The Vanished Truth

Although Xu Xinnian often despised his uncouth father and elder brother in his heart, his father was his father. He could despise them himself, but he would not allow outsiders to slander them.

Therefore, upon hearing Zhao Panyi's accusation, Xu Xinnian first quickly calculated his and his sister's ages in his mind to confirm that he was indeed her biological daughter. Only then did he fly into a rage, flicking his sleeve and sneering:

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

The Battle of Shanhai Pass took place 21 years ago. He was 20 years old at the time, Lingyue was 18. The timeline doesn't match up, so neither he nor Lingyue are orphans of the Zhou family.

Zhao Panyi scoffed, "He's been dead for 21 years, what evidence could he possibly have? But Xu Pingzhi is ungrateful, that's all. Why would I bother slandering him?"

Xu Erlang didn't believe him and waved his hand, "Come on, tie this scoundrel up!"

The soldiers who were cooking the meat had been watching the commotion closely. Upon hearing this, they drew their swords and swarmed over, surrounding Zhao Panyi and the other thirty soldiers.

Zhao Panyi's soldiers drew their swords, their faces fierce as they confronted their comrades. Despite being wounded and outnumbered, they were not afraid at all.

Being on the battlefield is like being in hell. Since the start of the campaign, we have fought against the Jingguo cavalry in turn, and our ferocity has long been cultivated. No one is afraid of death.

Zhao Panyi gestured for his subordinates not to act rashly, then spat out a mouthful of phlegm and said disdainfully, "I don't fight to the death with my comrades, unlike some people. Like father, like son, they're both ungrateful bastards."

Xu Erlang's face darkened, and he shouted, "Tie them up."

The soldiers swarmed forward, knocking Zhao Panyi and the others down with the hilts of their swords, binding them hand and foot, and tossing them aside before returning to cook the horse meat.

Zhao Panyi continued to curse and swear, insulting the Xu Household for eighteen generations, including the women.

Xu Xinnian then ordered his soldiers to gag Zhao Panyi, so that he could only make muffled noises and could no longer utter foul language.

"Family matters?"

Seeing his furrowed brows, Chu Yuanzhen smiled and probed.

Xu Xinnian shook his head, glancing at the ground not far away, and said hesitantly, "I don't believe my father would be that kind of person, but Zhao Panyi's words reminded me of something. So I'll keep him here for now."

During his childhood, his eldest brother and mother had a strained relationship, which caused his father a lot of headaches. So his father often said that he and his eldest uncle fought back to back, and his eldest uncle took a knife for him and died on the battlefield.

Xu Erlang had heard about it since he was a child, but now, this Zhou Biao who 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 elder brother?"

Xu Erlang is quite cautious. There are no outsiders here; why not just mention the Earth Book directly? Chu Yuanzhen reached out and took out a fragment of the Earth Book, asking, "Do you want to contact Ningyan? Go ahead, what's the matter?"

Xu Xinnian glanced at the fragment of the Earth Book in surprise and said, "Tell him about what happened here and have him verify it with my father."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Chu Yuanzhen using his hand as a brush to write on the surface of the small jade mirror.

As the sun was completely swallowed by the horizon, the sky turned a deep blue. After finishing dinner, Xu Qi'an took advantage of the still-dark sky and, before nightfall, leisurely digested his meal in the yard, playing shuttlecock with the little boy.

The little one can't control his strength very well yet, and he always kicks the shuttlecock into the outer yard or kicks a hole in the ground.

Her strength has increased too fast! She's only been practicing the Body Tempering Technique of the Power Gu Clan for a few months! Is it her good fortune or mine? Xu Qi'an was almost stunned.

"Lina, what's going on with Lingyin? Her progress is way too exaggerated!"

He turned to look at Lina, who was sitting to the side, peeling and eating oranges.

Lina wrinkled her nose upon hearing this. "I told you that Lingyin is as strong as an ox, with abundant Qi and Blood, a good candidate for cultivating the Power Gu. Don't you believe my judgment?"

"This seedling is too good! I'm almost jealous." Xu Qi'an held the shuttlecock in his hand, looked at the shallow pit under Xu Lingyin's feet, and said helplessly:

"She can't control her strength yet, and she easily overexerts herself. Let's slow down her training for now."

Little Douding is a lively and active child who is quite attached to her aunt. At the beginning of the year, she went to school. Whenever she came home, she would run wildly into the living room with her little schoolbag on her back and charge at her mother's round and perky peach-shaped buttocks.

Now that I'm at home more often, I'm not as clingy to my aunt.

She might go out again someday. And with her current power, the Xu Household might have three more children without mothers.

"Oh!"

Lina nodded. She remembered that Lingyin was not a child of the Li Gu tribe. Children of the Li Gu tribe could use violence without restraint and were not afraid of hurting their families.

If you break household appliances or items, you should also be wary of your parents using violence against you without restraint.

But Lingyin is different; the Xu Household consists of ordinary people.

Xu Qi'an was satisfied. Although the little black girl from Southern Frontier was indeed a simple-minded girl, the advantage of being simple-minded was that she was not spoiled and was obedient and sensible.

If the same question were asked to Li Miaozhen, she would say, "Don't worry, from now on, the training intensity will be doubled to ensure that she can control her strength in the shortest possible time."

In Lin'an: Then let's not study, let's play together!

Caiwei: Cultivation is so boring, let's eat something.

Huaiqing: Are you teaching me how to do things?

At that moment, a familiar feeling of palpitation came over him, Xu Qi'an immediately abandoned Xiaodouding and Lina, and hurried into the room.

Pulling the fragment of the Earth Book out from under his pillow, Chu Yuanzhen had initiated a private chat request.

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

[Four: The war is difficult, but not too bad; both sides have their victories and defeats. I've come to you to ask you something on behalf of Erlang.]

A dozen seconds later, a second message arrived: [Four: We encountered a military officer from Xi County, Yongzhou named Zhao Panyi, who claimed to be a close sworn brother of Xu Household's second uncle during the Battle of Shanhai Pass.]

[Upon seeing Xu Erlang, he launched into a tirade of abuse, calling Second Uncle Xu an ungrateful wretch. The reason was that Zhao Panyi, Second Uncle Xu, and a man named Zhou Biao had been close brothers in the same unit, fighting side-by-side on the battlefield.]

[Later, Zhou Biao took a knife for Second Uncle Xu and died on the battlefield. Second Uncle Xu swore to treat Zhou Biao's family well, but Second Uncle Xu broke his promise and never visited Zhou Biao's family for twenty years. Cijiu doesn't believe this, so he asked me to deliver this letter to you and ask you to inquire about Second Uncle Xu.]

With trembling hands, Xu Qi'an wrote the reply: [Wait for me!]

After carefully storing the fragments of the Earth Book, he didn't immediately go to find his second uncle. Instead, he poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly. Once he finished the water, his hands stopped trembling.

"Squeak"

Opening the door, Xu Qi'an walked expressionlessly towards the east wing and knocked on the door, which was illuminated by candlelight.

Second Uncle Xu, dressed in casual clothes, came over to open the door and said with a smile, "Ningyan, is there something you need?"

Xu Qi'an opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitated for a few seconds, and asked softly, "Second Uncle, do you know Zhao Panyi?"

Second Uncle Xu was clearly taken aback. His tiger-like eyes widened slightly, and he said in astonishment, "How do you know the brothers I made with back in the Battle of Shanhai Pass? Let me tell you, they are brothers I've risked my life for."

Xu Qi'an nodded. "Why did you stop contacting me later?"

Second Uncle Xu shook his head and chuckled, "You don't understand. In the military, everyone is scattered across the country, each with their own responsibilities. Over time, the feelings fade."

Xu Qi'an nodded again, then asked, "So you must know Zhou Biao too?"

Second Uncle Xu scrutinized his nephew, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong with you today? How do you know about Zhao Panyi and Zhou Biao?"

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

"Yes, it's a pity we lost a brother."

How did he die?

"Back then, we were sent to intercept the Corpse Soldiers of the Witch God Cult, and Zhou Biao died in that battle." Second Uncle Xu sighed deeply.

"Wasn't I taking the knife for you?"

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

"."

A gust of bleak autumn wind blew by, and under the eaves, the lanterns swayed slightly, the candlelight flickering, illuminating Xu Qi'an's face with an uncertain expression.

"I understand, thank you, Second Uncle."

After a long while, Xu Qi'an said in a hoarse voice, and then, under the puzzled gaze of his Second Uncle Xu, he slowly turned and left.

Second Uncle Xu watched his nephew's back as he left, then returned to the house. His aunt, dressed in a white undershirt, sat on the bed with her long legs bent, looking at a comic book of folk tales.

Comic books are reading materials specifically developed for young children and illiterate people like aunts.

The beautiful, voluptuous aunt didn't even look up, engrossed in the comic book, and said, "What does Ningyan want with you? I heard you were talking about some brother."

Second Uncle Xu frowned, puzzled, and asked:

"Strange, he asked about two brothers who fought alongside me during the Battle of Shanhai Pass. But one had already died in battle, and the other was far away in Yongzhou. He shouldn't know them."

"They even asked me if Zhou Biao took a knife for me. Am I that weak on the battlefield, with this person taking a knife for me and that person taking a knife for me?"

His aunt looked up, her dark, bright eyes scrutinizing him, and frowned, saying, "Wait, who was it again?"

"Zhou Biao, you don't know him? He's a brother from my time in the army."

Aunt shook her head. "No, I remember him. When you wrote home, you seemed to mention him, saying that you were able to survive thanks to him or something. I remember Ningyan's mother read that letter to me."

Unfortunately, the letters from twenty years ago are long gone.

Second Uncle Xu's face suddenly froze, staring at his wife in disbelief as if she were a madwoman.

[Three: Tell Erlang that this person did indeed exist, and that it was Ershu who wronged him.]

After sending the message, Xu Qi'an gently placed the fragment of the Earth Book on the table and said softly, "Please go out for a moment. I want to be alone."

Not far away, Zhong Li, lying on the small couch, glanced at him cautiously, then, dragging her embroidered shoes, tiptoed away.

The door to the room closed, Xu Qi'an sat motionless at the table for a long, long time, like a statue.

In the distant northern border, Chu Yuanzhen finished reading the message, remained silent for a moment, and then turned to look at Xu Xinnian beside him.

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

Xu Xinnian's face was extremely grim. He remained silent for a long while, then drew his knife and walked towards Zhao Panyi.

Zhao Panyi's eyes widened suddenly as he stared intently at Xu Xinnian, making "woo-woo" sounds.

His subordinates were on high alert and began to hurl insults.

The soldiers who were eating meat soup also looked over when they heard the noise.

Xu Xinnian twisted his wrist, severing the rope with a single stroke. He casually tossed the knife aside, bowed deeply, and said, "It was my father who was a heartless son. The sins of the father must be paid by the son. Do whatever you want."

Zhao Panyi slowly stood up, both disdainful and puzzled, unable to understand why this kid's attitude had changed so drastically.

He scoffed, "Xu Pingzhi didn't wrong me, so why are you putting on this act with me?"

Zhao Panyi spat at Xu Xinnian's feet, bent down to pick up his sword, untied his subordinates, and prepared to leave with his men.

"Etc!"

Xu Xinnian called out to them, saying, "The brothers are all injured and starving. Stay and get bandaged up, and have a bowl of meat soup before you go."

Seeing that Zhao Panyi was unmoved, he immediately said, "Your matter with my father is a private matter and has nothing to do with the brothers. You cannot disregard the lives of the soldiers of Great Feng for your own personal grudge."

Xu Xinnian successfully persuaded Zhao Panyi to stay, albeit reluctantly. Zhao Panyi sat around the campfire with his comrades, sharing the tender and fragrant meat soup, a satisfied smile on his face.

Xu Xinnian returned to Chu Yuanzhen's side, staring at the small jade mirror in his hand, and clicked his tongue in amazement. "You used this to contact my elder brother?"

Chu Yuanzhen chuckled, a carefree smile on his face, "Of course, the Earth Book can transmit messages from thousands of miles away."

His smile suddenly froze, and he slowly twisted his neck, staring blankly at Xu Xinnian.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xinnian asked, bewildered.

"You don't recognize the fragments of the Earth Book?" Chu Yuanzhen asked, his mouth agape as he uttered each word clearly.

"What are fragments of the Earth Book?" Xu Xinnian was still clueless.

Thump, thump, thump. Chu Yuanzhen was so startled that he took several steps back, his voice slightly shrill. "You're not Number Three?!"

What is number three?

With a thud, the fragment of the Earth Book slipped from Chu Yuanzhen's hand and fell to the ground.

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

He sighed, bent down, slipped his arms under her legs, and lifted her up, the touch of her arms smooth and full.

Back in the room, I placed Zhong Li on the small couch and covered her with a light blanket. It was autumn, and if I didn't cover her with a blanket, given her bad luck, she would definitely catch a cold tomorrow morning.

"Call"

After blowing out the candles, Xu Qi'an huddled under the covers and fell asleep immediately.

As drowsiness crept in, my last thought was: I seem to have overlooked something very important!