From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 170 Mischievous Child
a few days later.

Eleven-year-old Xu Lijia was playing with his younger brother Xu Libing at the door, with a maidservant watching over them.

At this moment, Xu Fugui arrived.

He was dressed in plain, coarse cloth clothes and looked no different from an ordinary person.

He came to collect the aura of Xu Libing's offspring.

The maidservant who was looking after Xu Libing was new and did not recognize Xu Fugui. Seeing him walk straight toward Xu Libing, she quickly stopped him: "Please stop, who are you?"

"I?"

Xu Fugui was both amused and exasperated. He rarely showed his face, and even the new maid didn't recognize him anymore.
Xu Lijia looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xu Fugui, quickly calling out, "Great-Grandpa~~"

Upon hearing the title "Great-Grandfather," the maidservant was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly, bowing her head and saying, "This servant does not recognize Master Gao. This servant is guilty."

In the Xu family, who else but Xu Fugui could be called "great-grandfather" by Xu Lijia?

Xu Fugui waved his hand dismissively: "Ignorance is no excuse. You may leave now. I've come to see my great-grandson."

"Yes."

The maid responded and retreated to a distance.

She was surprised that Xu Fugui looked so young, only in his fifties or sixties.

According to his age, Xu Fugui should be eighty years old.

But then she thought of the old lady of the Xu family, Jia Zhen, whom she had met; she still looked like a young woman. She had heard that it was a precious elixir of immortality that kept her beautiful and youthful.

Xu Fugui must have taken similar elixirs.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xu Fugui picked up Xu Libing: "Libing, do you recognize your great-grandfather?"

Three-year-old Li Bing stared at Xu Fugui with wide, curious eyes.

The clerk standing next to him said, "Third brother, this is great-grandfather. Quickly greet him."

"Great-great-grandfather."

Li Bing called out in a childish voice.

Xu Fugui reached out and stroked his head, taking the opportunity to absorb his bloodline energy: "My great-grandson Xu Libing has turned three. May he grow up safely and have everything go smoothly..."

An invisible aura passed through Xu Fugui's body, entered his inner space, and nourished the family's precious tree.

Xu Fugui looked into the space inside his body and saw that another branch had branched off from the branch of Zhongyi.

This is Xu Zhongyi's third child.

At the same time, both the Enlightenment Fruit and the Longevity Fruit were nourished.

The Longevity Fruit underwent a change, instantly growing larger.

[The Immortal Fruit: Consuming it near the precious tree can extend one's lifespan by twenty years.]

[After being nourished by the bloodlines of eight more descendants of this branch, it can be upgraded to a "forty-year" longevity fruit.]

Originally a longevity fruit that could extend lifespan by ten years, it was upgraded to a longevity fruit that could extend lifespan by twenty years after being nourished by the bloodlines of four descendants of Xu Xiaoan: Li Jia, Li Yi, Li Jie, and Li Bing.

Xu Fugui thought this was the limit, but he never expected it could be upgraded.

"The fifth son has a large and prosperous family with many descendants. He will be able to upgrade again soon."

The longevity fruit, which has been stored for forty years, can extend Xu Fugui's lifespan to 160 or 170 years.

"Come on, let your great-grandfather perform a magic trick for you."

Xu Fugui was holding Li Bing, with only Li Jia beside him. He pointed to a small blade of grass on the ground and solemnly recited a strange incantation: "Mami Gato~~ Bian!"

He pointed, and the little grass sprouted out of thin air, growing a small yellow flower.

Li Jia was stunned: "Great-Grandpa, you really know magic tricks! Can you teach me? I want to learn."

"Hehe, your great-grandfather will teach you when you grow up."

Xu Fugui played with the two of them for a while before leaving.

Each time he practiced, it took him several days. In his spare time, he would observe the various places around Baihe Mountain and see how each family was doing.

After so many years of development, tens of thousands of acres of terraced fields have been reclaimed around Baihe Mountain.

Everything in Baihe Mountain is now in good order.

"Bang~!"

Xu Fugui heard a loud bang not far away.

He looked in the direction of the sound, his gaze traveling hundreds of meters to a roadside outhouse where the explosion was coming from.

He saw several children hiding in the shadows, laughing secretly, not far away.

One of them was Chung-huai's son: ten-year-old Seo Ri-won.

"It's that little rascal again, he's so naughty."

Xu Fugui saw a man covered in filth walk out of the latrine with a dark face, shouting loudly, "Which scoundrel threw firecrackers into the latrine? Don't let me catch you, or I'll spank your ass!"

Xu Liyuan and a few friends were laughing so hard they were doubled over in a corner.

Xu Fugui had heard about his mischievous and troublesome nature.

He didn't step forward to discipline him; such a minor problem should be dealt with by Xu Liyuan's father himself.

Afterwards, Xu Fugui went to Xu Zhongchao's residence.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xu Zhongchao wrote the "Hundred Character Classic" 100,000 times the year before last and was imprisoned for more than three years.

After being released, he became much more obedient.

Now she stays at home all day to take care of her son, Xu Lijing.

“Zhongchao, let me take a look at the mirror.”

When Xu Fugui arrived, he looked at Xu Lijing, who was learning to walk.

"Grandpa, he's doing very well. Look, he can walk now."

"Great-grandfather~~"

Xu Lijing called out and walked towards Xu Fugui.

Among the younger generation with the character "Li" in their names, Xu Fugui was most concerned about Xu Lijing, who was blind, and therefore visited him frequently.

Although Xu Lijing is blind, he is very sensitive to sound. He recognized his great-grandfather just by the sound of his footsteps.

He was holding a stick in his hand, sweeping it horizontally from side to side as he slowly walked forward.

"Come here, let great-grandfather give you a hug."

Xu Fugui stood still, bent down, and waited for Xu Lijing to walk towards him before reaching out to pick him up.

“Li Jing is four years old this year. In three years, we will let him learn stance training and martial arts.”

Xu Fugui felt a little sorry for the blind little guy.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

after a few days.

Xu Liyuan and a group of friends gathered together to play and have fun.

His frequent companions were the children of farmhands and servants.

With a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, he asked listlessly, "Where shall we go to play today?" He was ten years old this year. He started practicing martial arts and stance training three years ago, and in just over a year, he had mastered the first level of stance training.

His martial arts talent is like that of his grandfather, Xu Xiaogou.

"Young Master Yuan, let's go to the pond to catch fish. I want to eat grilled fish."

"No, no, I just went a few days ago, it wasn't interesting."

Given his current age and physical condition at the second level of stance training, he shouldn't have been drowned in the pond like he was four years ago.

"Young Master Yuan, shall we go to the outhouse and set off firecrackers again?"

“I’m not going. Everyone in Baihe Mountain knows that I set off the firecrackers. They’ll definitely complain to my dad, and I’ll be the one who gets scolded.”

Li Yuan shook his head repeatedly.

His reputation had spread throughout Baihe Mountain. Whenever something happened, people would think of him first and would complain to his father.

"Shall we go to Baihe Village?"

Baihe Mountain is not far from Baihe Village, and they sometimes go to Baihe Village to play.

"Let me think about it."

Besides practicing martial arts and reading, Li Yuan spent his days thinking about how to have fun.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he thought of someone: "Come with me!"

"Young Master Yuan, where are we going?"

"Don't ask, you'll find out when the time comes."

Li Yuan and his companions arrived near Xu Zhongchao's house.

"Wait for me."

As he spoke, he walked toward Xu Zhongchao's residence.

The gate to the mansion was not closed, so he pushed it open and went inside.

"Uncle Zhongchao~~"

He called out a few times but didn't see Xu Zhongchao. Instead, he saw a maid carrying Xu Lijing.

Xu Zhongchao had to go out on business, while Ma Shujie was busy teaching the Xu family, whose numbers were growing.

"Young Master Liyuan, my master and mistress are not here."

The maid recognized Xu Liyuan.

"It's nothing, I just came to play with my little brother Lijing."

As Li Yuan spoke, he walked towards Li Jing: "Li Jing, how about your cousin takes you out to play?"

Li Jing heard clearly and recognized Li Yuan's voice: "Okay, okay."

Because he is blind, he spends most of his time at home and cannot go out.

He readily agreed when he heard that Li Yuan was taking him out to play.

"Then let's go."

As Li Yuan spoke, he reached out to hug Li Jing, but was stopped by the maid.

“Young Master Liyuan, I cannot make this decision. We must wait for the Master to return.”

The maidservant was worried and entrusted the blind Li Jing to the care of ten-year-old Li Yuan.

"What are you afraid of? Do you think I would lose my little brother Li Jing? He already agreed, so don't worry."

Ignoring the maid's attempts to stop him, Li Yuan picked up the mirror and headed towards the door.

"This……"

The maidservant couldn't stop her and had no choice but to follow closely.

After walking a few steps, Li Yuan impatiently shooed the maid away: "What are you doing following us? Don't get in the way. You can't have fun with us."

"..."

Left with no other option, the maidservant went to find Xu Zhongchao.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On Baihe Mountain, in a secluded grove.

Liyuan and his friends are playing with Lijing.

All that could be seen was a black cloth covering Li Yuan's eyes.

An eleven or twelve-year-old boy asked in a deep, gruff voice, "Guess who I am?"

Li Yuan thought for a moment and made a judgment: "Heiwa?"

But Li Jing, standing nearby, said, "It's Big Head."

"Young Master Jing guessed right again, he's amazing!"

"Big head?"

Li Yuan tore off the cloth strip in front of him in disbelief and saw that the person who had just made the sound was indeed not the "Heiwa" he had mentioned.

He wondered, "How can Li Jing's ears be shaped like that, making it so easy to tell the difference?"

“My mother said that because I can’t see, I can hear more clearly.”

"..."

Li Yuan refused to believe it and tried a few more times, discovering that Li Jing's hearing was indeed far beyond that of ordinary people. He could not only distinguish the voices of people, but also hear footsteps clearly.

He felt a mixture of admiration and envy: he had lost several times in the competition.

The thought of playing around arose in my mind.

He pulled his companions aside, whispered a few words to them, and shared his thoughts.

"Young Master Yuan, this is not a good idea."

"Isn't this a bit like bullying Young Master Jing?"

"What are you afraid of? We'll just watch from a distance. What could possibly happen?"

Ignoring his companions' objections, Li Yuan waved them away and then shouted, "Oh dear, it's getting dark. Let's go back quickly. There are wolves around here at night."

As he spoke, he called out to Li Jing, "Li Jing, you can go back by yourself. We're leaving now."

Then he walked away into the distance.

"what?"

Li Jing was stunned. Everyone else had left, but he was left behind? He heard Li Yuan's footsteps as he walked away.

"Hey, cousin? Cousin?"

There were no human voices around, only the chirping of insects and the calls of birds.

Li Jing was only four years old; he couldn't see or distinguish directions or time.

He walked home, following the direction he remembered from where he came from.

I hadn't walked more than a few steps when I almost bumped into a big tree.

He lay on the ground and groped around for a while before finding a thin wooden stick about two feet long. He used the stick to find his way home.

(End of this chapter)