"Bai...su?"
Shopkeeper Dong was stunned for a moment. The name was very familiar in his mind, but he had never seen it in person, so he didn't know how to react for a while.
"Uncle Dong, I...I was wronged."
Bai Erlang hesitated for a long time. Apart from his father, the person he respected the most was Uncle Dong in front of him. After all, his father sometimes neglected him, but Uncle Dong cared about him very much.
"Well……"
Shopkeeper Dong glanced at his nephew, who he had watched grow up, and his heart was very complicated. From deep in his heart, he didn't want to believe that Bai Erlang would really do those things, but what happened now was no longer his. It's under control.
Now he could only forcefully signal to the servants beside him. Several strong servants walked over and tied Bai Erlang up with hemp ropes.
"Uncle Dong, I..."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear about you."
Shopkeeper Dong shouted to stop Bai Erlang. He saluted Xia Zhichan, then turned sideways and opened the door:
"Master Bai Su, please."
Xia Zhichan nodded with a smile. He was welcomed into the lobby by everyone, and Nan Er followed closely behind him without saying a word.
When Bai Erlang saw that the two people who originally said they wanted to help him completely ignored him and left, he felt a little frustrated, and then he was dragged into the house by his servant.
"Don't we need to help him?"
Nan Er lowered his voice, even the servant standing next to him didn't hear it clearly, but he believed that Xia Zhichan would definitely hear what he just said.
"No need..."
After Xia Zhichan sat down, she said casually:
"This is his home, how could it be detrimental to him? Don't look at the aggressive look of Shopkeeper Dong just now. In fact, it was just to find an excuse to protect Bai Erlang."
"oh--"
Nan Er realized that he was overthinking, so he could only smile a little self-deprecatingly. He sat next to Xia Zhichan, picking up the snacks on the plate in boredom.
Shopkeeper Dong didn't know Nan Er well, but judging from his tough attitude towards Magistrate Wang just now, this swordsman must not be an ordinary person. He might be a rich or noble person whom Bai Su had befriended.
"Cough cough cough..."
Following a suppressed cough, two young men came over, supporting a middle-aged man with gray hair. The face of the man was somewhat similar to Bai Erlang, except that his skin was dark, wrinkled, and there was something in his eyes. A bit dim.
When he walked in, Xia Zhichan also smelled a faint smell of herbs.
If nothing unexpected happens, this middle-aged man should be the uncle of the Bai family, Bai Erlang's father, and the current head of the Bai family in Mulberry Town.
It is rumored that he suffered from heart failure since the death of his eldest son and fell ill frequently. Then after Bai Erlang was exposed to such a scandal, he became even sicker and could not even handle things.
"Cough cough cough..."
The head of the Bai family walked in. Before he could say a word, he coughed several times. It seemed that if it weren't for the help of the boys on both sides, he might not even be able to stand up.
"Bai Su... cough cough, Mr. Bai Su. I am Bai... cough cough cough..."
Xia Zhichan took the lead and stood up. Although according to the identity he was pretending now, he was the son of the Bai family in Luling, and the next head of the family was much higher than the status of the head of the Bai family in Mulberry Town. But from now on In terms of seniority, he is the younger generation of the Bai family.
"Uncle Clan, sit down quickly."
He personally helped the head of the Bai family sit down. Even though the other party took the opportunity to look at Xia Zhichan's face, he didn't say anything more.
The behavior of the head of the Bai family was not abrupt, at least to him. Although the visitor claimed to be Luling Bai Su, as the head of the family, he still wanted to confirm.
"Master Bai Su is very handsome. I remember when I met you a few years ago, it was still in the ring in Luling City..."
The head of the Bai family looked at Xia Zhichan and found that Mr. Bai Su was different from his memory. Naturally, he had been to Luling City and met Bai Su, but it was only more than ten years ago, so he couldn't be sure.
"Haha, you are talking about Zhang Yijian, the first disciple of Broken Sword Mountain, who came to my Bai family to worship the mountain three years ago. My nephew, I was only slightly better at that time."
Xia Zhichan knew as soon as the other party opened his mouth that he was deliberately testing him, but luckily he was actually in Luling City at that time. He just watched the duel between Zhang Yijian and Bai Su under the ring, and then learned the Bai family's swordsmanship by the way.
"There are a bunch of sword fanatics on Broken Sword Mountain. They are obsessed with sword training and martial arts competitions. Their grievances with the Bai family can't be explained in just one sentence."
The head of the Bai family didn't know why, but he found that his energy had recovered a little, the physical exhaustion had subsided, and he gradually stopped coughing.
"Zhang Yijian is known as the leader of the younger generation of swordsmanship. The disciples on Broken Sword Mountain can't even block his sword, so he has the reputation of Zhang Yijian."
Nan Er may not know about other things, but he knows these things best in the world, so he interrupted the Bai family leader.
The head of the Bai family glanced at Nan Er briefly. Before entering, he heard shopkeeper Dong mention that this person had an unusual identity. He didn't expect that he knew so much about Jianghu. It couldn't be that some royal relative from Daqi came out to show up. Traveling around the world? Similar things have happened before.
"Haha, it's a pity that the first place he worshiped after coming out of the mountain was the Bai family in Luling. At that time, Mr. Bai Su defeated Zhang Yijian with only a dozen swords..."
Xia Zhichan shook his head. He didn't know whether the Bai family master's words were to praise him or to test him, so he could only tell the truth:
"How could there be more than a dozen swords? Zhang Yijian's ability is not just a boast. My nephew used all the Bai family's sword moves at that time, and even used Tian Chenluo to press the bottom of the box, and he narrowly defeated Zhang Yijian."
"Hahaha, a narrow victory is also a victory. Zhang Yijian failed to worship the mountain and could only go home in despair."
The head of the Bai family was talking, feeling very happy.
In fact, when Xia Zhichan helped him just now, she used very slight Qi to clear the meridians that had not been relaxed for many days, so the other party felt refreshed.
After a few conversations, the head of the Bai family didn't find any flaws in Xia Zhichan, and he didn't know what to say. Although he was the head of the Bai family in Mulberry Town, he rarely went to Luling City. Most of the time, he worked in various places. Silk business, so the understanding of Bai Su comes from hearsay.
He pondered for a moment, deciding whether to say the next words.
At this moment, Shopkeeper Dong strode in. He directly clasped his fists and said in a deep voice:
"Brother, everything is ready."
"Well……"
The head of the Bai family glanced at Xia Zhichan, tried his best to keep a smile and said:
"Mr. Bai Su, you should also know. There are often people pretending to be descendants of our Bai family in the world, so the head of the main family and our branch family have made rules. All the children of the main family must 'pass three passes' when they come to the branch family. .”
After Shopkeeper Dong entered the back house and told the Bai family leader what happened, he went to arrange the things needed for the three levels, so he only responded now.
"Of course, it's not that I doubt the identity of my nephew. It's just that this is the rule set by the master's family..."
The head of the Bai family glanced at the white jade plaque on Xia Zhichan's waist. Although he felt that the other party was not a fake, he still wanted to try it just to be safe.
"It doesn't matter."
Xia Zhichan's open and generous appearance made the Bai family leader more convinced of the other party's identity.
"Since it is a set rule, it should naturally be followed."
He walked out of the door first, and Nan Er and the head of the Bai family also walked out. The sick head of the Bai family was sitting on a chair, while Nan Er was leaning on a pillar in front of the courtyard, holding a knife and looking into the courtyard.
There were more than a dozen servants around, all holding bright torches in their hands, because the sun had already set and night had fallen quietly.
There are stars in the sky, and a slanting moon hangs in the sky.
"The first level is to throw a few copper coins behind the swordsman's back and stab one of them with the tip of the sword without turning around."
The weather was slightly cool, and the head of the Bai family covered his legs with a white fox fur blanket. He was holding hot tea in his hand and carefully explained to Xia Zhichan.
"Beidou South Pointer?"
Xia Zhichan said that this was one of the Bai family's sword moves, which was similar to a carbine-like move that could stab enemies coming from behind with the sword.
"Exactly."
The head of the Bai family nodded.
"Master Bai Su, I'm really sorry. It's dark now and I'm asking you to pass three levels, which may affect your sword skills."
Shopkeeper Dong held a few copper coins in his hand. He looked at the gloomy night and then at the invisible copper coins in his hand. I am afraid that if a copper coin is thrown face to face, the swordsman may not be able to stab it successfully.
"It doesn't matter. The South Finger of the Big Dipper is a test of the ear. Not to mention it's dark, you can stab it successfully even if you are blindfolded."
Xia Zhichan waved her hand.
At this time, the head of the Bai family and shopkeeper Dong discovered something was wrong. As a swordsman of the Luling Bai family for generations, this Bai Su actually did not carry a sword, but had empty hands.
"Master Bai Su, where is your sword?"
The head of the Bai family is inconvenient to ask questions, but shopkeeper Dong can ask questions without taboo.
"No need for a sword."
Xia Zhichan didn't have the habit of wearing a sword. Even if he pretended to be Bai Su, he didn't have time to find a sword that fit his identity, so he didn't wear a sword at all.
He casually broke off a branch from a plane tree planted in the courtyard and picked off all the small branches on it.
"Just use this."
It's about the same length as a three-foot sword, but it's a branch after all, it can't be straight, it's not only curved but also shaky.
"this……"
If you can perform the Beidou South Finger with such a casually folded branch, it means that this person's swordsmanship is really extraordinary, and he should be a rare genius.
"bring it on."
Xia Zhichan stood with his back to Shopkeeper Dong. He smiled and shook the branch in his hand a few times and said with a smile.
The head of the Bai family twisted his beard and said nothing, and nodded slightly at shopkeeper Dong who was looking over. He no longer doubted the identity of the other party. It is impossible for ordinary Bai family children to have such confidence, and only those who are unofficially designated as the next generation head of the family. Only Bai Su can do it.
Bang!
Shopkeeper Dong raised his hand and threw it away, and the small copper coins flew up, arced through the air, and fell from Xia Zhichan's back.
Uh-huh!
The head of the Bai family narrowed his eyes, but Shopkeeper Dong, who was standing behind Xia Zhichan, had his eyes widened with an expression of disbelief.
A branch that had just been broken protruded from Xia Zhichan's ribs. It was still swaying, as if it had not recovered from the force of its swing.
But on the swaying branches...
Hanging copper coins.
Three pieces.
