The Young Swordsman of Dalu

Wenfei and Changsheng traveled north for two days, staying at inns whenever they came across them. If they didn't find an inn, they would camp out in the mountains at night. When they got hungry, they would catch some wild game or fish from the river to roast and eat. They continued their journey northward, covered in dust and grime.

Li Wei watched Wen Fei and the others ride away on horseback that day, and felt an itchy, restless feeling in his heart, like being scratched by a cat.

Liang Feiyan was about to say a few words of comfort to her when Li Wei's next move caught Liang Feiyan off guard.

Li Wei didn't greet Liang Feiyan. He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and the horse neighed and charged forward.

"Sister Wei! Wait for me!" Liang Feiyan hurriedly spurred her horse to catch up.

Li Wei didn't care at all. No matter how much Liang Feiyan shouted, she wouldn't stop and instead sped up.

Liang Feiyan spurred her horse and chased after them. Just then, a rider came from the opposite direction and blocked Li Wei's path. Liang Feiyan caught up from behind.

"Why are you stopping me?" Li Wei asked.

“Miss Liang was chasing you from behind, so I stopped her for you,” Wenjie said.

"Young Master Wen, thank you so much!" Liang Feiyan said excitedly.

"What's going on with you guys?" Wenjie asked.

"It's nothing, we're just going down the mountain for a bit of fun. Where are you headed, Second Young Master?" Liang Feiyan said.

"I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd drop by and see Wenfei," Wenjie said.

“He’s gone, what are you looking at!” Li Wei said.

"Where did he go?" Wenjie asked.

"I don't know, I only know they went over there." Li Wei pointed north.

"He's going north. What's he doing there? Is he going to find Uncle Ji?" Wenjie asked.

"Did Senior Ji go north?" Liang Feiyan asked.

"The entire Great Lu Kingdom knows, but your Wenxian Pavilion doesn't?" Wenjie asked.

“We haven’t heard of it,” Liang Feiyan said, shaking her head.

“My grandfather intentionally kept it from us,” Li Wei said.

"Oh no, I have to go after Wenfei. He absolutely cannot go north; it's too chaotic there right now," Wenjie said.

"The situation is developing so fast, it's even worse than it was back then?" Liang Feiyan said.

“Many people who have returned from the border say that things have been very unpredictable recently. Both the Northern Dynasty and our Great Lu Kingdom have been stationing troops on the border. This is the prelude to a major war,” Wenjie said.

"What is Elder Ji doing there?" Liang Feiyan asked.

“Uncle Ji’s actions are not what we juniors can guess,” Wenjie said.

"It seems something really big is about to happen," Liang Feiyan said.

"Let's hurry, or they'll disappear in no time," Li Wei said urgently.

“You two should go back to Wenxian Pavilion. After all, the journey north is long and risky. I can go alone,” Wenjie said.

“What Young Master Wen said makes sense. But sister, let’s go back first. Your grandfather’s pursuers will be here soon,” Liang Feiyan said.

As they were talking, pursuers arrived from behind. Li Chaoyang had sent his eight henchmen to capture them. Li Wei reluctantly went back with them. Liang Feiyan glanced at Wenjie and said, "Second Young Master, take care on your journey."

"Thank you!" Wenjie turned and spurred his horse away.

Inside Wenxian Pavilion, Li Chaoyang roared in fury: "What kind of behavior is this? How dare you go down the mountain alone without your grandfather's knowledge! Do you know how dangerous it is down there? Do you know how treacherous the martial world is?"

"That's why I'm going to go and try it myself," Li Wei said.

“You’ve grown wings and dare to talk back to your grandpa now,” Li Chaoyang said.

“I’ve lived on this mountain since I was a child. Do you know how much I long for the outside world? I just want to go out and see the world. Is that wrong?” Li Wei said, crying.

"Feiyan, you're several years older than her, how could you run off with her without permission?" Li Chaoyang saw Li Wei crying and then turned his anger towards Liang Feiyan.

“Elder Master, Feiyan knows she was wrong, but my sister is innocent. She just wanted to go out and see the world. Please don’t be angry, Elder Master. I will keep an eye on her,” Liang Feiyan said.

“You’re all too young. Go to the back mountain and lock yourself up. I’ll have people guarding you. Don’t leave until you’ve stayed for forty-nine days. Disappear from my sight immediately,” Li Chaoyang said angrily.

"I might as well lock me up for life!" Li Wei said angrily as he walked towards the back mountain.

"Sister, wait for me." Liang Feiyan followed.

Wenjie traveled north for two days without finding any trace of Wenfei and his companions, and he grew increasingly anxious. Two days prior, Prince Wen had sent him a letter instructing him not to return home and to tell Wenfei to stay in the valley and practice his martial arts diligently. Wenjie sensed that something serious was about to happen, so he rushed to inform Wenfei, but it was too late; Wenfei had already left the valley and headed north.

Aside from traveling, Wenfei and Changsheng continued practicing their skills according to their original plan every day without slacking off. Wenfei always had a feeling of eagerness to try it out; he wished a group of bandits or some big bad guys would appear before him so he could test his skills.

Early that morning, Wenfei and Changsheng came to the market from the mountains. They had spent the night eating and sleeping outdoors and wanted to find a place to have a good meal. They finally found a place, but not only was the food bad, the waiter was also very rude.

"This is absolutely awful!" Wenfei exclaimed.

“Yes, young master, I’ve been starving for a day and a night, so food doesn’t taste that good anymore,” Changsheng said.

"Eat it or don't, it's up to you!" the waiter said as he walked over to their table after hearing their complaints.

"What attitude?" Wenfei asked.

"With this attitude, if you're not eating, pay up and get out!" the waiter said.

"I demand an explanation. Call your boss over here!" Wen Fei said.

"I'm here, and the waiter's attitude reflects my attitude," the shop owner said as he walked over.

“You guys are shameless. The food you make is so awful, and you’re so arrogant. Who gave you the guts?” Wen Fei said.

"In this northern corner, we have the guts. Come on! Let's clean this up!" the shop owner said domineeringly.

"Young Master, they're about to make their move," Changsheng said worriedly.

“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re skilled in martial arts now, so this is a good opportunity to test how well we’ve learned,” Wenfei said.

“Alright, young master, let’s get started then,” Changsheng said.

A group of people swarmed forward, rushing towards Wenfei and his group. Wenfei shouted, "Run!"

Wenfei flew off in a flash, and Changsheng, not to be outdone, followed suit. The others chased after him, but they were all panting and exhausted, and in the end, they returned to the shop in frustration.

"Luckily, their horses are still here, so we didn't suffer any losses, boss," the waiter said smugly.

"Their horses are already skin and bones, they won't fetch much money. We'll have to waste feed them. We might as well sell them to a horse slaughterhouse and get a few taels of silver," the shop owner said.

The waiter had no choice but to obediently lead the horse away. Just then, Wenjie happened to pass by and asked the waiter, "Brother, could you tell me if you've seen two young men pass by here?"

The waiter looked at Wenjie and thought, "Could it be those two from earlier?"

Seeing the waiter's dazed expression, Wenjie assumed he was deaf and mute and was about to leave when the waiter said, "I see them, they're eating in our shop."

Wenjie followed the waiter into the shop, where the waiter whispered something in the owner's ear.

"Those two kids didn't pay for their meal, so I locked them in the backyard," the owner said.

“Take me to see them. I’ll pay for the meal,” Wenjie said.

"Pay first." A group of people surrounded them.

"Are you opening a shop or robbing someone?" Wenjie asked.

"I only want money!" the shop owner shouted.

“I have silver, let’s see if you have the ability to take it away,” Wenjie said.

A group of people rushed up again, and Wenjie beat them all to a pulp with a flurry of blows.

Finally, Wenjie grabbed the shop owner and said, "Grandpa doesn't have time to play with you today. Tell me quickly, where did those two boys go?"

"They ran over there," the shop owner said, pointing north.

Wenjie pushed the shop owner aside, mounted his horse, and chased after him.