leonardwarren Chapter 7 Heaven
Chapter 7 Heaven
Before dark, Xiao Hua prepared the meal and served it to the table with a beaming smile. One dish was dried vegetables, and the other was steamed tofu.
It wasn't a particularly lavish meal, but it was prepared with great care.
After standing by the table and pursing his lips, he went back into the inner room and took out a pot of wine.
"Brother Yuan, it's just simple food, please don't mind."
"What are you saying? These days, it's good enough to have something to eat." Lu Yuan sat down with a smile, showing no sign of disdain.
He took the brown rice bun that Xiao Hua brought him and started eating.
When Xiao Hua and her mother moved here, they had some savings, but her mother had been bedridden for many years, so all of their savings were used to buy medicine, and now they were struggling to make ends meet.
Xiao Hua usually makes clothes for others at home to supplement the family income. She is very good at embroidery, with neat stitches and can weave various patterns, so many people seek her out.
They could barely support the mother and daughter, but they were far from well-off, especially since there was a sick person among them. They were lucky to survive by being frugal.
After Lu Yuan started eating, Xiao Hua served her mother her medicine while chatting with her.
After the meal, the three of them had become acquainted.
Seeing that it was getting dark outside, Lu Yuan wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'll head back now. You can call me if you need anything in the future."
"Okay, Brother Yuan," Xiao Hua said with a grin.
She is cheerful and her personality did not change because she had to take care of her mother and support her family.
After Lu Yuan left.
Only the mother and daughter remained in the room. The middle-aged woman, lying on the bed, coughed and said, "Cough cough, there's nothing suspicious. They must have really been exiled here."
Last night, after those people arrived at Ice Valley Alley, they didn't make a move immediately; they just loitered around the area. This means they haven't confirmed our identities yet, cough cough..."
The middle-aged woman coughed even more violently as soon as she finished speaking.
"Mother, don't overthink it. I don't think Lu Yuan is from that side. Just focus on getting better. Besides, when we came here back then, we used the secret agents of Dayong. Now he has completely gone into hiding. We haven't received any special treatment over the years, so we won't leave any evidence against him."
Xiao Hua gently comforted her mother.
The other person nodded without saying anything, but pulled the blanket up a little higher and stroked Xiao Hua's long hair, saying, "I'm sorry you've suffered, but don't worry, this kind of life won't last much longer."
Ten years have passed, and your grandfather will soon be taking action.
However, it is precisely at such an important time that we must be extra careful. Your cultivation practices must absolutely not be revealed.
"Yes." Xiao Hua nodded gently.
In Zhou Xiong's room at the city defense camp, a pot of wine that had already been warmed was placed on a small table, along with several snacks to accompany the wine.
Sitting opposite him was Zhou He.
While drinking and warming himself by the fire, he noticed that his armor had been removed at some point.
"What do you think of Lu Yuan?" Zhou Xiong asked softly after picking up a piece of food.
"That's great. He's so young and already entered the country, and he's a nice person too. Anyway, we had a good time together today," Zhou He said nonchalantly.
"Bang!" Zhou Xiong hit him on the head with a chopstick.
"Is that what I asked you? I meant, is it possible for them to join our Zhou family?"
"Uncle, it can't be that bad. He's only a squad leader now, and he hasn't been in the country for very long. If you recommend him to the young lady, you'll get a beating," Zhou He said with a wry smile.
The Zhou family is a prominent family in the northern frontier. General Yanzhou is the head of the Zhou family, and Zhou Ruowei, the garrison commander of Bingyuan City, also comes from the Zhou family. She is the eldest daughter of the Zhou family's eldest branch.
Zhou Xiong and Zhou He are both disciples of a branch of the family.
Besides their regular duties, they also had the responsibility of recruiting talented individuals for the Zhou family.
After all, the Zhou family can firmly hold the position of General of Yanzhou not by relying on just a few people in the family, but by constantly recruiting talented individuals to become their disciples.
He was my student and an old friend.
These details are the essentials, while Lu Yuan's displayed talent is worth observing.
His cultivation level upon entering the realm wouldn't necessarily cause him to act this way; it's mainly because his swordsmanship is highly accomplished, which indicates that he has a very high level of comprehension.
After all, under normal circumstances, it would be quite impressive for a veteran who has practiced swordsmanship for decades to reach this level.
Besides, the other party is just a teenager.
"What do you know? Lu Yuan's swordsmanship is already mastered, while you've been practicing since childhood and your family's hammer technique is only at a minor level. He's only a few years younger than you and he's already mastered it. Besides, I didn't say I'd recommend him to the young lady right now."
I was just asking how you are doing, why are you asking so many questions?
"Of course he'd be willing. Everyone knows our Zhou family is a military family. Besides, we're not taking in servants, just disciples. It's just an extra layer of connection, but it'll bring him many benefits. At the very least, in Yanzhou, he'll get promoted much faster," Zhou He said, chewing his food.
"Yes, that's what I think too, but let's wait and see. It's not really appropriate to recommend someone for entry. If he can forge his bones before he turns eighteen and master swordsmanship, then there won't be any problem."
Zhou Xiong spoke up.
At this moment, Zhou He sipped his wine and squinted his eyes, saying, "Uncle, Lu Yuan's neighbor is not simple, is he? Judging from the situation last night, it seems that the Northern Barbarian spies were heading towards that house, but they did not make any offense."
On the contrary, during combat, you try to avoid it as much as possible, and you seem to be deliberately avoiding it as well. Is there some explanation for this?
"I don't know either, but there is indeed some background to it. I heard that the higher-ups ordered us to take care of it secretly and not to disturb it. It's better not to ask about these things. Let's just do our own thing. This Great Yong has eight thousand miles of northern border, hundreds of fortified cities, a mixed bag of people. What doesn't it have?" Zhou Xiong said softly while drinking his wine.
Zhou He nodded silently.
Just as the uncle and nephew were talking.
Lu Yuan returned to his home. The stove was still burning, and as soon as he opened the door, a wave of heat hit him.
After drinking a cup of tea, I lit the fire on the kang (heated brick bed).
Then I opened "Golden Bell Cover" to take a look.
It is indeed a very good body-refining technique. According to the text, it is easy to get started, but it is very difficult to achieve even a minor level of mastery.
Very few people can master the art.
At this stage, attacks from those of the same cultivation level can be almost ignored.
Once perfected, one can withstand even those who are a realm higher than oneself.
Moreover, it greatly increases strength.
In fact, it is quite suitable for military personnel to practice, but it is difficult for ordinary people to master it.
However, Lu Yuan was not afraid, because he had a system and there were no bottlenecks for him.
As for the hardships of body tempering described above, he didn't care about them at all. What he feared most now was not being able to stand out from the crowd, just like the original owner of this body, who was abandoned by others as soon as he encountered any trouble.
He wanted to control his destiny and become the decision-maker.
Instead of becoming someone else's pawn.
After memorizing "The Golden Bell Cover".
Lu Yuan removed his armor and went outside to practice his swordsmanship.
In his mind, the system's voice kept issuing reminders.
[The host swings the sword once, increasing the proficiency of the "Eight Styles of Breaking the Edge" by 1.]
[The host swings the sword once, increasing the proficiency of the "Eight Styles of Breaking the Edge" by 1.]
[The host swings the sword once, increasing the proficiency of the "Eight Styles of Breaking the Edge" by 1.]
......
After practicing swordsmanship for an hour.
Lu Yuan did not stop what he was doing. Instead, he stood next to a cycad, a tree unique to northern Xinjiang, in the courtyard and kept banging his body against the trunk.
He was pounding his own body.
Ironwood is hard, comparable to steel, and even ordinary blades can hardly damage it, making it a good choice for practicing the "Golden Bell Cover" technique.
As his shoulder repeatedly struck it.
A dull thud emanated from the courtyard.
At the same time, the system's voice sounded in my mind again.
[The host's body has suffered a tremendous impact; skill level in "Golden Bell Shield" increases by 1.]
......
After another hour of practice, even with Lu Yuan's physique, he was slightly out of breath. He then returned to his room and began practicing the Crouching Tiger Stance.
In this world, everything is determined by strength; without strength, it's all just empty talk.
Compared to life and death, everything else is just a scratch.
The most important thing is to make yourself stronger.
For the next period of time, Lu Yuan was engaged in high-intensity training almost every day. After becoming a formal squad leader of the city guard, he was on duty at the city gate every ten days.
There was plenty of time, and I managed to get some things done.
For example, he rented out all fifty acres of land. Although the amount was considerable, the output of land in the north was limited, so he only received fifteen taels of silver a year. This was the market rate, and there was nothing to complain about.
At the same time, when he has nothing to do, he also goes out for drinks with Lao Huang.
He also gradually became acquainted with Xiao Hua next door. Sometimes she would come over to visit, and if she saw that his clothes were torn, she would mend them for him.
The neighborhood relations are quite harmonious.
In the blink of an eye, ten days have passed.
Tomorrow is Lu Yuan's turn to be on duty. After finishing his cultivation today, he opened the system panel to check his cultivation progress in recent days.