It had been a full month since Jiang Wusheng was defeated.
Yan Chou and the others had left a few days prior, stating they were taking their grandmother Wen Yuxian to Mount Emei to visit old friends and reminisce.
They would likely not meet again until after the Qingming Festival, during the Luo Tian Da Jiao. Yan Shouyi was accustomed to partings and reunions; thankfully, the times were different now, with mobile phones making it possible to stay in touch anytime.
Time had advanced by a month. Not long after New Year's Day, the festive atmosphere of the New Year had arrived. Every household in Chenjia Village had hung red lanterns, and a steady stream of vibrant young people were returning to the village, breathing new life into the once-solitary settlement.
Yan Shouyi, Lin Zitong, and Long Feicheng remained in Chenjia Village. During this past month, the trio had truly experienced a pastoral life.
Waking up in the morning, Yan Shouyi would carry a hoe and drag Long Feicheng to the vegetable patch. They would bring back fresh vegetables at noon, and along the way, neighbors would also send some eggs. Lin Zitong and Jiang Ting, who visited often, would cook together, preparing a hearty lunch for their small household.
In the afternoon, Yan Shouyi would go to the small river in front of Chenjia Village to fish, sitting there for the entire day. However, he wasn't entirely fishing; he spent most of his time meditating with his legs crossed, cultivating in quietude with his eyes closed.
In the evening, everyone would gather around a bonfire in the yard to chat. Before long, they would retire to their rooms and drift off to sleep.
Such days could make one lazy, yet everyone adapted to them surprisingly well, even wishing for them to continue indefinitely.
One noon, after finishing lunch, Yan Shouyi noticed Long Feicheng holding his phone with a rather serious expression.
He couldn't help but ask, "Little Long, are you troubled by something?"
Long Feicheng coughed dryly and said weakly, "Brother Yan, those people in the anti-Yan Chou alliance group seem to have started suspecting us."
"Nani?"
Yan Shouyi's heart tightened. He quickly took out his phone to check the messages in the chat group.
With Yan Chou absent, if those enemies from the group came looking for them, it would be a considerable trouble for Yan Shouyi.
Over the past month, the big shots in the group had been staking out Yan Chou in Bing Province. For a whole month, they hadn't even managed to catch a glimpse of Yan Chou, let alone anything else.
But Long Feicheng had been continuously fooling them, urging them to be patient and continue waiting.
It wasn't until this morning that the big shots finally couldn't wait any longer and went to confront Long Feicheng.
Blood Droplet: @Little Fatty of Shengxian Temple (Long Feicheng), damn it, is your information accurate or not? Where is Yan Chou? I've been waiting at Bing Province Airport for a month, and just now, the airport staff kicked me out as if I were a beggar!
Tranquility and Far-reaching: Are you messing with us?
Long Feicheng was indeed messing with them.
But how could he tell them the truth at this moment?
Dragon Feicheng's subsequent reply was filled with feigned innocence: "Esteemed seniors, please do not be angry. We captured Yan Chou's son, and it was his son who told us Yan Chou's whereabouts!"
The group fell silent for a moment. The two individuals were likely contemplating. After all, in the video Long Feicheng had sent earlier of him "beating up" Yan Shouyi, Yan Shouyi looked exactly like Yan Chou. They were certain that Yan Shouyi was Yan Chou's son.
Tranquility and Far-reaching: Then is Yan Chou's son still in your hands? Where are you? We're coming to find you right now!
Blood Droplet: That's right. If we can't kill Yan Chou, we'll kill his son first!
Long Feicheng: Yan Chou's son... he ran away a couple of days ago...
The group immediately exploded. A large number of group members jumped out to accuse Long Feicheng, saying how could he let someone as important as Yan Shouyi escape?
Blood Droplet: Ran away?! Where did he run to? [Angry]
Long Feicheng replied: I received confirmed intelligence that he has run off to Beijiang!
Tranquility and Far-reaching: Bei... Beijiang?! Is this kid a rabbit? Why is he running around so much?!
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but burst out laughing, silently pitying those poor group members.
It was their misfortune to encounter the jinx that was Long Feicheng. China had so many provinces; they were enough to fool them for another two years.
However, the group members weren't fools. Beijiang was too remote, and its vastness, coupled with its desolate nature, made finding Yan Shouyi there akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Therefore, they collectively turned their attention to Long Feicheng, stating that regardless, they would first come to meet Long Feicheng, and then they would make further plans.
Before Long Feicheng could even speak, they had already discussed coming to him, directly removing any chance for him to refuse.
Since the big shots held high positions and couldn't come personally, they decided to each send a favored disciple or an outstanding descendant to form a group and come to Rongcheng to find Long Feicheng, clarify the situation, and ideally find some clues about Yan Shouyi and Yan Chou, so the big shots could locate their hiding places.
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi's eyelids began to twitch.
"Little Long, you've caused trouble again!"
Long Feicheng forced a wry smile, "It's not my fault, is it? It's not easy deceiving them every day. Deceiving them for a month is my limit."
Yan Shouyi knew it wasn't Long Feicheng's fault. After all, others weren't fools. These guys had likely begun to suspect him a long time ago.
But now, the new generation of the anti-Yan Chou alliance was about to form a team to find Long Feicheng. How should they handle this?
Simply leave the group and disappear?
That would prevent them from obtaining internal information from these enemies. It was possible that in the future, these people would suddenly attack them.
Yan Shouyi pondered for a while and suddenly had an idea. He smiled and said to Long Feicheng:
"Don't be afraid. Keep deceiving them. Act all welcoming and lure them all to Rongcheng!"
Long Feicheng was surprised, "Why? Won't this be drawing trouble to ourselves?"
"I figured our identities shouldn't be hidden for too much longer anyway. It's better to seize this opportunity and make a big move!" Yan Shouyi said with a mischievous smile.
Long Feicheng blinked, "Make a big move? ... Brother Yan, you need to think clearly. You're a married man, and Sister-in-law's combat power is quite high..."
Yan Shouyi also paused, then corrected him angrily, "I said make a big move, not make a big move! You damn idiot, can you even drive on this road???"
Long Feicheng thought for a long time before suddenly realizing what Yan Shouyi meant.
He scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "My apologies, my apologies. I was once known as the 'King of the Road of Feifeng Mountain,' so my thoughts can be a bit too broad... Continue, don't mind me..."
Yan Shouyi gave Long Feicheng a glare and explained:
"In any case, we are irreconcilably opposed to the people in that group. Their disciples or descendants will definitely be our enemies, so this time, let's take the opportunity to set up a trap and capture all their disciples and descendants in one fell swoop, and then demand that they disband this damn alliance!"
Long Feicheng's eyes gradually lit up, "You're still the best, Brother Yan! How did I not think of this!"
"Stop flattering me. The ideas you come up with are definitely more wicked than mine, you just didn't say them because they were too unethical," Yan Shouyi said disdainfully.
Long Feicheng chuckled sheepishly, "Actually, I was thinking of kidnapping them and selling them into prostitution in the Golden Triangle."
"Human trafficking is illegal," Yan Shouyi reminded him.
"That's why I was only thinking about it!"
Yan Shouyi returned the phone to Long Feicheng and said casually, "You know what to do with the rest, right?"
"Absolutely! Leave it to me!" Long Feicheng patted his chest and assured him.
Most of the time, this guy was incredibly unreliable, but when it came to fooling people, Yan Shouyi could completely trust his good brother.
As soon as the words fell, Yan Shouyi suddenly heard movement outside the yard.
It sounded like a car driving on the road.
He felt a bit curious. Many young people had returned to the village recently. These young people who worked hard outside only had this one chance a year to return home and show off. They would wear their best clothes, drive their most expensive cars, be as flashy and high-profile as possible, just to let everyone in the village know how well they were doing outside and bring honor to their families.
So, whose child was returning now?
He walked to the door and saw a white BMW driving slowly on the road. The car windows were all rolled down, the DJ music was turned up to the maximum volume, audible throughout the entire village. The young bald man in the driver's seat was smoking a Zhonghua cigarette, humming a tune, quite ostentatiously.
His speed was such that even a snail would look down on him.
When the car drove to the entrance of Yan Shouyi's yard, the bald man noticed Yan Shouyi. He immediately turned the steering wheel and stopped the car in front of his house. Then, carrying a briefcase, he got out of the car and loudly greeted Yan Shouyi:
"Yan Shouyi! Heh heh! It's been many years, I didn't expect you to still be in the village!"
Yan Shouyi stared at the bald man for a long time, unable to recall who he was.
The bald man felt a bit embarrassed himself. He pointed to himself and said, "Me, you don't recognize me? It's Wang Dazhi!"
Yan Shouyi suddenly recalled, "Wang Dapao?!"
Wang Dazhi became even more embarrassed, "Hey, we're all adults now, don't call me by my old nickname. You can call me Mr. Wang now."
Wang Dazhi had that nickname not because he was fierce like a cannon in his childhood, but because he had once used a cannon to blow up a cesspit. Just as he threw the firecracker in, he slipped and fell headfirst into the cesspit, and then BANG! The scene at the time was so spectacular that Yan Shouyi still remembered it vividly.
From then on, Wang Dazhi was nicknamed Wang Dapao because his impact was far greater than a firecracker.
Yan Shouyi glanced at Wang Dazhi's car and cheerfully addressed him as Mr. Wang.
Actually, he didn't have a good impression of Wang Dazhi. This guy was a childhood ringleader, often leading a group of children to cause trouble and bully peers with solitary personalities. Yan Shouyi's childhood was mostly spent at home; he didn't play with Wang Dazhi.
Oh right, the childhood ringleader of Chenjia Village who was dealt with by Jiang Ting was this very Wang Dazhi.
Now that Wang Dazhi seemed to have made a name for himself and was eager to show off upon returning home, he saw Yan Shouyi standing at his doorstep and hastily got out of the car to pretend to make small talk, but in reality, he was showing off.
Yan Shouyi didn't expose him and played along with Wang Dazhi, praising him a few times during their casual chat, making Wang Dazhi feel exceptionally pleased.
Because in childhood, the children of Chenjia Village would give Wang Dazhi face, but Yan Shouyi was an exception. When Wang Dazhi tried to boss Yan Shouyi around, he was usually met with indifference. Only when Wang Dazhi spoke to Yan Shouyi politely would Yan Shouyi respond a few words.
Now, seeing that Yan Shouyi was still in Chenjia Village while he had a BMW and was a contractor, Wang Dazhi felt incredibly proud, as if he had finally avenged all the slights from his childhood!
Even his posture became straighter!