This martial saint's health bar is too thick

Chapter 169 Memorial Ceremony, Evil Guests

Chapter 169 Memorial Ceremony, Evil Guests

"Fourth girl, you are finally back."

In the crowd, an old man with gray hair and a cane was the first to greet Shangguan Xiao and spoke in a trembling voice.

Shangguan Xiao is Zhang Zongyang's fourth child and the youngest. Some elders in the family call her the fourth girl.

When she saw the old man, her cold eyes softened a lot and she said softly:

"Third Uncle, I'm back."

The old man's name is Zhang Hongguo. He is Zhang Zongyang's third uncle and one of the few elders in the Zhang family who is nice to Shangguan Xiao.

The old man's eyes were red, and he used force to support the cane in his hand. The veins on the back of his hand bulged:

"Just come back! Just come back!"

"Little sister, thank you for your hard work along the way."

A middle-aged man who looked somewhat similar to Shangguan Xiao walked up and nodded to Shangguan Xiao.

"Second brother."

Shangguan Xiao looked at the other person and greeted him softly.

The body of a Dao Foundation Stage expert would undergo multiple strengthening processes, so she looked much younger than her second brother and didn't look like they were from the same generation at all.

A complicated expression appeared on the man's face: "I haven't heard you call me second brother for many years."

He is Zhang Zongyang's second son, named Zhang Zedong. He currently serves as the swordsman in the Zhige General Hospital. He is a 12th-level official, which means he is an official appointed by the imperial court.

Except for the deceased Zhang Zongyang, who was a fourth-rank official, the remaining five people in the Zhang family were officials appointed by the court. Zhang Zedong was the highest-ranking official in the eldest branch and also the most promising one.

Of course, if we count Shangguan Xiao, who has now returned to the family, Zhang Zedong cannot compare to him.

Shangguan Xiao, the head of this local Zhigeyuan, is an 11th-level official. Although his official position is one level lower than Zhang Zedong, the actual power in his hands is not much different. What's more, the most important thing is that Shangguan Xiao is a strong man in the Dao foundation period, while Zhang Zedong is just a martial artist who practices martial arts.

This meant that the two men's development prospects under the Zhigeyuan military system were incomparable.

If you want to be the helmsman of Zhige General Hospital, you must at least be at the Dao Foundation Stage. This is a necessary condition.

Zhang Zedong has been stuck at the threshold of the Dao Foundation Stage for nearly thirty years, and it is almost impossible for him to have a chance to break through, so the Sword Master of the Zhige General Hospital is almost the pinnacle he can reach in the officialdom in this lifetime.

This was also the reason why Zhang Zongyang went against all odds and insisted on supporting Shangguan Xiao with all his strength.

Because other people really can't help.
Except for Zhang Hongguo and Zhang Zedong, the rest of the Zhang family members present did not dare to come up and say hello, because they were not very familiar with Shangguan Xiao.

Shangguan Xiao was sent away to learn martial arts at the age of nine. He spent very little time at home. At the age of nineteen, he broke with his family and changed his surname to Shangguan. He did not return home for more than thirty years.

The Zhang family was actually quite unfamiliar with her.

"This is your nephew, right? Li Fei from Wuda University?"

Zhang Zedong took the initiative to look at Li Fei.

"Yes, he is my nephew, Li Fei."

Shangguan Xiao said simply.

In fact, Li Fei doesn’t need much introduction now, as he has long been famous in Datong Prefecture!
"Junior Li Fei, nice to meet you, senior."

Li Fei had his hands full, so he could only nod to Zhang Zedong.

"Are you going to the Zhang family with your aunt today?"

Zhang Zedong asked.

This question caused the surroundings to suddenly become quiet, and everyone looked at Li Fei.

Although he is still just a freshman at Wuhan University, Li Fei now has some weight in Datong Prefecture. This weight is not only due to the importance Wuhan University attaches to him, but also to his own growth speed.

It took Wang Fengqing three years to break through to the Dao Foundation Stage. How long would it take Li Fei, who is obviously more talented, to do this?
Two years?

a year?
In any case, as long as you make friends with Li Fei, it means that in one or two years, you will most likely gain the friendship of a Dao Foundation Stage powerhouse.

No matter which force it is, they are willing to treat the strong people in the Dao Foundation Stage as guests of honor.

This is Li Fei’s current status!

"Yes, I will accompany Auntie to Zhang's house."

Li Fei said affirmatively.

"Okay, the Zhang family will remember this!"

Zhang Zedong did not say any words of thanks or offer any compensation, and thus the good teacher-student friendship was destroyed.

He looked at Shangguan Xiao:

"Little sister, let's go home."

Although the Zhang family had lost power, they could still afford several luxury cars, so everyone got in.

Soon, the luxurious convoy drove towards the Zhang family's mansion.

All of a sudden, Shangguan Xiao returned to the city and Li Fei went to greet her. The news that the two were about to go to Zhang's house spread quickly throughout the city.

More than twenty minutes later, the convoy stopped in front of the gate of a luxurious mansion.

This is Zhang Mansion, a mansion that occupies an entire street!

At this time, there were already many luxury cars parked on the street.

Today is Zhang Zongyang's funeral, and these people are here to pay their respects.

Given the status of the Zhang family and Zhang Zongyang's power during his lifetime, the streets should have been clogged with people coming to pay their respects today, but today it seemed a little deserted, and the atmosphere in the entire Zhang Mansion was a little miserable.

This is the true portrayal of the Zhang family today.

After getting off the car, Shangguan Xiao looked at the mansion in front of him, which he had not returned to for more than 30 years, with a complicated expression.

In the end, she said nothing and followed Zhang Zedong towards the gate of Zhang's mansion, with Li Fei following beside her.

Just as the group walked up the steps and were about to enter the door, a group of people suddenly rushed out from inside the door and stopped Shangguan Xiao and others.

The leader was a man with some gray hair. Although he was wearing mourning clothes, he still couldn't hide his obvious official authority.

"Uncle, what do you mean?"

Zhang Zedong looked at the leader and asked with a frown.

This man's name is Zhang Zongming, and he is Zhang Zongyang's younger brother.

The Zhang family is divided into three branches. The first branch is naturally headed by Zhang Zongyang, and the second branch is headed by Zhang Zongming, who is also one of the Zhang family's several court officials. He is currently the head of the Chief Engineering Department of the Datong Prefecture's Internal Affairs General Hospital and is also a 12th-level official.

"Zong Ming, today is not the time to cause trouble!"

Zhang Hongguo, the most senior person present, stepped forward with his cane and scolded with a fierce look.

Zhang Zongming looked at Zhang Hongguo without showing any weakness, and then bowed respectfully:
"I'm not here to cause trouble, but my Zhang family has been passed down for many years, and the etiquette and laws cannot be abolished, and the family rules cannot be forgotten!"

After saying that, he stood up and looked at Shangguan Xiao, who had no expression on her face, and asked sternly:

"You publicly broke with my Zhang family more than 30 years ago and changed your surname to Shangguan. Then what identity do you have to enter my Zhang family today?!"

His question actually touched upon the most crucial point, which was also the reason why many people opposed Zhang Zongyang's support for Shangguan Xiao in the first place - how could a person who had openly broken with his family and no longer had the surname Zhang be qualified to enjoy the Zhang family's resources?
What qualifications do I have to enter the Zhang family today?
"Second uncle!"

Zhang Zedong exuded a murderous aura that only belonged to warriors. He glared at Zhang Zongming, "My Zhang family is in this situation now. Do you have to fight among yourselves at this time and let outsiders laugh at you?!"

"joke?"

Zhang Zongming looked at Zhang Zedong calmly and fearlessly, "I don't care who will be the head of the Zhang family in the future, but there is one thing I would rather the Zhang family be destroyed by its own people than let it fall into the hands of someone who is not surnamed Zhang!"

"you"

Zhang Zedong glared at Zhang Zongming, but could do nothing.

Even Zhang Hongguo, who had just loudly scolded Zhang Zongming, fell silent.

For aristocratic families, family heritage and honor always come first. The mentality that Zhang Zongming just expressed is not unique to him, but is shared by almost all aristocratic families in the world:
Even if my own family is squandered, I will not allow outsiders to touch my property!

Today, the Zhang family really needs the help of a Dao Foundation Stage expert like Shangguan Xiao, but if the final result is that the Zhang family changes their surname to Shangguan from now on, I am afraid that no one in power of the Zhang family can accept it.

Li Fei watched the scene in front of him quietly. He carefully observed the expressions of Zhang Zedong and Zhang Hongguo, and secretly wondered in his heart whether this scene might have been discussed in advance by the first and second wives in order to force Shangguan Xiao to express his position?
There is also a possibility that the people in the first room knew in advance that the second room would make trouble today, so they wanted to take advantage of the situation and use the second room to let Shangguan Xiao express her position.

What will Shangguan Xiao choose?

Everyone present focused their attention on the person in green clothing.

Shangguan Xiao looked at Zhang Zongming with a cold gaze. According to her previous temper, she would have rushed in directly and would not have listened to the other party's nonsense.

But today is Zhang Zongyang’s funeral.

"I, Shangguan Xiao, come here today to pay my respects as Zhang Zongyang's daughter!"

Shangguan Xiao said loudly.

Hearing this, Zhang Zedong, Zhang Hongguo and others' faces changed drastically, while Zhang Zongming was stunned at first, then heaved a sigh of relief.

He stepped aside to make way: "Okay, please!"

Following his action, the people from the second room made way.

"Little sister."

Zhang Zedong wanted to say something.

But Shangguan Xiao ignored him and walked into the Zhang family's gate.

Li Fei followed closely behind.

"Shangguan Xiao, come to pay your respects—"

When Shangguan Xiao was crossing the front yard and about to enter the mourning hall where the funeral was held, someone had already loudly announced it.

After this announcement, it means that Shangguan Xiao is only here to pay tribute today in his personal capacity.

Shangguan Xiaoxian stopped outside the lobby for a moment, took out a black gauze that she had prepared in advance, and asked Li Fei to help her tie it around her left arm.

Then the two of them walked into the mourning hall.

There was a coffin in the center of the mourning hall, with a portrait of Zhang Zongyang hanging in front of it.

This is a man with eyebrows and eyes as sharp as swords. Even if you just look at him through the portrait, you can feel as if you are being stabbed by a sharp gaze!
When seeing this portrait, Li Fei immediately thought of Shangguan Xiao’s cold eyes. The father and daughter’s eyebrows and eyes were so similar.

When Shangguan Xiao saw Zhang Zongyang's portrait for the first time, her body trembled slightly and the frost on her face instantly disappeared.

"Little sister, come and pay your respects."

A man with gray hair who was standing guard beside the coffin spoke to Shangguan Xiao with a tired look on his face.

He is Zhang Zongyang's eldest son, Zhang Zezheng, and can be regarded as the eldest son of the Zhang family. However, he is neither good at literature nor martial arts. He has neither the qualifications to be a warrior nor any talent. In the end, he can only be responsible for managing some of the Zhang family's businesses. Almost no one is optimistic that he can take over the position of the head of the Zhang family.

Shangguan Xiao did not reply to Zhang Zezheng. Her mind was blank at this moment. She walked forward step by step like a lost soul until she reached the coffin. Then, this powerful Taoist master lost all her strength and fell to her knees with a thud.

"."

Shangguan Xiao opened her mouth and didn't realize that tears were already flowing down. She tried her best to say something, but no sound came out.

After a long time, she finally squeezed out a sentence from her throat:
"Dad, Xiao'er is back——"

After saying this, he bowed down vigorously and his body began to tremble.

At this moment, all the scenes that had happened in the past few decades flashed through Shangguan Xiao's mind:
Zhang Zongyang did not marry her mother in a formal way. In other words, she was an illegitimate child of the Zhang family.

But when she was seven years old, Zhang Zongyang took her hand and brought her into the Zhang family openly.

After that, she was treated no worse than Zhang Zongyang's other three children at home.

When she was nine years old, she was sent away by Zhang Zongyang to learn martial arts. At first, she thought that Zhang Zongyang didn't like her and was unwilling to let her stay in the Zhang family, and her heart was full of resentment.

It was not until later that I realized what a sincere heart that was.

When she was 19 years old, she chose to break with her family because of Hao Yi's incident and changed her surname to Shangguan. At that time, the entire Zhang family scolded her, but Zhang Zongyang was the only one who never said a word about it from beginning to end.

Later, she went to Xingcheng to establish the Qingyuan Fist Village, and successfully obtained the means to purchase elixirs and implants. She was very surprised at first, but later she realized that this was actually Zhang Zongyang using the Zhang family's means to secretly help her.

Half a year ago, she suddenly took the initiative to contact Zhang Zongyang and expressed her desire to enter the officialdom.

Without hesitation, Zhang Zongyang overruled all objections and used his family's resources to pave the way for her, allowing her to successfully become the head of Xingcheng Zhigeyuan.

All of these things may include the long-term considerations of a family head, but they also include the love of a father for his daughter.

In fact, when Shangguan Xiao chose to take over the position of the head of Xingcheng Zhigeyuan, he had already decided to repay the family in accordance with Zhang Zongyang's wishes in the future.

But Zhang Zongyang did not wait for her return.

After so many years, she had a lot of things in her heart that she wanted to say to her father.

But now I can only keep it in my heart forever.

Shangguan Xiao knelt on the ground for a long, long time.
"Chu Bo, the helmsman of Zhige General Hospital, is here to pay tribute—"

It was not until this announcement came from outside the mourning hall that Shangguan Xiao slowly stood up, wiped his face, and stood up from the ground.

When she turned around, her cold gaze had returned to normal.

Li Fei turned around and looked outside the mourning hall.

He had obtained information about the Zhang family from Lu Mengyang in advance and figured out many of the Zhang family's personal connections.

Among them are friends of the Zhang family and enemies of the Zhang family.

There are three helmsmen in Zhige Headquarters. Zhang Zongyang and Fu Lang are good friends, but his relationship with the remaining helmsman Chu Bo is very bad.

The feud between the Zhang family and the Chu family has lasted for many years. Chu Bo's only son once fell into Zhang Zongyang's trap and eventually died in the siege of the Zhige General Hospital.

Therefore, there is an unsolvable blood feud between the two sides!
Today is Zhang Zongyang's funeral. Chu Bo went to pay his respects in person. It was obvious that he was up to no good.

Soon, a man wearing the black military uniform of Zhigeyuan and with a stern aura walked into the mourning hall first.

He first looked up at Zhang Zongyang's portrait, then sneered undisguisedly.

The bad visitor!

(End of this chapter)

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