A sword swept by like a light hong, rolling thousands of grass leaves.

Wherever the sword qi passed, it was as if someone had used a huge plough to drag out a huge ravine on the ground, which looked shocking.

Then this sword qi shot straight at Li Yang, who had the image of a human sword uniting, and shot it down from mid-air to the ground with a sword.

Li Yang was half-kneeling on the ground like a puppet, and the place where his eyes could see was not the tiger-eyeing Xu Yan in front of him, but the place where the sword qi flew from, but unfortunately, in front of him, except for the reeds that turned yellow after the winter fell all over the ground, there was no powerful sword cultivation at all.

A trace of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, adding a touch of crimson and beauty to Li Yang's pale face, but as everyone knows, Li Yang fell between the mountains and rivers at this moment.

"Dare to ask which senior helped, please show up!"

After the voice came out of Xu Yan's mouth, it turned into a huge echo, resounding in this quiet valley, but except for a group of birds hiding in the reeds who were alarmed by him, there was no half a figure emerging from the valley.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, still not waiting for anything, Xu Yan's solemn face was gradually relieved, he walked to Li Yang's side and picked up the dead ancient sword in the other party's hand, put it into his storage bag, and then led the other party's horse, like a mountain to continue walking.

Jinxi Town.

A middle-aged man with a square face was eating noodles, but in his hand, a bamboo chopstick was missing at this moment, because that chopstick had just turned into a majestic sword qi, and after flying out of the city for more than ten miles, he killed a powerful sword cultivator who had stepped into the seven-story building with half a foot.

The square-faced man could only pull out a chopstick from the bamboo tube again and use it to eat the handmade noodles in the bowl, but before he lowered his mouth, he couldn't help but say softly and disdainfully: "Nowadays, people just go to such great lengths to kill a junior, and they still do it themselves, don't you think it's cheap?"

......

Xu Yan just gave away a horse not long ago, but now he got a horse for nothing, so he no longer chose to take a remote mountain path, but began to gallop on the road in a grand manner.

Although the distance of the main road outside was much farther than when walking on the small road, the speed of the galloping horse was undoubtedly faster than when his feet were walking normally, so after almost six days, Xu Yan successfully entered Baoxi Township.

Baoxi Township contains eight villages, but there is only one market, which is in the southernmost part of the country, near the neighboring township of Datong, and Xujia Village in the northernmost part of the mountains.

After Xu Yan entered Baoxi Township and passed the market, he could no longer ride a horse, so he could only lead it to walk in the mountain path, but fortunately, the horse was not afraid of the difficult mountain road, although from time to time the iron hooves would slip, but after all, he staggered all the way to the final destination.

Looking at the village in the distance, which was built in the mountain col, there were originally hundreds of households, but now it is estimated that there is not even half of the number of people left, Xu Yan's heart finally had a trace of mixed feelings.

"After all, this place has become lonely because of the times!" Xu Yan sighed slightly in his heart, thinking to himself.

All the way into the village, Xu Yan was holding a horse in his hand, like a ranger from a foreign country. At the entrance of the village, he saw two old women with silver hair, washing the vegetables grown by the farmer, including turnips, greens, and sweet potatoes, on the edge of the stream.

Xu Yan saw the old people turning their heads to look at him, but there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes, obviously he didn't recognize him, he didn't care, just smiled at them lightly, and then entered the village.

"The latter looked a little familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere. ”

It was only when Xu Yan's back slowly disappeared on the stone-paved village road that one of the women by the stream spoke.

"I feel the same way, but I can't remember anything. ”

"Hey, it's just that the young people in the village are getting fewer and fewer every year, but it's a bit strange that he can lead horses to our village in the next life, and I don't know what he's going to do here. ”

"It's not something we can control, anyway, he looks quite good-eyed, but he doesn't look like a bad person, let him go. ”

......

Xu Yan didn't hear this conversation, but even if he did, it was estimated that he wouldn't say much.

He led the horse to his house, the wooden house with the door closed, the bronze lock he had given him when he left, and now after more than three years of wind and rain, it was rusty and it was evident that it could no longer be opened with a key.

Of course, he couldn't find the key for a long time, so he had no choice but to break the copper lock.

Xu Yan stretched out his hand and tugged the copper lock, and then pulled open the copper lock, which was not particularly strong, he gently pushed open the wooden house that had been with him for more than ten years, and there was a strong rotten musty smell in front of him, very pungent, and this smell was much heavier than when he climbed the fifth layer of the sword tower of the Lotus Sect.

Xu Yan couldn't help but fan the oncoming smell in front of his nose, until after a while, the smell gradually subsided.

There is no doubt that the house is covered with dust, and there are countless cobwebs, like dense gauze tents hanging everywhere, except for the poor furniture, only a square table and two benches are placed in the house, and other things that can be sold second-hand are sold together after his father's death to cover the cost of the funeral, as well as his later travel expenses to the Lotus Sect.

The two benches rested upside down on the top of the square table, with their feet facing the sky, looking old but undoubtedly intact, but the legs of the square table were rotting.

Xu Yan didn't plan to tidy them up again, but after seeing them, he couldn't help but think of the scene when he was a child, when the drunkard father made these two benches. He had never met his mother, except that his father had finally become depressed because of his mother's unexpected death, but the latter had dragged him until he was thirteen years old, and then he fell drunk on that snowy night.

It stands to reason that although it will snow in Xujia Village during the wax moon period, and it is not small, it is not enough to freeze people to death, but in the end, his father was still frozen to death.

"Hey!"

Xu Yan sighed softly.

This kind of heavy emotion that inexplicably rose in his heart made him feel both nostalgic and strange to him at this time, but he was actually very aware of the specific reasons for this complex emotion.

"It's gone, and it has to be let go. ”

Xu Yan sighed again in his heart, and then, he walked out of the wooden house that carried his entire childhood memories, and then gently closed the door again, as for whether it was locked or not, it seemed that there was no point anymore.

Xu Yan left the wooden house, and without looking back, he walked straight to the other side of the village.

About a quarter of an hour later.

He led the horse to another wooden house.

The wooden house was obviously still inhabited, and although it was dilapidated, it was very neat and tidy, and there was a smell of herbs coming from the house, all of which were familiar. Xu Yan stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath, then crossed the threshold under his feet and walked into the patio of the wooden house.

"Grandpa Xu. ”

Xu Yan looked at the old man who was sitting on the main hall with his body bent and stepping on the medicine mill with his feet and grinding herbs, and called softly.

When the old man heard the voice, he was humming a small tune to himself, and he looked leisurely and self-absorbed, but he immediately stopped the movement under his feet, he turned his head to look out of the door, and after seeing Xu Yan's face clearly, his face suddenly showed strong excitement, and he said in disbelief: "Yan'er, are you back?"

Xu Yan was so excited when he saw the old man's reaction, when he walked forward with a smile and replied, "Well, Grandpa Xu, it's me who is back." ”

The old man's name is Xu Yan, it can be said that the reason why Xu Yan went to the Lotus Sect to practice in the first place was because he asked the latter to do so, if it wasn't for his proposal, Xu Yan at this moment might really be a shopkeeper in the Fulu Inn in Wangchuan City.

For this grandfather Xu who almost changed his fate, Xu Yan has a lot of respect in his heart, you must know that when he was young, his father was a good gambler, and sometimes he gambled all day, and he couldn't take care of his diet and daily life at all, if it wasn't for the old man in front of him when he had no food to eat, he went to the latter's house to eat, his childhood would undoubtedly be more bumpy.

When Xu Yan saw Xu Yan walking in front of him, he couldn't help but look at him seriously, and saw that the latter was full of energy and was already a talent, so he couldn't help but praise excitedly and said, "Okay, good, it's good to be back." While speaking, Xu Yan also saw that there were tears looming in his eyes, and he couldn't help but feel moved by this, but then, Xu Yan saw him secretly wipe the corners of his eyes, and then continued: "By the way, Yan'er shouldn't have had lunch yet, right? Grandpa Xu will give you a hot meal, it just so happens that your Uncle Yuting went to the mountains to hunt a wild boar yesterday and came back, he specially gave me a front leg, Grandpa Xu is really old, and now I feel greasy when I eat a little meat, just you can help me solve it." ”

Xu Yan wanted to say that he had eaten dry food on the way, but when he saw the latter go to the kitchen and start to get busy while talking, he immediately changed his mind, because such kindness and love do not have to be polite and refuse, but taking the initiative to accept it is the best reward for the other party.

Xu Yan saw that the fire was already burning in the stove pit in the kitchen when Xu Yan stabbed, so he naturally did not sit idle, so he sat on the bamboo chair where the other party was sitting before, and then helped the latter start crushing those herbs.

Xu Yan, who was burning the fire, saw this scene, and the old tears that had just stopped couldn't help but roll down.

Once upon a time, when he was a child, he also helped him grind medicine like this, this scene seemed to have not changed at all, but in fact, they have all changed a long time ago, and the only thing that has not changed is the heart that is still tightly held together with each other.

It didn't take long for the kitchen to smell meat, no doubt from childhood.

Xu Yuting was good at hunting, and he knew this when Xu Yan was very young.

At that time, the population of the village was much larger than it is now, so when Xu Yuting hunted wild boars or roe deer in the mountains, not everyone had a good mouth to eat, but Xu Yan was called to his home by the other party every time to feast on it, so Xu Yan was also grateful to Xu Yuting, and the other party was Xu Hui's father, and he would definitely visit him when he returned to his hometown this time.

Xu Yan was called to the kitchen by Xu Yan to start eating, during which Xu Yan was trying to let him eat more meat, and Xu Yan was also very well-behaved and obedient, feasting without the slightest "mercy", four or five catties of wild boar meat quickly went down, and even some unfinished.

Xu Yan was relieved to see it, and laughed, and just when Xu Yan was eating a mouth full of oil, he suddenly remembered that the items he bought for the old man in Jinxi Town, when he took out all those things and put them on the table, he almost couldn't put them on the table.

Seeing this, Xu Yan hurriedly smiled and said: "I know how convenient it is for Grandpa Xu to go to the market, and I happened to pass by the town when I came back, so I thought that you should usually need these daily necessities, so I brought you back some at one time, oh, by the way, Grandpa Xu still has the habit of drinking now?"

As he spoke, Xu Yan took out a ten-year-old flower carving from the storage bag as if he were playing a trick.

Huadiao is rice wine, which can warm the stomach after being heated in warm water, and is suitable for people with cold physique. Now that the season has entered the winter moon, the weather is already very cold, and it is perfect to drink rice wine.

Xu Yan didn't want to sweep Xu Yan's excitement, when he poured out a jar of rice wine and put it in the pot to warm it, he said with a smile: "Grandpa Xu is getting older now, and he can only drink a cup of health every day, but he doesn't dare to drink like when he was young, he has to drink a good drink, but today a flame comes back to see me, Grandpa Xu is really very happy and happy, and he must drink two more glasses." ”

Xu Yan heard him say this, and even smiled and persuaded him: "This can't be done, even if Grandpa Xu is happy, then you can't drink more by temperament, wine is such a thing, drink the right amount of health, greedy cups can hurt your body." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he immediately smiled and said, "Okay, then Grandpa Xu will listen to Yan'er." ”

After three rounds of drinking, it is already close to Shen.

Xu Yan finally drank two glasses of rice wine, of course, because of his greed, and Xu Yan really couldn't bear to look at Huadiao like this, but he couldn't bear to endure it.

After drinking two glasses of rice wine, Xu Yan was satisfied, he was a person who loved wine, unlike Xu Yan's father, who was only an alcoholic, he could naturally drink the Huadiao that Xu Yan bought for him was of excellent grade, but after drinking, Xu Yan asked Xu Yan: "Yan'er is planning to go to see your parents?"

Xu Yan heard him take the initiative to mention this issue, nodded seriously, he didn't hide anything, and replied bluntly: "Well, Yan'er doesn't dare to hide it from Grandpa Xu, this time I returned to my hometown, in addition to coming back to visit you, I also want to go to my parents to offer incense." ”

After hearing this, Xu Yan nodded with satisfaction and said: "This is very good, Yan'er has a heart, it just so happens that it is still early, then you can go, by the way, do you have any preparations for the incense? If not, Grandpa Xu has it here, you can use it first." ”

Xu Yan smiled and replied: "Some of them, I bought them all when I was in the town, and the tributes were also prepared." ”

When Xu Yan heard this, he didn't say anything more, but said: "Then you can go, when you come back from the mountain, it is estimated that it will be close to the time of Hai, and then our grandfather and grandson will drink some more." ”

Xu Yan replied with a smile: "Okay, then I'll go to the mountain first." ”

......

Xu Yan's parents are buried together, built on the mountainside of the mountain behind the village, quite a distance from the village, under normal circumstances, it is estimated that it will take about an hour and a half to walk back and forth, but that is relative to normal people, and if Xu Yan is anxious, he can run wild on the mountain road, then it is estimated that half an hour is not needed.

Therefore, after Xu Yan left Xu Yan's home, he did not immediately set off to the back mountain, but went to Xu Hui's parents' house first.

Xu Yuting is not at home at the moment, and he naturally goes to work in the field in broad daylight, so it is Xu Hui's mother Wang who receives him, and Wang was not good to him before, because when Xu Yan was in Xujia Village, his personality was quite arrogant and obedient, and of course she didn't like him. Looking back now, at that time, he was actually just to avoid being bullied by his peers, so he treated himself with this image, after all, he didn't have a mother, and his father was drunk all day long, and his temperament was very gentle and honest. If he wasn't stronger, he would have to be bullied by his peers in the village.

However, his temper was not good back then, and now he naturally won't be like this anymore, so when Wang saw Xu Yan appear in front of him with a polite and many gifts, she almost couldn't believe that the person in front of her and the bad boy back then would be the same person.

Xu Yan didn't stay at Xu Hui's house for too long, and after a brief polite greeting with the Wang family and some things about Xu Hui's situation in the Lotus Sect, he explained the reason to the Wang family, and left first and continued to travel to the back mountain.

After Wang heard the reason, he was also happy that he had such filial piety, so naturally he couldn't force him to stay at home for too long, but when saying goodbye, she still asked him to remember to go to her house for a meal before leaving the village.

Xu Yan did not refuse her kindness, and responded with a smile.

After leaving Xu Hui's house, Xu Yan's mood was much more relaxed, because his goal of returning to Xujia Village on this trip was completely two, and only the last one was left, although during this period, he did not see the Uncle Yuting who had been abused by his wife and wanted to let him go to the latter's house to eat game.

"But before leaving, I always find an opportunity to thank the other person in person. He thought.

However, Xu Yan didn't know that after he went up the mountain, an elderly man was ushered in in this remote and poor village.

The old man was dressed in a gorgeous brocade robe, and his white hair was like snow.