Cheng Dagang led several people straight out of Yulin County, heading towards a small village outside the city.

This left the three people stunned, because Xing Beichen had been saying all along that those people were inside Yulin County.

But now, Cheng Dagang was leading the three on a path not within the city!

They finally stopped at a village called Blacksmith Village, and as soon as they saw the name, they knew what the village was for.

"Xing Family’s boy, your father’s men are all here working as blacksmiths now. They already know about your situation. Whether they will go with you or not depends on your capability!"

Once at Blacksmith Village, Cheng Dagang acted somewhat like he was washing his hands of the matter.

Xing Beichen nodded.

"Thank you, senior. We’ll head in now!" he said.

"You go in with Lu Family’s boy, the girl will wait outside with me!"

Cheng Dagang spoke with a certain authority.

Xing Beichen had no issues, but Lu Yuanfeng was a bit uneasy, which led to Cheng Dagang’s comment.

"What’s your deal, young man? I won’t bully the little girl. Besides, you’re about to head to the military camp, and if you’re already so reluctant, what will you do in the future?"

Mu Shuangshuang chimed in, "Fengzi, go ahead and enter, I bet there’s some test waiting for both of you. Only after passing it will they listen to you!"

Cheng Dagang seemed quite satisfied with Mu Shuangshuang’s words.

He glanced at Mu Shuangshuang with a softened gaze.

Lu Yuanfeng then followed Xing Beichen into the village.

Even as he entered, he could not help but glance back at Mu Shuangshuang.

Mu Shuangshuang gave him a reassuring smile.

Once the two had disappeared into the village, Mu Shuangshuang found a tree, leaned against its trunk, and began to rest.

"Are you not worried about the boy?" Cheng Dagang came over, looking curiously at Mu Shuangshuang.

"Worried about what? If he passes the test, it’ll be due to his skill. If not..."

Mu Shuangshuang had not finished speaking when Cheng Dagang interjected, "If not, then what?"

"If not, he’ll keep training. Who hasn’t failed in this life?"

After saying this, Mu Shuangshuang didn’t want to speak with Cheng Dagang anymore.

While she was resting with her eyes closed, Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen arrived at the first house in the village.

Standing outside the courtyard, the two men shouted for a long time but saw no one open the door.

Lu Yuanfeng glanced at the household, which appeared rather ordinary from the outside.

The courtyard was a bit larger than typical ones, and as he was about to look elsewhere, Lu Yuanfeng suddenly noticed that the mud on the courtyard ground seemed particularly compact.

It gave him a feeling that there had been frequent walking or running on it.

"Fengzi, what are you looking at?" Xing Beichen asked.

"I’m looking at the mud in the courtyard. It’s packed tight, like lots of people have walked on it." Lu Yuanfeng replied.

Xing Beichen took a careful look and indeed, it was.

"Fengzi, let’s go in and take a look!" Xing Beichen suggested.

Lu Yuanfeng shouted again a few times but still, no one came out.

Only then did he agree to Xing Beichen’s suggestion.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xing Beichen stepped onto the mud to test it.

"Feels a bit like a school ground where soldiers train. Could this be...?"

Just as Xing Beichen was speculating, the door of the household suddenly opened.

A man holding a hoe charged out.

"Two little thieves, daring to trespass my home, let’s see if I don’t beat you!"

Without allowing Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen the chance to react, the hoe swung towards their heads.

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen simultaneously dodged.

Lu Yuanfeng hastily explained, "Uncle, you’ve misunderstood, we’re here to discuss something with the village chief!"

Unaware of this man’s background, Lu Yuanfeng dared not reveal too much.

Xing Beichen was a bit slow to react, especially since the man’s hoe seemed intent on killing him and Lu Yuanfeng with each swing.

"Uncle, if you keep fighting, I won’t be polite!"

After the hoe dug a hole in the ground, Xing Beichen shouted impatiently.

"Come on, show me how impolite you can be!"

The man showed no signs of stopping, and Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen no longer held back.

As the man swung the hoe again, Lu Yuanfeng leapt up and delivered a heavy kick to the man’s stomach—

Xing Beichen flickered behind the man, his foot positioned against the man’s spine.

With a squelch, both kicks landed on the man, leaving him neither forward nor backward.

Pain shot through his stomach and back simultaneously, and that wasn’t all; Lu Yuanfeng flashed and seized the hoe from his hand.

Seeing Xing Beichen about to hit him again, the man shouted, "Stop! Stop! I’m done, I give up..."

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen exchanged a glance before letting the man go.

"Uncle, could you tell us where the village chief is?" Xing Beichen politely asked.

The man pointed further into the village, "Look for him inside, anyway, the chief is in there."

After shouting, the man quickly sneaked into his house.

He refused to come out again.

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen thought this might be the test Shuangshuang had mentioned!

"Fengzi, maybe we have to fight our way through the village! But thinking about it, it’s natural. My dad is a military general, so his men must be brave and battle-ready. Since that’s the case, we’ll use our combat power to defeat them!"

Just like at the first household by the village entrance, every time Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen entered a courtyard, a man would rush out.

Sometimes it was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old lad, sometimes a man in his thirties or forties.

Most bizarrely, even a three-year-old child was tossed out once.

Naturally, Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen won without exerting too much effort.

At the last household in the village, Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen, ready for the final fight, were greeted by a fifty or sixty-year-old grandma coming out of the house.

She wore a cotton dress embroidered with orchids, had an oval face, and her skin bore wrinkles appropriate for her age.

Upon seeing Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen, she had a kind smile, making them feel very welcomed.

"Did Old Cheng send you in here?" The woman asked as soon as she spoke.

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen nodded in unison.

"Grandma, Uncle Cheng is still waiting outside! By the way, we’re here to see the village chief." Xing Beichen replied.

"Hahaha, that old rascal is really unorthodox; he is actually the village chief here in Blacksmith Village!"

The statement left Xing Beichen and Lu Yuanfeng stunned.

"Why stand there dumbfounded? Go out and check if that rascal is still outside, or he might have already run off!"

The words awakened Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen.

They sprinted and finally reached the village entrance, but as expected, Cheng Dagang was nowhere to be seen, nor was Shuangshuang in sight!

"Darn it, Shuangshuang..."