Help in times of need

  A month later, Yan Sanbai's footprints began to wander again. He went to many places, including the Dongji Bookstore in Jiangling and the hometown of Meng Bisheng, but found very few clues.

  In the Jiangnan town where Meng Bi Sheng and Qin Sang's story began, the neighbors told him the complete story. Yan San Bai sat on the bridge, listening, watching the small boats with black awnings slowly passing through the bridge hole, as if he saw Qin Sang who was full of beautiful visions in his heart at that time.

  Although no usable clues could be found, Yan Sanbai was not one to give up easily. He returned to Jiangling and went to the Yong'an pharmacy, where he asked the shopkeeper to buy eight qian of Che Qian Cao and three qian of Ju Ming Zi.

  The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic and handed him a prescription. It was a prescription from the Langhuan Pavilion, that mysterious Jianghu building, specializing in message sales.

  Yan Sanbai again drifted down along the Jiuqu River, paddling a bamboo raft, passing by a certain place called Diaotai.

  A young man sat on the fishing platform, wearing a conical hat and a raincoat, revealing only a chin with a faint green beard.

  Yan Sanbai stood on the bamboo raft, cupping his hands in a distant greeting. "Lu Xiake, it's been a long time."

  Lu Shuangxing picked up his fishing rod and lifted his bamboo hat, "Yo."

  "Can we make a deal?" asked Yan Sanbai.

  "Of course, but the information you want is too obscure, and we also had a hard time finding it out. You have to exchange another piece of information for it."

  "It doesn't matter what you say."

  "Rakshasa." Lu Shuangxing said seriously: "Fifteen years ago, he should have disappeared with you. Do you know his whereabouts?"

  "Are you looking for him?" asked Yan Sanbai.

  "My master wants to see him, if you can tell the truth, there will be a heavy reward."

  Yan Sanbai shook his head, "It's been fifteen years already, do you think he could still be alive? Your sect leader... also had a grudge against him?"

  Lu Shuang suddenly smiled and said, "Must finding Luo Sha be for revenge?"

  "He is left alone, and it seems that only his enemies are left. Death is now his best outcome, please inform your family's master, no need to look for him anymore."

  Lu Shuangxing neither refused nor agreed, looked him up and down, and then asked with interest: "This set of martial arts you're using, does it have anything to do with Luo Sha?"

  Yan Sanbai paused for a moment, without denying it.

  "It's true." Lu Shuangxing nodded to himself, if it wasn't for that famous war god who had passed down the teachings, how could Yan Sanbai have such profound skills at such a young age. Thinking of this, he put away his fishing rod and stood up, "This can be considered as one piece of information, the deal is done, you can go take a look at Qinglong Mountain, which is about 100 miles from Jiangling, maybe there will be news of him."

  Yan Sanbai finally revealed a hint of joy, "Thank you."

  Lu Shuangxing put his bamboo hat back on, slung his fishing rod over his shoulder and walked away with a wave of his hand.

  Yan Sanbai drifted downstream again, and half a month later, he searched all over the green mountains. Finally, along the mountain path, he found the temple hidden halfway up the mountain.

  The misty clouds dispersed, and the small temple in the mountains was not very prosperous. There were only a few monks doing their morning chores, carrying water buckets and walking through the damp forest. A monk in his thirties was sweeping the ground under the silver ginkgo tree in front of the courtyard, holding a large broom and moving slowly and deliberately.

  A gust of wind blew by, blowing up the fallen leaves on the ground and also blowing up his empty right sleeve. He raised his head, and on his originally handsome face, there were faint scars from a knife wound.

  He stared blankly in the direction of the mountain wind, and a ripple appeared in his calm eyes. It had been a long time since he looked like this. A slightly older monk walked over, "Liao Kong, you're thinking about those things again?"

  He turned around and said, "Senior brother, I still can't remember."

  "Don't think about it if you can't remember, don't force it."

  "I just feel like there's something important waiting for me to do, and I just can't let it go."

  "Alas..." The senior brother shook his head and sighed, "When Master saved you back then, you had already gone through the gates of hell. Now, you are no longer the same person as before. Past events should not be dwelled upon; it's better that you can't remember them. Why bother clinging to them?"

  The elder brother left, and I stood alone under the tree, where new leaves and withered branches coexisted, rustling in the wind.

  Suddenly, he felt a little moist in his eyes, and the broken courtyard wall nearby seemed to evoke a certain memory from the bottom of his heart. However, that memory was too vague, and as soon as he thought about it, a sharp pain came from his mind, forcing him not to think about it anymore.

  He can't remember his own name, nor the thing he would risk his life to do. He can only stand in this slightly cool courtyard, watching flowers bloom and wither. Maybe he'll remember, maybe he won't, but who knows?

  After a long time, he raised his only remaining left hand, with his palm upright in front of his chest, closed his eyes and said, "Amitabha."

  The traveler in front of the temple looked at his figure bowing down to sweep the floor again, and then raised his head to look at the new leaves on the big tree, standing for a long time, but did not go forward to disturb him.

  He bowed in the direction of the Buddha, turned around and went down the mountain as he came. A white cloud entered the misty veil, walking alone in the red dust.

  All he wanted was to have his own way, and now that the story is over, it's time for the audience to leave.

  Half a month later, at a certain tributary of the Jiuchuan River.

  A small flat boat drifted down the river, it was summer solstice, both banks were lush green and the scenery was pleasant.

  The young boatman turned back with a helpless expression and asked the man sitting cross-legged at the bow, who was leisurely pondering over a chessboard, "Your Majesty, how much longer will we drift on the water?"

  That person was naturally Li Yan, "We just ran out of the palace not long ago, can't you be a bit more elegant?"

  He puckered up his mouth again, and he missed Yan Sanbai. It had been a long time since they last met, and he really missed him.

  "Your Highness, why don't we go find Yan Dashao instead?" He ventured to suggest, "Recently, the Jianghu has been spreading rumors that, by imperial decree, Yan Sanbai investigated the case and with one knife, beheaded the eighteen bandits of Tengyun. Wearing a white robe, he single-handedly ascended Qing Shan Mountain, who knows how many more young ladies are crying out for him to marry them?"

  "Clap." A black chess piece fell onto the board, and Li Yan finally raised his eyes. The Tengyun Eighteen Strongholds were where those mountain bandits who had almost killed Meng Bi were located. They were accustomed to doing evil, and due to the special terrain of the place, the government had also failed to capture them several times. So this time, after Yan Sanbai challenged the stronghold alone, even Li Yan in Chang'an heard the cheers.

  "If there is fate, we will naturally meet."

  "What is considered fate?"

  Li Yan gazed at the black and white intertwined patterns on the chessboard, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, and a glimmer of light flickering in his slender phoenix eyes. "If I say it's fate, then it's fate."

  The flat boat continued downstream and soon arrived at the next ferry terminal.

  Yongchuang County is only about 500 miles away from Luoyang, and Li Yan set out from Chang'an, taking the water route down, drifting along for a few days before arriving. Although this place is not as famous as Luoyang, it is actually located in the heart of the Central Plains, with prosperous traffic flowing north and south, which is why Li Yan often comes here to play when he has nothing better to do.

  As soon as he entered the city, Li Yan's face was recognized by too many people, and his red clothes were too eye-catching. So, as usual, he wore a thin silk hat and slowly strolled through the city, looking around with nothing to do, seeing if there were any new toys on the street.

  The streets are crowded with people, the hawkers' shouts and the sound of horses and carriages all blend together in a lively atmosphere. Yingchuan County has always been known for its talented people and spiritual land, producing many famous scholars and heroes, so there are particularly many literati and knights-errant on the streets here. All sorts of legendary stories circulate here, and the tea houses and wine shops are always packed with customers.

  Zero walked along the road, looking around, but suddenly felt something was wrong.

  "Your Highness, don't you think there are suddenly more people from the jianghu here?"

  Li Yan Zheng picked up a hairpin from the small stall selling accessories on the side of the road, looked at it, and said with a sidelong glance around him, "Tianhua Sect, Baihua Gate, Qing Shan Jian Zong, Xi Ling Mountain Villa... indeed many have come."

  So many people gathered in Yingchuan, there must be something going on.

  Just as he was thinking this, Ling suddenly heard a commotion coming from the other end of the street. He tiptoed to get a better look, but there were too many people and he couldn't see very clearly. However, he could vaguely hear someone shouting "Don't run" in a clear and melodious female voice.

  Ling Ding suddenly felt a surge of interest and walked a few steps forward to take a look. As he looked, something flashed before his eyes, shining golden, looking quite familiar.

  Is it golden leaf?

  He couldn't help but think that following Li Ye, the most gold things he saw were just golden leaves, nothing special, just rich. But thinking again, it didn't seem right, golden leaves can't fly after all.

  He became curious, his gaze following the golden light as it came to a stop on Li Yan's bamboo hat. Li Yan stretched out his hand and it flapped its wings again, flying onto his fingertips.

  Ling Dingtong's eyes widened suddenly.

  Pangpang? Li Yan recognized the slightly chubby belly and beautiful golden wings at a glance. Since Pangpang is here, it proves that Yan Sanbai is also in this place.

  He couldn't help but smile and said to Lingding: "See, isn't fate coming?"

  Ling Dian nodded repeatedly, he was even more excited than Li Ye, and hurriedly looked around for Yan Sanbai's figure. It wasn't a big deal if you didn't look, but one glance made him jump in fright - a huge wave of people surged from the far end of the street!

  A large group of people from the jianghu wearing green clothes!

  A large group of people from the jianghu world wearing green clothes with a menacing aura and holding swords in their hands!

  Most importantly, in front of this group of Jianghu people was a white-clad figure running ahead. That flash of white was so familiar, the posture so carefree and unrestrained - it's Yan Daxia!

  What's going on? Being hunted down again?!

  At that time, Li Yan was still teasing Pong Pong, and when he heard a faint cry, he raised his head to see Yan Sanbai flying over his head. That white figure covered the sky and the sun, enveloping him entirely.

  "Wow." Li Yan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  Yan Sanbai happened to lower his head and saw the face under the thin gauze, and the two new friends completed their first reunion.

  "Eh, Brother Yan, your chubby one!" The two missed each other, and Li Yan hastily shouted.

  Yan Sanbai suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to run back, "How is your highness here?"

  "Aren't you going to explain what's going on first?" Li Yan raised an eyebrow.

  "Cough, Jianghu rescue emergency." Yan Sanbai said, and the remaining light glanced at the pursuing soldiers getting closer and closer. He immediately became serious, stretched out his hand to beckon back Pangpang, and without saying a word, they immediately fled!

  "Let's take the lead!"

  Li Yan and Ling Ding had never seen him so flustered before, they turned back to look, only to see that the front of the pursuing soldiers was a beautiful woman in light green armor, holding a long whip, with a spirited expression.

  They also knew Chen Xiangxiang, the elder sister of the Chen family in Yingchuan.

  And then, Yan Sanbai miraculously came back.

  Li Yan looked at him in confusion, while Yan Sanbai pointed helplessly to the people on the rooftops all around them - they were all wearing blue shirts with long swords hanging from their waists.

  "What on earth have you done to make both men and gods angry?" Li Yan asked.

  Yan Sanbai was about to explain, but Chen Xiangxian had already approached, raising his eyebrow and glancing at Li Yan, then glancing at Yan Sanbai behind him. Yan Sanbai felt a bit uneasy and hid further behind Li Yan.

  Chen Xixi suddenly gained momentum, and shifted his gaze to Li Yan. Li Yan's hat covered his face, Chen Xixi had no interaction with Luoyang Wangsu, so he didn't recognize him at all, and shouted: "Hey! Who are you?! Hiding and covering up like that, quickly let my brother Yan out!"

  Li Yan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yan Sanbai with a hint of playfulness - this development is quite interesting.

  What's even more unexpected is that the passersby around them are all smiling and surrounding them in a big circle to watch the excitement. Chen Xiangxiang is the eldest daughter of the Chen family, always fiery and impulsive, but not arrogant or pampered. She gets along well with the people of Yingchuan County. Now, as soon as the eldest daughter appears, everyone comes to watch the commotion.

  Ling felt that the three of them standing in the crowd were like three monkeys performing tricks.

  The author has something to say: Next story let's have a more relaxing Jianghu adventure, hahaha!

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