Chapter 1: The Ninth Child of the Xu Family

  In the southwest of Xiatian County, which is under the jurisdiction of Daming Prefecture, there is a village called "Xujiazhuang". This Xiatian County is the hometown of General Ma Renyu of this dynasty. The village has a strong martial arts tradition and Xujiazhuang is one of its most famous villages. Almost all the adult men in the village have some martial skills, especially with guns and sticks. Moreover, a remarkable figure emerged from this village, making Xujiazhuang renowned far and wide.

  At noon on this day, the sun was shining brightly, with not a cloud in the sky and no cool breeze. The villagers were probably also scorched by the sun and had all retreated to their homes, so that in the whole of Xujiashan Village, hardly anyone could be seen. Occasionally, a few naughty children would dart out, creep up quietly to where adults were resting in the shade of trees, lift up the fans covering their faces, and then shout loudly as they scattered away. Only the men whose peaceful rest had been disturbed were left to curse loudly.

  At this time, on the bluestone road that runs through the village, two people came in a hurry. The slightly taller one was wearing a blue robe with a crossed collar, tied with a cloth belt, and his clothes were tied at his waist. His hair was loose and messy, and he wore a pair of worn-out leather boots on his feet. He looked like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old, with a square face, bushy eyebrows, dark skin, and was very robust.

  That slightly shorter one, however, wore a black robe with white edges. Although the clothes were not luxurious, they were neat and tidy. He was about the same age as his companion, but looked clean and fair, only slightly thinner. Both of them were sweating profusely and rushed straight to the east of the village.

  "I heard that he was seriously ill a few days ago, and Xu Taigong invited many famous doctors, but there was no improvement. How did he suddenly recover?" The pale young man muttered to himself as he walked.

  "What's the point of talking about that? Saving people is urgent!" The little black kid's expression was serious, if they were late for even a moment, Ma Tai would have his arms and legs chopped off, and they would lose face and be ridiculed!

  Xiaobai Lian nodded after hearing this, then suddenly said: "No, I heard from Liu Mama in the west of the village yesterday that he didn't even recognize Xu Taigong after waking up? She also said that he was a demon king who mixed with the world, and Yu Huang wanted to take his life. But because of Xu Taigong's merits, only two souls and six spirits were taken away, making him an idiot?"

  As soon as he heard this, the little black kid spat and said: "Did you forget what happened last year?"

  Xiaobai's face suddenly twitched, and he recalled that last year, Liu's matchmaker had spoken to Xujiu about a potential marriage. The girl was said to be from a wealthy family in the county, with willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows and cherry lips. Just one glance at her would make you not want to leave. However, his brothers were skeptical and insisted on going to the county to investigate on Xujiu's behalf. After searching around the county town for half a day, they finally found the girl's family home and staked out by the wall for half a day, almost getting caught by the government officials. The girl indeed had willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows, but only on one side. And she did have cherry lips, but her small mouth was stretched open by two large buck teeth...

  "Alright, Liu's words can be trusted, even feces are edible!"

  As they spoke, the two of them stopped in front of a large mansion at the east end of the village. This estate was second only to the county government office in the city in terms of its status in Xujiazhuang. The reason for this was that the owner of the estate was Xu Taigong. Speaking of Xu Taigong, not only in Xujiazhuang but also throughout Xiatai County, his name was renowned. From a young age, the children in the village had heard stories about Xu Taigong's glorious deeds from their elders.

  "Who's going?" Xiao Bailian looked at the main gate of Xu's mansion, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Legend has it that Xu Taigong killed no less than 10,000 people, and anyone who walked to this door in Xu's village had to clench their buttocks tightly, afraid of farting out loud and startling the evil spirits inside the mansion.

  "Nature is me, in terms of courage and means..." Hei Xiaozi had just said this when he heard a cold hum beside him. Xiaobai's face was furious as he walked forward, "Bang bang" knocking on the Xu family gate.

  Before long, a creaking sound was heard, and the door opened to reveal a face. This person had a good appearance! A pair of sword-like eyebrows, both thick and long, with a hint of ruggedness. But those eyes were exceptionally clear and elegant. The bridge of his nose was straight, like it was carved by a knife. His lips were thin and upturned, very stern. This young man was Xu Taigong's youngest son, Xu Wei, also known as Xu Jiu because he was the ninth in line. The two people outside the door were his childhood playmates, White Yang Yan and Black Zhang Qing, both of whom were famous "fools" from the Xu family village.

  At the door, Little White Face Yang Yan saw Xu Wei standing there, not saying a word, as if he didn't recognize them at all. He was taken aback: We've been playing together since we were kids, although it's always you who pees and me who plays with mud, but that's also a childhood friendship, how can you not even recognize me? Is it really like what Liu Mama said? Has this guy had his soul taken away by the Jade Emperor? Has he become an idiot?

  Before he could think it through, the little black kid Zhang Qing stepped forward and shouted: "Do you still recognize me?"

  Xu Wei looked at him, still without any expression. Zhang Qing and Yang Yan exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that this was a disaster. One of their four brothers had been detained, his life or death unknown, while another had become an idiot, unable to understand human relationships - what were they to do?

  Zhang Qing sighed, Xu Jiu was stunned. To save Ma Tai, they had to think of another way. With this in mind, he said to him: "Don't worry, take good care of yourself, we have something else to do, and come back to see you another day."

  Yang Yan still didn't give up and brought his face closer to Xu Wei: "Take another good look, Yang Yan, the number one handsome young master of Xu family village."

  "Come on, if we're late, Ma Tai's noodles will be gone," Zhang Qing pulled him away. Yang Yan sucked his teeth, looking regretful, how could he not remember at all? Just this face, even if he was stupid or dead, he wouldn't forget it. But Xu Wei looked like he had no impression at all. With a hint of sadness, he pulled Xu Wei's hand and followed Zhang Qing away.

  As soon as they turned around, Xu Wei's voice came from behind: "What's going on? Who lost their child?"

  Zhang and Yang looked at each other in dismay, listening to him speak, he didn't seem like an idiot.

  Yang Yanzhen's heart was delighted, and he immediately poured out the whole story. It turned out that Xu Wei had been ill for several days, and he, Zhang Qing, and a childhood friend named Ma Tai were so bored that they went to the county town to have some fun, as usual, trying their luck at a gambling den. After losing a few taels of silver, he and Zhang Qing gave up. But Ma Tai was blinded by his desire to win and lost twenty strings! With no money to pay back, he promised to sign an IOU, promising to return the debt within ten days. Everyone in Xiajin County knew that although these two fools were foolish, their credit had always been good.

  It seems that this time the casino has changed hands, and they don't buy it at all. They didn't even greet them, and directly started fighting. With their usual methods, five or six men wouldn't be a problem. But the boss of the casino was an expert, and with just a few kicks, Ma Er was already lying on the ground before they could react. Ma Tai was subdued, and the other two were also helpless. Now, they had to go back and ask for Xu Wei's help.

  Yang Yan's face was gloomy, usually arrogant and domineering, but this time he suffered a setback at someone else's hands, and it could be seen that he was very disgruntled.

  "Is he your friend?" Xu Wei asked after hearing this.

  "Nonsense! He even saved your life!" Yang Yan said loudly, adding another sentence: "When you were five or six years old."

  Xu Wei heard this and didn't hesitate for a moment, nodding his head: "Let's go to the casino."

  "My intention is that it's better to raise money to save people than to resort to violence..." Zhang Qing interjected. Xu Wei glanced at him, this was indeed a cautious person.

  "Chip in?" Yang Yan glanced at Zhang Qing, "Brother, it's not that I'm not being loyal, but this is twenty taels..."

  Xu Wei hesitated for a moment and walked out of the gate: "Let's talk about it later."

  Yang Yan suddenly came to life: "Do we need to bring our gear? And call in some reinforcements? Humph, you're bullying me under the name of Xu's Village!" Seeing that Xu Wei had already taken big strides in the opposite direction, he quickly caught up and pulled him back.

  Zhang Qing hesitated, the notorious reputation of Xu Jia Laojiu was spread throughout Xiajin. With a violent temper and cunning means, combined with his simple-mindedness, this trip would inevitably lead to big trouble, hopefully without any loss of life. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, spat, and chased after them. Along the way, Zhang Yang naturally had to reintroduce themselves to Xu Wei, who had grown up with them since childhood, but that's not important now.

  Xiatian County is located on the west bank of the Grand Canal, within the borders of Daming Prefecture. The water and land transportation are convenient, with countless merchants coming and going from south to north. Inside the county, there are many inns, gambling dens, wine houses, and tea houses. Among them, the gambling dens are the most famous. Whether it's a wealthy merchant with a fortune of tens of thousands or a local idler who comes out with three or five copper coins on his wife's orders to buy soy sauce, they all love to try their luck in the gambling dens.

  Wealthy merchants who lost money would just laugh it off and swagger into the brothel. But if idle men lost money for buying soy sauce, they had to smear some ash on their faces, make their clothes more disheveled, and go home to tell their wives that they were robbed by Xu Jiuzi's gang on the street. This way, not only would they avoid being scolded, but their women would also feel lucky that their husbands didn't get hurt or crippled.

  Datong Casino is located inside the north gate of Xiatian County, despite the scorching weather, it does not reduce the enthusiasm of the gamblers. The casino is crowded with guests, shouting, screaming and yelling sounds are endless. Two neatly dressed men stand at the door, when they see people in bright clothes, they bow and make a courtesy call, if they are ordinary people, they will be teased and scolded a few words. As soon as they hear a call from inside, they rush in with a loud roar.

  Xu Wei, Zhang Qing and Yang Yan entered the city and rushed straight to the Datong Casino. The two thugs were teasing a poor man who had lost all his clothes when they suddenly caught sight of the two young men who had been chased out of the casino earlier. They took another look and thought to themselves: "This time we're in trouble!"

  Earlier, when these little rascals were gambling, they recognized that it was indeed Xu Jiazhuang's Xu Laojiu and his gang. The new master seemed to be unaware of Xu Wei's reputation and didn't even exchange greetings before resorting to violence, and couldn't be persuaded otherwise. Is this how things are done? Now look what's happened - the little overlord from the Xu family has been invited! Ah, wasn't it said that this guy was cursed?

  Inside the casino, two thugs rushed in and soon a burly man with a whisker-like beard and wearing a Tang-style robe came out, his chest open, his muscles bulging, his eyes gleaming menacingly. Seeing Xu Wei and the others had already entered the casino, he let out a loud shout: "Everyone stop!" His voice was like a bell, full of energy.

  Xu Wei saw him and thought to himself, "How can a local tyrant have such an appearance?" But unexpectedly, the man finished speaking and then turned his body sideways, bowed and said: "Sir, please!"