Shen Xiaoyan's words were cut short as her expression sharpened, "Speak of the devil, they're here."
Everyone present looked surprised.
After a moment of stunned silence, Yi Zhixie and Namu Zhong quickly stood up and moved behind Shen Xiaoyan. Yi Zhixie hastily lowered his head and wiped the tears from his face.
Seeing Yi Zhixie's pinky finger perk up as he wiped away tears, Song Yan shivered again.
She still couldn't believe this was her grandson!
But there was no time to ponder this, as the sound of footsteps grew closer. Someone was indeed approaching.
Hearing this, Song Yan and the others looked at Shen Xiaoyan with surprise. Shen Xiaoyan appeared young, but how could she already be so formidable?
To know someone was coming so far in advance.
As they were thinking, Elder Wang Yuan walked in.
Upon seeing the two groups facing each other in the room, Elder Wang Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Then, he smiled and said, "I was occupied earlier, hence my late arrival. Why are you all standing here motionless? Were you waiting for me?"
Song Yan frowned at his words and sharply rebuked, "Wang Dahong, what exactly do you want?"
"Pfft!"
The tense atmosphere that had arisen from Song Yan's words instantly turned rather peculiar due to Shen Xiaoyan's snort of laughter.
Sensing everyone looking at her, Shen Xiaoyan felt a bit embarrassed.
But it wasn't entirely her fault!
Who would have thought that an elder of the Medicine Emperor Valley, an elder who was forcing the Valley Master to abdicate, was named Wang Dahong!
It wasn't that the name itself was bad, but placing such a name on Elder Wang Yuan was undeniably amusing.
Wang Dahong's face grew even uglier.
What he detested most was people calling him by his name.
Ever since he seized power, no one had dared to call him by his name to his face. Even if they whispered it behind his back and he found out, it meant certain death.
Yet, Song Yan, every time she saw him, regardless of who was present, always called him by his full name.
This had made him come alone on many occasions, unwilling to lose face.
He had thought that with outsiders present this time, Song Yan wouldn't embarrass him.
But unexpectedly, Song Yan was so unrestrained, utterly oblivious to the gravity of the situation.
Looking at Shen Xiaoyan, who was laughing uncontrollably, and then at Zheng Wei and the others struggling to suppress their laughter, Wang Dahong's face turned red.
He could vividly imagine what kind of image he would be in their minds from now on.
And the one who caused him to lose face was Song Yan.
This old hag, he truly cursed why he hadn't put her on the bed as well.
Despite his teeth-gnashing hatred, Wang Dahong plastered a smile on his face, albeit a stiff and distorted one.
"Have you introduced yourselves? Do you need me to introduce you again?"
Without waiting for their reply, he pointed at Shen Xiaoyan and said, "This is Madam Shen Xiaoyan, the daughter of the Hall Master of Changqiu Hall."
Then, he pointed at Song Yan and introduced her to Shen Xiaoyan and the others.
After completing the introductions, Wang Dahong's face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. "Madam Shen, you left in such a hurry earlier that I forgot to ask. Are you here for medical treatment or medicine? If it's for medical treatment, you can't approach the Valley Master. As you can see, the Valley Master is currently bedridden and likely incapable of handling such matters."
Shen Xiaoyan's expression remained unchanged as she replied calmly, "What if I'm here for medicine?"
Wang Dahong's eyes flickered. "That depends on what medicine Madam Shen is seeking. Although the Medicine Emperor Valley has been under my management for the past few years, many of the elixirs and even prescriptions are still in the hands of the Valley Master and his wife. I don't have them."
Shen Xiaoyan realized then why Wang Dahong had kept Yuan Heng's family around.
"I am here for medicine, so Elder Wang doesn't need to trouble himself," Shen Xiaoyan said faintly.
Wang Dahong, however, seemed not to have heard the latter part of Shen Xiaoyan's sentence and continued with a smile, "Since you're here for medicine, please describe the symptoms. This way, we can prescribe the right medicine, wouldn't you agree? I can also offer some advice here. Perhaps you won't need the medicine or prescriptions from the Valley Master. This will also save Madam Shen time, don't you think?"
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Wang Dahong as she heard this, her eyes as cold as ice. "I didn't expect Elder Wang to be so helpful. In that case, why doesn't Elder Wang find a way to save the current Valley Master?"
Wang Dahong froze at her words. He hadn't expected Shen Xiaoyan to suddenly say something like that. In his view, even if Shen Xiaoyan had noticed the rift between him and the Valley Master, she should have pretended not to.
After all, Shen Xiaoyan was an outsider, here to seek medicine, and didn't need to concern herself with so much.
But seeing Shen Xiaoyan's insistence on an answer, the suspicion that had been suppressed in Wang Dahong's heart began to surface again.
Why was Shen Xiaoyan so concerned? Did she have some ulterior motive?
Or was someone else involved?
As Wang Dahong pondered this, his gaze involuntarily shifted towards Yi Zhixie.
Yi Zhixie's expression was calm. Seeing Wang Dahong look at him, he even curved his lips and raised his wrist.
Wang Dahong quickly retracted his gaze.
Even if there was a problem, it wouldn't be Yi Zhixie.
How could it be Yi Zhixie?
Although he hadn't seen him for over a hundred years, he still knew Yi Zhixie's temperament.
Yi Zhixie was someone who avenged grievances and sought retribution. He would never endure suffering to put himself in such a state.
Let alone others, he himself would be the first to be unable to stand it.
But Wang Dahong forgot that he had this idea precisely because of his usual understanding of Yi Zhixie.
Back then, Yi Zhixie had had everything his way. How could he possibly have known what endurance meant?
Wang Dahong swept his gaze around the room and finally said with a smile, "Since that's the case, I'll take my leave. After all, there are still a pile of matters in the valley waiting for me to handle. Madam Shen, if you need anything, you can also send someone to find me."
Wang Dahong's departure was as abrupt as his arrival.
Only after Wang Dahong's figure had completely disappeared did Song Yan and the others finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Song Yan looked at Yi Zhixie, and just as she did, Yi Zhixie looked at her.
Their eyes met, and Yi Zhixie immediately let out a bright smile.
"Grandmother, I've finally seen you again."
As Yi Zhixie spoke, tears welled up in his eyes again.
Despite the words being deeply touching, seeing Yi Zhixie's posture with his pinky raised like a delicate orchid, Song Yan couldn't help but laugh.
"What happened to you? Hurry up and change back," Song Yan chided.
Although Yi Zhixie now looked very different from the person in her memory, after what had just happened, she could be completely certain that this was Yi Zhixie, her only grandson.
Yi Zhixie wiped his tears and shook his head. "Grandmother, Shen Xiaoyan is right. We must always be wary of Wang Dahong. When Grandfather wakes up, I will definitely return to my true appearance and kowtow to you all properly."
Song Yan felt both comforted and saddened.
She was comforted that Yi Zhixie had finally grown up and was sensible, able to see through the situation and understand the need to maintain appearances.
What saddened her was Yi Zhixie's mention of waiting for Yuan Heng to wake up.
Others might not know, but she, who had accompanied Yuan Heng for his entire life, knew that the possibility of Yuan Heng waking up was extremely slim.
The people of Medicine Emperor Valley were always praised as living immortals, capable of curing any ailment.
However, physicians could not heal themselves. Yuan Heng, whose life was uncertain, was utterly incapable of treating himself.
As for Song Yan herself, she only knew a superficial level of medicine.
Suddenly, Yi Zhixie's eyes lit up as he looked at Shen Xiaoyan. "Shen Xiaoyan, come quickly, come quickly and look at my grandfather."
He spoke as he stood up, intending to pull Shen Xiaoyan along.
Shen Xiaoyan felt helpless, but instead of being pulled, she walked to the side of the bed herself.
Song Yan and the others exchanged glances.