The sky was covered with dark clouds and pressed down heavily, as if within reach. Thunder rumbling and heavy rain was coming. At the foot of Datong Mountain, a young man was struggling to tie two piles of firewood. From time to time, his movements invisibly accelerated a lot.

The boy was only fifteen years old, with a pretty face, long hair draped over his shoulders, straight nose, and slight angular lips. However, those hands were thick and powerful, which did not match his age.

When the firewood was packed, the young man picked up the firewood and ran towards Songjiazhuang at the foot of the mountain. He ignored the sweat on his face and just wanted to send the firewood back quickly.

Seeing the courtyard in front of him, a hint of joy appeared in the boy's eyes, and he speeded up his pace. But at this moment, a sudden thunder blew up in the sky. Suddenly, the raindrops as big as beans fell down like pearls with broken lines. In a moment, the coarse cloth clothes on his body were already wet. Songjiazhuang in the rain could no longer be seen clearly. The boy pressed the firewood in front and behind with his hands, and accelerated his pace again.

Songjiazhuang covers an area of ​​hundreds of acres and is a large scale. There are hundreds of houses in it. Outside is a two-meter-high wall, protecting all the houses inside. In an area near the southeast corner, there is a separate huge courtyard with a grand building inside and all bluestone structures, which is very different from the houses in other places. This is the residence of Song Haoran, the owner of Songjiazhuang. The other houses are inhabited by Song's outer clan and people from other surnames.

Lu Cheng carried the firewood, and the direction he went was Song Haoran's residence. He was a chores in Songjiazhuang. One of his daily tasks was to cut two loads of firewood from Datong Mountain. In addition, he was to carry water and sweep the floor. In short, as long as there were miscellaneous work, he had to do it.

"Cheng'er, why didn't you come back early?" At the side door, a gray-haired old man was looking at him from time to time. Seeing Lu Cheng carrying firewood, he rushed into the heavy rain, regardless of the heavy rain, and forced himself to take over the burden on Lu Cheng's shoulder with anger.

"Dad, it's okay." Although Lu Cheng insisted on picking, the strength in his father's hands was something he could not refuse.

Lu Zhong is a foreign surname Zhuang Ding of Songjiazhuang, a warrior with three levels of internal strength. He is also considered to be middle and upper reaches among Zhuang Dings of Songjiazhuang. Lu Cheng has not even reached the level of internal strength and cannot resist it at all.

"Go back and change your clothes quickly to avoid the cold air invading you." Lu Zhong picked Chaihe to the firewood and said to Lu Cheng who followed him with concern. He was a person on the third level of internal strength, so it was nothing to be a little rain. But Lu Cheng is just an ordinary person now, and he has not even reached the level of internal strength, so he is not considered a warrior at all.

"It's okay, I'll go back with you later." Lu Cheng smiled honestly, just took off his clothes and twisted them hard at the door. He could feel his father's love. Although he had never seen his mother since he was a child, the love his father and two godfathers gave him far exceeded that of other children's parents.

This firewood is very big, and the firewood inside is piled up like a mountain, but there is no feeling of chaos. All the firewood is piled up neatly and orderly. The firewood that has been split is tied to a square shape and is squashed against the wall.

"Old Lu, the firewood is wet and cannot be put into the firewood room." A sound that was not yin or yang suddenly came from the door. It was Song Ping, who was in charge of the miscellaneous courtyard. His surname was Song. Although he was Zhuang Ding like Lu Zhong, and he had no internal strength, his status was higher. Because his surname was Song and he was Song Haoran's relative.

"Brother Ping, please come in quickly. It's raining outside. The firewood was just a little rain. It would be fine if I put it here for a night." Lu Zhong felt disgusted when he saw Song Ping, but his face was full of smiles. If it weren't for Lu Cheng, he would have disdained Song Ping.

"I won't come in. Old Lu and Lu Cheng are your son, but everyone in the village is related to kinship? Don't make me embarrassed for some things." Song Ping frowned. He had a few servants under his command, so his power could only control these people. In terms of status, Lu Zhong may be above him, but Lu Cheng is his subordinate. Lu Zhong dared not have a temper in front of him.

"Yes, yes, Cheng'er is still young, and he still has to ask Brother Ping to take care of him." Lu Zhong is twenty or thirty years older than Song Ping, but in front of Song Ping, he is like a junior.

"Old Lu, I know you feel sorry for your son, but you can still protect him for the rest of your life? If you really want to protect him, you should let him take over your shift sooner." Song Ping glanced at Lu Cheng and sighed.

Lu Cheng is also a child of the foreign surname of Songjiazhuang. He is almost fifteen years old and has not even reached the level of internal strength. He is simply a useless person. In other words, Lu Zhong still regards him as a treasure. In his opinion, Lu Cheng is destined to be a traitor for the rest of his life. In two years, if Lu Cheng cannot enter the level of internal strength again, he will probably be an ordinary person like himself.

Listening to Song Ping's complaints, Lu Zhong could only laugh from time to time. In fact, it is normal for Chaihe to get a little rain. The weather in Datong Mountain is changing, and it is often sunny and rainy. But Song Ping had to hold on to this point, and he had no choice. Finally, Lu Zhong agreed and asked him to drink after he issued a monthly bill to leave, and then he left with satisfaction.

"Dad, this Song Ping is a snobbish person, why should you be so polite to him?" Lu Cheng and several other servants had long disliked Song Ping. Relying on his surname Song, he was arrogant in the village and often punished them for no reason.

"It's okay, it's just a drink. Cheng'er, has your internal energy cultivation progressed?" Lu Zhong asked, and he was humble to Song Ping, but he didn't want his son to be wronged.

But Lu Zhong also felt that what Song Ping said made some sense, that he should urge Lu Cheng to practice. He is 62 years old this year and has no other extravagant hopes in his life. As long as his son can have a future, he will not dare to have too high expectations. He can become a patriarch in Songjiazhuang like himself.

It is not that easy for ordinary people to become monks. At least they must have a layer of internal strength. Here, strength represents everything. For example, if he has three layers of internal strength, he can work in Songjiazhuang for a lifetime. Songjiazhuang is one of the three major families in Datong County, with a hundred years of inheritance. In addition to dozens of internal disciples of the Song family, there are also hundreds of foreign surname monks. Most of these monks have internal strength of the first and second levels. There are only a dozen monks with three layers of internal strength, and as for the fourth level, there is only one, Sun Boyang, the leader of the monks.

This power of Zhuang Ding is not to be underestimated in the entire Datong County. You must know that there are three aristocratic families in the entire Datong County. Except for Song Haoran in Songjiazhuang who is the seventh level of internal strength, the other two top masters in the other two aristocratic families are only at the peak of the sixth level. Although the peak of the sixth level and the seventh level of internal strength are only a slight difference, this is an insurmountable barrier. Many people will never break through this barrier in their lifetime. This also makes Songjiazhuang the strongest in the entire Datong County.

Lu Zhong is a master of internal strength in the three levels. He is of medium and upper-level level among the villages in Songjiazhuang, and there are three taels of silver and money every month. If Lu Cheng does not have Lu Cheng, he can live a very comfortable life. If Lu Cheng can achieve a level of internal strength, he can become a villager in Songjiazhuang without having to be a traitor. As a traitor, there is no monthly money. At the end of the year, the owner will give a piece of meat or a few feet of cloth, which is a huge gift.

After leaving the courtyard, Lu Zhong and his son returned to their own home. Before Lu Cheng was born, Lu Zhong lived in the courtyard like other villages. Perhaps only the children of the Song family who married and settled their homes would build a house outside Songjiazhuang.

With hundreds of years of inheritance, there are already hundreds of such independent houses outside Songjiazhuang. As a result, there are shops such as wine shops, grocery shops, blacksmith shops, bun shops, and fur shops. If you look at it from the sky, Songjiazhuang is no less than a town. Of course, most of these shops are controlled by Songjiazhuang. If outsiders want to do business here, it is basically impossible unless they ask Songjiazhuang to invest in it.

Their home is a very small courtyard with a small wooden door, which is only slightly wider than the shoulders of a person. The door is not locked and opened as soon as it is pushed. After entering, they can hold a stone lock next to it, even if it is locked. There is a small courtyard inside, with another stone lock and two thick wooden stakes that Lu Zhong practiced. Although there is also a courtyard wall, it is less than ten feet high and it is rammed with earth, which is incomparable to the courtyard wall of Songjiazhuang. There are two rooms inside, covered with straw. The home is not big, but after all, it is your own. If you live with your relatives, you will feel very warm.

Such houses can be seen everywhere in Songjiazhuang. After all, no one can build houses with bluestone bricks and tiles like Songjiazhuang. People who live alone outside are derived from the inner village of Songjiazhuang. Their work is still dependent on Songjiazhuang, but they just live an independent life outside.

"Cheng'er, you are fifteen years old this year. If you can't enter the first level of internal energy, it will be difficult for you to become a warrior in your life." Lu Zhong sat at the dining table ordered with wood and said earnestly. Since he was five years old, he wanted Lu Cheng to cultivate internal energy, but until he was fifteen, he had never successfully broken through the first level.

He thought countless times in his mind whether Lu Cheng was born unsuitable for martial arts? To be honest, Lu Cheng entered a public private school in Songjiazhuang at the age of five and worked as a choreographer in Songjiazhuang after he was ten. His homework in the private school was pretty good and his grades were among the best. If he hadn't had limited abilities, he would have sent Lu Cheng to the county town to study in the county long ago.

"Dad..." Lu Cheng complained secretly and looked at Lu Zhong helplessly.

"Cheng'er, I'm doing this for your own good. If you don't work hard, you will be able to do chores for the rest of your life." Lu Zhong said sternly.
Chapter completed!