"You've never been to Zhicheng before?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Lin Zitong, sitting on the berth, shook her head. "People from Rongcheng usually head southeast, having more contact with Licheng, Lucheng, and Xiangcheng. After all, these are coastal cities with convenient transportation and developed commerce. When I went for business, I only visited those cities."
Yan Shouyi thought about it and found it reasonable. Compared to coastal Rongcheng, Zhicheng was surrounded by mountains, and transportation was not as convenient. The space for development was too small, which was why Rongcheng eventually became the capital of Jianzhou Province.
Since Lin Zitong had never tasted these delicacies, Yan Shouyi was determined to take her to try them.
He walked to the carriage corridor and bought a bag of guangbing and half a preserved duck from a vendor. He communicated with the vendor in the local Zhicheng dialect. The vendor immediately recognized him as a fellow townsman and even happily gave Yan Shouyi half a preserved duck.
Although Rongcheng was not far from Zhicheng, Jianzhou had different dialects with each mountain range. Thus, hearing the familiar dialect made Yan Shouyi feel exceptionally warm.
Carrying the preserved duck and guangbing back, the aroma immediately attracted everyone. Long Feicheng eagerly came closer, asking curiously, "Brother Yan, what is this?"
The dog Taoist priest recognized it immediately. "Yo, guangbing and preserved duck! Come on, give me a couple of guangbing to try first!"
After distributing the guangbing and preserved duck to everyone, Yan Shouyi looked at Lin Zitong with anticipation. Lin Zitong took a small bite of the crispy guangbing, and after a few chews, her eyes lit up. "This is delicious!"
"Of course!" Yan Shouyi puffed up with pride.
The dog Taoist priest chuckled, "The guangbing we ate back then was the real guangbing, just the bread, no meat. See this hole in the middle? In the past, when we went to work in the fields or traveled, we would string the guangbing together with a rope and hang them around our necks. We could just take a bite whenever we were hungry!"
The specialty snacks of every region were inseparable from the lives of the common people. Behind those snacks lay many stories and a form of history.
Yan Chou sat by the window, watching the receding fields and mountains, seemingly without much appetite.
Lin Zitong nudged Yan Shouyi with her elbow, handed him a duck leg, and then exchanged a meaningful glance.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but laugh and cry. Lin Zitong was such a dutiful daughter-in-law. If it were himself, he wouldn't have bothered to disturb or care for Yan Chou.
So, Yan Shouyi took the duck leg and went over to Yan Chou.
"Dad, it's been a while since you've tasted the flavor of home, right?"
Yan Chou came back to his senses, saw the duck leg in Yan Shouyi's hand, and knew that Lin Zitong had asked him to come over to show concern.
If it weren't for Lin Zitong, Yan Chou would likely have kicked Yan Shouyi away. As a father, he couldn't let his son think he was old and needed care and companionship.
But since it was his daughter-in-law's concern, he had to accept it properly.
He took the duck leg, sniffed it, and praised, "It's been over ten years, and this preserved duck tastes more and more fragrant."
"I agree," said Monk Miaoji, who was eating half a duck, chiming in.
Long Feicheng couldn't help but ask, "Master Miaoji, don't you abstain from meat and fish?"
The dog Taoist priest laughed, "He doesn't even abstain from lust, so why would he abstain from meat and fish? Come on, bald monk, I have wine here. Shall we play rock-paper-scissors?"
Miaoji indeed abstained from nothing. He ate duck meat and drank white wine, and started playing rock-paper-scissors with the dog Taoist priest.
This left Yan Shouyi and the others dumbfounded.
However, they were already accustomed to the eccentricities of the dog Taoist priest and Miaoji.
It could be said that worldly rules and perspectives were completely irrelevant to these two.
It's worth mentioning that the dog Taoist priest's old yellow dog couldn't get on the train.
So, during security checks, the dog Taoist priest let the old yellow dog go and instructed it to wait for him in Zhicheng.
The old yellow dog was clearly very intelligent and understood the dog Taoist priest's words. However, Yan Shouyi was still unsure how the old yellow dog would get to Zhicheng by itself, or if it would encounter dog catchers.
Fortunately, people in Jianzhou didn't like to eat dog meat...
"Son, when we arrive in Zhicheng, take Zitong and Little Long back to Chen Family Village first. Your uncle and I have some business to attend to," Yan Chou suddenly said.
Yan Shouyi was taken aback. "What is it?"
"It's nothing, just meeting old friends," Yan Chou smiled. "Besides, you young people shouldn't be with us middle-aged people all the time."
This was true. In front of Yan Chou and the others, Long Feicheng was much more well-behaved, and his usual wisecracks were nowhere to be heard.
So, Yan Shouyi could only nod. "Our old house is still habitable after tidying up. I'll take them back first. How many days will you be back?"
"It won't be long, perhaps two days at most. We have our phones, so we can contact each other anytime," Yan Chou replied.
With that, Yan Shouyi had no further questions.
However, he was still curious about what Yan Chou was going to do.
He finally figured it out. After all, his father had been in prison for so many years. Now that he was finally out, it was normal for him to find an excuse to go out and have some fun with his brothers.
The green-skinned train chugged along the tracks through the fields with a rhythmic "clack-clack."
At sunset, the train stopped at the Zhicheng train station.
Yan Shouyi got off the train and, breathing in the familiar air of his hometown, felt a sense of ease.
After leaving the station, they parted ways temporarily. Yan Shouyi took Lin Zitong and Long Feicheng onto a bus heading to town.
Yan Chou, after watching them leave, his gaze gradually turned cold.
"Dog Taoist priest, have you caught the people?" Yan Chou asked.
"Yes, they're in a small motel nearby," the dog Taoist priest nodded.
"Let's go."
The three of them walked into a nearby alley and entered a dilapidated small motel.
They went up to the third floor and knocked on the door at the end of the corridor. A moment later, someone opened the door.
The person who opened the door was none other than Axiao, Sanlong, and Lai Tou, the three who had killed Tong Jiuhua and stolen Tong Jingcheng's soul.
"Big brother." Axiao cupped his fists at Yan Chou and then moved aside, allowing Yan Chou to see the other three people in the room.
These three were all bound hand and foot, blindfolded, and gagged.
Upon hearing the movement, they squirmed in fear, but it was all in vain.
Yan Chou entered the room, and Miaoji closed the door behind them.
Sanlong brought a chair for Yan Chou. Yan Chou sat in front of the three men, and Lai Tou stepped forward to remove their blindfolds.
The three men finally saw their surroundings, only to find Yan Chou sitting before them, and their faces immediately turned ashen.
"I'm out of prison. Didn't expect that?" Yan Chou said with a smile.
These three had tattoos and wore gold and silver, appearing to be powerful and influential.
But who would have thought that over a decade ago, they were just a few small-time hoodlums who only dared to bully honest people.
It was they, along with others, who had bullied Yan Chou's comrade Zhang Tiao, causing Zhang Tiao to die unjustly. Yan Chou had flown into a rage at Zhang Tiao's funeral and killed several of them, and these three hoodlums were the ones who had escaped that day.
The three hoodlums naturally recognized Yan Chou. After so many years, they thought they were safe, only to find Yan Chou out of prison.
And this time, Yan Chou was much more composed than over a decade ago. He would never commit murder in public again.
Yet, to the three hoodlums, the current Yan Chou was far more terrifying than he was ten years ago.
One of the hoodlums immediately wet himself. Another hoodlum spat out the rag in his mouth and stammered, pleading, "B-big brother, we were wrong. We've retired from crime and turned over a new leaf. We're honest businessmen now, with elderly parents and young children..."
Yan Chou sneered. "What noble words! I almost believed you. You know, my good brother Zhang Tiao was also an honest businessman, but he was ultimately killed by you."
"Do you think this matter is over just because I went to prison? You killed someone, and you don't have to take any responsibility, and you can retire and turn over a new leaf. My good brother, did he have a chance to do it all over again?"
"He didn't, so neither should you."
In fact, these three hoodlums had never truly repented.
In the years Yan Chou was in prison, not only did they not stop, but they intensified their efforts. They made money through various means, forced respectable women into prostitution, kidnapped laborers for black mines, and threatened students with loan sharking... They had committed all sorts of evil deeds, and committed them to the extreme!
The crimes they had committed were enough to warrant death a dozen times over.
Therefore, Yan Chou felt no guilt in taking revenge on them.
He beckoned, and Sanlong stood behind the three of them. The chilling murderous intent pricked their spines.
The three were so terrified they couldn't speak.
They knew that what lay behind them was only death.
Yan Chou lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and said softly, "I came here specifically to witness your deaths with my own eyes."