Chapter 59#

Sincerity#

The day dawned.

Sunrise at the Three Barren Mountains possessed a sort of extraordinary grandeur. The fierce sun leaped up from the direction of Yanggu, and golden light instantly spilled across the entire sky, dyeing the layers of clouds and illuminating thousands of miles. The entire world lit up with vivid colors, and the lonely night receded like a tide.

Gazing from the direction of the divine hall, one could just catch this magnificent sunrise. Yin Yuheng leaned against the window, letting the light of the sky dye his white clothes golden-red.

During these days in the Demon Clan’s divine hall, Yin Yuheng greatly enjoyed watching the sunrise and also preferred the feeling of sunlight falling on his body. Perhaps due to the Golden Crow’s presence, he felt the sunlight here was warmer than elsewhere.

“Brother Bai Heng!”

A clear voice came from outside the window, and the Fox young master, Li Hu, waved to Yin Yuheng from afar, in high spirits and with a light step.

Yin Yuheng’s eyes curved slightly.

“Brother Bai Heng,” the Fox young master ran over, “I’ve come to find you! Are you watching the sunrise again?”

Yin Yuheng nodded slightly.

“The sun rises every day, what’s so good about it?” Li Hu scratched his head.

Yin Yuheng said with a smile: “I didn’t see it much before, so seeing it makes my heart glad.”

Li Hu half-understood, but still nodded. The boy’s thoughts jumped, and he quickly changed to another topic: “Brother Bai Heng, let’s go for a walk outside?”

The Demon Clan was not as strictly hierarchical as the Human Clan; as long as he didn’t leave the Three Barren Mountains, Lu Yan didn’t limit Yin Yuheng’s movements. So in these few days, Yin Yuheng had toured all the places he could go nearby. Now many people in the divine hall knew him, and although they didn’t know his identity, they were respectful to him. What’s more, for someone like Yin Yuheng, if he intended to befriend someone, there was almost nothing he couldn’t achieve. So his recent time in the Demon Clan was unexpectedly relaxed and comfortable.

Yin Yuheng smiled and didn’t refuse.

Li Hu was young and had been running to Yin Yuheng’s place every day lately, and the two had become familiar with each other. Li Hu vaguely knew that Yin Yuheng’s health was not good, so he accompanied him as he walked slowly. The wind blew Yin Yuheng’s wide sleeves, like silver mist and flowing clouds. The demons coming and going on the Three Barren Mountains stole glances at him upon seeing them.

Yin Yuheng also smiled, nodded, and looked back.

The wind was clear, the air was bright, and the morning light was pleasant.

Before coming to the Demon Clan, Yin Yuheng hadn’t expected to live such a life. Having nothing to do, only needing to focus on recuperating his health—Yin Yuheng narrowed his eyes and curled his lips in sincere joy.

For some reason, Yin Yuheng always felt that he hadn’t relaxed for a long time. A sense of fatigue seemed engraved in the depths of his soul, making it hard for him to sleep peacefully. However, the warm sun at this time was stroking his soul bit by bit.

Rarely relaxed and comfortable, rarely in a pleasant mood.

Especially when that wisp of seemingly non-existent gaze from afar looked over, Yin Yuheng couldn’t help but smile more brightly.

*

“Your Majesty?”

A subordinate called out, placed the documents for instruction on the table, and looked carefully at the black-clothed man by the window.

“…Leave them there for now.” After a long while, Lu Yan said indifferently. He cast his gaze out the window and didn’t move for a long time.

The subordinate felt a bit puzzled and looked outside without leaving a trace, seeing the white-clothed young master brought back by His Majesty a few days ago passing by the window with a smile.

The subordinate immediately realized and smiled: “The subordinates have been very careful in taking care of Young Master Bai Heng according to Your Majesty’s instructions. The medicinal materials for condensing the soul are delivered on time every day, Your Majesty can rest assured.”

“En.” Lu Yan gave a low response but still didn’t move.

The subordinate said tentatively: “If Your Majesty wants to see Young Master Bai Heng, I’ll go and arrange it now…”

“No need.” Lu Yan immediately interrupted him, “No need to go see him.”

The subordinate complied, feeling puzzled in his heart.

Ever since that night when His Majesty went to see Young Master Bai Heng once, he hadn’t seen the other person again. Even if he happened to see him, he definitely wouldn’t step forward, only looking from afar and being dazed for a long time.

The subordinate didn’t quite understand Lu Yan’s thoughts but knew which questions to ask and which not to.

He intended to withdraw, but Lu Yan suddenly spoke.

“He also likes to smile like this,” Lu Yan said in a daze, “especially when he’s distracted… his gaze seemingly lands on you, smiling gently and beautifully, but in fact he’s long been thinking of other things.”

The subordinate was stunned for a moment before reacting to the meaning in Lu Yan’s words.

He was a confidant by Lu Yan’s side and knew some of Lu Yan’s thoughts, guessing that the “he” in Lu Yan’s mouth referred to the Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty.

The subordinate then also looked out the window at the white-clothed youth who was talking and laughing, but felt that the other clearly had a focused expression and couldn’t see where he was distracted.

Lu Yan couldn’t help but smile, and his features that appeared cold and fierce when his face was stern instantly became gentle.

“You all don’t understand,” Lu Yan smiled, “only after getting along for a long time and becoming familiar with him can one understand. When I first met him, it was also…”

Lu Yan smiled and stopped his voice.

Some people require being together day and night to clear the clouds and mist from the thousands of layers of their disguised shell and catch a glimpse of their true nature.

Yin Yuheng, for example, was such a person with a lot on his mind.

The way Yin Yuheng appeared was often just the way he wanted people to see. A smile was perfunctory, and his seemingly focused gaze was the same—in fact, you were not in his eyes at all. It was just that Yin Yuheng’s act was too realistic, and few could see through it.

But later, Lu Yan learned to distinguish between Yin Yuheng’s true and false smiles.

Because Lu Yan had seen what Yin Yuheng looked like when he treated someone with sincerity.

Having seen many of Yin Yuheng’s sincere smiles, he could then distinguish which were hypocritical.

Lu Yan’s gaze softened, and he couldn’t help but rub the “Listening to Speech” on his ear again.

What does it look like when Yin Yuheng treats someone with sincerity?

Thinking what you think, worrying what you worry. In places you can’t see, he has already done his best to pave the way for you. It’s a meticulous gentleness, a subconscious reliance; it’s a trust that cannot be doubted, and a care that nurtures things silently.

The feeling of truly being placed in Yin Yuheng’s heart is different. It’s not perfunctory, not an act; it’s a sincere desire to hold you high and give you the best of everything.

Lu Yan had fortunately experienced it, so he understood.

A trace of a smile spread in the depths of Lu Yan’s eyes, but then it suddenly faded. Fleeting, like the last layer of melting soft snow in spring.

Lu Yan remembered that A-Heng, who had a heavy guard on his heart yet called his name at the most dangerous moment, had not yet woken up.

He was placed in that person’s heart, yet he had ultimately failed him. That person hated betrayal so much—whether it was Li Guanghan or Zhu Anning, those farces in Chaoge, Lu Yan had seen them all. Lu Yan originally thought he could stay by his side, but… it was still a twist of fate.

Lu Yan gave a slight bitter smile. He cast a final glance at the white-clothed youth outside, turned around, and said softly: “Actually, there are also places where they are not alike.”

“A-Heng has rarely been this happy,” Lu Yan said with lowered eyes, “Even when A-Heng is smiling, his heart is bitter.”

It was as if many things were hidden in his heart, layer upon layer, pressing on it. Not like the person outside the window now, who had forgotten the past and didn’t have so many bitter and worried thoughts, so he could be at ease and full of interest, staying by the window in the early morning to appreciate the rising sun.

*

Sometimes, forgetting is a kind of blessing.

But Xue Ciling couldn’t forget. Everything was printed in his mind, replaying over and over, surfacing uncontrollably.

Xue Ciling stood under a tree, watching a person practicing the sword from afar.

That person, in white clothes like clouds and holding a long sword, was trying to make sword flowers. Unfortunately, he didn’t stand steadily, his footsteps stumbled a bit, and he was about to fall to the ground.

Fortunately, he was surrounded by many maids, who immediately stepped forward to help him up and said nervously: “The City Lord instructed that you shouldn’t be overworked. Young Master Yin, if you can’t hold on, it’s better to take a rest.”

The person nodded, looked at the sword in his hand with some disgust, and threw it aside.

“Did the City Lord not come today?”

“The City Lord is busy; he’ll likely find you later.”

The person nodded and complained a bit: “I don’t remember anything, yet the City Lord still makes me practice the sword…”

The surrounding maids exchanged glances, and finally one said with a dry laugh: “The City Lord dotes on you; whether you practice or not, you just need to coax the City Lord a bit. Young Master Yin, I’ll take you to rest for a while. Would you like to play chess?”

It wasn’t until “Young Master Yin” walked away with the maid that Xue Ciling stepped forward and picked up the sword on the ground. He gripped the hilt tightly, his eyes full of uncontrollable rage.

Not like.

Not like at all.

The posture of practicing the sword was not like. When Yuheng practiced the sword, even if he fell over and over, he would never cry out in exhaustion.

The smile was even less alike. When Yuheng smiled, it was very gentle, and the gaze he turned toward him almost softened into a wisp of warm spring breeze.

Chess was also not like. When Yuheng played chess with him, he usually lost more than he won; whenever he lost, he would look at him with extreme innocence, looking until his heart softened and he gave up after putting away the chessboard.

There were so many more… every frown and smile, tiny habits, the tone of speaking…

Xue Ciling suddenly threw the sword in his hand, and it plunged directly into the earth, with only the hilt showing.

Xue Ciling gritted his teeth hard, restraining the uncontrollable murderous intent in his heart.

He had the same good appearance as Yuheng… but the soul within was far too different.

How could such a thing be worthy of replacing his Yuheng and receiving all his doting?

Xue Ciling closed his eyes, adjusting his breathing. He tried hard to tell himself that it was okay, he could still slowly train him… it was okay if he couldn’t learn the sword; Yuheng also always fell when practicing; it was okay if he didn’t want to smile; Yuheng also didn’t smile all the time. He could teach him slowly…

Xue Ciling suddenly opened his eyes, somewhat in a daze.

He realized that when the name “Yuheng” arose in his heart, the person he thought of was surprisingly no longer the Crown Prince of the Li Dynasty he had originally longed for.

But that previous puppet who had originally belonged to him.

What he wanted was not a substitute for the Crown Prince. What he wanted was that… soul who didn’t even have a name, who was fished from the Ghost River by him and had drifted here from nowhere.

Since when had he rarely thought of the startling glimpse of the Crown Prince?

Xue Ciling stayed on the spot for a long while, his thoughts in chaos and difficult to move. It wasn’t until a maid came to call him that Xue Ciling came back to his senses.

The sky had already dimmed, and the bright moon rose in the east.

“City Lord, today is the fifteenth again, you…” The maid took a careful look at him.

The fifteenth of every month was the time when the poison injury flared up.

Xue Ciling thought of this, pursed his lips, and gritted his teeth as he walked toward the forbidden area of the City Lord’s Manor. He took a few steps, suddenly turned his head, and said to the maid: “Bring Yin… forget it.”

At a certain moment, Xue Ciling suddenly didn’t want to speak the three words “Yin Yuheng.”

*

Xue Ciling sat in the room full of puppets, silently without saying a word.

He knew that in a while… soon, the poison injury would flare up. He would lose consciousness, frantically gouge out his own flesh, and torture himself until he was covered in wounds. When he woke up the next day, his whole body would be dripping with blood.

For many years, it had been so.

Only one time was different… that time when he woke up, he was clean all over, and his hands were held tightly in someone’s arms. He had been protected… and the person who protected him was covered in wounds instead of him, but never let go.

Where was that person now?

Why didn’t he come? Why didn’t he… continue to protect him?

Xue Ciling stared blankly at his hands, his mind a bit dazed. Pain began to spread from the depths of his bone marrow… the poison injury had flared up.

The sensation of pain that made him want to destroy everything began to impact his sanity. Xue Ciling gripped his hands hard, his nails sinking into his flesh. He began to emit muffled groans unconsciously.

That person… where did that person go?

“Yuheng…”

Xue Ciling opened his eyes unconsciously and called out softly. The surroundings were overly quiet, and no one answered.

So Xue Ciling’s voice became louder and louder, finally nearing a roar.

“Yuheng… Yuheng!!”

Where are you?

He had to find him… only by that person’s side was it safe.

Xue Ciling stumbled to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. He pushed away the puppets in his way, bumped the door open, and rushed out of the courtyard. As he stumbled along, he cried out in pain: “Yuheng—”

His voice was too shrill and finally caught the attention of the maids. The maids were in a mess, looking at the person with a distorted face and violent aura surging around him; no one dared to step forward.

“Yuheng, give me…”

A maid hurriedly went to find Young Master Yin. When Young Master Yin arrived, he took a look from afar, and his face changed.

“What ghost of a thing?” Young Master Yin couldn’t help but take a step back. However, Xue Ciling still saw him. Seeing the familiar face, a trace of joy suddenly appeared on Xue Ciling’s face, and the violent aura around him decreased by three points.

He rushed over, hugged the other person all at once, and began to smile.

Xue Ciling’s features were very clear and handsome, and this smile actually had the radiance of the morning sun. Young Master Yin was stunned, his fear receding, and suddenly a bit of secret pride appeared in his heart.

“So you like me this much.” Young Master Yin became bold.

“En, like Yuheng.” Xue Ciling nodded.

He had almost lost consciousness, and what remained was only instinct. The clear-headed Xue Ciling didn’t yet know that in the depths of his heart, it was already filled with liking for Yin Yuheng.

Young Master Yin narrowed his eyes and touched Xue Ciling’s face. He thought to himself, Not bad, the lord of a city is so obsessed with him; what couldn’t he do as he pleased in the future?

He was a lonely and vengeful soul that Xue Ciling had found in the Ghost River and put into the puppet—the souls in the Ghost River were mostly remnant souls that didn’t enter reincarnation. These souls were either deeply resentful or extremely evil; even if they forgot everything, being sinister and cruel was their instinct.

A somewhat cruel and cold smile appeared on Young Master Yin’s face.

Xue Ciling was so inseparable from him… as long as he controlled him well, wouldn’t the City Lord’s Manor be in his hands? Just as Young Master Yin was thinking this, the person holding him suddenly revealed a fierce expression.

Young Master Yin was stunned, appearing a bit uneasy: “How…”

“You’re not… you’re not him!” Xue Ciling suddenly roared, “He wouldn’t smile like you do…”

The violent aura around him suddenly exploded, and Xue Ciling let out a low growl, gripping Young Master Yin’s neck hard.

“You’re not him… why did you pretend to be him to deceive me?”

Young Master Yin opened his mouth in vain, letting out a hissing sound. However, Xue Ciling was already half-mad, and his hands were using more and more force. The crisscrossing aura around him boiled and surged, falling on Young Master Yin and leaving mark after mark.

Finally, with a “crack,” Xue Ciling snapped the neck of the person in front of him.

Xue Ciling let go despondently, and Young Master Yin fell softly to the ground; Xue Ciling didn’t give him another glance.

“Yuheng… Yuheng… where are you…”

“Come quickly…”

“Someone pretended to be you… to deceive me…”

Xue Ciling muttered to himself, looking around in panic and confusion. His voice gradually became smaller and finally even carried a crying tone.

“Yuheng…”

However, there was no answer. The poison injury became more and more painful, and Xue Ciling finally couldn’t hold on, falling to the ground and frantically gouging out his own flesh with his hands. Blood gushed from between his fingers, bit by bit, soaking the ground red.

In the City Lord’s Manor, everyone’s face was full of terror, and not one dared to step forward.

*

Yin Yuheng.

Yuheng.

In the Chaoge dungeon, someone was also chanting this name in their heart.

In the dark dungeon, a pungent smell of blood permeated. In the center of the innermost cell, a person covered in disarray sat kneeling. Chains entangled his arms, circled his back, pierced his shoulders, and finally vanished into the hard rock.

The chains were made of black iron and cold stone; they didn’t look thick, but the weight of even a thin one was quite considerable. These chains weighed on his body, the pain reaching his bones, almost crushing him. However, this person still tried to reach out his hand, using his fingernails to grind the floor over and over, trying to carve a name on the rock—

Yin Yuheng.

With a “creak,” the cell door was pushed open. The person kneeling on the ground almost had no strength left to speak, only slightly raising his eyelid and using his tattered hem to cover the shallowly ground words on the floor.

A person in white entered with a sword, looking coldly at the disheveled thing on the ground—perhaps in the eyes of the white-clothed person, this person was even less than a thing.

The person in white didn’t speak first, and the person on the ground finally let out a sneer. His voice was very hoarse, and with even a little sound, his throat would be filled with blood. He raised his head, revealing an exquisite face, and one could still vaguely catch a glimpse of half of his former esteemed elegance.

It was precisely Shen Liyuan.

But now, he was no longer the esteemed scion of a great family whom everyone envied, but a prisoner lingering on his last breath.

“Li Guanghan, have you come to flaunt your power?” Shen Liyuan mocked, “What, is His Highness awake?”

A sword light flashed, and a line of blood immediately appeared on Shen Liyuan’s body.

Shen Liyuan let out a muffled groan, a trace of malice appearing in his gaze.

“You are also worthy of mentioning him?” Li Guanghan said coldly, “A madman who deserves to die.”

“You call me mad?” Shen Liyuan seemed to have heard some joke, “Are you not a madman? You brought His Highness to this point; do you dare say you are not responsible?”

Li Guanghan’s whole body stiffened.

The things of the past, none of them dared to recall. Every time the heart demon flared up, Li Guanghan was trapped in his own heart demon hallucination and couldn’t escape. He hated all those who hurt Yin Yuheng, hated them to madness. But he himself was also one of those people.

After a long while, Li Guanghan spoke again. He pressed his sword against Shen Liyuan and said indifferently:

“Shen Liyuan, do you want to know what happened to the Shen family?”

Shen Liyuan’s eyelid moved, and he gave a cold smile.

“Doesn’t matter,” Shen Liyuan said hoarsely, “the Shen family… heh.”

He had already hated the Shen family for many years. Whether the Shen family was now ruined or destroyed… he didn’t care at all.

The person he cared about, from the beginning, was only that one.

“It indeed doesn’t matter,” Li Guanghan looked down at Shen Liyuan, “if it weren’t for a piece of news I suddenly received today, I wouldn’t have bothered to come see you…”

He paused and continued: “The person Yuheng once sent to find medicine has just returned.”

…Find medicine?

Shen Liyuan was stunned, not understanding Li Guanghan’s meaning for a moment. After reacting, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“The medicine found for you,” Li Guanghan suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile, “I didn’t even know… when Yuheng himself was going through such bitterness, he still remembered to save someone else.”

“Unfortunately, when the medicine-seeker returned, he himself couldn’t wake up… the news finally reached me.”

“The medicine that can treat your leg injury has been found.”

In Shen Liyuan’s incredulous expression, Li Guanghan took out a small jade box, opened it, and let Shen Liyuan see the thing inside.

It was a small piece of white fine vine, emitting a moist glow in the gloom.

“He started looking for it very early,” Li Guanghan lowered his eyes, rubbing the jade box in his hand, his tone sharp, “he really was attentive to you.”

Shen Liyuan opened his mouth, his eyes turning red.

“He… so…”

Shen Liyuan knew Yin Yuheng was thinking of a way for his legs, but it turned out he started looking for it that early?

When he was plotting against the other and hurting the other, his Highness was thinking of ways and means, wanting to save him.

Shen Liyuan stared blankly at the fine vine in the jade box, his whole body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

“This is the White Jade Vine, which is mutually reinforcing and counteracting with the poison vine, and happens to be able to neutralize the poison vine’s poison,” Li Guanghan’s voice came from above, and Shen Liyuan no longer had the energy to distinguish the cold irony in the words, “only the White Jade Vine is extremely hard to find. Perhaps, there might not be a second one in the world.”

Shen Liyuan listened blankly, and finally realized what Li Guanghan wanted to do. He pounced forward with red eyes, but was pulled back by the chains, a sudden pain hitting him, and he bent over to cough blood.

“Li Guanghan, stop—!”

Li Guanghan looked at his painful and disheveled state, revealing a fleeting cold smile. He held the jade box in front of Shen Liyuan and then used a bit of force.

In Shen Liyuan’s gaze that was nearly splitting with rage, with a “crack,” the jade box shattered, and the lustrous white fine vine within also fell, turning into powder.

The cell suddenly went quiet, and Shen Liyuan’s whole body froze, unable to move.

He began to tremble, panting heavily. He went dizzy in waves, and those legs that had been crippled for a long time suddenly began to hurt—an incomparable pain, even more painful than when he was entangled by the poison vines back then.

His eyes were full of bloodshot lines, and his lips were dry and cracked. Along with his trembling, the chains all over his body clinked and clattered.

Li Guanghan looked at his state, raised his foot, and ground the powder on the ground once more.

“This is the medicine Yuheng found for you.”

“He was brought to his current state by you… and hasn’t woken up to this day. Shen Liyuan, you are also worthy of continuing to enjoy his goodness?”

Li Guanghan’s voice was too piercing, and Shen Liyuan’s face was deathly pale. Finally, as if he had lost all strength, he slumped over, vomiting blood mouthful after mouthful.

The pain in his legs still came wave after wave, and he finally experienced the taste of complete despair.

He had nothing left. No Shen family, no status, no cultivation… he would never see his Highness again, and would never have another chance to treat his legs; he could only linger on his last breath in this deep dungeon.

He should have had a chance.

His Highness had once pulled him out of the mire, and regarded him as a good friend and confidant, was so good to him, didn’t loathe his imperfection, and thought of every way to treat his illness… he originally possessed so much, but he was not satisfied.

He wanted to monopolize this goodness and make His Highness his own personal possession. He used such cruel methods to plot against the only person in the world who was good to him… making his Highness suffer like that.

How could he have the heart to?

So heaven punished his dissatisfaction. What he wanted to seek he couldn’t get, and what he possessed was also taken back together. He finally fell to having nothing, only able to chant His Highness’s name, once again prostrate in the mire, being trampled by everyone.

In a daze, Shen Liyuan recalled how he had hurt his Highness back then. Those disgusting thoughts ultimately backfired on himself.

Shen Liyuan slowly closed his eyes, revealing a despondent smile.

He thought, he deserved it.

Li Guanghan was right, how was he worthy of enjoying His Highness’s goodness? His legs might as well not be treated—he didn’t deserve it.

He was originally a cripple struggling for food in the mire. How dared he covet a light that didn’t belong to him? His Highness was already gone; he ought to fall into the endless hell forever, and this time there would be no one to reach out to him again and give him light.

“Want to die? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy for you to die even if you want to.”

Shen Liyuan heard Li Guanghan’s voice, but only curled his lip.

He knew it wasn’t that easy for him to die even if he wanted to.

He also didn’t want to die.

Shen Liyuan was afraid of death. He used to not be afraid, but he was afraid now.

He already had nothing left; the only thing remaining was that beautiful memory kept in the deepest part of his heart as a treasure.

If he died, who would still remember his Highness? After taking a trip through the path of reincarnation and forgetting the past… he would truly have nothing left.

He didn’t want to forget. He had to live to atone for his sins.

Shen Liyuan lowered his head, chains hanging on his body, kneeling quietly on the ground. He finally didn’t have a trace of human air, as if he were a malevolent ghost locked in the mortal world.

*

Li Guanghan walked out of the dungeon.

Leaving the cold and gloomy dungeon, the sunlight fell before his eyes, but Li Guanghan still felt a bone-deep coldness for no reason.

Li Guanghan stood in place for a long while and suddenly let out a laugh.

Then he laughed louder and louder, doubling over, laughing until tears came. The heart demon flared up, and the spiritual energy flowed backward, stirring up bone-piercing pain. But he was still laughing.

Shen Liyuan was a madman.

So was he.

How was he not a ghost wandering in the mortal world? He should have died long ago, back on Penglai Island. Yet someone saved him and kept him in the mortal world. But now that person was hurt to the point of being nearly dead by him, by them.

He hated Shen Liyuan, and he hated Zhu Anning. He tortured these people, making them pay the price… but he understood that he too would pay the price sooner or later.

Perhaps it would be even more tragic than these people.

Li Guanghan’s laughter finally gradually quieted down, his eyes glazed. He held on, suppressing the demonic energy playing havoc in his body, and walked forward.

He couldn’t stop.

Yuheng hadn’t woken up yet… he would use every method to wake up his Yuheng. By then, no matter how Yuheng wanted to punish him, he would offer his neck for execution and take it as if it were sweet.

Li Guanghan cast a glance toward the direction of the Three Barren Mountains of the Demon Clan.

Perhaps, he needed to go see Lu Yan again.