In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

Facing only one of the two brothers, Xiang Liang was naturally much more composed, pressing down on Xiang An's spear with his own.

Xiang An's spear retreated immediately upon contact, and he quickly twisted his body to thrust at the target from another angle.

Xiang Liang took a step forward, brandishing his spear shaft and smashing it towards Xiang An's face. However, Xiang An suddenly retreated, pulling the spear tip with him, and just barely avoided Xiang Liang's smashing spear.

Then--

Suddenly thrust it forward again!

Xiang Liang had no choice but to dodge to the side, but Xiang An did not stop at all. He withdrew his spear and thrust it again. After missing, he grabbed the shaft and pulled it. His hand almost touched the spear tip. He turned around and the spear tip went around his body and thrust it at Xiang Liang from behind again.

"Hmm?" Xiang Liang vaguely felt that something was not right.

Why is it that I'm the one backing down now?

This kid, isn't he poking and prodding too often?

Although the force was not heavy, if I hadn't dodged just as quickly and managed to block the thrusts, an ordinary soldier would probably have been stabbed several times with those few blows!

Xiang An braced himself against the spear's end with one hand, and the spear, like a constantly shifting line, thrust back and forth towards Xiang Liang. He then grabbed the spear's end and pulled it back.

Overwhelmed by the rapid and intense attacks, Xiang Liang had no choice but to retreat quickly, shaking off Xiang An, and stood there still in shock.

"Good lad, what a brilliant counterattack!"

------------

Chapter 791 The Lord of Pangshan

Xiang An didn't answer, but crouched low to the ground and lunged forward, aiming his spear at Xiang Liang's lower body.

Xiang Liang swung his spear horizontally, leaped up, deflected Xiang An's spear, spun in the air, and aimed the spear tip at Xiang An's face.

Xiang An did not dodge; instead, he leaned back, spear and all, the silver light flashing as he drew a large arc in the air.

Ping Pong —

The spear shafts clashed, and neither side gained the upper hand.

Xiang Liang landed, Xiang An rolled over, and the uncle and nephew switched places, looking at each other again.

Xiang An kicked the spear, which landed in the crook of his arm. He caught it, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Uncle, your skill is superb. I have lost."

Xiang Liang was taken aback, then shook his head with a smile: "You kid... there are no outsiders here now, so what if I lost? I'm not the kind of person who's stuck in the past."

“But you, and your brother…” He suddenly slammed his spear into the ground, then crossed his arms and looked at the two of them with a smile, “You two are quite skilled with your hands. It seems your older brother has taken it to heart.”

"Uncle, you flatter me. My brother and I still need to hone our skills." Xiang Yu stood beside Xiang An, a slight smile on his face.

Xiang Lu stood behind the two brothers and shook his head helplessly: "Second brother, you're not good enough. A junior has already outdone you. If the two of them attack together, won't you be defeated in just a few rounds?"

"Then I'll admit defeat. I'm a military general, not some charlatan!" Xiang Liang glared at Xiang Lu. "But you, Fourth Brother, are you enjoying watching me make a fool of myself?"

"No, no, what are you talking about, Second Brother..." Xiang Lu waved his hand with an embarrassed smile.

Xiang Liang rolled his eyes, ignoring the meddlesome fourth brother, and took three spears from Xiang An and Xiang Yu, throwing them precisely back into the gun rack: "I've tested your hand skills, but you two... do you know archery?"

"Archery... I haven't tried it, but it should be pretty good." Xiang An said casually, hands on his hips.

"I'm not quite sure either, but..." Xiang Yu didn't speak, but his expression gradually became more confident.

"You two brats..." Xiang Liang glared, "Don't think you can act so arrogantly just because you got a little favor from me!"

"You think archery is easy, huh? Fourth brother!"

"Alright!" Xiang Lu chuckled, pulled a longbow from the weapon rack, took an arrow from his quiver, squinted, drew the bow, and licked the fletching.

stop--

Before the two brothers could even see it clearly, the arrow was shot out.

Bang!

The two looked in the direction the arrow had flown, only to find it embedded in a wooden stake several dozen paces away, and the arrow itself...

The two brothers went closer and were astonished by her beauty.

A large fly was stuck in the arrow. Most importantly, the arrow only pierced the fly's wing but did not kill it. The fly was still buzzing and struggling!

"Uncle, you—" Xiang An exclaimed in surprise, looking at Xiang Lu with astonishment, "You're amazing!"

"Such archery skills..." Xiang Yu took the arrow off. The fly's wings were not badly damaged, and it could still fly crookedly.

"You two are highly skilled in martial arts, but you must always remember that you must never judge a book by its cover, and you must never be arrogant!"

Snapped!

Xiang Liang walked over and caught the large fly flying in the air in one swift motion.

"Some things may make a loud noise, but they're just annoying." Xiang Liang looked at the two brothers and said seriously, "You can be flamboyant, but you must never be unrestrained; you can be confident, but you must never be arrogant!"

"On the battlefield, you can roar loudly, but when you return to life, you must learn to be calm. Silence is often a person's best weapon." Xiang Liang opened his hand, and the fly's body fell to the ground, but he had already plucked off its two wings, so the fly could only crawl on the ground. "Use your language when you need it."

Snapped.

Xiang Liang stepped on the fly, crushed it, and casually threw away its wings.

"Those who lack ability yet make a lot of noise will inevitably die."

"However, in my opinion, even if you are capable, I hope you can maintain restraint in your lives." He put his hands behind his back. "Our Xiang family has served as generals in the Chu Kingdom for generations and we are well aware of this. In some ways, words can be more hurtful and deadly than weapons, so you must not talk too much, for too much talk will lead to mistakes. You must also not be arrogant, for arrogance will lead to self-destruction."

"Yu has learned a lot."

"I've learned a lot."

The two brothers bowed and clasped their hands in greeting to Xiang Liang.

“You are my nephews, and now you are like my own sons. I don’t know how my elder brother raised you in the Northeast, but if I am to take responsibility for you, I must make sure that you do not fall into bad character.”

"Martial arts are important, but virtue is even more so. A virtuous person can subdue others not by fear or coercion, but by force." Xiang Liang patted the two brothers on the shoulders and said earnestly, "Do you understand?"

......

About ten miles west of Pei, there is a mountain called Pang Mountain.

Pangshan is not high, only three or four hundred meters, but it is still a rare high mountain on this alluvial plain.

At the foot of Pangshan Mountain lies a village called Zijia Village, which is located in Sishui.

This village has been a peaceful and prosperous place for many years, a veritable paradise.

This village was rarely affected by war, mainly because it had a custom of worshipping the mountain god.

Every June, it is common knowledge in Zijia Village that as long as pigs and sheep are slaughtered and cooked and placed at the mountain god temple on the mountaintop, the mountain god will protect the village.

However, something unusual seems to have happened in these mountains and forests.

A wisp of black smoke floated on the mountaintop.

Mountains and forests possess a spiritual energy, and this spiritual energy nurtures spirits and monsters.

The black aura rose from the Zi family's ancestral graves and drifted along the way, as if it were searching for something.

But it searched desperately without success, and seemed to be afraid.

roar------!!!

A deafening roar echoed from the cave on the mountaintop, seemingly carrying immense power and nearly dispersing the black mist.

The black mist became even more frightened, floating precariously like a candle flickering in the wind, yet remaining motionless in place due to fear.

"What kind of monster is causing trouble here?!"

The angry voice burst forth from the cave, standing on the ground and glaring at the black mist.

He was a middle-aged man wearing black cloth shoes and an orange-yellow robe with black patterns. His eyes were slanted upwards, and he exuded an imposing aura.

Not far from the middle-aged man and the dark aura, there was a temple.

A pair of characters are inscribed on either side of the temple.

"A good mountain king does not eat blood."

"The most righteous are the true immortals."

"So that's what it is, it's just a little demon born from the resentment of spiritual energy." The middle-aged man was naturally the mountain lord who lived in the mountains. Years of cultivation had allowed him to take on a human form.

The Fairy Tree Romance

With a casual flick of his wrist, the Mountain Lord dispersed the malevolent black aura and turned to walk towards his cave, no longer paying attention.

He himself did not notice that a wisp of inconspicuous black mist was wrapped around his sleeve.

------------

Chapter 792 Ahua and Ashu

"Ahem, well, gentlemen, first, let me teach you how to write your names." Wu Ju sat at the head of the table, his expression quite serious.

Xiang Yu and Xiang An nodded in unison: "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

Inside the room, Wu Ju had already begun his lesson. Outside, Xiang Liang and Xiang Bo stood at the door listening to the two brothers being taught, nodding to themselves.

"Second Brother, you really care about this," Xiang Bo said with a sigh, arms crossed.

"This is my elder brother's child after all, how can I not care?" Xiang Liang shook his head and walked towards his room. "What about Liu Jin'an?"

"He's waiting for you in the living room."

“…Let’s go see him.” Xiang Liang nodded.

Liu Jin'an was a wealthy businessman, the richest man in the surrounding area besides Xiang Liang, and a master of speculation.

As Xiang Liang entered the front hall, he saw a well-to-do man sitting in a chair.

The portly man was Liu Jin'an. Upon seeing Xiang Liang, he quickly stood up and said, "Lord Xiang, it's been a long time! It's been a long time!"

"It's been a long time, Lao Liu. How's this winter been?" Although Liu Jin'an liked to speculate, he was indeed good at socializing and always knew how to please people. Xiang Liang quite liked this chubby rich businessman.

"Hey, how can a country not make money when it's about to be established?" Liu Jin'an chuckled. "To help the people get through this second winter, those newly appointed prefects are all scrambling to buy grain. I made quite a bit of money from this deal!"

His smile had a cunning quality that made Xiang Liang involuntarily frown.

"Alright, alright, let's not dwell on your old grievances. I've come to you this time because I have a favor to ask." Xiang Liang walked past Liu Jin'an, sat down in a chair, and looked up at him.