Three days passed in a flash, and in the early morning of the third day of the second lunar month, Ling Feng and Di Xun got up early to wash up and clean up. Today is a big day, and we can't take it lightly.

The family hurriedly ate breakfast, and Ling Feng took out the herbs that he had secretly refined. As he held the herbs in his palm, a smell of medicine came to his nose. This is the herbs that he and Di Xun carefully prepared for the children to quench flesh and blood, and some of the herbs contained too masculine and domineering essence, and they were also refined by the two of them to be delicate and soft. In addition, Dong Xiuzhen was originally a holy hand of traditional Chinese medicine, even if it seemed to be an ordinary medicinal herb, after her matching, it could be turned into a pair of excellent solid base elixirs, not to mention that the two of Di Xun picked back were rare spiritual grasses.

As soon as Ling Feng and the others had cleaned up, hunters came one after another with their own children. Although the coming-of-age ceremony is held every year, this five-year baptism is more like a grand event. There are more than 200 families in Lingjiazhuang, except for those who work hard outside and are too old, they usually come to watch the ceremony today. It didn't take much effort, and the courtyard was full of black and oppressive people, but fortunately, the courtyard of Ling Feng's house was wide, and it was not a problem to accommodate three or four hundred people.

In front of the main entrance of the room, there is an incense case with incense burners, offerings, etc. Ling Feng was in the front, Di Xun and the six elderly people over 100 years old in the village were in the second row, and further back, there were middle-aged hunters such as Ling Tianhao, and Ling Yu and Mo Wanjun and other women and children were at the last. Ling Yu and Da Zhuang, stones, and big men whispered in the back. Several friends often played together when they were teenagers, and they all said that childhood feelings were the purest, even if they hadn't seen each other for five years, Ling Yu and them always seemed to have endless words. It's like I've only been away for five days.

"Xiao Yu, where have you been hunting with the village chief all these years?, is it fun outside?" Da Zhuang took Ling Yu's hand and asked in a low voice. Ling Dazhuang is the son of Huzi, three years older than Ling Yu, and he said that he would protect him when Ling Yu was a child. The two have a good relationship.

"This ...... My two grandfathers and I were hunting around the pine forest, and as you know, my grandfather was very strict with me, so I spent my days with wild animals. It's very monotonous, let's talk about you. Ling Yu knew that there were many things that could not be said, so she simply changed the topic.

"My life isn't much better. During the coming-of-age ceremony, my old man insisted on forcing me to go to Hanyue City to study, you know, my character is not suitable for those boring things, and then Uncle Tianhao persuaded me that my father agreed to let me follow him to the pine forest to hunt, because of this, he didn't talk to me for three days. Ling Dazhuang recalled the scene at that time, shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with going to school, at least you don't have to worry about hunting all day. Although Ling Yu is younger than the eldest and stronger, he is very mature, and he can understand Uncle Huzi's hard work. Who likes their children to live in fear and fear with wild beasts every day? It's just that he didn't say these words to Da Zhuang, first, for fear that he would not be able to understand it at a young age, and secondly, he respected Uncle Huzi's dignity as a father.

"Big man, what have you and Shi been busy with in the past few years, and what are your plans in the future?" Ling Yu turned his head to look at the two young men, one tall and one short.

The big man's real name is Ling Yun, and he is the tallest of the four friends, he has fair skin and clear eyebrows, but it can be seen from the sly gaze that flashes slightly in his eyes that he is not a well-behaved child as he looks.

The stone's real name is Ling Lei, and he has dark skin, but it is a very healthy black color. Although Shi was the youngest of the four, he had the strongest physique and the most honest personality.

"I'm going to go to Cold Moon City to do business, it's too hard and dangerous for the people in our village to hunt every day, I want to open a teahouse, an inn, and a restaurant, so that the people in our village don't have to live that kind of life of licking blood on the tip of a knife. With Lingyun's intelligence, the path of business is indeed very suitable for him. With his intelligence, he could fulfill these wishes.

"I plan to listen to my father, go to study honestly, maybe I will get a reputation in the future, no matter how bad it is, I can also become a bookkeeper. "Ling Lei has a stable personality, and listens to his parents very much, and is a very filial child.

"Alas, I didn't expect that we hadn't figured out what it would be like to grow up, but now we've grown up unconsciously, and it's too late to imagine, let alone think. I still miss when we were young, catching some small animals, having snowball fights, and the little white sable we saved. Ling Dazhuang sighed lightly, thinking back to his childhood, his eyes full of nostalgia.

"Yes, when we were children, we were the object of a headache for all the adults in the village, naughty, free, and naughty. Digging birds' nests, catching squirrels, snowball fights, mink...... Little white mink?!!I know!" Ling Yu said, suddenly as if he remembered something, he slapped his head, and immediately understood what happened in the pine forest.

No wonder I had a familiar feeling when I saw that Xuanbing Mink at that time, no wonder it wanted to give itself such a precious pill, it turned out that all this had a cause and effect. Ling Yu was sure that the Xuanbing mink he met five years ago was the little white sable he had saved when he was a child. Ling Yu had been cultivating since he was a child, and he had never forgotten the breath of any living being, but that incident was so long ago that he didn't think about it for the first time, and it wasn't until Da Zhuang mentioned it just now that he suddenly realized. It turns out that the ice marten is there to repay the favor, but I don't know where it is now? How is it? Is there still some insidious creature who wants to take its flesh and blood to make medicine, or use it as food. Ling Yu looked up into the distance, and scenes from the past flashed in his mind......

"Xiao Yu, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?" Da Zhuang saw Ling Yu lose his mind for a while, thinking that he had encountered something troublesome.

"Oh, it's okay, I just thought of a friend. Ling Yu smiled gratefully at Da Zhuang, who cared about him, and replied with a chuckle.

It was at this moment that Ling Feng gently tapped on the incense case, and everyone stopped talking, because they knew that the coming-of-age ceremony had begun.

The first thing to do in the coming-of-age ceremony is to knock on the heavens, worship the emperor, and worship the ancestors. This is the most solemn ceremony at the coming-of-age ceremony, and the more than 300 people present are silent, and the tip of the needle can be heard falling to the ground.

Ling Feng picked up three sticks of incense from the incense table and bowed three times. The villagers behind him also bowed three times with him. Although Ling Feng and Di Xun are not the aborigines of Lingjiazhuang, after all these years of getting along, their flesh and blood have long been integrated into this land.

After Ling Feng worshipped with everyone, he summoned the boys and girls who had reached the age of thirteen this year to the incense case, counting Ling Yu, a total of twelve people. The twelve men lined up, knelt on the ground, bowed to their ancestors, and offered incense. The expressions of the people behind them were extremely solemn, perhaps for the children who did not know the world, this was just a ritual. But for them, it is a hope, a sustenance, and an incomparably sacred belief in their hearts.

Seeing that the children had finished prostrating, Ling Feng took out five hairpins and seven talismans polished from the teeth or horns of various alien beasts from a small wooden box behind him and handed them to them.

Among the twelve people attending the rite of passage were seven boys and five girls. The hairpin is for girls, and the amulet is for boys. Whether it is a hairpin or a talisman, it is made by Ling Feng from precious beast horns and animal teeth. There are the horns of fiery lions, the fangs of icy mammoths, the giant beaks of green thunder carvings, and so on. Wearing it regularly can make people strong and strong, and all diseases will not invade. These objects couldn't be better for these children who have just come of age.

"Children, today is a special day for you. Because from today onwards, you will be adults. You have the right to choose, to choose how you want to go in life. You can follow your fathers into the pine forests to hunt, you can go out to study, you can do business, and you can even practice martial arts. Today, for the first time in your life, your parents will not interfere with you, although they will give you some advice, but the decision is in your hands. I hope you can think carefully, although there are many such choices in the future, but I hope you can take it seriously, because every seemingly small decision may affect your life!" Ling Feng said to the children with a grim face as he stood in front of the incense case.

The twelve children clenched their fists tightly, their eyes were firm, and they looked at the respected old man in front of them, listening carefully to his words.

"Alright, now you can go back to your parents and listen to their advice. Then come back and tell me out loud about your options. Ling Feng glanced at the twelve children in front of him and said slowly.

Except for Ling Yu, the other children returned to their parents and discussed, justified, and argued with their parents in order to find the most suitable way out for them.

"Dad, I want to follow you into the pine forest to hunt and gallop through the snowy ......"

"But hunting is very hard, go out early and return late, and you will encounter all kinds of wild beasts, which is very dangerous, aren't you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid, I don't think there's anything wrong with a son inheriting his father's business, and he can always be by his family's side......"

"Mother, I want to go out to study, and in the future, I will pay homage to the prime minister, so that you can live a good life. ”

"The closest top university to Lingjiazhuang is also thousands of miles away, and it's very hard to be alone outside!"

"It's okay, mother, I'll take care of my ......"

"Mother, I plan to accompany you and my father at home, learn needlework and cooking, and marry a simple man in a few years, teach my husband and children, and wait for my parents. ”

"Yanzi, your father and I are not so unenlightened, if you have any ideas, just say it, the time of your youth is only a few years, don't suffer yourself, so as not to leave regrets in the future. ”

"Mother, I'm serious, as a girl, I think stability is the most important thing. ”

“.......”

It didn't take long for the eleven children to make their own decisions, and they all returned to the incense case and bowed to Ling Feng.

Ling Feng looked at the firmness in the eyes of these children and nodded slightly.