Chapter 8: This Affection ()

Xiao Family, located in Luzhou of the Wu Kingdom on this unnamed continent, is the largest family in the Wu Kingdom, second only to the royal Zhou Family.

This continent is vast, and the known inhabited areas, after division, total fifty large provinces. These fifty large provinces are further divided into three upper-grade provinces, ten middle-grade provinces, and thirty-seven lower-grade provinces.

Luzhou is a lower-grade province. According to the information in Xiao Bei's mind, the Wu Kingdom, which is a lower-grade province, has an area of about 10 million square kilometers by Earth's standards.

Of course, the Wu Kingdom is also a major country within Luzhou.

The Mulan grass that Jiang Yuan mentioned grows in only one place, where the Wu Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom meet.

That place is a mountain range, rarely visited by people, and filled with demonic beasts, making it a perilous area.

One can imagine that Jiang Yuan, who is merely a Seventh Rank Postnatal Warrior, would need great courage to enter that mountain range, and would certainly face numerous dangers.

Moreover, the Jiang Family, to which Jiang Yuan belongs, is a small family that relies on the Xiao Family for survival. It is impossible for them to have any true experts to help Jiang Yuan search for the Mulan grass in the mountains.

Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan, the reason you work so hard, bear so much hardship, and do so much for Xiao Bei, is probably because of that incident when you were young, right?

Xiao Bei sighed inwardly, and the merged memories flashed through his mind...

It was a rainy evening, and a girl with a ponytail was crying by the side of a dirt road, unable to find her way home. A little boy, who still had some status in his family and was unaware that he would later become a useless cripple, asked his mother why the girl, who was his age, was crying. With his mother's help, he sent the girl home and promised her that he would never let her get lost and cry again, and that he would never let anyone bully her again.

The little girl looked up at the little boy and nodded vigorously, "I believe you."

The innocent words carried the weight of life.

...

A single promise, in exchange for a woman's desperate desire to be by his side?

Xiao Bei, Xiao Bei, you, aside from being unable to practice martial arts, are indeed as happy as the Xiao Family's offspring said, a useless but very happy person.

With a bitter smile, Xiao Bei took the Mulan grass from the wooden box.

"Mulan grass, with a flower body as blue as purple and roots like blood, is the top-grade herb, with the effects of promoting blood circulation and bone marrow cleansing," Jiang Yuan pointed to the Mulan grass in Xiao Bei's hand.

There was a faint trace of blood on his hand.

Combined with the floral scent from Jiang Yuan's body after her bath, Xiao Bei felt a twist in his heart.

Jiang Yuan, did you just return, take a bath, and then come here, eager to see me?

Raising his head to look at Jiang Yuan again, Xiao Bei knew that this face, like his mother Zhang Lan's, had become a part of his soul, inseparable.

"What happened to your hand? Why didn't you tell me about picking the Mulan grass? Why didn't you take the experts from the Jiang Family? Or was it because of your mother...?"

"Brother Xiao Bei, please don't ask, okay?"

Jiang Yuan's tender hand suddenly covered Xiao Bei's mouth, pleading with him.

Xiao Bei knew he shouldn't have said those things and nodded, smiling, "Fortunately, I can still protect you in the future, but I wonder if you, a Seventh Rank Postnatal Warrior, still need my protection."

Jiang Yuan glared at Xiao Bei, withdrew her hand, and stomped her foot, her cheeks slightly red.

Clearly, Xiao Bei's jest had affected her.

Her appearance warmed Xiao Bei's heart.

...

The Jiang Family relies on the Xiao Family for survival.

Moreover, the Jiang Family and the Xiao Family are also related by marriage. This relationship reached its peak during Xiao Zhan's generation. However, when the strongest members of the Jiang Family disappeared for unknown reasons many years ago, the Jiang Family's days became difficult, and it could be said that they were in decline.

Especially since the Jiang Family had previously offended the royal Zhou Family of the Wu Kingdom, this made the Jiang Family even more dependent on the protection of the Xiao Family.

After all, without strong members, if the Jiang Family did not have the relationship with the Xiao Family, the royal Zhou Family would have easily retaliated, and the Jiang Family would have been powerless to resist.

Xiao Bei knew that the main reason Jiang Yuan was suppressed in the Jiang Family was also because of him. Jiang Yuan's mother is the younger sister of Xiao Yun's mother.

She has always been unkind to him, even forcing Jiang Yuan to break off their relationship. When Jiang Yuan refused to die, she became cold towards her and gradually favored her other daughter.

"It seems that in the future, there will be no shortage of things. I must also quickly improve my martial arts realm without fear of being too high-profile."

Looking at Jiang Yuan, who was seriously guiding him in martial arts, Xiao Bei felt a mix of frustration and joy.

...

The Jiang Family is the only external clan allowed to practice in the martial arts hall of the Xiao Family.

This is because, although the Jiang Family has declined due to the disappearance of many experts, they were once closely tied to the Xiao Family, inseparable. Additionally, the marriage relationship between the Jiang Family and the Xiao Family is deeply intertwined, making it impossible to separate them.

Therefore, whether to maintain peace in some aspects or to show the Xiao Family's generosity and nostalgia for old relationships, Grandfather Xiao Zhan specifically designated that the Jiang Family's offspring, like the Xiao Family's offspring, can enjoy the privilege of entering the martial arts hall after reaching the Third Rank Postnatal realm, and they are never stingy with medicinal pills.

Jiang Yuan, in particular, was personally designated by Xiao Zhan to have priority in receiving medicinal pills in the martial arts hall.

After all, Jiang Yuan is a genius who reached the Seventh Rank Postnatal Warrior realm at the age of sixteen, a remarkable achievement for such a young age, and is rare in all of Luzhou.

...

Xiao Bei and Jiang Yuan practicing together, their playful banter, made many of the young talents from the Xiao Family and some from the Jiang Family clench their teeth in envy.

Among them was Xiao Yun, who had been severely humiliated by Xiao Bei earlier.

"Hmph! I hope you two can still be like this tomorrow! Xiao Bei, I will make you realize how wrong you are today!"

His eyes were filled with malice, looking very vicious.

While chatting and laughing with Jiang Yuan, Xiao Bei did not forget to occasionally glance at Xiao Yun and Xiao Bing.

A dog never changes its nature, and Xiao Bei firmly believed this. Therefore, when he noticed the malice in Xiao Yun's eyes and recalled that the reason he could not help but fight with Xiao Yun a few days ago was because of Jiang Yuan, he immediately concluded that Xiao Yun's revenge would come soon.

But Xiao Bei was not afraid!

No matter how powerful an ant is, it is still an ant.

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