Under the blazing sun, the summer mountains are lush and green, filled with the sounds of birds and cicadas.
At the edge of the official road, there was a teahouse with only three or four customers. The tea server sat lazily in his chair, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan. He glanced up and saw a girl in white, wearing a veiled hat and leading a horse, walking out of the teahouse.
"A bowl of herbal tea, please."
The girl in white spoke, her voice clear and crisp, yet somewhat aloof.
"Alright~" The tea server jumped up from his chair to pour tea for the woman, while the girl had already tied her horse to the wooden fence outside the tea stall.
This girl was none other than Yi Yaoqing, who had come from Yihua Palace. She had been heading towards Jiangnan for many days after leaving the palace. A few days later, she received a letter from the palace master. Every disciple who had been sent out of the palace received the letter, which instructed those who had free time to go to the Jiang family in Jiangnan to capture Jiang Feng's page, Jiang Qin.
Yi Yaoqing couldn't understand the Palace Master Yaoyue's thoughts, but after leaving the palace for many days, she did find out about a "scarred and ferocious-looking boy" in several towns, but then she lost track of Yan Liang; at the same time, she heard rumors about "the charlatan Yama" in the martial arts world.
The "charlatan Yama" was named Yan Liang. He always wore gray clothes, carried a black staff, had a scar on his face, and was a chivalrous and righteous man who told fortunes.
Yi Yaoqing: "..."
Although the Yan Liang she knew didn't use a magic staff as a weapon, nor had he ever told fortunes, Yi Yaoqing immediately recognized that the "charlatan Yama" was Yan Liang.
Yi Yaoqing even had a bit of a headache—that person had finally been released from Yihua Palace, so why was he swaggering around the martial arts world like this? And even became a charlatan.
From the rumors about the activities of the "charlatan Yama," it can be seen that Yan Liang went to Jiangnan. Yi Yaoqing received a letter from the Palace Master. She originally wanted to go to Jiangnan to try her luck. After receiving the letter, she thought that even if she couldn't find Yan Liang, she could still capture Jiang Qin and bring her back to report.
Lost in thought, Yi Yaoqing saw the tea server bring tea to the table, so she removed her veil and placed it on the table, then picked up the teacup to quench her thirst. Before entering the Yihua Palace in her childhood, she had wandered for a period of time, and now, after many years away from the palace, seeing things she used to see often gave her a feeling of both strangeness and familiarity.
She sat at the table lost in thought when she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. Yi Yaoqing glanced casually at the dust flying on the official road and then looked away.
The black horse stopped outside the teahouse. The gray-clad youth on horseback leaped down, tied the horse outside, patted its head affectionately, and walked into the teahouse.
The young man was facing Yi Yaoqing. When he turned around, he revealed his handsome face. Yi Yaoqing didn't look at him for long, but secretly compared the young man's face with that of the most handsome man in the world. She actually thought the young man was more handsome.
If Palace Master Yaoyue were to see this person... cough cough.
Yi Yaoqing immediately stopped thinking about this. When she was young, she entered the Yihua Palace only to survive. She didn't have much respect or fear for Yaoyue Lianxing. Now that she had left the valley and was far away from the Yihua Palace, she had become a bit presumptuous.
The handsome young man chatted with the tea server for a few moments with a smile. Yi Yaoqing vaguely felt that the voice sounded familiar. After lowering her eyes and thinking for a moment, she looked up again and saw that the young man had sat down opposite her with a teacup.
He lazily rested his chin on his hand, his starry eyes smiling, and winked at Yi Yaoqing without saying a word.
Yi Yaoqing looked into those familiar eyes, her heart stirred, and she hesitated before asking, "...Yan Liang?"
Yan Liang confirmed her answer: "I remain true to my name and surname; it is indeed I."
Yi Yaoqing's expression was complicated. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Now that you have seen me, you should understand why I left the valley."
Yan Liang feigned ignorance: "I don't understand."
Yi Yaoqing glanced at him and said, "Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenü have run away. The Palace Master sent me to capture you. You should stay away from me instead of walking into a trap."
Yan Liang smiled, feeling that the other party was more lively than when they were at Yihua Palace, and said, "But you are talking to me now, and you haven't captured me."
Yi Yaoqing choked, looked at the young man in front of her again, hesitated for a moment, and then said frankly, "You are not the same as before. Even if Yaoyue and Lianxing Palace Master see you again, they will not recognize you. I do not want to capture you. If you want to live, you would better stay away from me."
"Then how did you recognize me?"
Yan Liang raised an eyebrow.
Yi Yaoqing was a little unhappy that he ignored what she was about to say, but she still answered his question: "After all, I have spent more than a month with you, so of course I can recognize your eyes."
What she didn't say was that Yan Liang's eyes were as bright as stars, and his smile was beautiful, reminiscent of a cool breeze and a starry river. Yi Yaoqing had never seen such eyes before.
Yan Liang could recognize people by their eyes, so he asked her this question just to change the subject. Seeing that Yi Yaoqing answered seriously, he smiled and agreed. He then glanced at the tea server who was secretly pricking up his ears and said, "It's been a long time. Where are you going? If it's on the same route, why don't we travel together?"
They spoke softly, and the tea server was only curious because he saw the man and woman chatting happily, but he didn't hear much of what they were saying. When he met Yan Liang's gaze, he quickly turned his face away, fanning himself and pretending that he wasn't the one who had been listening intently.
Yi Yaoqing found Yan Liang's suggestion unbelievable. Seeing Yan Liang casually drinking tea after saying this, she couldn't help but say angrily, "Did you just ignore what I said? I didn't arrest you because I didn't want to, but if you want to live, don't get too close to me."
Yan Liang gulped down a bowl of tea, slammed the bowl down on the table, and said righteously, "Of course I want to live. Since I made this suggestion, it's because I'm sure your Palace Master can't do anything to me."
"Heh." Yi Yaoqing couldn't help but sneer, "Who was it that was picked up by Palace Master Yaoyue and brought back to the palace covered in wounds? And who was dragged down the mountain by Palace Master Lianxing? If you really had the strength to defeat the two palace masters, you wouldn't have been trapped in Yihua Palace back then."
Yan Liang thought to himself that this girl really hit the nail on the head. He smiled and said, "The palace is far away, so it's alright to travel together. After saying so much, where are you going?"
Yi Yaoqing knew early on that she couldn't go against him, so she said, "The Palace Master sent me to capture you. I didn't know where you were, so I thought of going to Jiangnan to find you. A few days ago, the Palace Master sent a message asking me to go to Jiangnan to capture a person named Jiang Qin."
Yan Liang raised an eyebrow: "Jiang Qin?"
“He’s Jiang Feng’s pageboy…” Yi Yaoqing suddenly noticed the subtle expression on the boy’s face and asked, “You know him?”
Yan Liang: "Of course I know. I went to the Jiang family to let Jiang Feng know I was safe, and I went out with him."
Yi Yaoqing asked in confusion, "Since you've already gone to Jiangnan, why are you here again? Where is Jiang Qin?"
Yan Liang: "Jiang Qin and I went out to pick up Jiang Feng and take him home, but we encountered some things on the way, and then we saw Jiang Feng and Miss Hua. Jiang Qin had already gone back to comfort Butler Jiang."
A long silence.
Yi Yaoqing could only describe her feelings as utterly unexpected. She even felt that if she stayed with Yan Liang, she might be the one to die—knowing something she shouldn't know would certainly not end well if Palace Master Yaoyue found out.
"...Where are you going this time?" Yi Yaoqing selectively ignored Yan Liang's information-packed question. "Have you regained your memories?"
"I've found a clue related to my past and I'm on my way to find someone," Yan Liang said. "Since we're going the same way, shall we travel together?"
“…Let’s go.” Yi Yaoqing replied weakly. “Who are you looking for?”
"Oh, Xiao Mimi, one of the Ten Villains."
Yan Liang said nonchalantly.
Yi Yaoqing: "…………"
＊
Yi Yaoqing has an interesting personality. While she can be described as cold and aloof, she still rolls her eyes at Yan Liang and criticizes him more clearly than she did at Yihua Palace. However, she is not fiery and passionate, but rather indifferent. In fact, she is more familiar with him than she was at Yihua Palace.
During their time together, she witnessed Yan Liang's fortune-telling skills and martial arts prowess, which puzzled her—after all, she could say she knew Yan Liang best before. When the young man was seriously injured, he never mentioned fortune-telling or divination, nor did he ever show off his skills in front of her.
Now, after several months apart, when they meet again, Yan Liang is still the same unreliable Yan Liang. His injuries have healed, and the scars on his face have disappeared. In addition to having excellent martial arts skills, he has also learned fortune telling.
Based on the time it took for the name "Deadly Yama" to spread, this person began to act as a chivalrous knight as soon as he left the Yihua Palace, making a name for himself with his weapon, the charlatan, and later earning the title of "Charlatan Yama" by fortune telling.
Yi Yaoqing couldn't help but wonder if this person had truly lost his memory. She directly asked Yan Liang for confirmation, but Yan Liang solemnly told her that he truly had no memories of the past.
However, when Yi Yaoqing pressed him about being a "charlatan" and possessing martial arts skills, Yan Liang simply remained silent with an apologetic expression, even changing the subject.
Yi Yaoqing wasn't one to pester, and Yan Liang was always frank. Since he wasn't willing to talk about it, she stopped asking.
The summer heat was intense. Yan Liang and Yi Yaoqing had been traveling for many days when, at noon, they dismounted and rested in the shade of a tree. Ahead lay a fork in the main road, where two major roads met, their sides lined with lush trees and verdant lawns.
Yan Liang sat cross-legged under the tree, lazily watching two horses grazing not far away, one white and one black, complementing each other perfectly.
They are still nearly 300 miles away from Jiangnan, and Yi Yaoqing has yet to meet Xiao Mimi, whom Yan Liang mentioned and who is connected to his background.
"If you're looking for Xiao Mimi, why don't you go to the Valley of Villains?" Yi Yaoqing stood firmly by the tree, refusing to sit, and asked him, "If you search aimlessly like this, you'll never find her in your entire life."
Yan Liang laughed: "Who said I was looking for people aimlessly?"
Yi Yaoqing, who had been looking at the two horses, couldn't help but glance at him upon hearing this and said, "I said it."
Yan Liang looked up at her, took out a fox mask from his sleeve and put it on before speaking. His voice was somewhat distorted and muffled through the mask, but a hint of laughter could be heard: "I was waiting for her to come to me."
Yi Yaoqing had been watching him wear a mask from the very beginning and almost wondered if he was sunburnt—why was he wearing a mask in such hot weather?
Hearing Yan Liang's profound words, she couldn't help but purse her lips, thinking to herself, "If you don't know, you don't know; if you're just looking for something, you're just looking for something. Why pretend to be so profound?"
A carriage was approaching in the distance. Yi Yaoqing ignored Yan Liang's nonsensical remark and turned to look when she heard the sound of hooves. The carriage was exquisitely designed, with its curtains fluttering. The man driving it wore a bamboo hat and stood upright.
Yi Yaoqing noticed that the man also glanced at them casually, but when he saw Yan Liang, he peeked out slightly, as if trying to see Yan Liang's appearance clearly. After watching for a while, the carriage sped up a little.
The carriage passed by not far from the two of them. Yi Yaoqing saw a woman in green sitting in the carriage through the swaying curtains. She was beautiful and looked out with interest, and her eyes met Yi Yaoqing's.
Then the woman in green shifted her gaze slightly and looked at the gray-clad boy sitting cross-legged on the ground.
In just a moment, the carriage drove away, but Yi Yaoqing did not miss the green-clad woman's shifting gaze, and the look in her eyes when she saw Yan Liangshi as if she had spotted prey.
Yan Liang spoke very softly, just enough for Yi Yaoqing, who was standing next to him, to hear.
"Look, she's come to us."
Author's Note: I'm here!
While browsing Bilibili, I saw some clips related to Bai Zhantang, and it suddenly reminded me of a time when mentioning Bai Zhantang would inexplicably make me think of Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao.
Bai Yutang + Zhan Zhao = Bai Zhantang
There's this inexplicable equation in my head.
And Sha Yi was truly a heartthrob when he was young _(:з」∠)_
Yeah, and Uncle Shen Teng too, hahaha.
The most handsome guy from the PLA Academy of Arts thanks all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 18:08:25 on April 19, 2020 and 22:43:38 on April 20, 2020!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Poetry and Wine in Youth (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Little Friend, Wind Warm & Cloud Sleep 10 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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