Immortal Travel of Longevity

By the time the group returned to Tang Manor, they found Jingnan squatting in the courtyard, happily eating a melon he cradled in his hands. Seeds clung to the corners of his mouth; he looked utterly devoid of refinement.

This was an entirely different image from the person they had seen in the secret passage.

In fact, the moment Ruyi and Tang Yuerong laid eyes on him, they immediately thought this couldn't be the same person.

Yet both of them were absolutely certain they hadn't been mistaken.

Noticing the two of them staring at him, Yan Nantian paused. He blinked and asked, "Why are you looking at me? The steward gave me this melon. I don't have any more."

Tang Yuerong glanced at Ruyi.

"I have matters to attend to at the trading firm, so I'll take my leave first," she said.

Ruyi nodded, and soon only she and Yan Nantian were left in the courtyard.

She stepped forward and crouched beside him.

Ruyi said, "How are you acting so casually, like nothing happened?"

Yan Nantian blinked at her, confusion in his eyes.

Ruyi reached out and smacked the back of his head. "Still pretending?"

He froze, staring at her.

"Wait, what am I pretending? Did my eating a melon offend you?"

Ruyi raised an eyebrow. "Am I talking about the melon? I'm talking about what happened in the secret passage!"

"What secret passage?"

She stood up and raised a leg to kick him.

"Hey!!"

Yan Nantian hastily dodged, guarding his melon with one hand while watching her warily. "What on earth are you talking about? I didn't do anything to you!"

Ruyi quickly closed the distance and threw a punch.

He tilted his head to dodge, dropping his melon in the process.

Startled, Yan Nantian stared at her. "You're serious?!"

Ruyi didn't answer. Instead, she continued her assault.

Yan Nantian retreated several steps, dodging her strikes, but he struggled to parry them. His martial arts simply weren't deep enough to match a veteran like Ruyi.

In no time at all, he was beaten back step after step.

Then, Ruyi delivered a sweeping kick to his ankle.

"Hss..."

Wincing in pain, Yan Nantian immediately dropped to one knee.

Seizing the opening, Ruyi grabbed the back of his neck and forced him down. "You'd better confess!"

"Miss, can't you be a bit gentler? What kind of young lady is as barbaric as you?"

Seeing he was still being stubborn, Ruyi raised her foot and kicked him right in the rear.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."

Yan Nantian yelped.

Immediately after, she grabbed his ear.

His face flushed red from the pain, and he bared his teeth. "At least explain it to me! What secret passage? How does this have anything to do with me?!"

Applying even more force, Ruyi asked, "Still not going to be honest?"

Yan Nantian looked ready to cry. "What did I even do?"

Ruyi kicked him away.

He stumbled but managed to steady himself.

"You're being completely unreasonable."

Rubbing his ear, he added, "All I'm doing is collecting a debt. Was that really necessary? You look like you want to butcher me."

Ruyi raised a hand, and Yan Nantian instantly shrank back two steps.

Crossing her arms, she watched him.

She waited for him to explain.

But his eyes held only bewilderment, as if he truly knew nothing.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Weren't you acting all fierce in the secret passage just now? That shopkeeper chased you for ages and couldn't even catch you. You have quite the skills, yet now you're playing dumb?"

"Hold on!"

Yan Nantian froze, then protested, "You can't just spout nonsense! I've been right here the whole time. I haven't gone anywhere! And I certainly haven't seen you!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask the stewards and the servants!"

Ruyi was taken aback. Seeing his completely unapologetic demeanor, she frowned.

She cast him a glance before actually walking off to question the stewards and servants.

"Young Master Jing has indeed been here the entire time. He hasn't left the manor once."

The stewards and servants all gave her the same answer.

Trailing behind her, Yan Nantian sported a dark expression. "Now do you believe me?" he asked coldly.

Ruyi remained skeptical. "It really wasn't you?"

Beneath his sleeves, Yan Nantian's fists clenched tight. "Don't push me too far!"

"Al... alright..."

Ruyi said, "Let's just say I wrongly accused you."

"Heh..."

"But that person really looked like you. Practically identical."

Yan Nantian said nothing.

After pondering for a moment, she added, "Hmm, maybe it was just too dark in the passage, and I didn't get a clear look."

"You can ask Yuerong, too. She saw him as well, and we both thought it was you."

Yan Nantian frowned at this, asking, "Just how similar?"

"Like you were carved from the same mold," Ruyi replied.

Yan Nantian raised an eyebrow, falling into thought.

"You don't happen to have a brother, do you? A twin?"

"It's just me."

This matter put Yan Nantian on high alert.

He couldn't fathom who could possibly look so much like him that both Ruyi and Tang Yuerong would mistake the person for him.

He absolutely didn't believe in coincidence. Yes, people with similar appearances existed in the world, but he was certain that wasn't what was happening here.

"Then it's truly strange," Ruyi said. "That thief looked exactly like you."

Snapping back to reality, Yan Nantian said, "Tell me everything. What kind of secret passage was this, and also..."

The two sat down, and Ruyi proceeded to explain the entire sequence of events, as well as the origins of the secret passage.

Yan Nantian was inwardly shocked to hear this, to be honest. He hadn't even known such a secret passage lay hidden beneath Shangjing City.

But then again, it made sense. Probably only Emperor Jing had known about this passage back then. His own father had just been a vassal king; there was no way he would have been privy to such a secret.

Several possibilities formed in his mind. "Was that thief heading for the Imperial Palace?" he asked.

Ruyi shook her head. "I heard the shopkeeper say that the path connecting the passage to the Imperial Palace was sealed off long ago."

But Yan Nantian shook his head in disagreement. "Impossible. They definitely left a way through."

"I think so too."

Ruyi added, "They absolutely wouldn't have sealed the whole thing. They definitely kept a route open, just hidden from outsiders."

He stroked his chin, his gaze deepening. "Now this is getting interesting..."

Just as he was deep in thought...

...he caught a sudden smack to the head.

"Why did you hit me?!"

"Why are you acting all profound? Trying to look impressive?"

"..."

Yan Nantian was left utterly speechless. He had taken quite a few beatings along the way; Ruyi was definitely not a girl with a good temper.

"Who would ever dare marry a girl like you?"

Hearing this, Ruyi tightened her fist and brandished it right in front of his eyes.

He immediately leaned back to dodge.

He really couldn't afford to provoke her.

Ruyi gave a light hmph before asking, "By the way, what exactly did you come to Shangjing for?"

"To collect a debt," Yan Nantian replied.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!