"Susu doesn't want her family to be implicated by her, so she chose to sever ties with Yaohuang Valley."
"From then until now, over 700 years have passed."
Shen Xiaoyan was surprised.
It had been over 700 years.
That meant it was from Yizhi Xie's childhood.
"Then, is there something wrong with Yan Rulie suddenly suggesting going to Yaohuang Valley for treatment?" Shen Xiaoyan continued to ask.
Yi Modun nodded, "At first, it was Yan Rulie who suggested Susu go to Yaohuang Valley to seek medicine."
It was him?
This time, not only Shen Xiaoyan sensed something was amiss, but everyone in the room also did.
More than 700 years had passed, yet the reason for the incident was the same, and the person involved was also the same.
If one said there was no conspiracy, no one would believe it.
Shen Xiaoyan turned to look at Yizhi Xie, "No wonder you were so angry just now."
Yizhi Xie, thinking of his earlier失态 (loss of composure), smiled sheepishly.
Although Yin Susu didn't know what Yizhi Xie had been like earlier, she could guess by looking at his expression.
Therefore, Yin Susu smiled and said, "Xiaoyan, you really can't blame A Xie for being impulsive. He saw me suffer at that time, yet Yan Rulie, who proposed this matter, only reaped benefits. Of course, he was angry. Thus, all these years, A Xie has never had a good word for Yan Rulie. Yan Rulie, whether to put on a show or out of some guilt, has never made things difficult for A Xie because of it."
Hearing Yin Susu's explanation, Shen Xiaoyan understood.
No wonder Yizhi Xie had such an attitude in the hall, yet Yan Rulie could still smile so amiably.
It turned out that it wasn't for any other reason, but to save face.
If one asked why Shen Xiaoyan didn't think Yan Rulie felt guilty, it was simple. If Yan Rulie had even a shred of guilt, he wouldn't have only gained a good reputation in the first place.
He should have accompanied Yin Susu to Yaohuang Valley to apologize or something.
But from what Yi Modun and Yin Susu said, Yan Rulie clearly hadn't done that.
From this, it could be seen that Yan Rulie was definitely a smiling tiger.
No matter how well he acted on the surface, he was still a wolf in sheep's clothing.
It was just unknown why this wolf, after lying dormant for hundreds of years, was making a move again.
After talking for half the day, seeing Yin Susu's expression show fatigue, Shen Xiaoyan and the others took their leave.
Returning to Yizhi Xie's courtyard, Shen Xiaoyan and the others sat down opposite each other, their faces all looking extremely grave.
Yizhi Xie looked at everyone and said with some apology, "I wanted to bring you back for a good time, but I didn't expect so many things to happen as soon as we arrived. I'm truly sorry."
Hearing Yizhi Xie's words, Zheng Wei instead smiled, "What do you mean by that? Do you think we are all people who are afraid of trouble? Besides, after living a peaceful life for too long, one needs to find something to do to avoid boredom, don't you think?"
Although he knew that Zheng Wei's words were meant to comfort him, Yizhi Xie still smiled upon hearing them.
After a few lighthearted exchanges, Zheng Wei's expression turned serious, "Do you think you should go to Yaohuang Valley? I think, since Yan Rulie suggested you go there for treatment, regardless of his intentions, I believe that once you go, the蛊毒 (gu poison) on your mother's body can definitely be cured."
Yizhi Xie sighed upon hearing this, "Don't I know what you're saying? It's just that, not to mention my mother, even I don't want to go to Yaohuang Valley. It's not because I care about my own dignity, but because I don't want to involve the Valley Master's family anymore."
Hearing Yizhi Xie, Zheng Wei also sighed heavily.
He understood Yizhi Xie.
If possible, he wouldn't want to implicate his own family either.
Moreover, there was an unknown secret involved here.
But if he didn't go, was he just going to watch Yin Susu slowly die?
Although he thought a lot in his heart, Zheng Wei didn't say anything more. This was ultimately Yizhi Xie's family matter, and he still needed to decide for himself.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei returned to their room. After closing the door, Shen Xiaoyan immediately buried her head in Zheng Wei's arms.
In front of others, she had been strong.
Both her emotions and expressions were flawless.
But now that it was just the two of them, she didn't want to continue being strong.
For some reason, her eyes still felt a little sore, and her emotions were a bit low.
Although she knew that coming to Sheng Ling Continent might mean encountering her relatives.
She hadn't expected that the first person she met, or heard about, would be Zhen Lingrong.
Her mother, whom she had sworn to find, had appeared so suddenly.
And her identity was so extraordinary.
Zheng Wei gently patted Shen Xiaoyan's back and said softly, "Mi Mi."
"En," Shen Xiaoyan replied muffledly.
"Mi Mi."
"En."
"Mi Mi."
"En."
"Mi Mi..."
Shen Xiaoyan helplessly lifted her head from Zheng Wei's embrace, pouting and saying, "If you don't want to hug me, just say it. What are you trying to do by constantly calling my name?"
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's slightly annoyed face, Zheng Wei smiled even more heartily.
"Nothing, I just wanted to call you, for fear that you would sneak away when I wasn't looking."
Hearing Zheng Wei say this, Shen Xiaoyan burst into laughter. Her previously gloomy mood instantly became much lighter.
Zheng Wei then gently stroked Shen Xiaoyan's back, his voice slightly husky as he said, "Although many things catch us off guard, as long as we are together, none of it matters, don't you think?"
Shen Xiaoyan nodded gently. Yes, what was there to be sad or upset about?
As long as the person who truly mattered was by her side, wasn't that enough?
As for others, they shouldn't be cared about. No matter what they did, she didn't need to get angry.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
These two days were very peaceful. Neither Yan Rulie nor Long Tingbaige and others came to cause trouble.
Shen Xiaoyan was very satisfied with this, but she also knew that such a period of time was extremely precious.
As the saying goes, stealing half a day of leisure from life.
She had already been at leisure for two days and should be content.
One morning, Shen Xiaoyan and the others went to visit Yin Susu together. As they approached the courtyard, they heard voices from inside the house.
From the voices, they could tell that the person inside was Yan Rulie, who had been missing for two days.
After Yan Rulie left that day, he had disappeared for two days.
No one knew where he had gone. There were matters in the sect that required his attention, but he was nowhere to be found.
Unexpectedly, Yan Rulie had returned in just two days.
And as soon as he returned, he came here.
If one said he had no ulterior motives, no one would believe it.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others continued walking and entered the house.
Inside, Yan Rulie and Yi Modun were seated opposite each other, neither of them speaking.
Seeing this scene, Shen Xiaoyan was a little puzzled.
If these two were not speaking, then who was the voice they heard earlier?
When Yan Rulie saw Shen Xiaoyan and the others enter, his stern expression instantly vanished. He smiled as he looked at Shen Xiaoyan.
"You're here? Thank you for coming to see Elder Ruan every day. Such good children."
Hearing Yan Rulie's words, Shen Xiaoyan felt very speechless.
This person's words made it sound as if they came to see Yin Susu for his sake.
Even if he was the sect leader, Yin Susu had a husband and son, so what was his relationship to her?
Didn't he think his words were too much?
Shen Xiaoyan couldn't be bothered with him. She wasn't a disciple of the Great Sun Sect anyway, so he couldn't say anything even if she ignored him.
Besides, he had something he wanted from her, so he probably wouldn't care about this little bit.
Indeed, Yan Rulie saw that Shen Xiaoyan didn't even glance at him, but his expression remained unchanged, and he still smiled calmly.
Shen Xiaoyan intended to walk directly into the inner room, but then she suddenly felt Yan Rulie's gaze fall on her back.
And at this moment, following behind her was Shen Xiaoming.
Shen Xiaoyan immediately became alert. Had Yan Rulie already heard about Shen Xiaoming from Long Xuan?
Then, had he gone to Yingcheng during his two days of absence?
As for the purpose, it was even easier to understand, which was to investigate whether this matter was true.
And the Holy Language Auction House, they might not take Long Xuan seriously because Long Xuan was not qualified enough, but they could not ignore Yan Rulie.
If that were the case, then did Yan Rulie already know Shen Xiaoming's identity?
It wasn't that Shen Xiaoyan was being overly worried.
It was that as soon as the Auction House leaked even the slightest bit of information, with Yan Rulie's discernment and intelligence, how could he not figure out the truth of the matter?
Shen Xiaoyan's mind was a mess, and a killing intent had even arisen in her heart.
Why not just kill Yan Rulie? Then she wouldn't have to fear anything.
But, could she really kill him?
Yan Rulie seemed to have sensed Shen Xiaoyan's killing intent. A flicker of vigilance and surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he continued to smile and say, "What's wrong? Why is everyone standing here without speaking? Aren't you here to see Elder Ruan? Why aren't you going in? Could it be that I, the sect leader, am here, making you feel constrained?"