The Young Swordsman of Dalu

On this day, Xiao Tong came to Wen Fei's residence.

"Young Master Wen, the old master invites you! Please come with me."

"Thank you for showing me the way, sir," Wenfei said politely.

The boy walked ahead and led Wenfei to Li Chaoyang's residence, gesturing for him to stand there while the boy went inside to report.

After a while, Xiao Tong came out and let Wen Fei go in alone. Wen Fei went in and found Li Chaoyang standing in front of a painting, a gift from a close friend who had traveled the world for decades. He was gazing at the painting, somewhat lost in thought.

"Elder Li, this junior has arrived." Wen Fei looked at Li Chaoyang but didn't react much.

"You've arrived? Please have a seat," Li Chaoyang said calmly.

Wen Fei couldn't refuse, so he sat down on a chair to the side, and Li Chaoyang also turned around and sat in the main seat.

"How have you been doing on the mountain these days? Does it still feel familiar?" Li Chaoyang asked.

"Elder Master, to be honest, since I fell from the Manhua Pavilion, I suffered a head injury and some memories have been lost. I really can't remember them. Please forgive me, Elder Master," Wen Fei said respectfully.

Li Chaoyang received a message from Yulu City in the morning. He had someone check the whole story of Wen Fei's fall again and confirmed that there was nothing wrong. However, he had not expected that Wen Fei's head would have some aftereffects.

"From now on, you will stay by my side, studying and practicing martial arts. You can't delay for a moment," Li Chaoyang said sternly.

“Yes, teacher!” Wenfei said happily.

"Focus on your studies and stop thinking about causing trouble. Do you still remember the punishment system of Wenxian Pavilion? If not, go to the front hall and review it again," Li Chaoyang said.

“I will carry it on my back and keep it in my heart,” Wenfei said loudly.

“Alright, come with me.” Li Chaoyang led Wen Fei into the room filled with books. “From now on, finish reading all these books.”

"No way, teacher?" Wenfei said pitifully.

"Read books about the world, and you'll know what's going on in the world. Read them well!" Li Chaoyang said, then walked outside.

"Teacher, please teach me martial arts first!" Wenfei shouted.

"Martial arts training will be scheduled for another time," Li Chaoyang's booming voice came from outside.

"Heavens above! Earth below! Who will save me? So many books, when will I ever finish reading them?" Wenfei said with a mournful face.

"Take your time, you'll finish reading it eventually," a voice said.

"Who is it?" Wenfei asked curiously.

“Here it is.” A head popped out from behind the bookshelf to Wenfei’s left.

"Is this gentleman also required to read here, just like me?" Wenfei asked.

"Let me clarify, I'm here to read books voluntarily," the man said.

"I am Wen Fei, and who are you, sir?" Wen Fei asked.

"Dongfang Muchen," the man said.

"So it's Brother Dongfang. I hope you'll take good care of me in the future," Wenfei said politely.

"No problem," Dongfang Muchen said, then pulled his head back to read his book.

In modern society, although Wenfei also enjoys reading, he wonders when he will ever finish reading all the books in this entire pavilion. Is he going to spend his whole life reading in Wenxian Pavilion? Wenfei is a little anxious.

"Of all pursuits, only studying is noble. Don't waste time, start reading now." Dongfang Muchen's voice came from behind the bookshelf again.

"Brother Dongfang, with so many books, I don't know where to begin," Wenfei said.

“From difficult to easy to read,” Dongfang Muchen said.

"Isn't it supposed to go from simple to complex?" Wenfei asked.

"If you've already understood the difficult books, why are you still reading the easy ones?" Dongfang Muchen said.

“That makes sense, we’ll listen to Brother Dongfang,” Wenfei said with a smile.

"Stay here and study. Once you step out this door, you'll be stepping into the martial world. This is the quietest place here," Dongfang Muchen said.

"What do you mean, Brother Dongfang?" Wenfei asked.

"With people coming and going outside, what else could it be but the martial world?" Dongfang Muchen said.

"Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own," Wen Fei said.

"So cherish the time you spend studying here. If the day ever comes when you're caught up in the world of martial arts and have no choice in what you do, you'll miss today. Study!" Dongfang Muchen said loudly.

"Brother Dongfang is really a strange person," Wenfei muttered to himself.

It is said that Wenjie rode alone at full speed to the northern frontier. In order to arrive as soon as possible, he changed to a faster horse at each post station along the way. He traveled through wind and rain and finally arrived in the northern frontier on this day.

The northern border was originally the border of the Great Lu Kingdom, which was the border between the Great Lu Kingdom and the Great Cheng Kingdom. Since the truce between the two countries, border trade has been quite good, and the border people of the two countries have been in close contact. For the time being, they are at peace and present a peaceful scene.

Wenjie had inspected the entire northern frontier over the past few days, but still couldn't find any trace of Shangguan Xingyun. He was very anxious, thinking that it couldn't be that his master's information was wrong. He decided to visit again.

That day, Wenjie arrived at the home of his old friend Sang Ziqi. He wondered if Sang Ziqi still lived there after all these years. Wenjie knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response. He hadn't held out much hope and was about to turn and leave when the door opened. Wenjie turned around and saw that it was none other than Sang Ziqi.

“Sang Ziqi! You really are still here!” Wenjie shouted excitedly.

"Wenjie, it's you! I really didn't expect you to be in the Northern Frontier again. Why didn't you send a message to let me know?" Sang Ziqi said happily.

"We came too quickly," Wenjie said.

"Come in quickly! Let's talk slowly," Sang Ziqi said.

Wenjie was pulled into the courtyard by Sang Ziqi, and Wenjie saw that the courtyard was still the same as it had been a few years ago.

"Sang Ziqi, where's Ayiguli? Aren't you together?" Wenjie asked.

"It's a long story, let's talk about it later. Wenjie, what urgent matter brings you to the Northern Frontier?" Sang Ziqi asked.

“Shangguan Xingyun, do you still remember him?” Wenjie said.

“I remember, what happened to her?” Sang Ziqi asked.

“A while ago, my master received a message from his junior sister, Abbess Wuyi, saying that Shangguan Xingyun had been in the Northern Frontier for more than a month and had not returned. Abbess Wuyi was worried that something had happened to her, so my master sent me to check on her. Haven’t you heard anything about what has happened in the Northern Frontier recently?” Wenjie said.

“No, I’m in the city all day with a group of friends, and I haven’t heard anything about what happened,” Sang Ziqi said.

“I’ve been inquiring for several days, but there’s still no news. It’s really strange. Has Shangguan Xingyun already left the Northern Frontier? Or perhaps she never came to the Northern Frontier at all and went somewhere else,” Wenjie said.

“You’re right, Wenjie. Since we haven’t heard from Miss Shangguan, that’s good news. We haven’t seen each other for years, we should have a good drink for a few days,” Sang Ziqi said excitedly.

“This time won’t do. Since I can’t find her here, I need to go somewhere else to look for her, otherwise my master and the others will be worried.” Wenjie remembered that his master seemed to have something difficult to say when he told him this, so he didn’t ask any further questions. He figured that Shangguan Xingyun must have come to the Northern Frontier for some reason.

“In that case, I’ll go and find out for you too, since I’m more familiar with this place than you are,” Sang Ziqi said.

"Thank you very much!" Wenfei said, clasping his hands in thanks.

"Don't be so polite with me! Let's split up," Sang Ziqi said.

After they finished speaking, they each went their separate ways.