The Young Swordsman of Dalu

Li Wei carefully slid down the cliff by grabbing onto the vines. As she slid down, she kept changing the vines. Soon she found a big tree directly below her.

Li Wei carefully switched vines from one to another, sliding down to the base of the tree. She then clung to the tree trunk and slid down to the bottom. Once there, she stood still, surveyed her surroundings, and parted the branches to reveal the cave Wen Fei had entered. Li Wei took out the torches and tinder she had prepared beforehand, lit them, and crouched low before entering the cave.

Although Li Wei had grown up in the mountains, she had never been to this cave before and didn't know it existed. She carefully observed the cave's interior and slowly walked forward. After a considerable distance, she spotted a light ahead. She quickened her pace, walked to the light, and crouched down to exit the cave. Before her lay a completely different scene.

Wildflowers of various colors bloom in the bushes, emitting a rich fragrance; the feeling here is much better than in the mountains.

"Grandpa didn't tell me about this beautiful place. After we get up the mountain, I'll make sure he gives it to me." Li Wei said to himself.

Li Wei was secretly delighted to have discovered such a wonderful place. As she was immersed in her pleasant thoughts, a shadow suddenly whizzed past her, followed immediately by another shadow that flashed past her. Startled, Li Wei screamed, "What's that?"

“We are not things, we are people,” Ji Wuchang said, turning to Li Wei.

"Ah! A ghost!" Li Wei shouted when he saw the disheveled Ji Wuchang.

“Say it again! I am a human being!” Ji Wuchang leaned over again and said to Li Wei.

"Don't scare me, okay?" Li Wei said irritably.

"Girl, wait for me, I'll be back in a bit." Ji Wuchang said, and then disappeared in a flash.

Li Wei only just came to her senses: "There are still people here."

"Yes! It's me." Ji Wuchang quickly reappeared in front of her, this time carrying a living person in his hand.

"Master! Put me down quickly!" Wenfei shouted.

Before he could finish speaking, Wen Fei was thrown to the ground by Ji Wuchang.

"I almost fell to my death, Master! Could you please be a little gentler?" Wenfei said, dissatisfied.

“So you were here.” Li Wei said, looking at the person sitting on the ground.

"Who are you? It's none of your business. I'm happy to be here," Wen Fei said angrily.

"Who do you think I am?" Li Wei said.

Wen Fei got up from the ground and was dumbfounded: "Tomboy, it's you! How come you're so persistent? You even followed me all the way here. Go back and tell your Li Chaoyang that I, Wen Fei, will not seek him out as my master again. See this? This is my master, whom I just recognized. He's much kinder than Li Chaoyang." Wen Fei pointed at Ji Wuchang and said.

“My grandfather never said he would take you as his apprentice!” Li Wei retorted.

"I have nothing to say to you. A good man doesn't argue with a woman. Go back and tell Li Chaoyang that I'm fine and he shouldn't worry about me," Wen Fei said smugly.

"What are you thinking about? I wouldn't have bothered looking for you if your father wasn't coming to Wenxian Pavilion." Li Wei rolled her eyes at Wen Fei.

"Is it true that my father is coming to Wenxian Pavilion?" Wenfei asked anxiously.

“It’s absolutely true, it happened just a few days ago.” Li Wei said to Wen Fei with a smug look on his face.

"Tomboy, whatever you do when you get back, don't tell Elder Li that I'm here, or I'm finished." Wen Fei immediately changed his tune.

"You were so confident just now! Now you've lost your nerve. Who gave you the guts to talk to me like that?" Li Wei had her aura firmly under control.

"Master, please say something!" Wenfei looked at Ji Wuchang with pleading eyes.

"What does it have to do with me, an old man, if you young people are flirting?" Ji Wuchang said seriously.

"Master, who flirted with her? If it weren't for her, Elder Li wouldn't have been so brazen in kicking me off the mountain," Wen Fei blurted out.

"What happened? Let this old man hear it." Ji Wuchang asked, snuggling up to Wen Fei with a gossipy air.

"Don't tell anyone, or I'll tell my grandpa you're here." Li Wei was getting anxious.

“Okay! Let’s make a gentleman’s agreement: if you don’t tell, I won’t tell either,” Wenfei said.

"It's settled then, but you're getting a good deal," Li Wei said with dissatisfaction.

"How about I put in a word with my master?" Wen Fei said with a smile.

"You big bastard, I'll definitely settle this score with you," Li Wei said angrily.

"I've been down here for so many days, what's the situation up here? Did your grandfather send you to find me?" Wenfei asked.

"Dream on! You should be thinking about what will happen if your dad finds out here," Li Wei said.

"Why would my dad come here? He never cares about me at all. Could he have some other reason to be passing by?" Wenfei asked, puzzled.

“Isn’t it because your servant wrote a letter to your family saying that you fell off a cliff and died? How could your father not come to Wenxian Pavilion to demand an explanation?” Li Wei said.

"Chang Sheng, we really didn't spoil him for nothing," Wen Fei said through gritted teeth.

“Since you’re here, Wenxian Pavilion will give your father an explanation. However, when your father arrives, you still need to go up and see him. Once he sees you, he won’t cause trouble for my grandfather,” Li Wei said.

"I finally found this great place, I don't want to go up there. If I go up there and my dad insists that I become Master Li's apprentice again, I won't do it!" Wenfei said firmly.

"Do you think Li Chaoyang doesn't know this place?" Ji Wuchang, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke up.

"Master! No way?" Wenfei said in despair.

“Back then, when Li Chaoyang was looking for this place, he memorized every tree and every blade of grass. How much more so for a living person like me? He only pitied this old man and gave me a place to stay. My senior brother still has a heart,” Ji Wuchang said.

"You're Li Chaoyang's junior brother?" Wen Fei asked in surprise.

"You're my grandfather's junior brother?" Li Wei was also dumbfounded.

Wen Fei and Li Wei raised the question almost simultaneously.

"Yes, anything is possible," Ji Wu said casually.

“You look much older than Elder Li,” Wen Fei said.

“Yes, I am the oldest among the four of us, but I followed our master the latest. In the martial world, the seniority cannot be confused, so I am the junior brother,” Ji Wuchang said.

“I’ve never heard of my grandfather having a junior brother living at the foot of this mountain,” Li Wei said curiously.

“Your grandfather just didn’t want anyone to bother me,” Ji Wuchang said.

"Master, who is the most powerful, you or Elder Li?" Wen Fei asked.

“Didn’t I tell you? We’ve sparred forty-nine times. He won twenty-five times, and I won twenty-four times. So tell me, who’s stronger?” Ji Wuchang said.

“Although Elder Li won one more time than you, I think your strengths are evenly matched,” Wen Fei said.

“My grandfather won one more time, so of course my grandfather is better,” Li Wei said loudly.

"You two shouldn't argue. As for who is better or worse in martial arts, it's just a matter of personal state of mind. At my age, I've seen all the vicissitudes of life. Everything is just fleeting smoke. It's best to be indifferent to worldly affairs," Ji Wuchang said, squinting his eyes.

“Master, what you said is so true. But we haven’t reached your level yet. We’re still struggling in this world. Don’t you think we’re ridiculous?” Wenfei said.

"This is a process of growth for everyone; there's no escaping it. Keep striving, young man!" Ji Wuchang laughed heartily and turned to leave.

The young man and woman were left speechless.