Not far away, rustling sounds of footsteps could be heard. Xiang Nan turned around and saw a fifteen or sixteen year old boy walking over with wine and vegetables.
That young man, Xiang Nan, had seen him at the banquet. He was a rather introverted and silent young man.
When the young man saw Xiang Nan, he was also stunned. He hurriedly said, "Cousin, you are also here."
Xiang Nan beckoned for the young man to sit down with him and said, "Who are you, Zhong Hua?"
"My name is Xiang Zhongchao, and I am Xiang Zhonghua's younger brother," the young man said with his head lowered and his face slightly flushed.
Xiang Nan's heart ached. He hugged the young man's shoulder and said, "I haven't seen you before. I didn't even know that Zhong Hua has a younger brother."
Xiang Zhongchao whispered, "Back then, when Third Grandpa reorganized the Xiang Clan, my parents didn't know what the future would be like. They only brought my brother back to the clan and left me outside to live for a few years. Only after the situation stabilized did they send me back."
Xiang Nan nodded. So that's how it was. Back then, the Xiang Clan members had all fled to avoid the pursuit of the Wang Clan. Indeed, another batch had returned.
He vaguely remembered that not all of them had returned, and some of them were still staying with the foreign enemies.
"Do you know about me and your brother?" Xiang Nan asked.
Xiang Zhongchao hurriedly nodded.
Xiang Nan said, "I didn't see you drink a few mouthfuls of wine at the banquet. Please match me here."
That Xiang Zhongchao didn't dare to say anything, he only drank bowls after bowls with Xiang Nan.
This young fellow's talent was not bad. It was fine in a small place like Xiangyang City. He only had a spiritual talent, not even an earth grade talent.
His cultivation realm was only at the sixth level of Body Tempering, and he didn't even possess the previous weather.
After a dozen bowls of wine, Xiang Zhongchao's drunkenness increased. He asked Xiang Nan, "Cousin, what is your current cultivation realm?"
Xiang Nan said, "Martial Sage Level 1."
When Xiang Zhongchao heard this, he sucked in a breath of cold air and leaned back. Xiang Nan hurriedly grabbed him.
"If I remember correctly, you are only five years older than me. You should only be twenty-one years old this year, but you have already reached the Martial Saint level!" Xiang Zhongchao was shocked.
Xiang Nan smiled and said, "They are all risked their lives. There is nothing to be proud of."
Xiang Zhongchao was silent again, a little hesitant to say anything.
Xiang Nan said, "Say it. In front of your brother's tomb, if you have something to say, just say it. I'll listen to it."
"Do you know how powerful you are now? Do you know how famous you are in the Blue Tide Continent?" Xiang Zhongchao said.
Xiang Nan shook his head.
Xiang Zhongchao said, "As long as your name is mentioned, no one in the entire Blue Tide Continent would dare to lose face. Even the people from the Cyanwood City next door often call themselves Xiang Nan's villagers when they go outside."
"Normally speaking, when mentioning you, there are many difficult things to do, so it will naturally be done."
"There's a brat in Cyanwood City who accidentally offended the Long family outside. The Long family is determined to take his life."
"It's useless even for the City Lord of Cyanwood City to personally plead for mercy. The Long Clan doesn't even see him."
Xiang Zhongchao glanced at Xiang Nan and said, "But in the end, that family had no other choice. They begged to come to our Xiang Clan. Seventeenth Uncle went to the Long Clan. Guess what, Seventeenth Uncle went the same day and brought that kid back that night."
"Not only did the Long family not make things difficult, they even sent a large sum of money."
Xiang Nan nodded silently. The Long Clan should be talking about Long Xingyun's clan, right?
He didn't know how that kid was now, whether he was still a scum or not.
The Xiang Zhongchao added, "In the next town, there is a distant relative named Zhou. She was born to a woman of our family after she married him."
"He wanted to join the army, but all his qualities weren't up to standard. He was sent back three times in a row."
"Later, he mentioned that he is Xiang Nan's relative. Guess what?"
Xiang Nan shook his head.
Xiang Zhongchao said, "General Luo Fei, send a letter personally and call for that brat to leave."
"There was a man in the town. He was a beautiful thief. He coincidentally entered Haotian City and became the Li Clan's uncle."
"But that brat has caused quite a lot of trouble outside. The Li Clan wants to break one of his legs. He is so scared that he escapes back to Sun City and dares not go out."
"The Li Clan was originally the head of the clan, but none of them dared to come to Sun City to get him."
"Because everyone knows that Xiangyang City is Xiang Nan's home."
Xiang Zhongchao took a deep breath and said, "Old man Zhang next door …"
That Xiang Zhongchao talked endlessly about many things, basically all of them related to Xiang Nan, but basically none of them had any real relationship with Xiang Nan.
"There are countless examples like this," Xiang Zhongchao said. "Perhaps this is called a person ascending to the heavens with the Dao of a chicken and a dog."
The most amazing example was Hong Zhen. Originally, he was only the city lord of a small Bluestone City, but because he had contributed a lot to the promotion of Xiang Nan, he was directly named the Great General of Zhen Nan and the President Marshal of the Southwest Army.
Many, many, those who had received Xiang Nan's favor, those who had a good relationship with Xiang Nan, and even those who did not know Xiang Nan's forces, clans, or sects at all.
As long as the word Xiang Nan was mentioned, no one would lose face.
However, Xiang Nan could tell that when Xiang Zhongchao said these words, there was no complacency in his eyes. Instead, it was a kind of hidden darkness.
Xiang Nan said, "You have something on your mind that you can't say. Speak, I'll listen carefully."
That Xiang Zhongchao gathered his courage and said, "They are quite good. Those people who have nothing to do with our Xiang Family are all bragging about your name outside, flaunting their prestige and living a glorious life."
"Only our Xiang Clan is alive with caution."
"Cousin, do you know what your younger brothers and sisters have been taught the most by the elders these past few years?"
Xiang Nan shook his head.
Xiang Zhongchao said, "Don't drag Xiang Nan down, don't embarrass him."
"We don't dare to do anything. We don't dare to go out and make trouble. We don't dare to cause trouble. We're afraid that others will point at us and say something. Look, Xiang Nan worked so hard outside, but in the end, his clansmen were humiliated by him."
Xiang Nan fell silent.
Xiang Zhongchao was excited. He waved his arm and said, "We are humans, and we also want to live a wonderful life! Why can others borrow your name, but our own family can't?"
"Why?"
Xiang Nan sighed and said, "My life isn't as wonderful as you think. Actually, alas …"
"Actually, I'm in a sorry state of life. You only saw my boundless glory. You only heard of my rumors. However, you all don't know that I was beaten, escaped, and chased by others."
"Everyone only wants to see the sunshine. Nobody cares about the shadow behind the sunshine."
Xiang Nan patted Xiang Zhongchao on the shoulder and said, "Believe me, it's not necessarily a good thing to rise to prominence. Perhaps you're not greeted by flowers, but a terrifying hell that you can't even dream of."
Xiang Zhongchao was excited. He pushed away Xiang Nan's arm and said, "What right do you have to decide our fate for us?"
"No matter what, that's at least the path we chose!"
