Chapter 157: The Plot

Chapter 157: The Plot

The tray was placed on the table, and a few dishes were arranged.

Scholar Liuyun casually picked up the jar of wine and broke the seal.

"Thirty-year-old aged Daughter Red."

Scholar Liuyun smiled at Yang Yizhi, "Although this wine has a sad story behind it, it is indeed a fine wine."

"..."

Yang Yizhi's face darkened, "What do you mean?"

Thirty-year-old aged Daughter Red...

Whose daughter's wine could be stored for thirty years?

Naturally, it would be a daughter who had not married for thirty years.

Under normal circumstances, such a remark might not have been too offensive, but at this moment, Yang Yizhi felt that Scholar Liuyun was deliberately tormenting him.

"You, you're just too serious about things."

Scholar Liuyun flipped open the two small wine bowls, poured a bowl for Yang Yizhi, and filled his own as well.

"Moreover, I don't even know why you're being so serious. Su Mo is Su Tianyang's son. What kind of relationship do you have with Su Tianyang?

"That's a friendship as close as brothers, sworn brothers, sharing life and death! This arranged marriage, I remember you agreed to it yourself, right?

"Why are you now turning your back on it?

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't get upset. I really don't understand, and I'm not here to criticize you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought the wine..."

Seeing Yang Yizhi about to stand up and turn his back, Scholar Liuyun quickly waved his hand, urging him to sit down.

Yang Yizhi glared at the scholar across from him, not speaking, but took a sip of the wine first. After savoring it, he tilted his head back and drank the entire bowl in one go.

At this point, he finally let out a long breath:

"Su Mo... Heh, these past years, I've been ashamed to speak of it.

"After Tianyang passed away, what has this sole heir of Ziyang Escort Agency been doing?

"Do you know?"

"If I knew, wouldn't I understand your current situation?"

Scholar Liuyun rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Ah..."

Yang Yizhi sighed and began to recount Su Mo's disgraceful past in great detail, almost leaving nothing out.

How he squandered the family fortune, indulged in debauchery, was beaten up by Yang Xiaoyun in broad daylight, and how it led to the dispersal of the disciples and the decline of the escort agency...

Scholar Liuyun listened with wide eyes and a frown, and after Yang Yizhi finished, he slammed his hand on the table:

"How can this be! Although Su Tianyang wasn't a particularly famous figure, he was still a good man.

"People often say, 'A hero father begets a hero son,' but this Su Mo... is truly a disappointment."

"Isn't that the case?"

Yang Yizhi casually picked up a piece of food and put it in his mouth, "If he had even a fraction of his father's spirit, I would have accepted him as my son-in-law without hesitation. Now... I am constantly filled with regret."

"But..."

Scholar Liuyun furrowed his brow, "Today, when I saw him, he didn't seem as bad as you described. His manners and conduct are proper, and his martial arts skills appear to surpass those of his father. You couldn't even defeat him..."

"Who knows where this kid learned such despicable skills."

Yang Yizhi's face turned red with anger, "He's a good actor, making people believe he's extraordinary and has reformed. I, Yang Yizhi, have been made to look like a fool, which is simply outrageous!!"

"Alright, alright, you're getting old, why are you still so quick to anger?"

Scholar Liuyun saw him getting worked up and quickly waved his hand to calm him down.

Yang Yizhi's emotions calmed slightly, and he shook his head, "I don't know if this kid learned some smooth talk in the pleasure quarters. It has made Xiaoyun obey him blindly... Now, even my words fall on deaf ears.

"All she wants is to follow that boy."

"Ha ha ha."

Scholar Liuyun laughed, "This can't be blamed on Xiaoyun. Girls tend to favor their husbands. But to be honest, you know Xiaoyun's character. She is far from an ordinary girl.

"Her mind is sharp; how could a few smooth words deceive her?

"In my opinion... Su Mo must have some redeeming qualities. Otherwise, it wouldn't have come to this."

"Hmm?"

Yang Yizhi narrowed his eyes and glared at Scholar Liuyun.

"You see, now you can't even listen to others' opinions."

Scholar Liuyun sighed, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Speaking of which, what exactly happened to your subordinate? His death seems rather suspicious."

"Ah... A blind thief, yet he fell into Ruoshen's trap. In this world of martial arts, one can't avoid dying by the roadside."

"That's true. Su Tianyang also died mysteriously, didn't he? Speaking of which, how did he die back then?"

"At that time, you were close friends, and I had met him a few times. Suddenly, he was gone, for no apparent reason."

Hearing this, Yang Yizhi fell silent for a moment before softly saying, "Close the door."

The scholar Liuyun nodded, understanding that it was a matter of secrecy. He quickly shut all the windows and doors, then sat down to wait for Yang Yizhi to speak.

But Yang Yizhi only refilled their cups with wine.

After a brief silence, he finally said, "I don't know."

"..."

The scholar Liuyun's mouth twitched. "Are you teasing me?"

"Ah..."

Yang Yizhi sighed. "I'm not teasing you. I really don't know. Tianyang took on a mission, and suddenly he was dead in the martial world. Over these years, despite my efforts to investigate, I've found nothing. Who commissioned the mission, who took it, and who ambushed it...

"All of it is a blank, without a trace.

"It's as if someone erased all the details."

As he spoke, his brows furrowed. "It makes one uneasy."

"Really?"

A flash of surprise crossed the scholar Liuyun's eyes. "Even you don't know?"

"Ah..."

Yang Yizhi shook his head. "If I knew, I would have avenged Tianyang long ago."

"That's true... You were such close friends. But if it's really like this, there must be some significant hidden reason behind Su Tianyang's death."

Yang Yizhi snorted coldly. "Whoever it is, I hope they don't leave any clues. Otherwise, even if I have to give up my life, I won't let them off easily."

"You... You really are something."

The scholar Liuyun shook his head. "You're truly good to Su Tianyang, but you treat his son so differently..."

"His father is his father, and he is himself. They can't be lumped together."

Yang Yizhi's face darkened.

"Pity..."

The scholar Liuyun suddenly sighed. "You won't have that chance anymore."

"Huh?"

Yang Yizhi was taken aback. "What chance?"

"The chance to find those clues."

The scholar Liuyun smiled. "Because... you will soon die here."

"Die..."

Yang Yizhi's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the scholar Liuyun. "You... What do you mean?"

While asking, he silently gathered his internal energy, only to feel his true qi scattered and a surge of blood rushing to his heart. Instinctively, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh red blood!

This shock was immense. Yang Yizhi looked up sharply. "You poisoned the wine? Who are you?"

"Me?"

The scholar Liuyun showed no anger. "I am naturally Liuyun; this identity has never changed. But before I became Liuyun, I had other identities..."

He stood up and looked at Yang Yizhi, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

"Lao Yang, after nearly twenty years of friendship, I truly didn't want to do this to you.

"This task should have been done by Xu Ruoshen, and I wouldn't have had to abandon this identity. But... he died, and it always made people suspect whether it was your doing!"

"Xu Ruoshen... He was one of you?"

Yang Yizhi's eyes flashed with anger. "You... You went to such lengths, what... what for?"

"At this point, why do you need to know everything? And... you know nothing, yet you still involve yourself in matters that shouldn't concern you. Why put yourself through this?"

Approaching Yang Yizhi, he reached out to touch his chest.

Yang Yizhi tried to block with his palm, but the scholar Liuyun slapped it away. In the next moment, his hand pierced through, touching the book of paired destinies.

He casually took it out and glanced at it under the lamplight.

"You... You came for the book of paired destinies?"

Yang Yizhi's eyes were bloodshot. "What... What secrets does this book hold? Twenty years ago, people schemed for it... and now, after twenty years, it's still... still..."

"This matter is significant. Even though you are about to die, I don't want to reveal anything to you."

The scholar Liuyun looked at Yang Yizhi calmly. "Also, if you don't gather your energy, you might last a bit longer. If you do, you'll die faster."

"…What poison did you give me?"

Yang Yizhi roared in anger, but this only accelerated the spread of the poison, his eyes turning bloodshot and his forehead dark as ink.

"San Jue Powder."

Scholar Liuyun smiled and said, "The San Jue Sect under the Heavenly Gate is merely mediocre, yet this San Jue Powder does indeed have its exceptional qualities. Uncle Yang... this parting means we may never meet again. The debt I owe you, I will repay after I die."

After saying this, he stuffed the Mandarin Ducks Scroll into his chest and turned to leave.

Yang Yizhi reached out his hand, trying to call out, but blood gushed from his mouth, and he could not utter a word.

Finally, with a thud, he fell to the ground, lifeless.

Scholar Liuyun stood at the door, glanced back at him, and then closed the door.

Just as a guard emerged from the courtyard, he hurriedly asked, "Has the Chief Guard eaten?"

"Eaten, eaten," Scholar Liuyun replied with a smile. "Had a few too many cups, he's already asleep. Don't disturb him."

"Alright, thank you."

The guard quickly smiled and escorted Scholar Liuyun out the gate.

As the courtyard gate closed, Scholar Liuyun took two steps in the desolate night, then suddenly leaped onto the roof and dashed away toward the outskirts of Haoran City.

Unbeknownst to him, a black shadow was quietly trailing behind.

"It's him!?"

Under the dark night, on the rooftop of a certain place in Haoran Academy, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun stood silently, watching the two figures fly away one after another.

Zhen Xiaoxiao, standing at the base of a wall in the empty courtyard, looked up at the roof with longing, daring not to go up for fear of causing it to collapse.

Their journey had been arduous; they had just left Haoran Academy when someone started following them.

It wasn't until near sunset that they managed to shake off their pursuer, circling back to Haoran Academy.

They had intended to see if there were any further developments, but upon arriving, they saw Scholar Liuyun fleeing, with a black-clothed figure in pursuit.

For a moment, everything seemed unclear... and the black-clothed figure's movements and gait were identical to those of the black-clothed figure in Heavenly Feather City.

This realization led to the exclamation, "Is it him?"

The identity of this person remained a mystery, and Su Mo had often suspected him, but never expected to encounter him again here.

However, there was no time to investigate further.

Both individuals had come from the direction of Yang Yizhi's courtyard. What had happened to Yang Yizhi?

Leaving Zhen Xiaoxiao to wait, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun flew over several rooftops and arrived at Yang Yizhi's residence.

Lifting a tile, they saw Yang Yizhi lying on the ground, his face black, lifeless!

In that instant, both Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun felt a jolt in their hearts, as if their hearts had been gripped tightly.

Before Yang Xiaoyun could cry out, Su Mo had already carried her down, pushing open the window and rushing into the room.

"Father... Father... wake up, don't scare me..."

Yang Xiaoyun rushed to Yang Yizhi's side, tears streaming down her face.

At that moment, where was the valiant and graceful female knight? All the barriers between father and daughter vanished:

"Open your eyes, look at me... it's Xiaoyun..."

But Yang Yizhi gave no response.

Su Mo took a deep breath and placed his palm on Yang Yizhi's wrist.

After the escort mission, Su Mo's system had completed its evening settlement, granting him an extraordinary martial art... the Golden Bell Cover!

Su Mo had directly obtained the twelfth level of perfection.

However, he had not yet perfected it due to lack of time.

There was no time to worry about that now. Seeing Yang Yizhi lifeless, Su Mo immediately used the healing technique from the twelfth level of the Golden Bell Cover.

Though unsure of its effectiveness, he had to try, and if it failed, there was still the living heir of Xuanhu Pavilion.

As his internal energy flowed, Su Mo suddenly paused.

Although Yang Yizhi appeared dead, his pulse suddenly jumped as Su Mo's internal energy entered his body.

Su Mo then guided his internal energy through the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve regular meridians, and Yang Yizhi's pulse grew stronger!

"This is..."

Su Mo was stunned, not bothering to explain to Yang Xiaoyun, and pulled her away.

"Father... Father!"

Yang Xiaoyun tried to cry out, but Su Mo quickly covered her mouth: "Uncle Yang isn't dead, something's wrong!"

Even in such a chaotic moment, Yang Xiaoyun was shocked by Su Mo's words and looked at him intently.

Seeing Su Mo's gaze fixed on Yang Yizhi, she immediately turned back.

Just then, Yang Yizhi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly drew a deep breath and began to cough uncontrollably.

Yang Xiaoyun's eyes widened in shock as she saw the supposedly dead Yang Yizhi suddenly sit up, gasping for air...

"Truly a remarkable Sanjue Powder. If it weren't for Yang the Log's foresight, you would have truly taken my life."

As these words were spoken, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun, who were on the roof, once again widened their eyes.

This... wasn't Yang Yizhi's voice.

It was the voice of that high-ranking figure from the Purple Sun Sect!

The man lowered his head, opened his mouth, and spat out a black-and-white pill:

The disciples of Xuanhu Pavilion seldom show themselves in the world, yet one of them happens to be wandering the jianghu at this moment.

"Such a coincidence, and no one would suspect a thing.

"However, Iron Blood Escort Agency and Xuanhu Pavilion have never had any conflicts, so there's no need to worry about that.

"But the Yin-Yang Rebirth Pill is said to cure all poisons, and it indeed lives up to its reputation...

"It made me regain consciousness so quickly, much faster than I expected.

"Unfortunately, Liuyun's lips are sealed. Yang the Log was right; severe torture is useless against someone like him. The only way is to lure the snake out of its hole.

"But after all this effort, we mustn't let it go to waste."

With that, the man's lips twitched, and he took another pill from his pocket:

"Seven Days of Severed Dust... I have to pretend to be dead for seven more days... What a hassle."

After saying this, he put the black-and-white Yin-Yang Rebirth Pill back into his pocket and swallowed the new pill.

In just a few breaths, he kicked his legs and fell back to the ground, appearing to die once again!

"..."

"..."

For a moment, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun didn't know what to make of the situation.

Are you playing with us, dying and coming back to life like this?

Recalling the Liuyun Scholar and the black-clothed man who had fled from this courtyard earlier, Su Mo instinctively looked at Yang Xiaoyun.

Yang Xiaoyun also turned to Su Mo, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and they spoke almost in unison:

"It's really him!"

If this isn't Yang Yizhi, where is the real Yang Yizhi?

The identity of the black-clothed man is now clear!

After a brief moment of contemplation, the two of them flipped back into the room.

They carefully examined 'Yang Yizhi's' 'corpse,' which now appeared to be thoroughly dead, without a trace of life.

But considering the mention of the Seven Days of Severed Dust, this was likely a drug that could make someone appear dead for seven days.

Taking everything into account, it was evident that this was all part of Yang Yizhi's plan.

"Let's go!"

Without further delay, Su Mo grabbed Yang Xiaoyun and leaped out of the house, landing on the roof in a single bound.

A few quick leaps later, they caught up with Zhen Xiaoxiao. He held Yang Xiaoyun with one hand and Zhen Xiaoxiao with the other, and immediately followed the direction in which the Liuyun Scholar and the black-clothed man had gone.

Yang Yizhi had gone to great lengths, using a body double and feigning death, all to draw out the Liuyun Scholar.

At this moment, the Liuyun Scholar must have already obtained what he wanted and was feeling quite satisfied.

By following these two, they would soon uncover the true purpose of this elaborate scheme.

From the Ziyang Escort Agency's escorting of the Mandarin Ducks Scroll twenty years ago to the current mysteries, they should finally get some answers.