Yan Liang gripped the reins tightly, preventing himself from rushing forward excitedly to greet them.
The young man dragging the old man noticed the unfamiliar gaze and looked at Yan Liang. The moment their eyes met, the young man—Bai Yutang—frowned almost imperceptibly, puzzled by the faint sense of familiarity.
Master Gui Sun struggled behind Bai Yutang. He had interacted with Bai Yutang before, but "Da Zhi Da Tong" did not give Bai Yutang the answer he wanted. He himself did not want to deal with Bai Yutang. It just so happened that he was out of money this time and that Bai Yutang had come to redeem him from the brothel.
Yan Liang glanced at Master Guisun, then at his old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years, and gave him a friendly smile: "I have a favor to ask of Master Guisun. Would it be possible for us to travel together?"
Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows slightly, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement: "Whatever you say."
Yan Liang then led the horse and followed behind him. Only after they left the brothel did Bai Yutang release Master Guisun's collar, allowing Master Guisun to lead them to find Dazhi Datong.
Master Guisun led the way, clutching his neck, while Yan Liang led his horse alongside Bai Yutang. Bai Yutang seemed unwilling to engage in a friendly conversation with him. Yan Liang sensed that his friend, who had mistakenly entered this strange world, was preoccupied. After a moment's thought, he decided not to speak.
Dazhi Datong met Bai Yutang and Yan Liang in an abandoned cellar in the suburbs. The old man, Guisun, said some pretentious nonsense to the two of them. Under Bai Yutang's impatient gaze and Yan Liang's smiling stare, he awkwardly stopped talking. Before he went into the cellar, he couldn't help but take another look at Yan Liang - he always felt that the young man's eyes were somewhat meaningful, almost making him think that the other party saw through everything.
However, in reality, Yan Liang did see everything clearly.
He even thought it was truly admirable that Master Gui Sun could play three roles at once and keep this disguise hidden for so many years.
Master Gui Sun crawled into the cellar, and then his wise and insightful voice came out through a small hole, inviting them to ask questions. Bai Yutang glanced at Yan Liang, who said, "My business is not urgent."
Bai Yutang then took out fifty taels of silver, threw it in, and asked, "Where is the headquarters of Wuyan Pavilion?"
Yan Liang looked at the young man beside him in surprise. The young man stood with his arms crossed, glanced at him after noticing his gaze, and then stared back at the cellar entrance, waiting for the wise and insightful answer.
"The northern border region."
"Great wisdom answered."
"..." Bai Yutang sneered, "Do you think I'm stupid? The northern frontier is vast. You only think it's in the northern frontier? How am I supposed to find it?"
After a moment of silence in the cellar, the main passageway announced: "Two questions, one hundred taels."
Yan Liang: ...The old man is quite bold.
Bai Yutang had already learned of their eccentric temperaments when he dealt with them half a year ago, but even so, he was almost amused by their anger: "Fine, I won't ask you those two questions anymore. I'll only ask you one last question—who exactly is Wang Lianhua?"
Yan Liang: "...!!???"
He looked at Bai Yutang again in surprise. The young man was throwing fifty taels of silver into the cellar. Noticing his gaze, Bai Yutang looked back with confusion and impatience. Yan Liang coughed dryly with one fist to his mouth to cover up his embarrassment and shock.
Bai Yutang's gaze lingered on Yan Liang for a moment, when Dazhi in the cellar caught his attention. Dazhi said, "Wang Lianhua's origins are unknown, but he is acquainted with the head and acting head of the Wuyan Pavilion. He is skilled in disguise and suddenly revealed himself three months ago. Before that, he was unknown in the martial arts world."
Yan Liang thought, "It would be strange if Wang Lianhua was even famous in the martial arts world before."
That guy isn't even from this world, okay?
Bai Yutang fell into deep thought after Dazhi's answer, and he had a vague and uncertain guess about Wang Lianhua's identity. After thinking for a while, he noticed that the young man in gray next to him had once again focused his gaze on him, so he couldn't help but look back.
"I've finished asking." Bai Yutang subtly sized up the gray-clad young man in front of him. The man had a hint of a smile in his eyes and looked at him with a complicated expression—but Bai Yutang didn't feel any aversion or displeasure.
"Go ahead and ask."
As he spoke, he suddenly realized that he did not know the young man's name.
Yan Liang coughed lightly, glanced at Bai Yutang, and said to the old man in the cellar, "I don't have fifty taels of silver on me, but I have something worth fifty taels of silver. May I ask you about it in exchange?"
After pondering for a moment in the cellar, Master Guisun realized that the area was deserted and he didn't want to go out and deal with these two troublesome fellows again. So he said in a loud voice, "Okay, but after you get the answer, you'd better go with the person next to you. We don't like meeting people."
Bai Yutang snorted coldly upon hearing this and remained silent, but nodded slightly when Yan Liang turned his gaze to him, which was considered as agreeing to Dazhi Datong's request.
Yan Liang took out a jade pendant from his pocket and threw it in, asking, "Have any people of unknown origin like Wang Lianhua appeared in the martial arts world in recent years?"
Bai Yutang stood with his arms crossed, somewhat puzzled by the identity of the young man beside him.
This question seemed difficult to answer even for Dazhi and Datong. After a long silence in the cellar, Dazhi finally gave his answer.
"This is Master Bai Wu beside you, and his friend Zhan Zhao."
Yan Liang remained silent.
...Zhan Zhao is here too??
He had a vague feeling that something was wrong—it was all too coincidental, so coincidental that it seemed like someone had done it on purpose.
Yan Liang had a premonition that Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao, and Wang Lianhua were not the only ones drawn into this world; there must be others.
In the cellar, the old man, Mr. Gui, counted his silver coins and held his jade pendant with satisfaction, while Yan Liang and Bai Yutang left the outskirts and headed into the city.
It is late spring now, and the weather is changeable. Dark clouds are gradually gathering on the horizon, and a cool breeze carrying the fragrance of grass and trees sweeps across the open fields, causing the grass to sway. The city gate in the distance is faintly visible.
Seeing Yan Liang's strange expression after hearing the answer, Bai Yutang asked him, "Why did you ask that question?... Could it be that Wang Lianhua is someone you know?"
Yan Liang thought for a moment and said, "He is my friend."
Bai Yutang's expression turned cold. He gripped the hilt of his sword and said in a cold voice, "So you're also from the Smokeless Pavilion?"
"I'm not," Yan Liang denied quickly, and smiled slightly. "I just need to talk to him, or rather, I need to talk to you."
As dusk settled and dark clouds gathered overhead, a torrential downpour began in an instant.
As Yan Liang spoke, he pulled an oil-paper umbrella from the bundle on the horse's back. He opened the umbrella as the heavy rain began to fall and smiled at Bai Yutang under it: "Long time no see, Bai Yutang."
The young man, whose name was called by the young man, was slightly taken aback. His eyes seemed to flash with countless lights. After a long while, he said, "You've seen me before?"
Yan Liang said, "I have met you."
Bai Yutang stared at the young man in front of him, the sound of rain pattering in his ears, raindrops being blown into his umbrella by the wind. He said, "Speak plainly. You say you've seen me before, but I have no recollection of you whatsoever—why don't you tell me your name, maybe I'll remember you."
Yan Liang chuckled. He had originally intended to be more tactful, but since the other party had said so, he decided to be direct: "I am Yan Liang."
Bai Yutang: "..."
The straight shot was so powerful that Bai Yutang was speechless.
The rain was pouring down, and Bai Yutang almost doubted whether he had misheard, but the young man's eyes were bright, his smile sincere and open—he actually saw the shadow of the Yan Liang he knew in him.
“…You come back to the inn with me first.” Bai Yutang made a decision. The recent events had already made him anxious, and this young man who called himself Yan Liang was even more confusing and perplexing to him. The outskirts of the city was not a good place to talk, so he asked Yan Liang to come back to the inn with him in the city.
Yan Liang followed Bai Yutang's instructions, leading his horse into the city and heading to the inn where Bai Yutang was staying.
The two changed their splashed clothes, and Yan Liang went downstairs to feed the horse some hay before knocking on Bai Yutang's door. He drawled out his words, "I'm here—Fifth Master Bai—"
Bai Yutang opened the door and, with a complicated expression, let him into the room. After closing the door, he turned around and saw Yan Liang sitting at the table, smiling at him.
"...Are you really Yan Liang?"
As soon as Bai Yutang spoke, he gave the answer himself: the person was Yan Liang. When Yan Liang said his name, Bai Yutang understood where the vague sense of familiarity came from.
The other party never tried to hide his behavior; even though his appearance had changed, you could still see traces of his past in his actions.
Bai Yutang had been thinking alone in his room for a long time. If he and Zhan Zhao could come to this strange world, then why was it impossible for Yan Liang to still be alive here?
Yan Liang smiled at him and said, "Long time no see."
Bai Yutang looked at him and said, "It's been a long time."
＊
Half a month ago, Baihualou was surrounded by assassins from Wuyange. The leader, dressed in red and smiling, called himself Wang Lianhua. He took away Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou. Zhan Zhao tried to stop him, but he was no match for the man and was also taken away.
Bai Yutang was fighting with other assassins and couldn't make a move in time. He then fell into a coma due to Wang Lianhua's drug. When he woke up, he only saw the empty Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
The other party took the initiative to give his name. Bai Yutang didn't know much about the martial arts world, only that Wuyan Pavilion was a famous assassin organization. Thinking of Dazhi Datong, with whom he had previously met, he came to Suzhou specifically to find Master Guisun, hoping to get some clues.
Unexpectedly, they didn't find many clues, but they did encounter Yan Liang, which was a pleasant surprise.
"Aren't you good at fortune telling? Can you predict their whereabouts?" Bai Yutang asked.
Yan Liang drawled, "Didn't Fifth Master Bai say he wouldn't believe it—?"
"You have no choice but to believe it." Bai Yutang said irritably, "You've been acting all mysterious. I originally thought you were just a fool, but who would have thought you're not a fool at all, but actually a master."
The reclusive master Yan accepted Bai Yutang's praise, then pretended to calculate with his fingers and said, "They are not in the northern frontier now... but in Suzhou."
His expression suddenly became very strange.
Bai Yutang sensed something was wrong and looked at Yan Liang questioningly.
Yan Liang met his gaze and said, "I roughly know where they are in Suzhou."
They must have been at the Mu residence back then.
Author's Note: Here I come!
Boss Wang is here! _(:з」∠)_
Is there anyone else you'd like to see? I'll check if they're on my itinerary. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-05-03 22:15:58 and 2020-05-04 21:17:56!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: one live little angel has been caught;
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: shine (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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