Chapter 105 The Events of That Year (Part Two)

The boy was dressed in hemp clothing, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat. His skin was porcelain white, his eyebrows were bold, and his black hair was tied up high with a hairband. Raindrops slanted down the brim of his hat, and he had a blade of grass between his red lips.

The boy's gaze was unfocused, never on him, but fixed on the old man with graying temples.

"Father, should we get rid of this person?" The boy spat out the foxtail grass from his mouth, his tone casual.

The sky was overcast, and raindrops streamed down the straw hat, while the old man's graying temples were also veiled in mist.

"No need," the old man said, then slowly stood up from the bluestone slab, his cloudy eyes staring straight at him.

At that time, he was not yet the emperor of Dongyue Kingdom, but just a young prince who had secretly regained his identity and had the world in his heart.

He still can't forget that overwhelming pressure.

The old man asked, "Were you sent by the Emperor?"

He was taken aback, but nodded.

At the same time, he suddenly understood something, "You, you are Yan Yun'an, General Yan?"

Upon hearing this, the old man stood up. The rainwater cascading down his straw hat and raincoat formed a curtain of water in the distance. He nodded, "It is indeed Laozi."

Su Li was extremely surprised to hear that General Yan Yun'an was a polite and dignified man.

Yan Yun'an looked at the young boy in front of him, then beckoned to his son beside him, "Zhan'er, do you want to enter the world?"

"What is worldly involvement? Father, I don't know." The boy in the rain walked to the old man's side, looking puzzled.

Yan Yun'an patiently replied, "Entering the world means leaving Nanling Mountain and leaving Father to save the common people."

Upon hearing that he had to leave Yan Yun'an, the boy immediately objected, "No, Father, you are too old, Zhan'er cannot leave."

Yan Yun'an sighed, raised an eyebrow, and said, "If you go out from here, you'll see many beautiful women and stunning beauties, so you don't need to..."

"Father, I was just joking. I'm about to be born."

Yan Yun'an knew the boy would look like this, and nodded with relief: "Father is old and can't walk anymore. Father will be here waiting for you to come back in a year."

"Okay." The boy nodded.

Listening to the conversation between Yan Yun'an and the boy, he suddenly understood the relationship between the two. This seemingly unruly boy was probably General Yan's only son.

He took a step forward and said, “General Yan, I am the Ninth Prince who has been demoted to a commoner. Now, the Southern Barbarians have invaded the border, and the capital is embroiled in the struggle for the throne among the nine princes. There is no time to attend to the border, and the people of Dongyue are suffering. I have come here on the orders of my father to beg you to come out of seclusion!”

Raindrops splashed everywhere, blurring his vision. A deafening clap of thunder rang in his ears. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, feeling the chill of the autumn rain soaking his trousers, and kowtowed deeply to Yan Yun'an.

Rainwater slid down his forehead, obscuring his view. He dared not look up, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of straw sandals gradually come into view and stop in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, a pair of large hands helped him up. The man's hands were covered in scars, and his neck was crisscrossed with wounds, which appeared to be scabbed over.

He was momentarily startled, as Yan Yun'an's weathered voice rang in his ears at the same time:

"Ninth Prince, don't be anxious. I know all of this."

General Yan, you actually know all this?

He was shocked, and knelt on the ground, refusing to get up, his voice hoarse with a strained tone, "General Yan, I'm begging you, please come out of the mountains and save Dongyue. Can you really bear to watch Dongyue be invaded by the Southern Barbarians?"

"General, since you know all this, then hurry up and come out of the mountains. Dongyue is waiting for you to come and save them!"

Seeing that Yan Yun'an's large hand was still gripping his shoulder, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "General, just give me an answer. If you really can't, just tell me the reason!"

Seemingly sensing that he was a little agitated, the boy standing next to Yan Yun'an couldn't stand it anymore.

With hands clasped together, a powerful palm strike, and movements as fast as lightning, he suddenly attacked from the side, pushing him away.

The raindrops on the straw hat fell sparsely as the boy moved, leaving ripples on the ground.

He couldn't dodge in time and was pushed aside by the boy.

A slight pain came from his shoulder; clearly, the boy had deliberately used some force.

He was stunned. He had heard that General Yan Yun'an had a son named Yan Zhan, whose name meant to cut off all darkness in the world, so that evil would no longer exist and light would shine across the Nine Provinces.

It must be the young man in front of me.

Yan Yun'an laughed and said, "Although I know everything, I will not leave the mountain. The current chaos in Dongyue and the invasion of the Southern Barbarians are all problems that have arisen within Dongyue itself. They cannot be solved simply by me leaving the mountain."

He froze, the pain in his shoulder lessening considerably with those words. "General, so you mean..."

At the same time, Yan Yun'an's expression turned serious, and he looked at Yan Zhan. "You, come here and apologize to the Ninth Prince!"

Yan Zhan was somewhat incredulous. "Father, you want me to apologize to this impolite person?"

Yan Yun'an said in a deep voice, "No matter what, you must not hurt anyone!"

Yan Yun'an's oppressive aura swept over him, making it hard for Yan Zhan to breathe. He tensed up, his eyes bloodshot, seemingly very resentful.

The father and son remained locked in this stalemate in the rain for a long time.

Finally, Yan Zhan sighed, "Father, I was wrong, it was my fault."

At the same time, his gaze fell on Su Li. "Ninth Prince, I apologize."

Su Li was stunned, because it was indeed his fault; he had gone too far in asking for help and had lost his manners.

But... the stubborn boy in front of him actually bowed his head and apologized to him because of a single sentence from his father, something he never expected.

He said softly, "Brother Yan Zhan, there's no need for such formalities. This matter was entirely my fault."

To everyone's surprise, Yan Zhan said, "Since you know you're in the wrong, then you should leave here quickly and not disturb my and my father's peaceful life!"

He shook his head. "Brother Yan Zhan, I can't leave. Do you know your father's identity? Do you know who your father is? Do you know what dangers Dongyue is facing right now? Do you know what the situation is like outside Nanling Mountain?!"

His tone shifted from polite to questioning, then from questioning to agitation, but in the end, tears blurred his vision and moistened his eyes.

Seemingly surprised that the person before him would cry, Yan Zhan froze. He glanced helplessly and confusedly at Yan Yun'an beside him, and whispered, "Father..."

Yan Yun'an smiled and shook his head, "Zhan'er, your father really didn't tell you what the situation was like outside."