Chapter 125 Nan Xuan's Test

After breakfast, Yang Daguang brought Hu Zi over again.

This time it wasn't because Wu Dongmei was not at home. She just brought her over to play with Baoya and the others for a while. At lunch time, Wu Dongmei came to pick her up.

Hu Zi had always been very lonely before, but now with Bao Ya and the others by his side, he has gradually become cheerful and talkative, and now he looks like a lively and cute child.

The five children gathered around a large basin to look at the large river clams raised by Baoya and her friends.

Hu Zi had never seen river clams before and was very curious.

Baoya touched the clam shells one by one and said seriously, "Bangbang, be a good boy and don't bully your little brother Huzi."

After he finished speaking, he let Hu Zi reach out and touch the river clam.

The river clam really let him touch it obediently. Even when Hu Zi curiously put his fingers into the shell, the big river clam did not pinch him.

Yun Chenglu was furious. He still remembered the last time he stretched out his hand and was pinched.

"Are these big clams picking on me because I'm bigger than you? Do they know how to respect the old and love the young? Are they just picking on the ones in the middle?"

After all, among the Yun family's children, he was the only one who had his hand pinched.

Baoya covered her mouth and smiled. No, that was not the case. It was just that she forgot to remind the boys last time, so she accidentally got her second brother's hand pinched.

They played with the clams for a while, and it was almost time for lunch. Wu Dongmei came over to pick up Hu Zi and also brought some dried meat she made for Bao Ya and the others.

Yang Daguang was a hunter. Before the severe drought in Feishui Village, the Yang family had an endless supply of wild game. Wu Dongmei gradually learned how to make dried meat to store the leftover meat.

Baoya, Yun Chenglu, Yunhua and Yunyue were gathered in the yard, chewing dried meat and drooling.

The dried meat made by Wu Dongmei is salty, fragrant and chewy. It is perfect for children to grind their teeth, but it may be difficult for the elderly to chew it.

After having lunch and taking a nap, Yun Chenglu went up the mountain with Baoya again.

They went early today because Yun Chenglu was determined to pick all the fruits from the last twelve hawthorn trees in one go.

Nan Xuan looked at his determined look, narrowed his eyes but smiled without saying a word.

Baoya has almost mastered the basic usage of dragon beard noodles in the past two days, and Jingzhen has also become almost proficient in archery.

In fact, the scales on the dragon beard mask are very cleverly designed. Only when the whip is swung out will those sharp scales open, like barbs, and hit the enemy very hard.

With Baoya's supernatural power, if the force is not controlled well, that whip will definitely be fatal.

Therefore, Nan Xuan also reminded her that dragon beard noodles are a weapon for self-protection and should not be used unless it is a critical moment.

Baoya was very well-behaved and took everything he said to heart.

This afternoon's classes with Baoya and Jingzhen were very relaxing. Jingzhen's swordsmanship and archery were almost perfect. Baoya had also mastered the use of her own divine power and could control the dragon beard noodles. If she continued to learn, she would be able to get started with light skills.

So Nan Xuan only arranged for the two of them to go to his vegetable garden in the back mountain to play shadow-stepping today, and they were not allowed to step on the vegetables he planted, otherwise they would be punished.

If he stepped on one, Jingzhen would be punished by having to eat soy milk and fried dough sticks for an extra day, and Baoya would not be able to learn to cook from him for a day.

The afternoon sun was shining warmly. Nan Xuan was lying on the rocking chair in the yard, squinting his fox eyes to bask in the sun.

Yun Chenglu worked hard to hit the fruits with his beloved deer-back slingshot, while Jingzhen and Baoya ran around in the vegetable garden playing shadow-stepping games.

Baoya was young, so Jingzhen actually always gave in to her. But even so, when the two of them were having fun, Baoya's little feet slipped and she stepped on several cabbages.

"Brother Xiaojing, what should we do?" Baoya looked at the cabbages whose leaves were crushed by her, and her little face wrinkled.

One, two, three, four, five, five cabbages. Doesn’t that mean she won’t be able to learn how to cook for five days?

Jing Zhen was standing across the vegetable patch from her, looking calm: "Don't panic, just come over slowly."

After hearing what he said, Baoya took a deep breath, calmed down, and walked towards him step by step.

Jingzhen took her to an open space and stood there, then looked at the stone path leading to the small courtyard in front.

He told Baoya: "Help me keep an eye on Master. I'll go and help you with those cabbages."

"What should we do?" Baoya was very curious. She had already stepped on the cabbage and damaged it. Could Brother Xiaojing still make the cabbage grow well?

Jing Zhen touched her head and said, "Just wait patiently. Remember to keep it a secret."

"Yeah!" Baoya nodded like crazy, she wouldn't say anything!

The little girl stood under the shade of a tree, watching the boy squat down and skillfully fiddle with the cabbages with his hands. After a while, he came over carrying a few leaves that she had stepped on.

"Will this work?" Baoya was a little worried.

"rest assured."

Jingzhen quickly hid the rotten vegetable leaves in the small backpack that Baoya and the others brought with them, and covered them with some grass leaves to hide them from others.

He carefully covered the roots of the cabbages with broken leaves with soil, so that there would be no flaws.

The two of them handled everything quietly and continued playing, but they were more careful than before.

Fortunately, everything was fine until the evening. When Jingzhen pulled her out of the vegetable garden, Nanxuan was standing outside the garden, looking at them and smiling.

It was the first time that Baoya lied to her master with Jingzhen. Her heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to jump out, and her little face was burning hot.

She stretched out her little hand and touched her warm little face, thinking, could this be the disaster that Suan Yu was talking about? Will she and Brother Xiao Jing be discovered by the master soon?

However, when Nan Xuan walked around the vegetable garden, he did not find the five cabbages that Jing Zhen had quietly peeled.

He even patted Baoya's head in admiration, praising her, "You're quite good, little girl. You're really quite agile. Come on, let's go see your silly second brother."

Baoya didn't dare to raise her head out of guilt. She nodded obediently and was led by Jingzhen to follow behind Nanxuan.

Perhaps because of the fruits he had harvested over the past few days, Yun Chenglu was familiar with Nan Xuan's tactics, and he performed very well on the last day.

Not a single fruit fell from the tree, and not a single bad fruit was in the basket.

Nan Xuan nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, the three of you performed surprisingly well today."

"Hehe," Yun Chenglu scratched his head and laughed, "Practice makes perfect."

"Well, your aim is good enough." Nan Xuan said, "You can become my disciple now."

"Really?!" Yun Chenglu's eyes lit up.

"But..." Nan Xuan changed the subject, "Your skills have passed the test, but I still want to give you another question to test your intelligence."

"Master, you say!" Yun Chenglu stared at him with a face full of joy and anticipation.

"One hundred loads of elm firewood." Nan Xuan said.

"Ah?" Yun Chenglu was stunned. What? What kind of firewood?

"This is the exam question," Nan Xuan spread his hands, "Next time you come, you have to hand in your paper."

Yun Chenglu was bewildered, but Nan Xuan was already yawning as he asked Jing Zhen to take them down the mountain.

Before the three men and the wolf left, Nan Xuan narrowed his eyes dangerously and said to Jing Zhen, "If you dare to give Yun Chenglu any hints, this exam will not count."

Jing Zhen gave him a stern look, but Yun Chenglu was so scared that he waved his hands: "No, no! Master, I will never cheat!"

Nan Xuan raised his chin with satisfaction and said, "Go ahead."

Jingzhen sent the two of them to the foot of the mountain before calling me to go back with him.

Yun Chenglu finally got Nan Xuan's approval. He was so happy that he jumped and skipped as he walked, burping as he walked.

Baoya was very surprised: "Second brother, what's wrong with you?"

Yun Chenglu blushed and looked back in the direction of Tiger Tooth Mountain. After confirming that Jing Zhen and Gu Wang were no longer there, he approached Bao Ya.

He said mysteriously, "Baoya, Second Brother is telling you, you have to keep it a secret for Second Brother."

"Yeah." Baoya nodded heavily.

"Ahem," Yun Chenglu coughed and said, "Actually, I broke quite a few fruits today."

"Huh?" Baoya's eyes widened. "Then why didn't Master notice?"

"Because I ate it secretly."

"But what about He'er?"

"Swallow it all at once."

Baoya: ...

Well, it turns out that today not only she and Brother Xiaojing lied, but the second brother also lied to the master.

Seeing Baoya didn't say anything, Yun Chenglu pulled her sleeve and said, "Baoya, you promised to keep it a secret for your second brother!"

Baoya patted his hands and said seriously, "Don't worry, second brother, I won't tell anyone."

After all, she and Brother Xiaojing also have a secret.

When the two returned home, it was almost time for dinner. The craftsmen who came to build the house had already left, and the yard was quiet.

But Baoya still instinctively felt that something seemed wrong at home. The lights were on in the east wing, and there were a group of shadowy figures in the room.

Yun Chenglu also sensed something was wrong, so he pulled Baoya and rushed into the house.

Then he heard He Chunxiu crying, "Mother, Sanlang was taken away by the government officials!"

"They originally wanted to arrest me as well, but Doctor Sun happened to be there and vouched for me, so they let me go!"