The Young Swordsman of Dalu

Wenfei and Li Wei bid farewell to Yuchi Liang and secretly headed to the northern desert tribes. They traveled at breakneck speed, enduring a lot of sandstorms along the way.

"The environment here is terrible! The desertification is so severe that it's completely unsuitable for human habitation," Wenfei said, spitting out sand from his mouth.

"Wenfei, what are you saying? I don't understand!" Li Wei wrapped her face tightly with a scarf again.

“I’ll tell you more later. Let’s take a look at the situation of the northern desert tribes first,” Wenfei said.

For centuries, severe desertification has made life extremely difficult for the tribes in the northern desert. Many tribes migrated to the Western Regions or continued to retreat northeastward, leaving the area uninhabited and exacerbating desertification. In some areas, stretches of tens or even hundreds of miles are devoid of any human presence.

"Could it be that we've gone in the wrong direction? There's not a soul in sight," Wenfei said.

"Maybe they're also gathered in one area. Let's search carefully again," Li Wei said.

"The sandstorm is so strong, I can't even open my eyes!" Wenfei said, shielding his eyes from the sandstorm with his hands.

"Here you go!" Li Wei pulled a black handkerchief from her bosom and gave it to Wen Fei.

"I've never worn this before." Wenfei didn't want it.

"Why be so particular here? Let's make ourselves comfortable first," Li Wei said.

Wenfei reluctantly took the scarf and, with Li Wei's help, wrapped his head up completely.

They continued their journey through the sandstorm, until dusk, when they wandered aimlessly into an abandoned courtyard.

"We've finally found a place to shelter from the sandstorm. Let's stay here tonight, and maybe it will stop tomorrow," Wenfei said.

“Okay! Let’s start a fire first, so that no wolves will come near us,” Li Wei said.

“You know a lot!” Wenfei said.

“My mother taught me this. Wasn’t she from the Western Regions? When she was a child, she often encountered wolves, and they would run away as soon as she lit a fire,” Li Wei said.

“There’s still some firewood here, I’ll light it.” Wenfei took out a tinderbox from his sleeve and lit the fire.

Finally, a glimmer of light appeared in this desolate desert.

"Let's move a little closer, it'll be much warmer that way." Li Wei leaned closer to Wen Fei, and Wen Fei leaned closer to Li Wei as well. The two young people were now leaning on each other, feeling a warm feeling in their hearts.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Wenfei said.

"This is so nice!" Li Wei leaned on Wen Fei's shoulder, and Wen Fei leaned closer to her. Li Wei closed her eyes contentedly.

In the middle of the night, Wenfei was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping. Li Weishi also fell asleep on his lap, and he took off his coat and covered Li Weishi with it.

Suddenly, a "creaking" sound came from another room. Wenfei thought it was a mouse gnawing on wood, but the more he listened, the less it sounded like it.

Wenfei put Li Wei down, then got up and quietly walked to another room. When he reached the door, he suddenly pushed it open, and there was a disheveled person sitting on a dilapidated chair, shivering from the cold.

"Who are you!" Wen Fei was so frightened that goosebumps rose all over his body.

"What's wrong with Wenfei!" Li Wei heard Wenfei's voice and quickly ran to Wenfei's side.

“Look,” Wenfei said.

"Is he a person?" Li Wei asked, looking at the dark figure sitting there through the dim firelight outside.

“It should be! Go and get a torch,” Wenfei said.

Li Wei pulled a piece of firewood from the fire and went into the room.

"How did he get so dark-skinned!" Li Wei exclaimed in surprise.

"It's probably because I haven't taken a bath in years!" Wenfei said.

"Can he speak?" Li Wei asked.

“I’ll give it a try,” Wenfei said. “Senior! Can you speak? If you can, nod; if you can’t, shake your head.”

The man nodded, and Wenfei said happily, "Great! Senior, please come out and warm yourself by the fire. Look how cold you are, you're shivering."

The man slowly extended his right hand. Wenfei and Li Wei exchanged a glance, and Wenfei quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man's right hand.

"Help me up," the man said in a hoarse voice, as if his throat was stuffed with sand.

Wenfei took the man's arm and gently helped him up. They walked to the fire outside and sat down. Wenfei added some more firewood to the fire, and the fire grew bigger. The firelight warmed their faces.

The man brushed his disheveled, gray hair aside. His face was covered in sand, making his features almost unrecognizable. His mustache was also a mess, with sand mixed in with it.

"Why are you all alone in this desolate place, senior?" Wenfei asked curiously.

Li Wei also craned his neck, curiously waiting for the person's answer.

The man rubbed his face up and down a couple of times with both hands and said, "You're from the Great Lu Kingdom, aren't you?"

"How did you know where we came from?" Wenfei asked.

“You have a strong Lu accent, which sounds very familiar to me,” the man said.

"Could it be that you, senior, have been to the Great Lu Kingdom?" Wen Fei asked.

"That's a long time ago," the man said dejectedly.

"What brings you here?" the man asked.

"Senior, have you ever heard of the Flying Sword Sect?" Wen Fei asked.

"The Flying Sword Sect no longer exists!" the man said fiercely.

"Does Senior have some misunderstanding about the Flying Sword Sect?" Wen Fei asked.

"That doesn't exist. I just heard that they were an insignificant little sect in the Great Lu Kingdom back then. In order to bring glory to their sect, they traveled thousands of miles to this godforsaken place in the northern desert. Unexpectedly, the people in the sect betrayed their master and went to establish their own sect," the man said sadly.

“Senior, you know the Flying Sword Sect very well. Do you know Shou Shangxing?” Wen Fei asked.

"I know him! I know him very well!" The light in the man's eyes had vanished.

"Does the senior know where he is? Is he still alive?" Wenfei asked.

"I am Shou Shangxing." The man closed his eyes and sat by the fire.

"You are the venerable Elder Shou Shangxing!" Wen Fei and Li Wei stared in astonishment at the disheveled old man before them, unable to believe it.

"Look at my disheveled appearance, who would believe that I was once the famous leader of the Flying Sword Sect, Shou Shangxing! Hahaha! Fate is cruel!" Shou Shangxing said with a bitter smile.

"How did you end up in such a state, senior?" Wenfei asked.

"It's a long story!" Shou Shangxing's face showed a pained expression.

It turned out that after Shou Shangxing fell out with the various martial arts sects of the Great Lu Kingdom, he knew there was no place for his Flying Sword Sect in the Great Lu Kingdom and vowed never to return. He led five hundred disciples on a long journey to the Northern Desert, only to find that the environment there was harsh and they were completely unaccustomed to the local customs. Some members of the sect had been in contact with officials of the Northern Desert tribes for a long time, and soon some of them proposed to establish their own sect. Many others followed suit, unwilling to endure the hardships with Shou Shangxing. Many members of the sect joined the nobles of the Northern Desert tribes. Before long, few people remained by Shou Shangxing's side. Decades passed, and Shou Shangxing had taken on several hundred disciples in the Northern Desert. After they completed their training, they would leave Shou Shangxing on their own. Over the years, Shou Shangxing had survived on the silver and food he earned from teaching.