A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 190 After the old friend
Ximen Yong's eyes scanned Duan Rong's figure, and finally stopped at Duan Rong's eyes...

Ximen Yong smiled.

Looking face to face at this moment, he was almost certain that these eyes were the same pair of eyes on Black Tiger Hill.

Absolutely no mistake!

Duan Rong was puzzled by Ximen Yong's stare. He was masked on Heihugang, and Duan Rong didn't believe that Ximen Yong could recognize him.

Ximen Yong took a melon slice from the tray and handed it to Duan Rong, saying, "Master Duan, try this melon. It's just been chilled, and it's fragrant and sweet."

Duan Rong received it respectfully and said, "Thank you, sir!"

Ximen Yong smiled and said, "Kan Kan calls you Brother Duan. If you don't mind, you can call me Uncle in the future."

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. He looked towards Ximen Yong, but saw that Ximen Yong was just smiling humbly as usual, with no sign of anything unusual.

Duan Rong said, "I am of low status. Mr. Ximen and I are just joking names among friends. How dare I associate myself with him?"

"Master Duan, you refuse to call me uncle. I guess it must be because my behavior and virtue are not worthy of the title of Master Duan. This is because my Ximen family is immoral!"

"How can that be true?" Duan Rong immediately shouted, "Master Ximen, please accept my nephew's greetings!"

Ximen Yong reached out his hand to help Duan Rong up, and said with a smile: "That's it!"

Ximen Yong actually took Duan Rong's hand and sat down on the two armchairs, saying, "My dear nephew, it's not that my uncle is taking advantage of you by relying on his seniority. We address each other like this so that we can be closer in the future. When we visit each other during the New Year, it will give us a status, right?"

"Uncle, what are you talking about? It is obviously me who is taking advantage. I am a nobody, but you call me your nephew. I am really humbled and terrified!"

"A hero's origin is not important, so my dear nephew, don't be too modest." Ximen Yong said, "I will prepare a family dinner in the flower hall at noon. I wonder if my dear nephew would be willing to honor me and have a simple meal with me, an old man?"

"Dare you disobey orders?" Duan Rong clasped his fists.

Ximen Yong stood up with a smile, and as he left, he glared at Ximen Kankan, who was chewing a melon, and scolded him, "The ice-veined melon was cut for Nephew Duan. How many pieces did you eat?"

The ice-veined melon was juicy to begin with, and Ximen Kankan choked on it during the scolding, starting to cough repeatedly.

He wiped the juice from his mouth and stopped coughing. Ximen Yong had already left Xueyanju.

Ximen Kankan looked at the two melon slices on the table and muttered to his father's back, "Didn't I just eat two pieces?"

Afterwards, Ximen Kankan and Duan Rong ate ice-veined melon while playing chess and chatting. Soon it was time for lunch, and Ximen Kankan and Duan Rong went to the flower hall in the front yard together.

The two walked over and saw a few servants carrying trays towards the flower hall. Ximen Kankan grabbed a man and asked, "Who made the lunch?"

"Mr. Xu did it."

"Old Xu?" Ximen Kankan's eyes lit up and he asked, "Do you have the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck?"

"some."

When Ximen Kankan heard about the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck, his mouth immediately watered. He pushed Duan Rong and walked quickly towards the flower hall.

The two walked to the entrance of the flower hall, and Meiqin, who was waiting there, suddenly stopped Ximen Kankan and said, "The master only hired Duan Rong, the escort."

"What about me?" Ximen Kankan asked innocently, "Didn't you say it was a family dinner?"

"Please forgive me for not knowing," Meiqin said, kneeling down and bowing, then she took Duan Rong inside.

Duan Rong touched his nose and looked back at Ximen Kankan. Ximen Kankan's eyes were filled with resentment, just like a young wife who was forced to marry because she met the wrong person.

When Duan Rong walked in, several cold dishes had already been placed on the table. Meiqin opened a jar of aged wine, poured a glass for each of them, then went out and stood guard at the door.

As soon as Duan Rong sat down, the waiter brought a covered tray. When he opened it, the eight-treasure gourd duck was inside.

Ximen Yong didn't know that Duan Rong had already eaten it, so he introduced it to him specially.

The two of them started chatting while eating and drinking. However, gradually, Duan Rong found that Ximen Yong was asking him various questions in a roundabout way.

After a few questions, Duan Rong was sure that the old man had guessed that he was the man on Black Tiger Hill for some reason. Although he didn't know how Ximen Yong guessed it, Duan Rong had made up his mind and would never admit it.

Ximen Yong asked many questions, and seeing that Duan Rong was always vague and evasive in his answers, he finally realized that Duan Rong was still unwilling to reveal his identity.

Ximen Yong sighed deeply and finally gave up on the matter. Instead, he chatted with Duan Rong about some interesting stories in the martial arts world.

Ximen Yong had been in the world for a long time and had no idea how much he knew. The two of them soon became friendly with each other.

The lunch took nearly an hour. Ximen Yongcai reluctantly took Duan Rong's hand and personally walked him out the door.

Before leaving, Ximen Yong said, "My dear nephew, if you encounter any difficulties, you must tell me. If you can think of me when you are in trouble, then you really treat me as your uncle. You must not be shy about it!"

Ximen Yong patted Duan Rong's hands and spoke. Duan Rong felt a surge of warmth in his heart and thanked him repeatedly.

Duan Rong said goodbye and left, walked down the steps, turned around and bowed before leaving. His bow was a sincere one to Ximen Yong, not just a courtesy.

During the banquet, Ximen Yong's deep affection was expressed to Duan Rong, who was not a plant or a tree, so how could he not feel it?
As soon as Duan Rong walked past the stone lions, Ximen Kankan flashed out from behind the stone lions, with his hands behind his back, like an old man, he stopped Duan Rong and asked in a condescending manner: "Tell me, what did you do? My father loves you more than his own son, me?"

Duan Rong was a little tipsy. He glanced at Ximen Kankan, touched his belly, and smacked his lips, "Oh... Why is the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck so delicious..."

"Don't bring up that topic." Ximen Kankan said angrily, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?"

"Actually, I don't know either." Duan Rong shook his head and said, "Maybe it's because of the swordplay I had with you. Just now at the banquet, your father said that your swordplay has improved a lot."

Ximen Kankan's eyes were filled with astonishment, and he asked, "Have I made great progress in swordsmanship?"

"Looking back, I have made a lot of progress," said Duan Rong.

"Really?" Ximen Kankan got the answer, and the doubts in his heart finally disappeared a little.

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." Seeing that Ximen Kankan was no longer pestering him, Duan Rong waved his hand and left.

Ximen Kankan looked at Duan Rong's back and said with a curled lip, "What's so delicious about the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck? I've been tired of it for a long time..."

After Ximen Kankan finished speaking, he walked back angrily.

In the flower hall of the main courtyard, Ximen Yong sat there alone, sipping tea and thinking.

Duan Rong was close to Kan Kan and advised him, and also saved his life on Heihugang. It can be seen that he treated the Ximen family very well, but it seems that he had some unspeakable secrets and was unwilling to reveal his identity.

Ximen Yong was calculating and speculating in his mind. He put the teacup to his mouth and suddenly paused, because he thought of a reason, and this reason made his whole body suddenly cold.

"Yilin, could this person be the descendant of an old friend of yours?"

After this answer flashed through Ximen Yong's mind, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Li Yilin's family was originally a wealthy family in Yuanyang Prefecture, but Li Yilin insisted on marrying Ximen Yong, so she broke off relations with her family.

The Li family also removed her name from the family tree!

You can’t enter the Li family’s gate when you are alive, and you can’t enter the Li family’s tomb when you die!
But only three years later, the Li family was involved in a major crime and the entire family was executed. Li Yilin was spared because she was removed from the family tree. However, when she learned that her entire family was executed, she was mentally damaged and died of depression within half a year.

Ximen Yong guessed that Duan Rong might be the descendant of the Li family who escaped.

If not, how could Duan Rong be so close to the Ximen family and still refuse to reveal his identity? He was probably worried about revealing his background as a descendant of a sinner.

Ximen Yong thought about this and looked up. He saw the painting that Duan Rong had drawn for Ximen Kankan. The sincere advice and advice in the poem on the painting made him more certain of his guess.

He decided to call someone to hang the painting in Kankan's bedroom so that Ximen Kankan could observe it every day and understand it carefully, so as not to let Duan Rong down.

(End of this chapter)