The three drank until midnight. Yan Liang was the first to succumb to sleepiness. He put down his wine cup, quickly washed up, and hurriedly ran back to his room to sleep.
Wang Lianhua and Dongfang Bubai were in high spirits. Martial arts practitioners are full of energy, and staying up all night is not a difficult thing for them.
Yan Liang was usually the one who livened up the atmosphere among the three of them, but now that Yan Liang was not there, there was a moment of silence.
Wang Lianhua thought for a moment and went straight to the point: "Why did you run away after taking the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual? It was clearly Yan Liang who told you that—the dignified leader of the Demonic Sect actually embezzled it. This is too shameful."
Dongfang Bubai paused, his hand holding the wine glass still. He lowered his eyes, staring at the ripples spreading within the glass, and asked, "Do you want some?"
"Have you forgotten what I said in the first place?" Wang Lianhua said coldly. "It was I who first brought up going to the Fuwei Escort Agency in Fuzhou, and I also told Yan Liang to find out the whereabouts of the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual. You were listening in at the time and knew about it, but you intercepted me halfway. And now you're asking me this kind of question?"
As for how angry Wang Lianhua was, he wasn't particularly angry.
He was already unparalleled in the martial arts world in his original world, and there were few rivals here. He didn't necessarily need the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual; he just wanted to pass the time and see what was so special about the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual that no one could defeat back then.
If he had only a slight interest before, Dongfang Bubai's strange behavior before taking the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual and his subsequent escape after taking it only made him more interested in the contents of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual.
Besides, Dongfang Bubai's action of taking the items and running away is indeed a bit infuriating.
Wang Lianhua never expected Dongfang Bubai to run away after taking the item, since the man had never previously shown any interest in the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual. Although Dongfang Bubai's behavior at the time was strange, he had considered the possibility that Dongfang Bubai might return.
Dongfang Bubai understood what Wang Lianhua cared about and replied, "I won't give it to you."
Cold-blooded and ruthless, straightforward.
Wang Lianhua: "..."
Wang Lianhua hadn't expected Dongfang Bubai to react so coldly, and for a moment she couldn't figure out what he was thinking, which made her even more curious about the contents of the manual.
Dongfang Bubai added, "If you really want to know, go ask Yan Liang."
He recalled the gentle look Yan Liang had given him earlier, a look that seemed to see through everything.
Wang Lianhua glanced at him sideways and asked, "Now that you're right beside me, instead of making me ask, why don't you just tell me directly?" He paused, "Can't you tell me?"
Dongfang Bubai drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
"cannot."
Wang Lianhua pushed the wine jar over, looking at the man with a scrutinizing gaze: "What would happen if I found out?"
“If you know, then it means Yan Liang knows as well.” Dongfang Bubai said expressionlessly, lifting the wine jar and pouring another cup.
He stared at the wine gushing from the jar and said calmly, "So you'd better not ask."
His implication was quite clear: he himself did not know whether Yan Liang knew about this matter; if Wang Lianhua asked Yan Liang and received an answer, then it would prove that Yan Liang knew about this matter.
But what Dongfang Bubai was unwilling to say aloud, he naturally didn't want anyone to know either.
Wang Lianhua snorted coldly, snatched the wine jar from the other party's hand, and said, "Speaking to the owner of the wine like that, your attitude is terrible."
The conversation ended there, and neither of them spoke again. It was a rather unpleasant parting. After finishing their remaining drinks, they went back to their rooms. Wang Lianhua had the servants prepare a room for Dongfang Bubai, where Dongfang Bubai spent the night.
The next day, Yan Liang woke up around noon. After washing up, he went out into the courtyard and ran into Wang Lianhua. The young man, who had gone to bed at 1 AM and woke up at 7 AM, mocked him, "Are you a pig?"
Yan Liang rubbed his forehead, feeling dizzy and unwell, but without thinking too much about it, he replied, "I am not as energetic as you, Young Master Qianmian. I am just an ordinary commoner."
Wang Lianhua thought to himself, "It would be a miracle if someone like you, a fortune teller with an unknown identity, were just an ordinary person."
He thought for a moment and decided not to ask about the things that Dongfang Bubai was unwilling to talk about.
Dongfang Bubai left early in the morning. He had originally come to visit the Holy Maiden who had descended the mountain from the Divine Cult, and his encounter with Yan Liang and Wang Lianhua was a pleasant surprise. Luoyang was a vast city, impossible to explore in a single day. Dongfang Bubai had decided to eliminate the root of the problem—not Ren Yingying, but Ren Woxing, who was currently imprisoned at the bottom of the West Lake dungeon. Before that, he needed to accompany Ren Yingying in personally demonstrating the image of a good cult leader and a good uncle.
Yan Liang was quite regretful after learning that Dongfang Bubai had left: "We finally reunited, why didn't we keep him here a little longer? We could have chatted for a bit."
Wang Lianhua recalled the less-than-pleasant conversation from the previous night and snorted coldly: "He will remain in Luoyang for the next few days. If you want to find him, go find him yourself. Don't drag me into it."
Yan Liang looked at him suspiciously: "What... happened between you two?"
Wang Lianhua denied it with a cold laugh: "Nothing happened."
Yan Liang: "..."
Sure enough, something happened.
Wang Lianhua was unwilling to go to Dongfang Bubai, and consequently, she also did not want to act with Yan Liang.
"Go by yourself, I'm very busy."
Yan Liang sighed, said "I'm going out to eat," and quickly ran out. Wang Lianhua watched his hair fly up and disappear through the door, gritted her teeth, and thought to herself that this man was too disrespectful.
Would it kill you to offer him a word of advice?
Wang Lianhua was furious that Yan Liang had abandoned her without hesitation to go find Dongfang Bubai. However, after leaving, Yan Liang did not go to find Dongfang Bubai, but went directly to a restaurant to eat.
The restaurant owner recognized him well and greeted him warmly. Yan Liang smiled and nodded, then went up to the second floor near the railing, a good spot that offered shade and a view of people coming and going below. People coming from the city gate could easily see him.
Yan Liang ordered a few dishes and waited for a while before two people came up the stairs.
The man and woman were Linghu Chong, the chief disciple of the Huashan Sect, and Yue Lingshan, the daughter of the sect leader.
Linghu Chong was taken aback when he saw Yan Liang smiling kindly at him from the railing. Yue Lingshan greeted him happily, "Brother Yan, what a coincidence!"
The three had met several times since the previous "hero saves the beauty" incident when Yan Liang went from street to street telling fortunes, and they had occasionally talked, but they had never had such a long face-to-face conversation.
When Linghu Chong saw Yan Liang, he had a strange feeling that the other party was intentionally waiting for them. He hesitated for a moment, but his junior sister was too straightforward and went up to greet him directly. Even though he was a little hesitant, he could only sit with her.
Despite some initial doubts, they dissipated after a brief conversation with Yan Liang.
If this person truly had ill intentions, they probably wouldn't have waited for them; they would have spoken up much earlier.
Linghu Chong was in high spirits and wanted to ask the waiter to bring him wine. He was eager to drink, even though he wasn't a big drinker.
Unfortunately, Yan Liang stated that he could not drink alcohol.
"I can't hold my liquor, one glass and I'm done. You drink it yourself," Yan Liang said with a smile, waving his hand. "I can drink fruit wine, though."
Linghu Chong said regretfully, "I had hoped to drink with Brother Yan until we were both drunk..."
Yue Lingshan glanced at him unhappily: "It's only noon, and you get drunk for most of the day after drinking... Not everyone likes to drink like you, Senior Brother."
Linghu Chong was not annoyed by the complaints and listened patiently to her.
Yan Liang looked at the two of them thoughtfully, then glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a group of people riding towards them in the distance. He peeked out and looked at the leader.
They've arrived.
Yan Liang stared as the person drew closer. The person noticed the gaze from above and a head that had inexplicably protruded, and looked up to meet Yan Liang's gaze.
The man was handsome with delicate features, red lips and white teeth; he was none other than Lin Pingzhi, the young head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Fuwei镖局 (escort agency).
Lin Pingzhi recognized Yan Liang and his eyes widened in surprise. Unable to stop immediately, he could only shout loudly at him, "Wait for me!"
See you here tomorrow!
Yan Liang called out to him, watched him ride away with a group of people behind him, and then turned his head away.
He looked away and saw that Yue Lingshan was also craning her neck, in the same position as him, probably curious about who was talking to Yan Liang.
Linghu Chong didn't see Lin Pingzhi, but looked helplessly at his junior sister beside him, wondering what she had seen.
Yue Lingshan was still craning her neck to look at Lin Pingzhi's back, the stunning face of the young man when he raised his head still imprinted in her mind.
That person is really good-looking.
Yue Lingshan thought.
That's all the help I can give you, brother.
Yan Liang pondered for a moment, then silently took a sip of tea.
Yue Lingshan finally pulled her head back and asked, "Brother Yan, who is that person?"
“He’s a friend of mine,” Yan Liang said with a smile. “He’s the young head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Fuwei镖局 (escort agency).”
Yue Lingshan asked in surprise, "Is it the Fuwei Escort Agency, whose Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was stolen by Wang Lianhua?"
"……yes."
Upon hearing Wang Lianhua's name, Yan Liang almost laughed.
The theft of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual indeed caused a huge stir in the martial arts world. Before Linghu Chong accompanied his junior sister down the mountain, the leader of the Huashan Sect specifically instructed him to pay attention to the news of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual, and it would be best if he could get his hands on it.
Yue Buqun's reasoning perfectly matched the image of the righteous path: "Wang Lianhua is now colluding with the Demonic Sect. If the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique falls into the hands of the Demonic Sect, it will surely harm the common people and the martial arts world. Only in our hands will it not harm the people."
Ultimately, it was just selfishness at play, but the reasons were indeed extremely righteous.
Linghu Chong held Yue Buqun in high esteem at this time and naturally trusted him completely. However, since he and Yue Lingshan descended the mountain, news about Wang Lianhua had been flying everywhere, and they had even gone to several places where Wang Lianhua was rumored to have appeared, only to return disappointed each time.
Now that he heard Yan Liang say that the young man was the young head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Fuwei镖局 (escort agency), Linghu Chong thought that if he could ask this young head镖师, he might be able to get some information that was not in the rumors of the martial arts world.
However, no matter how many times he asked, he couldn't get any information.
Because the rumors circulating in the martial arts world are all false, and Lin Pingzhi and the entire Fuwei Escort Agency know nothing about it.
As the first person to spread the false information, Yan Liang glanced at Linghu Chong's thoughtful expression, smiled slightly, and kept his merits hidden.
Author's Note: I'm late...
Actually, I could have done it earlier, but I was called away to help halfway through. I spent an hour peeling a huge pot of quail eggs.
Chinese New Year is so busy!
And everyone in Wuhan and other provinces, please take good care of your health and be vigilant.
The messages pushed to me on Weibo made me anxious.
I'm still in Jingzhou _(:з」∠)_ Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2020-01-20 18:23:41 and 2020-01-21 22:58:45!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: I caught a live little angel and got 2 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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