After hearing about Tang Tianzong and Tang Tianrong's encounter with Ye Gucheng at Chunhua Tower, Yan Liang realized that Ye Gucheng was not seriously injured as rumored.
Tang Tianyi was completely baffled. The three brothers discussed it for a long time and came to the conclusion that someone had cured Ye Gucheng's poison. They also expressed their strong desire to meet that person.
"Since he can cure my Tang Clan's poison, he must have superb medical skills, which is very disadvantageous to my Tang Clan." Tang Tianyi, as the eldest son of the Tang Clan, made this conclusion, hoping to find Ye Gucheng and the person who cured him.
The three members of the Tang Clan wanted to find Ye Gucheng, so they immediately set off to find him. Tang Tianyi drank the medicine in one gulp, pushed open the door and left, with his two younger brothers following behind him, their expressions solemn.
Lu Xiaofeng: "You should learn from Tang Tianyi. He takes his medicine much more readily than you do."
Yan Liang: "He added a full spoonful of sugar to the bowl."
Lu Xiaofeng: "...Perhaps you can give it a try."
The two looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.
After laughing for a while, Yan Liang asked seriously, "Is Ye Gucheng also your friend?"
“I met him once before.” Lu Xiaofeng’s smile faded. He met Ye Gucheng at the Southern Prince’s Mansion for the case of the Embroidered Bandit.
He thought of Xue Bing.
Yan Liang keenly sensed his mood and did not ask them why they had met that time, but instead asked about something else.
"Do you think Ye Gucheng is a narrow-minded person?" Yan Liang asked him.
Lu Xiaofeng was slightly taken aback, then smiled helplessly: "Why are you so concerned about Ye Gucheng?" He paused and said, "Although I have only met him once, I do not think he is the kind of person who would hurt someone just because his clothes are dirty."
Yan Liang didn't say anything more; the two people he didn't say it aloud both knew what was going on.
If Ye Gucheng is not such a narrow-minded person, then why would he hurt someone?
There must be a reason behind that, and that reason is the key to this decisive battle.
Yan Liang recalled the system's recording. When Ye Gucheng appeared, the system immediately activated the recording mode. It hadn't expected Ye Gucheng to actually make a move, and the "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" was recorded in its entirety.
The system sold one copy and kept another. Yan Liang was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep that night and spent the whole night studying the video.
His movements were truly ethereal and otherworldly, like a flying immortal.
But this celestial being fell into the mortal world and became tainted by worldly affairs.
"I also want to see Ye Gucheng one more time." Yan Liang pulled himself out of his thoughts and said to Lu Xiaofeng, "Why don't you take me to find him?"
Lu Xiaofeng was baffled: "Why am I the one taking you to find him?"
Yan Liang said, "Because you are Lu Xiaofeng."
Lu Xiaofeng was astonished. Yan Liang's words could be considered a compliment, especially since he looked so serious.
Yan Liang added, "So if a fight breaks out with City Lord Ye, I'll have to trouble you to hold the fort."
Lu Xiaofeng: "...Are you serious?"
Yan Liang: "Isn't the Spirit Rhinoceros Finger your signature move? Let me see it."
Lu Xiaofeng thought to himself that he was a complete fool for believing Yan Liang was praising him.
#
Ye Gucheng closed his eyes and pondered in an ancient temple in the suburbs.
This ancient temple has been deserted for a long time and is extremely desolate. There is only one monk in the temple.
Ye Gucheng knew who this monk was; he had planned everything meticulously and would not allow any changes.
The monk Shengtong and his family were forced to flee beyond the Great Wall by Huo Tianqing, becoming homeless and separated from their loved ones, yet they had no ability to avenge their family.
What would a person like this do if someone avenged him?
Naturally, he was extremely grateful to that person and was determined to repay the favor.
Lu Xiaofeng was Sheng Tong's benefactor.
Ye Gucheng had already bathed and changed his clothes. He handed the fake bandage, which was covered in pus and blood, to Shengtong.
It doesn't matter who it is, as long as someone knows that Ye Gucheng was not uninjured.
But Ye Gucheng secretly hoped that person was Lu Xiaofeng.
A cool breeze blew in through the window, while inside, a lingering sense of decay hung in the air.
This was a world of difference from the treatment he received in Baiyun City.
There was a delicate fragrance of incense, a strong yet refreshing sea breeze, a clear blue sky, a deep blue and clear sea, and the city dwellers laughing and joking.
Ye Gucheng listened intently to Sheng Tong's movements, making sure the monk wouldn't come back, then turned and left through the window, carefully leaving no trace.
He was going to eliminate those unsettling people, for his city, and for the promise he had been forced to make under threat.
Ye Gucheng first went to a dilapidated area within the imperial city, where the chief eunuch, Wang, relayed information to him.
The greasy-faced eunuch spoke while looking Ye Gucheng up and down, his eyes darting around. Ye Gucheng gave him a cold glance, and Chief Eunuch Wang shifted his gaze slightly before becoming even more brazen in his scrutiny.
This behavior clearly tells Ye Gucheng that he is nothing more than a tool being threatened.
Ye Gucheng gripped his sword, his aura growing even colder.
“That top courtesan Ouyang Qing, along with Master Turtle and Madam Gongsun, these three cannot be allowed to live.” Steward Wang’s voice was shrill, his beady green eyes darting around as he bluntly ordered Ye Gucheng, “Go and kill these three. Don’t use a sword, use the poisonous snakes the prince gave you.”
It was an insult to make a swordsman use poison, but Ye Gucheng just listened coldly without uttering a word.
Before Chief Steward Wang could say anything more, Ye Gucheng stopped him. He had had enough of the smell and the old eunuch's unabashed stares. He figured someone would find the three men for him, so Ye Gucheng turned and walked away without looking back.
Ye Gucheng wore a bamboo hat and changed out of his signature white clothes, so no one could recognize him as one of the main characters who had attracted so many people to the capital.
"Squeeze me! Don't even think about leaving until you've squeezed a thousand!!"
The old man's voice was strong and resolute, carrying an undeniable firmness.
In the past, none of these things would have attracted Ye Gucheng's attention, but at this moment he unconsciously looked in that direction.
There was a clay figurine stall on the street. The young man and the old man sitting behind the stall were clearly grandfather and grandson. The old man was complaining angrily about something, while the young man was sculpting clay figurines with a forced smile.
As Ye Gucheng gazed at the scene, he recalled seeing a similar sight when he walked around Baiyun City.
Success or failure hinges on this one move.
He looked away and strode away from the place.
Zhang Yingfeng seemed to sense something and looked up at the source of his previous gaze. The man, dressed in black and holding a sword, had already strode away.
He had been practicing swordsmanship for quite some time and could tell that this person was a skilled swordsman, so he paid close attention to him.
"If your skills are inferior, don't embarrass yourself. Practice your swordsmanship properly before you go and fight!"
Clay Figure Zhang felt a lingering fear. If a kind person hadn't told him that his foolish grandson had returned for some reason, he would likely have experienced the agony of a parent outliving their child once again. The more frightened he became, the more stern Clay Figure Zhang became with Zhang Yingfeng.
Zhang Yingfeng couldn't refuse his grandfather, so he could only stand by with a forced smile, secretly gritting his teeth at the "kind person." He subtly tried to find out what the "kind person" looked like from his grandfather, but Clay Figure Zhang patted him on the shoulder. Zhang Yingfeng's lips twitched, and he obediently lowered his head to sculpt a clay figure.
Although he is currently tied up, there is plenty of time in the future. Zhang Yingfeng does not believe that Ximen Chuixue will not be seen by the day of the decisive battle. If he does not show up by that time, he is not worthy of being an enemy of the Emei Sect.
Zhang Yingfeng was lost in thought and had no idea that someone had quietly come to his stall.
"Hey, Zhang Yingfeng—?"
The boy's unexpected yet deliberately drawn-out voice rang out above him. Zhang Yingfeng's expression froze, and he looked up to meet the boy's gaze.
Tang Tianzong's smile seemed malicious to Zhang Yingfeng. The young man looked down on the clay figurines on the stall and said, "I came to see your skills. I thought they were terrible, but they're not bad."
Clay Figure Zhang still remembered this customer and said from the side, "This kid's skills are nothing special. You shouldn't praise him too much, lest this good-for-nothing becomes arrogant."
Tang Tianzong said, "Since you put it that way, then I won't praise him anymore."
Zhang Yingfeng wanted to roll her eyes, but remembering that she was in front of her grandfather, she gave him a stiff smile.
Tang Tianzong stood for a moment before leaving. Zhang Yingfeng saw Tang Tianrong and Tang Tianyi not far away and nodded to them. He was puzzled. Rumor had it that Tang Tianyi and his friend were injured. That friend was probably the young man who came with Tang Tianzong to get the clay figure that day. But now all three members of the Tang Clan had come out together. He wondered how the young man was doing.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yingfeng asked in a low voice when his grandfather wasn't looking, "Where are you going?"
"Find Ye Gucheng," Tang Tianzong replied. "And keep an eye out for me too."
"...Why should I be concerned for you?" Zhang Yingfeng asked. "Is your friend alright?"
"...It's alright." Tang Tianzong was unsure whether Yan Liang's condition counted as an obstacle.
Zhang Yingfeng then asked, "Do you know where Ye Gucheng is resting?"
Tang Tianzong shook his head: "It's strange, he made such a grand appearance at noon, but he seems to have disappeared in the afternoon. We still haven't found him."
Zhang Yingfeng said, "Just before you came here, a swordsman in black wearing a bamboo hat passed by. You might as well go and look for that person."
Tang Tianzong said, "You suspect he is Ye Gucheng?"
Zhang Yingfeng said, "No, I suspect he is Ximen Chuixue."
As soon as he spoke, Clay Figure Zhang, with his sharp ears, heard those four words. He slammed his hand on the table and snorted coldly. Zhang Yingfeng hurriedly pushed Tang Tianzong away. Tang Tianzong thought to himself that he wasn't looking for Ximen Chuixue, and walked towards his elder brother, completely bewildered. After telling them what had happened, Tang Tianrong pondered for a moment and then made the decision to go find that person.
Tang Tianrong: "Since we have no clue what to do, we might as well give it a try."
Tang Tianyi: "There are inns ahead, and it's on the way anyway."
Tang Tianzong nodded: "Then I will listen to my brothers."
Meanwhile, Yan Liang was accompanying Lu Xiaofeng, Gu Song Jushi, and Mu Daoren to meet a strange person.
That man was Master Guisun, and where Master Guisun was, there were always two wise and capable men. These two were eccentric old men who had never been seen by anyone. There was nothing in the world they didn't know, and no problem they couldn't solve, and each problem was worth fifty taels of silver.
When it was Lu Xiaofeng's turn to ask a question, a whistle suddenly sounded, short and sharp. As soon as the sound rang out, Yan Liang responded and threw a steaming, ball-shaped object into the brick kiln.
Before Lu Xiaofeng could react, Old Master Gui Sun screamed and crawled out of the cave in the brick kiln.
The old man, still shaken, stared at the smoking inside the brick kiln, breathing heavily. Lu Xiaofeng was extremely surprised; he didn't even know why Yan Liang had made his move, or why the old man looked so panicked.
Mu Daoren and Gusong Jushi also looked at Yan Liang with surprise and doubt. They only knew that this person was Lu Xiaofeng's new friend and had not talked much with him, but Yan Liang's behavior was really unexpected.
Yan Liang scratched the back of his head and sighed helplessly.
Master Gui Sun had calmed down, glanced at Yan Liang with a complicated expression, and said, "Thank you."
Yan Liang smiled slightly.
Lu Xiaofeng was completely bewildered: "What happened?"
Master Guisun did not respond to him, looking extremely hesitant as he stared at the cave entrance. Yan Liang then said, "My medicine is only harmful to poisonous creatures, and it must be dead by now."
Poison? Lu Xiaofeng's expression turned serious.
After hearing Yan Liang's words, Master Turtle went back into the brick kiln. Inside, the voices of three old men talking could be heard. A moment later, Master Turtle came out holding a small, bright red snake.
Mu Daoren and Gusong Jushi understood, and their expressions towards Yan Liang became strange. Yan Liang pretended not to notice, but looked at the snake thoughtfully, and slowly said, "I have encountered this kind of thing before. Someone used a whistle to drive poisonous creatures to harm people. I just heard the whistle and acted instinctively." He raised an eyebrow at Master Guisun, "Please forgive me, I wonder if the great wisdom and understanding have been frightened?"
Master Gui said, "Of course we were frightened. You'd better leave quickly."
Yan Liang laughed: "Alright, you should also be careful not to get implicated like this time."
Master Guisun's expression stiffened slightly, feeling that the young man's smile carried a different meaning, as if he knew that he had been the only one in the brick kiln from beginning to end.
In fact, Yan Liang did know.
He even knew who was behind the sneak attack.
Lord of Baiyun City, Ye Gucheng.
As for why I know...
Want to learn about the cutting-edge technology in the system's online store?
When they met in Zhangjiakou, Ye Gucheng suddenly attacked. Yan Liang was in great pain after being injured, but he didn't forget to throw the bug at Ye Gucheng. At first, it was out of anger, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized something was wrong. He had come with Lu Xiaofeng to see Master Guisun, and at the same time, he could feel the bug moving to the same place. Combining what he had heard before, he guessed Ye Gucheng's intentions. That's why he prepared the special bug in advance, hoping to save Master Guisun.
The reason why we know that Master Gui Sun is a man of great wisdom and understanding is because of the help of advanced technology.
The person with the high-pitched voice ordered Ye Gucheng to kill three people, one of whom was Master Guisun. Yan Liang naturally had to pay more attention, so he also dropped a bugging device. By listening to the breathing at close range, he could tell that there was only one person from beginning to end.
System Mall offers high-tech eavesdropping devices.
Recycling, green and energy-saving.
Yeah.
Master Gui Sun, Lu Xiaofeng, and Yan Liang returned to the city together. The old man was terrified. Once inside the city, he disappeared into the crowd, presumably to find a place to hide.
Lu Xiaofeng understood Master Guisun, so he was slightly relieved, though only slightly because he still had other things on his mind.
For example, who was the person who launched the sneak attack? Or where did Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng go? Or... why did Yan Liang suddenly become so mysterious?
He sighed.
Yan Liang said lazily, "What's wrong? Did you realize you don't have the money to pay me back the thousand taels of silver you owe me?"
Lu Xiaofeng realized that it was unlikely that he and Yan Liang would have a serious conversation.
He wanted to sigh again.
"Where are you going next?" Lu Xiaofeng ultimately didn't ask the question he wanted to ask. "I have to go to a banquet. Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, so why don't you go back to the inn and rest?"
Yan Liang smiled and said, "I want to look around some more. I'll head back later."
The two parted ways at the street corner. As Yan Liang walked, he suddenly realized that someone was watching him. He stopped and looked up at the source of the gaze.
He was a somewhat familiar-looking man in white.
As Yan Liang pondered, the man in white suddenly tossed down a piece of meat, which brushed past Yan Liang's arm, leaving a distinct oil stain on his clothes.
Yan Liang suddenly realized.
It was that unreasonable restaurant owner.
"Do you want to come up?" the man in white asked him, looking down at him.
"Are you treating me to dinner?" Yan Liang asked, looking up at him with utmost sincerity.
"...No need to invite me."
Yan Liang turned and left: "The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow on forever, may we meet again someday."
With a "whoosh," a chopstick was embedded in front of Yan Liang's feet.
Yan Liang: "..."
Is it still involving forced buying and selling?
Author's Note: This chapter has over 4000 words, almost 5000!
Sorry, gentlemen, for disappearing for so long.
Previously, this article suddenly had a row of pending reviews, and it took me several days to find out that it was because the information was incomplete.
Because I don't really look at the notification section.
well
I can never seem to express the feelings I want to express.
The man in white reappeared in this chapter, so we didn't have to guess anymore.
Yes, that's right, that guy is—
Gong Jiu.
Hahaha, didn't you guess that? Pfft pfft pfft pfft
There are various accounts of why Ye Gucheng assisted the Prince of Nan in his rebellion; I have adopted the one I personally prefer.
* "Threatened by the Southern King because of Baiyun City"
By the way, how old are all of you reading this?
Are you an adult?
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