Early the next morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Hua Cuicui got up. After washing up, she went to the courtyard where Yu Wei lived. She saw that Yu Wei had already found a small stool and was sitting under a big tree. He was playing with a ferule that she didn't know where he got it from.

Hua Cuicui looked at the long ferule, and the corners of her mouth trembled slightly.

When Yu Wei saw her, he said to her, "A Cuicui, come here."

As he spoke, he waved the ferule in his hand...

Yu Wei was extremely strict with Hua Cuicui. If she did anything wrong, he would punish her with the ferule. Her small, jade-like hands were often bruised.

After Hua Zhiyi found out, he still said the same words that Hua Cuicui had said five years ago when she was practicing martial arts: "If you choose to do something, no matter how difficult it is, you must persevere."

Just like that, the days passed by one after another.

In the blink of an eye, Hua Cuicui was fourteen years old.

Early in the morning, the sky was still just beginning to brighten.

As usual, Hua Cuicui got up and washed up. Then she went to Yu Wei's courtyard.

Yu Wei sat on the small stool and was playing with the ferule by hitting the ants on the ground.

Hua Cuicui walked over and said to Yu Wei, "Master, I've already practiced the techniques you taught me a few days ago over a thousand times according to your instructions."

Yu Wei brought over another small stool and motioned for Hua Cuicui to sit down.

"Give me your hand."

Hua Cuicui didn't know what mistake she had made this time, but she still obediently handed her hand over.

"Pa."

There was a light sound. It wasn't like the heavy hitting of the ferule in the past. This time, Yu Wei just lightly patted Hua Cuicui's palm.

Hua Cuicui didn't know what Yu Wei was trying to do. She was just about to ask in confusion.

Then she heard Yu Wei say, "A Cuicui, you've finished your apprenticeship.

I have nothing left to teach you. "

Hua Cuicui was a little stunned, but she was still very happy. After learning for four years, she finally finished her apprenticeship!

Yu Wei looked at the young girl sitting in front of him and couldn't help but think of the same scene four years ago. At that time, Hua Cuicui was still a little immature, but now, she had grown into a slender and elegant woman.

Slender and slightly raised eyebrows, a pair of clear and bright glass-like eyes, a small and exquisite jade nose, cherry lips that were naturally red, and her cheeks were bright red. She looked very beautiful …

A peerless beauty.

Yu Wei sighed in his heart. Then, with a solemn expression, he began to speak earnestly.

"A Cui, you have to remember one thing. No matter how powerful Qianshu is, it will be seen through by others one day. Only those who know how to set up bets and manipulate other people's minds can be called true Qianshu.

And the most amazing thing is that no one knows that you are a swindler. "

"A Cui will definitely remember Master's teachings."

Hua Cuicui knelt down and respectfully performed a ceremony to Yu Wei that she hadn't completed four years ago.

… …

This time, before Hua Cuicui had time to find Hua Zhiyi, Hua Zhiyi said to Hua Cuicui on a sunny afternoon, "A Cui, let's go down the mountain."

Hua Cuicui froze on the spot as if she had been struck by lightning. Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind.

"Take Abba to wander the jianghu?

Is he asking me to wander the jianghu? "

When everyone gathered at the Roaring Tiger Hall for dinner that night, Hua Zhiyi counted the number of people. There were sixty-seven of them. After making sure that everyone was present, he stood up, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "Everyone, please be quiet. I have something to say to you."

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what the chief meant. They had never seen him like this before. They couldn't help but perk up their ears to listen to what he had to say.

"The situation is like this. Three months ago, the imperial court sent someone here. They said that they had the intention of recruiting Dongfeng Village to work for the imperial court.

After thinking about it, I felt that it was extremely inappropriate.

But my thoughts alone cannot represent everyone, so I plan to step down from the position of chief and leave with A Cui. "

As soon as everyone heard Hua Zhiyi's words, they all started arguing at the same time.

Someone said, "Since you feel that it is inappropriate to submit to the imperial court, we will not submit to the imperial court."

"But I feel that after submitting to the imperial court, Dongfeng Village's name will be even more famous in the jianghu," another person retorted.

Hua Zhiyi stood at the front. Seeing everyone holding their own opinions and arguing endlessly, he felt a headache coming on.

"Everyone, calm down. Let's hear what Master has to say," Zhao Pei said loudly.

"I have seriously considered it. The advantage of submitting to the imperial court is that we will be protected by the Emperor, but the disadvantage is that we will be restricted by the imperial court.

Regardless of whether it is the advantage or disadvantage, it is different from my original intention of establishing Dongfeng Village.

But if we refuse the imperial court's invitation, I fear our lives will be in danger.

My personal opinion is that I would rather die than become a running dog of the imperial court.

But I am the chief of Dongfeng Village. I am responsible for the 67 people of the village. I cannot ignore your futures and lives, so I can only step down from the position of chief. "

Hua Zhiyi picked up the flagon on the table and drank all the wine. He looked at the 67 people sitting below. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Those who want to submit to the imperial court can stay and elect someone to be the chief. Those who do not want to submit can leave like me."

With that, he walked out of the Roaring Tiger Hall without looking back.

At this moment, Hua Cuicui finally understood what Hua Zhiyi meant by going down the mountain in the afternoon.

After a few days, Hua Zhiyi took Hua Cuicui down the mountain.

In the past, she had always wanted to leave Dongfeng Village and make a living in Jianghu. She did not hesitate to spend nine years practicing martial arts and thousands of techniques. Now, she could finally leave the mountain. She did not expect that this would be the last time she stepped out of Dongfeng Village.

Hua Cuicui thought of Dongfeng Village, where she had lived for 14 years, and could not help but feel sad …

Hua Zhiyi took Hua Cuicui all the way to Chang 'an. Finally, they settled down here and found a house with a courtyard to live in.

The father and daughter cleaned the house with great difficulty. After packing their luggage, they rested in the courtyard under the sun.

"A Cuicui, I found a house with a courtyard. Do you like it?

This way, you can practice martial arts in the courtyard every day. "

When cleaning the house, Hua Zhiyi took out a mahogany rattan rocking chair from the inner room. He was lying comfortably on it.

"Abba, why did we come to Chang 'an?"

Hua Cuicui, who was sitting on the stool and eating watermelon, asked the question she had been wanting to ask for the past few days.

After a long time, so long that Hua Cuicui thought Hua Zhiyi had fallen asleep on the rocking chair, she heard Hua Zhiyi say in a low voice, "This is where your mother grew up."

When Hua Cuicui wanted to ask again, Hua Zhiyi was already snoring …

"Mother." Hua Cuicui repeatedly whispered these two words in a low voice.

Hua Cuicui's memories of her mother were very vague. Her mother had passed away when Hua Cuicui was very young.

She had always thought that her mother's name was very pleasant to hear. She had never forgotten it after hearing Hua Zhiyi mention it once. Even in her memory, she could not remember her mother's appearance.

Her mother's name was Zhu An.

Zhu as in blessing, An as in safety.

When she was young, she would often ask Hua Zhiyi about her mother. But every time, she would see Hua Zhiyi reveal an indescribable expression.

When she grew up, she knew that expression was called sadness.

She had also accidentally bumped into the drunk Hua Zhiyi hugging her mother's memorial tablet and crying as helplessly as Ah Hu, who was only two years old, who lived next door in Uncle Qi Tao's house, had fallen down.

From then on, she never asked about her mother in front of Hua Zhiyi.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The knocking on the door interrupted Hua Cuicui's thoughts. She turned around and saw that Hua Zhiyi, who had been sleeping soundly, had also been woken up.

"Abba, who is it?" Hua Cuicui asked Hua Zhiyi in a low voice.

That night, Hua Zhiyi had said that her life was in danger. She had been on edge these past few days.

Hua Zhiyi didn't reply. He slowly got up and cautiously walked towards the door.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to open the door and take a look.

After all, as the old saying goes, if it's a blessing, it's not a curse. If it's a curse, it can't be avoided.

Hua Zhiyi carefully pulled open the door latch. He gently opened the door a crack and leaned forward to take a look.

After taking a look, he opened the door with a whoosh.

Hua Cuicui knew that Abba had only opened the door after confirming that there was no danger. However, she was also very curious about who would come. She also got up and walked forward.

There were two people standing outside the door. They were two people she was very familiar with.

"Uncle Zhao Pei!

Uncle Zhong Fan! "Hua Cuicui shouted in surprise.

The people who had come were Zhao Pei and Zhong Fan from Dongfeng Stockade.

When they saw Hua Zhiyi, they called out in unison, "Stockade Master."

"Stop, stop, stop. What are you doing? I'm no longer the stockade master." Hua Zhiyi was a bit gloomy. He rubbed his forehead and continued, "Why are you two here?

Don't tell me it was a coincidence … "

Zhao Pei rubbed the back of his head with some embarrassment and said in a low voice, "After that night, Zhong Fan and I decided that no matter where Big Brother Hua went, we would follow you to death.

When you and A Cui went down the mountain, Zhong Fan and I followed you … "

After hearing Zhao Pei's words, Hua Zhiyi became even more gloomy.

"Do you two think that following me will bring you meat or wine?"

"We're not willing to follow you for fame or fortune, Big Brother Hua." Zhong Fan's face was serious.

"If it weren't for Big Brother Hua and Sister-in-law Zhu An saving me, I'm afraid I would've died twenty years ago.

Although Dongfeng Stockade is gone now, in our hearts, you'll always be the stockade master.

Let us follow you. "Zhao Pei looked at Hua Zhiyi sincerely as he spoke.

"What?

You said Dongfeng Stockade is gone? "Hua Zhiyi asked anxiously.

"Big Brother Hua, you left the mountain early, so you didn't know. We communicated with Yu Wei on the way.

He said that after you left, nearly half of the people left one after another. The remaining people wanted to elect someone to be the stockade master like you said, but no one was willing to accept the other. Every day, there were endless arguments. More and more people left. "

After hearing Zhong Fan's words, Hua Zhiyi lowered his head and didn't say a word. He slowly turned around and walked indoors.

Hua Cuicui looked at Hua Zhiyi's back. Although she knew that he couldn't get over it because the Dongfeng Stockade he founded was gone, she was still very worried.

However, she still withdrew her gaze and welcomed Zhao Pei and Zhong Fan inside.

"Uncle Zhao Pei, Uncle Zhong Fan, there's an inner room in this residence. It's on the west side. You should put your luggage away first." Hua Cuicui led Zhao Pei and Zhong Fan to the inner room on the west side.

It was evening when Hua Zhiyi walked out of the room.

Zhong Fan prepared the food and the four of them sat down to eat.

The meal was silent because Hua Zhiyi kept silent. Zhao Pei and Zhong Fan didn't know what to say. Hua Cuicui didn't dare to say anything.

When everyone was almost done eating, Hua Zhiyi put down the chopsticks in his hand and said in a deep voice, "Dongfeng Stockade is gone. Don't mention it again in the future.

Zhao Pei and Zhong Fan, since you came with me, I won't drive you away. In the future, the four of us will stay in Chang 'an City. "