"Oh... let me guess, it must have been Xiao Que'er who told Xiao Qing, and then brought Xiao Qing to find you. Hey... Xiao Qing clearly has feelings for you, she obviously didn't come to cause you trouble, but rushed over to see you... But then, seeing this little girl surnamed Zhang in the courtyard, she got jealous, right? Both Xiao Que'er and Xiao Qing are martial arts practitioners, and the girls were fighting over a boy, making a mess of the courtyard. Hmm, you were caught in the middle and helpless... Sigh, in the end everyone fainted, you were the one who knocked them out, weren't you?"
The old man was indeed a cunning old fox; his guess was quite accurate. However, no matter how shrewd and worldly-wise he was, he could never have foreseen that he had overlooked the fact that Phoenix was impersonating Xiao Qing, and that Phoenix would suddenly leave while Xiao Qing would suddenly return, causing Chen Xiao to misunderstand...
However, the guess that it was due to jealousy and rivalry was pretty accurate.
The old man glanced at Chen Xiao and suddenly shook his head: "So young, how come you've become so philandering? Sigh, you kids!"
He thought for a moment, then pointed to the three girls on the bed: "How can you put them together? What if they wake up and start fighting again?"
"Ah... what should I do?" Chen Xiao's eyes widened.
"Stupid!" The old man tapped Chen Xiao on the head: "This... take Zhang girl back to her own room. Hmm, I'll have someone send Xiao Que'er away. Humph, it had nothing to do with her, why did she cause trouble? This time I'll punish her by making her stay in her room for a month!"
Poor Xiao Que'er, who was unconscious, knew that the judgment had been made without her knowledge.
Since the old man had spoken, Chen Xiao was at a loss and quickly did as he was told. He quickly carried Zhang Xiaotao away and put her in her own room. Then the old man called two maids from the Xiao family and carried Xiao Que'er back.
In the end, only Xiao Qing was left on the bed in the room. Chen Xiao stood there with a stiff expression, and before he could speak, the old man suddenly stood by the bed, looked at Xiao Qing on the bed, and sneered: "Little girl, how long are you going to pretend? Your old man is not senile yet."
Xiao Qing, lying on the bed, had actually woken up—she hadn't been knocked unconscious, but rather overwhelmed by Chen Xiao's sudden "confession." Her young heart was too excited; her long-held dream had suddenly come true, and she had fainted in her excitement. However, being a martial artist, she was physically strong and woke up quickly. But when she woke up and found both the old master and Chen Xiao in the room, Xiao Qing felt ashamed. She feared the old master's punishment and was also embarrassed to face Chen Xiao, so she could only continue pretending to be unconscious.
But the old master had such keen eyesight; he saw through Xiao Qing's feigned unconsciousness at a glance and immediately pointed it out.
Xiao Qing's face immediately turned red with embarrassment. She had no choice but to open her eyes, jump up abruptly, and stand by the bedside looking aggrieved. She didn't dare to lift her head or even glance at Chen Xiao.
"Alright, alright." The old man, after all, doted on this girl the most, and sighed, "I didn't intend to punish you, alas... I had some other plans in mind, asking everyone not to tell anyone, but I didn't expect that little rascal, Xiao Que'er, to ruin everything. This isn't your fault, cough cough..."
The old man took a couple of breaths and said with a wry smile, "I won't ask how you got back. Hmm, I have something to say to Chen Xiao. You can go and rest now."
Xiao Qing listened to the old man's words but did not move. She stood there, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, without saying a word.
She had finally found Chen Xiao, and just now, as if in a dream, she had heard Chen Xiao's "confession" to her; her heart was practically bursting with joy. At this moment, she absolutely did not want to be separated from Chen Xiao, and naturally, she would never leave him now.
Seeing that Xiao Qing didn't move, but instead looked up to steal a glance at Chen Xiao, how could the old man not know what the girl was thinking? He sighed and smiled, "Alright, you two have been separated for a while and are reunited. I'm not an old-fashioned person... If you don't want to leave, then stay. Hmm, I'm thirsty, bring me two cups of tea."
Xiao Qing's face lit up with joy, and she ran out happily. Before leaving, she gave Chen Xiao a deep look.
After Xiao Qing left, Chen Xiao suddenly let out a long sigh of relief. He hesitated for a moment, then finally whispered, "Grandpa... who exactly is this girl? She seems to be related to me..."
"Ah!" The old man slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot. You've lost your memory, so you probably don't recognize Xiao Qing anymore." As he spoke, the old man gave a strange smile and looked at Chen Xiao. "Sigh, Xiao Qing clearly has deep feelings for you, yet you can't even remember who she is. Isn't that too heartbreaking?"
Chen Xiao touched his still slightly sore lips, gave a bitter smile, and remained silent. Little did he know that the girl named Xiao Qing was not the same girl who had caused his lips pain earlier.
"This is your future wife." The old man sighed. "This marriage was arranged before you were even born."
fiancée?
Chen Xiao couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Hehe, kid, don't worry. Although her surname is Xiao and your mother's surname is also Xiao, they are not from the same branch of the family. Their blood ties across three generations are actually quite distant, so it doesn't matter." The old man smiled and pointed to the chair in the room: "Sit down. The clan meeting is about to begin, and it's about time to tell you some things."
Chen Xiao noticed that the old man's words became more serious towards the end, so he sat down.
"This story has two beginnings, which one would you like to hear?"
The old man sat down, casually placing his dragon-headed cane aside, and looked at Chen Xiao with a smile.
"Huh? I don't understand."
The old man smiled and said, "Alright, let's start with the first one. Our Xiao family was originally from the north, and we were a prominent and powerful clan. One of our ancestors even served as a high-ranking official. As for the origins of this branch in Lingnan, you should know about the origins of the Lingnan Xiao family after reading the family genealogy these days. The main reason why this branch of the Lingnan Xiao family migrated here from the north was because of the name of the woman you saw on the first page of the family genealogy—Xiao Mingyue!"
Chen Xiao silently repeated the name twice, and couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.
"Hmm, Xiao Mingyue... This woman is quite a remarkable person in my Xiao family! I won't tell you her story, as it's not really related to you. However, there's one thing you absolutely must know... Your fiancée, Xiao Qing, isn't actually a direct descendant of the Xiao family by blood; she's more of an outsider... She's a descendant of Xiao Mingyue. Xiao Mingyue's descendants have always been special; every lineage has retained the Xiao surname. As for Xiao Qing's father's name, I don't even know. But, eighteen years ago..."
At this point, the old man scratched his head, his expression somewhat strange: "This story is too unbelievable. Alas, I'm getting senile, and it's all a mess. Hmm, there are two beginnings, one a hundred years ago and the other eighteen years ago... I think we should start with the one from a hundred years ago."
After saying that, he suddenly touched his clothes and took something out of his sleeve. It was a piece of silk. He unfolded it layer by layer and found something wrapped inside.
What caught Chen Xiao's eye was a short knife.
The blade was covered in rust, with faint traces of red and green, clearly bloodstains... but it had oxidized beyond recognition over countless years.
The old man gestured, and Chen Xiao took it with both hands. He then saw a character on the hilt that looked as if it had been carved by a person.
"field?"
"Yes, it's the character '田' (field)."
Old Master Xiao squinted his eyes: "A hundred years ago, when my father was still alive, our Xiao family was still in the north. Back then, history was turbulent, with dynasties changing and the times changing dramatically. The Xiao family was also in turmoil. At that time, a woman from our Xiao family appeared, Xiao Mingyue. By all accounts, Xiao Mingyue was a generation older than my father. In fact, my father was her nephew."
"I don't know much about Xiao Mingyue's story, so I won't tell you much. However, the origin of my Lingnan branch is closely related to her. Back then, when the Xiao family in the north fell apart, Xiao Mingyue, who had left the Xiao family for many years, suddenly returned. With her came a strange man who claimed to be Xiao Mingyue's friend. His surname was Tian."
I never met that Mr. Tian back then, but my father told me that this extraordinary man was incredibly powerful, possessing abilities that were unparalleled throughout history, almost like a living deity. When Xiao Mingyue returned home to visit her family and learned of their plight, she persuaded two of her brothers to leave the north and head south to escape the war. Their journey south was fraught with danger and hardship, but fortunately, the extraordinary Mr. Tian accompanied them every step of the way. With his assistance, they always managed to overcome any obstacle, and a portion of the Xiao family settled in Lingnan, putting down roots and making a living there.
More importantly, the Xiao family was originally an official family, but in times of war, how could weak scholars protect themselves? That extraordinary man surnamed Tian stayed with the Xiao family for half a year, leaving behind several sets of martial arts techniques and personally teaching several disciples. That's how our Xiao family's martial arts came to be! It can be said that the so-called Xiao family boxing, the martial arts of the Xiao clan, were actually created by that extraordinary man surnamed Tian.”
The old man sighed as he finished speaking: "I wasn't even born back then, so I never met that extraordinary person. I only heard about him from my elders after I was born, and I always had some doubts in my heart. Later, as I grew older, I learned the Xiao family's martial arts and gradually realized how profound they were. I also developed a deeper and deeper respect for that extraordinary person surnamed Tian from back then."
After staying at the Xiao family for half a year, Mr. Tian left with Xiao Mingyue. Before leaving, he left behind this short knife, saying that if the Xiao family ever encountered any insurmountable difficulties, they should take this knife to the Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang area, place an advertisement in the newspaper, and he would naturally meet them. As long as the person who went there took out this knife, he would definitely help them.
However, Xiaojialing South developed smoothly without encountering any difficulties, and... considering that, the extraordinary man surnamed Tian was already quite old back then. When I grew up, I calculated the timeline and assumed that Mr. Tian was probably no longer alive, so I forgot about the matter.
Until one night eighteen years ago…
At this point, the old man suddenly paused, gently took the knife back, and wrapped it again in layers of silk.
"My father died in the war. During the national war against Japan, he answered the call of the legendary hero Lin Kunlun and joined heroes from all over the country to fight the Japanese. He died on the battlefield. Later, I inherited the position of family head and have been here ever since. In my life, I am considered the most talented in martial arts among the Xiao family of Lingnan. I have mastered the Xiao family's martial arts to the highest level. For many years, I have hardly met any opponents. I always felt that apart from the famous hero Lin Kunlun, there was probably no one in China who could rival me. But one night eighteen years ago, I realized how ridiculous my arrogance was. Hehe!"