Chapter Twenty Return

  Recommendation from the imperial court: The work "Back to the Qing Dynasty" by Duanjian Tianya, is more exciting than my YY. If you're not satisfied with Jiankong's book, go there and have a good time, CC.

  Yan Qing heard Gao Qiang's shout and jumped down from the top of the grave, turning to the back of the grave. Before long, he brought out a person. The man was tied up like a rice dumpling, with two walnuts stuffed in his mouth, unable to move or make a sound. His eyes rolled around rapidly, revealing a pleading expression. It was none other than Li Gu, the former steward of the Lu mansion, who had been listed as a missing person.

  Yan Qing walked up close and threw Li Gu to the ground with one hand. He bowed his head to Gao Qiang and said, "Sir, I've brought Li Gu here. You can deal with him as you see fit."

  Gao Jian saw that he was still as cold as ice, and secretly sighed in his heart. On the surface, however, he smiled and said: "Young Yigong, this matter should be handled by you, otherwise I would be failing to keep my promise to Lu Yuanwai."

  Yan Qing heard this, his face still expressionless, coldly turned his head to look at Li Gu on the ground, pulled out a short blade from his waist and stepped forward two steps to stand in front of Li Gu.

  Li Kui saw the knife hovering above his head, although he couldn't speak and his hands and feet were unable to move, he desperately twisted his body back and forth on the ground, making "huh huh" sounds continuously. Yan Qing bent down, but didn't take out his knife, instead taking the two walnuts from Li Kui's mouth.

  As soon as his lips and tongue were free, Li Gu shouted: "Spare my life, Second Master Xiao! Spare my life! If the master spares my humble life, I will surely repay him with my body. For the rest of my life, I will serve the master without daring to speak of regret. In this life, no, in every life, I will be a cow and horse for the master, and repay him by offering grass and wearing a ring!"

  Gao Jian shook his head, "This dog-headed man still hasn't made any progress," and smiled, saying: "Li Zongguan, what use do I have for your worthless life? For the time being, I can't think of anything."

  Li Gu struggled to get up, falling four or five times in the process. Finally managing to kneel down, he said: "Your Honor, I'm skilled at managing finances and familiar with the market prices of famous products on the roads east of Beijing. If you spare my life, I can guarantee that within a year, no, three years, I'll earn you a fortune of 10,000 taels. That Lu Jun...". He glanced at Yan Qing before correcting himself: "More than half of Officer Lu's wealth was earned by me, please have mercy on me!" As he spoke, he lost his balance again and hit his head on the ground. With great effort, he struggled to get up once more, repeatedly kowtowing.

  Gao heard this and was slightly moved. In the future, if he wanted to do something big, he would have to use money everywhere, and keeping someone like him by his side might be useful. However, this person knew too much and had a bad character, making it impossible for Gao to trust him with managing finances; moreover, Yan Qing had a grudge against this person and couldn't keep him around. Thinking of this, he shook his head and said: "Li General Manager, this official has already enjoyed wealth and luxury, and has accumulated a huge fortune. Your good intentions can only be appreciated in my heart. Little Yige, why haven't you started yet?"

  Yan Qing's expression was indifferent, his left hand reached out to grab Li Gu's collar, and his right hand raised the knife ready to strike. Li Gu saw that his attempts at persuasion were ineffective, and his life was about to be lost, but he suddenly burst into a mad laugh: "Haha... Yan Qing, do you want to avenge your Yu Lian? That day I saw her naked, my eyes almost popped out! Have you even touched her before? I, Li Gu, played with her for an entire year! Her skin, her figure, and most importantly, that thing in bed, tsk tsk... after playing with her, other women are just like a pile of crap!"

  "Shut up!" Yan Qing's icy expression collapsed in an instant, his young and handsome face almost twisted, he flung the short knife away, his right fist striking the prisoner's face with a loud thud, then lifted it again, punching down repeatedly, one punch after another, shouting non-stop: "Shut up! Shut up!"

  With a strong wave of his hands, he stopped Lu Qian and Xu Guanzhong from advancing, crossing his hands over his chest, quietly watching Yan Qing's performance. The others saw him like this, also silently watching Li Gu being beaten by Yan Qing, his originally haggard and sinister face already shattered beyond recognition.

  Yan Qing struck twenty or so punches, then lifted Li Gu single-handedly and shouted: "You beast! You're not even worthy of being a pig or dog! You don't deserve to mention her name. Today I'll beat you until you dare not go see her in the underworld!"

  Who would have thought that Li Gu would suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, along with several teeth? Yan Qing dodged too late and got splattered on the face and chest. Immediately afterwards, he burst into laughter again, shouting unclearly from his broken and deformed mouth: "Stop pretending to be noble! Your Jade Lotus has been ravaged by me countless times in bed, I want her dead and she dare not live, even in the underworld I will still ravage her to death!"

  "Damn it!" Yan Qing's face was covered in blood, his expression ferocious beyond compare, like a fierce ghost from the underworld: "Heavenly killing dog, I'll cut you into pieces, grind your bones to dust, and see how you can still defile her!!" As he spoke, he picked up the short knife from the ground with one hand.

  Li Guo suddenly shouted: "Yan Qing! Before I die, there is a huge secret about your Jade Lotus. After I finish speaking, you can reward me with a knife!" His voice was as mournful as an owl's hoot at night.

  "You still have something to say, Dog Head?" Although extreme anger, hatred, or even deeper regret had brought Yan Qing to the brink of collapse, the so-called secret about Yulian still allowed him to regain some control over himself, and the sharp blade in his hand was pressed directly against Li Gu's heart.

  "Alright, I'll tell you, every time I make your Jade Lotus almost die from pleasure, she would call out your name, Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi! Hahaha!!......"

  "Ah!!……” Along with Li Gu's maniacal laughter, Yan Qing's roar burst out almost simultaneously. The snow-bright short sword stabbed into the opponent's heart in an instant, and then came out from behind, the fierce force making his own left hand unbearable to withstand. The two of them fell together on the grass.

  A loud clap of thunder boomed in mid-air, and Gang Tie raised his head to look up, only to see that the leaden clouds had merged together at some unknown time. The wind picked up, the clouds surged forward, and before he could even take a breath, the rain curtain came pouring down. In an instant, the raindrops grew as big as soybeans, and with the wind whipping them around, they stung his face like needles. The two people on the ground suddenly parted ways, one of whom had clearly lost their life, lying motionless on the ground like a sack of flour.

  And another person who should have been unscathed was also exhausted, he struggled to crawl two steps on the ground, and then fell head down to the ground, as if dead, motionless, letting the stormy rain hit his body mercilessly.

  "Xiao Yi!" Xu Guanzhong shouted, rushing over to pick him up. However, his friend, who had seemed to have lost all his strength, suddenly pushed him away and fell back onto the lawn, closing his eyes tightly.

  Xu Guanzhong was about to go and help him up again, when a hand reached out from behind and rested on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to see Gao Qiang shaking his head at him, indicating that he should leave him alone for the time being.

  Lu Qian and Yang Zhi had received the instructions, so they went to arrange the three corpses, and then put the waist knife that Yang Xiong used to kill his wife next to Li Gu's side. This was a scene of robbery gone wrong and killing people in anger. As for why Li Gu wanted to rob, heaven knows, probably because he lost everything when the Qingyun Building caught fire and didn't have enough money on him as he escaped.

  When everything was settled, everyone's clothes were soaked and their appearance was somewhat disheveled. Gao Qiang saw Yan Qing still lying on the ground, so he went over to help him up, but Yan Qing struggled again. Gao Qiang didn't say much, directly punching him in the head until he fainted, then carried him on his back down the mountain first. Lu Jian and Yang Zhi both wanted to carry him, but were pushed away by Gao Qiang. Behind them, Yang Xiong helped Shi Xiu up, and the group left quickly.

  That night, at midnight, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the air was exceptionally fresh after a heavy rain. Gao Qiang was in his room preparing for bed when he suddenly heard scratching sounds on the door, and then heard Yang Zhi shouting from outside: "Who is it?"

  "It's me, Yan Qing." The voice outside the door was low and hoarse, but already had some anger.

  Without waiting for Yang Zhi to speak, Gao Qiang spoke up and said: "Yang Zhi, please let Xiao Yi come in." He threw on his clothes and got out of bed, went to the outer room, and saw that Yan Qing had changed into a set of plain clothes. Although he looked haggard, his expression was quite calm. He bowed to Gao Qiang and said: "Sir, Yan Qing has come at midnight, it's extremely presumptuous, please forgive me."

  Qian Jin's expression changed, and the surface of Yan Qing in front of him had basically returned to normal, but it gave people a strange feeling. After a moment's thought, he already had a plan, and said: "Xiao Yige, are you coming to ask me for something?"

  Yan Qing's expression changed slightly, but he immediately regained his composure and said: "The official is indeed all-knowing. Xiao Yi has come to bid farewell to the official, and I hope the official will grant him permission." He bowed again as he spoke.

  Gao Jian smiled slightly: "Xiao Yige, I have always admired you and regarded you as a brother and friend. Of course, it's up to you to come and go as you please. But may I ask, are you planning to return to Lu Yuanwai's side?"

  Yan Qing lowered his head and said, "The official is so magnanimous, Yan Qing is deeply grateful, but Xiao Yi is not going to Lu Yuanwai's place, he just wants to wander around the world and end his miserable life."

  "This answer was already within Gao's expectations, he nodded: 'A man's ambition lies in the four directions, if Xiao Yi has the intention to travel freely around the world, it is also a joyful thing. I will not stop him, let him go as he pleases.'"

  Yan Qing raised his head and glanced at Gao Qiang, his expression slightly moved, then immediately calmed down, only deeply saluted, before turning to leave.

  Just as he turned around, Gao Gang suddenly threw out a sentence: "Xiao Yige, you can escape from me, Xiao Sheng, Guan Zhong, and all the things in the world, but can you escape from your own heart?"

  As soon as the words were spoken, Yan Qing's whole body was like being struck by lightning, his straight body suddenly shook violently, and one foot had already stepped out, but it was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn't lift it up again.

  He suddenly turned around, his face already covered with tears, and trembled: "Yā, yā nèi, what did you say?" Where was the slightest bit of the former carefree rogue's demeanor?

  Gao Jian let out a deep sigh, got up and walked past him to the door, looked up at the jade wheel in the sky. It was already July 16th, the moonlight was bright and clear, shining down on the world of mortals.

  "Little Brother, look at this round moon shining down on the earth, all human joys and sorrows are under its gaze, no matter what people do, they can't escape its eyes." He turned around, his eyes fixed on Yan Qing's red and swollen eyes: "Our hearts are the same, no matter where we go, no matter what you or I do, here", he pointed to his own heart, "there is a pair of eyes watching, how can you escape?"

  Yan Qing's whole body shook violently, and he collapsed to the ground like a mountain, wailing in grief, only able to say: "Master, master, you......" but unable to utter another word.

  Gao Jian raised his hand and sighed, "Xiao Yige, isn't it true that friendships are about being in harmony with each other? In life's dealings, isn't it also the case? If one is at peace, then even coarse food and a humble abode can be sweet as honey; but if one is troubled, then fine clothes and jewelry, feasting and music, are all just a source of anxiety that cannot be shaken off. In this world, it's hard to find friends to share life's journey with, Xiao Yige, why not join hands with me and walk together, supporting each other?"

  Swallowing back tears, his voice trembling, Gao Qiang continued: "What's past is past, what's to come can be pursued. Xiao Yige, if you can hold on to the fragrance of your heart, how do you know that the icy clear jade lotus won't bloom with a delicate fragrance in your heart?"

  Yan Qing's legs went soft and she knelt down on the ground, only managing to call out: "Sir..." before being unable to say another word.

  Sighing deeply, I gaze at the bright moon in the distance, but I don't know what evening it is tonight, or what world this is. Tomorrow I'll have to return to Bianliang, but my heart is uneasy, where can I go?

  (Second part of Hebei???? completed)

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