The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Upon hearing this, the air around the rice noodle stall seemed to freeze.

The clattering of bamboo clappers, the slurping sounds of powder being slurped, and the shouts of the peddler on the street corner continued, but Shen An could no longer feel them.

Looking at Feng Changrong, he felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, as if the blood in his body was about to freeze.

No, I haven't even been in this world for a day, and they're already putting me in this kind of intensity?

Shen An could even catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that Qu Yang's knuckles, which were resting on the edge of the table, had turned slightly white. His cloudy old eyes were now frighteningly sharp, and the killing intent contained within them was almost tangible.

Give me a chance. I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person.

Shen An's brain started working frantically, but before he could find a way to break the deadlock, he saw Qu Yang make a move.

Qu Yang didn't give him any chance, and wouldn't even say another word to him. He just slightly raised his hand, as if to brush away a speck of dust from his sleeve.

But in Shen An's eyes, with a flick of his sleeve, three extremely dark black lights had already left his hand.

Black Blood Divine Needle!

Shen An's pupils contracted instantly, but his body's reaction speed couldn't keep up with his thoughts. The three black lights left afterimages of death in his eyes, rushing towards him like lightning.

At this moment, all talk of a pure heart and kinetic energy formulas becomes a joke.

Faced with absolute suppression of power, he didn't even have a chance to draw his sword.

Shen An closed his eyes in despair, and the last thought that flashed through his mind was—if I die, can I go back?

However, the expected death did not come.

"bite--!"

A sharp, yet extremely short, metallic clang suddenly rang out in his ears, like someone tapping a half-eaten porcelain bowl next to his ear.

Shen An suddenly opened his eyes.

A greasy iron spoon, even with a few scallion pieces stuck to it, was suddenly placed in front of him, stopping steadily less than three inches from his chest. A few wontons in the spoon were slowly falling into his rice noodle bowl.

On the thin surface of the iron spoon, three fine needles, as thin as cow hair, were deeply embedded, their ends even trembling slightly and emitting a faint buzzing sound.

Shen An stiffly followed the hand holding the iron spoon.

It was a rough, calloused hand. The owner of the hand was standing two steps away behind a wonton stall, his other hand still in the motion of throwing down a freshly wrapped wonton.

It's that old man who sells wontons.

In an instant, Shen An had a sudden realization.

Yandang Mountain, He Sanqi!

He looked unremarkable, dressed in a greasy outfit, but at that moment he was squinting his small eyes, looking over Shen An's shoulder with a smile at Qu Yang opposite him.

"Sir, I see you've been having a great time chatting. Why don't you chat a little longer? I'm enjoying listening to you all."

Qu Yang's gaze lingered for a moment on He Sanqi's greasy iron spoon before slowly moving to his face, which was plastered with a vulgar smile. Of course, he recognized this strange man who was clearly skilled in martial arts but was selling wontons in the city alley.

He Sanqi's martial arts skills are indeed impressive, but Qu Yang is confident he can subdue that little guy from him. However, that would inevitably cause a huge commotion, and if it involves Brother Liu, it would be a net loss.

Since that's the case, let's listen to him first and give this little guy a chance to explain.

"Okay, let's chat for a bit longer and see what else he has to say."

After a moment's consideration, the murderous intent in Qu Yang's eyes subsided, and he returned to his usual calm and collected demeanor.

"Senior Brother Shen...?"

A questioning call jolted Shen An out of his reverie. He snapped back to reality and turned to look at Feng Changrong, who still looked completely bewildered.

This disciple of Lu Bai was completely unaware of the life-or-death struggle that had just taken place in the blink of an eye!

From his perspective, it was just Senior Brother Shen chatting with the old man he had met by chance, and the wonton vendor next door happened to add a few wontons to Senior Brother Shen's bowl.

Having narrowly escaped death, Shen An finally calmed down. He instructed Feng Changrong, "Junior brother, you should go back first. I have some things to attend to. We'll discuss the details of this operation when I get back."

It wasn't that I wanted to get rid of him to save his life; it was just that I didn't want him to know what happened next.

After Feng Changrong left as ordered, Shen An turned to He Sanqi, stood up and bowed deeply: "Thank you for saving my life, senior."

He Sanqi just smiled and said, "Don't talk about such trivial things. Remember to pay for the wontons. Ten coins a bowl." As he spoke, he stretched out his left palm.

Shen An knew his nature and wasn't surprised. He simply took out a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it over.

He Sanqi narrowed his eyes and shook his head: "Too much."

"It's not just this bowl of wontons," Shen An straightened up, his gaze sincere, "there's something else I need to ask of you, senior."

He paused for a moment, and seeing that He Sanqi did not refuse, he continued, "If I am unable to come to see you tonight, please go to Huiyan Peak in the south of the city tomorrow morning to find a girl who is about thirteen or fourteen years old and waiting for someone there. Please tell her that 'Shen An' was urgently summoned by his sect and has returned to Songshan overnight. He apologizes for breaking his promise."

After saying that, Shen An noticed out of the corner of his eye that Qu Yang's expression had relaxed slightly, and thought to himself that this trick had indeed worked.

Before Qu Yang heard that he was ordered to investigate Liu Zhengfeng, he must have assumed that he knew about his relationship with Qu Feiyan and approached Qu Feiyan with ill intentions (although he did know), which is why he did not hesitate to kill her.

By first clearing his own name and then expressing goodwill towards Qu Feiyan, he significantly reduced the mortality rate.

He Sanqi's smile faded slightly. He put the silver in his pocket, glanced at Qu Yang,

"Oh? You're leaving with him?"

"Indeed, I would like to explain to this old man, but this is really not the right place to talk."

"Aren't you afraid?" He Sanqi asked with great interest.

Shen An turned to look at Qu Yang, "Judging from what he said before, this old man is probably not a vicious criminal. He wouldn't not even give me a chance to explain."

"If, after hearing this, the old man still intends to harm the younger generation, then the younger generation will accept it."

Actually, this was a last resort. He Sanqi could protect him for a while, but not forever, so Shen An had no choice but to try to survive by risking his life.

"Okay, I understand. Go if you want... Oh, and remember to eat the wontons before you leave."

Shen An nodded, sat back down, picked up the life-saving wonton, and slowly put it into his mouth. The meat filling was delicious, and the aroma of scallions filled the air. He chewed it carefully, as if it were his last meal.

Qu Yang rubbed his fingers, quietly watching Shen An eat wontons. He recalled how his granddaughter clung to the long sword and outer robe with such precious care, and he also remembered the "hoe theory" that this boy had given when faced with Fei Yan's innocent yet sharp question in the mountains.

That's why he unusually sat down at the rice noodle stall, wanting to find out more about the kid.

What he discovered was the shocking secret that he was ordered to monitor Liu Xiandi.

He'd seen plenty of hypocrites! This kid was so young, yet his scheming was so deep. He first used words to win Fei Yan's favor, then used a feigned retreat to gain his sympathy. His heart was truly despicable!

However, he seemed genuinely unaware of, and could not possibly know, the relationship between Qu Feiyan and himself, and now he was taking the initiative to explain to him, entrusting his life to his own hands.

Qu Yang was a little confused and thought to himself: This is good, I want to see what you're up to.