My Sword Has a Way

The handsome young man was about the same age as Xu Zhian, and also came from a poor family. His parents hoped that he would have enough money when he grew up and live a rich life, so they named him "rich".

Later, due to famine, Xia Shuyin also became an orphan. Perhaps because of sympathy, the handsome boy in front of him was Xu Zhian's only friend in the village, not to mention that the handsome boy had saved the brother and sister's lives.

"Xu Zhian, are you going to Yishui City again?" the handsome young man spoke first.

Xu Zhian nodded and asked, "Well, when are you leaving?"

The handsome young man stroked his chin and said, "It should be in the next few days, but it's hard to say. It depends on what the master wants. By the way, if you don't have food at home, go to my room and get it."

Xu Zhian shook his head and said, "No, my family still has some food rations, which is enough."

The young man smiled faintly and said, "Well, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Xu Zhian scratched his head and said, "Can I... ask you for a favor?"

Xia Shuyin was a little surprised that this neighbor with such a strong sense of self-esteem would actually ask for help. Even though he was almost starving to death, the boy wandered around the gate of his yard for half a night and still didn't knock on the door. If he hadn't sent two sweet potatoes to him, the boy would probably have starved to death that winter.

The handsome young man asked, "Tell me, I will definitely help you if I can do it."

Xu Zhian was silent for a moment and said awkwardly: "Can you let Mr. Gai... take my little sister away as well? Meng Yao is very sensible."

The handsome young man seemed to have guessed something. He neither agreed nor refused. He said directly: "Xu Zhian, you know, it's not appropriate for Meng Yao to follow us. But I will try."

Xu Zhian smiled and said, "If you find it difficult, just treat it as a joke. By the way, I have to leave first, otherwise the city gate will be blocked again."

Watching Xu Zhian disappearing around the corner, the handsome boy was a little speechless. This neighbor's temper was just like the stone in the toilet, smelly and hard. Even when asking for help, he was always afraid of bothering the other party. Many times, as long as the boy was willing to put aside his so-called face and say a few compliments, then things would not be so bad.

But even so, Xia Shuyin still felt that the boy was a very good person, especially when it came to treating his sister. If there was anything delicious, he would always give it to his sister first. As for whether he could get to eat it, the boy didn't care at all.

If not for this, Xu Zhian would not have almost starved to death. You know, when people are extremely hungry, it is difficult to control themselves when they see food. It is precisely this point that makes Xia Shuyin extremely envious of the thin girl next door.

The sun is rising and purple air is coming from the east.

Xu Zhian walked on the official road into the city, his figure was a little thin. Even if he met someone familiar along the way, the other party would stay away from him, as if to avoid him. The young man had long been accustomed to this and was not surprised.

The words Xu Zhian heard the most since he was a child were the cold words of his neighbors and the vicious curses of women. There were even rumors that the young man was a jinx from heaven who would first kill his parents and then injure others. Wherever Xu Zhian was, there would be disasters and bad luck.

Even the severe disasters and droughts in the past few years were attributed to the boy's inherent lack of virtue, which brought disaster to the village. The boy did not make any excuses for this, and sometimes he himself thought that maybe this was true, if not, why would he be so miserable.

Later, the boy heard from Mr. Gai in the village that a saint once said that if God wants to give a man a great task, he must first make his mind suffer, his muscles and bones work hard, and his body hungry. The boy firmly believed it, although he did not fully understand it, but he knew roughly that if he wanted to succeed, he had to endure hardships, and when he reached a certain level, he could transform from a cocoon into a butterfly, and the hardship would pay off.

By this time, the sky was already bright and the air was slightly chilly. Xu Zhian wrapped his clothes around himself and looked at the entrance of the city gate in front of him, his eyes gradually becoming firm.

Xu Zhian looked at the wide-open city gate and was about to step towards the entrance, but at this moment, he was suddenly pulled back by someone. The young man looked back and saw that the person who pulled him was a sloppy old Taoist priest.

The young man knew this man. This sloppy old Taoist also lived in Xiaolingang. The villagers called him the sloppy Taoist. According to the old people in the village, this old Taoist was cheating outside in his early years, so he was found by his enemies and fled to Xiaolingang. He has lived there for more than ten years.

The old Taoist priest was idle all day long and did not observe the precepts. He often peeked at the widows in the village taking a bath. His reputation was second only to Xu Zhian and Xia Shuyin, and he was one of the three major disasters in Xiaolingang.

The old Taoist looked at the young man and subconsciously wiped his hands and said, "You want to die, kid? Can't you see that the city gates are under martial law? A big shot is coming soon. If you offend him, you will die without knowing how."

Xu Zhian looked at the guards on both sides of the city gate and saw that they had already been replaced by black cavalry in black armor. Then he nodded and said, "Thank you, Taoist priest."

The old Taoist picked his nose and said nonchalantly: "You're welcome, we're from the same village."

Xu Zhian nodded without replying. At this moment, a group of soldiers came out from the city gate tower. Led by a middle-aged man in official uniform, they walked slowly across the moat and looked into the distance.

Just a moment later, the vibration of horse hooves like thunder came from far away. Xu Zhian looked carefully and saw an extremely luxurious four-horse carriage approaching quickly among a team of black cavalry guards in black armor.

It was the first time the young man saw such a beautiful carriage and he couldn't help but be fascinated. However, the old Taoist's next words made the young man look a little embarrassed.

The old Taoist said: "This carriage with four horses is really ugly. In my hometown, even dogs won't sit in it."

Xu Zhian looked around, exhaled, and found that the people around him did not hear it. Then he took a step back, deliberately keeping a distance from the old Taoist to avoid getting into trouble.

At this moment, the middle-aged man in official robes bowed to the carriage and said, "Your subordinate Zhao Xuan, respectfully welcomes the Immortal Master and the young prince."

Hearing this, the crowd suddenly became noisy, while the middle-aged monk in the carriage frowned slightly, but after a moment, his brows relaxed again. Looking at the young disciple from the Tianshi Academy of Wolong Mountain in front of him, he couldn't help but think in his heart: "His character is unstable, and he needs to be tempered."

The young man replied calmly: "Lord Zhao, there is no need to be polite. Have you prepared everything I asked you to prepare?"

Zhao Xuan replied: "Everything is ready, please come, young prince and immortal master."

"good."

The young man only replied with one word, and the chief city officer Zhao Xuan led everyone into Yishui City.

At this time, a handsome young man led a black dog into a dilapidated private school in Xiaolingang. As the teacher was leaving in the next few days, the figure of the former teacher in the private school was no longer visible.

The handsome young man bowed to the middle-aged gentleman sitting on the armchair and said, "Sir, my disciple is here."

The middle-aged gentleman put down the scroll in his hand and said, "Well, I won't explain the scriptures today. I have something to tell you."

The handsome young man said respectfully: "Sir, please speak."

The middle-aged man said, "Shuyin, do you know why I named you Shuyin?"

The young man replied: "My teacher taught me to read widely and keep a low profile, so I named myself Book Hidden."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Yes, when I first met you, you were still causing trouble in the village, you didn't know the rules of etiquette, and you often stole. Now you have been practicing the way of sages for more than three years. Although you haven't read five carts of books, you can be considered to have half a bucket of talent. After you follow me into the Sage Mountain in a few days, you should no longer be obsessed with the way of the knight-errant. Do you remember this?"

The handsome young man said respectfully: "Disciple has made note of this."

The middle-aged man saw that the young man was hesitant to speak, as if he had something on his mind, so he said, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't act like a little girl."

Xia Shuyin quickly said, "Sir, I just met Xu Zhian, and he asked me for a favor."

The gentleman asked curiously, "Oh? It's really rare for that young man to ask for help. What did he ask you for?"

Xia Shuyin said truthfully: "He begged me... to let you take his younger sister, the skinny girl, with you when we leave."

The middle-aged man took a sip of tea and asked, "So you agree?"

The handsome young man replied: "No, I didn't refuse."

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and said, "If I don't agree, what will you do?"

Xia Shuyin immediately knelt down and said: "Master, your kindness to me is as great as a mountain, and it is like a rebirth. I dare not force you to ask. Even if you agree, I will not agree."

The middle-aged man was a little surprised and asked, "Why?"

Xia Shuyin raised his head and said seriously, "Because I will kill the person who made things difficult for him before I leave, so that the gentleman won't feel embarrassed about it, and Xu Zhian won't have to beg me anymore."

The middle-aged man was not angry because the boy wanted to kill someone. Instead, he said calmly, "Didn't you always want him to beg you? Why did you change your mind now?"

Xia Shuyin replied, "Because he will die, and I don't want him to die. Sir, you know that I have been an orphan since childhood, and so has Xu Zhian. Every time I see him, I think of myself. I know best how hard it is for a child without a father and a mother. So I always hoped that he would beg me so that he could change some of his bad habits. Now that I am about to leave here, and Xu Zhian is my only friend here, I suddenly don't want him to beg me."

The middle-aged gentleman helped Xia Shuyin, who was kneeling on the ground, up and said, "Stand up. It's not that I don't want to agree to the young man's request, but the girl's background is very complicated. Our Shengxian Mountain has always been a peaceful place, and we don't want to get involved."

The middle-aged gentleman paused and continued, "Also, it is a time of trouble now, and the Jiazi legend has come true. I am afraid that the world will be in turmoil again. This is also the reason why people from various sects have recently flocked to the mortal world to recruit disciples. They just want to protect themselves and seek opportunities when the troubled times come. So it's not that I don't want to help, but I just can't."

The handsome young man filled the middle-aged gentleman's teapot and asked curiously, "Sir, what is the secret of this Jiazi legend? Why do you often sigh about it but never mention it?"

The middle-aged man raised his head, looked at the plaque in the hall engraved with the four big characters "The highest good is like water", and fell into deep thought.

Xia Shuyin also looked over. He knew that whenever the gentleman was undecided, he would look up at the plaque, as if there was some great power in the plaque that could bring him enough spiritual comfort.