Chapter 675 — You're My Brother

"I'm Lin Ce, a doctor. Liu Yan and I are good friends, and I'm here studying gu arts." Lin Ce nodded to Yang Youting. "This is my adopted daughter, Yiyi—my assistant, more or less."

So that explained it—adopted daughter and adoptive father. Yang Youting nodded in sudden understanding. This man was Lin Ce, and that too fell within Yang Juehuan's expectations. Having seen him together with Liu Yan earlier, Yang Ce had guessed that this man might be Lin Ce, so hearing Lin Ce's words now, he was not overly surprised.

"Good to meet you, Doctor Lin, Miss Yiyi," Yang Ce said politely.

"Well then, since we're all acquainted, from now on you'll all help me with my research into gu poisons. If anything comes up, work it out among yourselves—I'll be on my way!" Having settled Yang Ce and the others here, the Right Elder said nothing further.

The Right Elder was eager to call Dong Jun and boast to him that he had captured Yang Ce!

Back then, Dong Jun had been set on dealing with Yang Ce for so long without any success—and yet the moment the Right Elder made his move, success had come swiftly and surely. How could that not put the Right Elder in excellent spirits?

Only after watching the Right Elder and his men board the helicopter and leave did Yang Ce let out a long breath. However it had unfolded, matters had for the time being come to rest and reached a pause.

True, this time he had not managed to do anything to the Right Elder—every strike he made had been easily deflected, which left Yang Ce somewhat aggrieved—but taken as a whole, the outcome was still a good one. Yang Yongjin had found his godfather Liu Yan's son, Liu Yan, and his daughter-in-law, and he had found the miracle doctor Lin Ce!

With that, not only was there an answer for his godfather's side, but there was hope on Shen Yuxi's side as well!

The other matters, of course, did not worry Yang Ce. He was, to be sure, temporarily imprisoned by the Right Elder, but things looked entirely acceptable for now—everyone was at least quite free. Within the valley they could do as they pleased; they simply could not leave the valley. There were no other restrictions.

And here, there was time enough to slowly think of a way to deal with the Right Elder—especially with these several experts in gu poisons right here. Yang Ce was not worried that he would fail to find a way to handle the Right Elder! Once a method was found and the Right Elder dealt with, escaping the valley would be no difficult matter at all!

"My friends, since you have come, let me first find you a place to rest and stay. We've all shared hardships together, after all. As for researching the gu poisons, there's no hurry—we can discuss it later." Liu Yan looked over Yang Ce and the others and spoke.

Liu Yan was a very easygoing man; one could tell that he would be easy to get along with.

"Brother Liu, do you remember me? My name is Lan Ling, from the Blue Miao Stronghold. When you used to gather herbs in Fengming Valley, we met before!" Lan Ling waved at Liu Yan and spoke.

At this moment Lan Ling finally realized why Liu Yan's photograph had seemed so familiar the first time she saw it in Liu Yan's house. It was because she had seen Liu Yan in Fengming Valley—at that time the Right Elder would not yet have relocated the Medicine Valley, and Liu Yan, in order to test gu poisons, had no choice but to go gather herbs in the Medicine Valley!

"Oh?" Liu Yan was slightly taken aback. He looked at Lan Ling, and only after a moment nodded. "That does ring a faint bell. You went to the Medicine Valley too, back then..."

In truth, there had been no real dealings between the two of them—they had merely met, and perhaps had not even spoken. So Liu Yan had but a vague impression, by no means a deep one.

"Haha, Brother Liu, Sister-in-law, we finally meet!" Seeing that Liu Yan recognized her, Lan Ling said with a grin.

"Brother? Sister-in-law?" Liu Yan found Lan Ling's manner of address rather strange. He was certainly older than Lan Ling, but to call them brother and sister-in-law after only one meeting left Liu Yan with a feeling that defied explanation.

"Heh, let me explain." Yang Cenbin stepped forward at that point and said to Liu Yan, "Brother Liu, the truth is, Elder Liu Yan—Liu Elder—is my godfather. I am his godson! This time, coming to Miao territory, besides dealing with the Right Elder, I had one other purpose—to find you!"

"What!" On hearing Yang Juehuan's words, Liu Yan's eyes went wide at once, and he stared at Yang Ce in disbelief. "You... you... you know my father? And... you're his godson?"

"Yes, that's right!" Yang Ce nodded gravely. "The Right Elder was here earlier, and there were things I could not conveniently say, so I said nothing. Now that he is gone, I can tell you the truth."

Liu Yan looked at Yang Ce, his expression deeply stirred. All these years, he had surely missed home too, had missed his parents—only he had no way to contact the outside world, no source of news at all, and did not know whether his parents were well! Even when he had been able to go gather herbs in the Medicine Valley, the Right Elder's men had followed him in secret; there was no chance he could have contacted his family.

And Liu Yan was not like Yan—he was a scholar by nature, without Yang Ce's formidable skills, and so it was naturally impossible for him to stand up against the Right Elder's subordinates.

Today he had seen Yang Ce and the other new captives of the Right Elder, and had had no particular thoughts about it. In his view, in a sea of strangers, Yang Yongjin might well have some connection, some dealings, with his father—so he had simply not thought to ask.

But who could have imagined that Yang Ce was actually his father's godson!

"My father... is he well..." Liu Yan thought that Yang Yongjin likely would lie—after all, the man's identity in the Secret Investigation Bureau was plain to see—yet he could not help but half believe him. The matter was simply too incredible, and for a moment he could not quite bring himself to accept it.

"Godfather and godmother are both very well—they only miss you. On your birthday before, godfather brought you up to me." Yang Ce saw that Liu Yan did not quite believe his words, so with a smile he drew a photograph from his breast: a family portrait, a photograph of himself, Xiao Qing, and Elder Liu Yan and his wife together. Yang Ce had brought it along precisely as evidence. "This is a photograph of me and my... other girlfriend together with godfather and godmother. Her name is Xiao Qing, and she is godfather's goddaughter..."

"Xiao Qing? I know her—yes, that's her. We were colleagues once; at the time I was a researcher in the biology laboratory at Songjiang Engineering University." Seeing the photograph, Liu Yan believed Yang Juehuan's words at once, and his expression grew somewhat nostalgic. "By the way... how is Xiao Qing your girlfriend? Didn't she have a boyfriend named Song... Song something?"

Back then Liu Yan had paid Xiao Qing little attention, thinking of her only as a colleague. At that time Xiao Qing was not yet Liu Yan's goddaughter either, and the two had had no real dealings, so naturally Liu Yan could not remember such details clearly. That he could recall that Xiao Qing had a fiance surnamed Song was already quite remarkable.