CHAPTER 2116: CHAPTER 2114: SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT

The Second Elder has died, and the internal turmoil within the Jiuli Clan has finally ended, making the atmosphere within the clan less heavy than before.

However, the air in the Bai Family remains quite heavy. Jiao Ling, with reddened eyes, looks at the unconscious Lanlan, and finds it hard to describe what she feels inside.

"Aunt, try not to overthink it; everything will be okay." Bai Ruozhu could only console her briefly, but in truth, she herself was not confident, as Lanlan’s condition was too complicated.

At this moment, Jiao Ling was beyond consolation. Saying nothing was better, as any attempt would cause her tears to stream down uncontrollably, seeing which made Fen Jiu’s heart ache. He wished he could shake Lanlan awake.

Just then, a very faint moan broke the silence, and everyone in the room instantly quieted down.

"Lanlan is awake!" Jiao Ling exclaimed, but soon grew serious, her swollen eyes fixed on Lanlan, afraid she might awaken as a different person.

Lanlan slowly opened her eyes, as if a layer of mist clouded them, filled with a sense of bewilderment.

"Lanlan, how are you feeling?" Jiao Ling asked softly, her voice gentle as if afraid to startle Lanlan.

Lanlan, after a few seconds of confusion, gradually regained clarity in her eyes. "Mother, I’m fine. Why are you all here watching over me?"

Seeing that it was still her daughter, Jiao Ling finally smiled. "It’s good that you’re fine, it’s good that you’re fine."

"Lanlan, why were you in a coma for several days? Is there anything unusual with your body?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

Lanlan shook her head lightly. "There’s nothing wrong; I just lost control of the Phoenix Poisonous Insect before; it drained too much of my energy, so I fell into a coma."

"You mustn’t be so reckless in the future!" Jiao Ling scolded worriedly.

Lanlan playfully stuck out her tongue. "I won’t, mother. I won’t take risks anymore in the future."

A corner of a black robe appeared at the doorway; Bai Ruozhu glanced over. It was Chenfeng hiding outside. He cared about Lanlan’s condition yet felt too ashamed to appear before her, truly conflicted.

Everyone chatted happily with Lanlan for a while but not long after, Lanlan seemed to tire and soon fell asleep again.

Once again, Jiao Ling started worrying, but Fen Jiu reassured her, "Her body hasn’t recovered, so she needs more sleep. She won’t sleep for several days again."

"Yes, yes, I’ll prepare some porridge so when Lanlan wakes up, she can have some." Excited, Jiao Ling said and then dashed out like a gust of wind, almost knocking Chenfeng, who was standing at the doorway, to the ground.

Chenfeng withdrew awkwardly, trying to cover up by saying, "I was just passing by."

"Lanlan mentioned you earlier; when she wakes up, spend more time talking with her," Jiao Ling said happily.

Chenfeng replied with a blush, but did not enter the room.

Bai Ruozhu and the others left the room, and Bai Ruozhu took the opportunity to pull Chenfeng aside to talk.

"Chenfeng, I’ve always admired your character. You’re not as dull as Jing Lei, more thoughtful than Flash, and steadier than Muyu. But lately, you’ve been overthinking things," Bai Ruozhu stated.

"I..." Chenfeng lowered his head, thinking, ’You’re not me, how could you understand my feelings?’

"Do you think that Lanlan nearly being in trouble this time is because you weren’t strong enough to protect her?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

Chenfeng didn’t speak, paused for a moment, and finally nodded faintly.

"No one is omnipotent. Even Achun can’t protect me every moment. You cannot place all the blame on yourself." Bai Ruozhu sighed. "Also, don’t see yourself as a monster; the real monster is someone like the Second Elder, who has become twisted inside."

Chenfeng’s body stiffened, and then he said, "Thank you, Madam."

Bai Ruozhu knew that no amount of words could match Chenfeng coming to terms with himself, so she left it at that.

In the days that followed, Elder Su was elected by the people to officially become the new Elder of the Jiuli Clan. Upon his appointment, he thoroughly reorganized the clan. To those who had once sided with the Second Elder, he did not impose heavy punishments but instead had them confined to reflect on their actions.

Additionally, the Tenth Elder had found a method to remove the Evil Technique and had already begun treating some people. According to his estimation, it would take about a month or two to restore the sanity of those whom the Second Elder had controlled.

Therefore, at night, the prison cells still had people deliriously screaming to be released, swearing allegiance to the Second Elder and such.

When the evil spell is lifted, whether they would feel ashamed about their actions of the current time when they remember them, remains to be seen.

Bai Ruozhu took some free time to visit She Mountain, partly to gather herbs to replenish her Space’s reserves, and partly to see how Fo Lanying was doing.

It seemed as if Fo Lanying was deliberately avoiding her; Bai Ruozhu couldn’t find her during her two visits but later found traces where Fo Lanying had stayed, thus leaving a small bottle of blood replenishing medicine on the ground, alongside a few words scratched with a tree branch: Blood supplement medicine, don’t eat it if you’re afraid of death.

After writing, she threw away the branch in her hand and left the mountain with a smile.

When she had gone far away, Fo Lanying emerged from a cave, walked over to read the words on the ground, and chuckled, "Such an obvious provocation."

That being said, she still picked up the medicine bottle from the ground and put it away.

After the Jiuli Clan’s internal strife, the family no longer had the same commotion from young women coming and going. Part of it was because they were affected by the Evil Technique while imprisoned, now in a daze, unable to think about Bai Zepei. Others were wearing mourning for deceased family members or relatives, too occupied for thoughts of romance.

The daughters of Jiuli have their pride, knowing that now is not the time to indulge in matters of love.

Bai Ruozhu had a few days of peace, but she could not find tranquility within her heart.

Trapped within the Barrier, she had no way of knowing what was happening in the Capital City, or how Achun was doing now.

Moreover, Feng Cheng had left for some time; she didn’t know if he had recovered from his injuries.

She was also curious about what sort of place he had gone to.

"Sister Ruozhu, what are you thinking?" Lanlan emerged from the room, and upon seeing Bai Ruozhu in the Peach Forest, she approached with a smile.

Bai Ruozhu brought her wandering mind back and teased, "Why are you alone? Didn’t you go to find your Brother Chenfeng?"

Lanlan’s face turned red, her expression stiffened for a moment, then she lowered her head and said, "Sister Ruozhu, don’t bully me."

Bai Ruozhu laughed heartily, tilting her head to conceal the surprise in her eyes.

Something was not right; there was indeed something off with Lanlan!

Could it be that Wu Wanqing had awakened, and was now pretending to be Lanlan to deceive them?

Bai Ruozhu’s heart tightened, but her expression remained composed. She joked with Lanlan for a bit and then returned to the Diaojiao Building.

In a hurry, she went to find her second brother, only to enter the room and see her second brother guiding Si Yihuan in painting. The scene was more beautiful than their paintings.

Scholars and beauties, with their hair intimately tiled; it was truly enchanting.