From a young age, Yan Shouyi's grandfather always said that his grandson had a pair of discerning eyes.
Eyes that could see people's true nature.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi was very good at judging people, able to tell good from bad at a glance.
After seeing A Gong's true face, he felt that A Gong was likely not a bad person, which was why he held back after defeating him.
To his surprise, after they clarified things, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
And based on the clues Yan Shouyi currently possessed, if it wasn't A Gong who attacked the Liu family, it must have been someone from the Bai family!
Moreover, the day Yan Shouyi left the Liu family, he happened to see a Bai family car heading up the mountain.
Thinking back now, it was likely that entire group from the Bai family that was responsible!
"It was a misunderstanding, brother."
Yan Shouyi extended his hand to A Gong. A Gong hesitated for a moment before shaking it, using the leverage to stand up.
Yan Shouyi explained, "I wasn't here to kill Liu Yiren. On the contrary, I came to protect her. If you let me see her, you'll understand."
Actually, Yan Shouyi still had some reservations. A Gong seemed to regard Liu Yiren as his woman. Although Yan Shouyi had no other intentions towards Liu Yiren, if A Gong misunderstood, he would still be seen as a rival in love!
A Gong looked around and picked up the mask he had dropped earlier, putting it back on.
He patted the dust off his clothes and said hesitantly, "I'm not sure if she's lucid, because she doesn't remember me."
Yan Shouyi thought to himself: does she not remember, or does she not recognize him at all…
He had seen Liu Yiren and found nothing unusual about her. If Liu Yiren hadn't lost her memory, A Gong might indeed be a madman.
However, madmen also differ in good and evil. If A Gong was a benevolent madman, Yan Shouyi wouldn't casually attack him.
A Gong asked, "What do you mean by the Bai family you just mentioned?"
"Before I explain everything to you, shouldn't you explain your origins first?" Yan Shouyi replied.
A Gong didn't beat around the bush and said directly:
"My ancestors were paper effigy makers. They once helped the Liu family's ancestor, Liu Jingkang. All the paper figures in the Liu family were made by my ancestors. In exchange, by my generation, the Liu family must marry their eldest daughter to me…"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Yan Shouyi interrupted, "What era is this? Still playing the game of betrothal by pregnancy?"
Yan Shouyi believed the part about A Gong's ancestors making paper figures for Liu Jingkang because he had seen these paper figures in the Liu family.
But he didn't like the idea of betrothal.
A Gong was momentarily embarrassed and retorted, "You don't have a marriage contract…"
"Who says I don't? I just broke off my engagement a few days ago!" Yan Shouyi laughed heartily. "Times have changed. The ways of the ancestors don't work anymore. Marriage matters depend on mutual affection and agreement, not just the nod of parents."
A Gong was still unconvinced. He explained:
"It's not that I don't have an emotional basis with the Liu family's daughter!"
"Oh? Have you met her?" Yan Shouyi asked.
A Gong shook his head.
If they hadn't even met, how could there be an emotional basis?
A Gong said, "Although I haven't met her, I've used a secret paper effigy making technique to meet the Liu family's daughter in dreams for many years. In dreams, we were deeply in love and had already pledged our lives to each other. Even my coming here to propose was done after seeking her consent in a dream!"
Yan Shouyi was stunned. Such a thing was possible?
He knew A Gong wasn't lying, because paper effigy makers did possess this ability. It was said that if they fancied a girl from a family, they would send a paper crane to her. When sleeping at night, as long as both parties placed the paper crane under their pillows, they could meet in dreams.
But did love in dreams count as love?
Did online relationships count as dating?
Yan Shouyi hadn't expected that this seemingly honest A Gong was actually an online dater…
Earlier, while chatting with Long Feicheng, Yan Shouyi had heard about Long Feicheng's tragic online dating experience. He met his online girlfriend in a game. In the game, she constantly called him "good brother," and Long Feicheng spent a lot of money on her. When they finally arranged to meet offline, Long Feicheng had already booked a room, waiting for his "good sister." But what arrived was a slightly overweight middle-aged woman weighing over 200 pounds.
The scene at the time was like this: the woman sat on the bed, staring at Long Feicheng with a hazy gaze, while Long Feicheng, wrapped in a blanket, looked at a photo on his phone that showed someone completely unlike the woman. He asked uncertainly, "You look quite different from your photo…"
The woman was also a bit embarrassed. "Am I that ugly? Huh? Then I'll leave?"
Long Feicheng sighed deeply. "Forget it, since you're here, why don't we… play cards?"
Later, Long Feicheng not only preserved his chastity but also won 3,000 yuan from the woman.
Yan Shouyi didn't have much online experience, so he took Long Feicheng's past as a reference and said earnestly to A Gong:
"Are you… are you sure your paper crane didn't go to the wrong person?"
Upon hearing this, A Gong couldn't help but pause.
Could the person he had communed with for so long not be Liu Yiren???
For a moment, both fell into silence.
A Gong's paper crane had flown to the Liu family after being enchanted, but A Gong wasn't sure if someone had intercepted it.
If that were the case, perhaps Liu Yiren hadn't lost her memory, but had never received the paper crane in the first place.
"Let's go find Liu Yiren and ask for clarification," Yan Shouyi suggested.
A Gong nodded sadly, "Okay."
Sanyuan informed Yan Shouyi that Zhu Shanzao had taken Liu Yiren towards the backyard, so Yan Shouyi and A Gong also hurried to the backyard.
They still needed to settle accounts with Zhu Shanzao. A Gong had clearly instructed Zhu Shanzao to guard the Liu family, but this scoundrel had instead gone to occupy a mountain and bully the Liu family.
Upon reaching the backyard, they saw Zhu Shanzao looking down near the old well from a distance.
Yan Shouyi walked up and kicked Zhu Shanzao's rear end.
"Ouch!"
Zhu Shanzao yelped in pain and cursed, "Who has eyes but doesn't see, daring to kick my butt!"
But when he turned around and saw Yan Shouyi and A Gong, he immediately cowered. "What… what's going on with you two? Who won?"
A Gong pointed at Yan Shouyi indignantly, clearly not entirely convinced by Yan Shouyi and perhaps wanting to fight again, but there was no reason for it now.
Seeing their demeanor, Zhu Shanzao seemed to understand that they had resolved their grievances.
As the saying goes, one gets to know someone better by fighting them!
Yan Shouyi grabbed Zhu Shanzao and questioned him, "A Gong gave you that hammer to protect the Liu family, what were you doing?"
Zhu Shanzao blinked in surprise. "Ah? Is that what he meant?"
A Gong said in a drawn-out voice, "I gave you the magical artifact to guard the Liu family, was that wrong?"
"Guard… means protect??" Zhu Shanzao looked completely bewildered.
Yan Shouyi was speechless. It seemed that Zhu Shanzao had been a pig demon for too long and hadn't fully grasped human language.
This matter couldn't be entirely blamed on it, it seemed.
So Yan Shouyi let the matter go and asked, "Where is Liu Yiren?"
Zhu Shanzao snapped back to attention and quickly said, "You've come at the right time. I was about to take Liu Yiren away, but this girl insisted on coming to the backyard to look, saying she heard a voice calling her. When she got to the backyard, she just knelt down by the old well and looked, and before I could react, she jumped in!"
"Jumped in?"
A Gong became nervous and quickly leaned over to look into the old well.
Yan Shouyi knew what was at the bottom of the old well, so he wasn't alarmed. He was just puzzled as to why Liu Yiren would be summoned.
The other side of the old well led to the Liu family's Yin-Yang Realm, where the Liu family's ancestors resided.
However, as A Gong had said, the Liu family's ancestors seemed to have been scattered by attacks. Were there any survivors in the Yin-Yang Realm now?
"The other end of the old well connects to the Liu family's Yin-Yang Realm. Liu Yiren should be safe for now. I'll go down and take a look," Yan Shouyi said, preparing to jump down.
A Gong said, "I'll go with you."
"Alright."
Now that Yan Shouyi and A Gong had no conflict and could even become partners, and Yan Shouyi had witnessed A Gong's abilities, he didn't have any reservations.
Zhu Shanzao chuckled, "Then I'll stay outside as usual and keep watch for you!"
Yan Shouyi glared at Zhu Shanzao. "I always feel like you were reborn into the wrong species. Your personality is too wasteful if you're not a dog."
"Get lost!" Zhu Shanzao retorted angrily.
A Gong didn't understand what the difference was between being a dog and being a pig, and why Zhu Shanzao was so offended.
The two of them, one after the other, with two splashes, jumped into the old well.
Sanyuan landed on Zhu Shanzao's head, and they both looked into the old well. They saw two heads quickly sink, and after a few bubbles, they disappeared.
…