Shi Yun Lan remained in the Jian family while receiving treatment.
He felt there was no need for it. His heart had already recovered, and his body was functioning normally.
But Jian Blu Eva insisted on completing the treatment.
"When can I leave this place?"
Shi Yun Lan asked while lying on the bed.
"Once you have fully recovered."
Eva continued injecting her aura into his body.
Shi Yun Lan carefully sensed it.
But this time, he found nothing unusual.
'Won't she try her tricks again?'
He still didn't understand why she had injected her aura into him in the first place.
He didn't understand her thoughts either.
Even though they had spent a whole year together before, he had now spent another three months with her, yet he still couldn't understand her.
"Is my condition really that bad?"
Shi Yun Lan asked.
He knew his mistress's skills well and didn't believe his injuries were severe enough to require such extensive treatment.
Eva shook her head.
"It's not that you have any serious problems. But if I want to heal your body completely, I need to conduct some experiments first."
She looked at him seriously.
"I don't want to accidentally kill you while treating you."
Shi Yun Lan didn't care much about her explanation.
He simply closed his eyes and lay back.
"Do whatever you need."
At that moment, the door opened.
"Eva, how are you doing?"
The elder entered with a smile.
He was clearly pleased when he saw the results of Eva's treatment.
Shi Yun Lan looked perfectly healthy, as though he had never been stabbed through the heart.
Eva, however, had already eliminated all the obvious signs of his injuries.
"There's still a lot I want to experiment with," she replied.
The elder's smile widened.
"Good."
He laughed.
"But finish your work quickly. His grandfather will come here and cause trouble if we keep him for too long.
Hahaha!"
The elder left the room.
Shi Yun Lan looked toward Eva.
"You don't have to do all of this. I can return through the teleportation circle without danger."
"No."
Her answer was immediate.
Shi Yun Lan didn't argue.
He simply closed his eyes again.
A few moments later, he fell asleep.
...
Another six months passed.
By then, Shi Yun Lan had completely recovered.
Yet he was still staying with the Jian family.
"Why am I still spending my time here?"
Shi Yun Lan asked.
The elder smiled awkwardly.
"There are many people who have been affected by the plague."
He pointed toward the villages outside.
"Eva told me that you have a way to treat them all."
"I already taught her the technique."
Shi Yun Lan looked at Jian Blu Eva.
"I know she can do it herself."
Eva shook her head.
"No. In the past, we were dealing with an infected river."
Her expression became serious.
"But this time, the infection is carried by aura. It's completely different."
The elder nodded.
"I've already communicated with your father and asked for your assistance."
Shi Yun Lan thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Fine."
He looked at Eva.
"But I need my mistress to assist me."
His eyes remained calm.
"She can refresh the patients if something goes wrong."
The elder immediately agreed.
"Of course."
Shi Yun Lan finally left the room.
But as he walked toward his own room, several thoughts crossed his mind.
'What exactly is happening here?
I know it will be difficult for my mistress to handle the situation properly because of the difference between the nature of our auras.
But this shouldn't require my help.
After all, this is a matter between two heads of families.'
When he reached his room, he found someone waiting outside.
Jian Blu Narsi.
Shi Yun Lan stopped in front of her.
"What brings you here, young mistress of the Jian family?"
Narsi looked nervous.
"Shi Yun Lan..."
She clenched her hands.
"I want to talk to you in person tonight."
"Very well."
Shi Yun Lan nodded.
"I'll meet you tonight. I'm leaving tomorrow with my mistress to heal the villages."
Narsi trembled slightly when she heard that.
"Then... tonight."
She pointed toward the garden.
"The first garden."
She immediately turned around and left.
Shi Yun Lan watched her disappear.
'What is she planning?'
He entered his room with even more questions in his mind.
...
That night, Shi Yun Lan wandered through the first garden.
The garden was beautiful.
Flowers bloomed beneath the starry sky, while the stars were reflected upon the crystal-clear lake in the center.
Shi Yun Lan looked at the scenery.
He wasn't particularly moved by its beauty.
Still, he nodded inwardly.
'This would be a good addition to my home.'
Footsteps approached.
Shi Yun Lan turned around.
Jian Blu Narsi appeared before him.
"Well, I'm here."
He looked at her.
"What do you want?"
Narsi froze.
She had carefully dressed for this meeting, wearing a tight dress that emphasized her figure.
Yet Shi Yun Lan looked at her as though she were simply another person standing in front of him.
No reaction.
No embarrassment.
Nothing.
'This bastard!'
She had imagined this moment countless times.
She wanted to tell him about her feelings.
But when she finally stood before him, her confidence disappeared.
"Shi Yun Lan..."
She lowered her head.
"I knew I was wrong before."
Shi Yun Lan waited.
Narsi swallowed nervously.
"But I love you."
She raised her head.
"Can you forgive my arrogance? I was young back then, and now..."
She stepped closer.
"I'm all yours—"
"Finished?"
"?"
Her words stopped immediately.
Shi Yun Lan's tone was completely cold.
"You brought me here to tell me that you regret what happened?"
He looked at her.
"So what?"
Narsi's body trembled.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Shi Yun Lan stepped closer.
"You told me before that you felt fear when you were with me."
His pitch-black eyes stared directly into hers.
"So I'll ask you again.
What do you feel when you look at me?"
"I..."
Narsi couldn't answer.
Her trembling body had already answered for her.
Shi Yun Lan understood.
"If you have nothing else to say, I'll take my leave."
He turned around.
But Narsi suddenly stopped him.
"Don't fall for my sister!"
Shi Yun Lan stopped.
"?"
He turned back, confused.
Narsi's tears began falling.
"I see you around her all the time."
Her voice trembled.
"I know she's more beautiful than me, but I can't just let her have you..."
Shi Yun Lan stared at her.
"I don't understand you."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Do you love me?"
Narsi remained silent.
"Or are you afraid of me?"
She couldn't answer.
Shi Yun Lan sighed.
"I don't have feelings for anyone except my family and my companions."
Narsi's expression changed.
"And I'm around your sister because I was her disciple."
He continued calmly.
"Tomorrow, however, I'll be leading the mission. She will be my subordinate."
The tension in Narsi's face finally relaxed.
Shi Yun Lan noticed it.
"If there's nothing else to say, I'll take my leave."
He walked away.
Narsi watched him disappear into the darkness.
Then she wiped away her tears.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Sorry, sis."
She lowered her head.
"But I can't let you have all the good things forever..."
...
Meanwhile, in another room, Jian Blu Eva was studying Shi Yun Lan's aura.
She had been trying to imitate his method of treating the infection.
But the results were always wrong.
"Disappointing..."
Eva rested her head against her palms.
She remembered the way Shi Yun Lan used his deadly aura so effortlessly.
She had spent months studying it.
But she didn't want him to continue using such a dangerous art.
She wanted to imitate its effects so that he could use his power without harming himself.
Unfortunately, her experiments had failed.
"Shi Yun Lan..."
Her face became warm as she remembered everything he had done.
He had returned to save her.
He had taken an attack meant for her.
And even after discovering the aura she had placed inside him, he hadn't shown any hatred toward her.
'He knew about the aura that was interfering with him.
But he didn't hate me...'
Eva's cheeks became even redder.
She quickly shook her head.
"He really is young..."
She paused.
"But he's the best of them!"
She remembered the other young masters and immediately became irritated.
Shi Yun Lan was different.
She knew that better than anyone after spending an entire year with him.
But she was worried about his Art of Annihilation.
She wanted to neutralize its harmful effects so he could live more normally.
Yet every attempt had failed.
She also wanted him to propose to her.
But she didn't know how to make that happen.
'I can't just propose to him myself!'
Eva shook her head vigorously.
Eventually, she went to sleep.
...
The next morning, Shi Yun Lan waited at the village.
Jian Blu Eva was late.
Shi Yun Lan looked at the sky.
'What is taking her so long?'
He wanted to complete the mission and return home.
Finally, Eva arrived.
She was wearing a pink dress that completely covered her figure.
"I'm here—"
"You're late."
Shi Yun Lan immediately interrupted her.
"If you're a real physician, you should arrive on time."
He turned away.
"That's what you always taught me.
Let's go."
Eva stood there in silence.
She hadn't expected to be criticized immediately.
And what annoyed her even more was that Shi Yun Lan hadn't even commented on her appearance.
'That cold-hearted bastard!'
They soon reached the infirmary.
Shi Yun Lan didn't waste any time.
He began explaining his method to Eva as though she were hearing it for the first time.
"My method depends on destroying the cause rather than neutralizing it."
He raised his hand.
"If there are toxins, I destroy them."
His Aura of Death spread through the room.
"If there are parasites, I kill them."
The aura entered the body of a patient.
"If there is an infection, I destroy it and the surrounding tissue."
Another patient trembled as the aura entered their body.
"If there is a disease, I destroy the affected tissue."
He continued without hesitation.
"And if the patient feels pain, I press the nerves with my aura."
He lowered his hand.
"That's all."
Shi Yun Lan began moving through the infirmary.
His Aura of Death entered the bodies of the patients with absolute precision.
They trembled for a moment.
Then their pain disappeared.
Jian Blu Eva watched every movement without interrupting him.
They continued their work.
For three months.
...
Eventually, the last patient was treated.
"I think I've finished my work here."
Shi Yun Lan stood before the elder.
The elder had no choice but to accept it.
"I hope you have a safe journey."
He sighed.
He still remembered the first time he had tried to bring Shi Yun Lan and Jian Blu Narsi together.
Narsi had rejected him.
And now...
Shi Yun Lan had spent months with the beauty queen of the Jian family, Jian Blu Eva, only to leave her without showing the slightest sign of affection.
"Unfortunately..."
The elder sighed as he watched Shi Yun Lan leave.
Jian Blu Eva walked beside him.
For once, she didn't walk like his mistress.
She walked beside him like a companion.
"Lan..."
She hesitated.
"When will you come back?"
Shi Yun Lan looked ahead.
"No one knows."
"I see..."
Eva lowered her eyes.
She understood what his answer meant.
Perhaps Shi Yun Lan had no intention of returning to her.
After a moment, she asked,
"Don't you have to get married?"
"Father recommended a bride to me."
Eva looked at him in shock.
"You're old enough to choose your own bride!"
She frowned.
"Why do you have to let your father choose for you?"
Shi Yun Lan answered honestly.
"I've spent my entire life training."
He paused.
"I don't know much about anything else.
Training and completing missions are what I understand."
Eva stared at him.
"So..."
She hesitated.
"You don't have any specific qualities you want in a wife?"
Shi Yun Lan remembered the Ancestors' Will.
"Kind."
He counted them one by one.
"Beautiful."
"Obedient."
"And capable of carrying responsibility."
He looked at her.
"Those are the standards written in my ancestors' will."
Eva's eyes brightened.
Then she asked carefully,
"In your opinion..."
She looked directly at him.
"Do I meet those standards?"
Shi Yun Lan answered without hesitation.
"You're obedient."
Eva's smile widened.
"And you carry your responsibilities."
Her smile became even brighter.
"But I don't know about your beauty or kindness."
"!!!!"
Eva's smile disappeared.
"What?!"
She pointed at herself.
"I've taken care of you!"
Her cheeks turned red.
"And the young masters even called me the beauty queen!"
Shi Yun Lan looked at her calmly.
"You injected your aura into my body and weakened mine."
Eva froze.
"And I can't accurately judge your beauty under your cover."
"You—!"
She almost exploded.
But she forced herself to calm down.
Then she noticed something.
"We've arrived."
They had reached the teleportation circle.
Shi Yun Lan stepped onto it.
He turned toward her.
"Well, I'm grateful for having you as my mistress."
He gave her a small nod.
"Let's meet again."
Eva's heart sank.
Before she could say anything else, the teleportation circle activated.
Shi Yun Lan disappeared.
She stood there silently.
Then she slowly returned to her room.
She didn't even go to the infirmary.
Without Shi Yun Lan, she didn't feel like entering it.
"The Lioga family wanted revenge for their son, Lioga Un Suy."
She clenched her fists.
"But they also wanted me as their bride."
A cold smile appeared on her face.
"Fine.
I'll tell Grandpa everything.
I want to see what they'll do then."
Eva left her room and headed toward her grandfather's chamber.
But when she entered—
She froze.
"What...?"
Shi Yun Lai was there.
And he was sitting with the Jian elder, happily discussing something.
The elder suddenly laughed.
"You say that brat is interested in our Eva?!"
"Yes."
Shi Yun Lai nodded confidently.
"Do you really think he would stay here for so long without a reason?"
Jian Blu Eva's expression went blank.
'What?'
Shi Yun Lai noticed her.
"Little Eva!"
He smiled.
"Prepare yourself.
You'll come with me this evening."
"Whaaa...?"
Eva's legs gave out beneath her.
She collapsed.
She had no idea that, somewhere far away, Shi Yun Lan was completely unaware of the storm that had just begun around him.