Just as night fell, the summer evening wind blew over the purple tung flowers with a hot breath, and bursts of intoxicating fragrance spread in the air. In an inconspicuous small courtyard in the huge backyard of the Xia family in Yushui City, there were sounds of "crack!", "crack!", "crack!" from time to time.
The voice is sometimes quick and sometimes slow. In the yard, a 14-year-old boy was standing in front of a wooden stake and hitting the wooden stake vigorously. The sweat dripping from his forehead shows that he has maintained this beating action for a long time. The solid wooden pile vibrates slightly in the constant beating, but it will not break due to such beating.
There was a stubborn look between the young man's brows, and his eyes were clear and transparent, but there was a taste of perseverance. On the handsome face, the white skin was a little sick, perhaps because of the long-term strenuous exercise, the young man's breathing was a little short. The cyan robe on his body was full of wrinkles, which had already been soaked in sweat and stuck to his back.
The young man didn't seem to feel the passage of time. Gradually, the moon had climbed up the treetops. Every time his limbs hit the stump, the young man frowned slightly, and his palms turned bright red due to the hard hit of the stump.
"Crack!", "Crack!", "..."
Like an indefatigable machine, the young man hit his limbs on the solid stump time and time again.
Suddenly, the boy's ears moved, and he heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate. The young man couldn't help but stop what he was doing, and listened carefully. Sure enough, the almost inaudible footsteps were gradually approaching here.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the dilapidated courtyard gate. When the young man saw this person, an imperceptible joy appeared on his face. Normally, no clansmen would come to the almost abandoned small courtyard where the boy was, except of course this person who appeared in front of the boy at this time.
Appearing at the gate of the courtyard was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a black fleece jacket. When he saw the boy, the middle-aged man also had a faint smile on his face.
"Xia Yan, it's so late, are you still practicing?!" The middle-aged man's voice was gentle.
The boy who had been beating the tree stump was named Xia Yan. And this middle-aged man is one of the nine elders of the Xia family, named Xia Changhe, who is also Xia Yan's third grandfather and Xia Yan's father's third uncle. After Xia Yan's father died, Xia Yan gradually grew up under the protection of his mother alone, but when Xia Yan was eight years old, his mother also left Xia Yan to die. Since then, in this world, there is only this The third grandpa treats Xia Yan the best.
If it weren't for the third grandfather, Xia Yan might have already been expelled from the Xia family's house and lived on the streets! Even if he can still stay in Xia's house now, Xia Yan can only live in this abandoned small courtyard, but Xia Yan is not depressed because of this. It is also because of this that Xia Yan's third grandfather has always cared for Xia Yan.
Seeing the third grandfather, Xia Yan seemed to be in a better mood. He ran to the third grandfather in a few steps, and said in a firm tone: "Third grandfather, I must open up all the meridians and become a real warrior like my father. !"
Hearing what Xia Yan said, Xia Changhe couldn't help but secretly sighed, but the smile on his face widened even further. Xia Yan was born with a relatively poor physique, and it was almost certain that he would not achieve much in martial arts. But Xia Yan never gave in and insisted on practicing hard.
It's just ten years later, except for Xia Yan's slightly stronger body, he has hardly improved in other aspects. For example, Xia Yan's 108 martial arts meridians have not been opened up to now. This kind of phenomenon is almost impossible to happen in a big family, but it happened to Xia Yan.
Xia Changhe pondered for a while, then looked directly at Xia Yan, with a smile on his face and said: "Xia Yan, at the elders meeting tomorrow, the Great Elder has just promised to speak for me, if there is the Great Elder's help, there will be It is possible to put your mother's spiritual tablet in the ancestral hall of the Xia family."
Xia Yan jumped up excitedly when he heard this sentence, hugged Xia Changhe in surprise and said, "Third Grandpa, did Grandpa really agree to you? Haha, can mother's spiritual seat really enter the ancestral hall?!"
Xia Yan's eyes lit up, and the excitement in his heart could not be expressed in words. At this moment, Xia Yan wanted to tell all the members of the Xia family the news.
It has been six years since Xia Yan's mother passed away, but the spiritual seat has not been accepted into the Xia family's ancestral hall. This almost became a thorn in Xia Yan's heart!
Xia Yan was less than a year old when he was born, his father's body was brought back from the Sin Forest, and since then, his mother was often pointed at in the face and cursed viciously. Everyone, everyone thought that it was because of the mother's arrival that the father died in the Sin Forest. The mother, on the other hand, never fought back against those who cursed her, she just endured it. However, only in front of Xia Yan alone would a smile appear on his mother's frosty face.
The reason for this result is that Xia Yan's mother is not from the Dragon's Continent, but from the Dark Night Continent. More than ten years ago, Xia Yan's father once entered the Sin Forest, and unexpectedly brought Xia Yan's mother back from the Sin Forest. One must know that the people of the Dragon Continent and the people of the Dark Night Continent are eternal enemies. Xia Yan's father brought back a woman from the Dark Night Continent from the Sin Forest. One can imagine the attitude of the members of the family. However, Xia Yan's father didn't care about other people's opinions. Under the opposition of almost everyone, his father resolutely married his mother and gave birth to Xia Yan.
After Xia Yan was born, all the rumors gradually disappeared, but only one year after Xia Yan was born, his father never came back alive after going to the sinful forest.
Since then, Xia Yan and his mother have never had a good life, and everyone no longer looks good to the mother and son. Some clansmen even wanted to kill Xia Yan's mother and son. Fortunately, Xia Changhe, the third grandfather in the family, has always tried his best to protect Xia Yan's mother and son, which made Xia Yan's mother and son stay in Xia's family. However, the life of mother and son in Xia's family is worse than that of ordinary servants.
After Xia Yan's mother died, the spirit tablet was not allowed to enter the Xia family's ancestral hall.
"Xia Yan, when you grow up, you must become an upright man like your father..."
"Xia Yan, mother has two wishes in this life. The first wish is that you can live a good life, the second... the second wish is to be with your father after death..."
Before Xia Yan's mother died, Xia Yan was beside her mother, listening to her say these words word by word, tears could not be controlled at all.
Every time he recalled the few words his mother said before he died, Xia Yan couldn't help clenching his fists and his heart fluttered. The father's spiritual tablet is in the ancestral hall, but the mother's spiritual tablet is not allowed to be put in. Xia Yan has always wanted to put his mother's body in the ancestral hall and be with his father.
"Hehe, Xia Yan, although the Great Elder promised to help at the elders' meeting, the matter has not yet been settled. We can only make a decision after the elders' meeting tomorrow." Seeing Xia Yan's cheering appearance, Xia Changhe sighed again in his heart. For the past six years, he has been trying hard to persuade the patriarch and elders to put Xia Yan's mother's spiritual tablet in the Xia family ancestral hall. It was not until today that the great elder Xia Lai agreed to help Xia Changhe speak at the elders meeting under the promise of huge benefits.
The great elder Xia Lai has a very high seniority in the Xia family, one generation higher than Xia Changhe, even if he is the patriarch, he must seriously consider Xia Lai's opinion. So if Xia Lai was there to help speak at the elders meeting, things would be much easier.
Looking at Xia Yan at this time, Xia Changhe couldn't help but recall Xia Yan's father. Xia Yan's father, Xia Dongsheng, was the most outstanding disciple of the Xia family's younger generation. When Xia Dongsheng was only eighteen years old, he had completely opened up the 108 main martial arts meridians in his body, and his martial arts cultivation base had been cultivated to the state of cleansing the marrow in one fell swoop. If it weren't for the accident more than ten years ago, I'm afraid it's possible to step into Xiantian and become a spiritual master now.
pity…
Xia Dongsheng back then was also the most popular candidate for the next patriarch. If Xia Dongsheng didn't die, Xia Yan's status would be completely different from what it is now.
Alas, life is full of many unknowable changes!
"Third Grandpa, I will work hard to cultivate, and I won't let you down!" After Xia Yan got excited, he quickly calmed down, and said to Xia Changhe in a firm tone.
Xia Changhe shook his head and said: "Xia Yan, maybe you can learn from the text, and you can also stand out from the text? Look at me, my martial arts is actually just the body training stage."
This is not the first time Xia Changhe persuaded Xia Yan to give up practicing martial arts, but Xia Yan never accepted his persuasion. Among the nine elders of the Xia family, three did not follow the path of martial arts, and Xia Changhe was one of them.
Knowing that the third grandpa was doing it for his own good, Xia Yan would not be angry because Xia Changhe said that.
This time, Xia Yan was silent for a long time. In fact, he also knew that the third grandpa's suggestion might be right for him.
"Third Grandpa, Mom wants me to practice martial arts and become as strong as my father!"
As soon as Xia Yan said it, Xia Changhe didn't say anything else. He knew that Xia Yan might never change his will in his whole life.
Patted on Xia Yan's shoulder, Xia Changhe looked at Xia Yan with kind eyes and said, "Practice hard, I believe you will succeed, Xia Yan!"
Xia Yan nodded his head heavily, and his eyes revealed a sense of confidence. His black eyes, like the twinkling stars in the night sky, are piercing. In Xia Yan's heart, there has always been a voice calling, making him never give up. Whenever people think of their mother in the dead of night, Xia Yan's whole body is full of strength.
On the morning of the second day, after Xia Yan ate two biscuits, he sat in the dilapidated room and practiced writing. Although he devoted himself to practicing martial arts, Xia Yan never let go of reading and writing.
Just when Xia Yan wrote the eighty-seventh character on the rice paper, there was a sound of footsteps in the yard. Xia Yan couldn't help but looked up and looked along the door, and saw that it was a maidservant of the patriarch of the family. It's called Xiaocui.