When Qianmu Fan heard the name Shen Han, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Shen Han? He has come to Five Immortals City?
Where is he now, and why haven’t I heard any news about him?"
Qianmu Fan seemed to care about this, and his tone carried a hint of urgency.
Before him, Meng Dong bowed slightly, his voice trembling a bit.
"Senior Brother Qianmu, you have been cultivating in the South Courtyard, mingling with at least Inner Sect Disciples.
Shen Han is just a Servant Disciple now, how could you possibly hear about him?"
Qianmu Fan suddenly stood up, his expression somewhat peculiar.
It seemed he wanted to laugh, but he was trying hard to restrain himself.
"You say he is just a Servant Disciple, are you sure?"
"Senior Brother Qianmu, this is absolutely true, not a bit false.
I recommended him here, and during the talent test, he only showed a faint red.
With this kind of talent, he can only be a Servant Disciple..."
Meng Dong’s words seemed to have lifted Qianmu Fan’s mood considerably.
He then returned to his room, took some things, and tossed them to Meng Dong as a reward.
After driving him away, he immediately sent someone to find out if there was indeed a Servant Disciple named Shen Han who had recently joined the sect.
In less than two quarters of an hour, Qianmu Fan received the news.
The people he sent out gave a positive confirmation.
Among the Servant Disciples, there indeed was someone named Shen Han, and he was not from the Southern Heaven Continent.
All the information indicated that the Servant Disciple was the Shen Han he had in mind.
"Junior Brother, is this Shen Han person very important to you?"
Beside him, Wen Ranran asked cautiously.
She had known Qianmu Fan for quite a long time, yet she had never seen her junior brother in this state before.
"To be honest, Senior Sister, this Shen Han is someone who altered the trajectory of my life.
Back then, I was still studying at Mountain Sea Academy, practicing the Chess Path.
A good friend of mine, named Shen Ye, is the elder brother of this Shen Han.
That year, just after the new year, I was invited by my friend to visit their Shen Family.
Every year, their Shen Family conducts a family examination.
At that time, Brother Shen Ye was in retreat for cultivation, so a friend and I acted as the chief examiners on his behalf."
Qianmu Fan spoke as he invited Wen Ranran to sit in the courtyard.
In the distance, two servants hurried forward to pour tea.
"Brother Shen Ye’s cousin, Shen Han, had poor character and deficient morals.
He disrespected teachers and defied family elders.
In the Shen Family, he caused trouble and disruption in various ways for the elders.
On that visit, entrusted by Brother Shen Ye, I was to teach this unruly disciple with poor character a lesson.
At that time, Brother Shen Ye asked us to break one of his legs directly.
But on the day of the examination, with good intentions, I instead offered him some advice."
Qianmu Fan paused for a moment, seemingly recalling the scene from that day.
Listening quietly beside him, Wen Ranran softly interjected.
"Junior Brother, your advice probably had no effect whatsoever.
After all, for someone lacking morals and virtues, verbal advice would hardly have any impact."
Wen Ranran had never met Shen Han, but in her words, the image of Shen Han had already formed in her mind.
Hearing this, Qianmu Fan nodded in agreement.
"Senior Sister, you’re absolutely right. My advice had no effect whatsoever.
Shen Han was wantonly reckless and obstinate.
So at that time, I thought, entrusted by Brother Shen Ye, I’d help him fulfill a brother’s duty.
Sometimes, only through punishment and pain can someone know fear.
Only then do they become aware."
Qianmu Fan spoke word by word.
But the more he spoke, the more a sense of discomfort seemed to grow in his eyes.
"Junior Brother..."
Wen Ranran’s eyes showed a hint of concern.
"I’m fine, Senior Sister.
If it weren’t for this incident, I might not have grown so quickly."
Qianmu Fan’s face displayed a faint smile, proving that he was perfectly fine.
"At that time, Shen Han had not yet made a name for himself.
We outsiders only thought of him as a poorly-mannered aristocratic family member.
To be honest, Senior Sister, I thought it would be easy to teach him a lesson with just a flick of my hand.
To make him obediently admit his mistakes."
The closer Qianmu Fan got to the key point, the more fragmented his words became.
"That day, there were many observers, with the members of the Shen Family watching from the sidelines.
I, the chief examiner of this examination, faced Shen Han in a duel.
Even when stepping onto the stage, I continued to try to advise him, hoping Shen Han could realize his errors and return to the right path.
Of course, my words had no effect whatsoever.
In the end, I had no choice but to engage him in a duel.
I originally thought I could win easily.
At that time, my Chess Path was already quite advanced, capable of capturing a person’s heart with a single move.
A placement of a chess piece was supposed to leave him defenseless..."
As Qianmu Fan spoke to this point, his expression turned serious.
"But, to my surprise...
Or rather, to everyone’s surprise who was present.
Despite such low moral and character, Shen Han’s strength exceeded our expectations.
I, Qianmu Fan, lost to him just like that.
Without a shred of doubt."
Qianmu Fan recounted, each word etched in his heart like a memory.
The feeling of the wind blowing across the Shen Mansion that day he still remembered vividly.
"This event left an indelible mark, and from that day on, I, Qianmu Fan, no longer went near a chess piece.
My mindset has undergone a tremendous change.
It turns out that strength and character, morality have no connection.
A chess player holds black and white in hand, and also judges black and white in the heart.
But from that day on, I no longer believe this saying.
If it were truly so, why is someone as despicable as Shen Han better than me?
The ways of Heaven, have never been fair."
As Qianmu Fan said this, a flash of anger appeared in his eyes.
In Wen Ranran’s view, Qianmu Fan has always been gentle and refined.
But today, just the mere mention of Shen Han in conversation made him this angry.
It goes to show how disgusting Shen Han is.
But in reality, Qianmu Fan’s self-glorification is by no means minor.
At that time, it was clearly to appease Shen Ye, hoping to gain some benefits from him.
Moreover, he also knew what Shen Han was facing at the time.
Of course, Shen Han didn’t listen to the family’s elders, because back then, the Shen elders only wanted Shen Han dead, or at least turned into a cripple.
The Shen Han of those years just wanted to survive.
Yet in Qianmu Fan’s mouth, it became that Shen Han had low character and morals, no respect for teachers or elders.
Which elder who truly treated Shen Han well, was not well remembered by him?
When Uncle Yun of the family went missing, even in such danger, Shen Han came to aid.
In terms of filial piety and morality, Shen Han is even worthy of being praised by others.
At this moment, Qianmu Fan continued speaking.
"After this incident, although I felt disappointed, I still worked hard on my cultivation.
But during those years in the Great Wei, my strength improved slowly.
In contrast, Shen Han advanced rapidly all the way...
So, when I learned about the Southern Heaven Continent, I came here without hesitation."
Qianmu Fan’s words made himself seem like an unappreciated saint.
As if his fate were a tragedy for the whole of society.
While Wen Ranran, in front of him, showed a bit of sympathy.
"Junior Brother, don’t be upset, these things are all in the past, everything has gone past.
Now you are a thousand, even ten thousand times stronger than him.
The bitterness of the past is all over."
Wen Ranran gently comforted.
And upon hearing this, a relieved smile appeared on Qianmu Fan’s face as well.
"Don’t worry, Senior Sister, my heart is at ease.
Back in the Great Wei, he was the rumored prodigy, someone I could only look up to.
I had ambition, but it was still hard to catch up.
But now, he has to sell information about me, Qianmu Fan, to earn a pittance.
He’s so down-and-out now, what is there for me to hold a grudge against."
Qianmu Fan spoke with a consistently comforting smile on his face.
"Didn’t he bully Junior Brother back then? Doesn’t Junior Brother want to vent some anger now?"
Qianmu Fan never mentioned revenge; he was just waiting for Wen Ranran to bring it up.
This way, he appears both magnanimous and carefree.
"Senior Sister, aside from making him suffer a little physical pain, how else can one vent their anger...
With Shen Han’s character and morals like that.
He simply has no sense of shame, otherwise, why would he sell my information everywhere for a little contribution?
If I, Qianmu Fan, ended up this way, I’d be too ashamed to mention I knew the strong.
The most you can do, Senior Sister, is cause him some superficial pain.
But that kind of pain doesn’t satiate one’s anger.
Unless we can make Shen Han truly repent for his past actions.
Such is not just for venting anger.
But also to show it to Heaven and Earth!"
Qianmu Fan’s every word made Wen Ranran nod repeatedly.
In her heart, she gained even more admiration for this Junior Brother of hers.
"What Junior Brother says is indeed reasonable.
From washing marrow to now stepping into the Grotto Heaven Realm, the actual cultivation time is just about a year.
With such a talent, Junior Brother really has no need to take issue with a servant disciple.
Now, Junior Brother should probably easily suppress him with just one move, right?
The overwhelming disparity turns venting anger meaningless."
Wen Ranran spoke softly, yet a thought arose within her mind.
Qianmu Fan didn’t respond, instead, he brought up the chess game.
"Senior Sister, if you are free, why don’t you play a round of chess with me today?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Ranran gave him a playful glance.
"Got a little skill and now you want to bully Senior Sister?
If you want to play chess, Senior Sister will find you a tough opponent~"
As she spoke, Wen Ranran really ran out of the courtyard.
Before long, she came back dragging an old man with a white beard.
"Junior Brother, if you have the ability, win against my Third Grandfather.
When it comes to chess, my Third Grandfather has quite the research."
Seeing the person before him, Qianmu Fan immediately stood up and saluted.
"Greetings, Elder Wenyi...
I was just joking with Senior Sister, didn’t expect her to invite you..."
With a hint of a wry smile on his face, Qianmu Fan seemed somewhat guilty for disturbing the elder.
But hearing this, Elder Wenyi waved his hand.
"It’s no bother, it’s no bother, I actually love chess, and I’ve heard you’re skilled in the Chess Path.
Just as well, we can ease my hand’s itch."
On the stone table, with a wave of Qianmu Fan’s hand, a precisely engraved chessboard appeared before him.
And the chess pieces gifted by Wen Ranran could now be put to use.

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