Chapter 1: The Decline of the Nobility

  A strong gust of wind blew by, stirring up a cloud of dust, and the clothes on my body rustled with each blast. The scene before me was magnificent, with sparse trees scattered across the vast expanse of land, accompanied by distant mountains that seemed to stretch on forever, creating a unique flavor that reached far and wide.

  This is a small town on the northern edge of Xiuning Empire in Xiu De Town. In the north of a big river.

  "It's been over ten days since I arrived here!" A 16-year-old boy wearing a hemp garment sighed on the hillside. At first glance, this boy was very ordinary, if you threw him onto the street, he would be absolutely impossible to find, because his appearance was too plain. However, if you looked closely, you would discover his extraordinary qualities. Because he had a pair of sharp eyes, and these eyes seemed to hint that their owner had countless stories to tell.

  "Xuān Gē, it's time for us to head home for dinner." A beautiful young girl said softly to the youth on the hill. The man on the hill was originally named Yè Chén, and he used to be the captain of Lǎo A team, an elite special forces unit in China known for its exceptional combat strength. Yè Chén became the captain before the age of 30 due to his outstanding strategic vision, military tactics, and personal combat skills. Unfortunately, disaster struck during a mission to protect the transportation of Chinese cultural artifacts when someone leaked information, leading to an ambush by the US Marine Corps. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Yè Chén managed to inflict significant losses on the enemy, but ultimately failed in his mission. He and his team were annihilated, and as he lay dying, he subconsciously grabbed hold of an antique relic. When he came to, he found himself transported to this world, coincidentally inhabiting a body whose owner shared the same surname, Yè, but was named Yè Xuān.

  Ye Xuan was born into a general's family. His grandfather, Ye Long, was the God of War of the Xining Empire, and his troops were feared by all who heard their name. They had achieved great military successes for the empire, but this led to jealousy among his colleagues. During a decisive battle against the Golden Kingdom of the wild tribes outside the borders, they had planned to easily annihilate the enemy army, but unfortunately, some generals did not arrive at the designated location on time, leaving Ye's army isolated and unsupported. In the end, they were defeated, and Ye Long was killed in battle, resulting in the Xining Empire losing half of its territory.

  Ye Xuan's father, Ye Wei, was devastated when he heard the news of his father being killed by the Jin slaves. He inherited his father's position as a general and rose up in anger, vowing to avenge his father's death. With his own strength, he beheaded the three great generals of the Jin kingdom, who were known for their pride. This alleviated the crisis of the Xi Ning Empire's destruction. He was called the Iron Blood War General, an idol of countless young people, and it was an honor to join the Ye family army at that time. However, this led to the jealousy of those incompetent generals, who intentionally sabotaged them by withholding food and supplies. Without rations, even a powerful army like the Ye family's would be helpless against the Jin kingdom's iron cavalry.

  Having lost the protection of Ye Wei, Xining was completely in disarray, with troops defeated like a mountain collapse. The imperial court no longer had any usable troops. However, with the Jin army outside and bandits within, the situation became extremely severe. Emperor Xu Yuan had no choice but to issue a heroic edict, calling on all heroes across the land to jointly resist the Jin army and the bandits. At this time, since the master of the house was dead, the eldest son Ye Xuan was young and unable to take charge, so in order to avoid enemies, the whole family moved to Xiude Town.

  Ye Xuan glanced at Yan'er beside him. Yan'er, originally named Xu Yan, was 17 years old and the childhood bride of the Ye family. She had been sent to the Ye household by her natal family, the Wu family, when she was five years old, with the expectation that she would have a better life and climb up the social ladder by marrying into the influential Ye family. However, after Ye Wei's death in battle, the Ye family and their relatives suffered persecution, leaving only Ye Xuan, his mother, and Xu Yan to escape. With what little property they had left, they bought a piece of land and lived a very poor life.

  For Xu Yan, Ye Xuan's heart was very complicated. She had a pair of black big eyes and a long black hair, although not a noble lady, but also a small family jade. However, even so, Ye Xuan felt some helplessness in his heart. The two people did not have an emotional foundation, nor did they have a common language. Would they spend their whole lives like this? Ye Xuan sighed and thought to himself: Perhaps thinking about this now is too luxurious.

  Ye Xuan nodded randomly and followed Xu Yan slowly towards home.

  Back home, her mother was weaving fabric on a simple loom. The monotonous motion had to be repeated countless times every day, non-stop, busy until the rooster crowed before resting. The woven fabric was taken out to exchange for some rice and money, and her craftsmanship was very good, often very popular.

  Looking at Mother Meng's frail figure, who was less than 50 years old but had already turned completely white-haired, with wrinkles on her face growing deeper by the day, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in my heart. I thought about how glorious our Ye family used to be, and now we can only hide in this remote place, living such a poor life.

  Meng saw Ye Xuan's dejected appearance and sighed, knowing that he was a very proud person just like his grandfather and father. It was already not bad that he hadn't gone crazy from such a blow.

  She glanced at the sky and said, "Are you back? Your mother has personally gone down to the kitchen to cook some delicious food for you."

  Ye Xuan smiled and said: "Thank you, Mother."

  Meng's eyes widened in surprise at Ye Xuan: "This child is getting more and more unreasonable."

  ……

  Meng was busy at the stove, a ball of white dough changing shape in her hands as she worked. Xu Yan helped out beside her. Ye Xuan sat quietly to one side, watching them.

  At present, the times are not good, and ordinary people can eat black noodles and baked cakes. Many people in Xiudetown are now using bran mixed with wild vegetables, even grass roots and tree bark to eat.

  Later generations advocated for eating white flour and bran together, believing that it had a more nourishing and health-preserving effect. However, eating white buns every day actually loses all the nutrition. But in this era, being able to eat white flour every day was a symbol of social status.

  While eating, Meng and Ye Xuan started chatting on the side. Apart from farm work in the fields, there were also some matters about autumn grain taxes. Perhaps she thought that her son had already grown up and could share her worries, so she couldn't help but talk a bit more.

  The taxation of the Xining Empire is very harsh, like ordinary people's families, not only have to pay land rent and usury exploitation to landlords, but also bear the harsh taxation of the Xining Empire.

  The Xining Empire's taxes are divided into summer and autumn, and the Ye family has just finished paying their summer taxes. However, the autumn taxes have not been settled yet. Relying on the Ye family's remaining 20 or so mu of land, even in a normal year with a good harvest, they can barely complete their tasks. But this year, there is a severe drought and frequent disturbances from bandits and southern barbarians, causing them to lose some of the grain they had just harvested. As a result, people cannot focus on farming, and the world is in a state of desperation.

  The glory of the Xining Empire has long since disappeared, and now the land is filled with refugees. It's common to see refugees roasting human corpses by the side of the road and eating them. Women and children have become their usual food, and no one finds this strange anymore. Ye Xuan had heard about such things before but didn't believe them, thinking that history books were exaggerating. However, after witnessing these events countless times with his own eyes, Ye Xuan could only sigh in despair.

  Now, like Ye's family, although they can only drink some corn porridge and eat some corn buns every day, which is not enough to eat well, but compared with other places, their county is already a heavenly place.

  Now Ye Xuan and Meng's family are also worried about taxes, but they all know that they absolutely cannot go to borrow usury like those Zhuang families, because this approach is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. If they really borrowed, Ye Xuan estimated that even the 20 acres of land in their own home would not be preserved by next year.

  However, the government and the righteous army have been forcibly recruiting soldiers recently, and the number of young and strong men has become fewer and fewer. Ye Xuan also escaped several times, and since Xiude Town is relatively rich and the righteous army stationed here is relatively easy to talk to, the Ye family can barely maintain itself.

  Although his mother's tone was relaxed, Ye Xuan could see the worry between her eyebrows. He sighed and said, "It's hard to survive in this world!"

  ……

  When dinner was over, Madam Meng suddenly became serious and looked at Ye Xuan: "Xuan'er, you're 20 years old today. I have something to give you." Ye Xuan raised his head and looked at his mother. In his heart, his mother rarely had such a serious expression, but he still respectfully nodded: "Yes, Mother." Madam Meng took Ye Xuan to the ancestral altar in their home, where the memorial tablets of Ye Xuan's grandfather Ye Long and father Ye Wei were placed. On the wall hung the portraits of two generals. Madam Meng said seriously: "Xuan'er, kneel down! Pay your respects to your grandfather and father." Ye Xuan nodded, knelt down respectfully, and kowtowed three times to his father and grandfather. At this time, his mother's voice also reached his ears: "Xuan'er, you must remember that you are the grandson of Xi Ning War God Ye Long and the son of Iron Blood General Ye Wei. Even though our family has declined, you cannot forget that you are a descendant of heroes. Your grandfather and father were both men who stood tall and proud, great heroes who were wronged by treacherous people. You must not forget the glory of your family. Although our family has declined, this great sword has been passed down through generations. It was once the weapon of your grandfather and father. You must use it to protect our family and defend the people!" Ye Xuan solemnly took the great sword from Madam Meng's hands with both hands and said word by word: "Although I am not talented, I will not disappoint Grandfather and Father's expectations. I will definitely restore our family's glory, kill the Golden Slaves and destroy the Flowing Bandits, and bring peace to the world!"

  Looking at her son's determined face, Mother Meng smiled with relief and silently said in her heart: "Old master, our family's Xuanyan has finally grown up. You can rest assured under the ground and smile in peace."

  That night, Ye Xuan and his mother Meng talked all night. The righteous army was about to recruit soldiers again. In the end, Ye Xuan decided that this time he would go out for a trip and not return until he had accomplished something. Meng knew her son's temperament, which was just like his father's and grandfather's - once he made up his mind, he wouldn't change it. So although she couldn't bear to part with him, she didn't say anything, but silently prepared clothes and dry rations for her son...

  The next day, Ye Xuan didn't have time to care about Xu Yan's swollen eyes or his mother's worries. Early in the morning, he set out on the road with the dry rations his mother had carefully prepared and the ancestral great sword on his back...