"Tomorrow is the Autumn Goddess Ceremony. The Prefecture Overseer has invited the Great Master of Elegant Words, Tang Baobao, to perform. If you go to the Jin Prefecture now, you can still see the fairy in your dreams.”Xu Xiao finally remembered the news he had heard from Ding Huang's precious son and passed it on to Wen He.
"Little Bean, go to the carriage market and hire the fastest carriage. I'll go to Jinzhou Prefecture before dark.”He was no longer as gentle as he usually was, and he shouted loudly for the waiter, Little Bean, to go to the horse market to hire a carriage.
Xu Xiao teased gently," Rumor has it that Tang Baobao is a fairy beauty like some 'heavenly fairy'. No matter how beautiful she is, she still has to go to the toilet! How could she not have the Five Grains of Reincarnation?”
"Xu Xiao, you're really an amateur. With what you've said, I don't even want to go.”Wen Nuan scolded with a smile.
"How insulting."
At this time, Zhang Julu came to the front hall from the rear courtyard and happened to hear Xu Xiao's teasing of 'fairy going to the washroom' earlier. He lectured Xu Xiao with a stern face.
"Yo, Top Scorer, you've sobered up?”
Zhang Julu's face turned red. He lowered his head and checked the accounts on the counter, ignoring Xu Xiao.
I'm a rough hunter, and I'm not a scholar who has taken an examination. How can I be a disgrace to my manners?”
"But you, Zhang Jue, don't read the books of the sages in the imperial examination. Every two or three days, you copy the Yellow and Purple Longevity Scripture from Mount Longhu to earn money. You're the one who's insulting the culture!”
"Why didn't you study and prepare for the exam? Why did you copy the stupid scriptures from Mount Longhu? Did Wen Mianmelon cut your pay? Or did I, Xu Xiao, lack your nourishment? I've heard that other than the sect master, Qi Xuanzhen, who is a man of no words, the other heavenly masters are all like children peeing on them. Xu Xiao had been holding it in for a long time. These days, he had broken off the engagement with the Shen family, fought with Ding Huang, and had the funeral of the old master of Dragon Fishing. Today, he finally had the time. He had to teach this stubborn donkey a lesson.
"I copied books to save money for my own use and to broaden my horizons. When gentlemen interacted, although there was the righteousness of exchanging money, blood brothers still had to settle accounts. He gently took me in to study in the backyard. He only needed less than a quarter of a day to help me collect the accounts. His salary was given to me according to the monthly salary of three bookkeepers. You, Xu Xiao, even sent the meat that you had painstakingly hunted here to open a small kitchen for me. You two, if Zhang Julu accepted your kindness with a clear conscience, do you think that I would feel unashamed? Give me my salary, I want it. I'll eat the meat you give me. However, I used the money I got from copying books to buy winter boots and cotton clothes. You two have to accept it!”
Zhang Julu put down the abacus in his hand, clenched his fists, and straightened his neck, entering the battle state of 'bickering' with Xu Xiao.
"Today, you, Master Top Scorer, won. I admit defeat. You and Wen Mianmelon are both scholars. You two can slowly make friends here through literature. I'll go to the backyard to bring Old Wu a jug of wine to thank him for giving you special treatment at night.”Xu Xiao made a funny face at Zhang Julu, and with a cheeky smile, he took a pot of wine from the counter and slipped into the backyard.
After Xu Xiao left, he gently told Zhang Julu that a few days ago, Xu Xiao had hunted two deer in the mountains, skinned them, shaved their meat, and refined two jars of oil that was specially used to treat frostbite. He sent them to Zhang Julu so that he could apply it to prevent frostbite when he studied in winter.
You two have been neighbors since young. When you were young, Xu Xiao stood up for you when you were bullied in the Academy. You taught Xu Xiao to read and write. But why do the two of you always fight the moment you meet?
"I taught him how to read," said Zhang Julu with a straight face. Reading, hehe, can you be gentle and not spoil this word?”
He smiled gently and didn't say anything else. He felt that Zhang Julu and Xu Xiao were actually the same type of people, cold mouthed, warm hearted, and tough boned.
As the saying goes,"If you sit at home behind closed doors, disaster will come from heaven."”
Just now, Xu Xiao's teasing of 'a fairy also needs to go to the washroom' was originally a joke between him and a gentle friend, but it made a guest in the private room on the second floor very unhappy.
In the private room, a middle-aged man saw that the noble sitting there was unhappy and wanted to go out and teach Xu Xiao a lesson, but he was stopped by another old man who was serving in the room. Not only that, but the old man also begged the noble for Xu Xiao.
"Please calm down, noble. In this countryside, there are many vulgar people. If you argue with such people, you will lose your noble status. I have some face here, so I will definitely teach that brute a lesson on your behalf.”The old man bowed deeply to the seated noble.
"You can be considered a loyal servant of my family, so we don't have to be as polite as outsiders. Take off the thing on your face first, then tell me, what's your relationship with that person?”The noble picked up a piece of dried bamboo shoot, glanced at it, and put it back on the plate.
The old man took off the person on his face, the leather mask. It was shockingly Xu Xiao's foster father, Xu Liang, who had lost all his strength!
"He is called Xu Xiao, an orphan adopted by this old servant, and also my adopted son. "Xu Liang replied respectfully.
"It's been sixteen years, and the family is no longer the same as before. Father also praised you for being a loyal servant who did his best for the family. Here are two pills, one of which can help you recover to the second grade. One pill can make your foster son's body go numb and his bones go soft, and his internal strength gradually lose.”
"After all, he's your foster son who has been with you for 16 years. I won't let you kill him yourself. The medicine is equally effective for both internal and external use. Think of a way to treat your adopted son with it. He would leave the rest to Sect Leader Xin, who was a middle-level Rank-2. Even in his dreams, he wanted to ask for a golden core on this table for his son, who had been unable to advance to the Second Stage.”
"If you can do it, drink this glass of wine.”
"Of course, I won't force you. At worst, I'll go back and tell my father that you only want to have a son to accompany you and live a comfortable life. Let alone a Golden Core that can restore your cultivation base of the Second Stage, you don't even have the heart to become a Third Stage White Dragon Guard.”
The old man's heart was tormented. After hesitating for a while, he shakily picked up the wine cup on the table and drank the bitter wine in the cup with two lines of old tears.
The next day, after Xu Xiao woke up in the morning, Xu Liang took out a pair of new shoes for him to change into.
Xu Xiao grinned and said to Xu Liang," Father, I'm already sixteen years old this year. A few days ago, I heard Zhang Julu say that according to our Liyang's etiquette, a man must ask an elder to bestow a name and a surname upon him when he's twenty years old. Didn't you say that you were 'skilled in both martial arts and literature' when you were young? I advise you to start thinking about it now. Don't wait until I'm twenty years old. If I can't think of it for a while, it'll be embarrassing."”
Xu Liang said very seriously,"Today, Godfather will think of a name that matches your real name."”
"What's the rush? I'm still four years away from turning twenty.”Xu Xiao happily put on the pair of new shoes that Xu Liang made for him and went out happily.
Xu Liang opened his mouth, wanting to call out to Xu Xiao. His mouth was wide open, but he did not make any sound from beginning to end. He watched as Xu Xiao walked out of the small courtyard and out of his field of vision.
There was a pear tree in the small courtyard. It had grown much slower this year. There was a drought in spring and summer. In order to survive, the pear tree had cut off the nutrients for its branches. The tree was full of dead branches, and the trunk lived alone.
People are not plants, who can be heartless.
People are like plants and trees, all have selfish motives.
After Xu Xiao left home, he went to the Wen family restaurant. Wen and Wen took a carriage to Jinzhou Prefecture yesterday afternoon.
He wondered if he would be able to meet the elegant Tang Baobao from Jiangnan Province.
If he saw her, would he secretly fantasize that the jade beauty who was like a banished immortal would also have a time of reincarnation? Xu Xiao felt that he had accidentally thrown a handful of rotten vegetable leaves with mud into the clear dream of the Mei Han Lan Ya in Wen He's heart.
A middle-aged man walked out of the Wen family's restaurant and made Xu Xiao cut off one of his arms.
"What?"
Does your family know that you're talking to Master Xu like this? Xu Xiao wore the new shoes that his foster father gave him today, and he was especially happy in his heart. He didn't expect to meet such a wild hero as soon as he went out.
"You don't need to know. I'll give you three breaths to think it over. Either you break your arm or I'll twist your head off.”The short knife in the middle-aged man's hand left the sheath, and a murderous aura assaulted his face.
In the beginning, Xu Xiao thought that this was an older rising star who wanted to step on him to establish his might. However, when he felt the killing intent of the middle-aged man that was stronger than the tigers and wolves in the mountains, he knew that he had met with trouble.
Without a word, Xu Xiao shook his sleeve, and the lime powder hidden in his sleeve shot toward the middle-aged man in an overwhelming manner. Then, Xu Xiao turned around and ran without even looking at whether the lime powder had hit the middle-aged man.
What a joke, from beginning to end, Xu Xiao did not see the depth of the other party's cultivation. That proved that the other party's martial arts were not just a little higher than his.
Not running?
If he didn't run, would he stay and wait to be stabbed?
The middle-aged man lightly pushed out his palm, and a gust of wind blew away the incoming lime powder. Inner Qi was released! The middle-aged man's martial arts cultivation was surprisingly at the level of a second-grade grandmaster.
Xu Xiao used all his strength on his two legs. The bone-piercing killing intent behind him was getting closer and closer to him. If this continued, he would be caught up by the other party in no time.
He turned around and entered a medicine shop. The middle-aged man followed closely behind and entered the medicine shop.
The middle-aged man who chased into the medicine shop was stunned for a moment. Xu Xiao didn't cross the hall or the courtyard, but instead escaped over the wall. Instead, he was holding a teapot in one hand and a calligraphy painting in the other. He was sitting calmly in the medicine shop. The shopkeeper and waiters in the medicine shop were staring at Xu Xiao and the teapot and calligraphy painting in his hands in panic and anger.
"I advise you not to act rashly.”Xu Xiao's tone revealed the taste of victory in his grasp. This made the middle-aged man not dare to act rashly for a moment.
The middle-aged man suddenly felt a little regretful. Why didn't he use all his strength to chase after this kid from the beginning?
He had originally wanted to chase him until he had no way out like a cat playing with a mouse. This way, he might be able to make that noble person's mood better. Now, it seemed that he had outsmarted himself.
Seeing that the middle-aged man did not act rashly, Xu Xiao continued.
" This painting of 'delivering medicine on a snowy night' was drawn three years ago when the cold plague broke out in Jinzhou. The old owner of the Bai family's medicine shop emptied seventeen of his medicine warehouses and gave medicine to save people. A Taoist priest who passed by here admired Old Master Bai's benevolence and kindness. He drew this painting and gave it to the Bai family. That Taoist priest was Taoist Wang Chongyang, the eldest disciple of Wudang Sect's Sect Leader, Immortal Sanfeng.
The middle-aged man frowned. He knew about this matter. Although the cold plague had only broken out in Yi County, it would have spread to the entire Jinzhou Prefecture if it had been slightly delayed.
It was Bai Bencao, the old owner of the Bai family's medicine shop in Yi County. He made a prompt decision and offered all the medicinal herbs that the Bai family had collected as a deposit and were prepared to send to the 17 medicine warehouses in the various prefectures in Liyang. They were all used to cook medicine to save people. That was why the cold plague did not break out in the entire Jinzhou Prefecture. At that time, the person who provided the prescription was the Wudang Sect's Eldest Senior Brother, Wang Chongyang, who was traveling through this place.
"If this painting is destroyed, do you think Immortal Wang will blame you? Even if he doesn't blame you, will the other Wudang disciples blame you for killing people for no reason and destroying their Eldest Senior Brother's calligraphy? I heard that there's a Level Two Grandmaster in Wudang called Wang Xiao Ping. He respects this Big Brother of Wudang very much. I also heard that not only is Wang Xiao Ping good at swordsmanship, but his temper is even worse than his swordsmanship.”
At this moment, Xu Xiao was already certain that this middle-aged man who was chasing after him for no reason was definitely a Level Two expert. However, he did not know if he was stronger or weaker than the 'Wudang Sect's Number One Swordsman, Wang Xiaoping', as mentioned by the storyteller.
"God bless us. I hope that Immortal Wang's 'reputation' can suppress this person.”Xu Xiao prayed in his heart.
"Just say what you have to say." The middle-aged man felt that he should give some face to Wudang Sect. Although Wudang Sect could not do anything to that noble, it did not mean that he could not take care of him.
"Sigh, it's said that you have to look at the owner before you hit the dog. I'm also considered a famous person in the martial arts world. However, he was still inferior to Xu Liang, that old fellow who had lost all his cultivation. At the very least, he was still an old dog of that noble's family, while he was not even qualified to be a dog.”The middle-aged man sighed emotionally.
"I don't know why you want to kill me, but I know you won't let me go. There is a pavilion mountain about ten miles away from here. I have been hunting and collecting herbs in the mountain since I was eight years old. If you let me into the mountain and kill me there, I, Xu Xiao, will die without regrets.”
Xu Xiao didn't whimsically propose to let this middle aged man who was chasing after him 'kill himself with a saber.' He did not beg the middle-aged man to spare his life.
He could feel that this middle-aged man didn't have any resentment towards him. In other words, the other party was ordered by someone else to come and kill him. To be able to make a Rank-2 Grandmaster put down his dignity as a martial artist and kill a nameless Rank-4 martial artist like him, the order given by such a big shot was not something that he could change with just a painting.
"Alright, before you enter the mountain, I'll suppress my power to the Fourth Stage, who's in the same realm as you, to chase after you. If I still manage to catch up to you before you enter the mountain, then the heavens are going to kill you.”
Great, it was decided. Xu Xiao placed the painting in his hand on the table.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll go back on my word after we leave this medicine shop?”The middle-aged man was a little curious. How could this kid be so 'sure' that he would not go back on his word after he put down the painting?
"Hunters in the mountains are especially sensitive to killing intent. I can feel your determination to kill me. I can also feel that you don't have any resentment towards me.
This means that there is no hatred between you and me. If you want to kill me, you must be under someone else's orders, or you must have a request from someone who 'really wants to kill me'.
A big shot who could order a Rank-2 Grandmaster around must be very concerned about his reputation.
If you go back on your word, that big shot will definitely not be happy. He will think that you have ruined his reputation.
Besides, you're patient enough to listen to me talk so much, which means that you're afraid of hurting the rat and can't afford to offend Wudang.
" Therefore, after you've done Wudang a favor, you won't go back on your word and be a treacherous person to waste the favor you've just done Wudang.”
Xu Xiao's analysis was clear and logical. The middle-aged man secretly admired him in his heart. From the time they met until now, it had not even been the time for an incense stick to burn, but he could already guess the cause and effect. He could even guess all his thoughts through the clues.
He remained calm in the face of danger, as if he was watching a fire. If this kid could grow up, he would definitely be a top figure in ten years.
It was a pity that trouble came from the mouth. Young people just didn't know how to be careful with their words and actions. It was the only way to settle down.
"You're very smart. In your next life, remember the words 'disaster comes from the mouth, be careful with your words and acts'. I hope that in your next life, you won't be a short-lived ghost. Let's begin. I'll let you run for twenty breaths first.”
The middle-aged man originally wanted to say ten breaths, but when the words reached the tip of his tongue, he doubled Xu Xiao's time. He was a fox grieving over the death of a rabbit, and also felt guilty in his heart.
On that day, the people of Yi County in Jinzhou saw Xu Xiao being chased by a middle-aged man with a short knife all the way to Pavilion Mountain. Some martial artists recognized the middle-aged man. He was the Rank Two Grandmaster from Jinzhou Prefecture, the Divine Saber Guardian, Xin Wujin.?
Xin Wukang had been chasing Xu Xiao in the forest for three days. He had thought that it would be easy for a Rank-2 Grandmaster like him to kill a Rank-4 martial artist. He did not expect that the kid could rely on the caves in the mountains and the tunnels in the forest to fight with him for three days.
Fortunately, just in case, when he first met that kid, he left a trace powder on him. Otherwise, how could he find that slippery Xu Xiao again and again in these three days?
However, that kid was really alert. He had just found him once, and he had taken off all his clothes and thrown them into a trap. He did not know where he had gotten a set of tight-sleeved and waist-strapped water cushions. Perhaps he had prepared them when he was diving in the deep pools of the forest in the past.
Moreover, that kid had stayed in the pool for quite some time. Did he think that the tracing powder could be washed away so easily?
On the other hand, Xu Xiao also felt that his body was getting weaker and weaker. On the way from the city to Pavilion Mountain, he felt that something was wrong with his body.
His internal breathing was not smooth, and his qi and blood were not good.
In these three days, Xu Xiao had relied on the medicinal wine buried in the mountain forest before, as well as bleeding himself from time to time, to last until now.
That medicinal wine was made by Xu Xiao with tiger bones, bear gall, snake gall, mountain ants, forest frog oil, queen bee honey, broken cliff old vine, and new kaoliang wine that was full of fire. The medicine was nourishing, and the wine was even stronger.
It was used to nourish Xu Liang's body after he had lost all his power.
He had originally planned to bury the wine in the shade of the forest and store it for a year to remove the heat in the medicinal wine. Then, he would give it to his foster father Xu Liang to drink next spring.
Fortunately, the wine had only been buried for about half a year. The medicinal power and alcohol power were at their strongest. In addition, in these three days, he had chewed and swallowed countless snake gall and snake blood. He had cleared his liver and cleared his drunkenness, calming his mind and expelling poison.
The last jar of wine had been finished last night, and the last arrow had missed.
His body was covered in grass and dirt, and his face was covered in mud, sweat, and blood. Xu Xiao was blocked by Xin Wukang at the edge of a pond.
Xin Wukang was slightly surprised. He originally thought that this kid could at least rely on the 'geographical advantage' to fight with him for half a day.
Xin Wujin stared at Xu Xiao who was standing barefoot by the pond. He was holding a Yellow Dust Bow without the Clear Water Arrow in his hand, and a shoe-shaped oilcloth bag that was wrapped around his waist with leopard tendons.
Did he give up and want to die quickly?
Or was it a show of weakness and a last-ditch battle?
"Last night, your arrow almost killed me.”Xin Wukang was somewhat glad, but he also felt a little sorry for Xu Xiao. However, he did not feel the slightest bit of shame or anger that a Rank-2 Grandmaster was killed by a mere Rank-4 martial artist.
In the past three days, the two of them had been fighting to the death in the forest. Xin Wukui, who was a Rank-2 martial artist, had initially looked down on Xu Xiao, a Rank-4 martial artist, but he had turned into admiration and respect for him. Perhaps only they could explain the reason.
Unfortunately, the strength of a Rank-4 martial artist could not compare to a Rank-2 Grandmaster.
Xu Xiao didn't say anything. He just seized every moment to regulate his breathing and accumulate his strength. Although the arrow last night was just a hair's breadth away, it was still a miss. There was no need to be complacent about the small difference.
"Actually, if it weren't for your body...。”At this moment, Xin Wukang suddenly wanted to tell the truth of the matter to this youth who was only a few years older than his son, and who knew how much stronger than his son. He didn't want Xu Xiao to be a muddle-headed ghost.‘If I had a son like this, what more could I ask for?'
"Shut up! Xu Xiao's good head is here. If you want to kill me, then kill me. Don't talk nonsense. I've underestimated you!”
Xu Xiao shouted, interrupting Xin Wukang's words. From the moment he changed his clothes, he knew some cruelty that he didn't want to face and admit.
"I've lived to this day. Three days ago, although I didn't dare to boast that I was a righteous hero, I've done many things to help the poor and in danger. I deserve to be praised as a 'good man'. There's no enmity between us. I've heard that not only are you not a wicked person, you've also done many good deeds that even I have to clap my hands in admiration, but I want to take your head.”
"This Xin is guilty of righteousness, guilty of my heart, and guilty of you. The inner demon had already formed, and in less than half a year, he wouldn't be able to keep the Second Stage Realm. Benevolence, righteousness, chivalry, fame, martial arts, life, I can give up all of them because compared to my son's future, I can give up all of them.
There are three reasons why you have ended up like this. You are not strong enough, not evil enough, and most importantly, you are not strong enough.。。It's better to raise a child than to raise one."
"Ah!!”
Xu Xiao roared towards the sky and desperately roared. He wanted to use this roar to interrupt what Xin Wugui was about to say!
He wanted to use his own roar to cover Xin Wuqian's voice, so that he wouldn't reveal the cruelty that he didn't want to face the most.
He wanted to use this roar to ask the heavens and that person why they were so cruel to him.
Xu Xiao was furious, and the poisonous gas attacked his heart. With a boom, he fell to the ground face-up.
Xin Wukang walked in front of Xu Xiao. The shame, admiration, sympathy, and regret on his face were all gone. What replaced it was mockery, disdain, cruelty, and viciousness.
Ever since Xu Xiao's arrow almost took his life yesterday, he made up his mind to outsmart Xu Xiao. Otherwise, if he dragged on for too long and angered that noble, he would lose a lot because of a small loss.
Therefore, since yesterday, when he was chasing after Xu Xiao, he had intentionally shown mercy. In fact, he knew that even if he did not show mercy, he would not be able to kill Xu Xiao. However, this mercy had lowered Xu Xiao's vigilance and relaxed Xu Xiao's tense nerves. This was exactly what Xin Wuqian wanted.
Xin Wukang knew that if he didn't let Xu Xiao relax all the time, people in desperate situations would often erupt with potential that surpassed limits.
However, the moment he relaxed, the poison in Xu Xiao's body, the fatigue from three days and three nights, and the blow he suffered in his heart would erupt.
Finally, he added fuel to the fire and revealed the cruel truth that Xu Xiao was most unwilling to face.
Thereupon, the poisonous fire attacked his heart, and Xu Xiao fainted.
"A mere Rank-4 martial artist made me spend so much effort. You should die without regrets. On the road to the netherworld, don't forget what I told you earlier,'Misfortune comes from the mouth, be careful with your words and actions.'。。。。。”
A red-robed man wearing a Yama mask appeared behind Xin Wujin, who was still talking smugly.
A six-inch-long dagger silently cut Xin Wuqian's neck like the wind.
The wind blew the leaves off, and the knife cut the dead.
The red-clothed person floated in front of Xu Xiao, opened Xu Xiao's mouth, and threw a pill the size of a date into it. Then, his figure flashed and disappeared from where he was.
"A foot of new life comes a foot of life.”
The hoarse voice of the man in red echoed in the forest.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。