News of the disciples of Yihua Palace leaving the valley gradually spread throughout the martial arts world; it was said that they left the palace to find someone.

Yan Nantian heard this news but didn't take it to heart. He assumed Jiang Feng was recuperating in Anyi Town, so he slowed down, spending his days leisurely drinking and occasionally stopping to bask in the sun, showing no concern for the affairs of Yihua Palace.

That day, Yan Nantian, with a sword at his waist and a wine jug in his hand, strolled leisurely under the shade of trees along the main road. It was noon, the sun was blazing, and the incessant chirping of cicadas was irritating. Yan Nantian, his eyes half-closed, took a sip of wine, and as he wiped the liquid from his lips, he saw a carriage approaching in the distance.

The driver was a man in gray, and Yan Nantian could tell from a distance that the man also looked lazy and listless.

As the carriage drew closer, Yan Nantian caught sight of the bandit leader's face—a young and handsome boy. He only had time to glance at him before the carriage drove past. Yan Nantian glimpsed two people sitting behind the fluttering curtains.

He took two steps, then suddenly stopped.

—The person in the carriage seemed to resemble his second brother somewhat?

Yan Nantian turned around and saw that the carriage had also turned around and was heading towards him. After the carriage stopped, the curtain was lifted, revealing Jiang Feng's disguised face.

Jiang Feng exclaimed joyfully, "Brother Yan!"

Yan Nantian's eyes widened: "Second brother?!"

He glanced at Jiang Feng, then looked at the boy in the gray robe in front of him. The boy craned his neck to look at him and gave him a friendly smile.

Yan Nantian boarded the carriage, and Jiang Feng explained his experiences to him. After recounting his and Yan Liang's encounters, Jiang Feng introduced Hua Yuenü to Yan Nantian. As Yan Nantian listened to his narration, he silently processed the matter in his mind. Upon hearing the end, he laughed and congratulated Jiang Feng, "It seems I'll be able to drink my second brother's wedding wine."

Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü blushed, both feeling somewhat shy.

Before meeting Yan Nantian, Yan Liang and Jiang Feng had always taken turns driving. Now that Yan Nantian had arrived, Yan Liang naturally handed over the reins to him and climbed into the carriage to rest.

Yan Nantian had just come from the other side. After learning where they were going, he calculated the distance and confirmed that it wasn't too far. If they rode at full speed, they could still reach the village before sunset.

Yan Liang was so hot that he put his hand on the window to cool off, and drifted off to sleep.

Seeing that Yan Liang was sweating, Jiang Feng took out a fan and fanned him. Hua Yuenü watched for a while, then reached out and took the fan. The two smiled at each other and, without saying a word, tacitly took turns fanning Yan Liang.

The carriage swayed and moved forward. Yan Liang dreamed of many people and many things, but when he woke up, everything in the dream was like a bubble, leaving no impression.

He rubbed his eyes, pulled himself together, and found that only Hua Yuenü was in the carriage. After seeing that Yan Liang was awake, she thoughtfully handed him his water bag and said with a smile, "Brother Yan and Yulang are outside discussing with the village chief."

Yan Liang took the water, smiled at her, drank to quench his thirst, and then jumped off the carriage, lifting the curtain. Not far away, Jiang Feng and Yan Nantian were talking with an old man. Jiang Feng glanced up and saw Yan Liang, smiling and waving at him.

The village chief has an old house at the foot of the mountain in the east of the village. After some renovations, it can still be lived in. Jiang Feng has already given him enough money.

They drove their horse-drawn carriage to the east of the village, spent an hour and a half cleaning the house, and then bought some ingredients from the villagers to start a fire and cook.

Yan Nantian speared four fish from the river with his sword, and Yan Liang rolled up his sleeves, ready to show off his skills.

Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü were making a fire in the kitchen, their affection palpable; Yan Liang and Yan Nantian were discreetly scaling and gutting fish in the courtyard. Yan Nantian watched Yan Liang's skillful work and couldn't help but feel a little curious. Although Yan Liang, like him, always appeared leisurely and lazy, he possessed an innate air of nobility, and no matter how you looked at him, you would never imagine that he would do something like gutting fish.

When he first heard Jiang Feng's reputation as "the most handsome man in the world," he had felt contemptuous of him. However, after spending time with him, he changed his mind and realized that one should not judge a book by its cover. Now, seeing Yan Liang like this, he even felt a sense of admiration.

"I've heard of a charlatan in the martial arts world named Yan Liang, is that you?" Yan Nantian asked.

"That's me," Yan Liang said with a smile. "I didn't expect even Master Yan would have heard of me. It seems I've become quite famous."

Yan Nantian said, "After beating someone up, you hand them over to the authorities and even tell their fortune. You'll become famous even if you don't want to."

Yan Liang chuckled but remained silent.

"Now that you're famous, have any relatives or friends come looking for you?" Yan Nantian had heard Jiang Feng talk about Yan Liang. Now that Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü had settled down for the time being, he thought Yan Liang should start thinking about his own affairs.

"No, but I've found a clue." Yan Liang paused, then continued, "I'll continue the investigation once Jiang Feng and Miss Hua have settled down. What about you, Master Yan?"

"I'm going to meet that Palace Master Yaoyue." Yan Nantian snorted coldly, feeling disgusted by Yaoyue's behavior. "Although she saved my second brother, she imprisoned him. If she were more open and honest, that would be fine, but she has to do such despicable things. I will definitely go and punish her!"

Yan Liang thought to himself that this older brother was really something else, and nodded in agreement.

Hearing this, Jiang Feng, who was in the kitchen, hurriedly came out to advise him not to confront Yihua Palace. The two talked for a while, and in the end, Jiang Feng sighed. He couldn't argue with Yan Nantian, but was persuaded by Yan Nantian instead.

While they were talking, Yan Liang kept his head down and arranged the four fish. After they finished talking, they found that he had started grilling the fish.

Upon smelling the aroma and seeing the appetizing grilled fish, Yan Nantian exclaimed in surprise, "It seems I underestimated your skills. I thought you were just talking."

Yan Liang flipped the fish over triumphantly and said, "It's not too late to talk about it after you've tasted it."

Jiang Yulang watched Yan Nantian approach the fire, still feeling somewhat worried. He naturally believed in his elder brother's strength, but the Palace Master of Yihua Palace, Yaoyue, and the Palace Master of Lianxing were also highly skilled in martial arts. It was hard to say what would happen if they were to face off.

Everyone was exhausted after the meal. Jiang Feng had borrowed bedding from the villagers during the day, but could only get two. After discussing it, they decided that Hua Yuenü would sleep in one bed, Jiang Feng and Yan Nantian would share one bed, and Yan Liang would sleep on the soft couch in the carriage.

Yan Liang took a nap during the day and wasn't sleepy at night. He leaned against the carriage wall, listening to the chirping of insects and the sound of the wind, silently planning what would happen next.

He will go back to find Xiao Mimi and Yunyou, and at the same time, he will need to find an opportunity to deal with the mess at Yihua Palace.

*

As the moon set and the sun rose, Yan Liang stayed in the village for several days.

During this time, Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü chose an auspicious day to get married. Both Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü had no parents to care for them. Now that Steward Jiang was far away in Jiangnan, they could only hold a wedding ceremony after returning to Jiangnan. For now, they could only hold a simple wedding ceremony witnessed by Yan Nantian and Yan Liang.

Yan Liang, carrying a bag of wedding candy, prepared to leave the village. He left the carriage with Jiang Feng, which had originally been given to him by Steward Jiang; while he himself bought a young black horse in the village.

Yan Nantian had no urgent business. He wanted to see Jiang Feng and his wife settle down before leaving, so he stood with them and watched the young man ride away on horseback.

In just a few days, Yan Liang had forged a good friendship with the children in the village. No child wouldn't like a cheerful and fun-loving older brother, especially one who was generous, could climb trees, catch fish, and was also a good cook. So, besides Jiang Feng and his group, several other children tearfully saw him off at the village entrance.

Yan Liang rode his horse around the village entrance, looked at the children below, and smiled as he handed the candy to the oldest child.

"I'm leaving now, you guys share the food."

Will my older brother come back?

The child looked up at him expectantly.

"We'll be back. As the older brother, you have to lead everyone well and make sure we don't go to dangerous places."

"good!"

The boy on horseback smiled brightly, exchanged glances with Jiang Feng and the other two, turned around, grasped the reins, and rode away.

His next task was to find Xiao Mimi and find out about her relationship with Feng Lai.

There are ten notorious villains in this martial arts world, and Xiao Mimi is one of them. She is known as "the one who can charm men to death without paying for it," and she keeps male lovers. She is insidious and ruthless. After learning Xiao Mimi's identity and considering Yunyou's behavior in front of her, Yan Liang guessed that Feng Lai and Yunyou were Xiao Mimi's male lovers.

He guessed correctly.

The wind comes and the clouds drift.

Xiao Mimi used to like Feng Lai very much, and she both loved and hated him. She even specially chose the name "Yunyou" to make it more fitting for Feng Lai.

But Feng Lai was too stubborn and didn't know how to be friendly, so he always ended up looking lifeless, wasting his handsome face.

In a tavern, Xiao Mimi and Yun You sat facing each other. They had slowed down earlier because Yan Liang had sped up, and they were too lazy to chase after him. Now they had completely lost track of Yan Liang's carriage.

"That person reminds me of the wind."

Xiao Mimi suddenly spoke, and Yunyou, who was drinking tea, was startled by her words and coughed awkwardly.

"Why are you so surprised? You clearly know that Feng Lai is dead; I was just mentioning it casually."

Xiao Mimi smiled as she watched him wipe the tea from his lips, then smiled gently and asked him tenderly.

Yunyou held the teacup stiffly, unsure whether to drink or put it down, and dared not speak. He was afraid that Xiao Mimi would notice something, but he dared not easily reveal anything about his connection with Yan Liang.

"By the way, you and Feng Lai seem to be very close," Xiao Mimi said. "You must be very sad to hear me mention him."

Driven by a survival instinct, Yunyou denied it, saying, "My relationship with him is just so-so. Feng Lai gained your favor but didn't know how to appreciate it. I hate him too much to be sad for him."

"Oh?" Xiao Mimi was amused. "It seems that you should have killed him with your own hands back then, which would have relieved your hatred."

Yunyou stood aside with a forced smile. He was also a handsome man, and his stingy smile looked very out of place on his face.

He sincerely hoped that Xiao Mimi would never find Yan Liang in her lifetime, even if that person was just a stranger with the same face as Feng Lai. He didn't want Xiao Mimi to find Yan Liang.

"I wonder where that person is now. He's vanished in his carriage." Xiao Mimi brought up the matter again, smiling. "I really want to see what kind of face he has under that fox mask."

Yunyou silently sipped his tea, secretly hoping that Yanliang would go further and further away, preferably to a place they could never catch up with.

He was thinking this, completely unaware that Yan Liang was riding up to them on horseback.

Author's Note: I found something super interesting hhhhh

There's a website called Marketing Account Generator, I tried it out.

xswl (a Chinese internet slang term for someone who is extremely enthusiastic and confused)

You can change the subject, the event, or say it another way, hahaha.

This isn't an ad, I just found it really fun _(:з」∠)_

Why did Yan Liang not live long? Yan Liang is a familiar figure, but why did he not live long? Let's find out together.

Yan Liang's short lifespan is actually the author's setting. You might be surprised that Yan Liang wouldn't live long, but that's the truth, and I was also very surprised.

That concludes our discussion about Yan Liang's short lifespan. What are your thoughts? Feel free to share them in the comments section!