The Young Swordsman of Dalu

Led by the boy, Wenfei arrived at the highest pavilion of Wenxian Pavilion. Upon entering, he saw a circular bookshelf surrounded by books, and an elderly man with white hair sat at his desk, intently staring at a chessboard.

"Master, the person has arrived," the boy said respectfully.

"Go down," Li Chaoyang said, waving his hand.

The boy withdrew, but Li Chaoyang didn't raise his head. Wen Fei thought to himself, "This old man is really strange." Wen Fei suddenly remembered that the day before he left, Prince Wen had told him that no matter what method he used, he had to stay in Wenxian Pavilion, and that the first thing he had to do upon seeing Li Chaoyang was to apologize. Seeing that Li Chaoyang still didn't raise his head, Wen Fei knelt down with a "thump."

"Teacher, your unfilial disciple apologizes to you. Please forgive my ignorance back then," Wenfei said sincerely.

"Old Master, please forgive our Fourth Master!" Changsheng pleaded.

Li Chaoyang slowly raised his head, saw Wen Fei kneeling on the ground, and said, "This is your only chance to go up to Wenxian Pavilion. I hope you cherish this opportunity. Otherwise, don't blame me, Li Chaoyang, for not showing any mercy."

"Is this a threat? I don't care to come here. If it weren't for my prince father forcing me to come, I would rather wander the world than come to this desolate place," Wenfei thought to himself.

Changsheng looked at the dazed Wenfei and said, "Fourth Master, don't be distracted, the old master is talking to you."

"Don't worry, teacher, I will study hard and will not let you down," Wenfei said.

Li Chaoyang got up and went to Wen Fei's side. He reached out and grabbed Wen Fei's wrist, placing two fingers on Wen Fei's pulse. He frowned and said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Wenfei! Teacher, have I changed a lot in the years we haven't seen each other?" Wenfei said with a smile.

“No, Wenfei’s meridians aren’t that open,” Li Chaoyang said definitively.

"Maybe it wasn't working properly before, but it's working now?" Wenfei said guiltily.

“Impossible. If his eight extraordinary meridians had been open back then, I wouldn’t have sent him home,” Li Chaoyang said.

"Back then, you sent me home on the grounds of stealing because my meridians were blocked. Do you know that, teacher? How much suffering have I endured over the years because of this bad reputation? That's so irresponsible," Wenfei said in surprise.

“Otherwise, how could that self-righteous Prince Wen have let me off the hook? He would have definitely made a scene and insisted that I accept you as my disciple,” Li Chaoyang said.

"Is my prince father so adorable in front of you?" Wenfei said with a smile.

“You have no idea about this other side of him,” Li Chaoyang said helplessly.

"I don't care, my good reputation is ruined. You have to compensate me, teach me a set of boxing techniques, or pass on a secret skill to me, as long as I'm not bullied in the martial arts world," Wen Fei said coquettishly.

"You still haven't told me who you are? I won't hand it over!" Li Chaoyang said domineeringly.

"Sigh! Who do you think I am? Who else could I be but myself? Can't a miracle happen to me? Maybe my father has cleared my meridians these past few years? Right? Immortality!" Wen Fei argued.

"That's impossible, unless someone breaks all eight of your extraordinary meridians and then repairs them, but there's no such person in the world," Li Chaoyang said confidently.

"If you insist on calling me someone else, there's nothing I can do. Maybe I should just go down the mountain. I don't want to stay here anyway," Wenfei said helplessly.

“You can leave, but first tell me who you are,” Li Chaoyang said.

"Hey, you there! I'm Wen Fei, the fourth young master of the Wenwang Mansion. You're making me doubt myself with your questioning!" Wen Fei said loudly.

"Chang Sheng, tell me honestly, has anything happened to your fourth young master recently?" Li Chaoyang asked, staring intently at Chang Sheng.

Changsheng glanced at Wenfei in a panic. Wenfei gave him a look, and Changsheng understood: "Old Master, there isn't any?"

"Don't forget where this is. This is Wenxian Pavilion. We receive news from all directions every day. Nothing can be hidden from me," Li Chaoyang said in a loud voice.

"If that's the case, why bother?" Wenfei said.

"I'm seeing if you'll tell the truth," Li Chaoyang said.

"It's exhausting," Wenfei said.

“A while ago, you fell from the Manhua Tower and were unconscious for three days. It was Imperial Physician Liang and his granddaughter who cured you,” Li Chaoyang said, looking at Wen Fei.

"Since you already know, why are you asking me?" Wenfei said angrily.

“After you woke up, you were like a different person. You became more ambitious, which is why Prince Wen asked me to take you in again,” Li Chaoyang said.

"Teacher, to be honest, I didn't want to come here at all. If my dad hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have come back," Wenfei said.

“I believe you. After all, Wenfei back then was just like you now. He didn’t want to come here, but your father threw you here,” Li Chaoyang said.

"I thought I was just an extra person in my family, but I didn't expect that I would be an extra person here in Wenxian Pavilion as well. Why did you agree to my father's request? You could have just refused him, and I wouldn't have made this trip for nothing." Wenfei cried, feeling wronged.

Looking at the weeping Wen Fei, Li Chaoyang seemed to see again the Wen Fei who had first come to Wenxian Pavilion years ago, bringing him so much joy. At such a young age, he was not only intelligent but also knew how to comfort others. Whenever Li Chaoyang was lost in thought, the little boy would run to him and say in his childish voice, "Teacher, don't be sad, I'll stay with you." He wanted to keep him by his side, but he had his reasons. Before Wen Jun passed away, he had instructed him that if Wen Tao wanted to send Wen Fei to Wenxian Pavilion, he must refuse to avoid bringing trouble. Therefore, he had come up with many reasons, but he could only send Wen Fei home under the pretext that Wen Fei had stolen his deceased wife's belongings. However, his meridians were truly blocked. Today, seeing the child again, his meridians were so clear and powerful; he was clearly a promising martial arts student. How could this be? Li Chaoyang couldn't understand it.

"Stop crying. A grown man shouldn't cry so easily," Li Chaoyang said to the stern Wen Fei.

"People can't even cry when they're upset," Wenfei said, dissatisfied.

"Go ahead and cry! I'm going out for some fresh air." Li Chaoyang suddenly felt a surge of inner energy coursing through his chest, making him feel suffocated.

"I'm going to get some fresh air with the teacher." Wenfei wiped away his tears and followed Li Chaoyang to the pavilion outside the attic.

Standing under the pavilion, one can see endless mountain ranges stretching as far as the eye can see, with wisps of clouds drifting across their peaks. It feels as if one has entered a fairyland.

Li Chaoyang fell into deep thought, while Wen Fei admired the beautiful scenery before him. The old man and the young man appeared so small among the mountains.