I Just Won't Play By The Book

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the Leisure Heart Square of Order of Water Mirror, a melodious lute was playing.

When the last flute sound faded away, the disciples of the Order of Water Mirror clapped one after another.

Liu Zijin bowed to the audience and walked off the stage with the lute in her arms. Just as she was about to return to her seat, she saw Kong Annan walk up to her, waving the folding fan in his hand and praising her, “Your performance is magnificent.”

Immediately after, the other seniors also sent their compliments.

“Thank you for your compliments.” Liu Zijin smiled and bowed to the senior brothers. However, she felt a sense of loss in her heart. She had deliberately played a few wrong notes just now, but no one had mentioned it. They were still complementing her.

However, she didn’t want to hear any compliments at this moment. What she wanted to hear was Jiang Beiran’s cold and emotionless words. It would be even better with his sharp and cold eyes.

“If Senior Jiang was here… He would definitely say that I’m clumsy.”

Liu Zijin sighed in her heart and returned to her seat under the escort of her senior brothers. She couldn’t help but think of Jiang Beiran’s disdainful gaze, his attitude that kept others at a thousand miles away, and the words he said when they parted, “After we return to the sect, we’ll go back to our respective halls. If there’s nothing else, we should stop interacting with each other.”

This was the first time in her life that she had been so annoyed by someone else.

“I should be mad when he said that… But why, why does my heartbeat so fast every time I think about it? I really want to… see Senior Jiang again.”

These few days, Liu Zijin had the urge to secretly go to the Order of Blue Heart to see her Senior Jiang. However, her Senior Jiang was too capable. She was very worried that she would be discovered, and then she would never be able to see him again.

While she was thinking, the music teacher announced the end of the class and walked out of the Leisure Heart Square. Liu Zijin rejected Kong Annan’s invitation by saying that she wanted to practice the lute.

“Sister Zijin, Sister Zijin!”

While walking on the stone path back to the house, Liu Zijin suddenly heard three familiar voices. She turned around and saw that they were indeed the three Yu sisters.

“Sister Zijin! Big news!”

“Guess what we found?”

“You’ll never guess it!”

Hearing the three sisters of the Yu family taking turns to speak, Liu Zijin asked, “What did you find?”

“Guess.”

“Three chances.”

“There’s a surprise if you guess it right.”

Liu Zijin smiled slightly. “Stop fooling around. I still have to rush back to practice.”

“Okay.” Seeing that Liu Zijin didn’t seem to be interested in guessing, Yu Guishui directly announced the answer. “We saw Brother Jiang come to Order of Water Mirror.”

“Really?!” Liu Zijin asked in surprise.

“Yes!”

“We saw it with our own eyes.”

“I think he went to the Mirror Garden.”

“The Mirror Garden?” Hearing this name, Liu Zijin looked a little disappointed.

The people living in the Mirror Garden were all high-ranking officials of Order of Water Mirror. This meant that Jiang Beiran was definitely not here to look for them.

“Sister Zijin, should we go and take a look?”

“Just treat it as a surprise encounter.”

“Yeah, it’s normal for us to bump into him in Order of Water Mirror.”

“This…” looking at the three Yu sisters’ expectant eyes, Liu Zijin thought for a moment and replied, “Then let’s go and take a look.”

“Yes!” the three Yu sisters cheered in unison.

“Wait, let’s go and call Qiu Yao First.”

The three sisters followed Liu Zijin and ran towards the Autumn Water Pavilion, where they usually practiced martial arts.

…

“Sigh, I really want to change order…”

Walking in the Order of Water Mirror, Jiang Beiran sighed repeatedly. When he first met Zhang Heqing, he had admired Zhang Heqing’s imposing manner and the meticulous way he negotiated conditions. However, all of this had now come to naught. Zhang Heqing had been intoxicating in love and lost all his striking aura.

However, Jiang Beiran wouldn’t change to another order even if he could. Jiang Beiran had spent a lot of effort to be able to live so comfortably in the Order of Blue Heart with his identity as an outer disciple. How could he give up what he had built and start from the beginning again?

After asking the passing disciples for directions a few times, Jiang Beiran finally braced himself and came to the front of the Mirror Garden.

“Hello, may I know why you are here?” A middle-aged man who seemed to be a guard came up and asked Jiang Beiran.

“Hello, I am a disciple of the Order of Blue Heart. I am here to look for the Order of Water Mirror’s Law Protector, Yu Manwen. I would like to trouble you to inform her my arrival.”

“Law Protector Yu?” After listening to him, the guard sneered and then looked at Jiang Beiran from head to toe for a few times before pointing to the side and said, “You are a new face. Go and line up over there.”

“Line up?”

Jiang Beiran was stunned and looked in the direction the guard pointed to. He saw eight male disciples lined up neatly outside a pavilion.

“This… they’re all here to look for Law Protector Yu?” Jiang Beiran asked in confusion.

“Heh.” The guard sneered. “They’re all the same as you. They were instructed to come here.”

“The upper beam is not upright, and the lower beam is crooked as well!”

No wonder those male disciples were easily attracted to their pretty junior sisters. They were all learned from their masters! Was everyone in the Sect of Returning Hearts that horny?

Slapping himself on the forehead, Jiang Beiran was too lazy to explain that he was different from those disciples. After all, the guard would not believe him.

However, in the next second, Jiang Beiran smiled in relief. Wasn’t this just what he wanted? When he returned at night, he would explain the situation to Order Master. Order Master would not blame him, right?

Jiang Beiran was suddenly in a good mood. He was thinking about where to spend his time. Then, he heard a clear voice that he didn’t want to hear at the moment.

“Beiran? Why are you here?”

“This world… is really full of malice toward me.” Jiang Beiran sighed in his heart.

Jiang Beiran turned around and saw that the person who spoke was the person he was looking for, Yu Manwen.

“I…” Jiang Beiran was just about to find an excuse to escape when he heard the guard reply in a fawning manner, “This disciple is here to look for you, Law Protector Yu. I was just about to send you a message.”

“Damn you…” Jiang Beiran really wanted to give the guard the middle finger.

“Looking for me?” Yu Manwen’s tone was a little surprised, but she soon seemed to have understood something as she looked at Jiang Beiran and said, “I understand. Follow me.”

“What do you understand now…” Jiang Beiran thought.

Looking at Yu Manwen’s loving expression, Jiang Beiran wanted to cry, but he had no tears. However, just as he had a flash of inspiration and was about to speak, two options popped up.

[ Option 1: “Law Protector Yu, I’d better queue up. The disciples over there seem to be looking for you.” Reward: White Crane Twin Springs (black grade low tier)]

[ Option 2: Follow Yu Manwen in. Reward: random basic attribute points + 1]

“F*ck, is the system denying my intelligence? Damn it!”

Helplessly choosing option 2, Jiang Beiran obediently followed Yu Manwen into the Mirror Garden.

[ Chosen quest completed. Reward: Strength + 1]

Following the sound of the system notification, Jiang Beiran suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, which made people feel extremely comfortable.

“Good stuff..” Jiang Beiran’s eyes lit up and he began to search for the source of the fragrance.