When Lan Jiwan first met Bitter Tea, she was just a few months shy of turning eighteen, merely an ordinary girl.
After her college entrance exams, she had received her acceptance letter but had yet to report to university. One day, while out, she encountered two thugs. Just as they were about to act maliciously, Bitter Tea seemed to descend from the heavens and saved her...
From then on, she became a disciple of Bitter Tea, trained to become a sorcerer, and was sent on various missions.
According to Bitter Tea, her missions primarily involved eliminating those secret cultivators who relied on their cultivation to commit evil deeds. In the beginning, Lan Jiwan really believed she was carrying out "righteous punishment," but gradually she sensed something was off.
In truth, Bitter Tea specialized in doing the dirty work for the Huiming Shi Family, secretly training a batch of subordinates, teaching them the sorcery techniques. These people were known as "cleaners."
Lan Jiwan was the most outstanding cleaner under Bitter Tea.
In those days, Lan Jiwan couldn't even think of resisting fate; facing a figure as high as Bitter Tea, she had no room for choice at all. By the time she realized what she was doing, it was too late, and she fell into fear and despair.
The downfall of the Huiming Shi Family, particularly with the arrival of He Kao, finally brought a glimmer of light in her dark and hopeless world. She seized this opportunity to complete her self-redemption...
Earlier, He Kao reminded Lan Jiwan that Luo Mingzhi's experience was quite similar to hers.
For instance, both of them, when they were ordinary people, encountered powerful figures they couldn't resist, and they didn't even have the ability to discern what was happening.
Lan Jiwan only discovered the truth much later, while Luo Mingzhi still doesn't know what's happening, though she's on the verge of collapse.
Lan Jiwan didn't want to revisit her past experiences. She thought she had long since let them go, yet with a single sentence from her Sect Leader Senior Brother, the old wounds were reopened, bringing tears to her eyes.
He Kao hadn't even had the chance to say a second sentence before Lan Jiwan stood up in front of him, knelt on one knee, and said, "Sect Leader Senior Brother, I was wrong!"
As she spoke, she lowered her head, her voice tinged with sobs.
There were still some things He Kao hadn't said outright, but the implication was clear. The tasks he now assigned to her were entirely different from what Bitter Tea had given her; she needed to always be clear about what she was doing.
If she failed to do this, it would mean she hadn't yet shaken off the past, even rendering all she'd been through in vain.
He Kao understood that his earlier words might affect Lan Jiwan, but he hadn't expected such a big reaction from her. This was in the campus, and although it was deserted, being seen like this wouldn't be good.
He quickly leaned forward and extended his hand to help her up, "Let's talk after you stand up..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lan Jiwan looked up and twisted her body, and his outstretched hand just happened to hold her chin; the pose was rather awkward.
Lan Jiwan trembled slightly and unexpectedly leapt into He Kao's arms, resting her face on his shoulder and softly sobbing.
He Kao was sitting on a bench, not a chair, with no backrest. If not for his cultivation, with his strong waist and horse stance, he might have been knocked back into the greenery behind.
He Kao could only gently pat her back to comfort her, "For you, everything is already in the past."
After a while, Lan Jiwan finally spoke through her sobs, "Thank you, Sect Leader Senior Brother. If it wasn't for your reminder, I wouldn't have realized that past doesn't mean forgotten, forgotten doesn't mean let go, and letting go doesn't mean resolved."
He Kao said, "I'm sorry for what I said, but actually your situation and Luo Mingzhi's are different."
Hearing this, Lan Jiwan stopped crying and whispered in He Kao's ear, "Oh, how are we different?"
He Kao asked back, "What do you think?"
Lan Jiwan replied, "I am useful to Sect Leader Senior Brother, I can help you with many things, while she is not useful to you, maybe even a trouble."
He Kao didn't say anything, just shook his head, clearly not agreeing with this statement.
Lan Jiwan seemed to be probing deliberately and emphasized again, "Isn't that the truth?"
Lan Jiwan's situation was indeed different from Luo Mingzhi's.
When He Kao discovered Lan Jiwan, she was already a Tier Three Sorcerer, mastered various techniques, and had exceptional talent. If he could enlist her, she would indeed be a significant asset.
Currently, Luo Mingzhi was just an ordinary person, and in terms of mindset and qualities, she was far inferior to Lan Jiwan. Her situation was merely a consequence of He Kao and others not handling matters cleanly, resulting in a series of complications.
But facts don't equate to the correct answer. It's like asking how much one plus one equals, and she replies that the sun rises every day.
He Kao had to provide the answer himself, "You were informed, while she is not."
When Lan Jiwan first became a cleaner, she was indeed deceived by Bitter Tea, but later she discovered the truth. Meanwhile, Luo Mingzhi hasn't even come to terms with the truth, let alone understand what happened.
Lan Jiwan then asked, "So what does Sect Leader Senior Brother plan to do?"
He Kao said, "Is the Celestial Net Umbrella ready?"
Lan Jiwan replied, "I'm not fully mastering its subtle uses, but I can use it."
He Kao said, "Then conceal your presence and follow me..."
As they walked through the campus towards Luo Mingzhi's dormitory, in the dim light, only He Kao's silhouette could be seen, while Lan Jiwan beside him had vanished, like a drifting mist or translucent frosted glass.
Though the Celestial Net Umbrella is magical, it is not all-powerful. When Lan Jiwan moved around freely, there were still some anomalies, but in the dim environment at night, ordinary people wouldn't notice them.
Only when Lan Jiwan stopped and restrained her Divine Qi did she seem to completely blend into the surroundings.
