Three Brothers and Sisters

The boundless expanse of wild land stretched out, with the setting sun hanging alone over the western mountains. A sea of yellow - green hay undulated with the wind. The vast fields in northern Shaanxi were as peaceful as ever. A middle - aged man strolled through the grass, followed by three children, chatting and laughing without a moment's rest. The man paced back and forth, then stopped under a withered tree. Suddenly, he said, "Yuan'er, pick up a branch and practice a few moves of swordsmanship with your senior brother." Upon hearing this, the three children knew it was time for practice again. Two boys in their teens replied, "Yes!" The younger boy picked up a long branch, pinched the sword formula with his left hand, and his form was quite precise. The other boy took up a stance and exhaled. Once the two boys had set their postures, they immediately engaged in combat. The remaining child was an eight - or nine - year - old girl. She skipped up to the man, blinked her eyes, and said, "Father, are these the moves of the Guide - South Sword that Senior Brother Wen is using? It's really not that interesting." The man patted the little girl's head and smiled, saying, "Xuan'er, don't talk nonsense. Watch carefully how your senior brothers execute their moves." The boy with the branch made jabbing and stabbing moves, with little strength but very stable in direction. The other youth used his left palm and right fist, with much greater force. He struck upwards and chopped downwards, and suddenly switched between palm and fist, with his moves opening and closing, which was extremely sophisticated martial arts. After watching about ten moves, the man said, "Good, stop!" The two boys each withdrew their postures and ran to the man's side. The man took the branch and said, "Yuan'er, the move you used to stab the left shoulder just now didn't have a good follow - up. You should turn the sword tip like this and then stab... Yang'er, you too. If you had changed that punch to hit the lower abdomen, your junior brother would have lost..." The younger boy listened attentively as the master explained the moves. The little girl sat on the grass, looking up at her father talking and demonstrating, seemingly finding it very interesting. It was not until the sun had completely set and the bright moon hung in the sky that the four of them slowly left the grassland. Days passed like this, with the sun setting and the moon rising. Before they knew it, a lot of time had gone by. Now, only three people came to this grassland. The two little boys had grown into energetic young men, and the girl behind them had blossomed into a charming young woman. The three of them came to the tree standing alone in the wilderness and stopped. It was early summer at that time, and the vegetation was lush and green. The tree was now full of branches and leaves, no longer withered. There was a solid stone under the tree, simply engraved with the five characters "Tomb of Hua Xuanqing". The young woman bowed to the stone tomb and said, "Father, we've come to visit you again." Then she untied a bag of rice wine and poured it all on the stone. This young woman was Hua Xuan, the only daughter of the man buried here. In the swaying of the tree shadows, one could see that her features were as beautiful as a painting, and her figure was graceful. She was truly a very beautiful young woman. The two young men were the disciples of Hua Xuanqing. The senior brother, Xiang Yang, was twenty years old, with sword - like eyebrows and star - like eyes, looking heroic and valiant. The junior brother, Wen Yuan, was only seventeen years old, but two years older than Hua Xuan. His face was extremely gentle and refined, and he looked elegant and refined, just like a scholar, without any trace of a martial artist. Wen Yuan bowed towards the tomb and said, "Master, today, your disciple, along with senior brother and junior sister, is about to set off. We will use the peerless skills you taught us to handle unjust matters. Please bless us with your spirit." Xiang Yang patted Wen Yuan on the shoulder and laughed, saying, "Come on, come on. With your current martial arts skills, you don't need much blessing from the master." He then added, "We learned martial arts from the same master, and each of us has our own strengths. But who knows what the world will say about the three of us in the future. Every year on this day, we will come back here to gather. And whoever fails to carry forward the master's teachings and eliminate evil, will kowtow three hundred and sixty - five times to the master!" Hua Xuan clapped her hands and laughed, saying, "Senior Brother Xiang, this was your idea, right? Don't be a coward when you're dizzy from kowtowing!" Xiang Yang burst into laughter. Wen Yuan smiled and said, "Senior brother's skills are the most powerful. It seems that it will mostly be me who will be kowtowing." Xiang Yang smiled and said, "Nonsense. Let's set off!" The three of them left the place where they had learned martial arts. Under the setting sun, they went their separate ways. Entering the martial world like this, their future was uncertain. They would have to wait until they met again a year later to talk! Xiang Yang bid farewell to his junior brother and junior sister and headed east. He was a lively and unrestrained person. Although he sometimes felt lonely when traveling alone, when he was in high spirits, he would drink and practice boxing. When he saw unjust things, he would intervene with his fists. He had followed his master, Hua Xuanqing, for the longest time and had seen a lot. Along the way, he punched local tyrants and kicked corrupt officials, and didn't suffer any losses at all. After all, his martial arts were extraordinary, and ordinary villains were no match for him. One day, he came to Zhao County. The summer sun was scorching. Xiang Yang casually found a pavilion to rest, untied his wine bag, and drank and enjoyed the scenery on his own. Looking north, he saw a stone arch bridge spanning the river. Its shape was very beautiful. He then asked a man who looked like a Confucian scholar beside him, "Sir, this bridge is really nicely built. What's its name?" The Confucian scholar said, "This is the Zhaozhou Bridge, built by Li Chun in the Sui Dynasty. Look, the design of this bridge is really good. The two ends are thick, the middle is thin, and the slope is small. It's convenient for vehicles and horses to pass on the bridge, and it doesn't hinder boats from passing under the bridge either. As for these two stone arches at the ends, each has two small arch openings. Do you know what this is called? This is the open - spandrel arch. And the advantage of this is..." Seeing him shaking his head and talking non - stop, Xiang Yang immediately laughed and said, "There are quite a lot of tricks in building a bridge." Without listening to him further, he walked onto the stone bridge. There were carvings on the balustrades of the bridge, some of landscapes and figures, some of dragons, tigers, and strange beasts. The baluster columns also had various patterns, such as coiling dragons, bamboo joints, and double - treasure beads. Although he didn't understand much about them, he knew these were really exquisite works. After looking for a while, he was about to go down the bridge when he suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes coming from afar. He heard people shouting, "Bandits are coming! The third chief of the White Tiger Village!" Everyone on and under the bridge turned pale and fled while shouting. Xiang Yang left the bridge, grabbed the Confucian scholar who was about to run for his life, and asked, "What is the White Tiger Village? Is it a den of mountain bandits around here?" The Confucian scholar's teeth chattered as he said, "Yes... yes, it is..." Xiang Yang laughed and said, "Look how scared you are. Well, if it is, you'd better run far away!" With that, he let go of him. The Confucian scholar's legs were weak and he couldn't move for a while. After a moment of daze, he finally let out a scream and ran away. Xiang Yang stood in the middle of the bridge and saw a cloud of yellow dust approaching from afar. He thought to himself, "Good. In broad daylight, such a large group of mountain bandits come out of their lair. Could it be that the White Tiger Village really has some great abilities?" In just a moment, dozens of strong horses charged towards the bridge, and the sound of horseshoes was deafening. Xiang Yang gathered his breath and shouted, "Which one of you bandits is the leader? Stop for this young master!" These words were sent out with internal force, clear and loud, like a sudden thunderclap. The group of bandits couldn't help but be shocked. They reined in their horses one after another. When they saw that there was only a young lad on the bridge, they started cursing again, shouting, "What the hell are you, little brat, shouting here!" "Get out of your grandpa's way!" "Get off the bridge, or you'll be trampled to death!" Xiang Yang ignored them. Seeing a fat man at the front with a swarthy face, holding a disheveled woman in his arms, he pointed at him and said, "Are you the third leader of the White Tiger Village?" The fat man gave him a sideways look and, with his left hand groping all over the woman's body, said, "So what? Which gang are you from?" He was well - informed and knew that this young man had already shown extraordinary internal force in that shout. But he was confident in his own excellent martial arts skills and didn't take Xiang Yang seriously. He just focused on molesting the woman in his arms. The woman was crying softly, her shoulders heaving, not daring to make a sound. Xiang Yang nodded and said, "Good. Put down all the looted property and women and go back to your village!" The third leader's small eyes widened in anger and he said, "You stinking brat..." Before he could finish, Xiang Yang had already leaped forward and struck out with his right palm. The third leader casually blocked, but unexpectedly, his wrist was seized. Xiang Yang changed his palm into a claw and immediately grabbed his wrist. With a wave and a throw, the fat body soared into the air and "splash" into the river. The woman was now in Xiang Yang's arms. Xiang Yang let the woman sit against the bridge railing and smiled, saying, "Don't be afraid, miss!" The woman seemed to be frightened and sat down limply. Suddenly, there was a "splash" sound. The third leader had jumped back onto the shore, brandishing a pair of hammers, and shouting, "Brothers, let's kill this little brat together!" The group of bandits shouted loudly, dismounted one after another, and drew their swords to attack. The third leader's two copper hammers danced up and down as he rushed straight at Xiang Yang. Xiang Yang saw clearly, circled his hands, and with a pull, the third leader felt a huge force on each side of his hammers. In shock, the two hammers collided with each other with a loud "clang". This shock made his arms numb and sore, and the hammers couldn't help but fall out of his hands. Unexpectedly, Xiang Yang tapped gently with his right foot twice, and the two copper hammers deviated, hitting the third leader's feet. He felt as if his foot bones were broken and let out a loud cry of pain. Xiang Yang burst into laughter. His figure moved around, and he slapped the third leader's face more than thirty times in quick succession. Fortunately, he originally had a chubby face, so it was hard to tell whether it was fat or swollen now. Xiang Yang leaped out, and with the power of his palm, the bandits fell to the ground one by one, unable to dodge at all. Xiang Yang searched the bandits for their property, released the other captured women, and as he walked, he kicked, kicking all the steel knives into the center of the river. Even the dozens - jin copper hammers were kicked into the river in the same way. The bandits lay on the ground, dumbfounded. Suddenly, they heard Xiang Yang shout, "Scram! In less than three days, this young master will flatten the White Tiger Village. Go back and spread the word!" The group of bandits didn't dare to stay any longer. They got on their horses in a hurry, in complete chaos. Some bandits who had been hit by the palm lost the strength to even get on their horses. The whole group of bandits fled in a sorry state. Xiang Yang saw that there were about twenty women with disheveled clothes and said, "Do you know how to get back to your village?" A woman said in a low voice, "Yes... it's just the Zhoujia Village in front." Xiang Yang distributed the property to the women and let them go home. The women, having escaped from the bandits' clutches, thanked Xiang Yang profusely. They supported each other and left together. The woman captured by the third leader was still sitting on the bridge. Xiang Yang went up to check on her and saw that she was biting her lips tightly and trembling. Xiang Yang smiled and said, "Miss, what's wrong? Come, stand up." He stretched out his right hand as he spoke. The woman looked up at Xiang Yang. Only then did Xiang Yang clearly see the woman's appearance: She was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with deep - set pupils, a cherry - like mouth, and a slender figure. Having been captured by the bandits, she was extremely tired, which made her even more endearing. She had been huddled against the railing. Seeing the gentle look on Xiang Yang's face, without any sign of ferocity, she timidly leaned against the railing and stood up, but didn't take Xiang Yang's hand. Xiang Yang said, "Why don't you go back with them?" The young woman tugged at her disheveled clothes and stammered, "I... I'm not from here. May I ask your name, benefactor?" Xiang Yang smiled and said, "I'm Xiang Yang. May I know your name, miss?" The young woman blushed and replied in a low voice, "My surname is Zhao... My name, my name is Wanyan." Xiang Yang said, "Don't call me benefactor. It's so awkward. Where are you from, Miss Zhao? If you don't know how to get back, I can help." Zhao Wanyan blushed, stuttering, "That... no... I live in Luoyang. I... I can go back by myself. Don't bother, Young Master Xiang..." But as soon as she left the railing, she felt weak all over and her feet became unsteady. She actually fell into Xiang Yang's arms. Zhao Wanyan let out a soft cry, feeling extremely shy, and fainted. Xiang Yang knew that she had been too frightened before and was already exhausted and weak. He let her rest against a pine tree by the bridge and sat beside her to take care of her, feeling like he was taking care of his junior sister Hua Xuan when she was sick as a child. He examined her carefully. Although Zhao Wanyan's clothes were messy and damaged, it was obvious that the fabric was very expensive, quite different from the coarse cloth clothes of those village girls. Through the holes in the dress, her delicate skin was revealed. The wind blew the front of her clothes, and he could faintly see her delicate breasts rising and falling gently with her rapid breathing. Xiang Yang's heart skipped a beat. He stared at that beautiful face. Her black hair, though disheveled, still retained its elegance. "Could Miss Zhao be the young lady of some wealthy family?" Xiang Yang wondered to himself, but didn't care too much. It was getting dark. Xiang Yang saw the evening wind blowing and the coolness increasing, so he wanted to take off his outer clothes and cover Zhao Wanyan with them. Unexpectedly, at this moment, Zhao Wanyan woke up slowly. Seeing Xiang Yang taking off his clothes, she was startled and exclaimed, "Ah... what are you doing?" Xiang Yang was stunned and turned to look at Zhao Wanyan. Zhao Wanyan looked panicked, and her delicate body shrank back together. She blushed and said, "You... why are you taking off your clothes..." Xiang Yang couldn't help but laugh. He thought, "This girl is really suspicious." Suddenly, he had an idea to play a prank. He coughed and said, "Because... I want to do this!" With a flash of his figure, he rushed in front of Zhao Wanyan and pressed his hands on her small shoulders. Zhao Wanyan let out a scream, but her body couldn't move. In front of her eyes, Xiang Yang was only wearing a cloth shirt on his upper body, so close at hand. She felt both shy and flustered in her heart, and her clear eyes were filled with a look of fear. Seeing Zhao Wanyan's appearance, Xiang Yang couldn't help but burst out laughing. He withdrew his hands, then covered her with his outer robe, and immediately put his hands behind his back, his face becoming extremely serious. He said, "This is what I want to do." Zhao Wanyan was stunned for a moment. Then, after thinking for a while, she understood. She thought to herself, "I've been asleep for so long. If he really wanted to... do that to me... he wouldn't have waited until now..." Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blush and said in a low voice, "Aren't you cold?" Xiang Yang said, "It doesn't matter. I can buy another one in the town ahead. It's still far from Luoyang. We should find a place to stay first." Zhao Wanyan lowered her head and fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, saying in a low voice, "No... I'm going to the capital." Xiang Yang nodded and said, "Good, that's much closer. Let's go!" Zhao Wanyan let out a soft cry, "Ah, you..." Xiang Yang said, "Of course I'll see you off, miss. Isn't it dangerous for you to travel alone?" Zhao Wanyan felt extremely shy, and her voice became even lower, "But... you... I..." Suddenly, Xiang Yang let out a long howl that reached far and wide. The river seemed to surge with waves. Zhao Wanyan was startled and said, "What's wrong?" Xiang Yang stopped and