Yan was usually still fast asleep. Meanwhile, Sanmei had settled into the shed and, instead of running around all day, had begun inviting friends over to freeload meals.

He drew well water for a bath, the chill washing over him and instantly refreshing his spirits.

Just as he finished putting on his inner robe, he heard Luo Yan’s “tap-tap-tap” footsteps heading to the eastern kitchen, then “tap-tap-tap” back toward the study. The corners of Zhu Yun’s lips curved upward, softening his increasingly defined features.

“Creak, ”

Luo Yan peeked in, took in his attire, and complained, “Why aren’t you wearing the short sleeves I had made for you?”

Of course, she hadn’t made them herself.

She had simply sketched a modern-style pullover, which Grandmother adjusted before sending to the tailor in town.

“So convenient,” Luo Yan remarked, wearing a moon-white half-sleeved nightgown herself. She stroked the smooth fabric and stuck her tongue out at him. “You just don’t appreciate good things.”

Zhu Yun: “…”

It was fine as sleepwear, but stepping outside the room was something he couldn’t bring himself to do.

Fortunately, Luo Yan wasn’t one to force others. She pointed excitedly at the manual covered in incense ash. “Sanmei dug this out from the shrine.”

He flipped through it casually and remembered stuffing it there himself. He had originally intended to use it as firewood but left a few behind in his haste to leave.

And this was enough to make her happy.

“Your hand.”

Zhu Yun was brief, and she obediently extended her hand, smiling as she asked, “Master, what have you discerned?”

Her pulse was strange.

When Luo Yan first took the elixir, she showed clear improvement, but then her condition stagnated completely, just as Physician Liu had said: “Even with the utmost care, she won’t get any better.”

As he pondered this, someone’s patience ran out. Her lips puckered into a pout, and she began tapping his foot with her toes.

Zhu Yun chuckled softly and pinched her cheek. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll join me for morning training in the mountains.”

Luo Yan was about to clap her hands in excitement when a terribly serious question occurred to her. Hesitantly, she asked, “‘Morning’ training? What time would I have to get up?”

“5:15 a.m.”

She counted on her fingers to convert the time, her face paling. “Get up at five? You might as well kill me.”

“Hmph.” Zhu Yun had never had patience for laziness, but he relented. “6:00 a.m., then.”

“That’s still a bit early,” Luo Yan blinked, putting on an innocent expression. “Does it have to be in the morning? There are twelve hours in a day, and we don’t have to go to school or work.”

Oh, but she did have work.

Lately, her free time had been spent copying books.

“What I mean is, it’s the same if we train after eating. Nine or ten o’clock, or in the afternoon or evening. We could even train at night and sleep during the day.”

Zhu Yun seemed to have expected this. “Forget it,” he said coldly.

“Ah Yun, Ah Yun.”

She tried to placate him by reaching for his hand, but he, nimble as ever, stepped out of the room first. “6:00 a.m.,” he said firmly. “No exceptions.”

Luo Yan had no choice but to comply honestly. “You have to wake me up. Without an alarm clock, there’s no way I’ll wake up on my own.”

With the matter settled, the novelty of being able to practice archery took over, and she soon hummed a cheerful tune as she went to have breakfast.

Zhu Yun followed closely behind, but after a few steps, he turned back into the room, staring strangely at a few dusty manuals.

If he remembered correctly, the Bibo Sect only accepted exceptionally good-looking disciples, and their cultivation techniques emphasized the harmony of yin and yang. To put it crudely, it was all about intimate relations between men and women.

Thus, while the martial world scorned them, they were also deeply curious about such matters.

He wasn’t sure who he had snatched this “Thirty-Two Techniques” from. Though he had never opened it, his instincts told him to hide or destroy it.

Better hide it for now. Burning it in broad daylight might only pique her curiosity.

…

While Luo Yan was teaching Qingcao, Changsheng, and the others how to use an abacus, Zhu Yun went down the mountain to retrieve the arrows.

The temple in Hanmei Town was small, and managing to replicate half of the design was already a stroke of luck. Moreover, the arrow quiver embedded with gemstones shimmered brilliantly under the bright sun, making it easy to overlook its rough craftsmanship.

Sure enough, when Luo Yan saw it, she immediately asked him to help her put it on. Unbothered by its weight, she strutted around the shed like a peacock showing off its feathers.

Changsheng’s eyes gleamed with envy. He threw down his charcoal pen and flattered, “Boss, can Brother Yun take on a couple more disciples? We could fetch water, serve tea, and massage your shoulders.”

She lifted her chin proudly. “What does martial arts value? Talent, physique, and insight. Do you have any of those?”

Zhu Yun’s lips twitched, but he held back from exposing her.

Guyu also squeezed next to Luo Yan, clasped his hands, and chimed in, “Boss! Do I have talent?”

“Well,” she bluffed, “your insight isn’t bad.”

“…” Zhu Yun pinched her ear but looked pointedly at the other two, making it clear, “Class is over.”

Scram.

Changsheng gazed longingly at the short bow, making Luo Yan regret teasing him earlier. She softened her tone and coaxed, “This was a gift from A Yun, so I can’t lend it to you. Next time, I’ll buy a new one and hang it in the shed for you all to play with as you please.”

“Boss!” Changsheng and Guyu were deeply moved.

After seeing her friends off, she pestered Zhu Yun, “Last time, you only said my body is weak and that practicing martial arts might do more harm than good, but you didn’t mention my innate talent. Check again, what if I’m exceptionally gifted too?”

“Too?” He raised an eyebrow. “Who else do you know who’s exceptionally gifted?”

Of course, it was Long Aotian, but Luo Yan wisely kept her mouth shut.

She had noticed that someone had become increasingly competitive lately. If he found out, he might secretly sharpen his sword and challenge the male lead to a duel.

Wouldn’t that be stealing the antagonist’s role?

“Cat got your tongue?”

“You. Only you,” Luo Yan replied smoothly.

Seeing Zhu Yun’s satisfied expression, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself how much effort she was putting into keeping this household harmonious.

Zhu Yun stopped teasing her and explained that talent determined the upper limit of one’s martial arts, but if one had no ambition to become the best in the world, even starting at thirty with mediocre talent, hard work alone could still lead to an extraordinary future.

“Like calligraphy and painting,” she extrapolated. “As long as you practice diligently, even if you don’t reach master level, you’ll still become skilled.”

The more Luo Yan thought about it, the more excited she became, as if she could already envision herself as a martial arts master. By then, whatever plotline about dying while blocking a sword could be resolved with a mere blink.

But then again, Zhu Yun was the only one around her who knew martial arts.

Without a frame of reference, it was hard to gauge one’s strength. What if he turned out to be no match for those wandering warriors who lived by the blade…

But Luo Yan would never belittle one of her own. Meeting Zhu Yun’s doubtful gaze, she patted his shoulder solemnly and said, “It’s alright.”

Zhu Yun: “?”