Who says those who retire at the speed of light are not heroes?

Starting from how old he was, what he did and what his family did, Lin Cheng could only answer one by one. Lin Cheng always felt a little uneasy. From time to time, he took a sip of the pear soup brought by his mother at the table... It tasted quite good.

Ji Zhezhi's father sat aside, not saying anything. His expression was very cold, exactly the same as Ji Zhezhi's. Lin Cheng always felt under a lot of pressure. Why were all the topics of conversation about him?

Ji Zhezhi's mother asked him to call her Aunt Lan, and Lin Cheng did as he was told. It was also at this time that he learned the names of Ji Zhezhi's parents. Her father was Ji Qingpu and her mother was Ji Qinglan.

Aunt Lan and Lin Cheng's conversation had already touched upon his childhood, and Lin Cheng was sweating profusely as he coped with the conversation. As the conversation progressed, they moved on to the several relationships he had had, and Lin Cheng didn't even know how to answer for a moment, and was sweating profusely.

How should he answer? Talking? And talking to several people?

Fortunately, Ji Zhezhi interrupted the conversation and said calmly, "I'm hungry."

"I'll go cook." Ji Qinglan stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Ji Zhezhi went to help in the kitchen. Only Lin Cheng and Ji Zhezhi's father, Ji Qingpu, were left in the living room. When Ji Qingpu's gaze moved to his face, Lin Cheng felt that he subconsciously straightened his waist a little.

"I heard from Zhezhi that she showed you the Ji family swordsmanship for one night. Did you learn it?"

"Yeah." Lin Cheng nodded.

"The Ji family's swordsmanship is generally not allowed to be passed on to outsiders." Ji Qingpu looked at him deeply, "But since this is a special period, there are also special ways to deal with it. Come, let me see... How well have you learned the swordsmanship?"

"it is good."

Ji Qingpu stood up and took Lin Cheng to the weapon room in the courtyard. Lin Cheng looked at the dozen or so ancient swords in the room, all of which were engraved with alchemical runes. Ji Qingpu said calmly, "Pick one that suits you."

Lin Cheng finally chose a long sword that was similar to the Broken Branch Sword. Ji Qingpu turned and walked out of the armory and came to the courtyard. There was a heavy layer of snow in the courtyard. Lin Cheng saw Ji Qingpu flip his hand and a ink-black long sword appeared in his hand.

"Then please give me some pointers, uncle."

Lin Cheng held the sword, he had already memorized every move and form of the Jingshui sword technique.

In the vast snow, the swords of the two men collided and sparks flew. At first, Lin Cheng did not use his full strength. After all, he was the elder and he did not want to hurt the relationship. However, every move of Ji Qingpu was so fierce that he had to concentrate and take it seriously. Gradually, he ignored everything around him and focused on dealing with it. Every snowflake seemed to disappear in his eyes, and only the shadow of Ji Qingpu's sword remained in front of him.

Ji Qingpu's breath was long and his energy seemed endless. Lin Cheng's physical strength gradually depleted, but he still failed to break through Ji Qingpu's defense. He did not have the obsession to win, so he naturally stopped when his energy was exhausted. He smiled at Ji Qingpu and said, "Uncle, everything I have learned is here."

Ji Qingpu put the sword behind his back and said calmly, "Not bad."

"Use everything you know." Ji Zhezhi's voice suddenly sounded.

Lin Cheng was stunned for a moment, then he realized that Ji Zhezhi had been standing aside and watching for a while. He was still hesitating, but Ji Qingpu had already spoken, "What else is hidden?"

"When I got the Sword Shadow Stone back some time ago, I gained a little insight..."

"Understood?"

"Understood."

"have a look."

Lin Cheng held the sword and concentrated his mind.

The eleventh move: Sword out.

Ji Qingpu responded with the same eleventh move, but his aura was half weaker than his.

Ji Qingpu's cold expression finally showed some surprise, and he asked, "What's the next move?"

"Uncle can do that too?"

"will not."

"Actually, I don't know how to do that either."

"You can." Ji Zhezhi spoke lightly from the side.

267 Will be killed

The atmosphere was quite subtle.

Ji Qingpu suddenly laughed. He raised the sword in his hand and looked at Lin Cheng. "Little guy, don't worry. In the Ji family, even if you are a guest, you must have enough strength to be respected. It's no big deal if you can do it."

"Okay..." Lin Cheng was a little embarrassed.

This time he became serious, and the sword tip trembled slightly. At the same time, every snowflake floating in the sky was now stained with a sword shadow. Ji Qingpu looked at the sword shadows stabbing at him, and was stunned for a moment. Then he slowly came to his senses, raised his hand and swung out a sword.

The sword shadows all dissipated, and the snowflakes shattered and fell.

"it is good!"

Ji Qingpu put away his sword and said, "Let's eat."

..........................................

On the dining table.

There was a pot of wine in front of Ji Qingpu. He glanced at Lin Cheng and asked, "Can you drink it?"

"know a little."

"Then fill it up yourself."

Lin Cheng held the wine jar and filled his bowl, then raised the wine bowl respectfully, "Uncle, drink."

Seeing him drink the whole bowl of wine in one gulp, Lin Cheng felt something was wrong, so he refilled Ji Qingpu's bowl. Ji Qingpu glanced at the half-full glass of wine left and said nothing.

He didn't say anything, but Lin Cheng understood, "I'll make it up right away."

He held the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Ji Qinglan on the side looked at Ji Qingpu with dissatisfaction, "How can you treat guests to drink like this?"

"I usually don't want to serve this wine to others. How long has Lao Qin been coveting this barrel of wine? Have you ever seen me give him a sip?"

"It's okay, Aunt Lan, I can drink with uncle. I can drink quite well... Aunt Lan's cooking is really delicious."

Ji Qinglan laughed, "Then eat more. If you don't want to drink, don't drink. If he dares to force you to drink, Auntie Lan will teach him a lesson for you."

Lin Cheng suddenly felt that Ji Zhezhi was so happy.

Because her mother's cooking is really delicious, although the taste is lighter, it is very delicious. After a few bowls of wine, Ji Qingpu is no longer as serious as before, but there is nothing to talk about between two grown men. They just drink one bowl after another. Ji Zhezhi and Ji Qinglan are full, so they cleared the dishes. Ji Zhezhi went to take a shower, and Ji Qinglan brought two small plates of braised dishes before they left the table.

Lin Cheng was so drunk that he was about to pass out, but when he saw Ji Qingpu holding the wine barrel to pour him some wine, he hurriedly took it and said, "I'll do it, I'll do it."

After drinking more than half of the whole bucket, Lin Cheng was about to faint. Ji Qingpu in front of him became a double image. He heard Ji Qingpu ask, "Do you want to marry my daughter?"

"No, no." Lin Cheng answered in a daze.

"If you don't want to marry my daughter, why do you come to participate in my daughter's martial arts competition? Your swordsmanship is unmatched in the entire Ji family."

Ji Qingpu didn't feel comfortable speaking before.

He was able to easily block Lin Cheng's twelfth move because he had much more energy than Lin Cheng. If their energy levels were the same, he would definitely not be able to block it. Not only that, he also felt from Lin Cheng's swordsmanship that his forty-two years of hard practice were not as good as this guy's few years of practice.

Faced with Ji Qingpu's question, Lin Cheng's head became even more dizzy for a moment. He didn't know how to answer. He didn't know whether Ji Zhezhi had discussed the fact that she didn't want to get married with her parents. If he was here to cooperate with Ji Zhezhi in the play, he naturally had to hide it from her parents.

"I mainly want to exchange sword skills. Besides...even if I want to marry her, she won't marry me."

"Nonsense!" Ji Qingpu's tone rose a little. "If you want to exchange sword skills, I will arrange someone for you. My daughter's martial arts competition is going to be held. If you win but don't marry her, where will my daughter's face be? Do you want her to be laughed at by everyone?"

"No, I..." Lin Cheng was speechless, his head was dizzy again, "I, I didn't say I wouldn't marry her. For this kind of thing, it depends on her... If she doesn't want to marry, I can't force her to marry."

"Zhezhi is already 21 this year." Ji Qingpu said slowly, "I'm not in a hurry, but her mother is extremely anxious. For all these years, Zhezhi has never looked at any man straight in the eye, but three years ago she was willing to lend you the Zhezhi sword for self-defense... Not to mention her mother, even I can guess what she's thinking. If you want to marry her, will she refuse?"

"No, no... she and I are just..."

"Just what?"

"Just... good friends."

"Then don't participate in her martial arts competition. Her mother has already chosen a husband for her. The eldest son of the Qin family likes her very much. It would be bad if you cause any trouble at that time."

"No, I have to participate."

"Why are you attending if you don't want to marry Zhezhi?"

The problem is back to square one.

Lin Cheng also wanted to say that because your daughter doesn't want to get married, he is here to stir up trouble, but wouldn't that just put the blame on Ji Zhezhi? Lin Cheng felt bitter but couldn't say it. Looking at Ji Qingpu's scrutinizing eyes, he hesitated again and again, "Well... Actually... I want to marry... But am I not a foreigner?"

"You are married into my Ji family, so you are naturally a member of my Ji family from now on. If you learn my Ji family swordsmanship, no one will dare to say anything. But do you know that Zhezhi will have to live in the cliff of regret for five years just for passing on the family swordsmanship to others?"

Lin Cheng’s brain was confused.

"According to the rules of Utopia, a girl should be engaged when she is 18, and should get married when she is 20. Zhezhi is my daughter, and I have been delaying for her. I know she doesn't want to get married, but she is a member of the Ji family after all, and I don't want to force her. But her grandparents are very anxious. This time, she has to get married in the martial arts competition... As her father, I naturally don't want her to get married, so... what's wrong with you marrying into my Ji family?"

"No, she doesn't want to..."

"How dare she not be willing!" Ji Qingpu slammed the table, scaring Lin Cheng.

"Men should marry when they are old enough, and women should marry when they are old enough. This has been the case since ancient times. I will ask you one last time, do you really want to marry my daughter? If you don't want to, then don't come and interfere with this martial arts competition."

"I……"

Lin Cheng has a headache.

"I think so." He finally answered like this. It was the only way for now. He would discuss countermeasures with Ji Zhezhi later.

"As for Zhezhi, I will talk to her mother and ask her to counsel her. You don't have to worry." Ji Qingpu brought the wine barrel again and filled Lin Cheng's bowl again.

"Uncle, I can't drink..."

"That kid from the Qin family wants to marry my girl. He always tries to get close to me, but he is not qualified to drink the wine brewed by his mother."

"I... can still drink." Lin Cheng raised the wine bowl and drank it all.

Ji Qingpu finally put aside the seriousness on his face and smiled, "As a man, it's okay to drink a little more, as long as it doesn't cause any harm."

....................................

In the courtyard.

Ji Zhezhi was standing beside the wintersweet tree in a daze.

Her mother stood beside her, lowered her head and sniffed the wintersweet flowers, and asked softly, "Are you really ready?"

"Yeah." Ji Zhezhi nodded slightly.

"I coaxed your father for a long time before he agreed to play this drama with you. Your father was reluctant to let you get married. I think that boy is okay. How does he treat you?"

"very good."

"That's good. As for your marriage...your father and I can't influence you. As long as you like it, it's fine. But you must think it over carefully. Some things cannot be regretted once they are decided."

"I will never regret it." Ji Zhezhi said softly.

"Okay, I'll go make them two bowls of hangover soup."

....................................

By the time the hangover soup was served, Lin Cheng was already sitting on the table.

He used to be a heavy drinker, but he hadn't drunk like this for several years. In recent years, he had only been slightly tipsy at most and rarely got drunk. But today, he was definitely willing to risk his life to drink with Ji Qingpu. However, seeing that Ji Qingpu had leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, Lin Cheng wanted to laugh wildly.

I won hahahahahaha!! I won!!

"Drink the soup." Ji Zhezhi came to him with the sobering soup.

Ji Qinglan had already helped Ji Qingpu back to the room. Only Ji Zhezhi and Lin Cheng were left at the table in the living room. Lin Cheng looked at Ji Zhezhi in front of him in a daze. She was holding a soup spoon in her hand, and the bowl should contain something like tomato soup.

Lin Cheng lowered his head and drank a sip obediently. Ji Zhezhi blew the cool liquid to his mouth one spoonful at a time, as if feeding a puppy. Lin Cheng was very obedient. After a while, he remembered and looked up at Ji Zhezhi, "No, something bad has happened."

"what?"

"Your father asked me if I wanted to marry you, so I participated in the martial arts competition."

"Just say you want to exchange swordplay with them."

"But I had a sword fight with your father today. Your father knew that they couldn't beat me, so he told me not to participate. Otherwise, if I beat everyone but didn't marry you, it would be embarrassing for you."

"so?"

"But I thought I had promised you, so I told him no, I still want to participate, what should I do then?"

"What does it matter?" Ji Zhezhi glanced at him calmly, "You should restrain your strength and don't win them too easily. After you win everyone, I will stand up and say that my husband must win over me...wouldn't it be better if you lose to me on purpose?"

"Then they won't force you to get married?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe even if I win you, you will still want me to marry the eldest son of the Qin family, but I don't like him."

"What should we do then?" Lin Cheng suddenly looked worried.

"I don't know." Ji Zhezhi replied calmly, "As long as I am still in the Ji family, I will get married. The rules of the Ji family bind everyone equally. All I can do is delay it."

"Alas, it seems this is the only way." Lin Cheng lowered his head and drank the next spoonful of sobering soup she served.

"But there is another way that can solve this problem forever." Ji Zhezhi's voice was still very calm.

"What? Tell me."