Lord of the Desert

Chapter 272 Review

Three days later, December 27.

It was early in the morning, and the sunlight was still tinged with the coldness of the night.

With a soft clang, the door of the Asahi Mansion was unlatched and slowly opened inward, shaking off several ice edges on the eaves and poking a row of black holes in the snow.

Hong Fan carried a small baggage and walked to Kaimingxing outside the city.

Since the main business involves firearms, the location was chosen in a house built along the Yao River with a large warehouse more than ten miles north of the city.

The courtyard is clean and tidy, but as soon as you step in, the pungent smell of nitrate, sulfur, and greasy smell hits your face.

In the middle hall, Qian Hong led more than a dozen people, half of whom were transferred from Zhanzhou.

New Year's Eve is approaching.

Dahua does not yet have such advanced things as "group visits", but the bosses will give the guys some winning money.

Hong Fan has always been generous in doing things, and this time is no exception.

Each clerk gets two ingots and five taels of silver, and those with higher levels get twice as much.

Therefore, everyone smiles sincerely, and the New Year greetings are full of meaning.

After the "year-end bonus" is distributed, the annual vacation begins.

It will be at least twenty days before Kai Ming Xing starts working again.

At around nine o'clock in the morning, Hong Fan was respectfully escorted out of the house and returned to the city - Tianhe Bank was presided over by the He family, so there was no need for him to intervene.

The sun in the sky has fully stretched.

There are many pedestrians in Qinglian Alley, but the Asahi Mansion is rarely empty.

Aunt Liu and the others had packed their things more than half a month ago, and under the protection of Shen Hong and others, they returned to Jinhai with Hong Pan and others.

Counting the days, they should have arrived.

In the front hall, Hong Fan and Zhan Yuanzi were sitting idle.

Two newly hired local servants made tea and served it.

There are still four days before the Spring Festival, and there are only these four people in the house.

"Are you really not going home for the Chinese New Year?"

Hong Fanxian asked.

"We are no longer home. The last time we went back was five years ago, and we broke up on bad terms."

Zhan Yuanzi replied casually.

"Then you are alone during the Chinese New Year, why don't you go find Ruyi?"

Hong Fan asked again.

"No need, aren't there still them?"

Zhan Yuanzi pointed to the two people sweeping the courtyard.

"In the first month of the year, there is often light snowfall. I like how light it is. I leave a blank space with my ink pen to trace, but I can't draw it. I just need to put in more effort and think of a solution."

Hong Fan nodded when he heard this.

He knew that Zhan Yuanzi always had his own opinions and never tried to show off.

"If there isn't much going on on the Jinhai side - I guess there isn't much - I can come back early and spend the Lantern Festival with you and Ruyi?"

Hong Fan thought for a while and suggested.

"That's daring!"

Zhan Yuanzi smiled.

"It's a pity that Jiaci won't set off from Hongyi until at least the Lantern Festival. When the four of us reunite, it will probably be at least the end of the first year."

"You can't blame him."

Hong Fan also laughed.

"He took Hongli back. The bride only stayed for more than half a month to meet her parents-in-law, which is already considered too little."

Speaking of this, both of them had their own emotions.

Since redeeming Hongli, Bai Jiaci, who was originally hesitant, suddenly became more assertive.

In the twelfth lunar month, even without the orders of his parents or the advice of a matchmaker, he still held a wedding banquet in the newly decorated courtyard, which was regarded as a major event in his life.

At noon, the servant passed around four dishes and one soup.

Hong Fan briefly used it, said goodbye to Zhan Yuanzi, and went out under his watch.

It’s the New Year, who wouldn’t go home if they can?

The powered sand wing takes off regardless of the terrain, but Hong Fan has always kept a low profile, so he chose to walk out of the city first.

The moat in the west of Xijing City is excavated manually and is entirely nourished by the Yao River.

If the tall city walls are iron armor, then the river is the jade belt that girds the armor.

Stepping across the stone bridge over the river, the view suddenly broadens.

Tall mountains stretch to the west, and the snow-covered mountaintops in winter shine in the midday sun, like golden hats.Hong Fan smiled unconsciously.

After being away from his hometown for more than half a year, his life can be said to be fulfilling - not only has his cultivation improved steadily, but his plans for Tianhe Xing and Kaiming Xing have also been steadily spread.

Thinking of this, he was inevitably complacent.

The city wall has been thrown far away, and it looks dwarfed in the peripheral vision.

So Hong Fan left the official road, confirmed the direction, accelerated slowly, leaped with one step, and took off on the dead branches.

Sand drift ants attach wings.

The ground fell downward.

At the moment of intertwining with the wind, Hong Fan vaguely heard a passerby calling his name.

When I look back, everything on the official path has become blurry.

······
Hong Fan arrived at Jinhai at dusk that day.

His homecoming was a big deal.

Not only for the Hong family, but also for the whole city.

Asahiyuan was cleaned three times, scented with seal incense inside and out, and even the pillars were painted with new paint.

All the families in the city who have young ladies are trying their best to inquire about the Hong family's second young master's itinerary in the past few days, hoping to create some chance encounters to try their luck.

But it is a pity that Hong Fan did not attend any public banquets a year ago.

On the twenty-eighth day, he visited Zheng Zhun and Gongsun Shi one after another.

The latter got the news and had the opportunity to move to Xijing in the New Year.

On the [-]th, he went to the Hong clan tomb in Taishan to pay his respects to Hong Jian and his biological mother, Hong Lin.

Hong Ping also got a piece of yellow paper.

When New Year's Eve arrives, it is no longer a suitable day to go out.

At dawn, the family kitchen boils three large oil pans as usual, frying new New Year's goods for each house.

Inside and outside the alley, young men clamored to take over the work, climbing up wooden ladders like wild monkeys to post Spring Festival couplets.

Only the doors to the martial arts arena were closed and heavily guarded.

Under the high platform, all the Zhuyi cavalry lined up in strict order.

On the high platform, eight chairs are arranged in a row, belonging to the eight senior members of the clan who are at Huran Realm and above.

Hong Fan's seat was tied with Hong Wu's, ranking in the middle.

This is the first time that the former has been listed with the elders in public, and is in the center.

Somewhat strange and awkward.

But today's review was specially designed for him.

"Hong Lie from the third team and Hong Bo from the first team, come out!"

Hong She, who was standing at the head of the audience, shouted loudly.

He achieved a breakthrough a few months ago.

Since Hong Ming was going to take up a post in the City Defense Department, Hong She took his place temporarily and became Hong Sheng's deputy.

The two people who came to the front of the formation quickly took off their outer armor and tops.

Hong Lie took the long stick that reached his eyebrows, while Hong Bo held a shield in one hand and a blunt knife in the other.

There was no nonsense, and what followed was an all-out martial arts fight.

The air was distorted, and the heat flow dispersed like a tide.

Regarding the Yanliu Kung Fu and the corresponding killing methods, Hong Fan had long been familiar with them to his core, and did not think there was anything worth seeing.

But he soon understood the clan’s intentions for such an arrangement.

Hong Lie and Hong Bo have both reached the peak of the penetration realm.

"Have they all completed the Twelve Paths of Truth?"

Hong Fan asked, tilting his head.

"Exactly!"

Hong Wu replied.

At this time, Hong Bo gained the upper hand after wrestling. He used his round shield to open his eyebrow-level stick and grinned proudly, revealing his gold teeth repaired with gold foil and brass.

"You also know that at the end of penetration, the effect of pushing the palace pill is very small."

Hong Wu leaned further and lowered his voice.

"The two of them are not as talented as your brothers. They have been unable to improve in the past few years and have given up their efforts to improve - until the 'Episode' arrived half a year ago."

The so-called "spirit-opening pill" is actually the marrow-cleansing pill, but the name has been changed to keep it confidential.

(End of this chapter)