"Who are you calling noisy?"
Faced with the white-clad swordsman's question, Little Persimmon answered very honestly.
"I said you're being noisy."
Seeing that the white-clad swordsman's face was growing increasingly dark, Yan Liang quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Greetings, young master. Do you remember me?"
Yan Liang remembered this wealthy man, because not long after this young master, Xu Yiwei came to inquire about Pang Yu's whereabouts.
How could one not be deeply impressed when two people in a row asked about the whereabouts of Marquis Anle, Pang Yu?
Bai Yutang didn't want to argue with a child. He looked coldly at Yan Liang, glanced at him a few times, but couldn't remember who he was. He fell into thought for a moment.
Yan Liang touched his face: "...Me?...that fortune teller from Donghua Town."
Bai Yutang then noticed the fortune-telling banner in Pang Yu's hand and remembered what Yan Liang had said back then: "It's you."
Yan Liang sincerely said, "It is fate that we have met. May I ask your name, sir?"
The young swordsman proudly declared, "Bai Yutang."
Pang Yu exclaimed "Ah!"
He had certainly heard of Bai Yutang, one of the protagonists of the Rat-Cat rivalry, a conflict that began with a joke by the emperor, which angered Bai Yutang, one of the Five Rats of Trap Island, leading to chaos in Tokyo, the theft of three treasures, and the elimination of evildoers. But his exclamation now wasn't due to shock at seeing the legendary figure, but rather because Bai Yutang had a very good relationship with Kaifeng Prefecture.
The cat-and-mouse rivalry ended in nothing, and Bai Yutang even became friends with Zhan Zhao, which made Grand Tutor Pang, who had been tricked by Bai Yutang, furious.
Pang Yu overheard his father's complaint and was deeply impressed by it.
Upon realizing this, Pang Yu immediately chickened out.
The cowardly behavior was that he involuntarily shrank behind Yan Liang.
Yan Liang: ...This idiot.
He coughed, then moved his foot back, stepping on Pang Yu's foot, intending to remind Pang the fool not to be too obvious. Pang Yu chuckled dryly, then pretended to be calm and moved back out.
Bai Yutang: "..."
Yan Liang coughed violently: "Cough cough cough cough, this is Yu—"
He had only uttered one surname when he remembered that he had mentioned Pang Yu's name to Xiao Shizi not long ago, and he was unsure whether Bai Yutang had heard him.
Did Bai Yutang hear that?
Of course he heard it.
Those who practice martial arts have sharp ears and eyes, and the silence of the mountains amplifies even the slightest noise. Bai Yutang wandered around the mountains for two days and could vaguely hear the villagers arguing and shouting in the caves. Today, after Yan Liang and Pang Yu entered the mountains, he heard the two chatting and making up stories as they approached the mountains.
The reason it wasn't directly stated was because—Pang Yu bore no resemblance to the fat man on the wanted poster that had spread throughout the world.
Bai Yutang had long associated the fat face on the wanted poster with Pang Yu, the Marquis of Anle, who was "utterly wicked," "bullied men and women," "embezzled relief funds," and "lined his own pockets." He was deeply impressed by the image, and when he suddenly saw the real thing, he couldn't erase that face from his mind for a while.
Yan Liang ultimately didn't reveal Pang Yu's alias, coughing a few times in an attempt to gloss over the matter. Bai Yutang glanced at the two men impassively, recalling the group he had encountered earlier, and made up his mind. He then turned to look at Xiao Shizi, who had trapped him in the mountains for two days.
Little Persimmon said, "I'll let you go right now."
Bai Yutang laughed angrily: "You're letting me go? You, Fifth Master Bai, came out on your own."
He said coldly, "Tell me the whole story, and I'll see if I can let you off the hook."
Xiao Shizi led the three people to the cave. On the way, Yan Liang told Bai Yutang what had happened. Pang Yu huddled next to Yan Liang, avoiding Bai Yutang's gaze. The atmosphere became extremely strange.
Bai Yutang then thought, "This fool is most likely Marquis Anle, Pang Yu."
The cave was easy to enter but difficult to exit, as it was slanted and ordinary people would find it hard to climb out. Only those with high martial arts skills like Bai Yutang could move in and out freely. So, with the others being weak, young, or disabled, Bai Yutang took it upon himself to go down into the cave and pull them out one by one.
Xiao Shizi only killed the village chief's son; the rest were people who knew everything back then but remained silent. She only wanted to punish them.
Looking at the haggard-looking villagers, Yan Liang asked her, "Why didn't you bring the village chief here?"
Little Persimmon said, "He's too old; it wouldn't be worth it if he died."
At this moment, she revealed a coldness beyond her years, and her indifference to life was laid bare in her words.
Yan Liang sighed.
The parents of those four children all had one thing in common: they all had young children at home who needed care. It was because Xiao Shizi wanted to cause those people pain that she lured those children to the mountains.
The group that was lured to the mountains and the group that was lured back after reporting to the authorities are all in this cave. Little Persimmon has been plotting revenge ever since he left Tanhua Village.
Little Persimmon's mind is more meticulous than that of a child her age, yet she looks younger than her age.
"You did a good job."
Bai Yutang looked down at the little persimmon, a smile playing on his lips.
"Thank you." Little Persimmon blinked and sincerely thanked her.
Those who were rescued looked dejected, and some were unable to even stand up.
Yan Liang asked a few able-bodied people to go down the mountain with him to find someone in the village. Pang Yu didn't want to stay with Bai Yutang, so he followed Yan Liang down the mountain.
When Yan Liang led several strong men from the village up the mountain, Bai Yutang and Xiao Shizi were no longer there. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to tell the villagers about Xiao Shizi's existence.
The villagers of Tanhua Village were extremely grateful to him, but the village chief wept bitterly. He had a son late in life and spoiled him too much, which had led to the tragedy that befell Xiaoshizi's mother.
"Revenge for grudges, settle scores for grievances," Yan Liang could only offer him silent comfort.
This morning, Tanhua Village finally regained its long-lost liveliness. While the villagers were immersed in joy, Yan Liang and Pang Yu quietly left the village.
Pang Yu walked ahead of Yan Liang, happily carrying the fortune-telling banner, muttering that he wanted to hurry back to Bianliang to find his father, becoming happier and happier as he spoke.
Yan Liang thought that if Pang Yu hadn't been broke and didn't know the way, he probably would have run straight back.
Pang Yu was so excited for two reasons. First, Bai Yutang had disappeared, which relieved Pang Yu, who had been worried about being recognized. Second, they were getting closer and closer to Bianliang. Once they passed Shouzhou City, they would reach Bianliang.
"When I get back to Bianliang, I'll make sure my father thoroughly investigates who framed me!" Pang Yu brought up the old story again, still harboring resentment over being falsely accused. "Qiu Qi and Sun Haoqing actually dared to deceive me!"
Qiu Qi was a confidant of Grand Tutor Pang, and Sun Haoqing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was a disaster relief official. Judging from Pang Yu's account, the two were clearly in cahoots. Now, both of them have died under Bao Gong's guillotine, and Pang Yu, the "mastermind," has become a fugitive.
In fact, Pang Yu did nothing.
Every time Yan Liang thought about how foolish this guy had been fooled to this extent, he couldn't help but sigh: No one else could be this stupid.
During the disaster relief efforts in Chenzhou, many people used the name of Marquis Anle to commit evil deeds. It wasn't just one or two people; even though the people never witnessed Marquis Anle doing those things, they still believed it.
So this whole mess was dumped on Pang Yu.
Yan Liang watched Pang Yu run further and further away, then called out to him, "Pang Yu—"
The sound of "yu" was followed by a glimpse of a large tree under a distant tree, which then turned a corner.
Pang Yu turned around to look at him with a silly grin, his smile brighter than the sun in the sky. He even seemed a little smug, as if he had left Yan Liang behind: "Why are you calling me? Weren't you walking very fast when we went up the mountain?"
He laughed and turned back to walk forward, the fortune-telling banner covering his face. When Pang Yu finally revealed his face from behind the banner, he still had a smile on his face.
The smiling face froze when it met Bai Yutang's smiling face.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Pang Yu was about to cry.
Yan Liang covered his face from a distance.
Well, now we're really exposed.
After writing a letter to Zhan Zhao in Kaifeng Prefecture in Donghua Town, Bai Yutang set off for Guang Prefecture.
He had just randomly chosen a direction to go there, but he never expected to meet two other people who were also searching for the whereabouts of Marquis Anle, Pang Yu.
In fact, after the wanted notice for Marquis Anle Pang Yu was issued, there were many people in the martial arts world looking for him, but those two were obviously different. Their behavior was strange, and they seemed to have a purpose.
After overhearing a few words from the side of the wall, Bai Yutang started fighting with them. One of them committed suicide by poison after being seriously injured, while the other escaped. He kept this in mind. The two men's words were vague, only revealing a few phrases, which confirmed to him that they were looking for Marquis Anle, Pang Yu.
Ordinary martial arts practitioners wouldn't act so furtively, nor would they hide poison sacs in their teeth.
Bai Yutang wrote about this in a letter and sent it to Kaifeng Prefecture, but he couldn't put his mind at ease, so he decided to go there himself.
As for meeting Pang Yu in Tanhua Village, it was a pleasant surprise for Bai Yutang.
"Pang-Yu?"
Bai Yutang gave the boy, who seemed about to cry but couldn't, a half-smile.
"Could it be Marquis Anle, Pang Yu?"
Pang Yu struggled in his death throes: "No, it's not..."
Yan Liang slowly walked over, smiled at Bai Yutang, and casually praised him, "Fifth Master Bai has excellent hearing."
Bai Yutang asked, "Since you know he is the Marquis of Anle, why didn't you report it to the authorities?"
Yan Liang said, "Since Fifth Master Bai knows that the man in front of you is Marquis Anle, why don't you arrest him instead of asking me?"
Bai Yutang laughed: "Of course, it's the same as what you thought."
Marquis Anle, Pang Yu, trembled between the two.
With two more people joining Yan Liang and Pang Yu's trip to Kaifeng, Yan Liang quickly got used to it, while Pang Yu was so disheartened by the fact that they would go to Kaifeng first instead of his home after arriving in Bianliang that he lost his appetite.
Yan Liang comforted him, "Look on the bright side, at least we can eat and drink our fill now and don't have to scrimp and save anymore."
Trapped Sky Island's business is all over the country. There are inns and restaurants of Trapped Sky Island in Shouzhou City. When Bai Yutang passed through Shouzhou, he borrowed a carriage from the shop. This allowed Yan Liang, who had been walking and occasionally hitchhiking, to experience what life was like.
Pang Yu saw Yan Liang holding pastries and a chicken leg on the table, fell silent, and after a long while, finally managed to utter a sentence:
"snort."
Pang Yu was heartbroken by Yan Liang's betrayal. "We agreed to return to Bianliang together! How could you abandon him halfway?"
"Don't talk to me."
As he said this, he picked up the chicken leg from the table and took a vicious bite of the meat.
Yan Liang: "...Pfft."
Bai Yutang had been listening to the commotion inside the carriage. Upon hearing this, he thought: It's quite unexpected that Grand Tutor Pang's son is such a fool.
Author's Note: I'm here, hahaha!
This chapter is a transitional one, hehehe, the next chapter will be about Kaifeng Prefecture!
Regarding that unresolved question from the previous chapter, I've read everyone's comments, and most of them chose E, hahaha, I knew everyone would choose that!
The focus is on the cuties who chose A—
Chapter 24 mentions that "[the woman had been stranded here thirteen years ago]" and "[the woman gave birth to a girl the second year after their marriage]".
Come on, tell me how old is Little Persimmon? _(??ω?? 」
∠)_
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