With Li Ganqing escorted home, Yan Liang's mission was considered complete.

Grandpa Li was extremely grateful to him. After all, he had only relied on the result of the calculation to say that he was going to find someone. Even if he placed all his hopes on Yan Liang, he still had some doubts in his heart.

Yan Liang stayed in Qixian Town for a few more days. After seeing that Li Ganqing and his grandfather had settled down, he prepared to set off to continue his travels around the world.

Li Ganqing felt he had not yet repaid Yan Liang's kindness and was very reluctant to see him leave. He tried to persuade him to stay, but Yan Liang smiled and declined.

"Your survival is the greatest reward you can give me."

The boy's words were frank and sincere. Li Ganqing looked into his eyes, which were clear and bright, just like the lake he had seen in the oasis.

“…Thank you.” Li Ganqing answered him slowly but firmly, then smiled. “I will live well.”

The two parted ways, and Yan Liang, carrying some local specialties that Grandpa Li had given him, drove away from Qixian Town.

More than a month after leaving the desert, news of Shi Guanyin's death had gradually spread throughout the martial arts world, further enhancing Chu Liuxiang's reputation as the "Thief King." However, to Yan Liang's surprise, Wuhua escaped from Chu Liuxiang's grasp.

The things Wu Hua did, as well as his relationship with Shi Guanyin and Tianfeng Shisilang, were all exposed. The number of people who admired Wu Hua back then is now just as many as, if not more than, people who curse him.

Wu Hua was once renowned in the martial arts world, but the contrast was so great that he suddenly became a pariah whom everyone wanted to curse.

The rumors in the martial arts world did not explain how Wuhua escaped. Yan Liang kept this matter in mind. Hearing that Chu Liuxiang would go to Zhibei Manor in Songjiang Prefecture to eat perch sashimi every year around the winter solstice, he decided to go to Zhibei Manor to ask about it.

However, since there was still some time before the winter solstice, Yan Liang slowed down his journey, calculating that he would meet Chu Liuxiang as soon as he arrived in Songjiang Prefecture.

So Yan Liang returned to his old ways, earning a living while continuing to practice martial arts. After a month of training, his health had improved significantly; he was energetic and had a good appetite, giving him the feeling that he might be able to live a few more years in this world.

The fact that no matter how hard he trains, the world will still reject him is just an illusion.

When Yuan Suiyun met Yan Liang again, Yan Liang was still sitting behind a table, just like when they first met. He was reading the palm of a female knight-errant and saying some seemingly reasonable things.

Yuan Suiyun was on the second floor of the restaurant opposite him, listening intently to Yan Liang's mutterings.

Across from him sat an ordinary-looking young man who coldly watched Yan Liang downstairs, a smirk playing on his lips.

Although Yuan Suiyun couldn't see the other person's expression, he could hear the disdain in the slight snort.

He not only smiled, but also slowly said, "Do you want to invite him up?"

The ordinary-looking boy glanced at him and said, "Would you like him to come up and tell your fortune?"

Yuan Suiyun smiled without saying a word. The young man stared at him for a while, then went downstairs with a slight sense of irritation and stood in front of Yan Liang's stall.

Just as Yan Liang saw off the female knight-errant, a young man in black clothes appeared in front of the stall. He looked very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old.

"What do you want to calculate?"

Yan Liang asked him in a light tone.

The young man looked down at him condescendingly and replied with a forced smile, "My master would like to invite you to come up and sit down."

Yan Liang followed the direction of his raised hand and saw Yuan Suiyun "looking" at him from the second-floor railing.

The boy's eyes lit up the moment he saw the man, his joy overflowing, and he almost ran upstairs impatiently.

He stood in front of Yan Liang's stall, wondering why this man seemed so happy when he saw Yuan Suiyun.

Yuan Suiyun was also a little puzzled, but he maintained his usual gentle smile and greeted Yan Liang: "Brother Yan."

"Fate brings us together from a thousand miles away; I never expected to see you here."

Yan Liang's joy was evident in his tone.

Yuan Suiyun smiled without saying a word, wondering in his heart what this person's intention was in being so enthusiastic towards him.

Most villains have one or two characteristics, such as having to keep talking at the last moment; the saying "villains die from talking too much" applies here.

For example, being unpredictable and prone to overthinking; to use a more sophisticated term, one could describe it as being shrewd and calculating, or having a deep and calculating mind...

But in fact, Yan Liang—he had no intention of doing anything.

Hua Manlou is optimistic and open-minded, and loves life. Yan Liang likes his attitude towards life. When talking with Yuan Suiyun, Yan Liang can't help but think of Hua Manlou.

They are clearly two very similar people.

Yan Liang was unaware that beneath Yuan Suiyun's gentle exterior lay an extremely cold heart. He was not the type to suspect everyone he met; on the contrary, he was easily deceived by appearances.

Just as Yan Liang had thought Wu Hua deserved the title of "wonderful monk" after only meeting him once, and had developed a certain longing for him, he felt the same way about Yuan Suiyun now.

It would be pathetic to stop trusting others just because you've been deceived once.

Yan Liang was not a pitiful person, so even though he was deceived by Wu Hua's facade once, he still remained sincere.

Yuan Suiyun pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he put the matter aside and smiled casually, "Back in Qixian Town, you said you wanted to find Mr. Li's grandson. Have you found him yet?"

Yan Liang's smile faded as he recalled what he had encountered in the desert: the girls' corpses, the wounded Li Ganqing...

The boy who had called Yan Liang upstairs on behalf of Yuan Suiyun also arrived slowly. Stepping onto the second-floor stairs, he looked up and saw Yan Liang, who replied with a melancholy tone, "Found it."

Yuan Suiyun noticed his unhappiness: "Now that you've found it, you should be happy. Why do you sound so down, Brother Yan?"

"Of course I'm happy to have found Li Ganqing," Yan Liang replied. "It's just that some unpleasant things happened while I was looking for him."

The young man in black had already sat down at the table. Hearing this, he looked at Yan Liang and asked with interest, "What happened?"

Yuan Suiyun glanced at him, but the young man in black ignored him.

Yan Liang glanced at him and said, "I met Xiang Shuai in the desert."

Yuan Suiyun asked in surprise, "Rumors in the martial arts world say that Chu Xiangshuai defeated Shi Guanyin. Were you there at the time?"

The young man in black: "Is this really true?"

The two, who already knew what had happened in the desert, very politely pretended to be surprised.

These two are incredibly talented actors; they'd be Oscar winners if they were in modern times.

Yan Liang, completely oblivious to their feigned politeness, sighed and said, "Of course I was there, but that's not important."

The boy in black: "..."

That's the most important thing.

Yan Liang continued, "Li Ganqing—Grandpa Li's grandson, was abducted by Shi Guanyin and suffered a lot of torment there."

Yuan Suiyun frowned slightly, wearing a compassionate expression, but his thoughts were quite the opposite: So what?

Yan Liang: "There's another one... a thrush, which killed all of Shi Guanyin's disciples."

The young man in black asked, "So what? None of Shi Guanyin's disciples are good people. Some of them must have tortured the Li Ganqing you mentioned. Wouldn't it be a happy thing if he died?"

His words were barbed and filled with hostility. Yan Liang looked up at him, then lowered his eyes again and said slowly, "Even if they weren't good people... they shouldn't have lost their lives in vain, dying so tragically."

Oh.

The young man in black sneered inwardly, no longer wanting to talk to this person.

He really is a monk; even after leaving the monastic life, he can't shake off his useless compassion.

"Even if someone is guilty... they should not be punished by someone outside the law."

After Yan Liang finished speaking, he began to ponder again.

A naive and laughable idea.

Yuan Suiyun and the black-clad youth's brainwaves were synchronized, and they had no other thoughts besides their contempt for Yan Liang's views.

Which of these renowned heroes in the martial arts world isn't a lawless individual?

Yuan Suiyun picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea when Yan Liang looked up, while the young man in black made no attempt to hide his indifference.

Yan Liang scratched the back of his head and laughed: "It's my fault for saying such a spoilsport."

"You knew that too?"

The young man in black gave a cold laugh.

This guy seems to dislike him...?

Yan Liang was a little confused.

Yuan Suiyun sensed the strange atmosphere between the two and introduced the young man in black to Yan Liang with a gentle smile: "He is Tian Shi."

Tian Shi glanced at him, while Yuan Suiyun smiled at Yan Liang.

Yan Liang asked him, "How old are you?"

Tian Shi gave a forced smile: "Eighteen."

Looking at that smiling face, Yan Liang confirmed that this person indeed disliked him.

Yuan Suiyun then asked Yan Liang where he would go in the future. Yan Liang explained his general plans, mentioning Wuhua and his words were tinged with sadness and frustration, which made Tian Shi glance at him a few more times.

Yuan Suiyun smiled and said, "Although our destinations are different, we can travel together for a few days. What do you think?"

Tian Shi gave a fake smile but didn't offer any opinion.

Yan Liang had originally wanted to befriend him, and he nodded in agreement after hearing Yuan Suiyun's suggestion.

night.

The candlelight flickered in the room, causing the shadows on the ground to sway and become distorted.

Yuan Suiyun had just finished bathing and put on her clothes when someone pushed open the door and entered.

He frowned and said coldly, "Did you have to choose this time to come?"

The person who came in was the black-clad youth who had shown utter disdain for Yan Liang during the day. Upon hearing this, he didn't rush to answer but instead closed the door and leaned against the doorframe, asking, "Why did you pull him along?"

“This has nothing to do with you,” Yuan Suiyun warned him. “I saved your life, so you’d better listen to me.”

"If people in the martial arts world knew that the gentle and kind-hearted former young master of the manor was like this in private, they probably wouldn't believe it, would they?"

Yuan Suiyun suddenly smiled: "You are the least qualified person to talk about me, Master Wuhua—"

"Tian Shi" is none other than Wu Hua, who was rescued from Chu Liuxiang by Yuan Suiyun's men.

Wu Hua remained unfazed by the deliberate mockery: "My mask has already been removed. If you don't watch your step, it won't be long before yours is to be removed too."

"It's you wearing the mask, not me."

Yuan Suiyun was extremely arrogant.

Wu Hua gave a fake smile, thinking to himself, "This person has probably been wearing a mask for so long that he thinks he doesn't have one anymore?"

Yuan Suiyun thought to himself that this person had indeed become timid and cowardly after failing twice in a row... What kind of wonderful monk was he, he was clearly a villain.

The two villains looked down on each other and kept belittling each other in their hearts.

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2020-02-01 23:01:18 and 2020-02-02 23:03:31!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the plant with nutrient solution: 1 bottle for plants;

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