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On a beautiful mountain, there is a village that is unknown to most people.
Fulong Village.
There are close to three hundred households in the village.
When night falls, smoke rises from every household.
Won in floral jackets open their courtyard doors and call out the nas of the children.
"Tie Dan!"
"Gou Dan!! Co ho for dinner!"
"Cui Hua~ You're back."
"Chenchen, that brat, co back right now!"
A tall boy fiercely throws another boy to the ground.
He curses, "Useless blind, if I see you again, I'll beat you up!"
The boy lying on the ground shows a hint of a smile and softly says, "Zhao Beichen, just you wait."
The boy is about thirteen or fourteen years old, with sharp features, a high nose, and thin lips.
He is wearing a gray linen robe, with a white silk band covering his eyes.
As soon as he finishes speaking, Zhao Beichen's eyes show a fierce look, and he raises his hand to strike the boy.
But he is stopped by another child, who says with a pained expression, "Beichen, hurry back, my mom is calling for dinner."
After a few children leave, the boy lying on the ground gets up with a spring in his step.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he walks back ho with his hands behind his back.
As he walks, the boy wrinkles his nose, as if he hadn't been the one beaten just now.
Following the scent, the boy leans on a fence and calls out, "Auntie Li~ What's the occasion today? Stewed hen?"
Creak~
A slightly plump middle-aged woman cos out, smiling and greeting the boy.
"It's Guanqi, have you eaten? Auntie will get you so."
Li Guanqi pretends to pat his stomach and says, "I haven't eaten yet."
"I have such a keen dog's nose, don't want to eat the pickled vegetables my grandpa made, so you ca here."
The woman quickly waves her hand and says, "Brat, don't talk nonsense. Just in ti, Auntie still has half a pot left."
"I'll get you so rice, so you can eat with your grandpa."
The boy's face lights up at these words, and he sweetly says, "Thank you, Auntie Li."
"Ah... it's a sha that Auntie Li doesn't open a restaurant down the mountain with her cooking skills."
The woman's eyes curve, and there are a few more wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"Sweet-talker, just you wait."
Soon, a doll-like little girl cos out carrying a pot of fragrant stewed chicken.
The little girl carries the brimming pot of stewed chicken, her eyes fixed on the pot to prevent any spills.
As she walks, the little girl mutters, "Li Guanqi, are you a dog? Every ti my family makes sothing delicious, you co right on ti."
Li Guanqi can't help but say as he leans on the fence, "ng Wanshu, who do you think will marry you in the future, the perfect wife and mother?"
ng Wanshu's face turns red, and she struggles to put the pot on the fence.
She rolls her eyes at Li Guanqi and runs back into the house, but then she rembers that Li Guanqi can't see.
Pouting, she looks up at Li Guanqi and scolds, "You rascal!"
Li Guanqi laughs and turns around, still standing in place, and bows slightly.
Sowhat awkwardly, he says, "Um... is Uncle ng back?"
The man standing in front of Li Guanqi doesn't say anything, but kicks him in the butt.
Laughing and scolding, he says, "Stop teasing Wanshu. You're almost of marriageable age, and you still don't have a serious."
"Get lost~"
Li Guanqi chuckles and nods, saying, "Alright~ I'll bring wine for Uncle ng tomorrow."
***
After a few turns, he arrives at a courtyard a little further away.
After pushing open the door, the boy calls out softly, "Grandpa? I'm back."
At the door, an old man smoking a pipe suddenly brightens up.
He cos to Li Guanqi and grabs a piece of chicken, stuffing it into his mouth, and squints his eyes.
Chewing, the old man says, "It's still Old ng's wife's cooking that's the best."
Li Guanqi puts down the pot and sways slightly.
Su Xuan sneers and scolds, "You've only just opened your insight, and you're using it like this? You'll have to hit the punching post a hundred tis today!"
The boy's face imdiately turns bitter, and he mutters, "Grandpa, really...?"
"A hundred tis, or three hundred tis, I'll be up half the night hitting it."
With that, the old man takes out a pitch-black scabbard, and the boy wisely closes his mouth.
The old man and the boy sit on the doorstep and start eating.
As they eat, the boy asks, "Grandpa, why do you always tell not to fight back?"
The old man spits out a bone and slaps the boy's head, making him stumble.
"Do you practice punching on the weak? Is that how I taught you?"
"If you fight back, I'll have to go to Old Zhao's house for a feast tomorrow."
The boy rubs his head and doesn't say a word for a long ti.
Pretending not to notice, the old man says, "You're holding back, there must be sothing bothering you, I can't be bothered."
"Did you et Uncle ng on your way back?"
Li Guanqi chuckles, "Wanshu is getting prettier as she grows older."
Smack!
When you're just trying to make great content at pawread .
"Who asked you about their daughter?!"
"Oh, oh, you an my father-in-law?"
Smack!
"After dinner, soak in the dicinal bath and hit the punching post four hundred tis!"
"Grandpa~ my dear grandpa!!"
But the old man suddenly gets up, leaving the boy reaching for nothing.
"Burp~"
"I'm done eating."
Li Guanqi suddenly realizes that sothing is wrong.Chopsticks clattered several tis in the bowl, the only sounds being the clinking of the bowl and chopsticks.
"Did you go to play chess with Old Lu again?"
"Focus on practicing your boxing!"
The youth's face soured as he shoveled rice into his mouth, not stopping until the bowl was empty.
***
After finishing his al, the young man went to the backyard, stripped off his clothes cleanly, and sat down in the bath barrel.
The dark green dicinal liquid continuously irritated the youth's skin.
In just a few breaths, his skin turned bright red, and fine beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.
His body trembled slightly, teeth clenched tightly.
It was as if he was enduring so unusual pain.
Through the dark green dicinal liquid, one could vaguely see the dense and mysterious patterns on the youth's body.
This year, Li Guanqi had just opened his Insight and was able to see things.
But in his 'eyes,' although there were only black and white, it was already a huge surprise for him.
Therefore, he would exhaust his spirit every day to activate his Insight.
Li Guanqi sat silently in the bath barrel, enduring the pain brought by the dicinal bath.
anwhile, his mind was preoccupied with the things he would do after finishing his boxing practice.
***
To the east of Fulong Village, there stood a centuries-old tall tree.
Su Xuan, dressed in a gray robe and carrying a saddlebag, strolled leisurely to the tree.
An amiable-looking old man was sitting under the tree, playing chess by himself.
Seeing Su Xuan arrive, he greeted him warmly.
"Tsk tsk, just finished eating?"
Su Xuan picked a piece of at from his mouth, flicked it away with a snap of his fingers, and said, "Old Lu, today I'll accompany you for one last ga."
The white-haired old man slowly raised his head and said softly, "Leaving?"
Su Xuan placed the saddlebag on the ground and softly replied, "Yes, leaving."
After speaking, he casually picked up a white chess piece and placed it on the board, then looked up at the old man and said softly, "I know who Old ng and Old Zhang from the west of the village are."
"But only you, I've racked my brains for eight years and still can't figure it out."
"Who are you... what's your na?"
The old man smiled faintly, placing a black chess piece next to the white one.
"? I'm just a lonely old man."
"As for my na... Lu Tiancheng."
Su Xuan frowned slightly, murmuring in a low voice, "Lu Tiancheng... never heard of it."
"Then he must not be soone important."
"But..."
Bang!
The black chess piece was casually shattered by a scabbard.
Su Xuan's gaze sharpened as he looked into the old man's eyes and said softly, "I don't care who you are, nor how your na defies the heavenly way."
"As long as I'm here, you can't touch my grandson! And you won't be able to!"
Buzz!!
In the next mont, the shattered black chess piece miraculously reassembled, as good as new.
The old man, as if unfazed by Su Xuan's threat, said softly, "Whether I can or cannot, it's always worth a try, isn't it?"
Su Xuan smiled faintly, scratched his head with the scabbard, and stood up saying, "Then let's do it now, I'm afraid I'll be too busy tomorrow, and I won't have ti."
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