Jiang Feng agreed to Yaoyue's request.

Yan Liang didn't even have a chance to see Jiang Feng before Yao Yue ordered him to be driven out of Yihua Palace. His companions, whom he had left in the detached palace, overheard Yao Yue's conversation with Jiang Feng. Yao Yue's decision was unexpected, yet also reasonable. Yan Liang hadn't expected that this person would actually use him to threaten Jiang Feng.

Outside the Yihua Palace, Yan Liang clung to a doorpost and said to Yi Yaoqing, whose face was grim, "Let me go see Jiang Feng."

Behind him were long steps hidden in the mountains and forests. The mountain wind howled past, and the boy's tone was firm, his starry eyes shining brightly.

The two stood in a stalemate outside the palace gates. The maids in the Yihua Palace were not interested in Yan Liang and were too lazy to "see him off," but after a moment's consideration, they decided to report the matter to the two palace masters.

Yi Yaoqing caught sight of the figure and said coldly, "You were so determined to leave before, but now that we've let you go, why don't you want to leave anymore?"

“Brother Jiang Feng and I have developed a deep friendship in the Yihua Palace, and I naturally cannot abandon him now.” Yan Liang said righteously, “At least let me see him once, or if that’s not possible, let him leave with me.”

Yi Yaoqing frowned, wanting to both complain that the order of his last sentence was obviously reversed and wanting to kick him away. She stood there glaring at him through gritted teeth, too anxious to speak.

She had never met anyone as unpredictable as Yan Liang in her life. He was eccentric, lazy, yet impossible to dislike. Therefore, she frowned at this moment, partly because Yan Liang was too stubborn, and partly because she was worried that the commotion here would reach the ears of the two palace masters, preventing Yan Liang from leaving.

She took a breath, looked directly into Yan Liang's eyes, and said, "If you can't see him, you'd better leave as soon as possible if you want to live."

Yan Liang looked at her and laughed: "It's too impolite to leave without saying goodbye. At the very least, let me say goodbye to Brother Jiang Feng."

The girl's intentions were sincere, and Yan Liang accepted her kindness, but that didn't mean he would easily change his mind—even if he couldn't see Jiang Feng, Yan Liang still hoped someone could convey his message to Jiang Feng—he knew Jiang Feng's difficulties and was grateful to him.

The boy's smile wasn't particularly attractive; most people would only notice his scarred face, but wouldn't notice his bright and dazzling eyes.

Stared at by those eyes, Yi Yaoqing turned her face away awkwardly, feeling apologetic for her initial dislike and aversion towards Yan Liang. Yan Liang possessed a wonderful charm, and the longer she spent with him, the more she discovered that he was a very good person—so good that she didn't know how to praise him enough.

Lianxing had overheard their conversation when she arrived. She landed gracefully, glanced at Yi Yaoqing who was hurriedly bowing his head, and looked at the young man standing by the palace pillar. She asked, "Why don't you leave?"

"I want to see Jiang Feng."

Yan Liang repeated it to her.

"Either leave or die," Lianxing laughed. "Get lost before my sister changes her mind."

"Before I leave, let me see Jiang Feng," Yan Liang said sincerely.

Yi Yaoqing lowered her head even further.

Lianxing was still smiling. She always used her childish smile to hide all her thoughts, and no one could see through her. But Yan Liang keenly sensed that this person had never been happy since she arrived.

"Are you looking for death?"

Lianxing asked with a smile, her tone full of threat.

But Yan Liang was not afraid. He said, "I'm not looking for death. I just want to say goodbye to my friends."

Lianxing's eyes flickered slightly: "You won't see him."

“I know.” Yan Liang nodded. “So I hope the Second Palace Master can tell Jiang Feng that I will go to his home to let him know that he is safe and sound, so that his family can wait for him to come home in peace.”

It's hard to say whether Jiang Feng will be able to go back.

Lianxing nodded indifferently, and seeing that Yan Liang had stopped talking, she asked him, "That's all?"

“That’s all,” Yan Liang said. “If only I could tell him myself.”

Lianxing showed him with her actions that it was not possible. She grabbed Yan Liang by the back of his collar, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and led him down the mountain, leaving Yi Yaoqing outside the hall staring blankly at their backs.

Yan Liang wasn't annoyed by the way his collar was being pulled, which aggravated his wounds; he remained relaxed and natural. The spring mountain breeze was chilly, and he looked down at the lush trees whizzing past below, and the birds and beasts that could be seen peeking through the layers of branches.

Lianxing leaped a few times and landed at the foot of the mountain. She waved her hand and threw Yan Liang to the ground, saying arrogantly, "Go away, and don't come back."

After regaining his balance, Yan Liang put his hands into his sleeves and said with a smile, "Thank you, Second Palace Master."

Lianxing didn't want to talk to him anymore, so she turned around and left decisively. Yan Liang stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up. After thinking for a while, he also turned around and left decisively.

Jiang Feng is not in danger. Yao Yue is reluctant to kill him at this time. Rather, Yan Liang, who is being used by Yao Yue to threaten Jiang Feng, is in greater danger.

Yan Liang had been chatting with Jiang Feng, who told him where his home was. Now that Yan Liang had left Yihua Palace, he naturally wanted to let his family know that he was safe.

But before leaving the territory of Yihua Palace, Yan Liang went to the patch of grass where he had woken up.

He stayed in the Yihua Palace for a month and a half. The place had been exposed to the sun and rain, and all traces of the past had disappeared. Yan Liang followed the system's instructions and, with a little bit of memory, walked to that place. He lay on the ground and searched around, trying to find information related to the original owner's identity.

The system searched him thoroughly, leaving no blind spots, and he searched the surrounding area by himself. He found a tattered, golden-red brocade pouch under a crevice in the rocks, containing a small amount of mugwort.

Yan Liang carefully examined it and discovered that the character "wind" was embroidered in the middle.

He didn't know if it belonged to the original owner or was left behind by the assailant. After thinking for a moment, Yan Liang put the brocade pouch into his system space and decided to rest in a nearby town first, and also find someone to see if they could figure out the origin of the brocade pouch.

Fearing the strength of Yihua Palace, various martial arts factions dared not come rashly, resulting in a peaceful and quiet town near Yihua Palace, with hardly any martial arts figures to be seen.

Yan Liang was too open and honest. When he entered the town, most of the people who saw his face gave him strange and complicated looks. He didn't care. But when Yan Liang found that some children were crying because of his face, he silently took out a mask from his sleeve and covered his face.

The system was happy that Yan Liang had finally escaped from the Yihua Palace. It had already bought scar removal medicine from the mall. After they found an inn in town to stay in, the system urged Yan Liang to apply the scar removal cream.

Thinking of the children who had been frightened and cried on the road, Yan Liang applied ointment to his face with a heavy heart.

In the past, children would always smile happily when they saw Yan Liang, but this was the first time a child had ever seen him and was so frightened that he cried.

Yan Liang was a little sad.

*

He rested in the town for one night, and the next day he returned to his old trade and started telling fortunes.

Those who came to him for fortune telling were all wealthy people who made fun of him, but Yan Liang was still very dedicated to telling their fortunes. He walked around as he told his fortunes, and in one day he had toured the entire town twice. Within two days, everyone in the town knew that the young man with a mask on his face was a fortune teller who was skilled in physiognomy.

The town was sparsely populated, and Yan Liang stayed for three days before leaving before news of his fortune-telling reached Xiuyu Valley.

Our destination is Jiang Feng's hometown, Jiangnan.

As he traveled to Jiangnan, he kept an eye on the movements in the Yihua Palace. Jiang Feng was displeased by the threat from Yaoyue and spent more time talking to Hua Yuenü in private. Since Yan Liang saw that he was relatively safe, he did not keep a close eye on what was happening there.

Returning to his old profession, Yan Liang earned some travel expenses through fortune telling, while also practicing martial arts through chivalrous deeds. He had already mastered the staff technique, and now he practiced martial arts simply to adapt to his body.

Because Yan Liang had a scar on his face, he always smiled when he saw people, like a demon, and he was ruthless. Every villain who met him was left with a bruised and swollen face at the gate of the government office. During his time traveling the world, he gradually became known as the "Deadly King of Hell".

Although Yan Liang had never killed a single person, those people still insisted on attaching this title to him.

Yan Liang, who had previously only been called a "charlatan," said he felt very conflicted because he was neither "deadly" nor "King Yama"—he was just a law-abiding citizen.

If someone becomes famous too easily, it will attract the attention of others. In the eyes of people in the martial arts world, Yan Liang's easy fame is mostly due to his face.

Both are judged by their faces, but Yan Liang is frightening, while Jiang Feng is charming.

Yan Liang somewhat misses his former title of charlatan and tries to highlight it in his upcoming acts of chivalry. He is too lazy to tell fortunes for evil people, so he will operate his business briefly in the local area or nearby, hoping to earn travel expenses while making a name for himself as a "charlatan".

When Yan Liang arrived in Jiangnan, he had a new title.

—The charlatan Yama.

Yan Liang: ...

It's neither fish nor fowl, it's not even as good as "Deadly King of Hell".

Yihua Palace is a thousand miles away from Jiangnan, and it took Yan Liang a month to reach the Jiang family.

Jiang Feng was the wealthiest man in the world. He single-handedly managed his family's business and was known for his philanthropy and generosity, making him highly respected in the local area.

It was evening, and Yan Liang looked at the scene that was both strange and familiar, feeling a mix of emotions. He asked someone for the exact location of Jiang Feng's house, and the person readily pointed out the location and revealed that the owner of the Jiang family was missing.

"Could you be a friend of Young Master Jiang from the martial arts world?" The man noticed the faint scars on Yan Liang's face and subconsciously assumed he was a member of the martial arts world.

"Yes."

Yan Liang didn't say much to him, but thanked him with a smile and walked towards the Jiang family.

The Jiang family is quite famous in Jiangnan. Now that Jiang Feng's whereabouts are unknown, the members of the Jiang family still act in an orderly manner. When Yan Liang came to visit, someone led him to see the steward.

When the butler learned that Yan Liang knew Jiang Feng's whereabouts, he looked anxious. Yan Liang told him that Jiang Feng had recently been attacked and seriously injured, making it difficult for him to move. He had been unconscious and was still unable to move. He was recuperating at the home of the person who saved him. This was something Jiang Feng had mentioned to Yan Liang after realizing that he would probably have difficulty leaving. Jiang Feng had even given Yan Liang a token in advance for this reason.

Yan Liang gave Jiang Feng's jade pendant to Steward Jiang. The old man was relieved and thanked Yan Liang while holding the jade pendant, asking him to stay. Yan Liang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

As he stood in the hall talking to the steward, Yan Liang noticed a strange gaze on his back. He turned around and saw that the gaze belonged to a young man dressed as a page. The young man looked directly into Yan Liang's eyes and quickly lowered his head, no longer looking at him.

Butler Jiang called him Jiang Qin and asked him to take Yan Liang to the guest room to rest for a while. The page named Jiang Qin respectfully led Yan Liang away from the main hall.

Yan Liang stared thoughtfully at his retreating figure.

Author's Note: I couldn't think of a short skit, so today I'm recommending a song.

"The World Slowly Moves," a song with a handwritten script by Li Du, is available on Bilibili; this is the song used as background music.

I've been listening to it on repeat for the past couple of days, I'm almost sick of it, hahaha.

I listen to my favorite songs on repeat until I get tired of them, to the point where I want to switch to the next song as soon as I hear the intro. My playlist just keeps getting bigger and bigger _(:з」∠)_

There's also "Dream Journey," which is really nice; it has a real "A Dream of Jianghu" feel to it! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-04-10 15:46:34 and 2020-04-11 21:02:16!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Ajiang, 10 bottles;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!