The next day.

The spring chill lingered, and mist still hung over the streets in the early morning. Xu Yi looked out the window; in the distance, majestic mountains stood tall amidst the mist, their outlines appearing and disappearing, appearing much gentler.

His mood immediately improved.

After washing up, Xu Yi sent two subordinates to the streets to inquire about the Marquis of Anle, while he went to find the fortune teller.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yiwei did not see Yan Liang and the other person there.

Did they escape or...?

Xu Yiwei frowned.

If that young man was truly the Marquis of Anle, he shouldn't have known him, as he had never revealed his true appearance to the Marquis of Anle.

Are you looking for Yan Liang?

Seeing the customer standing at Yan Liang's stall with a serious expression, the restaurant owner hesitated for a moment, but still gave him a tactful reminder.

“Yan Liang usually arrives at 9:00 AM, but it’s still 7:00 AM now.”

Xu Yiwei: "..."

Xu Yiwei, with a cold face, went to the breakfast stall next to him, ordered a breakfast, and sat down to eat.

It wasn't until Xu Yiwei finished eating and walked around the street to digest that Yan Liang slowly arrived.

Xu Yiwei said coldly, "It's too late."

Yan Liang: "..."

The young man looked very tired, yawning as he went to the back of the restaurant to bring back tables and chairs. Xu Yiwei stared at him, his eyes narrowed.

Yan Liang felt it necessary to speak up: "Young master, is there something you need from me?"

"yes."

Xu Yiwei sat down at the table, and the boy immediately lay face down on the table.

Seeing Xu Yi staring at the back of Pang Yu's head, Yan Liang quickly interrupted, "What business does the young master have with me?"

“I want to calculate, Marquis Anle, Pang Yu.”

Xu Yiwei kept staring at the back of Pang Yu's head, not even glancing at Yan Liang.

“I can’t calculate it.” Yan Liang answered without hesitation, a smile on his face. “I can’t calculate it for someone I’ve never met. I already told you about it yesterday, Young Master Xu.”

Xu Yiwei asked, "Then—who is he?"

He pointed at the boy lying on the table, staring directly into Yan Liang's eyes, his gaze full of scrutiny.

“Yu Yao.” Yan Liang was not intimidated at all, and even asked back, “Does Young Master Xu think he is the Marquis of Anle?”

Xu Yiwei coldly replied, "Isn't he?"

"No," Yan Liang denied.

"Make him look up."

Yan Liang glanced at him, frowned, and the smile in his eyes disappeared: "Is this what you really meant?"

Before Xu Yi could answer, the person who had been lying down raised his face, looking tired with dark circles under his eyes. "What happened to me?"

Xu Yiwei scrutinized the boy's face. His face was covered in frostbite and some scratches... most importantly, there was a scar at the corner of his eye. Xu Yiwei had only seen Pang Yu a few times from afar, and after knocking him unconscious, he hadn't really looked at Pang Yu's face properly. The only impression he had left was that the Marquis of Anle was too heavy-hearted.

Xu Yi withdrew his gaze, stood up nonchalantly, and looked down at the two of them.

"I was overthinking it."

Xu Yi left without looking back after saying that, his back straight, his feet barely touching the ground, exuding a fierce aura.

Yan Liang watched his retreating figure, thinking that he had finally managed to fool him.

After confirming that Xu Yiwei was far away, Pang Yu lay down again, his heart pounding like a deer's, even more nervous than when Yan Liang had revealed his identity the night before. He and Yan Liang had talked for half the night, agreeing to wait until Xu Yiwei left before setting off. Before that, he needed to dispel Xu Yiwei's suspicions.

Yan Liang seemed to know Xu Yiwei's thoughts perfectly. Last night, during their conversation, he mentioned that Xu Yiwei would be coming today, indicating that he had already begun to doubt Pang Yu's identity.

Pang Yu asked him why, but Yan Liang just smiled and praised himself for his brilliant calculations, saying that everything was calculated.

Sure enough, Xu Yiwei came looking for him, and he was quite aggressive. Pang Yu admired Yan Liang greatly, but at the same time felt sorry for him because of his disability; otherwise, he could have recommended Yan Liang to his father.

Yan Liang knew this thanks to the system store's cutting-edge technology: a 360-degree all-around listening device that is solar-powered, reusable, and energy-efficient.

Yeah.

Wasn't remembering to throw the listening device to Xu Yiwei also part of his brilliant strategy?

Yan Liang was completely unaware that Pang Yu admired him immensely. He was secretly thinking about how to get to Kaifeng. As long as Pang Yu's identity was not exposed, reaching Kaifeng was not a dream.

He glanced at Pang Yu, who was staring blankly into thought, and tried once again to match the miserable face with the fat man on the wanted poster, only to find that there was no resemblance whatsoever.

Pang Yu suddenly noticed that Yan Liang's gaze towards him had become strange.

"I really don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky." Yan Liang patted his shoulder with satisfaction and sighed, "It's true that being thin covers up a hundred flaws."

Pang Yu understood Yan Liang's meaning in an instant and was speechless for a moment, not knowing whether to regret the fat he had lost or to firmly refute him.

Xu Yiwei and his two subordinates stayed in Donghua Town for seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, they received a message by carrier pigeon and set off to leave Donghua Town on the morning of the fifth day.

Yan Liang and Pang Yu fled together that noon.

Xu Yi and his group headed north, but Yan Liang, realizing they couldn't take the same route, took a boat westward along a different path.

To the west of Donghua Town lies Shouzhou, but they deliberately took a long detour, heading north from Shouzhou to Kaifeng Prefecture. The journey was long and arduous, and the two sometimes camped out in the countryside, sometimes finding shelter in villages. Yan Liang, relying on his fortune-telling skills, barely managed to avoid living beyond their means.

Pang Yu, who eats for free, said, "When we get back to Kaifeng, I'll have my father give you money. You'll have no worries about food and drink, and you'll be set for life."

Yan Liang said, "Are you going to keep someone as a mistress? Go back and clear your name first."

As the sun set, the two walked along a country path and ran into a village in the light spring rain.

At the entrance of the village stands a stone tablet with the three large characters "Ephemeral Flower Village" engraved on it, exuding a magnificent aura.

As the saying goes, spring rain is as nourishing as oil, and along the way, one can see a vibrant green landscape everywhere. But upon entering this village, Yan Liang felt something was strange—the village was far too lifeless.

The village houses were all tightly shut, and not a sound could be heard, not even the crowing of roosters or the barking of dogs. Apart from that, there were only gazes coming from all directions.

Someone was hiding behind the doors and windows, spying on them.

Those gazes were too direct, making no attempt to conceal them.

Pang Yu also sensed something was wrong and quietly followed Yan Liang to his side.

The two walked around the village for a while, but the gazes followed them like shadows. Yan Liang felt his hair stand on end and pulled Pang Yu, wanting to turn back—it was better to sleep in the wild than stay in such a strange village.

As soon as they turned around, the wooden gates on both sides of the road creaked open. A middle-aged man with a rough face opened the door. He looked at the two of them hesitantly, and perhaps seeing that Yan Liang was only staring at him without speaking, he spoke first: "Do you need to stay the night?"

Yan Liang smiled and said, "That's right."

The man then said, "I have spare rooms at home. If you don't mind, why don't you stay at my place for the night?"

As he spoke, the man kept glancing at the fortune-telling banner that Yan Liang was holding up.

Yan Liang thanked him with a smile, and the man twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he wanted to put on a smile, but it looked rather awkward.

This man's name was Li Mingding, also known as Li Laosi because he was the fourth son in his family. He was now married and had a family of his own. His wife, Li, was gentle and virtuous, and they had a five-year-old son, Li Erwa. This family could be described as a happy family of three, but the atmosphere was extremely silent.

When Li saw Yan Liang and Pang Yu, she smiled amicably, but couldn't hide the sorrow in her eyes. Erwa, holding a ball made from scraps of cloth, grinned at the two of them, his eyes practically disappearing from his teeth. Yan Liang smiled at him, and Erwa laughed even more heartily.

Li Laosi seemed hesitant to speak, and Yan Liang patiently waited for him to open his mouth.

Old Li immediately asked, "Master... are you skilled in exorcising ghosts?"

Ghost hunting?

Yan Liang asked seriously, "Has something strange happened in this village?"

Li Laosi's expression brightened: "Master is indeed amazing. He knew before I even said anything."

Yan Liang: ...

Is he too smart or are you too smart?

The situation in this village is obviously strange to anyone with eyes to see, isn't it?

Pang Yu was a beat slow to react, and before that, he was also amazed by Yan Liang's brilliant strategy.

Li Laosi rattled off a bunch of things, his words in disarray, he was extremely excited. Yan Liang listened intently, and only at the end did he roughly understand what he was saying.

For the past month and a half, people from Tanhua Village have been disappearing intermittently in the deep mountains. At first, they thought it was because of a large tiger in the mountains that had injured people, so they gathered people to go into the mountains. But since that day, the mountains have been shrouded in mist. If you enter from one end, you can come out from the other end. No matter what, you can't enter the mountains.

Later, people continued to go missing in the mountains, and the area gradually expanded. At first, it was adults who went missing, and later it was children.

As villagers went missing, livestock such as chickens and dogs also continued to disappear.

Finally, the families of the missing persons came together and discovered that all of them had been trapped in nightmares, and after waking up, they were listless and felt as if evil spirits were claiming their lives.

This matter is too strange. Rumors have been spreading throughout the city that a woman who was stranded here thirteen years ago has come to seek revenge.

At this point, Li Laosi sighed, while Li Shi lowered her head and wept.

Li Laosi's eldest daughter, Li Daya, was one of the four missing children.

There are about a hundred people in Tanhua Village. It is far from Shouzhou City. Even if you go to the government to report the case, it will take a day. But strangely, all the people who were sent out to report the case never returned. Three people were sent out in a row, and all three disappeared without a trace. After that, no one was willing to go anymore.

Apart from the missing person who went out to report the case, the rest of the people disappeared in the mountains after sunset. Now, the villagers of Tanhua Village are rushing to finish their day's work before sunset, and then they go home, close their doors and windows tightly, and do not go out again.

This method is indeed effective; no one has disappeared in the mountains in the past fifteen days, which is precisely why the village is so lifeless.

Who is that woman?

This is what Yan Liang can't understand: how can things now be related to people from thirteen years ago?

Li Laosi's inexplicable trust in this stranger Yan Liang might stem from a long period of pent-up emotions and an urgent need to confide in someone, or perhaps Yan Liang's appearance and the fortune-telling banner were too deceptive.

Upon hearing Yan Liang's question, Li Laosi hesitated and couldn't speak. He exchanged a glance with his wife before finally revealing the woman's background.

The woman had been stranded here thirteen years ago and was rescued by a fisherman in the village. However, for some reason, she had lost all her memories and was somewhat mentally impaired. But the woman was extremely beautiful, and the fisherman took care of her until they eventually married.

The year after their marriage, the woman gave birth to a girl. But from then on, the woman gradually changed. Perhaps remembering the past, she became resentful and mentally unstable, even once contemplating strangling her daughter. The fisherman couldn't bear it and reluctantly stayed with her for four years. After all, even a night of marriage can accumulate into a hundred days of kindness. Finally, he discussed with the woman the possibility of parting ways amicably, going their separate ways and never interfering with each other again.

The woman disappeared the day after she agreed. Everyone thought she had left, but ten days later a dog brought a severed hand from the forest. The villagers dug up the woman who was supposed to have left.

“That woman… to be honest, she’s not quite right,” Li Laosi said hesitantly. “She… I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Yan Liang seemed to be deep in thought. Seeing the couple looking at him hopefully after they finished speaking, he smiled slightly and said confidently, "I am not very capable, but perhaps I can solve this matter for you all."

Upon hearing this, Pang Yu looked at him in shock, his expression hesitant to speak.

Yan Liang ignored him, a calm and inscrutable smile on his face. Li Laosi stood up excitedly, paced back and forth a few steps, and said gratefully, "Thank you, Master. I hope you can find my daughter's whereabouts."

He choked up for a moment, then said, "It is... I want to see him alive or dead."

Li covered her mouth and wept, while Li Erwa reached out and groped her face haphazardly.

...The hearts of parents are always full of love and concern.

Yan Liang sighed inwardly. Seeing how worried the parents were about their daughter, Pang Yu couldn't help but think of his own father and sister, wondering if they were so worried about him that they couldn't eat.

It was getting late, so Yan Liang and Li Laosi decided to go explore the mountains again the next morning. He and Pang Yu had a farm-style meal and then went to rest in the next room.

Moonlight streamed through the window, and Yan Liang gazed at the full moon, his mind filled with countless thoughts. Pang Yu, unable to contain his curiosity, whispered, "You really can catch ghosts?"

Yan Liang said softly, "No."

Pang Yu's eyes widened: "Then why did you agree?"

Yan Liang said lazily, "Although I can't catch ghosts, I can find people."

You mean—

Pang Yu's eyes lit up, his curiosity piqued, and he couldn't wait to ask more questions.

Yan Liang glanced at him and smiled slightly, saying, "Go to sleep."

Pang Yu: "..."

He'll be suffocated by Yan Liang sooner or later.

Author's Note: I'm here—

This time, I'm writing a tiny little case, and a new teammate will be appearing, hahaha!

The time was set wrong; it was supposed to be posted last night!!

Okay, I'll just say "Happy Friday" and get away with it, hehe.

Happy Friday, everyone!!