Chapter 26: Hairpin Flower Lane (1)

After the reputation of Lengcui Villa was ruined, the prestige of Shouyue Tower was also in jeopardy.

Jiang Hanfeng, the most skilled martial artist in Yuding Villa, is involved in a romantic scandal. The owner of the villa suddenly becomes Shen Yingxue's adopted son and flees after his identity is exposed. Longjuanfang is also brainless, and the noble and upright sects are in chaos.

At this time, a new force was quietly born in the Jiangnan town.

This force was not very noticeable at first, and was made up of a group of mixed people. Some of those people were great villains with deep backgrounds, and some were small fry who had no reputation and were rejected or ignored by the righteous.

But it was this group of people who suddenly appeared in everyone's sight and did something big that no one expected.

They killed Wan Baogui.

As his name suggests, Wan Baogui is a very good businessman. He has a lot of wealth under his name, which can be said to be rich enough to rival a country. He even has contacts with ministers and royal children in the court. Even the emperor dare not touch him easily.

The people in the martial arts world are not afraid of the rich. Many of them have robbed the rich and helped the poor, and they are not afraid of the rich and powerful. But Wan Baogui is different from ordinary businessmen. He has contacts with the Yan family of Chunjiang and the Xinlongsun family.

The Yan family is a famous medical family. Although their medical skills are not as good as those of the hidden sects such as Yaoxian Valley, they are in the medical clinic business. Most of the Chinese medicine shops in the city, Chunhuitang, and Jirentang are owned by them. Moreover, the Yan family also has a family-inherited sword technique. They not only know medical skills, but also martial arts. No one dares to offend them.

The Sun family is much more low-key, but it is also a very powerful family. Their family members like to study hidden weapons and firearms, and have been thinking about combining the two. It is said that many assassin organizations have dealings with them.

It takes money to study these things. Wan Baogui did business with the Yan family and provided money to the Sun family. He also enjoyed good medical services and security. The Sun family also gave him dozens of secret guards equipped with □□ hidden weapons, who were at Wan Baogui's disposal.

Wan Baogui was a man who valued his life very much. In order to make this relationship more solid, he also formed an in-law relationship with the Yan family and the Sun family.

But Wan Baogui died.

The death was unclear and extremely tragic.

The servants working for the Wan family said that it was very quiet that day, with no strange people or noises. Wan Baogui was doing the accounts in the accounting office and did not allow anyone to come in. By the time they realized something was wrong, Wan Baogui's body had already stiffened.

There were no signs of a fight in the house, only a few words written in blood on the snow-white wall:

In the flower-bearing alley of Jiangnan, the mist and rain are full of elegance.

Han Jing sat in front of the piano and finished playing a song. He slowly put down his piano and listened attentively to his patrons talking about Wan Baogui's death.

Zanhua Lane is just an ordinary alley. Only people living near Jiangnan know what kind of illegal residents gather there. However, they don't often cause trouble, so no one cares.

As Shen Yingxue's adopted son, Han Jing knew very well that this place was the Demon Cult's territory and it was the secret department established by Shen Yingxue.

The Anbu had been keeping a low profile, but suddenly they caused a stir and even wrote those words on the wall. It must have been the godfather's intention.

He knew that his adoptive father would never settle for mediocrity. He would take back the lost cult and would not let go of anyone who had harmed him.

"Miss Jing'er is listening intently. Do you have any opinions?" The young man who was drinking at the table smiled at Han Jing, "Why don't you come over and have a drink with us?"

Han Jing slowly stood up, walked over, picked up the wine pot, poured him a glass, and then was grabbed by the man and sat in his arms.

Han Jing used to treat the girls in the brothel like this. At that time, he also boasted that he was a romantic and unrestrained man. Now it was his turn to be treated like this. He just felt that these stinky men were greasy and disgusting. Han Jing suppressed the discomfort in his heart, smiled softly, and pinched his throat and said: "Thank you for your kindness, sir."

Another man in a long gown who looked like a scholar said with a slight southern accent, "I think Miss Jing'er couldn't help but be curious after hearing the last line, 'The flower-bearing alleys in the south of the Yangtze River, the mist and rain are flowing freely.' This line is neither a poem nor a lyric. When I first heard it, I thought it was just pretentious, but it's not the case."

The young master said, "Oh?"

"That's the Jiangnan Hairpin Flower Alley. There is indeed such a place. At first, it was just poor prostitutes who stayed there to earn some money to support themselves, so it was named Hairpin Flower Alley. That place was messy and decent people didn't go there. Later, a group of gangsters who had committed crimes hid there. I don't know when, but that small alley was filled with those shameful people, and there were fewer prostitutes."

The young man patted Han Jing on the back and comforted him very considerately, "What does the latter sentence mean?"

"From the literal meaning, it seems that Jiangnan is rainy and always hazy, and Fengliu also refers to wind and dust. However, the murderer deliberately wrote this sentence on the wall, so there must be other meanings. Forgive my ignorance, I really don't understand."

"That Wan Baogui was rich but unkind. He insisted that the farmland of those farmers was wasteland and bought it at a low price. He was protected by high-ranking officials and forced others to have no way to survive. He deserved to die." The young master said, "If you ask me, the group of people in Zanhua Lane did a good thing."

Han raised his glass and said, "You two gentlemen are both very knowledgeable and far-sighted. I am not as good as you. I would like to toast you two. Please."

When everyone was wondering what kind of grudge Wan Baogui had with Zanhua Lane, Xun Yan quickly returned to the small courtyard in Huaicheng.

Shen Yingxue was lying on a chair basking in the sun. Next to her was a flowerpot with grass already growing in it. The little turtle was lying on the grass, looking as leisurely as Shen Yingxue.

Xun Yan was relieved to see that he was fine. He went into the house, changed his clothes and came out, "I have already done what the young master asked me to do."

Shen Yingxue was almost asleep in a daze. When she heard someone talking, she opened her eyes sleepily, looked at him, and then closed them again.

Xun Yan knew at a glance that Shen Yingxue had not woken up yet. Instead of calling him to get up, he went into the room to get a blanket and covered him with it.

A few days ago, Shen Yingxue told him that he needed a new identity, to build a new force, to gain a foothold in the martial arts world, so that he would not be like he is now, being hunted down and killed by others.

Xun Yan was worried about Shen Yingxue's condition, and was also afraid that the people in the dark department had ulterior motives, so he did not dare to let Shen Yingxue directly contact those people.

After much thought, he decided that he had to do this himself. He picked out the most famous Wan Baogui from among his many enemies, disguised himself as a guard of the Wan family, waited quietly for the right opportunity, killed him silently, and left behind the line of blood.

In this way, the reputation of Zanhua Lane became known.

Shen Yingxue slept until the evening and was awakened by the smell of food. He sat up still a little dazed. He rubbed his eyes and saw the familiar mosaic, "You're back."

"I came back this afternoon." Xun Yan walked around the kitchen and found that there was still a lot of food left. He knew at a glance that Shen Yingxue didn't eat well. "Master, have you eaten on time these days?"

Shen Yingxue pointed to the high wall outside and said, "Zhu Ling has people deliver food here every day."

The house they lived in was also very nice, but the original owner of the house was not high enough, and the wall was less than two meters high. But the Prince's Mansion next door was very large, and that was the back garden of the Prince's Mansion, and the wall was particularly high. Ordinary people had to use a ladder to climb over the wall.

Xun Yan didn't know what to say for a moment. He responded and took the bowl to fill with bean porridge. "You've made a good friend."

Shen Yingxue was watching a play while eating. After she finished eating, Xun Yan cleaned up the dishes and did not do anything else immediately. Instead, he told Shen Yingxue what he had done.

"Your old injury has not yet healed, so you should not overwork yourself. I am acting on my own initiative, please forgive me, sir."

"You don't have to be shy with me, just say whatever you want to say. I know that I sometimes go crazy and behave strangely." At this point, Shen Yingxue reflected on it. He was obviously a normal person, just with mosaics on his face. Why did he become like that?

Finally, the conclusion was that because the system always erased his memory, Shen Yingxue was too lazy to explain or to get to the bottom of it, so he let himself go and often used modern terms, almost like a real madman.

Shen Yingxue felt that this was not going to work, so he asked the system: [When will you stop changing my memory?]

The system said: [The memory related to the mission has not been moved.]

Shen Yingxue's mission is to successfully play the original owner, establish a gang, integrate into this world using the original owner's identity, and survive.

Thinking about it this way, he had been too passive before. Although every one of those righteous people could kill him, he could not keep running away. The most important thing was to make himself stronger.

Shen Yingxue said: [I understand.]

Xun Yan saw that he started to lose focus again in the middle of his speech, and thought that the leader also realized that something was wrong with his condition, but he was sick after all, and even if he knew that his words and actions were different, he couldn't control his behavior.

In the past, Shen Yingxue remembered nothing. Her former status and all his glory had nothing to do with him. Now Shen Yingxue's condition has gradually improved, and she has remembered some things, becoming more and more like the arrogant and powerful leader of the Demon Cult.

Can he accept his illness?

I'm afraid anyone would not be able to accept the fact that they were crazy, let alone Shen Yingxue?

Xun Yan didn't dare to provoke him, and waited quietly. After a long while, Shen Yingxue finally came back to her senses. He seemed to be unaware that he was distracted just now, and continued to speak as if nothing had happened: "The Anbu used to obey my orders. Are you afraid that they will know that I am crazy and have other intentions?"

Xun Yan said, "Young Master is very observant."

"Actually, this is not difficult to solve. You should be able to see that I am much better now than before." Shen Yingxue said.

In fact, Shen Yingxue was too timid before. Now that the task has finally been delivered to her, she has stopped watching TV series and started to take proactive actions.

Xun Yan was still hesitant: "But accidents are inevitable."

Shen Yingxue knew that she was a normal person. Except for the fact that she couldn't control the mosaic, her self-control was the same as that of a normal person. She would never lose control at a critical moment. But Xun Yan didn't know, and he couldn't explain it. Shen Yingxue was prepared. With a smile, she said to Xun Yan: "Isn't a crazy person more terrifying than a normal person?"

Xun Yan was silent.

Others might be afraid of the madman. He has been taking care of Shen Yingxue for too long. His impression of Shen Yingxue is that she is dazed and has a childlike curiosity. She is not intimidating at all.

But the Shen Yingxue in front of him was indeed different from before.

"You are right, sir." Xun Yan said, "But your injuries have not healed yet, so I am afraid you cannot use your internal energy. Please take care of yourself, sir."

This is indeed a problem. Shen Yingxue has also considered this situation. "Don't we still have you?"

Shen Yingxue insisted on doing it his own way, and Xun Yan had no choice but to agree to let him go to the Anbu in person. Zanhua Lane was not far from here, so there was no need to make much preparation, and it would take at most an hour to get there.

Xun Yan prepared the medicine and watched Shen Yingxue drink it. After Shen Yingxue fell asleep, he cleaned the bathroom, tidied the room, washed the clothes that Shen Yingxue had changed in the past few days, and hung them in the backyard. By the time he fell asleep, it was already late at night.

"Why are there so many people hanging around these days?" Liu Zhi bought a few dozen kilograms of rice and flour outside and pushed it back on a small wooden cart. The other brothers came over to help carry it back. Liu Yi looked back and saw that he had already turned several corners. The people outside did not follow him in.

"You don't know yet? Wan Baogui is dead, and the murderer left a few words on the wall, blaming it on Zanhua Lane, saying that our people killed him." A brother who was helping carried a bag of rice, bent it into a semicircle, and put it on his back. "Wan Baogui has nothing to do with us. Who knows who killed him in a rage, and was afraid of being retaliated against, so he used us as a scapegoat to make it easier for us to control him."

"Really?" Liu Yi also said in a sarcastic tone, "It's really rare. I thought no one remembered us. Ever since the incident in the church... I won't talk about it anymore."

"Those hypocrites are still trying to use the leader as a cover to fight among themselves. Aren't they afraid that the leader will come looking for them in the middle of the night?"

Lan Jin was standing at the door, and could clearly hear the conversation below. He shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you have nothing to do, why don't you go and test the poison for me?"

Liu Yi and the others quickly shut up and awkwardly carried the food to the kitchen.

The yard was clean, but Lan Jin was still standing under the eaves in a daze.

Everyone in the Anbu thought Shen Yingxue was dead. Given his personality, if she wasn't dead, how could there be no news at all? Not long ago, there were rumors that Shen Yingxue was still alive. After Han Jing stood up, the wind direction changed again. Everyone began to be suspicious and thought it was a conspiracy by Han Jing or the Yueyue Building. More people believed in Shen Yingxue's death.

Fortunately, Shen Yingxue is still alive, he has not forgotten the Anbu, and he is back.

There were footsteps in the alley again. Lan Jin came to his senses and glanced at the door casually. Unexpectedly, the person he was thinking of appeared. Lan Jin quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and saluted Shen Yingxue.

Xun Yan whispered to Shen Yingxue: "He is Lan Jin."

Shen Yingxue nodded: "Raise your head." Let me take a look at your mosaic.

Gu Liansheng is a lotus that can emit lasers. Since the name contains the word "Lan", could it be a picture of an orchid?

Lan Jin didn't understand, but still raised her head and met Shen Yingxue's cold eyes. With the corner of her eye, she noticed Xun Yan next to her. She felt like a basin of cold water was poured on her in winter, and she was cold from head to toe.

This person is not the same person as Shen Yingxue before!

Not just these days, but even in the past as well.

These two people really look alike, even if there are slight differences. Lan Jin thought it was because too much time had passed, he remembered it wrong, or Shen Yingxue was in a bad mood, so there was such a difference. When he noticed Xun Yan, he felt the familiar characteristics again, and instantly figured out the truth.

There have always been two Shen Yingxue, one is real and the other is fake.

The Shen Yingxue who appeared before was just his substitute.

After so many years, he never realized it and even cried and poured out his heart to the substitute!

Shen Yingxue saw a crying cat head.

Cats don't cry when they are sad, and they don't have many muscles on their faces, so they can't make complex expressions like humans. What Shen Yingxue saw was a photo-edited expression pack, with wet eyes and nose, and a human-like expression, which was very contagious.

Shen Yingxue couldn't help but laugh, "Get up."

Lan Jin didn't feel embarrassed when she was crying, but now the more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. She stood up with her hands and feet together, not knowing how to face Shen Yingxue.

No wonder the fake Shen Yingxue didn't trust his loyalty to the leader. He vomited blood for Shen Yingxue, became an alcoholic, unkempt, and lived in a daze for such a long time, but he couldn't even tell the real Shen Yingxue apart!

Shen Yingxue became even sadder when he saw the cat head, and couldn't help laughing out loud. He restrained himself in time, coughed, and said to Lan Jin: "Don't cry, am I that scary?"

Lan Jin was stunned. He didn't cry.

Shen Yingxue reached out and stroked the cat's head, "Say something else."

Lan Jin: "Master..."

Shen Yingxue was a little disappointed. The sound of the crying cat was actually normal, and it was a man's voice. If it was a young lady, it would be more adorable.

Shen Yingxue was too embarrassed to speak loudly to the poor cat head, so she said to him gently: "Call all the people in charge here."

Lan Jin took the order and went to inform others.

Xun Yan looked at Shen Yingxue standing in the middle of the yard, looking around with a calm look, as if she had never been here before. Thinking of his strange behavior just now, he was a little worried: "Master, are you okay?"

"It's okay." Shen Yingxue waved her hand, as if to get rid of something, "It's just a little too much..."

"What?"

“Mosaic, more than you thought.”

Who is Mosaic? What a strange name.

Xun Yan became even more worried.

Lan Jin brought seven or eight people with him. They all knew that Shen Yingxue was still alive. They were not too surprised to see him and saluted Shen Yingxue as before.

Shen Yingxue didn't recognize any of them, so she turned around and found a place to sit down. "You guys, introduce yourselves. Briefly tell me your name, age, gender, hobbies and specialties."

The Anbu leaders looked at each other in bewilderment.

Is this person really the leader? Why is he different from before? What are these strange requests? Could he be someone else pretending to be him?

Lan Jin also thought Shen Yingxue was strange, but he had known Shen Yingxue for a long time because he had studied medicine and poison with Luo Fu in Shattered Shadow Mountain. He was also good at recognizing people, and he could remember everyone he had met.

The reason why Xun Yan and Shen Yingxue were confused was that Xun Yan's disguise was so sophisticated that even the details were the same.

Lan Jin took a step forward and was the first to stand out. He introduced himself as Shen Yingxue requested: "I am Lan Jin, 27 years old, a man, specializing in medicine and poison."

Li Baiqi was the second one to come out. When the others saw that both of them had come out, they followed suit and briefly introduced themselves.

While these people were introducing themselves, Xun Yan was also whispering something.

Shen Yingxue matched their names with the mosaics and roughly understood the composition of the dark part. Fortunately, he added a gender. There was indeed a person whose mosaic did not match his gender. He looked petite and charming on the surface, but his voice was frighteningly rough. He was a man in his late 40s, which was really shocking.

After everyone finished speaking, Shen Yingxue stood up and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. I wonder if you all recognize me?"

His attitude was not strong, and he even smiled and looked very casual. But no one in the room dared to look down on him.

When Xun Yan pretended to be Shen Yingxue, he also used an unfriendly tone and criticized them, which was the same as what Shen Yingxue did. At that time, he put a lot of effort into showing Shen Yingxue's strength and personality traits. Now, seeing with his own eyes how nonchalant and free she was in her response, he felt even more that there was a gap between them.

Even if Shen Yingxue went crazy, she was still not comparable to ordinary people.

If Xun Yan is a hidden fanboy of Shen Yingxue, Lan Jin is an obvious one. He is very enthusiastic and does not hide it. He supports Shen Yingxue no matter what she says, "The master's achievements will last for thousands of years, and his divine power will spread all over the world. I dare not forget it."

The corners of Shen Yingxue's mouth twitched, "...There's no need to be so exaggerated."

It makes him sound like he is invincible in the East.

Shen Yingxue's thoughts wandered for a second, and she quickly asked the system: [My penis shouldn't be blurred by you, right?]

System: [Don't worry, I won't violate your privacy.]

Shen Yingxue felt relieved. With this interruption, he almost forgot what he was going to say. After thinking for a while, he remembered: "I know the strength of the Anbu, and I am not afraid of you digging up the truth. I asked you to come here today just to tell you that I am back now, but I don't plan to use my previous identity anymore. If you want to follow me, there is a place for you here. If you don't want to come, you can leave."

Lan Jin immediately expressed his loyalty and stood on Shen Yingxue's side. Li Baiqi also liked the working atmosphere here and chose to stay.

Seeing that the others were still hesitant, Li Baiqi said in a deep voice: "Zhanhua Lane is the territory of the Anbu, you should know that. You should also know who the Anbu belongs to. If you don't want to follow the leader, you don't have to stay in Zanhua Lane."

Zanhua Lane is like a stinking ditch, sheltering these homeless rats. If the rats leave here and appear on the ground, they will only end up being condemned by everyone.

Although Shen Yingxue seemed to have given them a choice, they had actually already cut off their own escape route, and the only way to survive was to follow Shen Yingxue.

The leaders knelt down and bowed to Shen Yingxue: "We swear to follow you till death, even if it means sacrificing our lives!"

"Okay." Shen Yingxue gave Xun Yan a wink.

Xun Yan took out the candy beans that Shen Yingxue had asked him to buy and gave one to each person.

Shen Yingxue said: "I will not explain what this thing is. All you need to know is that after you eat it, you will be loyal to me and nothing will happen. If you are curious about its effect, feel free to betray me and give it a try."

This is the routine that Shen Yingxue developed after watching many TV dramas.

If the effects and side effects of the drug are explained clearly, there will always be people who take the risk. If, like Dongfang Bubai did, he gave them the Three Corpses Brain Pill and asked them to take the antidote every month, their control would indeed become stronger, but the pressure on them would also be greater, and a force would be born, and they would betray him at all costs.

It would be better to say nothing and let them still guess. The unknown is the most terrifying.

If someone really betrayed her... Shen Yingxue didn't believe that these underworld people who lived on the edge of a knife could always be safe and sound. There would always be a time when they would be in trouble. She would be scared to death just by thinking.

Shen Yingxue said, "If you want to stay, eat it. If you don't want to stay, it's not too late to leave now. I won't stop you."

The blurred person, whose entire body was black except for his white teeth, held the pill tremblingly and didn't dare to swallow it for a long time. He kowtowed to Shen Yingxue three times, but he was too scared to speak.

Shen Yingxue waved her hand, "Let him go."

The black humanoid mosaic fled away.

Shen Yingxue said: "You all have seen it. I will keep my word and will never force you."

The remaining few people thought about what would happen to them after leaving Zanhua Lane, so they gritted their teeth and ate the candy pills. They tasted the sweetness outside and thought that this was what poison tasted like, without any objection.

Shen Yingxue smiled and said, "Well, you are indeed my capable men. I was right to take you in."

Lan Jin looked up at him and asked, "Could it be that the leader had predicted this day would come?"

Shen Yingxue took a look at the cat's head. Was it a licking cat?

Xun Yan saw Shen Yingxue was about to be in a daze again. In fact, Shen Yingxue had been distracted several times from just now until now. Fortunately, each time was not long, and she looked like she was thinking deeply, so these people didn't notice anything wrong. But this time, Shen Yingxue's emotions were obviously aroused.

I don’t know why, but Shen Yingxue gets easily emotional when she meets Lan Jin.

It seems that he is like this in front of Gu Liansheng as well... Are Lan Jin and Gu Liansheng similar in any way?

The similarity is so obvious that even Xun Yan, a straight man who has been single for nearly thirty years, can see it. Gu Liansheng, like Lan Jin, likes Shen Yingxue.

Then why did Shen Yingxue react like this?

Is it related to the spotted deer mentioned that day?

Shen Yingxue's true love, the wife he was destined to be with for life, had been living in the dark until her death. Shen Yingxue was deeply in love with her and extremely sad, and he decided to never marry again for her.

But he was strong-willed and would never confuse his children's love affair with the affairs of the Demon Cult. That woman was buried deep in Shen Yingxue's heart, never mentioned again, and no one knew about it anymore.

Xun Yan had noticed that when Shen Yingxue looked at people, she always liked to observe the other person's eyes.

Gu Liansheng's eyes and Lan Jin's eyes - even though they are of different genders, these two eyes full of friendship are the same.

Shen Yingxue was silent for a while and then came back to his senses. He had forgotten what Licking Cat had just said. He simply ignored his question and brought up the next topic, "You should know that three years ago, I was seriously injured and almost died at the hands of Fu Sheng."

No one dared to respond, and Xun Yan looked at him nervously, afraid that he would suddenly fall ill when he recalled the unpleasant experience.

Shen Yingxue put her hand on her abdomen, and her smile turned sinister. "I was stabbed twice here. Do you know how it feels?"

"Master." Xun Yan reminded softly, "Anyone who has hurt you will have to pay the price!"

"You are right." Shen Yingxue said, "Fu Sheng, Sang Zichen, Gu Liansheng, Tingxuan, Mo Qingyan, Long Yu, Chen Gui, Li Jingmeng... I am always thinking of these names, just waiting for an opportunity to kill them one by one.

"But opportunities don't come easily. It's hard for me to fight against tens of millions of people alone. Now is the time to rely on you." Shen Yingxue said, "You don't have to be afraid. I'm not a reckless man. I won't let you die in vain. Just look at Wan Baogui and you'll know."

Lan Jin asked: "Did you kill Wan Baogui?"

"It's time to get to know him." Shen Yingxue patted Xun Yan on the back. "From now on, all my instructions will be conveyed by him. This is not the first time you have met him. You have met him many times before."

Xun Yan looked at everyone coldly, without a trace of emotion, "I am the leader's personal bodyguard. I have followed the leader for sixteen years and was once the leader's substitute. Thanks to the leader's promotion, I am no longer the leader's shadow. My name is Xun Yan, you all remember it."

His voice is somewhat similar to Shen Yingxue's. Especially those who have met him not long ago can hear that the voice of this person when he speaks is exactly the same as the voice of Shen Yingxue when she loses her temper.

Shen Yingxue had been powerful for a long time, and Xun Yan had appeared as Shen Yingxue before, so no one dared to question him and they naturally accepted this new boss.

Shen Yingxue watched as Xun Yan established some new rules, and the Anbu also changed from a logistics department to a combat department.

The gangsters here are all violent and ruthless, that's why they got into trouble and hid here. They had to keep a low profile before, but now they heard that there is a chance to see the light of day again, and they are all very excited.

Shen Yingxue was very pleased and felt that the task was just around the corner.

After Xun Yan established his authority and made it clear in which direction the organization would develop, Shen Yingxue said, "Since we are going to have a completely new force, we naturally cannot call it the Demon Cult or the Anbu anymore."

Lan Jin asked, "What does the leader mean?"

Shen Yingxue thought about it, if it wasn't called Anbu, could it be renamed Root? Then as the boss, shouldn't he be called the head of the department? That's too weird.

But I can't use words like revenge, as it would be easy for people to find out my true identity.

He thought of the two sentences that Xun Yan had told him about, which he had left on the Wanbaogui wall. "Why not call it Zanhua, Zanhua Lane?"

Shen Yingxue asked Xun Yan at that time why he left these two sentences?

Xun Yan replied that because the alley where the Anbu was located was called Zanhua Lane, many people in Jiangnan knew it. As for the second half of the sentence, it was the space he left for Shen Yingxue to play.

In his heart, the leader is a romantic figure.

He is not only the best in martial arts, but also the best in mental toughness. However, now there may be another meaning of "romantic".

Shen Yingxue lay on the bed, unbuttoned his coat, took off the hairpin, and turned into a stay-at-home boy again. He took the pillow and put it under his chin, covering half of his face. He looked at Xun Yan with his eyes, "How is it, did I perform well?"

Xun Yan saw that he was like a child seeking praise from adults, so he smiled and said, "Young Master is naturally the best."

"I told you, I can control myself and won't make any mistakes." Unless he encounters a mosaic more magical than the crying cat head, he will have to make him laugh.

Xun Yan went to get a basin of water and brought it over to wipe Shen Yingxue's hands and face.

Shen Yingxue was in poor health, and running back and forth was very exhausting, not to mention that he had to be more alert in front of so many people. After returning, he was so tired that he fell asleep before Xun Yan finished wiping him.

Xun Yan saw that his face was buried in the pillow, his nose was blocked by the pillow, and he had difficulty breathing. He helped him turn over, covered him with a quilt, and walked out of the room.

The money he had was all donated by Gu Liansheng. He spent a lot of money on buying two houses. Although there was another house tenant who would pay rent, it was still not enough. Xun Yan was worried about Shen Yingxue and did not dare to go out to find a job.

Before Shen Yingxue got better, Xun Yan was still worried about how he would live in the future. Now he doesn't have to worry anymore.

With Zanhua Lane, they will soon be able to own some industries, grow stronger slowly, recruit soldiers and horses, and compete with other sects.

There was a knock on the door. Xun Yan went over and took a look through the crack in the door. He found that it was the young master of the Prince's Mansion. He opened the door and said to him, "My brother just drank the medicine and is now asleep. You should come back later."

Zhu Ling said, "I won't disturb him from resting. I'm just here to give him something and leave right away."

After saying that, he handed over a food box. Xun Yan thought that there might be food in it, so he accepted it, thanked Zhu Ling, and watched him leave before closing the door.

Zhu Ling is the second son of the neighboring Prince Zhongxin’s Mansion. They originally had an older son who was said to be smart and cute, combining all the advantages of the prince and princess. Both of them loved the older son very much and had high hopes for him.

Unexpectedly, God was jealous of his talent and the eldest son died before he was two years old.

The princess fell seriously ill and died within half a year. The prince was grief-stricken and never remarried or set foot in the backyard. He was thinking of his eldest son and never asked for a crown prince. Therefore, people outside only called Zhu Ling "Prince" and did not dare to call him "Crown Prince".

The prince was not interested in Zhu Ling's upbringing. This young man was generous and easy-going. Although he was a little arrogant, he was not a bad person. It was just that his status was too high. Even if Zhu Ling himself had no bad intentions, the people around him might have.

Although Xun Yan was a man of the world, he knew that Prince Zhongxin did not have a good relationship with several other princes. There were legends about them among the people, and some storytellers in restaurants and teahouses told stories that were magical.

Xun Yan didn't want Shen Yingxue to have too much contact with this young master, but it was not up to them to decide. This matter could only be postponed and the most important thing had to be dealt with first.

If he kills Wan Baogui, Wan Baogui's son and son-in-law will never let it go. They might bring their men to massacre Zanhua Lane at any time.

With a lot of ideas in mind, Xun Yan took the lunch box to the main room. He opened the lid and found that what was inside was not the food and snacks that Zhu Ling usually sent, but some medicinal herbs.

He had taken care of Shen Yingxue for so many years and was somewhat familiar with medicine. He carefully picked up the herbs and examined them.

This medicine should not be poisonous, and it is a rare and good medicine. It is difficult to buy it even if you have money. It is probably from the private warehouse of the prince.

It seems that Zhu Ling really treats his young master as a friend, which is why he sent him such a priceless miracle medicine.

Xun Yan was afraid of getting into trouble, so he carefully kept it and didn't dare to give it to Shen Yingxue directly. However, Zhu Ling's action also aroused his thoughts. He really should give the leader some supplements, but they didn't have so much money, nor did they have such great power to buy such good medicinal materials.

Xun Yan thought about how he had raised a lot of chickens and ducks when he was in Shitou Village. Now the yard was empty, so he might as well go out and buy a chicken and make chicken soup for Shen Yingxue.

He took the money and went out. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the swordsman in white lingering at the door.

Xun Yan's eyes turned cold and he quietly took out the weapon from his sleeve.

Jiang Hanfeng looked at him indifferently, as if he didn't know him, and turned and entered another house.

Xun Yan looked at the tall mahogany door over there. It seemed to be the old residence of the Duke of Feng. The current Duke of Feng had been an official in Kyoto in his early years, and his family had moved there several decades ago. In this house, there seemed to be only a few servants in charge of repairs and daily cleaning.

Yuding Villa is not far from Kyoto. Did Jiang Hanfeng get permission from Duke Feng to stay here temporarily?

Did he recognize himself? Did he know that Shen Yingxue lived here?

Xun Yan didn't dare to buy chicken, so he turned around and went back. Just as he was about to close the door, Zhu Ling came running over again.

The young man jumped down the stairs and walked to the front door of his house in a few steps. He tried to wink at Xun Yan, "Did you see that? The man just now was the swordsman, right? He must be plotting something bad against Ling Yun, so he chased after him relentlessly!"

Xun Yan nodded.

Zhu Ling said, "You have only known Ling Yun for a short time. If you don't want to take care of him, just leave him to me. I will definitely be able to protect him and prevent that swordsman from bullying him."

Xun Yan thought about it for a while, this is a good time to cut off the relationship with Zhu Ling, "No need, I will move out with Ling Yun."

"Move away? Didn't you just move in?" Zhu Ling was unhappy. "My father asked about it yesterday. He was very happy to know that I made friends. He immediately took out the medicine from the storeroom and asked me to give it to Ling Yun to replenish his body. My father also said that he would bring Ling Yun to the house to play when he has time. I haven't even met him, and you are moving away."