Chapter 565 — Going to Yunnan with You

"This..." Yang Ce was all the more bewildered by Lan Ling's words. He had not expected her to already know about him and the other girls. When she left, his relationship with Chen Shutang had been murky at best—but now?

In less than a year, he had come to know so many girls, and Lan Ling was happy and gratified for him? Yang Lanxu's heart ached. Surely little Lingling was not saying the opposite of what she meant, trying to provoke him?

"If you died, I would be heartbroken and want to die myself! Because you are my only love! But if I died, you would still have so many girlfriends to keep you company, so you probably would not grieve too much—at least not as much, because you would still have all those people who love you to stay by your side!" Lan Ling said. "So, Yang Ce, if you came to Yunnan to accompany me, I would be happy, but it would be terribly selfish. It would be unfair to Chen Shutang, and to all the girls who love you! How could I do such a thing?"

Yang Ce was stunned. He had not expected this to be what Lan Ling was worried about. Even as his heart was moved, he felt a deep pang of self-reproach. He had truly wronged her.

"Lingling, when Mengyan brought you back this time, did she not say anything else to you? What did she tell you?" A thought suddenly struck Yang Ce—something very important. Lan Ling did not want him to go to Yunnan. Did she not know that he was going there on a mission?

"She did tell me," Lan Ling said. "She said you missed me very much and wanted to see me, and I missed you too, so I came back..."

"Hm? Is that all?" Yang Ce was taken aback. "Then does that mean you did not miss me before? Why did you not come back then?"

"I wanted to come back before too, but I was afraid of affecting your relationship with Chen Shutang, so I did not quite dare to..." Lan Ling said. "How was I to know that Chen Shutang would treat me so well, and even seem to respect me? And when I heard that you had taken so many more women, I understood—Chen Shutang had simply resigned herself to it!"

"Heh, not exactly. Mengyan has grown up, that is all. She is more mature now." Yang Moxi smiled a little sheepishly.

"Maybe," Lan Ling said, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "But even so, it has cured me of my worries, and now I can face her with a clear heart! Otherwise, I truly wondered whether I would be able to return to Songjiang City and see you after dealing with the Right Elder... whether Chen Shutang would drive me away... whether you would be caught in the middle, unable to choose. Thinking of all that, I even had thoughts of perishing together with the Right Elder..."

"What!" Yang Ce was startled and inwardly counted himself lucky. If Chen Shutang had not taken the initiative to call Lan Ling, her thoughts would have been truly terrifying. If she had actually acted on them, Yang Ce would have regretted it for the rest of his life. How close it had been! Still shaken, he said, "Lingling, how could you think such things? Even if there were a thousand difficulties, I would never abandon you!"

"Yes, I know. Because you are under the heart gu—if you abandoned me, you would die!" Lan Ling teased deliberately.

"You—you know perfectly well, and yet you ask!" Yang Jincong laughed.

"All right, I only came back to see you. And Chen Shutang's attitude has given me so much more confidence. I will definitely defeat the Right Elder and come back safe and sound to find you, so do not come with me! Do not act on impulse!" Lan Ling said reassuringly.

"Lingling, how am I acting on impulse?" Yang Ce shrugged. "The truth is, I have to go to Yunnan. I have no choice!"

"No choice? What do you mean? Is someone forcing you to go?" Lan Ling was taken aback and asked, puzzled.

"It is not that someone is forcing me, but going to Yunnan is my responsibility!" Yang Yanzhou said. "In fact, this time, Mengyan calling you back—was that not her way of letting you say goodbye to me? Because I leave tomorrow!"

"Your responsibility? You leave tomorrow?" Lan Ling grew even more puzzled, not understanding what Yang Juehuan meant.

Yang Shuyu said that Chen Shutang had probably not told Lan Ling the details of his mission to Yunnan. She had wanted him to tell Lan Ling himself—just as with Su Ya before. Only, Su Ya had known he was going far away but not the particulars, whereas Lan Ling knew everything.

Perhaps it was because Su Ya had an event on her side and wanted to delay her return by a few days, so Chen Shutang had no choice but to tell her that Yang Ce was going on a long journey. But Lan Ling had been eager to return and see him, so the two of them had hit it off at once. Chen Shutang had not needed to say much at all—Lan Ling had simply come back.

"Yes, Mengyan may not have told you, but I was going to tell you in a little while anyway. So this works out well—I will just say it plainly now!" Yang Yanzhou said. "After you left, I joined an organization called the Mysterious Investigation Bureau..."

"Ah! The Mysterious Investigation Bureau!" Lan Ling was stunned, then suddenly cried out.

"What, you know this organization?" Yang Ce was startled by her reaction.

"I do! A while ago, they even made contact with our Blue Miao Village, wanting our help..." Lan Ling looked at Yang Ce in some surprise. "You are one of them?"

"Yes, I am!" Yang Yuting nodded. "They contacted you?"

"Yes, they contacted my grandmother, wanting to cooperate with us to deal with the Right Elder," Lan Ling nodded and said.

"Oh? And did you agree?" Yang Ce had not expected that Xia Yan and the others had already approached Lan Ling's grandmother.

"No..." Lan Ling shook her head. "My grandmother did not want to cooperate with outsiders. She felt that we were not yet prepared, that we had no assurance of being able to deal with the Right Elder. To move against him now would be impossible! But the Mysterious Investigation Bureau wanted to act soon—clearly they meant to use us as cannon fodder—so Grandmother rejected their proposal! At the time, Grandmother told me about it, and we cursed those people from the Mysterious Investigation Bureau who were going to come here..."

"Heh... I am one of those people from the Mysterious Investigation Bureau—the one who was going to your village to deal with the Right Elder, and the one leading the team, no less..." Yang Jincong said with a smile.

"Ah!" Lan Ling was even more astonished. "It really is you... So you truly are going to Yunnan with me. That is why—no wonder you said you had to go... But what about Chen Shutang and the others? This will be very dangerous! Did they agree to let you come?"

"I did not tell them the specific details of the mission. I only said I would be gone for a long time. That way, even if something happens to me, they will still have something to hold on to. As time passes, they will naturally let it fade, and the grief will not be so sharp..." Yang Ce shook his head. "I am the only person in the Mysterious Investigation Bureau who has ever crossed blades with the Right Elder, so this time, going to Yunnan, it has to be me..."

Recommendation: a novel titled *Special Agent of the Flower Capital*, by Sima Shengjie—a fine urban novel!