Chapter 868

Although Xu Xinnian often despised his vulgar father and elder brother, his father was his father. It was fine for him to despise him, but how could he allow outsiders to slander him?

Therefore, when he heard Zhao Panyi's accusation, Xu Xinnian first quickly calculated his and his sister's ages in his heart. After confirming that he was his biological son, he flew into a rage and sneered:

"Zhao Panyi, you keep saying that my father is ungrateful, but what evidence do you have?"

The battle of Shanhai Pass happened 21 years ago. He was 20 years old, and Lingyue was 18 years old. The time did not match, so he and Lingyue were not orphans of the Zhou family.

Zhao Panyi snorted: "He has been dead for 21 years, what evidence is there? But Xu Pingzhi's ingratitude is ingratitude. Is there a need for me to slander him? "

Xu Erlang did not believe it, and waved his hand: "Come, tie this bastard up for me."

The soldiers cooking meat had been paying attention to the movement here. When they heard this, they all pulled out their swords and swarmed over, surrounding Zhao Panyi and the other 30 soldiers.

The soldiers under Zhao Panyi's command pulled out their swords and confronted their comrades with fierce expressions. Although they were injured, and although they were outnumbered, they were not afraid at all.

Being on the battlefield was like being in hell. Since the expedition, they had fought with the Jing Kingdom's cavalry in turns, and their hostility had long been cultivated. No one was afraid of death.

Zhao Panyi pressed his hand down, indicating that his subordinates should not be impulsive. He spat out a mouthful of phlegm and disdainfully said: "I will not risk my life to fight with my comrades, unlike a certain person. Like father like son, they are all ungrateful dogs."

Xu Erlang's face was gloomy, and he shouted: "Tie them up."

The soldiers swarmed over, and used the hilt of their swords to knock Zhao Panyi and the others down. They tied them up and threw them to the side, and then continued to cook horse meat.

Zhao Panyi continued to curse, cursing eighteen generations of the Xu Clan's ancestors, including the women of the clan.

Xu Xinnian ordered his soldiers to stuff Zhao Panyi's mouth, so that he could only whimper, and could not spit out any more fragrant words.

"Family matters?"

Chu Yuanzhen probed with a smile when he saw him frowning.

Xu Xinnian shook his head, and looked at the ground not far away. He said hesitantly: "I don't believe my father is such a person, but Zhao Panyi's words reminded me of something. So let him stay for now. "

When he was young, his eldest brother and mother did not get along well, which gave father a headache. Thus, his father often said that he and uncle fought back and died on the battlefield.

Xu Erlang had heard about it since he was young. Now, this Zhou Biao who had appeared out of nowhere seemed very unreasonable and strange.

He looked at Chu Yuanzhen and said, "You seem to have a way to contact my brother?"

Xu Erlang was quite cautious. There were no outsiders here, so why not just mention the Earth Tome … Chu Yuanzhen took out the Earth Tome fragment and asked, "You want to contact Ning Yan? Tell me, what's the matter?"

Xu Erlang was quite cautious. There were no outsiders here, so he could just say the Earth Book … "Chu Yuanzhen took out the Earth Book fragment and asked:" Do you want to contact Ning Yan? Tell me, what is it? "

As soon as he finished, he saw Chu Yuanzhen write on the jade mirror with his hand instead of a pen.

…

The sun was completely swallowed by the horizon, and the sky was dark. Xu Qi'an finished his dinner, and while the sky was still dark, he leisurely digested in the yard, playing shuttlecock with Little Bean.

Little Bean still could not control his strength well, and kept kicking the shuttlecock into the yard, or making a hole in the ground.

Her strength was growing too fast. How many months had it been since she started practicing the Strength Voodoo Faction? "Is it her luck or mine …" Xu Qi 'an was dumbfounded by what he saw.

"Lina, what's with the bell sound? The improvement is too exaggerated. "

He turned to look at Lina, who was peeling oranges.

Lina wrinkled her nose. "I told you that Lingyin is as strong as a calf, full of vitality, and a good candidate for Strength Voodoo. You don't believe my judgment? "

This good candidate is too good, I'm getting jealous … Xu Qi'an held the shuttlecock in his hand, and looked at the shallow hole under Xu Lingyin's feet.

"She still can't control her strength, and if she's not careful, she will overdo it. She needs to slow down her cultivation."

Little Bean was a lively child, and he liked to stick to his aunt. At the beginning of the year, he went to school, and every time he came home, he would run into the living room with his school bag, and bump into his mother's round, peach butt.

Now that he was always at home, he didn't stick to his aunt as much.

Maybe he would go out again one day … And with her current strength, the Xu family would have three more motherless children.

"Oh!"

Lina nodded. She remembered that Lingyin wasn't a child of the Strength Voodoo Sect. Children of the Strength Voodoo Sect could use violence without fear of hurting their family.

And if they broke the utensils and objects in the house, they would have to be careful of their parents' unscrupulous violence.

But Lingyin couldn't, the Xu family were all ordinary people.

Xu Qi'an was satisfied. Nanjiang's black-skinned little girl was a silly girl, but the good thing about being silly was that she wasn't spoiled, and was obedient and sensible.

If it was Li Miaozhen who asked the same question, she would say, "Don't worry, from now on, the training intensity will be doubled, and she will be able to control her strength in the shortest time possible."

If it was Lin An, "Then don't learn, let's play together."

If it was Caiwei, "Cultivation is so boring, let's eat."

If it was Huaiqing, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

At this moment, he felt a familiar palpitation. Xu Qi'an immediately left Little Bean and Lina, and rushed into his room.

He took out the Earth Book fragment from under his pillow, and it was Chu Yuanzhen who sent him a private message.

[Three: Brother Chu, how is the war in the north?]

[Four: The war is difficult, but it's going well, with both sides winning and losing. I'm looking for you on behalf of Erlang to ask you about something.]

Ten seconds later, the second message came: [Four: We met a person called Zhao Panyi from Yongzhou's Xi County. He claimed to be good brothers with Second Uncle Xu during the Shanhai Pass Campaign.]

[When he saw Xu Erlang, he cursed and scolded the second uncle Xu for being an ungrateful person. The reason was that Zhao Panyi, the second uncle Xu, and a person called Zhou Biao were good brothers in the same team, and they fought back to back on the battlefield.]

[Later, Zhou Biao took a blow for the second uncle Xu and died on the battlefield. The second uncle Xu swore to treat his family well, but the second uncle Xu broke his promise and never visited Zhou Biao's family for 20 years. Ci Jiu didn't believe this, so he asked me to send you a message to ask the second uncle Xu.]

Xu Qi 'an's hands trembled as he wrote his reply: [Wait for me!]

After putting away the Earth Book fragment, he didn't immediately go to Second Uncle. Instead, he poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly. After he finished the water, his hands stopped trembling.

Creak …

Opening the door, Xu Qi'an expressionlessly walked to the east wing and knocked on the candlelight door.

Second Uncle Xu, dressed in casual clothes, came to open the door and asked with a smile: "Ning Yan, what's the matter?"

Xu Qi'an opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a few seconds, he asked softly: "Second Uncle, do you know Zhao Panyi?"

Second Uncle Xu was obviously surprised. His eyes widened slightly as he asked in astonishment: "How do you know the brother I made during the Shanhai Pass Campaign? Let me tell you, he's a brother I've been through life and death with."

Xu Qi'an nodded: "Why didn't you keep in touch after that?"

Second Uncle Xu shook his head and laughed: "You don't understand. In the army, we live far apart from each other and have our own responsibilities. After a long time, we don't remember each other anymore."

Xu Qi'an nodded again and asked: "Then you must know Zhou Biao too?"

Second Uncle Xu scrutinized his nephew and frowned: "What's wrong with you today? How do you know Zhao Panyi and Zhou Biao?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head lightly: "Second Uncle, answer me first. Did Zhou Biao die in battle?"

"Yes, it's a pity to lose a brother."

"How did he die?"

"Back then, we were sent to stop the Witchcraft Cult's Corpse Soldiers, and Zhou Biao died in that battle." Second Uncle Xu's face was full of sorrow.

"Not to block the knife for you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? It was your father who blocked the knife for me."

"..."

A bleak autumn wind blew. Under the eaves, the lanterns swayed slightly, and the candlelight swayed, illuminating Xu Qi'an's face with uncertainty.

"I see. Thank you, Second Uncle..."

After a long time, Xu Qi'an said bitterly, and then, under the confused eyes of Second Uncle Xu, he slowly turned around and left.

Second Uncle Xu watched as his nephew left, then returned to the house. His aunt, who was wearing a white shirt, was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed. She was reading a folkloric comic book.

Comic books were specially developed for young children and illiterate people like his aunt.

The beautiful and plump aunt did not raise her head, but focused on reading the comic book and said: "Why did Ning Yan look for you? I heard that you were talking about brothers."

Second Uncle Xu frowned and said in confusion:

"It's strange. He asked about two brothers who went through fire and water with me in the Battle of Shanhaiguan. But one has died in the battle, and the other is far away in Yongzhou. He shouldn't know them.

"He even asked me if Zhou Biao blocked the knife for me. Am I that weak on the battlefield? This one blocked the knife for me, and that one blocked the knife for me."

Aunt raised her head and looked at him with her dark and lively eyes. She frowned and said: "Wait, who is it?"

"Zhou Biao. You don't know him. He was my brother when I was in the army."

Aunt shook her head. "No, I remember him. When you wrote home, you seemed to have mentioned this person. You said that it was thanks to him that you could survive. I remember that it was Ning Yan's mother who read that letter to me. "

Unfortunately, the letter from 20 years ago was long gone.

Second Uncle Xu's face suddenly froze, and he looked at his wife in disbelief as if he was looking at a lunatic.

...

[Three: Tell Erlang that there is indeed such a person. Second Uncle let him down.]

After sending the message, Xu Qi'an gently put the broken pieces of the book on the table and said softly: "Go out for a while. I want to be alone."

Not far away, Zhong Li, who was lying on a small couch, glanced at him cautiously, then dragged her embroidered shoes and tiptoed away.

The door to the room was closed. Xu Qi 'an sat by the table for a long time. He did not move at all, like a statue.

...

In the distant Northern Region, Chu Yuanzhen finished reading the message. After a moment of silence, he turned to look at Xu Xinnian beside him.

Seeing the other's expression, Xu Xinnian's heart suddenly sank. Sure enough, he heard Chu Yuanzhen say: "Ning Yan said that what Zhao Panyi said is true."

Xu Xinnian's expression was extremely ugly. He was silent for a while, then he drew his knife and walked towards Zhao Panyi.

Zhao Panyi's eyes suddenly widened, and he stared at Xu Xinnian. He let out a "woo woo" sound.

His subordinates scolded him as if they were facing a great enemy.

The soldiers who were eating meat stew also heard the noise and looked over.

Xu Xinnian turned his wrist and cut the rope with a knife. He casually threw the knife to the side and bowed deeply. "It was my father who didn't deserve to be a son. A son must pay his father's debts. You can do whatever you want."

Zhao Panyi slowly stood up. He was both disdainful and puzzled. He couldn't understand why the boy's attitude changed so much.

He sneered and said, "Xu Pingzhi, I'm not the one who should be sorry. Why are you acting like this with me?"

Zhao Panyi spat at Xu Xinnian's feet, then bent down to pick up his knife. He untied his subordinates and prepared to leave with them.

"Wait!"

Xu Xinnian stopped him and said, "Our brothers are all injured and hungry. Stay and bandage your wounds and have a bowl of meat stew before you go."

Seeing that Zhao Panyi didn't appreciate his kindness, he immediately said, "The matter between you and my father is a private matter. It has nothing to do with our brothers. You can't disregard the lives and deaths of our Daibun soldiers just for your personal grudge. "

Xu Xinnian succeeded in persuading Zhao Panyi. He reluctantly stayed and sat around the campfire. He shared the fragrant meat stew with his comrades with a satisfied smile on his face.

Xu Xinnian returned to Chu Yuanzhen's side. He stared at the small jade mirror in his hand and clicked his tongue in wonder. "You used this to contact my big brother?"

Chu Yuanzhen chuckled and smiled freely. "Of course. The Book of the Earth can send messages from thousands of miles away …"

His smile suddenly froze. He turned his neck inch by inch and stared blankly at Xu Xinnian.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xinnian asked blankly.

"You don't recognize the fragment of the Book of the Earth?" Chu Yuanzhen opened his mouth and spat out word by word.

"What's a fragment of the Book of the Earth?" Xu Xinnian was still confused.

Thump thump thump … Chu Yuanzhen was so shocked that he took a few steps back. His voice was slightly shrill, "You're not number three?!"

"What's number three?"

Thud … The fragment of the Book of the Earth slipped from Chu Yuanzhen's hand and fell to the ground.

…

Late at night, Xu Qi'an got up from his desk and opened the door. He looked around and saw Zhong Li hugging her knees and leaning against the window. She was fast asleep.

He sighed and bent down. He put his arm through her legs and picked her up. His arm felt smooth and plump.

When he returned to his room, he put Zhong Li on the small bed and covered her with a thin blanket. It was autumn. If he didn't cover her with a blanket, she would definitely catch a cold the next morning.

"Phew …"

After blowing out the candle, Xu Qi'an also curled up under the blanket and fell asleep.

When drowsiness hit him, his last thought was: I seem to have neglected something very important!