Uncle Xu Wenguang was lost in thought in front of the door, holding the sandalwood bracelet tightly in his hand, staring at the shadow of the barrier, and occasionally wiping his forehead with his sleeves.
The fourth uncle, Xu Xingguo, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, like an ant on a hot pot. His cowhide sandals made a crisp sound when he stepped heavily on the brown wooden floor.
The uncle's son, Xu Zhenyun's cousin Xu Baibing, was sitting on the green wooden steps in the west corner under the eaves, his hands spread on his knees and his fingers interlocked, with a worried look on his face.
There were only two children, a boy and a girl, slipping in and out of the gaps in the wooden lattice railings, playing carelessly.
Except for third uncle Xu Changling, who was silently accompanying Ran Dazhou next door, most of the Xu family members gathered in the courtyard.
The atmosphere was surprisingly depressing.
Three teenagers of fifteen or sixteen years old gathered their heads together and muttered something in a low voice.
Suddenly, Xu Qinglei quickly came to Xu Xingguo and said: "Dad, I'm going to find Qian's guest in Fangxi? The mourning hall, mourning cloth, musical instruments, emcee, and banquet are all covered by his family. Fortunately, the wedding turned into a funeral, and the tables, chairs, and bowls were all included."
The chopsticks are ready-made at my house, so I tried to give him a 20% discount."
Xu Xingguo was furious: "Shut up! You are useless, don't cause trouble!"
Among the five brothers of the Xu family, except Xu Zhenyun's fifth uncle Xu Dahai, who is still a bachelor, the other four have two children each, and there are eight cousins in the same generation.
The uncle has a son and a daughter, Xu Baibing and Xu Mengxue.
The branch of Xu Fengzhi is Xu Zhenyun and his sister Xu Qingshuang.
The third uncle Xu Changling and the fourth uncle Xu Xingguo each gave birth to two sons, Xu Fufeng and Xu Chenglu; Xu Qinglei and Xu Jingyu.
Except for the youngest Xu Jingyu, Xu Xingguo's middle-aged son, who is less than five years old now. Xu Fufeng, Xu Chenglu, and Xu Qinglei have no progress in their studies, no expertise in art, and they are idle all day long.
And because they were similar in age and smelled the same, they were denounced as "three evils" and had to wait until they reached sixteen to work in Linfang.
Xu Qinglei raised his neck and looked dissatisfied: "Dad, there's no point in escaping. Let's face reality. Everyone knows that the person standing in the door is definitely not the second brother. Otherwise, how could the second sister hide alone in the cross-yard?"
Xu Xingguo wanted to scold him again, but his uncle Xu Wenguang waved his hand feebly and sighed: "Prepare to do nothing."
The fourth uncle's eyes suddenly lost their luster and became motionless.
The boy playing in the courtyard had red lips and white teeth, and a dirty shirt. When he heard the word "white things", his eyes immediately lit up, and he ran to Xu Xingguo, raising his head and saying, "Dad, what's going on again?"
Do you want to have dinner?"
Xu Jingyu was only five years old. In his memory, doing simple things in the neighborhood was equivalent to coming to the house for dinner.
Xu Xingguo's face turned dark and he shouted angrily: "I just know how to eat!"
Xu Jingyu's dark eyes suddenly became hazy, and three seconds later, she covered her eyes and burst into tears.
After crying three times, I peeked through my fingers and saw that my father was indifferent, so...
Cried louder.
The fourth aunt who was standing in front of the red wooden door rushed over and took Xu Jingyu away.
Xu Xingguo sighed heavily, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
…
This night was a real ups and downs for the Xu family.
Today is a good day for Xu Zhenyun to get married.
Suddenly, a high-level monk arrived and told everyone that the bride was a demon in disguise. Xu Zhenyun was already unlucky. It was like a bolt from the sky, knocking everyone from the clouds to the bottom of the valley.
But the moment he opened the door, he saw Xu Zhenyun standing there perfectly, seemingly killing the monster alone.
Everything turned out to be a false alarm.
but……
The voice of the brown-haired middle-aged man floated in the hearts of the Xu family: "You are a brave monster. You don't leave quickly after taking the body. How dare you play under the lamp?"
Then the space was quickly blocked.
Yes, Xu Zhenyun is only an eighth-level taijutsu master. How can he kill the demon cultivator alone?
Also, the harm done by monsters to living people is mainly reflected in two aspects:
One is to swallow blood food, the other is...
It is not difficult to think of the answer.
I was lucky and wanted to resist; but after thinking about it, there was no possible "what if" outside the abyss.
At this moment, the room suddenly became brighter and the barrier disappeared instantly.
Everyone in the Xu family turned their heads quickly.
Everyone's heart sank, and the last bit of luck was completely shattered.
The middle-aged man with brown hair has long disappeared.
Behind the girl, Xu Zhenyun seemed to be transformed into a sculpture, motionless, with a layer of faint blue light floating around his body, and no trace of a living person could be seen.
The girl yawned and said with sleepy eyes: "Um... Congratulations to everyone... Xu Zhenyun killed monsters with a mortal body and achieved extraordinary achievements..."
"Second brother, you died miserably... Hey, what did you say?"
Xu Fufeng, Xu Chenglu, and Xu Qinglei were about to cry at the top of their lungs, but suddenly stopped.
Xu Qinglei perked up, stepped forward quickly, and stammered: "Master Inspector, you mean...my second brother is not dead?"
The girl seemed to be looking at the idiot and asked strangely: "Isn't he just standing here in a good manner?"
Xu Wenguang and others looked at each other in confusion, their faces changing between red and white, and they were at a loss.
The girl coughed lightly and said loudly: "Xu Zhenyun used the eighth level of physical skills to kill the demon cultivator alone and achieved miraculous achievements. According to the regulations of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, rewards...rewards..."
After biting her finger and thinking for a few seconds, the girl felt relieved and continued: "The reward is five thousand taels of silver, three yellow leaf notes, and a golden and purple plaque."
Looking around at everyone in the Xu family, the girl said in a brisk tone: "The reward will arrive in about half a day, so I'll sneak away first."
As soon as the words fell, the girl's figure lifted up and disappeared like a rainbow, leaving only the lingering sound:
"I have to catch up on my sleep..."
Everyone in the Xu family was petrified.
Eighth level of physical skills, kill the demon cultivator alone!
Reward five thousand taels of silver!
Three yellow leaf notes!
After six or seven breaths, Xu Qinglei raised his voice and shouted, and everyone came back to their senses.
Everyone was beaming with joy and high spirits, surrounding Xu Zhenyun.
Every three years, when a crack appears in the Shendu formation, not only the immortal monks will step up patrols, but the ordinary people themselves will also form protective armor to defend themselves against possible monsters.
Nine years ago, seventeen households in Donghuafang united together and by chance, they worked together to kill a ninth-level demon cultivator. Afterwards, each family received a reward of nearly three hundred taels.
After calculation, the total number of rewards was exactly five thousand taels.
The Xu family has a small amount of money and a solid family background, and has established the foundation of a small family.
The uncle Xu Wenguang runs a shop; Xu Changling and Xu Xingguo hold middle-level positions in the largest forestry department in the "Babu Chengguan"; Xu Zhenyun's sister Xu Qingshuang also runs a restaurant.
All in all, the family's annual income is about 800 taels; excluding daily expenses and capital, the annual net surplus is just over 300 taels.
Five thousand taels of silver is equivalent to the Xu family's seventeen years of wealth accumulation!
But although five thousand taels of silver is good, compared with three pieces of "yellow leaf paper", it has to take a back seat.
In the Immortal Dynasty of the Jin Dynasty, there was a round wooden box in front of every house with a hole in the middle.
This thing is not a mailbox, but it is called a "supply and votive box".
Whatever wishes you have in your heart, as long as they are within a reasonable range and are not whimsical or greedy, you can write them down and put them in a wooden box. If fate comes, a half-hidden ascetic who travels around may be able to solve it for you.
This is the unique culture under today's monastic civilization.
But this kind of thing is like a lottery and cannot really be relied upon.
In the city of God, every household has a note in the request box. However, the number of lucky people who get feedback and solve the problem is actually less than 23 out of 1,000——
Unless the letter paper is used for writing, it is the "yellow leaf paper" awarded by the Immortal Dynasty of the Jin Dynasty.
If you write your request on this note, the monks who travel around the world will see it and help you solve it as soon as possible.
In today's world, the only thing a monk can allow for his mortal relatives is to leave three yellow leaf notes.
When Xu Fengzhi had not yet entered Taoism, the Xu family was still a small and impoverished family. In the past twenty or thirty years, it has prospered and achieved a class jump because Xu Fengzhi left three "yellow leaf notes" for the Xu family.
Now I have three more yellow leaf notes...
Uncle Xu Wenguang’s thoughts diverge——
In about ten or twenty years, the Xu family may develop into an upper-middle-class family...
At this moment, Xu Zhenyun's blue light suddenly dissipated and he slowly opened his eyes.
Xu Qinglei's eyes flashed, and he was the first to run forward, gave a thumbs up, and said loudly: "Second brother, I really didn't expect...eight-level physical skills to slay demons...you are so amazing!"
It could be seen that he obviously had a lot to say, but he was stammering and his face turned red.
Xu Fufeng and Xu Chenglu also nodded in unison, saying at the same time: "Second brother is so awesome!"
Xu Zhenyun was startled and slightly surprised.
The relationship between him and his three cousins is quite delicate.
In today's world, children begin to "enlighten" when they reach the age of five.
But the "enlightenment" of this world and the "enlightenment literacy" of previous lives such as the Three-Character Sutra are completely different concepts.
The so-called enlightenment is actually trying to find ways to test and develop children's strengths in writing, fighting, art, mathematics, etc.
Those who do have potential, after two years of preparatory training, will begin to enter major academies, martial arts academies, chess academies, music studios, and even Guanwei Academy for professional studies at the age of 12, known as "Taoism"; they will eventually pass "Taoism".
"Election of the National Dynasty" to compete for the qualifications of monks.
The vast majority of people who have no potential start "secular studies" after the age of twelve and enter government-run schools. The content they study is nothing more than a subset of classics and history, arithmetic, physics, medical divination, etc., but it is more complicated and shallow, and closer to the Japanese.
use.
Among the eight people of the same generation in the Xu family, except for the youngest Xu Jingyu, among the seven adults, only Xu Zhenyun has outstanding physical skills and successfully entered the martial arts gym, embarked on the path of "Taoism", and is expected to become a Taoist.
The remaining six people all followed the path of "secular learning".
Xu Zhenyun is the hope for the Xu family to continue to rise!
But Xu Fufeng, Xu Chenglu, and Xu Qinglei were called the three evils.
To be fair, the original owner and the three younger brothers usually get along quite well; but as the positive and negative examples of the family, one can also feel the vague jealousy of the three little guys.
Today, such the purest and most sincere joy and praise is unprecedented.
Xu Zhenyun waved his hand and raised his head disdainfully: "Only today did I realize that my second brother is very powerful? It can be seen that the three of you are really lacking in qualifications, and in hindsight you realize that you are indeed the three most useless members of the Xu family."
Xu Fufeng and three others: "￣ヘ￣"
At this time, uncle Xu Wenguang stepped forward, tugged on Xu Zhenyun's sleeves, and said: "Go and see your sister quickly. She is still hiding across the courtyard crying alone."