FVN Chapter 21 - The Naive Lotus of the Demon Sect
Chapter 21 - The Naive Lotus of the Demon Sect
Chapter 21: The Naive Lotus of the Demon Sect
After dinner, Shen Yu and An Ran prepared to go out. They had initially planned to leave after lunch, but since An Ran wanted to explore Yongcheng’s vibrant night market, they postponed their outing to the evening. After all, if their guess was correct, Qin Yuan would appear whenever they did, regardless of the time. There was no need to accommodate him; they could go about their plans as they pleased, as long as it didn’t inconvenience them. Letting Qin Yuan follow was sufficient.
“Shen Yu gege, why is Yongcheng so prosperous? It even has nightlife.”
An Ran had been curious about this for a long time. She hadn’t had the chance to ask before, but now that they were heading out, she couldn’t resist satisfying her curiosity.
“Oh, that’s because Yongcheng is the foundation of the Shen family. Seventy percent of the city’s industries belong to us. In the capital, there are also Shen family members in the government. The Demon Sect is merely one of our enterprises,” Shen Yu explained indifferently, as if it were nothing extraordinary.
An Ran was stunned. The Shen family turned out to be a truly powerful family. Judging by Yongcheng’s level of prosperity, making a fortune daily seemed like a trivial matter. There were even members of the family in government positions, and they didn’t appear to hold low ranks either. Otherwise, how could they hold onto such a prime location like Yongcheng without interference?
Moreover, the Demon Sect was merely considered an ‘enterprise’. This was said so lightly, yet a single Demon Sect was enough to terrify the entire martial world! The Shen family was simply too formidable.
It seemed Shen Mo established the Demon Sect in just a month, with half of that time spent on choosing a location. It appeared the Shen family excelled at putting effort into whatever they did. Even for something as temporary as a sect, they paid great attention to detail.
After rescuing An Ran, they decided to protect her under the guise of a martial sect. Compared to a family status, a sect identity was simpler and more intimidating. After all, the bloody methods they used to annihilate two sects were enough to deter anyone who harbored ill intentions toward An Ran. Besides, Shen Mo preferred simple and direct solutions, given his confidence and resources.
Sigh.
The original An Ran had such strong family support, yet she ended up being used as a medicinal catalyst. It was confusing. Shen Yu’s death was also suspicious. With such a powerful family, how could he not have guards to protect him? What caused the rapid decline of the Demon Sect? The more An Ran learned, the more questions arose. The information she had seemed incomplete, with many details left out.
Never mind, answers would come eventually. Perhaps as long as she found the person behind Jianhai Manor, everything could be explained. After all, the records showed that the last major conflict was instigated by Jianhai Manor, but now it seemed unlikely. It appeared that extracting information from Qin Yuan tonight was crucial.
“Ouch, who bumped into me? Don’t people watch where they’re going? So rude.”
An Ran, walking with her head down, suddenly collided with someone. She was annoyed. Who was so careless? Her head hurt from the collision.
“Ranran, it’s my fault. I noticed you weren’t keeping up and stopped to wait for you, but you walked right into me,” Shen Yu said helplessly. He had noticed An Ran lost in thought and slowing down, so he stopped to wait for her. Who could have guessed she would bump into him directly?
“Did it hurt? Let me rub it for you. It seems a bit red.”
Shen Yu gently rubbed her head with an apologetic look, full of concern. He blamed himself for not catching her earlier and letting her bump her head.
“Ah, Shen Yu gege, it’s not your fault. I wasn’t paying attention because I was lost in thought. It’s my carelessness. Just rub it for me—it’ll be fine. Don’t blame yourself,” An Ran said, feeling embarrassed upon realizing it was Shen Yu she had bumped into. She quickly tried to console him.
“The direction is slightly off this time—adjust a little.”
Before she knew it, An Ran had used up all her rings but won nothing.
“Owner, another fifteen!”
“Owner, another fifteen!”
“Owner...”
The more rings An Ran bought, the more frustrated she became, yet she still couldn’t win anything.
Passerby A: “Look, someone else is throwing money away at that booth.”
Passerby B: “I’ve been watching this booth for a long time, and I’ve never seen anyone win.”
Passerby C: “It’s just a scam to fool outsiders.”
The sound of An Ran tossing rings attracted a crowd. People began murmuring among themselves, speculating about the fairness of the game.
Hearing the chatter, Shen Yu frowned. He noticed something was off but couldn’t figure out exactly what the problem was.
“Shen Yu gege, help me! I just want that silver bracelet,” An Ran pleaded, feeling disheartened. She turned to Shen Yu, realizing he might have better luck.
An Ran had already realized something was amiss but lacked the internal strength to counter it. She was confident that Shen Yu could succeed, so she placed her hopes on him.
“Alright, I’ll win it for you,” Shen Yu promised, taking three rings from her hands.
“Shen Yu gege, he’s using inner force to interfere with me. You toss while I focus on countering him,” An Ran warned, ensuring Shen Yu understood the stakes.
Shen Yu nodded and threw the first ring toward a distant vase. An Ran was puzzled by his aim but quickly activated her internal strength to neutralize the interference coming from the owner.
Moments later, An Ran left the booth, wearing her beloved bracelet on her wrist, a golden hairpin in her hair, and carrying a large vase in her arms.
Behind them, the owner’s face was dark with anger, but he didn’t dare say a word. He could only watch in pain as they walked away with their prizes, knowing he had no grounds to accuse them of cheating.