Chapter 1972
Late Ming Dynasty 8
The matter was then handled by the prefect.
The county official who colluded with the Wen family was stripped of his official position by the prefect and imprisoned with members of the Wen family.
When the people learned that the prefect had imprisoned the Wen family, they applauded with joy.
Those who had been harmed by the Wen family all came to the county government to file complaints against them.
The Wen family has committed too many bloody crimes; if all of them were added together, they would be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.
However, in order to close the case as soon as possible, the prefect still beheaded all the members of the Wen family who had committed capital crimes.
The rest of the Wen family were exiled to the border regions.
Some of the women were abducted by the Wen family, and the prefect sent people to ask them what they thought.
Those who wanted to return home would be given some of the confiscated property of the Wen family by the prefect and sent home.
Some of these women already had children, and they couldn't have a good life at home, so they took the money and went to places where no one knew them, living in anonymity with their children.
One of the girls, surnamed Xia, was taken home by her younger brother.
This Miss Xia was lucky; she had just been abducted by the Wen family and taken to their home when Zhu Youjian and his two companions came knocking on their door.
Originally, Miss Xia refused to comply, and the sixth son of the Wen family wanted to kill the Xia family in a fit of rage.
Fortunately, the sixth son of the Wen family was beheaded, and Miss Xia's family is all safe and sound.
Xia Xueyi helped her sister Xia home, passing by the Wen family members who were being escorted into exile.
Xia Xueyi spat at the Wen family members, completely unaware of the sobbing girls among them.
Although Wen Yi was innocent, she was a member of the Wen family, and she was enjoying the hard-earned money that the Wen family had stolen from others.
She was essentially eating other people's bone marrow and drinking their blood, so her exile to the border was not unjust.
This near miss completely severed her connection with Xia Xueyi.
Xia Qingqing will naturally never be born again.
It's better if she never came into the world. Such a ruthless, willful, and capricious woman should never have been born to harm others.
If she weren't the female protagonist in Jin Yong's novels, she would have been killed off long ago.
Let's get back to the topic.
After sending her sister home, Xia Xueyi took the package and left.
He inquired about the whereabouts of Liu Dong and the other two, and then chased after them.
"Hey kid, what have you been doing sneaking around behind us like that?" Liu Yinxia said.
Having been exposed, Xia Xueyi stopped hiding, emerged from the bushes, walked up to the three people, and knelt down.
"Please, three esteemed masters, accept me as your apprentice."
Xia Xueyi had originally intended to storm Wenjiabao to rescue people, but Liu Tong and the other two beat him to it.
Xia Xueyi, hiding in the shadows, witnessed the entire process of the three men taking down the Wen family fortress and was filled with admiration for their strength.
Even though these three men were about the same age as him, he still wanted to become their apprentice.
Only by following such a powerful person can he learn real skills and become a capable person.
Liu Dong took a step to the side, refusing Xia Xueyi's gift; he did not want to take on a disciple.
Liu Yinxia and Zhu Youjian were extremely excited; someone had actually asked them to be their disciples!
Both of them found this novel experience interesting.
Liu Yinxia asked Zhu Youjian, "So? Are you going to take on any disciples?"
Zhu Youjian: "Let me find out about this person first. Um, what's your name? Where are you from? Why do you want to become our disciple?"
Xia Xueyi felt that the two young men and women were somewhat immature, but since they were powerful, he had to respect them.
Xia Xueyi obediently replied, "My name is Xia Xueyi... My sister was captured by the Wen family... When I saw the three of you, I was filled with admiration..." Zhu Youjian and Liu Yinxia had a very good impression of Xia Xueyi, because Xia Xueyi was good-looking.
Zhu Youjian: "Judging from your speech, you've been to school?"
Xia Xueyi nodded: "My father taught at the school, and I studied under him for several years."
Zhu Youjian: "Then why didn't you take the imperial examinations, but instead came to learn martial arts?"
Xia Xueyi: "The imperial examination could not protect one's family."
Zhu Youjian: "I can teach you martial arts, but your studies cannot be neglected."
Xia Xueyi was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed to Zhu Youjian, calling out, "Master."
Zhu Youjian pointed to Liu Yinxia beside him: "This is your master's wife."
Xia Xueyi then realized that the handsome young man was actually a girl disguised as a boy.
Xia Xueyi greeted Liu Dong again, inwardly admiring how beautiful her master's wife and uncle were.
He and his sister were the best-looking people in the surrounding area, and no one could compare to them.
But now he knows he's a frog in a well.
Xia Xueyi then followed behind Liu Tong and the other two, learning martial arts and literature at the same time.
Xia Xueyi was amazed that her three elders were both literate and skilled in martial arts, so she also worked hard to learn both and strived to be as literate and skilled in martial arts as Liu Tong and the other two.
Zhu Youjian taught Xia Xueyi the Beiming Divine Skill, a "divine skill" that could quickly make someone a master.
Duan Yu became one of the top masters in one fell swoop by relying on the Beiming Divine Skill, and he had only learned a part of the Beiming Divine Skill.
After the four of them encountered some evil martial arts practitioners, they first bypassed Xia Xueyi, absorbed all of the practitioners' internal energy, and then killed them.
After two years, Xia Xueyi had become a second-rate expert, and was not far from becoming a first-rate expert.
He also made great progress in his literary career.
Liu Tong and Zhu Youjian were both taught by famous teachers from a young age, and their literary talents were quite high.
In other words, neither of them participated in the imperial examinations; otherwise, they could have both become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).
With their guidance, Xia Xueyi's studies improved by leaps and bounds.
Zhu Youjian then sent Xia Xueyi home to prepare for the imperial examinations.
Zhu Youjian: "I've taught you everything I can. From now on, you can cultivate on your own. With your current abilities, you're more than capable of protecting your family. Go and take the imperial examinations; the court needs talented people. No matter how arrogant people in the martial arts world are, they wouldn't dare to offend officials so easily."
Xia Xueyi thought her master made a lot of sense. If he became an official, he would definitely use the government to eliminate local forces like Wenjiabao.
He had been away from home for more than two years and was indeed homesick.
Xia Xueyi bid farewell to Liu Tong and the other two and embarked on her journey home.
Zhu Youjian and his two companions traveled south and arrived at the territory of the Five Poisons Sect.
The three people appeared to be just there for fun, and although they attracted some attention, they did not provoke any hostility from the locals.
And they did come here for sightseeing, but the place they visited was the forbidden area of the Five Poisons Sect, the cave where the Golden Snake Sword was hidden.
There was no other reason than that Liu Dong had regained her memories from her previous life.
Liu Dong never expected that in their battle against Wenjiabao, the butterfly would lose the Golden Snake Gentleman.
Now that we're in Miao territory, we naturally have to see what the Golden Snake Sword looks like.
Moreover, he was very interested in Emperor Jianwen's treasures.
The future emperor beside him was a pauper. Because he had no money, he couldn't do anything and watched helplessly as his empire was destroyed, becoming a deposed monarch.
Now that Zhu Youjian has become his brother-in-law, he certainly won't let Zhu Youjian end up in that situation.
The Manchu barbarians should not enter the pass. (End of Chapter)