Longevity starts with strengthening the internal organs

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the sugar melons are sticky.

According to custom, this is a day for worshiping stoves and sweeping dust, so on this day, every household will start to get busy.

Rich families set a large table with offerings and pray for the Kitchen Lord’s blessing.

People who don't have money will buy a few sugar melons to show their appreciation.

The flavor of the New Year also becomes stronger and stronger from this time on.

At the same time, at the west gate of the county city, several guards in armor were gathering around a fire to keep warm.

The cold wind was howling and they were wearing armor, so even if they were close to the warm flames, the guards were still freezing.

Despite this, when a large group of merchants passes through, these guards will still perform their duties and come forward to inspect.

Some merchants tried to pay bribes, but they sternly refused.

However, they did not make things difficult and would release them as soon as possible after confirming that there were no problems.

After finishing their busy work, the sun was already rising high. One of the guards looked at the pedestrians chatting and laughing with some envy as they rushed home, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It's great. When can we have a home in the county?"

Someone next to him laughed and said, "Hey, Seventh, you are greedy for your wife!"

"That's right, I'm greedy for a wife. What's the matter? Don't you want a wife?" the guard known as Lao Qi immediately retorted.

The other party was speechless after saying this, and the guards who were warming themselves by the fire at the city gate were also silent.

yes!

Who doesn’t want to marry a wife and start a family?

But the key is that their previous identities did not allow them to do this!

As a former cavalryman under Wei Hongbin, which girl from a good family would be willing to marry them?

Let alone a girl from a good family, there are those who really can't hold back their anger and plan to go to Goulanwasi to find a singing prostitute to chat about life. However, when the other party heard about their identities, they showed contempt and were unwilling to give them money. Serve.

There is no other reason.

The reputation of Wei Hongbin and his men in Yunxiao County is really bad.

Even if these people didn't do anything bad in the first place, once they are branded with this label, it will be difficult to get rid of it for life.

This is also the reason why these guards are in a sad mood.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard coming from the long street, and then a captain in armor came to the city gate alone.

When he dismounted and lifted his cloak, it was Sun Yingkui.

His face was covered with frost, and his eyebrows and beard were frozen.

Despite this, he still didn't stop at all and asked.

"Is there anything going on?"

The guards shook their heads.

"Captain Qi, everything is as usual."

"Okay, now that the new year is approaching, there will inevitably be those blind bandits who plan to sneak into the city, so you must not take it lightly." Sun Yingkui instructed.

"I'll understand later."

Seeing these guards standing in the cold wind but not daring to leave their posts without permission, Sun Yingkui sighed secretly.

How could he not know the embarrassing situation these people were in?

This is why he patrols the city several times every day.

They are just afraid that something will happen if these guards become lax or unable to withstand the temptation.

This kind of thing may not be a big deal to other people, but to them, a group of guards who have committed crimes and made meritorious deeds, it is like a catastrophe.

Because there were countless pairs of eyes staring at them from top to bottom in the entire county.

Fortunately, these guards also understood this truth, so they have been working diligently without making any mistakes.

After a few more words of encouragement, Sun Yingkui turned around and was about to leave.

There was a sudden commotion on the official road, and then someone shouted: "It's Young Master Zhao!"

"Young Master Zhao is back from abroad!"

Sun Yingkui was shocked and immediately raised his eyes.

as expected.

A dusty carriage appeared on the official road, and the smiling young man sitting on the shaft was Zhao Ya.

A large number of people had gathered around the carriage, chatting with Zhao Ya enthusiastically.

Even some of the bold women crowded forward with excitement on their faces and said something almost admiringly.

When Sun Yingkui saw this, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

He knew that Zhao Ya was now quite popular in the county, but he did not expect that he would be so popular.

But this is not unusual. After all, in the past year, it was Zhao Ya's intervention that brought the county city back to life.

Nowadays, it is not said that everyone in the county has enough to eat, but at least the phenomenon of people starving to death has basically disappeared.

This alone is enough to make people sigh. Coupled with the improvement of public security and the return to peace around the county, it is not surprising that Zhao Ya can win the support of the people at the bottom.

Zhao Ya walked for more than a quarter of an hour in the short distance from the official road to the city gate. In the end, Sun Yingkui came forward and allowed these enthusiastic people to disperse.

Then Sun Yingkui and his guards saluted Zhao Ya in unison.

Zhao Ya smiled and waved his hand, "Okay, there's no need to be so polite. Is the city still peaceful while I'm away?"

"Nothing happened." Sun Yingkui responded.

"That's good!"

As Zhao Ya drove the carriage towards the city, Sun Yingkui and everyone watched.

Suddenly, Zhao Ya thought of something and threw a small bag over.

Sun Yingkui reached out to catch it, and then Zhao Ya's voice came.

"Today is the New Year. You have all worked hard. After your shift is over, you can go have a few drinks in the city. It's my invitation!"

Inside the packet were several banknotes.

Sun Yingkui and these guards all felt warm in their hearts.

Not only because of these banknotes, but more importantly, someone finally saw his efforts.

"No wonder Shaoxia Zhao is famous all over the county at such a young age. He is really amazing in his conduct!" One of the guards exclaimed in admiration.

Zhao Ya naturally didn't know this. At this moment, he drove the carriage quickly across the street and arrived in front of Dingtai Martial Arts Hall.

When they saw him, the guard in front of the door was stunned for a moment, and then shouted in surprise.

"Uncle Junior is back!"

"The young master is back!"

The shouts came one after another, and Zhao Ya felt a little helpless.

Because some of those people who keep calling them master have their beards a little gray.

If this happens in a few years, wouldn't it be time for someone to call him master?

At this time, Miao Shaocheng and Xu De hurried to the door. When they saw that Zhao Ya and Meng Shiwen were back, they couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"I also said that you have to celebrate the New Year before coming back. If Zui'er hadn't followed you, I would have even suspected that you had smuggled Senior Sister away!"

Miao Shaocheng was as unobtrusive as ever.

Xu De didn't stop him even if he wanted to, and couldn't help but glance at Meng Shiwen worriedly.

But seeing that she wasn't angry at all, as if she didn't hear anything, she took Zui'er and left.

Seeing this scene, Xu De couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

fortunately.

Senior sister didn't pay attention, otherwise Lao Miao would be miserable today.

Thinking of this, he gave Miao Shaocheng a hard look.

Miao Shaocheng also consciously made a mistake, scratched his scalp and giggled.

"Let's go and see the master first. The master has been talking about you these days!" Xu De said.

When they arrived at the back study, Lu Dingtai was writing.

After entering the fifth realm, Lu Dingtai's power was increasing day by day, and he could restrain himself a little when writing.

"Master!" Zhao Ya saluted respectfully.

"You're back!" Lu Dingtai asked without raising his head.

"yes!"

"Is everything done?"

"Go back to Master, everything is done!"

"tell me the story."

So Zhao Ya briefly told Lu Dingtai what happened after returning to Wuxiang City.

After listening, Lu Dingtai put down the pen in his hand, wiped his hands with a hot towel, and looked up at Zhao Ya.

"World Refining Sect? Haha, these monsters have actually appeared. It seems like the world is really going to be in chaos!" Lu Dingtai sneered.

"Master, do you also know about the World Refining Sect?"

"Of course I know. Do you think that Master and I have been guarding this three-acre area of ​​​​the county city and have no understanding of the situation outside? Don't forget, Master, I once traveled all over the world and fought with swords in the rivers and lakes." Lu Dingtai said with a proud face.

Zhao Ya didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Master's arrogant character has become more and more obvious.

So he didn't dare to speak, he just nodded in agreement.

"Back then, this demon sect was not well-known, and many of them had completely perished. But I didn't expect that with the collapse of Dayan, these descendants of the demon sect are starting to make trouble again."

"But you did a good job this time. You actually completely wiped out Qingzhuling. The Lianshi Sect also lost five Gu masters. It's considered a serious loss of vitality. You won't be able to regain its strength in a short time."

Speaking of this, Lu Dingtai glanced at Zhao Ya, "And I saw that when you came in, your footwork was like flying on the air. It seems that your Qinggong has improved again!"

"It's Master, he really has some insights."

Zhao Ya didn't hide it either.

Because in front of Lu Dingtai, he couldn't hide his progress no matter what, and he didn't want to hide it either.

"Very good, it seems that your understanding is indeed extraordinary." Lu Dingtai nodded with satisfaction, and suddenly looked at Xu De and Miao Shaocheng standing aside with hatred.

"Look at you little junior brothers, and then look at yourselves. You are still eating and sleeping all day long. Don't you know how to make progress?"

Xu De and Miao Shaocheng lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.

When Zhao Ya saw this, he quickly smoothed things over.

"Hey, why haven't you seen the second senior brother?"

"Him? Huh! He forgot about his mother after marrying his wife. He hasn't been seen in the past few days. Who knows what he has been doing!" Lu Dingtai said.

At this moment, Shen Dao's laughter came from the courtyard.

"Master, you have wronged me. Didn't I come to visit you yesterday?"

Following the words, Shen Dao and Shi Qingqing walked into the house hand in hand.

Lu Dingtai, who was originally full of displeasure, quickly softened his expression when he saw his apprentice arriving with his wife, and even nodded to Shi Qingqing.

"Qingqing, what do you think of this calligraphy I just wrote as a teacher?"

Shi Qingqing walked closer, looked up and down, and then couldn't help but sigh: "Master, your handwriting is getting better and better. In my opinion, even the calligraphy masters in the capital can only do this!"

"oh?"

Lu Dingtai looked happy, but he was a little embarrassed to admit it. He could only ask: "Where is the best place? Please tell me."

"Look, this font is majestic and majestic, and contains a strong character. What's even more valuable is that it doesn't appear to be sharp because of it. Instead, it has a restrained flavor of brilliance. It's really amazing!"

"Hahahaha, it's not as good as you said. I just wrote it casually for fun!"

Although he said so, the joy on Lu Dingtai's face still betrayed him.

The four senior brothers in the distance looked at this scene and couldn't help but be filled with emotion.

"Second Senior Brother, why do I feel that in Master's mind, my junior brother ranks first, followed closely by my sister-in-law?" Miao Shaocheng said.

"You don't have to think about it, it's just the way it is!" Xu De affirmed.

Shen Dao then smiled and said, "But that's fine. Master is getting more and more angry now. It's good to cultivate his temperament by writing. It just so happens that Qingqing has been practicing calligraphy since he was a child. He is smart and can coax the master with just a few words. Be happy, why not?”

As he spoke, Shen Dao patted Zhao Ya on the shoulder, "Junior brother, when I heard that you were back, your sister-in-law bought a lot of vegetables. She will stay at my place tonight. We won't go home until we get drunk!"

Looking at the second senior brother who was obviously starting to gain weight, Zhao Ya thought that marriage is indeed the best medicine for a man to gain weight, and then nodded with a smile.

"Even if you don't say anything, senior brother, I will still have to bother you!"

That night, Zhao Ya took Zui'er, Miao Shaocheng and Xu De to drink at Shen Dao's house.

In order to entertain them, Shi Qingqing cooked a table full of dishes himself.

And just when their brothers and sisters were feasting.

Meng Shiwen met Lu Dingtai in the study.

"Master!"

"Well, have you paid your respects?"

Although he was polite to Miao Shaocheng and others, Lu Dingtai was surprisingly gentle when facing Meng Shiwen.

"yes!"

"Just pay homage and let him let go of the past grudges. After all, he is still your father." Lu Dingtai sighed.

Meng Shiwen hesitated for a moment, and then asked in a low voice: "Master, what happened between you and my father back then that made it so tense?"

Hearing this, Lu Dingtai was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said: "It's all in the past, so there's no need to ask anymore, but I can tell you that your father is a good man, but he is a little extreme in his behavior."

"Go, it's getting late, your second junior brother must have already started dinner, so go over and join in the fun!"

Lu Dingtai waved his hand and signaled Meng Shiwen to leave.

Meng Shiwen was silent for a moment, then said goodbye and left.

After she left, Lu Dingtai sat on the chair without speaking for a long time, and it was not until a long time later that he sighed slightly.

"Junior brother, I really don't know whether it's good or bad for her to hide it like this. After all, it's you on one side and her... mother on the other!"

As he spoke, Lu Dingtai looked sad, as if he had suddenly become much older.

After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year is coming.

This is the second New Year that Zhao Ya and Zui'er have spent in the county town, but this year is very different from last year.

Because so many things happened in this year.

As the absolute protagonist, Zhao Ya naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Invitations came like a snowflake, and Zhao Ya refused most of them. Only a few with whom he had a really good relationship would accept the invitation.

Even so, it still took me more than ten days to finish the year.

After the New Year, everything gradually returned to normal.

Zhao Ya also quickly devoted himself to training and did not dare to slack off at all.

On this day, when he was practicing in full swing, an invitation came quietly, with only three words on it.

Shang Luoluo.