After bidding farewell to the King of Kucha, Chu Liuxiang and the others prepared to leave the desert. Wu Fei volunteered to steer the ship, his joy almost overflowing. He had endured two years of hardship, and now that Shi Guanyin was dead, he couldn't wait to leave this desert. Anywhere was better than this barren wasteland.
Qu Wurong and Yidianhong, having gone through something together, fell in love. They sat together in a corner of the boat, not speaking or making any intimate gestures, but occasionally their eyes would meet and smiles would appear in their eyes.
The trio of Die Xiangyan, Liu Yanfei, and Huangfu Gao sat together on the side of the boat, exchanging a few words occasionally. The atmosphere on the boat was very harmonious.
Apart from the relationship between Yan Liang and Wu Hua.
Yan Liang sat cross-legged next to Wu Hua, an arm's length away; Li Ganqing was fast asleep in a room in the cabin, and the sounds from inside the cabin could be clearly heard from there.
Wu Hua's disguise was still intact when he fell headfirst into the sand, his hair still covered in dust. Wu Juxuan, on the other hand, wore a pensive expression on his eye-catching face.
The others learned from Chu Liuxiang that Yan Liang and Wu Hua were fellow disciples, and they paid attention to the two of them, intentionally or unintentionally.
Wu Hua pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Master Wu Ji..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Liang interrupted him, saying, "It's not Wuji, it's Yan Liang."
Wu Hua: "...Junior Brother Yan Liang..."
Yan Liang: "No, junior brother. I have already returned to secular life."
Wu Hua: "...Why aren't you dead yet?"
Yan Liang took a deep breath, glanced at him, and said coldly, "So it really was you who poisoned him."
“'As expected'... So you already knew you were poisoned?" Wuhua smiled gently. “I wonder how you cured yourself? You should know that the antidote was only in my possession.”
Yan Liang stared at him intently, while Wu Hua smiled and met his gaze. Yan Liang turned his face away with a look of utter dismay, saying with disgust, "Do you really think you can smile like a flower with that face?"
Wu Hua: "..."
He was certain that this person didn't want to talk to him at all.
Yan Liang was in a bad mood. When Chu Liuxiang told him about Wuhua, Yan Liang immediately thought that Wuhua was very likely the one who poisoned Wuji. He had searched the temple for so many days, but he had never considered the possibility of the deceased Wuhua.
He even felt sorry for Wuhua, after all, he was in the prime of his life but died young. In Wuji's memory, Wuhua was surrounded by a Buddha-like aura, and every time he appeared in front of him, it was as if the Buddha had descended to earth.
Yan Liang finally asked the question that had been troubling him all along: "Why did you poison me?"
Aside from eating and drinking, Wuji has never done anything that would anger heaven and man, let alone get involved in Wuhua's conspiracy.
Wu Hua said leisurely, "You once found a silver flying ring in my room. Even if you don't know what it is, I won't let my plan have any loopholes..."
Wuhua learned the secret manual left by his father, Tenfu Shiro, which included the Nine Great Ninjutsu Techniques. The technique that used silver rings was the Death Attachment Technique, one of the Nine Great Ninjutsu Techniques.
So whether he knows it or not, even if he forgets it, he still has to die.
Yan Liang found it laughable. No wonder he couldn't find any clues no matter how hard he tried to dig into Wuji's memories, because Wuji hadn't taken that matter to heart at all and had long forgotten about it.
"You're really cautious."
Yan Liang mocked him.
"What's wrong with being cautious?" Wuhua still smiled. "I've answered your question, so can you answer mine?"
Yan Liang didn't want to look at him, and gave a fake laugh: "Do you believe I was born immune to all poisons?"
Wu Hua smiled slightly: "Do you remember when you were fourteen years old, you stole and ate the poisonous fruit from the back mountain?"
Yan Liang: "..."
I'd forgotten about that.
Because Yan Liang was clearly choked up, Wu Hua laughed even more heartily, his face becoming even more lewd and shifty-eyed.
Yan Liang felt like he was going blind.
He silently moved a little further away, his disdain evident on his face.
Wu Hua's smile froze on her face; she didn't know whether to smile or not.
The intense gazes from the people opposite him made Wuhua feel like he was being treated like a monkey.
Yan Liang was extremely embarrassed. He had been rambling on and on, only to be called out for talking nonsense. He could only put on a serious face.
"puff."
Ji Bingyan couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Hu Tiehua laughed loudly without any politeness: "If you want to fool him, why don't you come up with a reason that won't be rejected?"
Yan Liang said quietly, "I forgot."
"If you weren't immune to all poisons, how did you manage to detoxify yourself?"
Hu Tiehua asked the question purely out of curiosity, without any malicious intent.
It's a pity that it was Yan Liang who was cured of the poison, not Wu Ji.
Yan Liang replied, "I bought the antidote pills from elsewhere."
"But didn't Wu Hua say that only he had it?" Hu Tiehua asked, puzzled.
Wu Hua stood to the side, expressionless.
"I bought it."
Yan Liang told the truth, but he didn't say where or from whom he bought it.
Hu Tiehua hadn't expected the other party to tell him everything at once, so it was already quite good that Yan Liang could tell him half of it.
Chu Liuxiang looked at the two people talking, a smile on his face.
Yan Liang seemed to have suffered a considerable blow after learning what Wu Hua had done, but he appeared to have recovered in a short time—although it seemed that he had recovered by striking at Wu Hua. Chu Liuxiang was quite gratified by this, as he had also been quite shocked when he first learned of Wu Hua's true nature. It was only because Wu Hua's previous impression was so profound that the contrast between the two sides seemed absurd and unbelievable.
Because Wu Fei was eager to get going, he steered the boat steadily but with a bit of a sluggishness. The large ship reached the edge of the desert in less than half a day. After a short rest, the group had to part ways.
After disembarking, Yidianhong, Qu Wurong, Liu Yanfei, and Huangfu Gao left, all expressing their gratitude to Chu Liuxiang before departing.
Chu Liuxiang wanted to hand Wuhua over to the authorities so that "the law" could judge him. Yan Liang was eager to see Wuhua being tried, but he had to send Li Ganqing back to Qixian Town, and Li Ganqing's health was really weak, so he had to take good care of him.
Chu Liuxiang was insightful and saw through Yan Liang's inner turmoil. Before leaving, he acted as a confidant, saying, "I know you are kind-hearted and hope that good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished. I think so too. But I will never let myself become the one who brings evil consequences. No matter how cruel and vicious the person who commits evil deeds is, I will never go over the law to punish him."
“You are still young and have plenty of time to think about this issue, so I hope you won’t get stuck on it and will think about it carefully.”
Chu Liuxiang spoke gently and was sincere, which made Yan Liang, who had been struggling with this matter, feel a sense of relief.
He smiled and thanked Chu Liuxiang, saying, "Thank you, I will think about it carefully."
The group parted ways, and Yan Liang, with Li Ganqing in tow, headed leisurely towards Qixian Town. He used Shi Guanyin's money to buy a carriage to better care for Li Ganqing.
Wu Fei initially traveled with them, but later, when he passed through his hometown, he used the valuables from Shi Guanyin to buy land and houses. As long as he was hardworking and diligent, he would have no worries for the rest of his life.
Yan Liang and Li Ganqing continued south, but at a much slower pace than when Yan Liang had come.
Li Ganqing suffered not only physical trauma but also psychological trauma. He was half-mad and half-awake, sometimes silent, sometimes laughing and crying erratically.
He even began to fear women who approached him.
Yan Liang did not notice this problem at first.
One day, when Yan Liang was booking a room at an inn, Li Ganqing inexplicably ran out of the carriage and bumped into a passing girl. He screamed and nearly collapsed, but fortunately Yan Liang reacted quickly, rushed out, restrained him, and comforted him.
Psychological trauma is the hardest to heal, and Yan Liang knew this, so he could only do his best to comfort and take care of Li Ganqing.
This is also why their return journey was slow. Yan Liang wrote a letter and asked a messenger to bring the news of finding Li Ganqing back to Qixian Town. When Grandpa Li received the letter, he was overjoyed and wept tears of joy. He then thoroughly cleaned the house inside and out.
Yan Liang did not explain Li Ganqing's current situation in the letter he sent back, only because Li Ganqing was beside him with his hand on the letter paper, looking at him with an almost pleading expression when he was writing the letter.
Yan Liang did not include Li Ganqing's current situation in the letter.
"Take good care of your injury, and you can tell me when you get back."
Yan Liang said to him.
Li Ganqing nodded silently.
Under Yan Liang's care, Li Ganqing's mental state was gradually improving. He hadn't completely gone mad; he was simply trapped in that memory and couldn't break free.
Shi Guanyin and her disciples treated him like a beast, ordering and humiliating him. Even though Li Ganqing had escaped, he still trembled with fear whenever he recalled that time.
He was grateful to Yan Liang for saving him from hell. He had thought he might never be able to escape from there in his entire life, but he persevered only because of his stubborn belief in going back to see his grandfather.
As fate would have it, Yan Liang reached out and pulled him out of hell, taking care of him and comforting him. The other party possessed a strange, reassuring power that put Li Ganqing at ease.
I don't know how to repay this kindness and gratitude.
Li Ganqing began to think about how to repay Yan Liang's kindness.
Yan Liang was unaware of the gratitude Li Ganqing felt in his heart. Li Ganqing's expression was indifferent; he only noticed that the other man's complexion was gradually improving, and he was happy about it.
Li Ganqing applied scar-removing cream to his wounds regularly, and the scars gradually faded; he also ate more food and gained some weight, no longer the emaciated man he was in the desert.
He couldn't rush to correct his fear of women; that period was indeed traumatic and shouldn't be easily forgotten. Li Ganqing knew his problem, and despite his fear, he tried to have normal contact with women after his mental state stabilized.
But he couldn't help feeling afraid when talking to the woman.
Yan Liang comforted him, "You don't need to rush like this. Take it step by step and slow down."
Li Ganqing simply nodded silently—he seemed to only nod silently when facing Yan Liang, rarely speaking. Yan Liang was used to this and even felt gratified; responding was better than him rambling on and on about irrelevant things.
On the way to Qixian Town, Yan Liang not only took care of Li Ganqing, but also began to seriously think about the issue of martial arts.
He always thought he could take things as they come and get by even when he encountered difficulties. But seeing the girls' corpses and feeling powerless in front of the Stone Guanyin made Yan Liang realize his own powerlessness.
Yan Liang and Wu Ji are similar in that they are both a bit lazy.
However, the difference is that if Yan Liang sets a goal, he will do his best to achieve it.
Having realized his own powerlessness, Yan Liang made up his mind to first master the Shaolin kung fu from Wuji's memories. With the foundation laid by Wuji, he would be more adept at learning other kung fu afterward.
Li Ganqing would occasionally practice a few moves with him, but although his body appeared to have recovered, he was actually very weak inside. He would break out in a sweat after practicing for a short while and often had to give up halfway through.
Looking at Yan Liang, who was gritting his teeth and persevering, he was reminded of his past self.
A month later, Yan Liang and Li Ganqing arrived at Qixian Town.
Li Ganqing's appearance had become more mature than it had been two years ago. When Grandpa Li saw him, he was slightly taken aback, and suddenly remembered his son who had passed away early. When he came to his senses, Li Ganqing smiled at him with great enthusiasm, just as he had before he left.
"Grandpa, I'm back."
Grandpa Li instinctively wanted to return a smile, but as soon as he opened his mouth, tears streamed down his face.
Li Ganqing's eyes also turned red.
Yan Liang watched silently from the side, feeling happy for them.
A happy ending may be cliché, but who doesn't like it?
Author's Note: I quite like Chu Liuxiang's principle of not killing, even though he's a bit of a jerk when it comes to women (for example, he doesn't acknowledge her after sleeping with her...).
↓This is what Xiang Shuai said to Wu Hua in the original text. I really love their confrontation scene, hehehe.
Chu Liuxiang slowly said, "I can only expose your secret, not punish you, because I am neither the law nor a god, and I have no power to punish you."
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