After taking the resurrection pill, Yan Dechang's health improved day by day. On the fifth day, although he still had some difficulty moving, he could get out of bed and walk by himself with the help of a cane.
During these few days, the Yan family undoubtedly became the focus of Liuhe Town. Apart from anything else, the style of Lu Wenbin and the two guards of the Lu family who lived in the Yan family was something that many people in Liuhe Town had never seen. After all, there is no wall that is impenetrable in this world. It was just that Manager Lu and a few others stayed in the Yan family for a few days, and people in Liuhe Town basically knew that they were from the Lu family, a big family in Huanglong County. For a while, many people were jealous and envious of how the Yan family got connected with the Lu family, and there were also a lot of rumors in the town.
The most exaggerated rumor was that Yan Liqiang voluntarily sold himself as a slave to the Lu family, and the Lu family sent people to strengthen the Yan family's prestige. Yan Liqiang heard this rumor from Zhou Hongda's wife. Upon hearing this news, Yan Liqiang just sneered.
Yan Liqiang has been at home these days. When Yan Dechang was unable to get out of bed, he took care of Yan Dechang every day, taking care of his excrement and urine, cleaning his body, and feeding him. He worked hard without any complaints and never asked others to do his job for him. Such behavior made Lu, the steward who stayed in Yan's house, secretly admire him.
On the seventh day, news finally came from the Lu family. After some efforts by the Lu family, the identity of the person who injured Yan Dechang was finally confirmed.
That man was a wanted criminal in the Han Empire for more than a decade. There were no useful clues in the archives of recent years kept in the Criminal Court of Huanglong County. Finally, the Lu family used their connections to find that man in the wanted files kept in the Criminal Court of Pingxi County.
The man's name was Deng Long, nicknamed Guoshanfeng. He was a typical habitual killer who roamed around everywhere. He was cruel and ruthless. He was wanted for robbery and murder in other states more than ten years ago. He was responsible for more than ten innocent lives. He had been wanted all these years, but he had not been caught because he wandered around everywhere, his whereabouts were erratic, and he was cunning.
If Yan Liqiang had not drawn that man's portrait, the criminal arrest office in Pingxi County might not have known that this man had fled to Pingxi County.
After confirming the identity of that person, the Criminal Investigation Office in Pingxi County sent letters to all counties, asking them to issue wanted notices for the man. After receiving the letter from their superiors, the personnel of the Criminal Investigation Office in Qinghe County pretended to go to the Yan family to learn about what happened that day, and then posted a wanted poster that was not consistent with the real person on the street in Liuhe Town, and that was the end of the matter.
In the past few days, Yan Liqiang has been taking care of Yan Dechang at home, but he has not relaxed his practice.
He slept in the room next to Yan Dechang. Every night, when Yan Dechang was asleep or resting, Yan Liqiang would practice the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing in the room. He never missed a day and maintained the practice frequency of more than six times a day.
These days, Zhou Hongda and his wife are cooking at the Yan family, the people from the Lu family are guarding the house, and Manager Lu is handling various chores. Apart from taking care of Yan Dechang, Yan Liqiang can practice without distraction and make progress every day.
Especially the secret book of "Nine Palaces Wind Shadow Step" given to him by Qian Su. After days of immersion in it, Yan Liqiang felt more and more. In just a few days, Yan Liqiang felt that he seemed to have touched the first level of "Nine Palaces Wind Shadow Step".
At the same time, as he practiced the Yi Jin Jing, Yan Liqiang found that his perceptions in all aspects were becoming more and more acute. Every day during the day, although he was at home, Yan Liqiang always had a feeling of being spied on and monitored. This feeling was exactly the same as the one he experienced outside the gate of the Artisan Camp that day. This feeling would only disappear when it was late at night and everyone was asleep.
Although it may sound a little unbelievable, Yan Liqiang's intuition told him again and again that Guoshanfeng had always been by his side. Even when he was wanted, he did not flee, but hid in the dark like a poisonous snake, ready to give him a fatal blow at any time. The name Guoshanfeng itself is another name for cobra.
The fact that Guoshanfeng did not leave meant that as the national martial arts examination was approaching, the Hong family still had not given up their plan.
Yan Liqiang finally made up his mind!
…
On the evening of June 14, around 1:00 a.m., Yan Liqiang, who was sleeping in the room next to Yan Dechang, opened his eyes.
The clouds are very thick tonight, the stars and the moon are dim, it is pitch black outside and visibility is not high.
Yan Liqiang got up from bed, put on black clothes, carried the bow bag of the horn python bow on his back, put on the quiver, and went out silently.
Just as I pushed open the door outside Yan Dechang and walked out, a low voice came from the side, "Master Yan..."
Tonight, a guard from the Lu family was on duty, guarding the yard outside. He was quite alert and was discovered as soon as Yan Liqiang came out.
The Lu family guard was surprised to see Yan Liqiang dressed in black clothes and black pants, with a bow and quiver on his back.
Yan Liqiang made a hushing gesture, and the guard immediately understood. He walked over and asked in a voice that only Yan Liqiang could hear, "Master Yan, what are you doing..."
"Don't worry about me, I'm going out for a while to practice archery. Just pretend you didn't see anything. Remember, don't alarm other people..." Yan Liqiang said with a serious face.
The guards here were all members of the Lu family, so loyalty was naturally no problem. The guard just hesitated for two seconds and then nodded, indicating that he knew what to do.
Yan Liqiang did not leave through the main gate or the back, but went directly to the wall of the backyard where he usually practiced martial arts at home. He exerted force on his feet and used the "Nine Palace Wind Shadow Step". His powerful bouncing ability made his body fly up in an instant. He stepped on the wall twice in a row with both feet, and his body continued to rise a lot. Then he hugged the top of the wall with one hand, exerted force lightly, and his whole body, like a big bird, silently crossed the nearly three-meter-high wall and flipped over the wall.
Outside the courtyard wall is a dense bamboo forest.
Yan Liqiang climbed over the courtyard wall and squatted behind a clump of bamboo. He stared at the dark shadows all around him with wide eyes, while carefully feeling the surrounding situation.
When he was sure that no one had discovered his whereabouts, Yan Liqiang rushed into the bamboo forest as lightly and quickly as a cat, and ran towards the mountains in the distance at the end of the bamboo forest. In the blink of an eye, he was completely integrated into the darkness.
…
Nearly three hours later, Yan Liqiang returned to the woods, and then climbed over the courtyard wall just like he left. However, the bow bag and quiver on Yan Liqiang's body had disappeared.
The security guard of the Lu family had been waiting for Yan Liqiang to come back. Only after seeing Yan Liqiang again did the security guard breathe a sigh of relief.
Yan Liqiang blinked at the guard and made a gesture to keep it secret. The guard was full of doubts, but still nodded...
…
The next day, June 15, the Yan family was still the same as usual...
Yan Liqiang still got up when it was time to get up, then practiced the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing in the room, and then went to take care of Yan Dechang and helped him wash up.
Zhou Hongda and his wife also arrived at the Yan family early, and just like in the past few days, they started to prepare breakfast for everyone in the Yan family. After Yan Dechang finished washing up, the couple's breakfast was also ready.
"Early this morning, when I went to buy meat, I found that the live pigs that several butchers in the town had just bought were ordered by the Hong family. I heard that because the national martial arts exam is coming soon, the Hong family is preparing to worship their ancestors today, hoping that Hong Tao will pass the exam and become a warrior as soon as possible."
While eating breakfast, Yan Liqiang heard the news from Zhou Hongda. He was stunned for several seconds before he uttered "hmm" vaguely.
In the afternoon, after lunch, Yan Dechang threw away his crutches for the first time and walked two laps in the yard. His health was recovering better and better.
After exercising for two hours, Yan Dechang was a little tired, so Yan Liqiang helped Yan Dechang into the house and changed the bandages for him. After that, Yan Dechang fell asleep.
Yan Liqiang came out of the house, went straight to the kitchen, picked up a backpack and a small hoe, and prepared to go out.
Seeing Yan Liqiang was about to go out, Manager Lu was surprised.
"I didn't expect my father to recover so quickly. It just so happens that the wild mushrooms on the mountain are about to be harvested in the next few days. I will go to the mountain to pick some wild mushrooms and stew a chicken for him tomorrow to nourish his body..."
Manager Lu was slightly stunned, "Master Yan..."
Yan Liqiang smiled brightly, "It's okay, Manager Lu, do you think that man would dare to stay in Liuhe Town after being wanted for so many days? If my father wakes up and I haven't come back yet, Manager Lu, tell him that I'm going to the town to buy some things and tell him not to worry. If I'm not back by dark, you can eat first!"
Before Steward Lu could say anything, Yan Liqiang had already patted his shoulder with his palm. He squeezed it twice with extraordinary strength and looked at Steward Lu with a firm look, "I can go alone. Steward Lu, please take good care of my dad here..."
There was a power in Yan Liqiang's words that Manager Lu could not refuse, and the Lu family asked him to obey Yan Liqiang's orders here. Seeing that Yan Liqiang insisted on going up the mountain, Manager Lu could only nod and at the same time reminded Yan Liqiang to be careful.
In this way, Yan Liqiang carried a backpack and walked out of the main gate of Yan's house, along the bank of Liu River, towards the nearby forest. In just over 20 minutes, under the gaze of many people, he entered the mountain...
(End of this chapter)