Chapter 920: Old Friends (3200 bonus)

The next day.

Yukan Town.

Twenty years had passed, and the town had long since gained other taverns.

Aaron no longer cared much for drinking alcohol, but had gradually grown fond of tasting tea; the small town's tavern, however, sold all sorts of beverages.

From time to time, he would order a pot of tea, pair it with various snacks, and leisurely pass the time; sometimes he could while away an entire day.

As for the affairs of Banxian Hall? Naturally, they were all left to his bastard son to manage.

Recently, the lad had become infatuated with the daughter of a certain family, but Aaron had explicitly stated he would not provide much money for his marriage, so he was currently working miserably for his own old man to save up for the bride price...

Yet, how brutal are the struggles for Imperial Authority? Both his father and his master had fallen in this campaign.

"Exactly!"

Li Yao was the son of Li Xiao; from a young age, he had followed his father and Zhang Chengxiang through a life of displacement. Within a few years, Li Erniang had also passed away, and he had truly suffered quite a bit, experiencing the cold and warmth of the world.

He only worried about his children often, and even complained that he had spent too much money when he was young, unable to save up much of a nest egg.

When the crowd gradually dispersed, Li Yao suddenly hunched his back, coughed violently several times, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His aptitude was actually much better than his father's; he learned the Iron Hand Skill very quickly, and was later taken in as a disciple by Zhang Chengxiang, who taught him the sect's martial arts with great care.

Aaron listened for a moment, then let it be.

Aaron suddenly became a bit interested: "Why is it not heard here?"

The wife beside him could not help but look at him with a worried expression.

In the previous dozen years or so, natural and man-made disasters had been constant, and even the old Emperor had been replaced several times.

"Brother Yao, is this your hometown?"

"Alas, in this remote place of ours... the storytellers are also part-time Doctors, and the scripts they learn are quite outdated... We still have to wait a while before the latest ones circulate here."

In his view, regardless of whether it was a virtuous ruler or a foolish one, after several hundred years, they would still be nothing more than a handful of yellow soil; what was there worth paying attention to?

Even Aaron could not help but be secretly startled: 'This son of Li Xiao... is actually much stronger than his old man...'

Shopkeeper Qian, however, became interested and laughed: "I heard that when the current Son of Heaven ascended to the throne, he encountered quite a few storms; there were treacherous ministers in the Imperial Court and other princes obstructing him from within. Fortunately, the Son of Heaven had a group of good friends he had befriended when he was a commoner to help him, which is how he secured the imperial throne... Among them, there were quite a few who did not like being officials and left after bidding the Emperor farewell. I went into the city a few days ago and heard a storyteller telling this story at a teahouse; the title is called—'Three Heroes and Seven Gallants'!"

"What happened?"

The previous Emperor had no sons, so the throne fell to the current one.

Beside the construction site, quite a few townspeople had gathered, all watching the excitement.

Aaron sighed and agreed that once the new residence was completed, he would come to have a cup of wine to celebrate the Li Family's housewarming, then bid farewell and left.

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Qian's expression shifted.

"Haha... the key is not to get angry yourself, then there's nothing to worry about."

Li Yao replied and bowed to everyone in all directions: "Respected elders and fellow villagers... I am Li Yao. I have already purchased the Land Deed for this place from the government. In the future, we will all be neighbors, and I hope we can live in harmony and help each other out when needed."

In this way, the government was not very concerned about the matter of pursuing the remnants of the Li Family from back then, and could easily clear their names by finding any convenient connection.

"Let's go together, let's go!"

After becoming Emperor, he was even more diligent in governance, managing to restore quite a bit of the National Fortune.

Aaron laughed heartily.

"This current Son of Heaven is truly a wise ruler."

He poked his head out and called out, and immediately someone answered: "It's quite strange... over at the Li Family Inn, someone actually bought the land there and is going to build a large mansion again!"

Shopkeeper Qian sighed and joined Aaron in looking down on the skill level of the storytellers in the tavern.

"Sigh... Doctor Fang, you truly have a good life... Fang Xi is also quite good, unlike me, who is often angered to death by my son and daughter!"

The biggest factor among them was... the Zhao Family had fallen!

The Li Family's great enemy, that son of the Minister, had a father who was already old, and a few years ago, he had stood on the wrong side during the succession of the throne, leading to his family being raided and convicted.

At this moment, a team of government runners suddenly walked through the streets beating gongs and drums, loudly announcing a piece of news: "The Emperor has issued an edict to exempt the three disaster-stricken areas from taxes and grain..."

The current Son of Heaven, when he was a prince, quite liked to dress in plain clothes and roam the world, and he had done many good deeds, earning the title of 'Knight-Errant King'.

Shopkeeper Qian's eyes lit up, and he stood up.

"Brother Yao?"

Aaron blew on his tea, watching the bustling crowd on the street, feeling as though he could never see enough.

He was now old and dim-sighted, unable to do business, and had retired early. He was also idle every day, and had formed a pair with Aaron in the elderly group.

Li Yao did not disappoint, cultivating a pair of Judge Pens until they were better than the master, and began to officially venture into the pugilistic world. By a stroke of luck, he even formed a friendship with the original 'Knight-Errant King' and contributed greatly to the latter's ascension to the throne.

As for why Li Yao dared to settle here, almost carving the words 'Remnant of the Li Family' on his own forehead, Aaron also knew the reason.

"The tides of fortune truly turn!"

Aaron laughed and scolded a few times, letting the shopkeeper bring a few more side dishes, when suddenly he heard the outside become lively again.

"Oh? Shall we go and see the excitement together?"

Aaron tossed down a string of copper coins and said to Shopkeeper Qian.

That Young Master Zhao Jianchen had also disappeared without a trace.

The root of all worldly troubles lies here; as long as one does not care, one can be light and breezy.

His voice was not loud, yet it sounded as if he were speaking into everyone's ear; this level of Internal Energy cultivation was truly no small matter.

After waiting for another moment, they saw a carriage approach, using fine silk for curtains. At this time, the curtain was lifted, and a young couple stepped down.

Seeing the intimate movements of the two, they should be a young married couple.

The two sat down; Aaron ordered a pot of 'Dragon Pellet Tea', while Shopkeeper Qian asked for a pot of the cheapest alcohol, always complaining that it was too watered down.

The two walked not far before reaching the territory of the Li Family Inn. Originally, this place had been abandoned, but at this time, a group of laborers was moving rubble and debris, and occasionally someone was measuring with a wooden ruler; it was indeed a scene of preparing to start construction.

The man had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, looking vaguely familiar, while the woman was heroic and spirited, equipped with a long sword, dressed as a martial arts heroine.

Seeing Aaron come again, Shopkeeper Qian, who was already quite aged, sighed.

Aaron's ears twitched slightly, and he heard the woman's whispered question.

After the Hero King ascended the throne, Li Yao used his severe injuries as an excuse to decline high office and generous stipends, then returned to his hometown with his wife and the ashes of his father and Master.

At this moment, gazing at the scenery of his hometown which he did not recognize at all, his eyes turned red and he nearly shed tears, so he said to his wife, "I am fine... let us choose a burial site as soon as possible and lay our ancestors to rest..."

(End of this chapter)