Chapter 356 Father's Love is as Solid as a Mountain (Third Update)

Uh... is gunpowder that has fallen into the water still useful?

That's not the point. The point is that he didn't have a chance to grab it. Two men in black raised their swords and slashed at him. Their powerful killing intent, along with their sharp sword energy, almost created wind blades from a distance, tearing through the air!

Such a deadly move is something even ordinary masters cannot escape, let alone Xiao Liulang, that little cripple.

He could only watch helplessly as the other's sword cleaved towards him, and he closed his eyes.

Two longswords simultaneously struck his head, but ultimately failed to fall. Just an inch away from him, the two swords stopped abruptly.

Xiao Liulang suddenly opened his eyes.

The two fell straight to the ground, their eyes still closed.

Behind the two, Chang Jing deftly sheathed his sword!

Then Chang Jing went to find the black beads in the water!

He picked up the black bead, looking at it as if he was having fun. He squeezed it hard, and popped!

He was blown to bits—

Marquis Xuanping walked slowly from behind the hillside, dressed in a magnificent dark purple brocade robe, strolling leisurely with a languid expression.

That's just how he is; he makes even a country path seem like a path to immortality.

When Xiao Liulang saw him, his expression remained unchanged, as indifferent as ever.

Fortunately, Marquis Xuanping was used to it. He came up to Xiao Liulang and looked him up and down, as if to see if he was injured.

After confirming that his son was unharmed, he turned to Chang Jing, who was sitting on the ground, charred black and staring blankly. He lightly kicked Chang Jing's little bottom with his toe: "Who told you to kill them all? How many times have I told you, leave them alive, leave them alive!"

Chang Jing ignored him, stood up with a dark face, and used his lightness skill to walk away.

Well, she's angry.

Marquis Xuanping glanced in the direction Chang Jing had left and said to Xiao Liulang, "Chang Jing is young, don't be angry with him."

Xiao Liulang glanced at Marquis Xuanping expressionlessly. Who was angry with him?

Marquis Xuanping, oblivious to Xiao Liulang's contempt, casually and nonchalantly dusted off his wide sleeves: "Who have you offended? Why would anyone come to kill you?"

Xiao Liulang ignored him, picked up his cane from the riverbank, brushed past him, and walked on ahead.

It's called a cane, but it's actually a beautiful walking stick made by Gu Jiao herself. After the excruciating pain in his foot subsided, he no longer found it so difficult to walk.

Marquis Xuanping was ignored repeatedly, but he was not angry. He was magnanimous and did not bother with children.

He shamelessly followed after them.

When a person is handsome, even when he's shameless, he looks exceptionally good. Green mountains and clear waters, twilight and sunset, none of them can compare to his good looks.

Unfortunately, no matter how handsome he was, it was useless; that person didn't even glance at him.

"Alas," sighed Marquis Xuanping.

For as long as Xiao Liulang had been gone, someone sighed behind him for just as long.

Xiao Liulang cracked his knuckles and frowned, asking, "Why are you following me?"

Marquis Xuanping raised an eyebrow and said, "Did I follow you? Did you open this road? Did you plant this tree?"

Xiao Liulang said coldly, "I'm going back to the village."

Marquis Xuanping said, "What a coincidence, it's me too!"

Xiao Liulang turned and walked down another road.

Marquis Xuanping quickly followed.

Xiao Liulang stopped and pointed to the path they had just come from, saying, "The village is over there!"

Marquis Xuanping, who had been tricked: "..."

Haha, as long as he's not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.

Marquis Xuanping raised his eyebrows and said, "I insist on going this way; all roads lead to the village!"

Xiao Liulang took a deep breath and decided to ignore him and treat him like air.

He turned back to the path he had taken. After walking a few steps, it grew dark. The woods were quiet except for the occasional noisy chirping of insects and the eerie sounds of birds and beasts, each sound sending chills down one's spine.

The trees in this forest are tall and their shade blocks out the sun, making it difficult for even the moonlight to penetrate.

Marquis Xuanping was a martial artist with excellent eyesight; he could see his feet even in dim light, but Xiao Liulang might not be able to.

He was already lame and couldn't see the road clearly, so he staggered several steps.

Marquis Xuanping strode over, blocked his path, and crouched down slightly, saying, "Come up."

Xiao Liulang looked at the broad back that was bending down in front of him and didn't move: "I can walk by myself."

Marquis Xuanping straightened up and turned to look at him: "Are you sure? It's so dark on the night road, can you walk it?"

Xiao Liulang raised his cane and said, "I have a cane."

Snap!

The cane broke.

Xiao Liulang glared coldly at Marquis Xuanping.

Marquis Xuanping sighed helplessly and spread his hands innocently: "It wasn't me, it broke on its own."

Xiao Liulang clenched his fists and said irritably, "We're not far from the village. I know this road very well. At worst, we'll just walk slower and take a little longer. It's not raining, so what's there to be afraid of!"

That's what they said, but after taking only a few steps, the rain started pouring down.

Xiao Liulang suddenly looked at Marquis Xuanping.

Marquis Xuanping's eyes widened: "This time it's not me!"

Xiao Liulang gritted his teeth: "So you admit that it was you just now?"

"It really wasn't me," said Marquis Xuanping, looking aggrieved.

In terms of shamelessness, Marquis Xuanping was no less shameless than the old chief minister, and perhaps even more so. After all, the old chief minister only practiced Machiavellianism in officialdom, and was quite normal in real life, while Marquis Xuanping took shamelessness to the extreme.

Marquis Xuanping said gloatingly, "Come on, come on, I'll carry you. You definitely won't be able to walk out."

Xiao Liulang was furious with him. His eyes blazed as he said, "Who says I can't get out? Even if I only have one leg left, I'll hop out of here!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Why--"

Marquis Xuanping reached out to grab him.

However, in order to avoid his hand, Xiao Liulang rushed forward without regard for anything else, and ended up stepping into thin air and falling into a large pit covered by grass with a cry.

He fell face down, landing hard in the pit.

...His other foot was also sprained.

Marquis Xuanping covered his eyes, unable to bear the sight: "...Why are you walking so fast? I couldn't even stop you!"

Marquis Xuanping pulled the unfortunate child out of the pit and laid him flat on the ground.

Xiao Liulang made a desperate struggle: "I don't want you to carry me!"

"Oh." Marquis Xuanping bent down, put his hands around the person's back and knees, and picked the person up, saying in a particularly cheeky way, "How old are you and you still need to be carried?"

Xiao Liulang: "...!!"

What kind of father is this?! May lightning strike him down!

At the western end of the village, the temporary sheds set up by the officials were bustling with activity, which did not diminish in the slightest despite the heavy rain.

With the road now open, they could return to the capital tomorrow. Everyone was very excited. In addition, the Marquis of Ding'an had brought a lot of delicious food, and the officials, who had been eating cornbread and pickled vegetables in the village for more than ten days, finally got to enjoy some meat.

Everyone ate heartily, their faces glowing, and it seemed that no one noticed that Xiao Liulang was missing.

It was the patrol officer who had worked in the fields with Xiao Liulang during the day who noticed something amiss. Holding a piece of duck meat, he asked, "Huh? Where is Lord Xiao?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked around. Indeed, where was Lord Xiao?

It's no wonder that people don't remember him; after Xiao Liulang went to the countryside, he basically didn't mingle with these court officials. He was always on the front lines of disaster relief and farming, getting along well with the villagers.

It was common for him to be away, so no one thought of him intentionally.

"It's raining; he's probably taking shelter from the rain at one of the villagers' houses," another patrolman said.

A clerk from the Ministry of Works said, "He's so ambitious at such a young age, and he's already integrated well with the villagers. His performance this time must be quite good."

He may have ambitions or aspirations, but he just hasn't said it out loud.

Humans are strange like that; they don't work on the ground themselves, but those who do are considered to be in the wrong.

No one accused Prince An of having ambitions, as he spent all his time with the Minister of Revenue. On the contrary, Xiao Liulang, who mingled with the villagers, was mistakenly accused of gathering prestige among the common people.

Prince An glanced at Marquis Gu and, seeing his indifference towards Xiao Liulang, summoned Wu Yang: "Go and find Lord Xiao."

"Yes!" Wu Yang accepted the order and went out. As soon as he pushed open the door of the shed, he saw a strong and powerful figure carrying someone on his back walking towards him in the heavy rain.

He wore his outer robe on his head, covering the person on his back.

He was only wearing a light undergarment, which was soaked by the torrential rain. He waded through the puddles, the rain so intense that he could barely open his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Prince An asked, seeing Wu Yang standing motionless at the door. "What happened?"

"That...that one..." Wu Yang was a little hesitant to recognize him.

Seeing that something was wrong, everyone quickly squeezed to the doorway and looked in the direction he was pointing.

Everyone was stunned.

Someone recognized him: "Isn't that Marquis Xuanping?"

No one had ever seen Marquis Xuanping in such a disheveled state.

He was the most handsome man in the Zhao Kingdom. He was very particular and vain. Except on the battlefield, he never let anyone see him in disheveled clothes.

But at this moment, he was like a falcon fleeing in a storm, plucking out its beautiful feathers to build a nest to shelter its young from the wind and rain in order to protect them.

It sneaked out again at midnight!

(End of this chapter)