The third day of training finally arrived. On this morning, the silver boy did not leave the mansion as usual, but followed his grandfathers wishes and gathered everyone on time to prepare for the team action, of course, the prince was also present.
After hearing about everyones plan today, Xiao Shuai came to squat early and had breakfast with his old friends. He thought that one more person could help a little more.
But Ah Jun didnt see it that way. He gave a troubled glance at Xiao Shuai, who was still grinning, before voicing his doubts—— As heir to the Huangfu clan, he suddenly realized there was still a major military drill underway in the camp. A wave of clarity washed over him, but his friend Yuwen brothers merely watched indifferently from the sidelines, showing no sign of joining in the persuasion effort.
The heir simply waved his hand with effortless grace. With a calm demeanor that suggested it mattered little whether he was present or absent, he reassured everyone: "Honestly, I wasnt really keen on joining. The drill was pretty dull anyway, and I never enjoyed the back-and-forth fighting. Its more fun to join everyone in and even get to play a bit with Xiao Xi." Ah Jun and Xiao Jiwoo exchanged glances—— "Alright then, just enjoy yourselves!"
Just as the children had just walked out of the gate, they were stopped by an old man—— The old woman, supported by her maid, was walking slowly towards Xiao Shuai with the same cane as Grandpa Yuwen.
Little Shuai showed no signs of nervousness or intention to hide. Instead, he rushed forward to support the elderly woman. This was his great-grandmother, the highest-ranking figure in the Marshals Mansion, a legendary battlefield hero and distinguished female general—Madam Mu.
Back in the day, when war was at its most brutal, the elderly woman stepped forward with remarkable courage. At nearly seventy, she led a group of female generals to help repel foreign invaders. Now in her nineties, though her body has lost much of its former vigor—her hair completely white, her back slightly hunched—she still moves with remarkable agility and dignity.
However, to everyones surprise, when the crown princes great-grandmother saw Xiao Shuai coming up to her, she did not react at all. Instead, she ignored the childs hands and continued to walk straight toward Ah Jun and his family.
The young marshal was embarrassed to stay in the same place for a while, and soon followed him as usual... Then he saw the old man slowly came to the silver boys face, looking at the child with a kind, kind and familiar smile.
But at this time, the Yuwen brothers became obedient, looking at the old man in front of them with a smile—— He could even smile!
"Son, you are back!"
Chapter 24 Longyan, a real dragon? A giant dragon!
This huge reversal also left Ah Jun and others watching in confusion, while Xiao Xi was still there, mocking the silver-haired boys two-faced nature, but Ah Jun had her pinned down...
—— Whats going on here?
Then, the old man stretched out his hands, one hand tightly holding the childs hand, the other hand gently patting the back of his hand, a smile on his face, tears in his eyes.
"Um! The child is back. How are you doing?" At this time, the Yuwen brothers cooperated to hold the old mans hand, and then gently answered the old mans words.
"Good —— nice!"
Seeing the child, the old man was instantly revitalized and spoke with much more confidence—— Xiao Shuai, who returned to the group, explained the situation of his great-grandmother.
It turned out that the old man, because of his advanced age and head injury in the war, had a brain affected by the years, so his memory began to deteriorate, so he could not remember things.
In addition, his great-grandmother was so devastated by the disappearance of her youngest son during the war that she became mentally confused and still talks about the child to this day.
However, by chance, the old man mistakenly identified the silver boy as his own youngest son. Therefore, every time he met him, he asked Xiao Shuai to call the Yuwen brothers grandpa ——Hey, this is not oil slick!
At this point, Xiao Shuai felt very wronged, but it was said that the Yuwen brothers were enjoying themselves, and they always treated the old man well and cooperated with him, acting like real people.
"Go on... go on with your work. Im fine. Dont worry about me!"
After a while, the silver boy carefully supported the old man, and the young marshal followed him, and they slowly returned to the gate of the Marshals office. Then, the two children bowed solemnly and prepared to continue their mission.
Although the old woman was very reluctant, she was also aware that as a descendant of the Huangfu family, her youngest son had a very important responsibility and could not and could not stay with her all the time—— As the ancient saying goes, loyalty and filial piety cannot be fulfilled at the same time.
As for Xiao Shuai, he didnt seem to be that much of a concern——The old man tried to smile and put his hand on his youngest sons shoulder, nodded, then ignored Xiao Shuais greeting, turned away calmly with a sad expression, and slowly left with his cane step by step.
"Hey? Cousin... How did you come back?"
Ajun, who was waiting in the distance, could not help feeling a pang of sadness as he watched the old mans retreating figure... He missed his master and family a little——At that moment, a figure appeared before Jun, and he saw Xiaoshuai and Yuwen Lu smiling and chatting with him.
——Is he Xiao Shuais cousin?
After meeting his old friend, the boy suddenly glanced in A-Juns direction without thinking. Coincidentally, his gaze unexpectedly met A-Juns...
Then, Ah Jun felt a wave of intense discomfort——Oh! No, whats wrong with my body? Its so uncomfortable... Could it be the side effects of training? Havent I fully recovered yet?
Therefore, Ah Jun had to give up the eye contact with the boy and turned his head down without speaking, enduring it alone... Fortunately, this time, the repetition soon stabilized, and there was no danger, so that almost no one noticed anything unusual except the cats slight call.
Meanwhile, after saying goodbye to Xiao Shuais grandmother and cousin, the Yuwen brothers returned to their original state, with a cold face, and continued to lead the team on the road.
Fortunately, accompanied by two pistachios, Ah Jun with his small dimples and Ninger happily followed guide Yuwen to the next place of experience, Wolong Valley... located in the north of Qinglong County, is the location of the Holy Land.
After two previous trials, Ah Jun now faced this challenge with newfound confidence——His body had remarkably recovered from recent recuperation and the Sacred Medical Clans treatments, to the point where the earlier fluctuations had vanished instantly. Even Ning ers stamina had fully rebounded.
The road between Wolong Valley and the Yuwen familys residence was quite long. The group had set out early in the morning, yet still had some distance to go by noon. By now, everyone was hungry. Xiao Xi suggested it was time to eat, since the brothers upcoming training session would require more energy.
So, they found a small wood near the stream. Under the skill of the chef Xiao Xi, they enjoyed a delicious meal with the clear water and warm sunshine.
After lunch, the team stayed in standby for half an hour—— So, Xiao Xi and Xiao Shuai took the opportunity to start cricket mode, while Ninger was resting alone in the tent.
Arjun, with his small dimples, went to a nearby stream to relax, and the silver boy followed closely behind, of course, in good faith, he did not want to see his grandfathers efforts because of his rebellion.
The stream teemed with fish. Ah Jun took a closer look and saw... Wait, no wait! The largest group was none other than the mystical koi – these legendary creatures were swimming against the current, moving in the same direction as the group he was with.
Looking at such an inspiring picture, Ah Jun could not help but take some food for the little koi to eat, and feed them together with the little dimples by the stream...
At this point, some fish had already been waiting nearby... Seeing the delicious food, they began to scramble for it, and in an instant, the water was about to be crowded——but strangely, they did not retreat from the cat animal beside the boy.
Of course, even without the allure of delicious food, the little koi would have gathered. After all, everyone knew Ah Juns physique well. At this moment, the silver-haired youth who usually spent his days reading alone suddenly began feeding the fish—— He skillfully pulled out a bag of what seemed to be koi-specific food from his chest, then slowly and leisurely tossed it while smiling.
However, there were only two poor ones in the silver boys place, but he did not feel any sense of disparity. He was still calm and happily lowered his head to interact with the two koi.
They were a pair of golden and green koi, and they were eating full and their bellies were bulging. They responded happily, as if they were old acquaintances of the Yuwen brothers.
What was even more strange was that the taciturn silver boy began to mumble thoughtfully at this moment, perhaps for the sake of telling Ah Jun beside him. Maybe because he had been getting along with Ah Jun and his friends for a few days, he began to feel familiar with them.
From the silver boy, I learned that these koi travel long distances every year, undaunted by difficulties, to come to Wolong Valley to realize their original dream, the glory of the koi tribe since ancient times.
Of course, the Yuwen brothers still spoke in concise terms, leaving listeners with half-understood messages, but there was definitely some progress. Just as Ah Jun and Xiao Jiwo were utterly astonished, the Yuwen brothers regained their composure and the situation became awkward again – when thats when the cricket brothers suddenly darted over!
The two men had just pulled off a comeback in a multiplayer five-row battle, and then heard something going on here, so they quickly came over—— Just as Xiao Xi was about to make fun of the silver boys behavior, Ah Jun stopped him.
But now, its the era of the cricket brothers. As a teammate, Xiao Shuai spoke his mind for Xiao Xi. Of course, the content was a little different, and it probably went something like this:
"Hey, here we go with the koi again, bringing your own food..."
"Um!"
"Well, youve developed a good habit!"
"Um..."
"Maybe... I feel a little lonely?"
"Um?"
...
Then, the silver boy suddenly found himself again. He quickly put away his things and said hello to the little koi, then began to read by himself.
The cricket brothers felt a little bored there, so they quickly turned their attention to Ah Jun—— Wow, it was so lively, it was crazy!
After seeing the fish, the two brothers who were standing in a daze immediately grabbed the food from Ah Juns hand and began to feed it in large quantities. Soon, most of the fish had been eaten and were round and plump.
At this moment, Ah Jun recalled his recent trials and decided it was time to rest. He left the camp with his dimples to recharge——The instant he departed, the cricket brothers instantly lost their enthusiasm... All the fish were preparing to withdraw, regardless of how abundant or delicious the food that followed might be. Even those who hadnt had enough resolutely left this bustling aquatic realm, determined to continue their endeavors.
The two men turned away helplessly, their eyes fixed on Ah Jun with vacant stares ——Xiao Xi, well aware of his frail health, instinctively wore a helpless expression as if lamenting: "Brother, why cant you stay longer?" Xiao Shuai, meanwhile, continued to marvel at him, his admiration deepening. The Yuwen brothers merely glanced at the pair before shaking their heads coldly with a sneer.