From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 90 Iron Face
The spiritual energy kept his body in a youthful state, making his practice of the Five Elements Stance Exercises very efficient.

With the occasional use of Qi and Blood Pills, he reached the second level of the Innate Realm two years ago, and he estimates that he will reach the third level of the Innate Realm in another two or three years.

This is very fast.

Keep in mind that he is only thirty years old, which is very young for the lifespan limit of a Qi Refining cultivator.

It seems certain that he will reach the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm, and he may even reach the ultimate realm of Martial Arts: the Grandmaster realm!

Grandmaster, comparable to the late stage of Qi Refining, is the pinnacle of strength in Tonggu County.

Xu Xiaogou had a foundation in martial arts, so his strength improved rapidly as he continued on the path of martial arts.

Cultivating immortality is extremely difficult due to a lack of spirit stones, spells, and magical artifacts; in short, resources are scarce, making it far less effective than martial arts for improving one's strength.

In his view, since cultivating immortality doesn't lead to foundation building anyway, it's no different from practicing martial arts.

Foundation building?

Given the Xu family's current situation, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage is an unattainable dream.

His family doesn't even have the combat power of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator or a martial arts grandmaster, so there's no need to consider Foundation Establishment.

"Ho!"

"bluff~"

“No, no…”

Xu Xiaogou's fists were sometimes as swift as the wind, sometimes his feet were firmly planted, and sometimes his palms were light and gentle.

"The Five Elements Stance Training, while lacking the special strengths of other stance training methods, also has no weaknesses. Its characteristics are balance, harmony, and the unity of the five elements."

Metal is sharp and piercing, wood welcomes spring, water is resilient and flexible, fire is fierce and intense, earth is heavy and profound...

"No, there's too much and too much variety; I don't have the skills for that."

He created a set of martial arts techniques called "Five Elements Stance Kung Fu" for his own family.

The descendants of the Xu family now practice the "Five Elements Stance Skill," but they don't have the corresponding kung fu. They can only learn the kung fu from other martial arts schools, such as the Luohan Fist and the Lost Track Step that Xu Xiaohou practiced.

Therefore, Xu Xiaogou had the idea of ​​creating his own kung fu.

Creating a martial art is no easy feat. Even if he is a genius, he is only at the second level of the Innate Realm and is not even a martial arts master.

"Third Brother!"

A shout from not far away interrupted Xu Xiaogou's thoughts.

"Liu Zi, who beat you up?"

Xu Xiaogou looked at Xu Xiaohou and saw that he had injuries on his face.

"I lost the sparring match. Third brother, give me extra training; I need to improve my skills."

"Haha, good, that's ambitious."

Xu Xiaogou did not ask who the other person was.

He should get up wherever he falls, and Xu Xiaohou should pick up the lost face himself.

In the following days, Xu Xiaohou focused on practicing martial arts.

He practiced martial arts while taking Qi and Blood Pills and then practiced stance training.

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.

Not far from the county government office, there was a small house.

This is where Xu Xiaoniu and Chen Xiulian live in the county town.

Besides the two of them, their son Zhonglei, there was also Chen Xiulian's mother.

Chen Xiulian's father passed away a few months after their marriage, leaving behind his mother, who was more than ten years younger than him.

After that, her mother lived with the two of them. Now she is over sixty years old, with maids to serve her and enjoying her old age.

At the entrance of the mansion, a guard stood watch with a sword at his waist.

The guard was Wang Quan, who had brought Xu Xiaoniu to the county government office years ago.

Wang Quan served as Xu Xiaoniu's bodyguard; it was a high-ranking, easy, and well-paid position—a very good job.

A middle-aged man dressed in expensive clothes came in, carrying a gift box, and pleaded with Wang Quan: "Sir, please let me in. I've come several times already."

"No, no. I already told you, if you have serious business, go to the yamen. This is the county magistrate's house, not a place for official business."

Wang Quan waved his hand, urging the middle-aged man to leave.

The middle-aged man's son lured a teenage unmarried girl from another family to his home with the intention of committing a crime against her. Fortunately, a passerby discovered the plot and reported it to the authorities. His son was imprisoned, and the man repeatedly came to Xu Xiaoniu, trying to reduce his son's sentence.

"Sir, my father is from Baihe Village, and he's related to the Xu County Magistrate's family. Could you please pass on a message for me?"

"It doesn't matter who your father is. If you keep bothering me, believe me, I'll throw you in jail for a few days."

Wang Quan grew impatient and became angry.

The middle-aged man had no choice but to leave. Having failed to get help from the county magistrate, he could only try to find other connections.

Xu Xiaoniu served as a county magistrate for five years, gradually earning a reputation for being "iron-fisted and impartial".

He was neither greedy nor corrupt, he did not accept gifts, and he did not engage in personal favors; he handled all official business strictly by the book.

His lack of empathy even earned him the reputation of being "cold-hearted," "unsociable," and "inept at handling social situations."

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 while, another couple arrived.

"May I ask, sir, is this the residence of County Magistrate Xu?"

The couple stepped forward to inquire.

Wang Quan said coldly, "Hurry up and leave. County Magistrate Xu doesn't accept gifts. If you have something to do, go to the yamen."

"Sigh, the authorities can't do anything about it. My child has been missing for three days, we can't find him, we just can't find him at all."

"Sir, these are some green fruits from my family. Please have them, County Commandant. And please urge the officials to take note."

The two men were poorly dressed, and the baskets they carried were filled with unripe fruit.

Seeing that the two had come for the child, Wang Quan's cold expression softened: "Alright, put the basket by the door. I'll let you know when I see County Magistrate Xu."

"Thank you, thank you, soldier."

The two placed the grass basket beside the gate and thanked them repeatedly.

At this moment, in the courtyard.

"Xiulian, let's go, don't keep them waiting."

Xu Xiaoniu held his son Zhonglei in his arms, preparing to return to the village to hold a third birthday banquet for the child.

The three-year-old celebration for the Xu family's offspring is a routine family banquet.

"I'm here, I'm here. I'll let Mom know."

Chen Xiulian dressed neatly, wearing her few pieces of jewelry and making a slight effort to embellish her appearance.

She never used to dress up, but in recent years, as her quality of life has improved, she has started to buy a few pieces of jewelry.

After saying goodbye to her mother, the three of them set off in a horse-drawn carriage.

As they were leaving, Wang Quan told Xu Xiaoniu about the couple who had delivered the green fruit earlier.

"Okay, I see."

Xu Xiaoniu thought to himself: There have been several cases of child abduction recently, I need to tell my men to pay more attention.

Every year, there are quite a few cases of children going missing.

Especially in the villages.

Some children accidentally fell into wells or water, while others were abducted.

If a body cannot be found after searching everywhere, it is highly likely that the person was abducted.

Despite being a county constable, Xu Xiaoniu was unable to investigate all the cases. Due to limited resources, he could only have his men patrol the area as much as possible.

His reputation for being "impartial and incorruptible" was not for the purpose of gaining fame or becoming an honest official.

Instead, he followed his father's advice and remained aloof from the crowd of officials.

By avoiding conflicts of interest or deeper entanglements with others, one can avoid getting involved in various incidents.

This also fits Xu Xiaoniu's personality; he is not a person who is good at socializing.

Of course, this also has obvious disadvantages: behind his back, people say that he is bad at interpersonal relationships and does not understand the mutual benefit between officials, which makes no one willing to associate with him.

The advantage is that he treats everyone equally and without favoritism. People know his personality and therefore know that he is not deliberately targeting or offending anyone.

Xu Xiaoniu drove the carriage, which carried his wife and children to Baihe Village.

This is Zhonglei's third birthday celebration, and the rest of the Xu family members have all rushed to the Xu family's old house to join him.

(End of this chapter)