Ding Huang was thirty-five years old this year. When talking about the grudges between him and the Shen family, it had to start from eight years ago. Ding Huang's uncle had been injured in a battle with the Turks in his early years. The kidney water is dry, I'm afraid it's hard to have descendants.
Thus, Ding Huang became the only descendant of the Ding family for three generations. Later, Ding Huang married Du, and the relationship between the couple was very good, but they never had children. Until eight years ago, Du finally gave birth to a son for Ding Huang. This was originally a happy occasion to have children, but heaven's will played tricks on people. Du was born weak and had a great loss of qi and blood during labor. After asking the old owner of the Hundred Herb Hall to treat him, he was told that unless there was a great tonic for the Innate Realm. Otherwise, he would only have half a year left.
Ding Huang knew that the Shen family had a hundred-year-old precious ginseng. So he went to the door with a large sum of money and asked for the ginseng. At that time, Xu Liang, the great benefactor of the Shen family, wanted to break through to the Rank-2 Grandmaster Realm. He also needed an innate tonic to strengthen his Qi and blood.
Shen Congwen, the eldest son of the Shen family, decided to give the ginseng to Ding Huang to save his wife after some consideration. The Ding and Shen families continued to purchase Xiantian supplements to help Xu Liang break through to Rank-2. The Ding and Shen families would provide the required wealth.
This was originally a happy event, but because the second son of the Shen family, Shen Cong Li, had found out that a martial artist could not break through at any time. The accumulation of cultivation essence, the strengthening of qi and blood, as well as that flash of inspiration, the comprehension that was hard to find after the passage of time, were all indispensable.
At that time, Ding Huang was only a martial artist who had just entered Rank-4. He practiced martial arts at the age of five and only reached Rank-4 at the age of twenty-seven. He could barely be considered an average talent. Not to mention Rank-2, even if he was Rank-3, no one knew how many years he would need to advance.
Xu Liang was already a third-grade Martial Master. That would be a Rank-2 Grandmaster. In the entire Jin Province, only Yuan Hua, the commander of the border army, had a cultivation of the Second Stage.
Even if Xu Liang failed, he would at most drop a level, which was the same level as Ding Huang. If he succeeded in breaking through, he would soar into the sky. At that time, the Shen family would definitely rise with the tide and rise to a higher level.
Hence, after thinking rationally, Second Shen pretended to comply but secretly went against his brother Shen Cong Wen's wishes. He then sent a Xiantian supplement pill made from the Shen family's hundred year old ginseng to Xu Liang.
By the time Ding Huang found out, Xu Liang had already taken the ginseng pill and entered the mountain to live in seclusion. He wanted to fight with the Shen family like a madman, but Ding Huang's uncle, who had returned home from vacation, stopped him. He also said,"Ginseng is the Shen family's thing, giving it is a favor, not giving it is also part of the duty." If you risk your life, who will save your wife? "If your wife dies, do you want your youngest son to be brought up by me in the border army camp, that kind of dangerous place?”
A month later, Ding Huang's uncle asked for a hundred-year-old precious ginseng from Yuan Hua, the commander of the border army. Du's family was saved from danger. Because of this, the Shen and Ding families formed a grudge.
Even though Ding Huang's uncle was suppressing him, preventing him from using force to attack the Shen family. But from then on, the Shen family opened a rice store and the Ding family followed suit. The Shen family opened a winery, and the Ding family followed suit. In short, no matter what business the Shen family did, the Ding family would definitely get involved.
Ding Huang didn't do such a thing as " selling at a low price ". However, it also made the Shen family earn a lot less money.
The Shen family felt that they were in the wrong, and they were afraid that Uncle Ding Huang was a general of the border army, so they had been tolerant of Ding Huang until now.
In the past two years, the Turks had repeatedly invaded the border. The harvest of the grain fields outside the pass was getting lesser and lesser by the Turks. If they were not enough to support themselves, they could not even 'supply' the grain fields inside the pass.
The Shen family's First Master had foresight and had long since reclaimed a barren mountain around Yi County to grow grain. What can I do? Enemies always meet on narrow roads, but enemies meet on narrow roads.
The barren mountain near the Shen family's grain farm was actually the Ding family's ancestral property. However, Ding Huang, his grandfather, and his grandfather's grandfather had never managed that barren mountain. Over time, people thought that it was just a piece of land without an owner. Even Ding Huang himself, if he had not seen the title deed when he inherited the ancestral business, would not have thought that the barren mountain where he had caught shrimps and fish when he was young was actually his ancestral property.
This year, there was no rain for the entire spring and the weather was very dry. The streams and rivers around the Shen family grain farm were all dry. Only the Ding Family Mountain had a mountain stream spring that could irrigate the grain fields.
Ding Huang sent someone to send a message to First Master Shen: "A few hundred mu of grain fields can save countless lives. Thousands of people were counting on the grain in the fields to survive this year of disaster. The Shen family calls themselves a benevolent family and I, Ding Huang, am not a person who is heartless because of hatred. I'll open the floodgates and you irrigate the grain fields. This year, the Shen family's grain farm's harvest. The Shen family left ten percent to live on. The remaining 90% will be used for disaster relief!"
Second Master Shen exploded on the spot! The land was bought by the Shen family with money and the fields were planted by the Shen family. You, Ding Huang, earned a good reputation for saving people in distress by using the barren mountains and wild water for free? They even cut off the autumn grain that our Shen family had already received. The key was that the large sum of silver that was received in advance had already been used by the Shen family to expand the land and open up wasteland. If there was no grain to be delivered after autumn, using silver to compensate could make the Shen family vomit blood. This is forcing our Shen family to go bankrupt!
In the end, the Shen family's First Master still made the final decision and agreed to Ding Huang's request. In the words of the First Master of the Shen family,"We cannot cut off the livelihood of the people of Jin Zhou because of the grievances between our two families."”
Heaven never forsakes a way out. Ding Huang admired the benevolence and righteousness of First Master Shen. In addition, from early spring to September, in the past half a year, the original culprit, Second Master Shen, had gone around begging for food. He had run all over the place and had done everything he could to make him suffer like his third grandson. This had also allowed Ding Huang to vent his anger.
He then sent someone to deliver a message to the Shen family,"This Ding respects the benevolence and righteousness of the Shen family's Eldest Master and Young Lady Shen, so I will give your Shen family a chance." Back then, didn't Second Master Shen look down on me, Ding Huang, who was only a fourth-grade Martial Master? Now, Master Ding is already in the middle of Rank-3. Within Jin Zhou, you can invite any friends as long as you can beat Master Ding in archery. The Ding family will share half of this year's grain with your Shen family and let the Shen family hand it over to the owner to tide over the difficulties.”This gave the Shen family a chance to live.
Ding Huang had learned military martial arts from his uncle since he was young. He was good at archery and was known as the best archer in Jinzhou. However, he only had an ordinary strong bow in his hand and did not have any Precious Weapons.
Second Master Shen had wanted to find Xu Xiao, who had the reputation of 'shooting without miss' in Yi County, to fight Ding Huang. He was stopped by First Master Shen. That was because Xu Xiao was only a Rank-4 martial artist. There was a huge gap between him and Ding Huang, who was a Rank-3 martial artist. Grandpa Shen was afraid that something had happened to Xu Xiao and that he had let down his old friend Xu Liang.
As for Xu Xiao, after leaving the Shen family, he carried a big dog on his shoulder and came to Ding Huang's mansion.
"Father, Xu Xiao requests an audience outside." Ding Huang's son, Ding Xiaoguang, came to the martial arts field in the backyard of the Ding family after receiving the report from the gatekeeper.
"Xiaoguang, you need to increase your strength when you're guarding the night. She had already sneaked into the courtyard, yet you were still in a daze. This was a taboo in the martial world! The cicadas have already broken the dawn before the metal wind has moved. Brother Xu, I thank you for letting my son remember.”
On the training field of the Ding family mansion, Ding Huang's only son, Ding Xiaoguang, reported to his father that Xu Xiao was seeking an audience. Ding Huang ignored his son and only said these two words to the martial arts practice field and the shadow wall of Xifang Mountain. Under Ding Xiaoguang's astonished gaze, Xu Xiao came out from behind the screen wall with a grin.
"In terms of cultivation and age, you are Xu Xiao's elder. No matter how stupid Xu Xiao is, he can't afford to be on the same level as you.”Xu Xiao walked out from behind the screen wall with a cheeky smile.
"If I say I can bear it, then you can. In all of Jinzhou, you are the only one who can compete with me in archery in five years.”Ding Huang thought highly of himself in archery. Among all the archers in Jinzhou Prefecture, he only thought highly of Xu Xiao.
"Why wait five years? Let's try it now.”Xu Xiao still had that cheeky smile on his face, not showing any signs of anything.
"You want to stand up for the Shen family?" Ding Huang was somewhat surprised.
"Foster Father broke through to the second grade, and the Shen family gave him a family heirloom ginseng.”Xu Xiao's expression was no longer mischievous. Mentioning foster father Xu Liang, he had a solemn expression.
"That's because Old Brother Xu climbed the cliff and entered the bandits 'stronghold, helping the Shen family to snatch back the ten thousand gold treasure.”Speaking of Xu Liang, Ding Huang also admired him very much. He didn't take his anger out on Xu Liang just because he had taken the pill that the Shen family had promised to give Ding Huang's wife.
"Godfather lost all his martial arts and the Shen family did not do such a thing. Send money and food to my father and son every month." Xu Xiao recalled the time when Xu Liang had just lost his strength and could not help but sigh.
"Second Shen bought favors, three to five taels of silver a month to buy his Shen family's reputation of benevolence and righteousness, to buy you, Xu Xiao, to take the initiative to cancel the engagement with his family's young miss. Everyone said that you, Xu Xiao, are as cunning as a fox. Can't you smell that little fart of Shen Er's?”As soon as the second master of the Shen family was mentioned, Ding Huang could not hold back his anger.
"Ha ha, of course I know. Second Uncle was meticulous and relied on the three to five taels of silver that he gave to me and my son every month to earn back his reputation. In less than a year, he managed to exchange for the Shen family's reputation of being a family of benevolence and righteousness from the former Jin Prefecture Prefecture Overseer and the current Minister of Rites Cen. Relying on this calligraphy treasure, in the second year, the Shen family received a large amount of grain and wine business from the Prefecture Overseer Estate, earning a net profit of thirty thousand silver taels. Since then, Eldest Master Cen had been promoted all the way. The Shen family had even relied on this calligraphy treasure as a stepping stone to earn countless silver.”
"I also know that Second Uncle Shen has brought the Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family to the capital several times. He wanted the Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family to pay her respects to Old Matriarch Cen. In fact, he was trying to matchmake Shen Er and the Cen family's young master. Today, I took the initiative to go to the Shen family to break off the engagement. I reckon that in another year or two, we should call that Eldest Miss Shen Madam Cen.”
What Xu Xiao knew was not only this, but so what? No matter how meticulous the other party was, the silver that was given to his father and son was real. He could not erase the Shen family's help to his father and son just because he saw the other party make a fortune.
"Xu Xiao, I'll give you the truth. All these years, I targeted the Shen family because I wanted to take care of Second Shen, that influential villain. As for Eldest Shen, even though he was pedantic, he deserved the word benevolence and righteousness. After the Shen family goes bankrupt, I will naturally protect the Shen family's Eldest Master for a lifetime. Since you are so clear about Second Shen's actions, why are you still standing up for the Shen family? Moreover, even if you had the weapon, Yellow Dust and Clear Water, you would still be able to kill him. But you and I are still a realm apart. Is it worth risking your life for the Shen family?”
In the end, Ding Huang still thought that Xu Xiao was not his match. Experts were lonely. He was prepared to wait for Xu Xiao to grow up and then fight with this future opponent who could be on par with him.
"No matter how much Second Uncle Shen likes to scheme and gain favor. However, he has always been kind to us and has never harmed us. His foster father often said that he would remember the kindness of others for thousands of years. His foster father came back to say that the meaning of the word, can not tolerate his words. His foster father had also said that he should take life and death lightly and fight if he was not convinced!”If not for that last sentence, Xu Xiao would really have some righteous and awe-inspiring aura at this moment.
"Stop talking nonsense. You said the last sentence yourself, right? Good! You, Xu Xiao, were able to fight your way from an eight-year-old kid to today in the mountain city of Yi County. You are indeed a character.”Ding Huang scolded him with a smile. Seeing that Xu Xiao had made up his mind, he no longer tried to persuade him.
"Come on!"
"Let's go!"
Xu Xiao and Ding Huang retreated twenty steps with their backs facing each other. They drew their bows and nocked their arrows. At the same time, they shot the first arrow. They held their bows and arrows upside down, and shot the first arrow with their backs facing each other.
Ding, pa! Pa... The two arrows collided and fell to the ground.
Immediately after, Xu Xiao and Ding Huang continued to hold the reflex and shoot arrows consecutively.
Ding! Pa! Pa!
Ding! Pa! Pa!
Xu Xiao's Clear Water Arrow was a few coins heavier than Ding Huang's arrow. It was the weight of these few coins that made Xu Xiao's arrow a breath faster than Ding Huang's. The sound of the arrow landing on the ground was like the sound of the war drums of the three armies on the battlefield, beating on the hearts of the two people. The drums were like thunder, shaking their hearts and souls!
The position where the arrows collided with Ding Huang also gradually changed from ten steps to nine and a half steps, nine steps…Three steps…One step…Half a step…Until " Pfft!" The last arrow of Xu Xiao's twenty consecutive shots pierced Ding Huang's left shoulder. The arrowhead pierced through the shoulder and stained Ding Huang's clothes with blood.
"Xu Xiao, I'll fight it out with you!" Ding Xiaoguang saw that his father was injured and picked up a Ghost Head Blade from the weapon rack beside the martial arts field, ready to fight Xu Xiao to the death.
"Xiaoguang, stop! Xu Xiao already showed mercy and didn't shoot my vital points.”Ding Huang shouted at his son.
"Same here, same here. Otherwise, our arrows wouldn't have collided with each other every time.”Xu Xiao also admired Ding Huang. In the end, he had taken advantage of the bow and arrow.
"My son is rude." Enduring the pain in his shoulder, Ding Huang reluctantly cupped his fists.
"You don't have to be polite with me. Hurry up and treat your injuries. Brother Ding Xi, don't wait for your father to see blood before you start screaming and fighting. To say something you don't like to hear, a person who can make your father see blood, with your martial arts that haven't graduated, it's useless to go up. Brother, let me teach you a trick. Next time your father fights with someone, you can shoot arrows directly from behind. It's best to call all the archers in the residence to shoot in a few rounds. If you can't kill him, you can scare him to death. Don't be afraid of your father's anger. You're the only son in four generations. At most, he'll reward you with a meal of Korean stew. Don't be afraid of losing face. Your father is more important than your face.”Xu Xiao did not blame Ding Xiaoguang in his heart. Father and son were connected. If it was him, hehe, if it was him, he would not give others the chance to hurt his foster father.
"Xu Xiao, you really are the number one slut in Jin City.”The Ding father and son said in unison.
When Xu Xiao left the Ding Manor, he had a black guard dog on his shoulder.
"Sigh, these rich and powerful people are indeed stupid and rich. They can even fool people by buying a dog to guard the house. They're all fools who don't bark when they see people and only show their teeth. I'll help you stew it out of kindness.”
After leaving the Ding Clan, Xu Xiao walked in the direction of the Wen Clan's restaurant. As soon as he entered the Wen Family Restaurant, Zhang Julu, the accountant of the Wen Family Restaurant, stood up from his seat and sized him up with a cold face. Then, without even saying goodbye, he turned around and returned to the backyard.
On the contrary, the young manager of the Wen family's restaurant was gentle, smiling as he welcomed Xu Xiao in.
"Is it all resolved?"
"Your merits have been fulfilled, and you have even taken two fat dogs. You can keep one and let the chef stew it tonight to nourish Zhang Jue's body. It was autumn, and he would be going to the capital for the exams next year. The mountains were high and the rivers were long. Without a good body, even if he read ten thousand books, he would not be able to walk a thousand miles.”Xu Xiao, Wen He, and Zhang Julu were close friends who grew up together.
"Usually at this time, he would have already returned to the backyard to study. Just now, when the Second Master of the Shen family passed by and greeted him, Julu only replied with eight words: Shen lost his son-in-law, he was blind.”He gently ordered the waiter to bring the chicken soup that had been heated for Xu Xiao from the kitchen stove. He knew that Xu Xiao would consume a lot of energy to fight Ding Huang, so he asked the chef of the restaurant to boil an old hen to make soup.
"Don't worry, I know that stubborn donkey. He's cold on the outside but warm on the inside.”Xu Xiao picked up the chicken soup that the waiter had sent over and took a small sip. It warmed his heart and stomach. However, what the hell was with putting pork trotters and peanuts in the chicken soup? Give me confinement?
"The two of you are clearly life-and-death friends, but you've been fighting since you were young. Aren't you tired and annoyed?”He looked at Xu Xiao gently as he drank the soup mouthful after mouthful. He thought about how he and Zhang Julu always fought whenever they met. Actually, it was quite interesting.
"Warm Melon, you don't understand. Fight with the mountain, risk death and life. Fighting with the city, scheming against each other. Fighting with Zhang Julu is endless fun. I've grown up, especially in the past eight years, and I've been relying on angering Zhang Jue to find joy in the midst of hardship!”Xu Xiao knew in his heart that Zhang Julu this person had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He did not have any bad intentions.
Zhang Julu's face was cold as he walked out from the backyard. He held a small jar of Five Grains in his hand and placed it in front of Xu Xiao. Xu Xiao giggled as he poured a bowl for Zhang Julu and Wen Nuan. Then, he held the entire jar in his arms.
"You still have to calm down and study at night. Just drink one bowl to drive away the autumn cold.”
"What about me?"
"It's your own restaurant. If you want to drink, take it yourself. I gave you a fat dog for free, and you gave me a jar of good wine. Reciprocity is the way to make friends.”
"Didn't you give that dog to Julu?”
"He eats meat, you drink soup. The essence is in the soup!"
Seeing Zhang Julu's cold face and Xu Xiao's gentleness, the two of them spoke one after another to adjust the atmosphere.
"Xu Xiao, are you planning to continue pretending to be infatuated like this?”Zhang Julu suddenly raised his head and drank the wine in his bowl in one gulp. Then, he looked straight into Xu Xiao's eyes and asked in a deep voice.
"Next spring, I will send my foster father to the Warm Melon. After that, I left Yi County and traveled the world. Secret manuals, elixirs, and rare treasures. "As long as I can help Godfather rebuild his Sea of Qi and recover his martial arts, even if I'm only a Rank-4, I'll think of a way to get it.”
"And then?" Zhang Julu asked.
"Then, of course, marry a beautiful, kind, and virtuous woman and have three or four children. It's best if there are two men and two women. It's lively."
"And then?" Zhang Julu continued to ask aggressively.
"To support my foster father in his old age, to earn a family business for my child, and to buy the best rouge dress for my daughter-in-law. She also had to find the best teachers for her children and teach them knowledge and principles. I'll pick the most mischievous one and teach him all my martial arts so that he can protect his brothers and sisters from being bullied and wronged.”
"Xu Xiao, guess what my greatest wish is?”This time, Zhang Julu's tone was much gentler, no longer as aggressive as before.
"Jieyuan in the provincial examination, Huiyuan in the provincial examination, and the champion in the palace examination.”Xu Xiao wiped the oil that hung on the corner of his mouth when he drank the chicken soup.
"Xu Xiao, my wish is to give way to future generations. The people will not be deceived by the officials, the grain will not rot in the granaries, the young will be educated, the old will be supported, the soldiers will not destroy the family, the scholars will not disturb the government, the civil will not be cliques, the military will not be sharp and violate the ban, the army will protect the people, and will not do anything to the bandits.”
"People say that I, Zhang Julu, have the talent of three yuan and am the symbol of slaughter. But you, me, Wen Nuan, we all know that since we were young, you, Xu Xiao, are much better than me, Zhang Julu, in terms of magnanimity and choice! Helping your foster father recover his power to the Third Stage or even the Second Stage, he is already over fifty years old this year, what can he do in the future?”
"Are your eyes so shallow? Or did you use the 'World Records' I gave you as toilet paper? The most romantic person in the world was on the Heaven Roll!”
"Top Ten, Ten Devils, Ten Kills, Ten Monks, Ten Hermits, Ten Weirdos, Ten Zhenren, Ten Generals, Ten Strong Army, Ten Youth, Ten Jade Men, Ten Ministers, Ten Officials, Ten Beauties. Other than the last four rolls, you might be on the other rolls. I thought that even if you, Xu Xiao, didn't have the heart to become famous, you should have the ambition to compete in this life. I didn't expect it. I was blind and mistook the spotted civet cat for a tiger leopard.”
Zhang Julu's blood surged, and the more he spoke, the more excited he became.
"Are you done scolding? Don't say, you look really arrogant when you're drunk. Rank-7 martial artists, Rank-1 Celestial Being, Rank-2 Grandmaster, Rank-3 Martial Master, Rank-4 Martial Artist, and below were all martial artists. Do you know what a warrior is? A cruel and lowly man is called a man! Do you know what it means for a martial artist to lose all their strength? A cripple! A cripple with a dead heart and soul!"
"In the fifth year of Tianhe, my parents starved to death in a wooden house in the forest on a snowy night. It was foster father who passed by the wooden house, buried my parents, and adopted me. If he fought with others and died. I, Xu Xiao, will risk my entire life to avenge him.”
"If he dies from breaking through, I'll cultivate him to a level above Rank-1 and become extraordinary. However, he was still alive, but his heart was dead and his soul was empty. The only way to revive him was to let him recover his power and Martial Soul.”
In the past, Xu Xiao and Zhang Julu bickered, mostly using some crooked reasoning or heresy or gags. This time, he was not as cheeky as usual.
"I might not be able to outtalk you. But today, I just want to chat with you about those little thoughts that you usually look down on.”
"You said that foster father is old and can't do anything. How can you be sure that my foster father won't be listed on the Heaven Roll in the future? Could it be that my wife is a peerless beauty and the number one female? Could it be that the son of me, Xu Xiao, is skilled in both martial arts and martial arts, and is number one in the world? A hundred years was a lifetime. How can you be sure that I, Xu Xiao, can't realize the future life you mentioned in this life? I didn't use the 'World Records' you gave me as toilet paper. You don't believe me? I'll recite it for you. The opening preface of 'Records of the World' is also one of the nine fixations of heaven."
"Don't talk nonsense. He's asleep." He gently and helplessly pushed Xu Xiao, indicating that Zhang Julu had already fallen asleep on the table.
"With this alcohol tolerance, you dare to drink it in one gulp?”When Xu Xiao saw Zhang Julu sleeping on the table, he found it a little funny. However, his heart ached even more. He knew that it was not that Zhang Julu's alcohol tolerance was too low, but that he had to study and prepare for exams every day. It consumed too much of his mental energy and blood.
"Give him a hand and help him back to the backyard." He gently helped Zhang Julu up and moved towards the backyard with some difficulty.
"Let me do it. Your small frame will hurt your waist again. I'm the number one fierce person in Yi County. How can I have such weak friends like you two?”Xu Xiao ran over and replaced Wen He.
"Xu Xiao, I'm actually very powerful.”He gently looked at Xu Xiao and effortlessly carried Zhang Julu to the backyard as he spoke to Xu Xiao.
"Warm Melon, was I boasting just now?”
"Maybe it will all come true."
"What did you say?"
"Maybe it will all come true."
"The previous sentence."
Just now, Julu said that you can forget about getting on the Ten Jades Ranking in this lifetime."
"Tsk, then in the future, I'll take in a few handsome foster sons. In addition, my son, the Heaven Ranking's Ten Jades, will all call me father.”
"The day after tomorrow, the funeral of Old Shen of the Fishery Dragon Martial Manor. The Fisherman Dragon has no master, so the three families must be Xu Xiao. Why aren't you saying anything?”
"Some words need to be said with a knife or an arrow.”
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