On a hot summer day, the streets were deserted, with only the incessant chirping of cicadas.
Ximen and Feng leaned against the window and saw two carriages slowly approaching in the distance.
The carriage stopped in front of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, and several people emerged.
Ximen Hefeng spotted Pang Yu emerging from the second carriage at a glance, and excitedly stood up straight, hoping that the other party would also see him.
But the first to look up was the gray-clad man who got off the car around the same time as Pang Yu.
The man looked up and saw Ximen Hefeng, squinted slightly, and gave him a friendly smile.
Hua Manlou was pleasantly surprised by their arrival. He had also learned about Fang Yingkan and Pang Yu's existence from Ye Gucheng and Ximen Hefeng beforehand, and gently poured them tea.
Pang Yu was filled with admiration for Hua Manlou, such an outstanding person, who was blind. He obediently thanked and greeted Hua Manlou. Fang Yingkan smiled and thanked him, feeling sorry for him.
When Hua Manlou discovered that Wang Lianhua was still a young girl, his expression became very subtle. He turned his head slightly to "look" at Yan Liang. Yan Liang touched his nose and looked up at the sky—he himself did not expect that Wang Lianhua could persist in acting for so long, it was as if she was deliberately going against him.
Thinking that he might live here for another ten years or so, Yan Liang used all his savings to buy a small house diagonally opposite Baihua Tower.
He was now truly penniless, so Yan Liang resumed fortune-telling to make money. Lu Xiaofeng's lips twitched as he watched, and he asked, "Have you been fortune-telling all this time?"
Yan Liang nodded in agreement, looking both proud and smug: "Yes."
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
He thought about it for a moment, a fortune teller holding a weapon called a fortune teller... a sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.
People near Baihua Tower still vaguely remembered Yan Liang from back then, and when they saw someone with the same name and fortune-telling skills, they curiously gathered around for several days. But after all, a long time had passed, and the children's memories of Yan Liang from back then had become blurred, while the adults never connected the two, only sighing a few times about the impermanence of life and the changes in people.
Yan Liang saw the children who used to pester him. They had grown into young adults, but he only had a vague impression of them. There are many things that can be forgotten in five years, not to mention that Yan Liang had been away from this place for far more than five years.
It is understandable to be forgotten by others, and it is also understandable to forget others.
Ye Gucheng and Ximen Hefeng remained in Jiangnan. Ximen Hefeng reunited with Pang Yu after a short separation and excitedly pestered him after practicing swordsmanship every day. Ye Gucheng would spend his free time sitting on the second floor of Baihua Tower.
When Ye Gucheng saw Yan Liang greet the local residents—including both young and adult people—with a smile, and then reveal a slightly lonely expression, a thought struck him, and he vaguely understood why Yan Liang hadn't revealed his identity to him back then.
“Dead is dead. To reappear before people when they have already begun to forget is too cunning.” When Ye Gucheng asked him about it, Yan Liang calmly stated his initial thoughts.
Yan Liang initially had no intention of revealing his identity; he still used the name Yan Liang, but he would not admit that he was the same person he was back then.
"But your behavior still betrayed it," Ye Gucheng stated, "and before you left, you called me 'Ye Feixian'."
The scene where the man in white calmly uttered the joking remark was too subtle, and Yan Liang's feelings were also very subtle.
Ye Gucheng added, "If you don't want to reveal your identity, you can use a pseudonym. If you use the name Yan Liang, everyone will think of you."
Yan Liang placed his fingers on the table and said solemnly, "The name is the bottom line, and it will never be changed."
Having experienced so many worlds, with different faces and different figures, Yan Liang could hardly remember what his face looked like at the beginning.
A name is a mark, a symbol.
But to use the name of a deceased person and behave in a similar manner is ultimately a cunning act.
The young man in gray lowered his eyes, staring at his hands. Ye Gucheng couldn't see his expression, but he could guess his mood.
Although cunning and selfish... he still hoped to be discovered.
That's why she used the old name "Ye Feixian" to refer to Ye Gucheng.
If it weren't for Wang Lianhua causing trouble, Yan Liang wouldn't have made up his mind to reveal his identity to Lu Xiaofeng and the others, since they didn't have any suspicions about his identity like Wang Lianhua did from the beginning.
Having said all he could say, Ye Gucheng understood Yan Liang's thoughts. There seemed to be no point in continuing the conversation, so he said, "Baiyun City welcomes you."
Yan Liang looked up at the man in white and smiled, "Alright."
——————
Wang Lianhua's identity has been exposed.
After Yan Liang kicked him into the water, the man took off his wet coat on the riverbank and pulled out a fish from it.
The group of people who emerged from the woods stared in disbelief at the unrestrained young woman, their gazes lingering for a moment on "her" chest before belatedly realizing the truth.
During the hot summer, Yan Liang invited them to go to the mountains to cool off. However, Hua Guniang and Dongfang insisted on standing next to Yan Liang to annoy him. In a fit of anger, Yan Liang kicked her into the water.
The group that heard the splash rushed to the scene and immediately saw this sight:
Dongfang Bubai watched the show with a leisurely air, Yan Liang smiled with his sleeves tucked in, while Hua Guniang took off her outer garment, picked up the fish, and looked annoyed.
Everyone: "..."
Yan Liang: "..."
"—What's going on?"
Bai Yutang gritted his teeth.
"Regarding what you've seen," Wang Lianhua said calmly, "Do you remember me?"
He used his original voice again.
Bai Yutang's face darkened, and he gripped the hilt of his knife with his other hand. Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Liang turned and ran. The two of them ran wildly through the mountains, getting further and further away.
The culprit, Wang Lianhua, wrung out his clothes without a care in the world, put them on, and swaggered off the mountain.
Zhan Zhao followed behind him, and asked with difficulty, "Is this what you and Yan Liang were hiding?"
"yes."
“They’re all fake,” Dongfang Bubai added.
Pang Yu belatedly realized: "But Yan Liang said he had a past relationship with you?"
Fang Yingkan, who had been walking ahead without looking back, turned around and glanced at Wang Lianhua upon hearing this.
Dongfang Bubai couldn't help but laugh.
Wang Lianhua said, "What he said is not wrong, but it should be... four relationships, plus this one, so it should be five relationships."
A philandering husband and his devoted wife, a devoted lover and his unfaithful wife, a top scholar and a courtesan, a devoted man and a heartless woman with a hidden reason...
Dongfang Bubai had naturally heard them tell the latter two parts of the story and knew that he had been given a strange role without his knowledge.
Now, hearing Wang Lianhua mention this matter, he found it amusing.
Pang Yu felt conflicted upon hearing this. In a moment of impulsiveness, without thinking, he said, "You guys have so much free time."
What else could motivate someone to do something like this if they were just bored?
Wang Lianhua gave him a half-smile, and Pang Yu felt a chill run down his spine, silently shrinking behind Zhan Zhao.
The flower girl and this Wang Lianhua... they are completely different people.
After descending the mountain, Lu Xiaofeng learned of this and was stunned.
He genuinely believed that the young woman hated Yan Liang intensely, and even lamented about the nature of love in the world. Little did he know that it was all... a lie?
Hua Manlou remained unfazed, which saddened Lu Xiaofeng—was Hua Manlou just watching him sigh the whole time?
That's outrageous!
After being chased and slashed by Bai Yutang with a knife, Yan Liang sneaked back to Baihua Tower, panting heavily as he lay on the table. Bai Yutang soon followed him back, angrily accusing Yan Liang of being unreasonable—he had thought they were hiding something important, something that couldn't be said or not allowed to be said... but he never expected it to be this kind of, this kind of nonsense!
Yan Liang apologized profusely, but the others showed no intention of helping him. Instead, they watched the show with glee. It took Yan Liang a lot of persuasion to calm Bai Wuye down.
When Ye Gucheng learned the true gender and identity of the flower girl, he was stunned for a moment without showing any emotion, but his expression remained normal. Ximen Hefeng, on the other hand, accepted the fact that the older sister had become an older uncle quite naturally, and began to call Wang Lianhua "uncle".
This sudden change in age, a generation older, left Wang Lianhua with mixed feelings.
Yan Liang mocked him, "You're not a kid anymore, do you still expect people to call you 'brother'?"
"But I've never seen you call me 'uncle', my dear nephew."
Wang Lianhua glanced at him sideways, a half-smile on her face.
Yan Liang immediately changed his address to "Uncle Wang!"
Wang Lianhua had heard him call her that all afternoon, but she still felt that it had a hidden meaning, so she said, "Good disciple, call me Master."
"Master Wang."
"...Do you really have to add the name 'Old Wang'?"
"You're not a kid anymore, are you still going to call me Master Wang?"
"...Shut up."
The onlookers twitched at the corners of their mouths, finding the two guys who were calling each other names so irrational to be completely unreasonable.
————
After staying in Jiangnan for a short time, the system subtly informed Yan Liang that the passage was almost repaired, and urged him to say goodbye to his friends as soon as possible.
They returned in the order they arrived.
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao arrived in this world first, while Pang Yu arrived the latest, but they came from the same world, so they were able to leave at the same time.
Yan Liang told his friends that they could go back. The friends looked puzzled, but accepted it calmly.
Pang Yu told Ximen Hefeng that he would be leaving.
The child looked bewildered: "Will we never see each other again?"
Pang Yu thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
To be able to come here and reunite with Yan Liang is already a once-in-a-lifetime miracle; there will never be a second time.
"...Can't we stay?"
Ximen asked Feng.
"……cannot."
Pang Yu's answer was firm.
Even if Yan Liang were here, he wouldn't stay, because his home isn't here.
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao shared the same idea.
All good things must come to an end; being able to reunite with old friends and ease any regrets is enough.
Ximen and Feng were disappointed and sad, but Pang Yu patted his head to comfort him, so he sniffed, nodded silently, and accepted the fact.
Yan Liang leaned against the corner of the wall and laughed silently.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop; he was just looking for Pang Yu to go fishing when he overheard their conversation.
The Marquis of Anle, who was framed back then, has grown up.
Yan Liang lowered his head and smiled as he recalled the disheveled mud ball he had seen behind the house.
Yes, all good things must come to an end.
We will have to part ways sooner or later.
When Pang Yu arrived, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao had only been missing for a month, but they had stayed here for a year. According to normal time, Pang Yu should be coming of age soon.
Yan Liang rummaged through his system space and found a jade safety buckle.
The character "玉" (jade) is pronounced the same as "昱" (yù), so they are a good match.
During their final moments together, Yan Liang chatted with them, recounting his time as the emperor of the Song Dynasty and his friendship with Pang Jin, the grandson of Pang Yu.
Yan Liang didn't know much about Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao later on, but Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao said that knowing too much wasn't a good thing, and it didn't matter whether they knew or not.
They traveled around the Jiangnan region, boating on the lake, strolling along the bridge, gazing at the twinkling stars and the endless mountains and rivers.
They experienced a time they had never had the chance to experience before.
Before parting, Yan Liang gave the peace buckle to Pang Yu.
When Pang Yu received the safety buckle, he clearly realized that they would be parting ways again.
Yan Liang rubbed his head and said, "Although I can't attend your coming-of-age ceremony in person, I can still give you a gift."
May you always be happy and carefree, and enjoy peace and joy.
Yan Liang was like a friend and brother to Pang Yu. Hearing this, Pang Yu felt a lump in his throat, looked up at Yan Liang, and said seriously, "This time, you must live well."
Yan Liang smiled and said, "Yes."
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao watched Yan Liang from behind Pang Yu. When the young man in gray looked up at them, Zhan Zhao smiled gently, while Bai Yutang smiled smugly, just like when they first met.
"treasure."
He said.
We may meet again someday; I hope you take good care of yourself.
"treasure."
Zhan Zhao responded with the same words, and Bai Yutang nodded. Before leaving, he said "Goodbye".
Yan Liang waved and watched them disappear.
Author's Note: I had to work on my assignments this afternoon, so I rushed through them this morning.
Good afternoon everyone!! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2020-05-23 20:11:07 and 2020-05-24 12:44:55~
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 28 bottles of syrup;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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