Huai Guo.

Yongzhou.

Yangshan Village.

Hua Ying squatted by the stream, rolled up her sleeves and stirred the semi-murky river water with her arms, enduring the biting coldness and slowly exploring into the water.

Finally, with a splash of water, she fished out a piece of black mud from the water.

This is a piece of old mud, dark brown, entangled with some withered aquatic roots, and exuding a faint fishy smell.

"Sure enough, there is something in there."

Hua Ying blinked, looked carefully at the mud in her hand, and keenly noticed the objects in it.

It was a piece of jade entangled in grass roots and wrapped in mud, with only one small corner exposed.

The color is very light, grayish, and if you don't look closely, you might mistake it for just an ordinary stone.

"Daniu, stop eating and go home."

"Girl, come here quickly." The person who waved over was a middle-aged man, not very tall, with a kind face.

As soon as Huaying got off the back of the cow, before she could ask questions, she was dragged away by her mother, without even bothering to tie the cow up.

Huaying looked left and right. This was the creek closest to the village, with mountains in the distance. No outsiders would come here at all. Only villagers from the village would come here to fetch water and wash clothes. The ones she saw most often were

Small animals in the mountains.

"Huaying."

However.

This word only spread throughout the village half an hour ago.

In order to observe more carefully, Hua Ying put the mud into the water again and stirred it. Soon, as the water in the stream became muddier, all the features of the jade were revealed.

"Hantie, passed."

Hua Ying no longer had any expectations in her heart and slowly announced her name.

"Senior, my child has such 'qualifications' that he is willing to join your family."

Huaying didn't have much hope that she could pass the test, so she didn't even dare to think about it.

The number of people who passed was really too small. She watched helplessly as one child after another left. Only a few children passed the test. Moreover, all the few girls in the team failed.

Yangshan Village is located in a remote area, close to the mountains, and is a sparsely populated area. It is not unusual for a powerful Jianghu sect like Huadaomen, which controls a whole county, to go to such a poor mountain village to recruit disciples.

So, each family thought about it for a while, and called their own children of the right age, ready to test the situation together.

Could it be that the Huadao Sect only accepts male disciples?

In addition to her father, Huaying also saw many children, standing in twos and threes at the entrance of the village, laughing and playing.

Huaying was very curious, who could make the adults in the village so nervous?

Huaying couldn't figure it out and had to rush home. As soon as she arrived at the door, she saw a plainly dressed woman looking around anxiously at the door.

Then, under the instructions of the man in black, two young men in blue began to check the qualifications of these children one by one.

This man is gorgeously dressed and has an extraordinary appearance. I am afraid that his status within the Huadao Sect will not be very low. However, although he is a well-known disciple of the big sect in the world, he is very polite in his speech and has no airs at all. He has gained the favor of many villagers for a while.

Respect.

On the other hand, it is Huaying. Although she is a girl, her age is quite suitable. She has just turned nine this year and just meets the age requirements of the Huadao Sect for new disciples.

She has been frail and sick since she was a child, and she doesn't look like she can practice martial arts.

Erya is Huaying's nickname. In her village, children all call each other by their nicknames and never by their first names.

"My kids know how to fight, and one of them can fight several kids! If he goes crazy, he'll even beat his father! You're right to take him in!"

"Everyone, be quiet. All children should line up according to their height. The shorter ones should stand further forward."

"Zhang Daniu, don't pass."

As time passed, amidst the shouts of the two young men in blue, the children who passed the test were arranged together, while those who failed returned to their parents dejectedly.

"Huaying. Failed."

It's about the size of a child's hand, round, with patterns carved on it, without any luster, and looks very simple.

Gouwa, Erluzi, Erniu, Sanleizi, Da Niu, etc. are all her daily playmates, and they all come here with their parents and elders at home.

"Name."

"Oh, I have to give it a try no matter what. I heard that these sects attach great importance to 'qualifications' and will accept them as long as they have good qualifications."

Huaying walked over and stood next to the other party obediently.

Let alone her, even if you ask all over Yangshan Village, I'm afraid you won't be able to find anyone who knows.

Just when Huaying was secretly looking around and thinking secretly in her heart, the leader of these people, a man in black in his forties, suddenly took a step forward, looked around at the villagers around him, and said loudly:

"Is someone coming?"

Huaying is also among them.

When they were inspecting boys, the two young men in blue would touch them a few times on their heads and arms. But when they were inspecting girls, they didn't even look at them, as if they hadn't thought about it at all and ignored them completely.

"Senior, my child has been smart since he was a child. He can read and write immediately. He is definitely a good candidate for martial arts!"

Huaying didn't think much, carefully put the jade pendant in her arms, got up and walked towards the other side of the stream.

A green cow that was grazing by the river heard the shout, turned its head and mooed at her, as if in response to something.

"I'll tell you about this later. Go to the entrance of the village first. Don't be late. If you are late, things will be delayed!"

"Sun Ergou, passed."

The Huadao Sect immediately made a noise, saying that it would only accept disciples with good qualifications, and would not accept those with poor qualifications.

Huaying didn't know much about Huadaomen. She had never left the village much since she was a child. The furthest she went was to the town to see a doctor. She had never seen the ups and downs in the world.

There are people coming from the village, people from the Huadao Sect, here to choose the disciples. This is a strange thing that has not been seen in decades.

Qingyang Town is the largest town with a radius of hundreds of miles. It is twenty or thirty miles away from Yangshan Village. It is the place where the villagers in this small mountain village interact most often. They usually go to Qingyang Town to sell some mountain goods or to see a doctor.

Soon, two young men in blue inspected her area.

When the woman said this, she felt very unsure. How could she, a peasant woman in a mountain village, know exactly what "qualification" was?

"Dear fellow villagers, I, the Huadao Sect, came here today to open the mountain gate and received such warm treatment. I would like to thank you here. Next, if there are children from each household who are willing to join my sect, please invite them.

Take one step forward, and those who pass the test can become my disciples!"

Not long after, Hua Ying followed her mother to the entrance of the village. Many villagers had already gathered here, and it was a crowded place. In addition, her father was also there, but her two brothers did not show up. This time should be just right.

Went to work as a helper in a neighboring village.

What's more, Huadaomen's recruitment of disciples seems to have nothing to do with her.

"mother."

The man in black calmly presided over the order on the field and arranged for the other two disciples in blue to be responsible for the investigation.

This was Huaying's first time touching a jade pendant. In the past, she had only seen it on the ornaments worn by the nobles in the town. It was much more beautiful than the one she had on her hands now. It was green and very beautiful.

It also emits a faint fluorescence.

At this moment, Hua Ying looked at the queue in front of her that was getting smaller and smaller. She was very nervous, and there was already a thin layer of sweat on her hands.

"Take it home and show it to your parents later!"

It seems like this jade pendant must have been lost here for a long time.

Huaying is not the only child in the family. She also has two older brothers. Unfortunately, they have already grown up. At such an age, if you want to join the Huadao Sect to practice martial arts, don't even think about it.

It's not jade, it's a jade pendant.

Soon, there were about thirty more school-age children lined up in order, most of them were boys, and only a few were girls.

To her, it was just a very distant thing.

Huaying smiled, turned over and rode up, driving the green ox towards the village.

"."

In addition to these villagers, there were several strangers dressed in uniform uniforms, each holding a sword and standing tall.

One of the young men in blue looked at it, shook his head, and immediately sentenced him to death.

There seemed to be something big going on today. As soon as she returned to the village, Hua Ying felt that it was very noisy. There were villagers coming and going everywhere, and they all looked happy.

"Girl, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I heard from your father that if you can become a disciple of Huadao Sect, you will have no worries about food and clothing for most of your life! If you are lucky enough to learn a martial arts from a master,

He is considered a prominent figure in our Qingyang Town." The woman rambled on.

"Li Erzhu, don't pass."

The age of eight to fourteen is the best age to lay a foundation for initial martial arts practice. Beyond this age, no matter how talented you are, it will be difficult to achieve success in the future.

She stopped an acquaintance nearby and asked: "Gouwa, is there any happy event in our village? Why are the adults in such a hurry?"
To be continued...