Sometimes Qin Wanwan could be quite clever, if not for the fact that there was indeed no fourth person present at the time, Wen Ran would have suspected that Qin Wanwan had seen the situation back then.
To put it bluntly, Qin Wanwan had to vent her anger to feel at ease.
And under the dual pressure of being "rescued" and being "Shen Wu's fiancée," if Wen Ran stood by and did nothing while Shen Wu was in trouble, it would be heartless.
Wen Ran's face turned slightly pale, showing a look of lingering fear, she said, "The Demon did intend to use us to coerce Senior Brother to let him go, but he took the opportunity to sneak attack Senior Brother and take his life. In such a situation, Senior Brother had no choice."
"So Susu deserved to die?"
Wen Ran had lost patience to spar with Qin Wanwan. She raised her eyes and chuckled, "Aunt Qin, have you forgotten, I am Senior Brother's fiancée. In such a dangerous situation, Senior Brother acted on instinct. To put it bluntly, if he didn't save me and saved Qin Susu instead, do you think you could still be comfortably being Mrs. Wen now?"
Qin Wanwan was left speechless.
Everyone knew how much Wen Xun valued Wen Ran, this daughter. If the person in trouble was Wen Ran, then the surviving Qin Susu would definitely face anger, and not just her, Qin Wanwan would also be thrown out.
Wen Ran continued, "I heard that after Susu was in trouble, Old Wen had sent a large batch of rare treasures to Aunt Qin?"
The implication was that she should take what she can get and not make everyone look bad.
Qin Wanwan gritted her teeth secretly, thinking back to when she was first brought back by Wen Xun, she thought Wen Ran was just a little girl.
No matter how much Wen Xun spoiled her, as long as she gave birth to a son, wouldn't Wen Ran have to stand aside?
Who knew that so many years had passed, her belly had no movement, and after several confrontations over the years, she had never gained any advantage over this girl.
Qin Wanwan forced a smile, "Ranran, what are you talking about? I'm not an unreasonable person, since the matter is clear, and I know the situation was urgent back then, I can't blame you. I was just dizzy with worry over Susu's issue, can you understand my feelings?"
"I can certainly understand, don't worry Aunt Qin, even if Susu is gone, I will take care of you in your later years."
Qin Wanwan's face changed again, as an ordinary person unable to do Immortal Cultivation, what she feared most was the matter of death, yet she couldn't blame Wen Ran, otherwise it would make her look like she was making trouble out of nothing.
Qin Wanwan forced a smile, "I'm not feeling well, I'll head back to rest."
No one stopped her.
With Aunt Qin's departure, the other disciples finally breathed a sigh of relief, their master was good at everything except when it came to women, he was indecisive.
Yan Qing said, "We still have our studies to attend to, Junior Sister, we'll leave Senior Brother in your care."
With that, Yan Qing gave a look to the others, and they all left with him in unison, leaving only Shen Wu and Wen Ran behind.
Wen Ran silently thought to herself that she didn't need them to be so "smart," but her fellow senior brothers and junior brothers left so quickly that she couldn't stop them in time.
As she was pondering what excuse to use to leave, she was caught off guard by that person's gentle voice.
"Ranran, are you blaming me?"
"Ah?" Wen Ran met Shen Wu's eyes, which held a hint of desolation, and for a moment she felt like she had become a heartless woman playing with people's feelings.
Shen Wu was not a man of many words, now, with his gaze lowered, lashes slightly trembling, he seemed unable to suppress himself. When he raised his eyes again, he said, "I've been very worried about you during this time."
Every junior brother had visited Shen Wu, but she hadn't seen him once. He thought she was unwell, but now it seemed her health had recovered long ago.
Shen Wu asked again, "Are you also blaming me...? That I couldn't save Junior Sister Qin, it's my fault she died."
Apart from Qin Wanwan, everyone thought Shen Wu's choice to save Wen Ran was reasonable, but Shen Wu couldn't get past this hurdle within himself.
A young and innocent life disappearing before his eyes was a big blow to him.
In the past, Wen Ran was quite satisfied with Shen Wu as a perfect marriage partner. She could sense that Qin Susu had feelings for Shen Wu, so she often clung to Shen Wu to annoy Qin Susu.
Even though there was an engagement, apart from having a bit more patience for Wen Ran, it seemed Shen Wu treated her no differently from others.
Why did he now look like he had been hurt by her?
Their relationship wasn't that deep, was it?
Wen Ran tried to speak in a cordial manner, "I don't blame you, just like everyone else says, Qin Susu's death cannot be considered... well, let's just say it was an accident. Honestly, I'm very grateful you chose to save me, and you don't have to burden yourself so much. Maybe Qin Susu was lucky and didn't die, but encountered other opportunities instead?"
Shen Wu's eyes curved, and he gave a faint smile, "Ranran, thank you for comforting me."
A breeze blew past, and Wen Ran saw Shen Wu take a step closer to her. She instinctively stepped back, avoiding the hand he stretched out.
Shen Wu's hand stopped in mid-air, a strange atmosphere seemed to be spreading in the air.
He slowly withdrew his hand, looked down at her, hiding his melancholy, "I just wanted to brush away the leaf on your shoulder."
Wen Ran lowered her head and saw there was indeed a dry leaf on her shoulder. She raised her hand to brush it away, tugged at her lips, and smiled, "No need to trouble you, Senior Brother."
"Ranran, are you afraid of me?"
"How could that be?" Wen Ran immediately refuted, speaking as if sincerely, "Senior Brother, you are an upright and selfless good person, able to teach junior brothers within Ascension Immortal Mansion and slay demons outside it, why would I be afraid of you?"
Shen Wu looked at her quietly for a long while, then suddenly said, "Could the matter of Junior Sister Qin become an insurmountable barrier between us?"
"Of course not, actually, I wasn't that close to her."
"If that's the case, did what happened that day when I kicked Junior Sister Qin off the cliff frighten you?"
"I'm brave, I wouldn't be so easily frightened..." After saying this, Wen Ran froze on the spot, realizing late.
The cool young Immortal Monarch suddenly curved his lips, and his demeanor changed abruptly.
His bright eyes seemed to warm with life, filled with a gentle and captivating smile, and his mild voice was certain, "You do remember what happened that day after all."