Looking at the three golden lines on the small black tripod, Gukou fell into a brief silence, because this tripod had not appeared in the family for more than ten years.
Hu Chenliang's eyes flickered a few times, but he didn't speak again.
The gentle young man of about 27 or 28 took a step forward. He was dressed in a black robe and looked tall and handsome. His cultivation was apparently not weak either, having reached the late tenth level of Qi Condensation. He bowed to Hu Chen Wuding.
"Are you Master Wuding? Do you remember Hu Chen Qiukong?"
Hu Chen Wuding looked at the person in front of him, and the image of a young boy flashed through his mind. That young man often came over privately with some things given by his father, and he couldn't help but smile.
"It turns out to be Brother Qiukong. After more than ten years of absence, your cultivation has almost reached perfection. I would like to congratulate you."
While he was looking at the young man in black in front of him, Hu Chen Qiukong was also looking at him. From Hu Chen's uncertain brows, he seemed to see a thin but somewhat stubborn young man.
"It turns out that Master Wuding has returned. The patriarch has arranged several teams of people to take turns to wait here. I have been patrolling here for two months, and today I finally got what I wanted."
Hu Chen Qiukong said with a smile on his face.
"Oh? Then I'll really trouble you, Brother Qiukong."
Hu Chen Wuding nodded and said that the person in front of him was quite good in his impression.
"Oh, the patriarch has already made arrangements. As soon as Master Wuding comes back, he will take you back to your previous residence. I will inform the patriarch later. He will surely be very happy."
Hu Chen Qiukong said quickly.
A few months ago, the head of the family had arranged six groups of people to guard the entrance of the valley together with the other groups of people.
These six people are all confidants of the patriarch, and have all dealt with Hu Chen Wuding since childhood. This was also a deliberate arrangement by the patriarch.
But when Hu Chen Qiukong mentioned the word "family head", he did not notice Hu Chen's expression.
There was also the aura of the hunchbacked old man who had been standing behind Hu Chen Wuding and had remained silent, which suddenly surged.
However, with their cultivation levels, it was difficult for them to detect that the hunchbacked old man's aura was different.
"Hehehe... That really troubled him. Now he is much bolder and dares to come to see me openly."
Hu Chen Wuding curled the corner of his mouth and said lightly.
As soon as he said this, the already quiet place seemed to freeze in an instant.
Hu Chen Qiukong's smile froze on his face, and the other people also had awkward or angry expressions on their faces, but no one spoke. This was a matter between father and son, and no matter how much they disagreed or someone was disrespectful to the head of the family, they could not break the father-son bloodline.
After a moment, Hu Chen Qiukong could only smile awkwardly.
"Master Wuding, you should follow me into the valley first. You can't stand here all the time after you come back."
"Well, Brother Qiukong, let's go over there."
Hu Chen Wuding didn't want to embarrass Hu Chen Qiukong, and didn't want to stay here any longer in front of everyone, so he relaxed his expression and said.
Hu Chen Qiukong felt relieved when he saw Hu Chen Wuding said no more, and then looked at the other four guards.
"I'll take Master Wu Ding over there, and the four of you stay here to guard first."
He is the captain of this team, and how can others not follow his orders
After saying that, without caring about the expressions of the four people, he stretched out his hand to Hu Chen Wuding and walked slowly into the valley.
Hu Chen Wuding glanced at the other guards with a blank expression, took a step forward, and walked away side by side with Hu Chen Qiukong.
Li Yan and the other man remained silent from beginning to end, and now they followed.
Looking at the purple-robed young man who was whispering with Hu Chen Qiukong in front of him, Li Yan smiled in his heart.
"This guy has been through a lot, and he really has his own way of interacting with people."
Looking at Hu Chen Wuding and the other three gradually walking away, Hu Chenliang, one of the remaining four guards, flickered his eyes a few times and then spoke to one of them.
"Hu Chenli, I'll be back soon, please keep an eye on it for me."
After saying that, he ignored Hu Chen Tu Hu and the other person and flew away quickly in another direction of the valley.
The man named Hu Chenli was the one who glared at Hu Chen Tu Hu before, and was obviously with Hu Chenliang.
"Master Wu Ding is back, and they are in a hurry to go back and report! Hu Chenle, do you guys also want to go back and tell the Four Veins? Otherwise, I'll help you keep an eye on him? Hehe"
Hu Chen Tu Hu looked at the last guard and let out a strange laugh.
The guard named Hu Chenle narrowed his eyes but did not speak.
This team actually includes four groups of people: the head of the family, the first branch, the second branch, and the fourth branch, and each of them has their own ideas.
Hu Chen Wuding walked all the way into the valley, looking at the road that was both strange and familiar. The past scenes were still vivid in his mind, as if it were yesterday.
Along the way, they met many tribesmen. Amid their astonished and puzzled looks, Hu Chen Wuding and Hu Chen Qiukong talked in a low voice and did not greet others.
Although some people here have guessed Hu Chen Wuding's identity, they did not step forward to speak, but their eyes were filled with complicated expressions.
Li Yan looked at all this and couldn't help but complain in his heart.
"This is not the scene that the old scholar told the story about. When the bastard returns, even the servants all look at him arrogantly and domineeringly, and they can't wait to step forward and step on Hu Chen Wuding's face.
In the end, he was ruthlessly slapped in the face by Hu Chen Wu Ding. It seems that the book the old scholar talked about was nonsense. "
Although he thought so in his heart, he actually understood how such a scene could happen.
Unless the head of the family really makes his attitude clear, Hu Chen Wuding is no longer his own flesh and blood. However, if that were the case, he would not have privately protected Hu Chen Wuding and left in the first place.
Therefore, the only ones who dared to suppress Hu Chen Wuding in person were his non-blood-related "mothers" or his half-siblings.
If the other servants did this, the master of the house, who was afraid of his wife, would not show mercy to these servants and might even find a reason to kill them.
After all, he is a Jindan master and the head of the family. How could he allow others to bully his son? That would be like letting a servant slap him in the face.
After they had been walking through the valley pavilions for half an incense stick, a small courtyard appeared before them. Looking at the newly turned soil in front of the courtyard and the neatly trimmed flowers and plants on both sides of the road, Hu Chen Wuding stopped in front of the courtyard gate and looked around. It was obvious that this place had been cleaned recently.
Although the gate was wiped clean, the mottled red paint on it and the worn bricks and tiles on the wall showed that it had been covered in dust for a long time.
Hu Chen Wuding stretched out his trembling hand and gently pushed open the gate. He pushed very slowly, as if he was pushing open a door to time that had been closed for a long time.
As the gate opened gently, a long, slow "creak" sound was heard...
Hu Chen Wuding had already held his breath. As the gate opened, he stared at the courtyard without blinking. It was a familiar scene, but the gentle smile of the person he was familiar with was gone.
Although he knew the outcome of all this, after Hu Chen Wuding swept his eyes across the entire courtyard, his heart still tightened and two lines of tears flowed from his eyes.
Hu Chen Qiukong was standing aside, and seeing Hu Chen Wuding's appearance, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart and said softly.
"Master Wu Ding, I will arrange for a few maids to come over in a while, so they can be used if anything happens."
Hu Chen Wuding seemed not to hear it. His eyes were still scanning the courtyard, as if trying to find something.
After a long moment, he let out a breath and turned to look at Hu Chen Qiukong.
"No need. Wasn't it just me and my mother here before? Besides, I also have Uncle Sang and Brother Li now."
Hu Chen Qiukong was stunned at first, then nodded silently, and then he glanced at Li Yan and the others.
He had heard something about the origins of the person the young master brought this time, but wasn't it said before that the young master Wuding only had one person guarding him
And how come there is another Qi Condensation cultivator? Although he is also in the late tenth level of Qi Condensation, it is obvious that his cultivation level is not enough to protect the young master.
So he subconsciously thought that Li Yan should be the hunchbacked old man's nephew, younger generation or apprentice.
He then bowed to Zhuo Lingfeng.
"Senior, if you have any instructions, just send me a message."
After saying that, he slapped his waist, and after a flash of light, ten sound transmission notes appeared in his hand.
Then he raised both hands and handed it over respectfully.
Zhuo Lingfeng just glanced at the sound transmission talisman in Hu Chen Qiukong's hand, then stretched out his hand with a wooden expression and took the ten sound transmission talismans.
Hu Chen Qiukong felt relieved when he saw this. He had been afraid that this person would not accept the patriarch's kindness and refuse to receive the sound transmission note.
In that case, if they encounter problems in the family and fail to inform the head of the family in time, he will be unable to do his job well.
He turned to look at Hu Chen Wuding again, patted Hu Chen Wuding's shoulder gently, and was about to speak.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he raised his hand, the expression on his face was stunned.
Because Hu Chen Wuding seemed to have slid away half a step without leaving a trace. Although he was a little surprised, Hu Chen Qiukong quickly understood what was going on. He smiled bitterly and withdrew his hand with some embarrassment.
This Young Master Wuding probably doesn't trust the tribesmen here very much now, and won't let anyone touch his body easily.
What does the Hu Chen family do? Every one of them is a poison cultivator.
"Master Wu Ding, I think you must be tired after traveling for days. You should take a rest first. The servants will bring some food over later.
Although cultivators like me have already practiced fasting, these delicacies were ordered by the head of the family, and some of them are what the young master liked to eat when he was a child.
At the same time, it can also relieve the fatigue caused by the journey, and the food tastes good.
I am going to go and tell the head of the family now. I guess he will come to find you later and tell you about tomorrow's competition."
After he finished speaking, he left immediately without waiting for Hu Chen Wuding's reply. It was obvious that he wanted to report the matter to the head of the family as soon as possible.
Hu Chen Wuding looked back at Li Yan and the others without saying anything, and walked straight into the courtyard.
The courtyard is not big. Like many ordinary courtyards, there are several big trees in the courtyard. Under the trees there is a stone table and four stone benches.
Hu Chen Wuding walked directly to the stone table, stretched out his palm and rubbed it back and forth for a long time, then slowly sat down on a stone bench.
Then, he stared blankly at the stone bench opposite and talked to himself.
“In the past, my mother always sat on the stone bench opposite. Every time I came back from training, as soon as I entered the courtyard, I would smell a strong fragrance.
Although there are only one or two small dishes, the taste is really delicious, very fragrant...
My mother would sit on the stone bench and look at me with a smile, then she would urge me to wash my hands... When I came back, there was already a bowl full of rice in front of me, and she would keep picking up vegetables for me, as if she was afraid that I would be hungry..."
He kept talking to himself like this, and Li Yan suddenly felt a little sad, which reminded him of his parents at home.
When Zhuo Lingfeng heard Hu Chen Wuding say that the stone bench opposite was the place where his mother used to sit, a slight fluctuation appeared on his originally dull expression.
He paused at first, then walked slowly towards the stone table. His steps were very light, as if he was afraid of disturbing others.
Finally, he stood in front of the stone bench, staring at it, still listening to Hu Chen Wuding's whispering in his ears.
Hu Chen Wuding just talked to himself for a short while, then raised his head and smiled apologetically at Li Yan.
"I'm sorry to make you laugh, Brother Li. Although I had an unhappy childhood, seeing this thing still reminds me of my mother."
Li Yan just nodded silently. He understood the feelings for Hu Chen Wuding in his heart, and by the way, he also had a better impression of Hu Chen Wuding himself.
Hu Chen Wuding then stood up and walked towards the room in the yard.
There were only four houses in the courtyard, and he pushed the doors open one by one. It was not until about a cup of tea later that he slowly walked out of a room.
But at this moment, his eyes were a little red and his expression was even more lonely.
Most of the things here are still there, and they are arranged in the same way as before. It seems that someone still comes here to clean up regularly.
It's just that over the past ten years, some things may have decayed and been damaged, so in his memory, there is still something missing here.
"Uncle Sang, he might come later. I hope you won't make a move now, at least not before you reach the Golden Core stage!"
Hu Chen Wuding looked at Zhuo Lingfeng, who had been silently looking at the stone table and stone bench, and suddenly spoke.