Chapter 178: Don't know what's good for you, what do you want?

Chen Xian called Ning Chen, Wang Yan, Qin Fei, Xue Qishan and Luo Ying to his tent.

If we say that since he came to this world, the five people around him have the most sincere and intense feelings for him.

At that time, they didn't know that Ning Chen was the ninth prince, nor did they know that Wang Yan was from the Fengbei Wang family. Everyone was assigned to the cook camp, recalling the moment when they woke up from the battlefield and faced the wolf monster.

Chen Xian raised a smile. At that time, those five people were really a jerk.

Later, two more people joined, Zhao Yu and Cao Fang.

Unfortunately, the two died on the battlefield before they could rise.

Of course, it was Li Sheng and Wang Pei who did it secretly, and he also killed them both, as a way of avenging Zhao Yu and Cao Fang.

Looking back on the journey, it has been bumpy, but fortunately they are all still alive and have achieved different military exploits.

Learned that Chen Xian was going home early.

Ning Chen and the other four were naturally happy, but they were also a little reluctant to leave.

"Brother Xian, has His Majesty promised the princess to you?" Wang Yan asked with a grin.

Chen Xian couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard this. He didn't want it, but the emperor forced it on him, so he had no choice but to nod.

"I guess so," he said.

Qin Fei became excited upon hearing this. His goal was to marry the princess, but with his achievements that was simply impossible.

"Your Majesty still remembers that he gave wives to the soldiers who suppressed demons. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be arrangements as long as you are willing." Chen Xian said with a smile.

In fact, with the current status and position of Wang Yan, Qin Fei, Xue Qishan and Luo Ying in the Demon-Suppressing Army, it would be very easy for them to marry a good wife when they return to their hometown.

After everyone had a laugh about this matter, they changed the topic.

"You want to join the Demon Suppression Division?" Ning Chen nodded: "The Demon Suppression Division is indeed a good place for you, but why don't you apply for the Demon Suppression Division in Kyoto City?"

"It's too far from home. Let's talk about it later when we have a chance." Chen Xian said.

He really didn't think that much.

"Fengtian Town Demon Suppression Commander?" Wang Yan's eyes flickered as he said, "Brother Xian, then I will also join the Fengtian Realm Demon Suppression Commander, and we can still be together."

Chen Xian was slightly stunned, then he remembered that Wang Yan was also from Fengtian Realm.

"You also want to join the Demon Suppression Division?"

"We are soldiers who suppress demons, so joining the Demon Suppression Bureau is the best choice." Wang Yan said with a smile.

"Okay then, let's meet in Fengtian City in a month." Chen Xian said with a smile.

After hearing what the two said, Ning Chen and the other three felt a little envious of the fact that they were from the same place.

"Brother Ning, when we return to the capital this time, His Majesty will definitely not treat you the same way as before. I think the Fifth Prince is a very good person. You can get closer to him, and he will definitely be able to help you."

Chen Xian looked at Ning Chen and said.

"I know. I will no longer be submissive and allow others to bully me like before. You will first work in the Fengtian Realm Demon Suppression Headquarters. If there is a chance, I will definitely suggest to my father that you be transferred to the Jingdu Town Demon Suppression Headquarters."

Ning Chen nodded and said.

Chen Xian smiled.

He looked at Qin Fei, Xue Qishan and Luo Ying again, and asked them what plans they were going to make after returning to the capital.

All three said they would go home first and then follow the court's instructions.

Chen Xian was relieved. Qin Fei and the other two were all very powerful and were considered experts in the martial arts world.

The six of them drank from dusk till late at night before returning to their camps.

Chen Xian tidied up his black armor. His previous golden armor was shattered in the fierce battle with the Azure Dragon Demon Lord, and the Blue Fire Glazed Armor was also shattered in the battle with the Holy Fire Qilin.

Later, when the war was over, everyone was busy with their own things, and he did not apply for the general's armor. He casually changed into a set of ordinary black armor, which he has been wearing until now.

I'm going back now, so there's no need to change.

He took out a map of Daning from his storage ring. He bought it when he went to Zhenyao Pass. He took it out and took a look. He found that Fengtian Realm was in the southwest of Daning Dynasty, bordering the Ten Thousand Mountains outside the Black Abyss.

If he wanted to return to Fengtian Realm, he had to go through the Demon-Suppressing Pass, go north through Luozhou Realm, and then go northwest to Fengtian Realm.

The markings on the map are not clear, but the official road is very clear.

He just needs to follow the official road and arrive at Shiling County first.

Judging from the map, he is now about 10,000 miles away from Shiling County. If he rides the Wind and Thunder Black Horse, he can reach Shiling County tomorrow afternoon.

After a simple packing, Chen Xian carried his package and rode on the Wind and Thunder Black Horse towards the Demon-Suppressing Pass.

The demon-suppressing captains guarding the city in front of the pass all recognized him, and even though he was wearing black armor, they quickly let him pass.

After entering Guancheng, because it was too late, Chen Xian did not go to look for Xiahou Feng and Hua Tianqi, and went directly to the north of the city.

Outside the north of the city.

Chen Xian sat upright on the Wind and Thunder Black Horse, looked back at the Demon Suppressor with concern and sighed.

After almost a year in this world, I am finally going to leave this place where rivers of blood flow and see other scenery.

"drive!"

After a while, Chen Xian turned his horse around and headed north along the official road. In a blink of an eye, his galloping figure disappeared into the night.

……

Willow Springs.

At the west end of the town, there is a dilapidated earthen-walled courtyard and three dilapidated thatched huts.

From the inner room came bursts of heart-wrenching coughs, as well as the girl's anxious voice of concern.

"Dad, lie down and I'll feed you. After you drink this bowl of medicine, all your illnesses will be cured!" The girl's voice was clear and her words were full of heartache.

"Xiao Rong, tell Daddy, your brother is still alive... cough cough cough... is he still alive?"

In the dark and damp inner room, a yellow-faced, muscular old man was lying on the bed. The old man's eyes were cloudy and yellow, and he looked at the girl in front of him, his daughter Chen Rong, with lifeless eyes.

Chen Rong was fifteen years old. He had a very distinctive appearance, but his face was pale and muscular, and his body was weak, as if he could be blown down by a gust of wind.

It looked like he was malnourished.

In her hand, she held some cough herbs that she had just dug out from the wild, including daylily seedlings and Houttuynia cordata, which she mixed together and boiled into a soup.

“No, no, it’s useless... cough cough...!” The old man was Chen Xian’s father, Chen Quan.

Chen Quan grabbed his daughter's wrist with his dry and thin hands: "Tell me, your brother is no longer with us. Are the letters he sent back every once in a while written by someone arranged by your sister Yujiao? Ahem..."

"Dad, no, my brother is still alive. This is really the letter my brother wrote back to us..."

"If he were still alive, why didn't he send some money home?"

“Brother, he…!”

Chen Rong opened her mouth, her dry lips turned pale, and she didn't know why her brother didn't send some money home for their living expenses.

When I was serving in the army in the county, I could still send back a little bit of copper coins. But since I went to Zhenyao Pass, I haven’t sent back a single copper coin.

He even said that he needed money to bribe his superiors in the military camp, and asked them to send some money to him at Zhenyao Pass.

However, the family was penniless, so where would the money come from to send to the Demon-Suppressing Pass?

Later, Sister Yujiao pawned her silver bracelets and jewelry to collect ten taels of silver, and sent them to Zhenyao Pass along with the reply letter.

She never told her father about these things.

I wonder how my brother is doing in the Demon-Suppressing Pass?
Anyway, my brother has been replying, which means he is still alive. He must be in the army and needs the money, so I kept it for myself.

She didn't blame her brother in her heart. As long as he could come back safely, it would be better than anything else.

"Dad, you also know that practicing martial arts costs a lot of money. My brother is in a dangerous place like Zhenyaoguan. If he wants to become stronger and stay alive, he must practice martial arts constantly, so he needs a lot of money." The little girl thought for a while and explained.

Chen Quan sighed: "My father said at the beginning that the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. Our family is poor and not suitable for martial arts training, but he didn't listen and insisted on joining the military camp to train martial arts, ahem..."

"Alas, why practice martial arts? We are just ordinary people. Don't think about doing anything earth-shattering. Killing demons is something we can do... ahem..."

"Dad, please stop talking. Drink the medicine quickly and have a good rest. I'll go prepare dinner." Chen Rong leaned Chen Quan against the head of the bed, held the medicine bowl, and fed Chen Quan mouthful by mouthful with a broken white porcelain spoon.

Chen Quan coughed while drinking, and most of the soup was coughed out by him.

Chen Rong wiped the corners of his mouth with a cloth and continued to feed him: "Dad, drink slowly, it's hot. Let me blow on it for you..." As she spoke, she pouted her cracked lips and blew on the soup in the spoon, then fed it to Chen Quan.

Looking at his daughter with a pale face and muscles, who should have been full of energy and dressed up beautifully at her age, she was born in a poor family like his and had to take care of him, a tuberculosis patient.

For a moment, Chen Quan felt extremely guilty and once again had the idea of ​​hanging himself.

He didn't want to burden his daughter anymore.

But when he thought about the fact that he was dead and his son Chen Xian had not come back yet, and his daughter was alone in the town with no one to rely on, and had no one to vent her anger on when she was bullied, he felt very bad.

After giving my father the medicine, I comforted him and let him rest.

Chen Rong then walked out of the inner room, went to the yard, drew a bucket of water from the well, and washed the soup bowl and spoon.

“Gurgle…!”

Suddenly, my stomach rumbled with hunger.

Chen Rong rubbed her stomach through her patched shirt, her cracked lips moved twice, and she scooped a bowl of cold water from the wooden barrel and drank it down with one gulp. After finishing the first bowl, her stomach was still growling, so she scooped another bowl to fill her stomach.

Whenever she felt hungry in the afternoon, she would drink well water to fill her stomach.

Especially in the past two months, after Sister Yujiao was taken away by Uncle Cai, she drank more well water.

After cleaning up, Chen Rong went into the inner room and took a look. Seeing that her old father was resting, she picked up the tattered little bamboo basket and a small hoe, closed the shabby gate and left home.

She was going to prepare dinner, which meant going outside the town to dig wild vegetables. If she went early, she might be able to dig some, but if she went late, she might not be able to dig at all.

Thinking of the shepherd's purse he had eaten last night, Chen Rong couldn't help but drool secretly.

Be sure to dig some more today.

However, not long after she left home, a figure suddenly jumped out from the corner and blocked her way.

"what!"

Chen Rong screamed and took two steps back. She grabbed the small hoe in the bamboo basket with her small hands and held it in front of her to protect herself: "Don't come over, I will hit you..."

"Xiao Rong, what are you screaming about? It's me, Li Kui." A young man of medium build grinned.

"You, what do you want to do?"

Chen Rong then saw clearly that it was Li Kui, the street scoundrel from the next-door neighbor, and he became nervous even when speaking.

"Don't be nervous. What do you think about what I told you last time?" Li Kui hugged his chest with one hand, pinched his chin with the other hand, and looked at Chen Rong with a playful expression.

"What, what happened?" Chen Rong dodged his eyes.

"Hey, little girl, I finally told you about the wealth and prosperity, but you ignored it, right?" Li Kui was unhappy when he heard it, and shouted, "Your father needs money for medical treatment, right?"

Chen Rong pursed his lips and said nothing.

Li Kui was even more upset when he saw this: "Brother, let me tell you, you only have one chance. If you miss it, don't tell our neighbor that I didn't help you."

"Young Master Liu is looking for a personal maid. You are skinny and pale, so Young Master Liu doesn't like you. If I hadn't tried my best to speak for you, you wouldn't even be qualified to enter the Liu family."

"Do you want to see your father?"

"Do you want to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks in the future?"

"Do you want to never have to worry about protection money again?"

"Just tell me whether you want it or not?"

"...I, I don't want to." Chen Rong shook his head and glanced at Li Kui resentfully: "Don't think I don't know. You want to sell me to the young master of the Liu family so that you can get benefits from it."

As if his thoughts were revealed, Li Kui showed a trace of embarrassment on his face. He pretended to be angry and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Am I that kind of person? If it weren't for your poverty, your old father being sick, and your poor brother who is a soldier missing, I wouldn't help you."

"I'm telling you, I'm helping you because we're neighbors, so don't be ungrateful."

"Just one word, are you going or not?"

"I'm not going. If you want to go, go by yourself." Chen Rong shook his head and refused. He put the small hoe into the bamboo basket and walked away quickly around Li Kui.

She was in a hurry to dig wild vegetables in the fields outside the town, but if she arrived too late, all the vegetables had been snatched away.

Li Kui was relentless and chased Chen Rong, saying, "Girl, why are you so stubborn? Do you think that if you don't go, Young Master Liu can do nothing?"

"What do you mean?" Chen Rong turned around and glanced at Li Kui.

Li Kui turned his head and said, "Brother, what I mean is that the Liu family is very wealthy. If you become the personal maid of the young master of the Liu family, you will have a life of luxury. Not only will you have money to treat your old father, but the bullies in the town will no longer go to your house to collect protection fees. In this way, your father can still wait until your brother who is a poor soldier comes back..."

"Not necessarily. Maybe your brother died on the battlefield a long time ago."

"You're talking nonsense, my brother is not dead. I receive replies every once in a while, and they're in my brother's handwriting." Chen Rong said angrily.

"So what if he's not dead? He's just a poor soldier. After he retired and returned to town, he's nothing. With your family being so poor, he probably can't even find a wife. Don't you want to save some money to help your brother find a wife..."

"My brother is handsome, well-mannered, and good at martial arts. He is a soldier, and he and Sister Yujiao have been friends since childhood..."

"Bah! The Cai family has moved away to the county town. Even if they didn't move away, Mr. Cai Jinghong would look down on your brother. You're still thinking that a toad can eat swan meat. What a lie!"

Li Kui's face was full of sarcasm. He looked down on Chen Xian from the bottom of his heart. In fact, he even hated him because Chen Xian had beaten him several times when they were children. Later, Chen Xian went to the county to serve as a soldier and he never saw him again.

Three or four years passed in a blink of an eye, and Chen Xian still didn't come back. He thought that Chen Xian had died a long time ago.

But Chen Rong refused to admit it.

"I'm too lazy to talk to you!" Chen Rong was angry and walked forward quickly.

"Chen Rong, don't blame me for not reminding you. In the evening, those people in the town will come to the west of the town to collect protection fees. I just want to see what you are going to give them. Your wild vegetables? Hahaha..."

Chen Rong's chest heaved with anger, but he ignored her and walked away without even turning his head.

"Pooh!"

Li Kui spat and said, "If you weren't pretty and could be sold for some money, I wouldn't care whether you lived or died. You ungrateful thing, please stay by your sick father's side and starve to death together in the house."

"You're still digging wild vegetables. You've been poor for three lifetimes. You didn't even know how to cherish the chance to change your life!"

Muttering to himself, he turned and left with a sarcastic look on his face.

Outside the town, there were many people digging wild vegetables in the wild to satisfy their hunger, and Chen Rong was one of them.

When she arrived, the baskets were almost full.

"Xiao Rong, why did you come just now? You always come so late, how can you dig wild vegetables? Auntie will get some for you." An old lady with a kind face came to Chen Rong and said.

"Aunt Wang, no need, I can dig it myself." Chen Rong refused with a smile.

However, Aunt Wang threw some wild vegetables into Chen Rong's bamboo basket and said with a smile, "Aunt has a lot and can't finish it. Leave some to stir-fry with bacon at night. It will be enough for you and your uncle to eat for two days."

"Bacon...?"

When Chen Rong heard this, her dry lips moved twice and she swallowed twice secretly. She hadn't tasted meat for a long time.

"Yes, your brother Wang Ming sent back some meat during the Chinese New Year. Your uncle and I couldn't finish it, so we pickled it and saved it for later consumption. Xiaorong, why don't you come to your aunt's house for dinner tonight?"

Hearing Wang Ming, Chen Rong couldn't help but think of his brother. Brother Wang Ming was on duty at the County City Guard Bureau. He could go home every month and he always brought a lot of things back every time.

Her brother is also a soldier. He used to be able to come home to visit, but he hasn't been back in the past year and hasn't sent back a single penny.

"No, auntie. I still have to take care of my father. He's seriously ill!" Chen Rong tried to hold back his saliva and shook his head to refuse.

"Oh, your father...!" When mentioning Chen Quan, Aunt Wang shook her head secretly. If Chen Quan didn't have tuberculosis and went out to find a job, the Chen family would still be able to survive.

But after Chen Quan's tuberculosis relapsed, he could no longer do heavy physical work. In the past few years, he could still farm for the Liu family, but in the past two years, he has been completely unable to do it and has been bedridden.

But it caused a lot of trouble for Chen Rong.

He has to shoulder the burden of the family at a young age.

"Xiaorong, is there any news from your brother?" Thinking that there was still Chen Xian in the Chen family, Aunt Wang squatted down and asked in a low voice.

"Yes, auntie. My brother wrote back some time ago." Chen Rong said while digging wild vegetables.

"Really? How is your brother doing at the border? Why doesn't he send some money home? I heard that fighting against demons at the border gets a high salary. Your brother Wang Ming is in the City Guards Division, and sometimes he has missions to capture demons, and there are rewards every time."

Aunt Wang said in a low voice.

Chen Rong paused for a moment while working with the hoe in her hand. She lowered her head slightly, pursed her dry lips and said, "It's different. Brother Wang Ming has a lot of money in the city, but my brother must be having a harder time at the border, and he has to spend money on martial arts training. It doesn't matter if he sends money back or not, as long as my father and I can live."

"You are such a sensible kid!"

Aunt Wang shook her head secretly. Chen Rong was so sensible at such a young age. She raised her head and looked around, then whispered to Chen Rong, "Xiao Rong, what do you think about what I told you last time?"

(End of this chapter)