When Bai Yu first met Bai Miao, the latter was kneeling on the ground being whipped, gritting his teeth and crying silently.
Bai Yu knew that the person kneeling in the courtyard was Bai Miao, the son of the Valley Master Bai, and also his future rival.
Amidst the torrential rain, the only sounds besides the raindrops were the whistling of wind. The long whip traced arc after arc, and blood spread across the ground, flowing with the rain to Bai Yu's feet.
He let the Valley Master's medicine man escape; he made a mistake and naturally deserves to be punished.
The whipping lasted a long time, until the rain stopped and the sky cleared. In the end, Bai Miao was kneeling upright, his back completely bare.
The punishment for Bai Miao was not just whipping; there were other punishments after the whipping. Bai Yu only heard the gist of it. After that, Bai Miao was left barely alive, half-dead.
Bai Yu often wondered later, why didn't Bai Miao just die?
If Bai Miao dies, the young master whom Master Bai has been painstakingly cultivating will be Bai Yu.
Bai Yu and Bai Miao were trained together as young valley masters, but Valley Master Bai's methods of training them were completely opposite. Bai Miao would be severely punished for even the slightest mistake, while Bai Yu would be rewarded no matter what he did.
But in the end, the Valley Master of Bai Valley chose Bai Miao.
Bai Yu was puzzled by this—how could Bai Miao, a soft-hearted, rebellious, and incompetent good-for-nothing, be better than him?
In terms of Gu techniques, Bai Yu considers himself second only to Master Bai; in terms of martial arts, Bai Miao is no match for him; and in terms of mindset, Bai Miao can never change his womanly kindness and is always easily swayed by emotions.
Could it be that blood relation is really that important? If it's about blood ties, why bring him from outside the valley to Crimson Sun Valley?
Bai Yu harbored resentment but dared not complain to Valley Master Bai. His contempt for Bai Miao deepened day by day. When Bai Miao rebelled and ran away from the valley, Bai Yu was too lazy to even chase after him. He thought that Bai Miao would disappear without a trace, and that he would become the next Valley Master.
However, the Valley Master sent him out of the valley to investigate Bai Miao, without specifying how to deal with him. Bai Yu simply took it upon himself to kill Bai Miao and return on his own.
Of course, before that, we should tease Bai Miao a bit.
Unexpectedly, Yan Liang appeared and disrupted Bai Yu's plans.
Yan Liang pieced together the facts, met Bai Yu's gaze, and asked with a subtle expression, "You killed Liu Changmin just to toy with Bai Miao?"
"So what if he is? That good-for-nothing made a friend and was so happy he didn't know which way was up—do you know what his expression was when he saw Liu Changmin's corpse?" Bai Yu sneered, "He actually cried, cried like a fool."
Yan Liang said gently, "Hold it in, or I'll make you cry like a fool."
Considering the current situation, Bai Yu shut his mouth in protest. If looks could kill, he would have killed Yan Liang a thousand times over.
Yan Liang still remembered Bai Yu's question from before. Seeing that he remained silent, he said, "To answer your question from before—you don't hide your emotions at all when you look at people. Do you think I don't know anything?"
After Bai Yu's inn was discovered by the West Depot, he moved to another inn, and Bai Miao also went to that inn after that.
The malicious gaze that Yan Liang felt that day came from Bai Yu, while Bai Miao was also watching Yan Liang from the room next door.
Recognizing him just by looking at him? Who are you kidding!
Bai Yu was indignant and wanted to continue asking questions, but Yan Liang stood up and walked away. Wang Lianhua glanced at Bai Yu and followed him.
Bai Yu was left alone in the prison, loudly demanding answers.
The two walked out the door. Wang Lianhua, hearing the voice behind her, looked at Yan Liang with a half-smile: "More than that, isn't it?"
Yan Liang readily admitted, "More than that."
Wang Lianhua: "Can't it be said?"
Yan Liang: "I can't say."
Wang Lianhua didn't press the issue further. Instead, she pointed ahead with a smile and asked, "Can't I even tell the Chief Supervisor Yu?"
Yu Huatian stood in front of them, frowning unhappily as Wang Lianhua pointed at him.
Yan Liang was speechless and slowed down, but Wang Lianhua kept walking and soon walked ahead of him.
Wang Lianhua turned to look at him and saw that Yan Liang seemed to be deep in thought, not knowing what he was thinking.
Yu Huatian was waiting for them there because he wanted to ask Yan Liang. He didn't care how many people Bai Yu had killed; he just wanted to know why Yan Liang had suddenly written to him, asking him to lead men to capture Bai Yu.
At first, Yu Huatian thought Yan Liang was just an ordinary scholar, the protagonist of a romantic story, upright and honest, with no secrets whatsoever. But the more he got to know him, the more he discovered that Yan Liang was shrouded in mystery.
Yu Huatian looked at the young man who slowly walked up to him and said, "You know what I want to ask."
"I know." Yan Liang nodded and said very sincerely, "Does the Chief Supervisor believe in fortune-telling?"
Faced with the choice between mentioning the system store and using fortune-telling to fool him, Yan Liang chose the latter.
Yu Huatian's eye twitched: "Do you think I'm a fool?"
Wang Lianhua watched the show from the sidelines, seeing how Yan Liang would fool Yu Huatian.
Yan Liang launched into a long-winded explanation, determined to successfully deceive Yu Huatian. He spoke at length, making full use of the knowledge in his mind, but the focus remained on the word "fortune telling." By the end, Yu Huatian had become impatient and stopped asking questions.
Yan Liang didn't want to tell the truth; he couldn't force the other party to say it. Anyway, there was plenty of time; as long as Yan Liang stayed in the capital, he would eventually slip up.
Yu Huatian expelled the two from the West Depot, and this time he didn't even send a carriage to take them back.
Yan Liang was heartbroken: "To throw it away when it's no longer useful, Chief Supervisor Yu is truly cold-blooded and ruthless."
Wang Lianhua: "If you're so capable, say it to his face."
Yan Liang coughed lightly, changing the subject: "Do you think he believed it?"
Wang Lianhua scoffed, "He's asking a question he already knows the answer to—how could he possibly believe that?"
The two then walked and stopped, heading back in the twilight. Yan Liang bought a large amount of snacks and some ingredients.
Wang Lianhua helped carry some of the items, her feelings quite complicated.
But when asked why he felt something was amiss, he couldn't explain.
He, Wang Lianhua, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, was experiencing for the first time such a lively and relatable moment as someone carrying things behind others.
Yan Liang saw the dried fruit shop ahead and strode inside. As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Miao walking out.
Bai Miao, carrying a paper package, looked even paler, and he also saw Yan Liang.
After Yan Liang bought the dried peaches and dried apricots, the two left the shop together.
Bai Miao hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked about the "real culprit." Yan Liang glanced at him and told him about Bai Yu's situation.
Bai Miao suddenly realized what was happening, but he felt very sad. He and Bai Yu had very little interaction. Bai Yu disliked him, but Bai Miao didn't feel anything for Bai Yu. Therefore, he couldn't understand why Bai Yu would involve innocent people.
If you can't stand him, just kill him...
Bai Miao was feeling down. Yan Liang patted his shoulder comfortingly, stuffed some candied fruit into his hand, and said, "If you're unhappy, eat some of this."
Bai Miao joined Yan Liang and Wang Lianhua's team.
Seeing that he had only brought a few things, Wang Lianhua naturally handed what she was holding to Bai Miao, smiled slightly at the bewildered Bai Miao, and said, "You take it."
Bai Miao was bewildered: "...Given to me?"
Wang Lianhua: "No, return it to me when we get back."
Bai Miao: "..."
He dared not speak out, nor could he win a fight. Bai Miao could only resign himself to his fate and hold onto the things Wang Lianhua had forced upon him.
Feeling bad about it, Yan Liang took him home with him.
When they returned, Li Xunle was squatting by the pond feeding the fish with two teenagers.
When Yu Huatian arrived, Wang Lianhua chased the two boys away, but the two boys, out of worry, didn't run far. After wandering around outside for a while, they returned only to find Li Xunle, and learned that Yan Liang and Wang Lianhua had been taken to the West Depot by Yu Huatian.
Yan Shenming was sullen. He knew that his elder brother was doing good deeds again, just like in the past, but only getting himself into trouble. He didn't like that happening.
Now that you've become an official, you should just do your job properly. Why get involved in those other things? You won't make any money, and nothing good will happen; you'll only bring trouble.
When Yan Liang returned, he noticed that Yan Shenming was not happy. He thought to himself that he had no experience in comforting people. Even though he had younger siblings, their relationship was just so-so. They either had fun together or played around together. He was experienced in leading people to have fun, but he was not good at comforting people.
He was a little worried about this.
Once the grill was set up, Yan Liang personally grilled a fish and placed it in front of Yan Shenming first—young people should eat and drink as they please, why think so much? They'll understand when they get older.
Yan Shenming took a bite, his eyes lit up, and he temporarily put aside what was on his mind and began to eat heartily.
The bright moon hangs in the sky, smoke rises from the courtyard, and a gentle breeze carries the aroma of grilled fish from the courtyard, filling the streets and the whole house.
Li Xunhuan and Yan Shenming buried themselves in their food, while Li Xunle picked out fish bones for them. Wang Lianhua stood beside Yan Liang, pointing out the flaws in the situation. The two bickered, exchanging barbs until they were both driven to the brink of madness.
Bai Miao sat at the table, looking at the fish laid out in front of him. There was also fruit wine on the table. He was stunned for a moment, then silently took a sip and couldn't stop drinking.
When he was the "second-place scholar" in the imperial examination, he was invited by Yan Liang and Li Xunle, but Bai Miao declined, saying that they would get together again when they had time... and now they have indeed gotten together.
Bai Miao felt a dull ache in his heart when he thought of Liu Changmin's uncle and aunt. It was he who had implicated Liu Changmin. If he had never met Liu Changmin, Liu Changmin would not have died, and Liu Changmin's uncle and aunt would have been overjoyed to receive the news of Liu Changmin's passing the imperial examination instead of his death.
Someone stopped beside him, and Bai Miao looked up at the person who had come. It was Wang Lianhua.
Wang Lianhua glanced at him, sat down at the table, and ordered Yan Liang around, only to be refused.
While Yan Liang was busy, he caught a glimpse of Wang Lianhua and Bai Miao talking. When he looked up again, Wang Lianhua had already come over and very consciously took away a plate of grilled fish.
Yan Liang shouted, "I haven't even eaten one yet, and this is your second one!"
Wang Lianhua slipped away quickly: "Thank you for your trouble. I'll give you some reward money tomorrow."
"Give it to me tomorrow? That's too late!" Yan Liang sneered. "Give it to me now!"
Wang Lianhua paused, silently looking at Yan Liang. Yan Liang met his gaze with a resolute expression. Wang Lianhua took out a silver ingot from his pocket and tossed it to him. Yan Liang caught it and thanked him loudly, "Come again if you need anything!"
Wang Lianhua: "...Can't you have any ambition?"
Yan Liang: "What ambition do you want from me? To grab your sleeve and make you return the fish? I can't beat you in a fight, so just give me some money and that's it, isn't that a win-win situation?"
Wang Lianhua thought to himself, "You can't beat me, but you can talk."
At least for now, he was speechless.
Author's Note: I have arrived.
This world ends in the next chapter.
I also want to recommend a song to everyone!
——Hikari——
This is the theme song from the Japanese drama "Good Doctor." The drama itself is amazing; I cried every single episode I watched.
If you're interested, you can give it a listen; it's gentle and healing. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-03-05 23:41:04 and 2020-03-06 20:42:16!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Poetry and Wine in Youth (1);
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: just a friend A, 5 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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