My Sword Has a Way

Chapter 1 House Apprentice 4 Walls

It is late autumn and winter is coming. A breeze blows and leaves fall.

Just as dawn was breaking, in a secluded mountain village within the borders of Daliang, a thin young man was holding a rope tied to a wooden barrel. Then, accompanied by the creaking sound of the wheel frame, the barrel slowly sank into the bluestone well.

Just a moment later, amid the sound of ripples, the boy took out the wooden bucket full of water again and placed it at his feet.

The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand and sat down beside the stone well.

Looking at the curl of smoke rising not far away, the young man touched his belly with some envy.

He knew that the Zhang family must be cooking the millet porridge that he could only dream of, so he said to himself: "When God gives a man a great responsibility, he must first make his mind suffer, his muscles and bones tired, and his body hungry."

The boy was wearing a ragged linen shirt, about fourteen or fifteen years old, surnamed Xu, given name Zhian, his parents died early, and since he could remember, he had lived with his foster mother named Qi in this small mountain village called Xiaolingang.

At first, the family was well-off and had a few acres of good farmland. Later, the adoptive mother suffered from poor health and had to stay in bed for many years, and eventually the family's wealth was gone.

Unfortunately, Qi's adoptive mother passed away forever one night five years ago due to an old illness, leaving behind a non-blood-related younger sister to depend on the boy.

In order to make a living, the young man went to the wine-making workshop in the city very early. Because he was thin, he could only do some light odd jobs at first. Although he only earned one penny a day, he had two meals a day.

Even though he was greedy, the boy still secretly stuffed the most delicious toon vegetable pancake into his arms and took it home for his younger sister after work.

But the good times did not last long. There were two years of severe drought and one year of locust plague. The fields were barren and most of the wine-making workshops in the city were closed. Unsurprisingly, the young man lost the skills he relied on for his survival.

And just a few days ago, the young man exchanged the only thirty cents left in his family for food rations, but this was only enough for the brother and sister to barely survive for a few days. I'm afraid that the young man will have a hard time and his life will be worrying in the days to come.

The young man stood up, gathered his strength, picked up the wooden bucket filled with well water, and walked slowly towards a low courtyard wall in the distance.

Xu Zhian walked briskly, shaking the wooden barrel rhythmically. Accompanied by the rustling sound of the light mist and breeze, he left a trail of wet footprints on the old bluestone slabs.

Xiaolingang is neither big nor small. It is surrounded by mountains on two sides and faces the sun on one side. A small river meanders through it, connecting it to the moat of Yishui City in the distance.

The river meanders for two or three miles and there are three hundred households, large and small.

Perhaps because the weather is getting colder, there are not many mountain people getting up early at dawn.

Just as the young man was about to step into the yard, a harsh, mocking voice suddenly came from behind him: "Hey, Master Xu got up pretty early."

Without looking back, Xu Zhian had already guessed that the people who spoke must be the two brothers of the notorious Xiong family in the village.

Xu Zhian turned around and saw, as expected, two burly middle-aged men standing behind him.

You have to know that in such a year of perennial shortage, the one who can have such a physique is either a wealthy and powerful person, or a notorious and evil person.

The young man clearly remembered that his adoptive mother had just passed away several years ago, and these two men broke into his house to demand money, saying that his adoptive mother had owed debts during her lifetime and that Xu Zhian should pay them back in full.

The boy knew that most of this was untrue, but even though there were many people watching him, no one stepped forward to help him out. Eventually, it was written in black and white, and the boy had to sell his family's good farmland in exchange for his property.

Xu Zhian looked at the middle-aged man with a flash of resentment in his eyes, and then turned to vigilance and asked: "Is there something wrong?"

One of the middle-aged men sneered and said, "I heard that your family is running out of food again. Tsk, tsk, tsk... How pitiful! I'm afraid that in this cold winter, there will be two more deaths in Xiaolingang."

Xu Zhian ignored the man and turned to leave. The middle-aged man did not get angry and continued, "Boy, do you know why your parents' graves on the West Hill are always dug up?"

The young man stopped and looked at the middle-aged man angrily. The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Yes, it was my brother and I who did it."

"I might as well tell you that we have deliberately made you and your sister live such a miserable life these years. If someone didn't want you to be alive, you would have gone to see your unfortunate parents a few years ago. But that person seems to have no patience, so..."

"Enough Sihai!" At this moment, the middle-aged man who had been watching the show suddenly interrupted the man's next words.

The middle-aged man stopped Xiong Sihai and looked at Xu Zhian with a playful look: "Little guy, you also know what kind of people we are. We are bloodthirsty and kill without blinking an eye! As long as you hand over that thing, I, Xiong Sanjiang, guarantee that you and your sister will not have any trouble in Xiaolingang anymore. How about it?"

The boy clenched his fists and frowned, saying, "I don't know what you are talking about!"

Xiong Sanjiang sneered, "Humph, you will know. For the sake of your fertile land, I'll give you a day to think about it. I hope you won't let us down! Otherwise, someone will die!"

After saying that, just as he turned around and was about to leave, the middle-aged man suddenly saw a black dog lying at the door of the neighbor's house, staring at his two brothers fiercely with its white teeth bared. Without saying a word, Xiong Sihai stepped forward and kicked the dog. The black dog let out a scream and ran back to the next yard with its tail between its legs.

Xiong Sihai cursed: "How dare you stare at me? You are really blind!"

After saying that, he turned around and looked at Xu Zhian.

The boy looked at the man's disappearing back, clenched his fists, and after a moment he picked up the bucket and turned to walk towards his own yard.

At this time, at the entrance of the alley, there were a young man in fancy clothes and an old man in gray clothes. They witnessed the whole process of the conversation between the young man and the middle-aged man.

The young man in fancy clothes turned around and asked the old man in gray, "Grandpa Qin, do you think this kid will hand it over? And what on earth is that thing? It even alarmed the master of the main family."

The old man in gray replied, "I don't know either. I only know that his father got a treasure that year. Your father wanted to exchange it with him for money, but was rejected by his father, who said that he wanted to give it to his unborn child as a gift. Then your father mentioned this in the letter to the master's house. Later, he was called to the master's house to describe it in detail, and the master asked him to get this treasure. Unfortunately, your father acted too recklessly, and he has not been able to return to the master's house until now."

The young man in fancy clothes continued, "My father made the mistake of hiring a killer, right? And then the host family missed an opportunity."

The old man sighed, "Alas, it's fate. But in my opinion, the treasure must not have been in the hands of this young man. Otherwise, why would his parents be willing to risk the destruction of their entire family to hide the treasure? Or... have they already given it to those people?"

The young man in fancy clothes asked in confusion: "Who are those people?"

The gray-clothed old man recalled the past, and his face was slightly moved as if he remembered something terrible: "They are people from the mountain, and even the master is very afraid of them. Young master, you are a person with great opportunities. It is not suitable for you to know some things now. When you reach the Dongxuan realm, you will know some secrets. It is not good to know too much now."

The young man in fancy clothes did not reply, but just said to himself: "It's better to end it here. This person is free from the suffering of the world, and my father's obsession can be eliminated. Anyway, it's nothing more than one less poor person in the world. Let's go, Grandpa Qin, let's go back to the imperial capital."

After saying that, the two of them ran towards the village entrance.

As soon as Xu Zhian returned to the yard, he heard bursts of light coughing coming from the inner room. The young man hurriedly put down the bucket and ran to the inner room.

The inner room was not very big and there was no furniture. Even the windows on the wall were hastily covered. On the bed in the corner lay a thin girl, her face slightly pale and she coughed lightly from time to time.

The girl saw Xu Zhian coming in, so she staggered to her feet and said, "Brother, are those bad guys here again?"

Xu Zhian helped the girl up and said, "It's okay, little sister. I've already sent them away."

The girl said with red eyes: "It's all Meng Yao's fault. If it weren't for Meng Yao's drag, my brother would have gone to Luyang City long ago."

A few years ago, Xu Zhian was fortunate enough to meet a winery manager who valued him. He wanted to take her to Luyang City, but the girl was ill at the time, so the young man gave up recruiting the manager.

Xu Zhian looked at the girl in front of him and said seriously, "Little sister, you are my only relative in this world. I will never abandon you even if I die, just like my mother didn't want to abandon me back then. So, don't say such nonsense anymore."

The girl rubbed her eyes firmly and said, "Brother, you are my only relative in this world. I will protect you in the future!"

Xu Zhian smiled and said okay, then walked towards the kitchen.

The so-called kitchen was actually just a low thatched hut. Even the only stove was made of yellow mud and was covered with cracks.

Not long after, Xu Zhian brought a bowl of multi-grain paste to the girl. Seeing this, the girl's stomach started to growl.

After Xu Zhian put down his bowl and chopsticks, he smiled and said, "Little sister, please eat. There is still some left in the kitchen. I will go to the city to work after I eat. You stay at home and don't go out. When I come back in the evening, I will bring you your favorite candied haws."

The girl nodded obediently and started eating.

Xu Zhian came to the kitchen, looked at the residue at the bottom of the pot, added half a ladle of water, carefully scooped it out and drank it quickly.

Little did he know that at this moment the young girl was lying by the window in the inner room and watching clearly. The girl's eyes were moist and her lips were slightly pursed. She tried her best not to make any sound, for fear of affecting the boy and embarrassing this brother who had a strong sense of self-esteem.

At this moment, the girl's mood was like a bottle of five flavors overturned, the sour and sweet taste was really indescribable. So far, the girl secretly made up her mind that if she became rich in the future, she would never let her brother suffer like this again!

After Xu Zhian finished drinking the noodle soup, he went out.

As soon as I walked out of the courtyard, I saw a handsome young man coming out of the next yard, with a black dog beside him. This man's name was Xia Shuyin, and his original name was Xia Youcai.