I'm here in the martial arts world just to find love.

Despite being so confident in their ideas.

But the appearance of that mysterious brother-in-law still made Jiang Chao's heart skip a beat.

In the end, the strongest in this world calls the shots.

While interpersonal relationships and social skills are important, one's background and family history are also essential, but one's own hard skills should not be neglected too much.

Over the years, relying on his superior physique and outstanding talent, he has not paid much attention to martial arts, and has even become somewhat lax.

He thought that with his thick skin and tough flesh, he could do whatever he wanted, and while he might not be invincible, he could at least protect himself.

Little did they know, there are always higher levels to reach and more capable people to surpass.

Often, those who seem quiet and unassuming are the most dangerous.

"I need to work harder."

Jiang Chao secretly made up his mind.

He put martial arts training on his agenda.

他可不想以后回来娶依依的时候，被这个不知道从哪里冒出来的大舅哥摆下擂台刁难，当众人的面，揍得毫无还手之力。

Jiang Chao can't afford to lose face like this!

  

……

As the city gates and walls of Qingzhou City receded into the distance, Jiang Chao, riding a tall horse, felt a sense of exhilaration.

The previous frustration vanished completely.

I felt a sense of joy and high spirits.

Jianghu, here comes Jiang Chao!

After leaving Qingzhou City, Jiang Chao first drove his horse slowly forward, and only after the number of pedestrians on the road gradually decreased did he spur his horse and gallop at full speed.

The horse he was riding, though not a superb steed and not as precious as the white dragon horse he brought down from the mountain, was still a fine horse, costing him two thousand taels of silver.

According to the horse trader, this chestnut horse was born in the northern plateau, capable of carrying heavy loads and traveling a thousand miles a day, with extremely fast speed and great endurance.

Jiang Chao wanted to take this opportunity to test the quality of this horse that had the appearance of a warhorse.

The Northern Plateau is a region bordering the Liang Dynasty and the Northern Mang Mountains. It has a harsh climate, barren land, and is covered in snow all year round, making it a difficult environment.

But the inhabitants there are all incredibly brave and skilled in battle.

It is famous throughout the world for producing many fine horses.

Otherwise, even though Jiang Chao is rich, he is not a sucker to be slaughtered. How could he possibly spend two thousand taels of silver to buy a horse?

"drive!"

"drive!"

"drive!"

Jiang Chao gripped the horse's belly tightly with his legs, spurred the horse on, and pushed it to its limits.

He seemed to be permanently mounted on the horse, moving steadily and gracefully with its rise and fall.

Fortunately, he did not take the little girl Qin Yueyao with him when he left the city, and asked the textile workshop manager to send someone to Yunzhou later.

Otherwise, with a little burden by his side, how could he ride a horse so freely?

Two hours later.

After traversing the rugged mountain road, a winding, babbling brook comes into view.

Jiang Chao reined in his horse and stopped, then went to the stream and bent down to scoop up water.

The stream is so clear that you can see fish swimming in it.

The fish was about the length of a finger, completely transparent, and as lustrous as jade; it was truly beautiful.

Jiang Chao recognized what kind of fish it was at a glance.

"Jadefish... How come there's something like that here?"

Jiang Chao muttered to himself, then looked up and surveyed the surrounding mountain and forest environment.

The surrounding area was lush with vegetation and majestic mountains. In the distance, the peaks of the rolling hills were shrouded in mist, resembling a fairyland.

The road we came from was shrouded in a thick fog.

Jiang Chao clicked his tongue, stared blankly for a moment, and then muttered to himself with a somewhat helpless expression, "I was so focused on checking the horse's quality and letting it run freely that I forgot to watch where I was going... What have I done to deserve this?"

Before he left Qingzhou City, he had carried with him quite a few maps and books.

He was familiar with most of the mountains and rivers within the territory of Daliang, but this place in front of him was not marked at all on those maps.

Jiang Chao had no recollection of it whatsoever.

He glanced at Ma Xiaohong, a maroon horse beside him, who was drinking water with her head down, constantly exhaling white steam from her mouth and nose, and said:

"Little Red, do you still remember the way we came?"

Xiao Hong remained silent, only lowering her head to drink water.

Even though it came from the northern plateau, its previous rapid and frantic running was somewhat exhausting.

Now is the perfect time to take a good rest while the new owner, who is running himself ragged, is still confused. I won't care what he's squeaking and yelling about.

Seeing that the horse ignored him, Jiang Chao shook his head and smiled helplessly.

Well, he was just grasping at straws in his desperation.

How could a horse that had only known him for a few hours possibly understand his words?

Unlike his little white dragon, who is so intelligent and perceptive.

A single glance is enough for them to understand each other.

My longing for Xiaobai deepened even further.

Hopefully, when he returns from his travels, Xiaobai will still recognize him as its master.

He didn't abandon it on purpose; it simply had a more important mission.

Since Jiang Chao dared to roam the world alone, he must be a man of great skill and daring.

I only worried for a moment before putting it out of my mind.

He stood up and began to look around.

This place, surrounded by mountains, doesn't look like it's inhabited.

Listening closely, apart from the babbling of the stream flowing down from the distant mountain ravine, there was no other sound; the silence was eerily quiet.

Logically speaking, wild animals should roam in such deep mountains and forests.

Even after listening carefully for a long time, Jiang Chao, with his exceptional hearing, did not hear a single roar from a wild beast.

Even the birds...

"Wow, wow, wow!"

Just when Jiang Chao thought there wasn't even a bird chirping here, a sound like a baby crying suddenly came from the distant woods.

Jiang Chao: "..."

"That sounds awful."

Without needing to identify it closely, Jiang Chao knew which bird was making those cawing noises.

Bulbul.

That is, crows.

The crow is considered an ominous sign by many.

Speaking of which, Jiang Chao kept a few crows when he was bored on the mountain.

Although those crows were not large, they were exceptionally intelligent.

Not only can it understand human speech, but it can even imitate it verbally.

Jiang Chao even gave them names: Spring Flowers, Autumn Moon, Summer Cicada, and Winter Snow.

Spring flowers and autumn moon are a pair, summer cicadas and winter snow are a pair.

Those two pairs of crows had caused Jiang Chao to take the blame for a lot of things.

It could be said that the reason why his fellow disciples both doted on him and disliked him so much was largely due to those two pairs of hairy beasts.

Jiang Chao had mixed feelings about them; he loved that the two pairs of birds had kept him company through many boring times.

What's infuriating is that every time these two pairs of birds cause trouble together, he, as their owner, has to step in to clean up the mess and bear the stigma of being a spoiled brat.

Therefore, although the boy said it was unpleasant, he actually felt quite fond of that sound.

He patted the horse's back heavily and said:

"Little Red, you wait here and don't wander off. I'll go into the woods to check the situation."

The chestnut horse neighed, snorted, and stamped its feet twice.

Jiang Chao, not understanding what was going on, stopped paying attention and crossed the narrow stream, which was about ten feet wide, heading towards the dense forest on the other side from which crows were cawing.

As the river tide approached, the cawing of crows in the woods grew louder and louder.

It was as if they were hunting, or as if they were warning their companions.

Crows are gregarious birds that like to flock together to forage and defend against enemies. The two pairs of crows that Jiang Chao keeps are just like that.

Jiang Chao carefully examined the area and confirmed that the crows in the woods were indeed issuing a warning.

Raising an eyebrow with a smile, Jiang Chao circulated his inner energy, concealing his aura to a minimum, and silently made his way into the forest.