The grief in Yan Chou's heart over Zou Shazi's death was naturally far greater than Yan Shouyi's.
His tone was calm, and when he explained, he merely sighed softly, as if his emotions were unreadable. In reality, however, Yan Chou's rage could evaporate the sea.
Endurance, perhaps, was the only skill adults possessed.
Yan Shouyi finally understood why Yan Chou had never reached Mount Emei, and also the reason for their prior loss of contact.
But he still felt a lump in his throat: "Dad, perhaps revenge isn't that important?"
Yan Chou fell silent for a moment and said softly, "Your Uncle Miaoji's parents and sister were killed by these people from the so-called Xuan Shan Sect."
The hand holding the phone trembled slightly. Yan Shouyi suddenly felt immense guilt.
Do not advise kindness without experiencing hardship yourself.
His grandfather had actually taught him this principle years ago. It was just that Yan Shouyi, in his grief over Zou Shazi's death, had temporarily forgotten to consider others' feelings.
He felt as if he understood everything, understanding that his father, whom he had never comprehended, wasn't someone who valued nothing.
Zou Shazi, perhaps eager for Miaoji's revenge, didn't want to affect Yan Chou and the others.
"I'm sorry," Yan Shouyi said in a low voice.
With his son's apology, Yan Chou knew that his son finally understood him.
He felt relieved, offered some comfort, and then his tone turned somewhat cold:
"You said someone was chasing you. Who was it?"
Yan Shouyi replied, "A paper effigy named Chu Liang. He also has a group of extraordinary subordinates, seemingly from various sects. Their goal is to capture Wang Zhelai, the younger brother of the赊刀人 (She Dao Ren)."
Yan Chou listened and said meaningfully, "Paper effigies are a folk sect, and he has also rallied forces from various sects. Combining these conditions, can you guess the origin of this group?"
Yan Shouyi immediately thought of something and blurted out, "That newly established Xuan Shan Sect?!"
"Yes, Chu Liang is a descendant of paper effigy crafting, and he is a core figure in the new Xuan Shan Sect," Yan Chou said. "Chu Liang was also involved in the murder of Uncle Miaoji's family. We've been looking for him, but we could never find any leads. I didn't expect him to appear in Rongcheng."
Yan Shouyi added, "Moreover, their desire to capture Wang Zhelai is likely due to their interest in his ability to foresee the future. I wonder what they are plotting."
Yan Chou asked, "Do you want revenge?"
Yan Shouyi gritted his teeth. Thinking that Chu Liang was also involved in the murder of Uncle Miaoji's family, he replied, "Yes!"
"Chu Liang is not an invincible being. As long as you cultivate diligently and bring a few capable friends, defeating him is not difficult," Yan Chou said. "For the next while, you wait for news in Rongcheng. Once we find Chu Liang's whereabouts, we will inform you immediately. This Chu Liang... I'll leave him for you to deal with!"
"Alright!" Yan Shouyi agreed without hesitation.
Although Chu Liang had many subordinates, they were mostly cannon fodder. Yan Shouyi, on the other hand, had many outstanding young people like Lin Zhitong, Ah Gong, Luo Ning, and Wang Jiwang. If they worked together, they might be able to defeat Chu Liang.
"By the way, Dad," Yan Shouyi said with a wry smile, "the people in the Anti-Yan Chou Alliance chat group are getting more restless lately. A few days ago, they sent quite a few people to Rongcheng. I've managed to make some of them friends, but some others... I've probably made deeper enemies."
"Oh? Who are the people who came?" Yan Chou asked with interest.
"Yan Nanfei of the Yan Family from Kunlun Mountain, Ling Xiaoxiao from Mount Emei, and Chang Shan from Lingyin Temple. These three have now become my friends. However, Yi Hehuan from the Wu Zhen Sect and Fukada Ichiro from the Zhao Family in the Northeast have become my enemies. Fukada Ichiro's fate is unknown, and Yi Hehuan escaped injured."
"You've done well. You can't have only enemies around you. It's right to make many friends. As for these enemies, you don't need to worry. I will gradually make the people in that chat group disappear."
Yan Shouyi was startled: "You're not planning to kill them all, are you? Many of them are good people, and it's just a misunderstanding between us."
"I'm not that heartless," Yan Chou chuckled. "It's the debts I owe that I will repay. What I mean by disappearing is making them willingly withdraw from that chat group."
Yan Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief.
For a moment, he truly thought his father was going to kill them all.
"Alright, I know everything now. Now... I need to go say hello to the dog Taoist priest and the others," Yan Chou said softly.
The dog Taoist priest and the others didn't know about Zou Shazi's death yet, but Yan Chou had to deliver the bad news.
Yan Shouyi agreed, said goodbye, and hung up the phone.
He looked back at Zou Shazi's grave, his mind filled with many thoughts.
Meanwhile, in a deep mountain hundreds of kilometers away from Rongcheng.
Yan Chou hung up the phone and turned to look at the village behind him. At the entrance of the mountain village, the dog Taoist priest was squatting nearby, smoking, while Wen Yuxian was treating Miaoji's injuries.
The dog Taoist priest saw Yan Chou's grim expression and asked, holding the cigarette, "Big Brother, what happened?"
"Zou Shazi is dead."
The dog Taoist priest's expression froze. He took a while to react, until the cigarette burned his lips, scalding him, before he snapped back to attention.
He dropped the cigarette butt and asked, "How did he die all of a sudden?"
"Do you remember the deal he made with the She Dao Ren? That She Dao Ren... is Wang Ruhe, right? Shazi was supposed to die twenty years ago. Now, I assume his son has inherited Wang Ruhe's mantle, triggering the 'five losses and three deficiencies,' which caused Shazi's illness to return."
Hearing Yan Chou's explanation, the severely injured Miaoji silently recited the "Earth Store Bodhisattva's Original Vows Sutra" for the departed.
The dog Taoist priest then sat down on the ground, hugging his old yellow dog, and said with a distressed face:
"Dead Shazi, we said we'd drink the strongest wine and chase the hottest girls together, but this guy beat us to it and went to enjoy himself in the underworld!"
As he spoke, the dog Taoist priest actually started to cry.
Yan Chou comforted him, "At least before he died, Shouyi found his son for him. Shouyi told me that Shazi died without any regrets."
"He has no regrets, but we do!" the dog Taoist priest cursed.
"The way we resolve our regrets is simple."
Yan Chou lit a fire and casually tossed it into the village.
The village quickly erupted in flames, the fire raging.
Illuminated by the firelight, Yan Chou walked over to a nearby corpse, picked up his phone, performed some operations, and helped the deceased withdraw from the "Anti-Yan Chou Alliance" group.
Afterward, he threw the phone into the sea of fire, picked up Miaoji himself, and said to Wen Yuxian and the dog Taoist priest:
"The guys from the new Xuan Shan Sect have started harassing other folk sect inheritors. Chu Liang even had an encounter with Shouyi. We need to speed up our actions."
Wen Yuxian heard this and said sternly, "They didn't do anything to Shouyi, did they?"
"Don't worry, I know Shouyi's abilities best. A mere Chu Liang can't kill him. On the contrary... this Chu Liang, I've left him for Shouyi to deal with."
...
Yan Shouyi hung up the phone. All the paper money the others had brought had been burned.
Wang Jiwang added a handful of soil to Zou Shazi's grave, then composed himself and said to Yan Shouyi, "Let's go back."
"What are your plans now?" Yan Shouyi asked.
"My father asked me to follow you before he died, which probably has another meaning," Wang Jiwang said. "I plan to visit my birth mother first, and then I'll come and follow you."
Yan Shouyi laughed and cried: "Besides being a carpenter, I don't have any other skills. I might not be able to support you."
Long Feicheng said from the side, "There's nothing else I admire about Brother Yan, except that he found a beautiful and rich wife like my sister-in-law, so he won't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life!"
Yan Shouyi glared at Long Feicheng, "Being able to find a rich woman is my skill. You can't find one because your hardware is not good enough."
"I think my hardware is pretty good. Every time, the girls praise me," Long Feicheng mumbled.
"You two shut up. There's still a child here!" Lin Zhitong covered Wang Zhelai's ears.
Wang Zhelai was mute, but not deaf!
Everyone chuckled awkwardly. Wang Jiwang said, "When I go to see my birth mother, it might not be convenient to bring my brother along, so I'd like to ask you to take care of him for a while."
Yan Shouyi was surprised: "You can rest assured leaving him with us?"
"We have a life-and-death friendship, after all. I'm not worried," Wang Jiwang said, shaking his head with a smile.
Wang Zhelai seemed to know his brother was leaving and grabbed Wang Jiwang's hand. Although his expression was blank, the depths of his eyes seemed to say, "Don't leave me."
Wang Jiwang crouched down, placed his hands on Wang Zhelai's shoulders, and comforted him:
"Don't worry, brother is just going out for a bit and will be back soon. Big Brother Yan and the others are trustworthy good people. You should know this better than I do."
Wang Zhelai hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Yan Shouyi asked curiously, "Did he calculate the future with us to confirm there was no danger before agreeing to stay?"
Wang Jiwang replied, "My brother's ability to predict the future is certain for ordinary people, but for our group, it's only about sixty percent accurate. So, sometimes the results he calculates can't be fully trusted."
"I see."
Lin Zhitong picked up Wang Zhelai and pinched his fair and tender cheek, "Go ahead with peace of mind. I love children, so leaving Zhelai with us will definitely be fine!"
"Thank you, sister-in-law," Wang Jiwang said gratefully.
"By the way," Yan Shouyi reminded him, "I just spoke with my dad and already know the identity of that paper effigy Chu Liang. It turns out Chu Liang is not only after Zhelai but also has quite a history with our fathers' generation. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say there's enmity. As soon as Chu Liang appears again, my dad will give us information, and then you..."
"I will definitely come back!" Wang Jiwang said without hesitation. "My master is gone, and my father is gone. My brother is my only remaining family. Anyone who dares to target him, I will kill!"
As expected of a She Dao Ren, those who wielded knives spoke more fiercely.
With Wang Jiwang's support, Yan Shouyi had even fewer worries.
The matter of revenge was now settled.
Just then, Long Feicheng, who was scrolling through his phone, suddenly said, "Brother Yan, that's strange. Several people have suddenly withdrawn from our Anti-Yan Chou chat group."
"Hmm? Why?"
"I don't know. Everyone's wondering."
"Perhaps my dad resolved their conflicts and misunderstandings."