Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Nighttime Call (4 updates)_1
About three seconds later, the phone connected, and a man's voice came through, "Little Han? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?"
"Brother Zheng, I have to return to District Nine tomorrow." Shang Han's voice was filled with much helplessness.
The voice on the phone also sighed helplessly, "I know, District Nine is currently without a leader, and things will get very complicated if you don't go back. Plus, you haven't been with Ah Ying for over twenty years; you should go back and keep her company.
These years...you've had it tough, and I don't even know how to make it up to you. It'll be good for us to see each other more once you're back in the war zone."
"Let's not talk about that, Brother Zheng... Ah Ran has grown up now. He's kind-hearted and loyal, modest and not arrogant, and he has a natural talent for alchemy—he's a good kid. He'll be able to take care of himself when I'm gone."
"He... he's about to graduate from university, right?"
"Yes, he's graduating next year."
"That was fast. In the blink of an eye, 22 years have passed... He's also at the age to get married, but I, as his father, have never gone to see him even once..."
"Brother Zheng, there's something I want to talk to you about." Shang Han began.
"Go ahead, your matters are my matters."
"I oppose the marriage arrangement between Ah Ran and Bai Qi." Shang Han spoke seriously.
"Little Han... why would you suddenly say that?" The man on the phone was somewhat unable to understand why Shang Han would say such a thing.
The marriage arrangement between Bai Qi and Fang Ren had been set in stone since they were young and could not be changed. The Bai Family had promised that no matter how high Bai Qi's cultivation talent might be in the future, she must marry Fang Ren.
"Do you really think Ah Ran will be happy living together with that girl from the Bai Family?" Shang Han said, "The two of them are simply not from the same world. Plus, you know there are too many people in the Fang Family who are jealous of Ah Ran.
He shouldn't have to live amidst others' envy; it's better for him to be just an ordinary person."
"I'll shoulder the family's affairs, and as for the matter between Ah Ran and Xiao Xi, it's entirely based on the original promise. This marriage arrangement can only be dissolved if one of them truly does not consent to it."
"Can't we dissolve it now?" Shang Han asked.
"No, the two kids haven't even met each other yet; we can't jump to conclusions too early. What if they fall in love at first sight?"
Shang Han sighed heavily, "Alright, Brother Zheng, if that's the case then I will just get straight to the point. Ah Ran, I've raised him for twenty-two years, and have always treated him as my own son. I think you should also consider my opinion when it comes to his marriage."
"Naturally, he is my biological son, but you are the father in his life."
"Firstly, I firmly oppose the marriage between Ah Ran and Bai Qi, and secondly, I want Ah Ran to be with Qing'er," Shang Han said.
"Qing'er?" The man on the phone suddenly started, "Isn't Qing'er supposed to be on the battlefield..."
"Qing'er isn't dead. It's just that her entire meridian system was severed, and she has lost the ability to cultivate. She can only live as an ordinary person now.
Ah Ying and I didn't want her to be involved in those affairs anymore, so we announced to the outside world that we didn't manage to save her," Shang Han said.
"But Qing'er and Ah Ran... wouldn't there be something inappropriate between them? And that marriage arrangement..."
"Brother Zheng, let me be frank with you, the two of them are already living together. I arranged it myself without your permission, but I feel what I did was right," Shang Han stated.
"Ah? Living together..." The man on the phone was surprised, "But with Qing'er's identity being with Ah Ran... If the identity of Xuan Nv is known to outsiders, what will their days be like then?"
"I actually think there's nothing inappropriate about it. Qing'er is just an ordinary person now, and her being with Ah Ran couldn't be more suitable. No one knows what Xuan Nv looks like, and no one will know that Fang Ren is your son," Shang Han argued.
"Little Han... this..." The man on the phone suddenly became very distressed.
Shang Han raised his voice, frowning, "Brother Zheng! Are you really going to drag Ah Ran into the family's dispute? The Fang Family... that's not his place.
Have you forgotten why you entrusted him to me in the first place? Some people will want his life! If you let him go back and marry Bai Qi, I'm afraid the kids won't even be married before something happens to Ah Ran!"
"I know you want what's best for him, but the Fang Family really needs someone like him to marry into the Bai Family…"
"Brother Zheng, I've said all I had to say. If you're determined to separate Ah Ran and Qing'er, then, brother, I'm sorry. Just forget all that I've done for you over the past thirty-plus years; I'll no longer acknowledge you as my brother," Shang Han said solemnly.
The voice on the phone fell silent for a long time before responding, "They're... really living together?"
"They're getting married on May 20th, both willing," Shang Han said.
The man on the phone sighed heavily, sounding very troubled, "Since it's already like this, I can't do anything about it. Let's dissolve the two kids' marriage arrangement... But, Little Han, you've been gone for too long, you don't know what the Fang Family is facing now.
Without Ah Ran, it's likely to disintegrate..."
"If he really goes there, the result probably won't change much. Some people, to achieve their plans, will only think of more heartless ways to try and kill Ah Ran!" Shang Han argued.
"I'm not planning on having him come back," the man on the phone spoke solemnly, "Based on what you've told me before, with Ah Ran's character, he surely won't forsake Qing'er to marry another girl. Moreover, since he and Qing'er have developed to this extent... then I can't possibly separate them."
"So what are you planning to do next, Brother Zheng?"
"If..." the man on the phone spoke reluctantly, "If Ah Ran and Qing'er get married, I'll personally go to the Bai Family to dissolve the marriage arrangement. After that, we'll have to play it by ear. You're right with what you said.
Even if Ah Ran comes here, if we can't protect him, the family's end result will be the same, only his life will be in more danger."
"I'm glad you see it that way. Ah Ran shouldn't have to bear those responsibilities; from the moment he was born, he already sacrificed his Spiritual Root for the Fang Family.
If now, as an adult, he has to give up his feelings and even possibly lose his life for the Fang Family, no one's conscience would be clear," Shang Han said.
"I will handle this. Actually, Ah Ran being with Qing'er... isn't that what we once wished for?"
"Yeah."
"Little Han, don't talk about breaking off brotherly ties next time. The bond we've formed through life and death can't be severed just like that."
"I understand, Brother Zheng. When I get back, let's have a drink and talk over the details."