The day passed in a flash, and Wan Yunting and his family played along the direction of the imperial city within the Great Wall scenic area. They didn't return to the Ouyang family mansion until seven in the evening.
To ensure the safety of the elder in the coming days, Wan Yunting and Ouyang Zhixin decided to stay at the ancestral home for a few days.
So, they first returned home to pack their belongings, and then went back to the ancestral home. Dinner had already been prepared, and everyone was waiting for Wan Yunting and his family to come to the dining hall to eat.
Laughter from Ouyang Shen and the others was heard from outside. Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang went to greet them and saw Fan Liren, along with several unfamiliar elderly gentlemen, returning with Grandpa Ouyang Shen.
"Elder Fan..."
"Master..."
Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang stepped forward and quickly greeted them with smiles, saying, "Happy New Year..."
"Grandpa..."
At this moment, Fan Shuyuan saw her grandfather and also ran out to hold Fan Liren's old arm. He laughed heartily and said, "I heard you went to the Great Wall. How was it?"
Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang nodded and smiled, "Majestic and magnificent, covered in white snow, breathtakingly beautiful."
"Very good. After dinner and drinks, can you write us a piece of calligraphy to express your feelings about the Great Wall?" Fan Liren suggested with a smile.
"Alright, Elder Fan, please come in..."
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, also politely inviting the unfamiliar elderly gentlemen. Ouyang Shen introduced them. It turned out that the elderly gentleman wearing a blue thick cotton coat was named Xia Hongzhao, the former patriarch of the Xia family, who had already retired.
The other two elderly gentlemen were also once influential figures in the imperial city, but they had already retired. They were old friends of Ouyang Shen and had been invited to the mansion for tea and leisure today. Ouyang Shen informed them about his planned trip to Wudang Mountain for cultivation after the new year, and asked his old friends to visit him frequently on Wudang Mountain if they had time...
"Dad, you're here too."
Xia Xiangyun was helping to prepare the wine and food for the evening. When she saw her father, Xia Hongzhao, enter, she quickly went to support him.
"Haha, I came here today just to see my grandson." Xia Hongzhao looked at Wan Yunting beside him and said with a kind smile.
It was only then that Wan Yunting finally understood that this elderly gentleman was his maternal grandfather.
"Didn't we say we'd come to see you tomorrow?"
Xia Xiangyun was surprised that her father had come over specifically today. She pulled Wan Yunting and said with a smile, "Xiao Wan, this is your maternal grandfather."
Wan Yunting then quickly and respectfully greeted him formally, "Greetings, maternal grandfather. It was wrong of me not to recognize you just now."
"Hahaha..."
Xia Hongzhao went forward, took Wan Yunting's arm, and smiled, "It's alright, it's normal that you didn't recognize me. When you reunited with your parents, I happened to be away and couldn't return in time. Today, your maternal grandfather came to see you, my grandson. Hmm, you are a person of great talent. Kun He, our two families are blessed."
"Indeed, Old Xia," Ouyang Shen replied with a smile.
"Come on, you must have a few drinks with your maternal grandfather tonight."
Xia Hongzhao took Wan Yunting's arm and led him to the main table in the dining hall. After Ouyang Shen, the head of the family, took his seat, everyone else also sat down. Wan Yunting sat next to Xia Hongzhao, chatting with him about family matters.
Second Brother Wan Dongming wanted to take Wang Chulin to sit at another table, but Ouyang Shen beckoned him over, saying, "Dongming, come and sit here."
Wan Dongming turned his head, his expression momentarily stunned. Seeing that the main table was occupied by important members of the Ouyang family, as well as top figures in the imperial city like Xia Hongzhao and Fan Liren, he felt nervous and said with an awkward smile, "No, Grandpa. I'll sit outside."
"Just come over when I tell you to. Hurry up."
Ouyang Shen beckoned him, and Wan Yunting also smiled and said, "Second brother, come and sit here."
Seeing his third brother also calling him, Wan Dongming had no choice but to let Wang Chulin take Wan'er to sit at the next table to eat. He then went and sat next to Wan Yunting, to avoid his own nervousness and embarrassment.
"Where is Weizhi and his family?"
Ouyang Shen noticed that Ouyang Weizhi and his son were not present. Ouyang Zhihui said, "Weizhi called me this afternoon and said they had something to attend to, so they won't be back for dinner tonight."
"What is it that's more important than the reunion of the family on New Year's Day?" Ouyang Xingfeng questioned with some displeasure.
Ouyang Shen's old face sank slightly. Ouyang Zhixin and Wan Yunting felt that the elder was angry. Then, Ouyang Shen's old face softened slightly, and he smiled at his old friends Xia Hongzhao and Fan Liren, saying, "Alright, my old friends, let's have a drink first."
"Alright, Xiao Wan, you too..."
Fan Liren also beckoned Wan Yunting. Everyone at the table raised their glasses. Wan Yunting reminded his nervous second brother. After everyone raised their glasses and toasted each other, they began drinking, ignoring Ouyang Weizhi and his family.
"Old Xia, we two should toast Dongming."
Then Ouyang Shen pointed at Wan Dongming, who was sitting next to Wan Yunting and eating his meal with his head down. Wan Dongming paused in his movements, his expression stunned as he looked up. Ouyang Shen said to Xia Hongzhao with a smile, "We have to thank their Wan family. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to cultivate such an outstanding Xiao Wan. It's a pity that only their children are left of the Wan family."
At such an occasion, mentioning his adoptive parents, Wan Yunting's eyes turned red, and so did Wan Dongming's. They both felt immense regret. It was Wan Yunting's lifelong guilt and regret that his parents couldn't enjoy the blessings of their sons.
Ouyang Zhixin and the others also sighed and said, "When it's Qingming Festival, I'll go and pay my respects to them."
"That should be done."
Ouyang Shen nodded and said, "Please thank them on behalf of our Ouyang family."
Wan Yunting was deeply moved and smiled at Ouyang Shen and Ouyang Zhixin, "Grandpa, Dad, thank you."
"Silly child, what is there to thank?"
Ouyang Shen smiled and raised his wine glass with Xia Hongzhao, saying to Wan Dongming with a smile, "Come, Dongming, we are all family, no need to be polite."
"Mhm mhm..."
Wan Dongming, emotionally moved, raised his wine glass with both hands and stood up slightly. He toasted Ouyang Shen and Xia Hongzhao from afar before finishing the wine in his glass. He understood that the Ouyang family treated their Wan family with great respect for the sake of his third brother.
This dinner was followed by more heavy drinking. Wan Dongming was completely drunk. Wan Yunting and his second sister-in-law helped him back to rest. When they returned to the wine table, his maternal grandfather Xia Hongzhao, Grandpa Ouyang Shen, and Elder Fan were still there. Ouyang Xingfeng, Ouyang Zhihui, and Ouyang Zhiguo were also accompanying his father Ouyang Zhixin.
Even the younger generation disciples like Ouyang Xiuxian and Ouyang Xinyuan were diligently listening to the elders talk about profound truths after drinking.
"Xiao Wan is back."
Fan Liren saw Wan Yunting enter and immediately got up, saying, "Come on, while the alcohol is still in your system, let Xiao Wan show us his calligraphy."
"Alright."
His maternal grandfather Xia Hongzhao became enthusiastic. Since he had retired, he spent most of his time enjoying calligraphy and painting to pass the time. He said, "I came at noon and saw the couplet on your family's main gate. The calligraphy was majestic and grand, it completely stunned me!"
"I saw it too."
Fan Liren pointed at Wan Yunting and said with a smile, "It's obvious Xiao Wan wrote it."
"Haha, otherwise, who else in the world could write such good characters?" Ouyang Shen said proudly with a smile.
"Alright, Old He, Xiao Wan is also my grandson."
Xia Hongzhao, seeing Ouyang Shen's proud demeanor, felt a sense of imbalance. He said to Wan Yunting, "Xiao Wan, you must write a piece of calligraphy for your maternal grandfather tonight."
"Okay, maternal grandfather. Not just one, I'll write a hundred."
Wan Yunting looked at the elderly gentlemen who were competing like mischievous children over his calligraphy. He felt both happy and amused.
Next, everyone moved to Ouyang Shen's extremely large study. Wan Yunting asked Gu Luotang to compose a poem about her impressions of the Great Wall. Being a talented woman, she came up with a poem about the Great Wall in just five minutes. Then, Wan Yunting picked up his brush and wrote a majestic calligraphy of the poem in a wild cursive script, which completely stunned Xia Hongzhao, Ouyang Shen, and Ouyang Xingfeng, the elderly gentlemen present.
"Good calligraphy, good poem..."
Fan Liren looked at Wan Yunting's calligraphy. He had already witnessed his wild cursive script before, but seeing this piece now, the grand spirit emanating from the characters, sometimes unrestrained and wild, sometimes restrained and tenacious, gave people a direct sense of shock.
"Although I don't understand calligraphy, the first impression this piece of calligraphy gives me is that it's good." Ouyang Xingfeng's old eyes widened, pointing at Wan Yunting's calligraphy, he couldn't help but say excitedly.
"Yes, truly good calligraphy, and the poem is also good."
Another elderly gentleman named Chang Wen, a prominent figure in the imperial city's literary circles, greatly praised the poem about the Great Wall composed by Gu Luotang. Gu Luotang thanked him gracefully.
"Haha, you can't forget who Luo Tang's teacher is." At this point, Fan Liren started to get proud.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Old Fan is getting carried away again."
Another elderly gentleman named Zhu Huangshan pointed at Fan Liren, whose old face was full of pride. Chang Wen and the others felt a pang of envy.
"Grandpa, I also have a poem about the Great Wall!"
Fan Shuyuan, who had been following Fan Liren, glanced at Gu Luotang, seemingly in a competitive spirit.
"Good! Then you compose one too."
Fan Liren knew that his granddaughter was not satisfied with him accepting Gu Luotang as his last disciple and knew they were competing.
"Hey, you write it for me." Fan Shuyuan turned her head and said to Wan Yunting.
He was taken aback but then smiled and nodded. Thus, Fan Shuyuan recited her own poem about the Great Wall. Wan Yunting, standing at the desk, picked up his brush, his pen like a long sword, moving freely and skillfully. Soon, a calligraphy in wild cursive script was presented...
"Not bad, this granddaughter of Old Fan is indeed a talented woman of our imperial city's younger generation. This poem is very good." Chang Wen listened to Fan Shuyuan's poem and praised it heartily.
"Thank you for your praise, Elder Chang."
Fan Shuyuan, having received praise from the literary giant Chang Wen, smiled happily and thanked him.
"Not bad."
Fan Liren, afraid that this girl would become arrogant, did not praise her too much.
"Hmph, Grandpa, you are biased."
Fan Shuyuan gave her grandfather a proud glance, but she wouldn't really hold a grudge.
"Haha, but I still prefer looking at Xiao Wan's calligraphy."
Fan Liren looked at the calligraphy Wan Yunting had just written and was truly captivated. He then said, "Xiao Wan, your calligraphy now seems to have more profound sword intent?"
Ouyang Shen smiled and said, "That's because he had an epiphany at the Wudang sect and received the sword cultivation inheritance left by an ancient sword ancestor. Hmm, Xiao Wan, what's the name of that sword technique?"
"Da Dao Jian Fa!" (Great Dao Sword Technique)
Wan Yunting said with a smile.
When Fan Liren, Chang Wen, and Zhu Huangshan heard the name of this sword technique, they knew that Da Dao Jian Fa was no simple matter...