Kezhou City is located on the northwest border of the Tianluo Empire. It is one of the twelve cities in the Xidu Province and has 200,000 residents. Five hundred miles further west from here is the Shenwu Fortress guarding the edge of the void of the world.
In the northwest corner of the bustling Kezhou City, there is such a quiet place. Looking from a distance, there are two mighty soldiers standing guard outside the grand gate.
Within the high wall are more than a dozen buildings and pavilions. There are gardens, pavilions, and lawns scattered among the buildings. Old people can be seen everywhere, chatting, playing chess, or sitting on benches, reminiscing about the past.
This is the Military Home for the Elderly. Those soldiers who have been in the army all their lives and dedicated everything for the Tianluo Empire will end their lives in the Home for the Elderly without establishing a family or having any descendants.
Kezhou City has spring-like conditions all year round. Such a climate is suitable for retirement, and because it is located on the northwest border of Tianluo Empire, veteran soldiers from the twelve cities in Xidu Province all retire here.
Even though this place is just a small nursing home, and even though all the elderly people are senile, there are many innate strong men who once dominated the world and once made enemies fearful.
But no matter how strong their flesh and blood are, they cannot withstand the erosion of time. Now they are already old and old.
The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it’s almost dusk.
Faced with death sooner or later in the future, they have gone through hundreds of battles, and now they seem to be no different from ordinary old people. They have become accustomed to the calm life day after day and become numb.
The former glory and chilling atmosphere slowly passed away in the ruthless, silent but never-ending flow of time. Here, they were either enjoying the last good time, or immersed in the memories of the past.
Among this group of gray-haired and decrepit old people, there was a black-haired young man!
The boy was only about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was a little thin and had a pretty face. He seemed to have nothing special about him. He was just an ordinary boy next door. However, upon closer inspection, he always had an indescribable feeling.
His eyes are clear and ethereal, making you unable to help but want to look at him, stare at him, and be attracted to him unconsciously.
The young man is making tea, his movements are slow and smooth, and he has reached the final stage of making tea. He is frying the tea and pouring the soup into the cups.
To put it bluntly, Tanghua is the froth made from tea, that is, foam, but this foam is very particular. The tea ceremony of the Tianluo Empire believes that they are the essence of tea, and the beauty of dividing tea is to divide these essences.
The soup may be thick or thin, heavy or shallow, floating or scattered, and is skillfully poured into the cup by the young man. It floats and sinks, gathers and disperses, giving people a sense of aesthetic enjoyment. It foams when poured into the pan, and gathers in the bowl.
"Shenghua" describes the wonderful scene of flowers rippling in the soup after tea is served.
The young man divided out four cups of fragrant tea, then looked at the old man opposite and said:
"Grandpa Gu, please drink tea. What do you think of this time?"
The old man opposite shook his head contemptuously and said:
"No, no, boy Ning, you are still short of three points. You cooked this tea too quickly..."
The young man who has deeply understood the three essences of tea ceremony was criticized by the old man for being useless. However, the young man was not angry at all, he was neither tepid nor warm, and he was a gentleman. He knew that this was the old man's habit. In his eyes, nothing was satisfactory, and that was eggs.
You can also pick out the bones.
The old man's name is Gu Tiannan, nicknamed Dawn Sword, he is an innately strong man, and he was originally the chief of arms of Shenwu Fortress.
It is said that although Gu Tiannan came from a wealthy family, he was unkind, harsh and merciless, and had no friends in his life.
After he got old, he became very withdrawn. If he did anything wrong, he would scold him or hit him. Other veteran soldiers were unwilling to interact with him, and no one wanted to talk to him. The nurses and doctors in the military nursing homes were all harassed.
He was so offended that no caregiver was willing to take care of him.
Fang Ning had been scolded and beaten before, but he just smiled, so he became Gu Tiannan's caregiver. Even if Gu Tiannan was eccentric and withdrawn, and mocked him harshly, Fang Ning would just smile softly.
Laughing, not caring.
The rise of Gu Tiannan's theory seems that in this kind of ridicule and criticism, he has returned to his original glorious moment. It is interesting to live by himself. Although his appearance is only sixty years old, when you see him, you seem to smell a kind of
The smell of decay, the feeling that he has reached the limit of aging, as if he will die soon.
The reason why Gu Tiannan looks like he is only sixty years old is because he is an innate strong man. After entering the innate realm, as long as he does not die, his appearance will not age. However, all the true energy in his body has been exhausted, and what is left is only death and filth.
It was also difficult for him to walk.
It's not just him, but almost all the old people in the military nursing home are like this. The powerful Qi and Qi they once had have now dissipated, leaving behind this dead energy and filthy energy in their bodies.
.
Originally, as students of the Imperial Military Academy, serving in a military nursing home was one of the jobs that everyone could choose.
But just because of this dead and filthy atmosphere, most of Fang Ning's classmates would never appear in the military nursing home again after visiting it once or twice.
The disgusting smell of filth, the stale smell of decay, the bad temper of a soldier, and being difficult to maintain are all unacceptable reasons.
But Fang Ning stayed. Counting today, he has been helping in this military nursing home for two years. The reason why Fang Ning stayed is of course because this job has the highest pay. Needless to say,
He needs money.
On the other hand, this group of old people once made brilliant contributions to the empire, but now they can only wait quietly for death. Each of them has a profound story hidden in them, and they all once had their own glory.
They once fought for the empire with their youth and blood, and devoted almost their whole lives to this country. They had no children, no relatives, no property, and their final destination was nothing more than a handful of loess in the backyard of the military home.
Fang Ning was inexplicably attracted to this group of old people. When he saw that the old people could not hold the spoon firmly, shivered when drinking porridge, and wet their chests, Fang Ning finally couldn't bear to turn around and walked over.
, picked up the bowl and fed these old people one mouthful at a time.
From that day on, Fang Ning took over this job.
Every day before dawn, he would start from home and take classes at the official martial arts school. After school ended at noon, he would go to the military nursing home and take care of the daily life of the elderly. This kind of life has lasted for two years.
From the age of thirteen to fifteen, during these two years, his classmates naturally scorned him.
"Hey, hey, hey, that Fang Ning is still helping out in the military home? How short of money is he? He is actually willing to smell the stench of those old guys!"
"If you don't do your job properly, if you have this skill, you might as well practice a few more sets of swordsmanship, so that you can have some confidence in the military school exam in a few years!"
"Is that kid so self-righteous? He thinks that if he ranks first every year, he will be able to pass the exam?"
"Idiot! Idiot! Greedy for money!"
These comments have never stopped. If Fang Ning hadn't been ranked first in the official martial arts academy in recent years, I'm afraid there would be even worse words to say.
Unfortunately, the results of the official martial arts school do not mean that you will be admitted to the military academy. The admissions standards and examination subjects of the military academy are the most stringent.
Because being admitted to the military academy means that from now on, you will be an imperial official, an iron rice bowl, and enter the ruling class. You will have a worry-free life, guaranteed income in droughts and floods, and a single-plank bridge that millions of people want to cross.
But Fang Ning is not afraid. No matter how difficult or difficult it is, Fang Ning has never wavered in his belief that he must be admitted to the military academy! This is an agreement he made with his father since he was a child. No matter how difficult it is, he cannot give up on this goal.
Gu Tiannan finally finished his criticism. He was satisfied and drank all the tea. He seemed to be in a good mood.
Fang Ning looked at it and asked:
"Grandpa Gu, what are the last four shield-breaking methods of the double swords that I mentioned last time, tower shield, square shield, round shield, and nail shield. What are these four shield-breaking methods?
?”
Gu Tiannan smiled and said:
"I knew you were going to ask this, Mr. Ning. Listen carefully. The two swords can break the tower shield. The so-called tower shield is also called a giant shield or a turtle shell.
If you want to break it, you must move quickly, rotate the two swords, use one sword to fake attack, attract the opponent's attention, use the huge tower shield of the opponent to block the opponent's sight, and use the other sword to break the shield..."
Gu Tiannan spoke slowly, and Fang Ning listened attentively. This was the third reason why Fang Ning was here. Those students didn't know that this place was a treasure trove of knowledge and experience. From these old people, he gained countless valuable
Experience, these old people were born and died, served the country, and have rich experience. Now they are old, but their experience is still there.
Every time he accompanied them, Fang Ning liked to chat with them. During the chat, he learned countless experiences from them. Just like Gu Tiannan, who was once an innate strong man, he was hundreds of times stronger than many teachers in the official martial arts hall. Just say it casually
The secrets of martial arts and the killing moves of military formations are all secrets that are not taught outside.
This is also the reason why Fang Ning can rank first in the official martial arts school every year. Under the guidance of these old people, Fang Ning is only fifteen and has average physical fitness, but he has already reached the third level of the Qi refining stage.
After a long time, Gu Tiannan finished speaking. He ignored Fang Ning, who was trying his best to memorize and absorb this knowledge. Instead, he squinted his eyes, looked greedily into the distance, and said with emotion:
"I just don't know, how many more days can I see this sunshine?"
He smiled wryly at himself, reluctantly raised his right hand, and looked at the withered and decaying palm, trembling in the autumn wind.
"I remember back then, when I was known as the Dawn Sword, a long sword that swept across the frontiers, those Gallic barbarians would change their colors when they heard my name..."
Fang Ning didn't know how many times she had heard him say these words, but when she heard them today, she had a special emotion. Her nose felt sore and she finally gritted her teeth to hold back her tears.
"Grandpa Gu, you will live a long life, don't think wildly."
"Hahahaha!" The old man laughed endlessly, "Long life? Long life... Ning boy, do you know how old I am this year?"
Fang Ning was startled. Although he had taken care of Gu Tiannan for two years, he really didn't know how old he was. You must know that after being promoted to the innate realm, his lifespan increases. If it is normal, he can live to a minimum of one hundred and fifty years.
Ten years old.
"I am one hundred and ninety-seven years old this year..."
"One hundred and ninety-seven years old?" Fang Ning was shocked and stared at the old man in front of him with dumbfounded eyes.
"That's right," Gutou nodded and closed his eyes, "If there are still life-extending pills, then it's probably not a problem to live on for twenty or thirty years. But it's a pity that there will no longer be life-extending pills, and I don't have them anymore.
It’s just been these past two months…”
"Xiao Ningzi, you have taken care of me these past few years, I will give you something to compensate..."
"I'm not serving Grandpa Gu just for..." Fang Ning quickly refused. Although Gu Tiannan was an innately strong man, the old people in the military nursing home are all poor now. How can Fang Ning be embarrassed?
Want something from him.
"Listen to me first!" Gu Tiannan waved his hand, interrupting Fang Ning's words.
"You kid, I have always seen you and I know that you want to be admitted to the military academy, you want to save your father, you want to cure your mother's disease, if it were thirty years ago, all this would have happened with just a word from me.
, now, I can no longer help you change your destiny immediately, but..."
He raised his head, with a strange look in his eyes, and his pride was beyond words.
"However, I can still change your fate, because I still have one last treasure."