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

They knew that the benevolent mountain god would continue to protect them.

In Pangshan, the mountain lord, even in death, still uses his soul to suppress the spiritual veins and will forever watch over that new village.

It was as if he had always been watching over that friend.

......

The Xiang family members have returned to the Xiang residence.

When they returned to the riverbank, their horses were indeed still grazing there. After finding the horses, the four of them went back.

Now, Xiang Yu and Xiang An, with beads of sweat on their foreheads, looked at the little girl sitting in her seat.

The little girl was still grieving and sat on the wooden chair, somewhat dazed.

"Uncle, are you really going to take this little girl as your goddaughter...?" Xiang An scratched his face.

"What? You personally rescued this from the rubble, are you planning to throw it away?" Xiang Liang glanced at Xiang An and took a sip of tea.

"No, no, how could that be..." Xiang An's tone weakened considerably.

"If Uncle wants, then we can adopt them over there." Xiang Yu smiled indifferently. "It just so happens that you have no children, so besides me and Xiang An, you'll have another person to take care of you."

"That's more palatable. Xiang An, you brat, you should learn from your brother." Xiang Liang said, glaring at Xiang An as he spoke.

"Yeah, it feels a bit strange... I have a little sister... I have an extra little sister now, brother, you know how I feel, right? You know what I mean, right?" Xiang An gestured wildly, but it was impossible to tell what he was trying to say.

"Don't scare our sister." Xiang Yu pushed Xiang An aside with a look of disgust.

"Me, you?" Xiang An pointed at himself, looking completely bewildered.

"Zijuan, are you feeling better?" Xiang Liang patted the little girl's head and asked with concern.

He was very serious about adopting the little girl, and it wasn't just a passing fancy.

For various reasons, in this era of chaos ending and peace beginning, he did not marry, and the last thought of marriage was extinguished after Xiang Yu and Xiang An arrived.

He treated Xiang Yu and Xiang An as his own children, even though the two children were a bit annoying.

However, after Xiang An brought Zi Huai out of the ruins and found no family among the survivors of Zi Family Village, he had the idea of ​​adopting a goddaughter.

According to his inquiry, the little girl used to be from a family of five: her grandfather, who was the village head of Zijia Village, had died on Pangshan Mountain; her father and mother were just ordinary people who had died in the earthquake; and her twin brother, Zihuai. Xiang Liang later arranged for people to search in Zijia Village, but they did not find any bodies, but they assumed that the body had also died.

From happiness and fulfillment, to utter destitution in an instant...

With a heavy heart, Xiang Liang picked up Zijuan and gently patted her back: "From now on, you will be my daughter. You will never feel sadness or cold again."

As Zijuan listened to Xiang Liang's words, something unpleasant came to mind again. Her lips trembled slightly, her hands clenched tightly, and it looked as if she was about to shed tears again.

"It's alright, it's alright..." Xiang Liang patted Zijuan's back and summoned two maids. "This is my daughter. Treat her well. If anything goes wrong, you will be held responsible."

His tone was calm, but the two maids were terrified.

The maid took Zijuan to her room. Although Xiang Liang had adopted this daughter, he really didn't know much about how to raise one.

The two brothers sat beside Xiang Liang, watching him bustle about for his new daughter, and felt somewhat helpless.

"Hey, bro, let's go find Uncle Si and the others," Xiang An said softly, gesturing with his lips.

"Looking for Fourth Uncle? Sure, let's go."

While Xiang Liang was busy with various tasks, the two brothers secretly slipped out of the main hall and ran out of the courtyard towards the neighboring courtyard.

The "fourth uncle" they were referring to was actually Xiang Lu. Because of his age, Xiang Liang and Xiang Bo called him "fourth brother," so Xiang Yu and Xiang An followed suit and called him "fourth uncle" instead of "cousin."

Knock on the courtyard gate, and it wasn't Xiang Lu who opened it, but rather the chubby-faced Xiang Jing.

"Brother Yu, Brother An, you're back." Xiang Jing was playing by himself in the yard.

"Hmm, where's Fourth Uncle? Isn't he home?" Xiang Yu roughly patted Xiang Jing's head and asked.

"No, Father has gone out on business and probably won't be back until dark." Darkness means dusk.

"Oh, I see... I was hoping to learn some hunting skills from him." Xiang An scratched his head with a regretful expression.

"So, what are you two doing here? Have you finished the homework your teachers assigned you?" Xiang Jing asked with a sneer.

Xiang Yu and Xiang An's bodies stiffened instantly.

"Of course it's finished!" Xiang Yu laughed awkwardly, his voice booming. "How could it not be finished?"

"Yeah, that's right, you little brat, don't talk nonsense, or I'll beat your ass up." Xiang An threatened with a fierce look.

"Hey! Brother Xiang An, you're scaring me!" Xiang Jing quickly moved away from Xiang An's clutches. "I'm going to tell Second Uncle!"

"Oh no! I was wrong, I was wrong! Don't tell Uncle, please don't tell Uncle!" Xiang An rushed over and covered Xiang Jing's mouth with a pained expression.

After a short while of commotion, the two of them quieted down.

Xiang Jing suddenly raised his head and looked at Xiang An: "Brother Xiang An, I heard that Second Uncle adopted a daughter, is that true?"

Xiang An, who had just been playing around, froze instantly, his expression turning somewhat sad.

Nodding, Xiang An said, "Yes, my uncle did adopt a daughter."

“She’s a very pretty little girl.” Xiang Yu walked over to Xiang Jing and sat down.

“That child could have lived an ordinary and happy life, but because of the disaster…” Xiang An sighed and raised his head.

"...These things are unavoidable; human life is just that fragile," Xiang Yu said, patting Xiang An on the shoulder to comfort him.

Although Xiang Jing couldn't understand, he obediently remained silent, only subconsciously touching his blind eye.

"Yes, since Uncle adopted her, then she's our little sister!" Xiang An jumped up, hands on his hips. "Although she's lost her former happiness, from now on, the three of us brothers will protect her!"

Looking down at Xiang Yu and Xiang Jing, Xiang An broke into a bright smile.

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

Chapter 813 Zijuan's Interest

"Xiang An's here. Have you finished your homework?" Xiang Lu was sitting in his room working on something when he saw Xiang An peeking in from the doorway and casually asked.

"...Why did you ask me about my homework the first thing you did when you saw me, Fourth Uncle...?" Xiang An looked utterly defeated. "I already told you I finished it..."

"Haha, after all, you're notoriously bad at doing homework, so I had to ask you some questions when we met." Xiang Lu looked at Xiang An with a smile. "So? What brings you here?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I was taking care of... taking care of..." Xiang An trailed off, unable to continue.

"...Bring?" Xiang Lu looked at Xiang An with a question mark in his eyes, and stopped writing something in his hand.

"Well... I mainly brought my sister here to visit you and show her some respect." Xiang An scratched his head and sighed, then walked into Xiang Lu's house, followed by a little girl.

“Ah, this is…” Xiang Lu’s eyes showed a hint of understanding as he stood up.

"Fourth Uncle." Zijuan stood next to Xiang An and gave Xiang Lu a slight bow, her face expressionless.

Looking at Zijuan's expressionless, slightly gloomy face, Xiang Lu sighed softly.

He bent down and patted Zijuan's head, then said gently, "Now that you've come to this family, let's live together as a family."

“…Hmm.” Zijuan looked up at Xiang Lu and nodded gently.

Xiang Lu called Xiang Jing out so that the brother and sister could also get to know each other.

Xiang Jing looked somewhat frightening, after all, he was blind in one eye and half of his body was covered with indelible scars, but Zijuan wasn't too afraid.

Or rather, as things stand, this little girl hasn't yet emerged from the shadow of losing everything.

Xiang Lu walked over to Xiang An and let the two children get to know each other. He looked at Xiang An with a smile and said, "It's rare to see you not with your brother."

“My brother was taken away by my uncle for other things, it seems to be something to do in Pangshan.” Xiang An shook his head, his gaze still fixed on Zijuan.

"Is that so? It seems to be related to disaster relief." Nodding, Xiang Lu crossed his arms. "What do you think of this child?"

"Who? Ah Hua?" Xiang An turned his head and glanced at Xiang Lu.

For some reason, perhaps because of their age, he felt that his communication with Xiang Lu was the most seamless. Although Xiang Liang was very good to his brothers, he was more like an elder to them. As for Xiang Bo, Xiang An didn't like this third uncle very much, and they didn't communicate much. Only his fourth uncle, Xiang Lu, made him feel the closest to him.

"Ahua?" Xiang Lu was taken aback.

"Ah, Zijuan's nickname is Ahua. That's what she said herself, and my brother and I both call her that," Xiang An explained to Xiang Lu.

"I see... So what?"

"So what?"

"What do you think of Ahua, this child?"

"My opinion..." Xiang An reached out and tapped his face with his fingers, his eyes somewhat blank. "I don't know what to say. She's a rather pitiful, but also quite cute little girl."

With a sigh, Xiang An put his hands behind his head: "I hope she can get out of the shadow of the disaster soon."

“My uncle has already asked Mr. Wu Ju and Mr. Zi Shu to start arranging lessons for her, though the amount isn’t much.” Xiang An put his feet on the stool, placed his hands on his ankles, and smiled slightly. “She’s a strong child. Although we haven’t spent much time together, I’ve already figured that out.”

"She will get through this, and she will start a new life here. My brother and I will help her achieve that!"

Xiang Lu looked at Xiang An's face and into his eyes, and smiled silently.

"Before that, put your feet off the stool!"

"Ah! Sorry!"

......

After returning from Pangshan, life returned to its ordinary routine.

Xiang Yu and Xiang An continued their arduous studies, but this time, they had a little follower by their side.

Zijuan wasn't very interested in learning knowledge. Instead, when Xiang Yu and Xiang An were practicing martial arts in the training ground, she would sit next to them, holding her little face and watching intently.

Xiang Liang stood under the eaves of the back hall, stroking his chin as he looked at the three siblings, lost in thought.

"Second Brother, what are you thinking about?" Xiang Bo, wrapped in his coat, walked to Xiang Liang's side. The weather was starting to get cold.

"I'm looking at my daughter," Xiang Liang replied casually.

"You're making it sound like Xiao Juan is your real daughter," Uncle Xiang said, somewhat speechless.

“We’re family.” Xiang Liang glanced at Xiang Bo. “I’ve told you so many times, we’re no longer nobles, so stop with the social class distinctions.”

"Yes, yes, I understand... But I heard that Xiao Juan's studies haven't been going so well lately?" Uncle Xiang asked again.

"Uh—" Xiang Liang's expression instantly turned uncomfortable.

He trembled as he reached out a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.