Chapter 5: Midnight Visitor

“Da Long has indeed grown up. He’ll be sixteen after the New Year, not young anymore.”

“It is time to find him a wife.”

The old lady looked at Li Xiao, her eyes beginning to light up.

As soon as this topic was mentioned, the two women immediately found deeper common ground.

“You, as his mother, have to put more heart into this matter. See which family in the nearby villages has a suitable daughter.” The old lady put down her bowl and chopsticks and discussed with Qin Da Ni.

“Today when I went back to my parents’ home, I happened to see a nice girl in Gushan Fortress. I asked around; she’s the daughter of the Chen family’s third son.”

“She looks very pretty, and has big hips; one look and you know she’s good for bearing children.”

Qin Da Ni said enthusiastically.

Perhaps the reason she came back early was to arrange a marriage for Li Xiao.

“Big hips are good. She can bear big fat boys. Continuing the family line for our Li family is the most important thing.” The old lady smiled, extremely satisfied even though she hadn’t even met the person.

“Mother, if you think it’s okay, shall we ask a matchmaker to go talk about it in a couple of days?” Qin Da Ni said.

The old lady nodded: “I think that works.”

Seeing that his major life event was about to be decided by these two, Li Xiao completely lost his composure.

He shook his head firmly and said: “I don’t think it works.”

“Grandma, Mom, I haven’t even met that girl. I might not even like her, how can I marry her?”

“What’s this about liking or not liking? Once you’re in bed, it’s all the same thing!”

“After living together for a long time, you’ll fall in love.” Qin Da Ni said in a tough tone.

The old lady also supported Qin Da Ni, speaking earnestly: “Da Long, you have to listen to your mother on this.”

“Your mother and I have been through this, our judgment won’t be wrong.”

“Back then, I took a fancy to your mother at first sight. After she married your father, she gave birth to you brothers one after another, which was very capable.”

“You are the eldest in our family, you have to find a wife who can bear sons.”

Facing the bombardment from the two of them, Li Xiao felt his head spinning.

He didn’t expect that as a dignified transmigrator, he would also be pressured into marriage?

In his previous life, he at least lasted until he was thirty, but now, he had just turned fifteen!

Li Xiao’s head was about to explode. He could only bring up his father, whom he had never met in this life.

“Grandma, Mom, getting married is a major life event. It needs my father’s approval.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for my father to come back before discussing it?”

It should be noted that Li Xiao had ‘sobered up’ half a month ago, but before that, his cheap father had already led his second uncle and one hundred able-bodied men on the expedition.

Li Xiao could only find his appearance from his predecessor’s memories; he hadn’t actually met him yet!

Sure enough, hearing this, Qin Da Ni and the old lady immediately stopped talking.

Although the family had the Old Master as a pillar of stability, a major event like marriage definitely required the participation of the biological father.

“Alright, we’ll wait for your father to come back, then we’ll go hire a matchmaker.” Qin Da Ni nodded in agreement.

After finally finishing this dinner that made Li Xiao tremble with fear, Li Xiao returned to his room.

Li Xiao’s house had five main rooms. The easternmost one was his parents’ room, and the second one from the east was the girls’ room.

Previously, his older sister Da Feng and younger sister San Feng lived there. Later, after Da Feng got married, only San Feng was left living alone.

However, with Li Xiao’s father away on the expedition, San Feng always ran to sleep in Qin Da Ni’s bed.

As for the middle room, it was the living room and dining room, where the ancestral tablets were also placed. The Old Master and the old lady lived in the westernmost room.

So, the second room from the west became the room for the three Li brothers.

The south wall of the room had a window, and the north wall was an earthen kang (heated platform bed).

Li Xiao lay on the sheepskin mattress, staring at the roof with a look of hopelessness.

“Get married?”

“Damn it, I’ve only been here half a month and they want me to get married?”

And to a fourteen-year-old girl at that. In his previous life, that would be enough for a prison sentence.

But there was no helping it; the era was like this. Getting married at twenty would make one an older leftover man.

Li Xiao estimated he couldn’t hold out either; he couldn’t rely on his five fingers every night.

“Standards cannot be lowered.”

“Being pretty is a prerequisite, being virtuous is fundamental, and being gentle is the bottom line,” Li Xiao thought to himself.

Marriage was fine, but he couldn’t just settle.

While Li Xiao was thinking about what his wife in this life should be like, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from beside him.

He shouted at his second and third brothers.

“Hey, you two put the saber down for me.”

“If you break it even a little bit, I’ll skin you alive.”

These two guys were snatching his cavalry saber back and forth.

The Wootz steel material wasn’t that easily damaged; he was mainly afraid these two idiots would hurt themselves.

After all, this Wootz steel saber was sharper than other ordinary sabers.

A gentle swipe across the skin would result in a large bloody gash.

“Brother, this saber looks very powerful. Give it to me!”

San Bao grabbed the cavalry saber, ran up to Li Xiao, and said fawningly to curry favor.

Hearing this, Li Xiao snatched it back and placed it where he could easily reach it.

“Get lost~”

“If you want a saber, ask Grandpa to forge one for you tomorrow.”

“This one is too big, it doesn’t suit you.”

Li Xiao slapped away San Bao’s face that was leaning in; he had no feelings for men.

Er Hu also shamelessly leaned in: “Brother, my hands are big. Using this saber is just right for me. Let me play with it a bit more.”

Although Er Hu was two years younger than Li Xiao, he developed very fiercely. He was tall and had a robust physique, almost catching up to an adult.

He was only slightly shorter than Li Xiao but looked sturdier. Holding this cavalry saber, he wielded it with impressive vigor.

But Li Xiao was annoyed and had no mood to play along with their nonsense. He glared: “You get lost too.”

After suppressing his two younger brothers, Li Xiao continued to lie on the bed letting his imagination run wild.

Night life in this era was very monotonous. Married people could have some entertainment, but for young lads like them, they could only sleep early.

There’s everything in dreams.

Rumble~

Splash splash splash~

When they were eating, there was already muffled thunder in the sky. By now, a torrential rain had finally started pouring.

The Northern Border is located between the Tianshan and Altai mountain ranges. Because the Altai Mountains run from southeast to northwest.

Therefore, when the warm and humid air currents from the Atlantic reach the Northern Border, they are blocked by the Altai Mountains and turn into rainfall.

This leads to abundant rainfall in the Northern Border region during summer, with frequent rainstorms.

This kind of rainstorm would last all night, and Li Xiao was gradually getting used to it.

Amidst the splashing sound of the rainstorm, Li Xiao gradually fell into a deep sleep.

But late at night, Li Xiao was suddenly startled awake by a burst of dog barking. He opened his eyes abruptly and sat up on the kang.

In his previous life in the army, blowing the reveille in the middle of the night was a common method for training new recruits.

Li Xiao had also developed a habit in the army; any slightly loud noise in the middle of the night could wake him up.

Woof woof woof woof woof~

Woof woof woof~

Li Xiao sat on the bed, listening quietly to the dog barking.

Although masked by the sound of the rainstorm, he could still hear that the sounds were urgent, and it wasn’t just one or two dogs barking, but all the dogs in the village barking.

This situation probably wasn’t an accident; someone might have entered the village.

Li Xiao glanced at the two idiots snoring away in their sleep, ignored them, got up, and put on his clothes.

He took down the bow and arrows from the wall, grabbed his cavalry saber, and prepared to go out and take a look.

Just at this time, the Old Master also walked out from the inner room, fully dressed.

He was also carrying a bow on his back, a quiver of arrows, and a long saber at his waist.

Grandfather and grandson looked at each other. Neither spoke as they left the house one after the other.

Standing in front of the gatehouse looking out, the rain was still heavy, and it was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

“Did someone enter the village?” Li Xiao asked in a low voice. After all, he couldn’t compare to the Old Master’s rich experience.

“Yes!” The Old Master nodded gently, saying only one word.

Immediately after, he took out two straw rain capes from the room and handed one to Li Xiao.

“Let’s go out and have a look. Be careful.”

The perimeter of the village only had a moat and low battlements, which couldn’t really stop people. It was easy for petty thieves to get in.

But wanting to get out would not be easy.

After the Old Master had the old lady lock the door from the inside, he led Li Xiao onto their horses. Carrying bows, arrows, and war sabers, they rode out of the courtyard.

Once on the street, they saw that there were already some people also on horseback.

They were all like Li Xiao and his grandfather, having heard the commotion and come out to check.

“Third Brother, find anything?”

The Old Master saw a man not far away, about fifty years old. It was the Old Master’s biological younger brother, Li Xiao’s Third Grandfather.

The Li family came here fifty years ago and had multiplied for several generations; the population was quite large.

Li Xiao’s family was the eldest branch of the main line, but there were several side branches!

“Big Brother, I just came out too, but listening to the noise, it seems to be in the north,” Third Grandfather said.

“Let’s go, take a look,” the Old Master said.

Along the way, more than a dozen villagers joined them, riding big horses and heading north together.

However, when they arrived in front of a courtyard gate and saw that the gate was open and the lights inside the house were on, Third Grandfather’s face immediately changed.

He said angrily: “This is bad, this is Wang Wu’s house.”

“Wang Wu went to the Northern Mountains with Da Hai, leaving only Wang Wu’s wife and children at home.”

Another of Li Xiao’s granduncles also said: “Go in quickly and take a look, don’t let anything happen to them.”

Soon, the group rushed into Wang Wu’s courtyard.

The sheep in the pen were bleating in terror, running around wildly, and the three horses in the stable were also neighing uneasily.

From the hoof prints in the yard, it could be seen that someone had indeed just entered the yard. The marks left in the muddy ground were very clear, and there was only one horse.

Li Xiao was also very familiar with this place. It was Tie Tou’s home; he had even greeted Aunt Wang when coming back in the evening!

Indeed, only Aunt Wang and Tie Tou’s siblings were left at home.

So at this moment, Li Xiao’s heart was also in his throat.

After all, Tie Tou was a little brother who followed him around; naturally, he didn’t want anything to happen to Tie Tou’s family.

“Come out~”

The group rushed into the yard, and Third Grandfather immediately shouted loudly. Everyone silently drew their bows and nocked their arrows. Once anyone inside the house made a strange move, they could be turned into a hornet’s nest in an instant.

In fact, this was the norm for cavalry combat. Most of the time it was ranged shooting and mutual probing.

Only when forced or when possessing a huge advantage would they choose close-quarters combat.

The Old Master didn’t speak. Hand on the hilt of his saber, his face was solemn, staring indifferently at the house.

The scar on his face became even more hideous and terrifying under the illumination of the lightning, and his whole body radiated a strong, murderous aura.

Li Xiao rode his horse standing behind the Old Master, also drawing his bow and aiming at the house. He wasn’t too nervous in his heart.

Judging by the situation, not many people had entered the village. With so many of them together, one arrow from each person could turn the intruder into a hornet’s nest.

Soon, movement came from inside the house, and the door slowly opened.

The Old Master and the others were just about to step forward to surround him, but in the next second, by the light of a lightning flash, everyone saw the person’s face clearly and instantly stopped in their tracks.

Third Grandfather said in astonishment: “Little Five, why is it you?”

“Didn’t you go to the Northern Mountains with Da Hai? Why are you back?”