I served as Li Bai's page.

I led the horse into the yard, unloaded the gifts and vegetables I had bought, and handed each person their gift. Everyone happily said, "Thank you." Sister Lin took the meat and vegetables to the kitchen and started cooking lunch.

The two children grabbed my hands and followed Xu Ziyan into the living room.

Xu Ziyan asked, "You only asked about your husband's situation. Are you also with him at General Mountain?"

"No, I became a disciple of Abbess Baiyun at Baiyun Temple on Shimen Mountain. Abbess Baiyun is General Pei's junior sister. So, I separated from the young master," I said.

Why didn't you study under General Pei with the young master?

"Madam, General Pei's swordsmanship is unparalleled. He doesn't just take anyone as his disciple. General Pei is determined to train the young master to be the second best swordsman in the world. I didn't dare to interfere, so I became a disciple of Abbess Baiyun."

"So that's how it is," Xu Ziyan said after a moment's thought.

Pingyang and Boqin had been watching me, and seeing that Xu Ziyan had stopped asking, they quickly said, "Uncle, what have you learned? Can you tell us?"

"Of course, Uncle will show you." I led Pingyang and Boqin into the courtyard, leaped onto the tall banyan tree by the gate, parted the branches, and called out to Pingyang and Boqin, "Uncle's here!"

The two children looked at me in surprise at first, then stomped their feet excitedly and said, "Uncle, I want to fly too!"

I jumped back and said, "When you grow up, Uncle will teach you."

"Yuehua, don't indulge them anymore. I don't ask my two children to be rich and powerful. I just want them to be well-mannered, peaceful, and healthy. I know that with great ability comes great hard work," Xu Ziyan said after listening to my conversation with the children.

"Yes, madam, let the children grow up freely."

"Yuehua, you understand me best." Xu Ziyan said to me while stroking Pingyang's head.

Sister Lin stood at the dining room entrance and called out, "Madam, dinner is ready."

The four of us went to the dining room, and the aroma of the dishes and meats on the table made my mouth water.

Xu Ziyan looked at me and said, "The food there isn't very good, is it? You're looking so hungry."

"Meat is not allowed in Baiyun Nunnery; it's all vegetarian food every day," I said.

"Where is my husband? He should have wine and meat to eat, right?" Xu Ziyan asked.

"Yes, General Pei is also a man who enjoys drinking," I said.

"Stop talking, eat quickly, it'll get cold soon," Sister Lin urged.

Xu Ziyan picked up a large piece of meat for me, and I ate it without hesitation.

"You guys eat too. Pingyang and Boqin, let's have a contest to see who gets full first," I said.

After returning to Rencheng, I stayed home for two days, spending time with Pingyang and Boqin exploring the streets and alleys of Rencheng. Then I went back to Baiyun Temple to continue my studies with Abbess Baiyun. Time flew by, and more than a year passed in the blink of an eye. Li Bai's swordsmanship had become quite good, and he often received praise from General Pei.

"If our army had someone as brave and skilled as Li Bai back then, I don't know how much trouble we would have saved, and he wouldn't have ended up with so many illnesses and had to retire early," Pei Min sighed.

"Master, if I had met you ten years earlier, I wouldn't have wasted my life. I would have already distinguished myself on the frontier and fought on the battlefield, instead of being a failure now," Li Bai said.

"You have plenty of opportunities to serve your country. In a while, I'll take you to meet my colleagues in the military," Pei Min said.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master." Li Bai quickly bowed deeply to Pei Min.

Before Pei Min could bring Li Bai out of the mountains, Zhang Shuming arrived at Baiyun Temple.

"Mr. Zhang, you have time to come up the mountain today, are you here to see my young master?" When Uncle Zhang arrived, my senior sister and I were picking vegetables in the vegetable garden in front of the door.

"Isn't Li Bai here?" Zhang Shuming asked, peering into the temple from the gate.

"No, it's on General Mountain," I replied.

Zhang Shuming said, "I went to Rencheng the day before yesterday and met the magistrate of Rencheng County. He said his term as magistrate had ended and he would be returning to the capital in a few days to report on his duties. He asked me to go back to Shimen Mountain and give Li Bai a message."

"Sixth Uncle is no longer the county magistrate. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I'll go to General Mountain this afternoon to tell the young master," I said.

Zhang Shuming had lunch at Baiyun Nunnery and then returned home. I led my horse out of the stable and said to Abbess Baiyun, "Master, I'm going to General Mountain. My young master and I need to return to Rencheng, so I won't be coming tomorrow."

"Go and do what you need to do. You've learned enough kung fu. Now it's up to you to understand and practice hard," said Abbess Baiyun.

"Junior brother, are you leaving and not coming back?" the little nun asked.

"No, Senior Sister, I'm just going back to Rencheng with my young master to see the Rencheng magistrate off on his way back to the capital. I still need to come back to learn martial arts from Master."

"That's more like it. You're gone, Master's gone, and now I'm all alone, with no one to talk to."

"Senior sister, when Master goes on her travels, can't you go with her? Firstly, you can take care of each other, and secondly, you can broaden your horizons," I said.

"Every time Master goes out, he asks me if I want to go, but I don't dare to go because I don't know martial arts and I'm afraid of bringing trouble to Master. I'll just take care of this family."

"Senior sister, you really have no ambition at all. It's getting late. Take good care of Master. I'm leaving."

I bid farewell to Abbess Baiyun and the young nun, and rode my horse straight to General Mountain. When I arrived at General Mountain, Li Bai was standing alone on the summit, holding a long sword and gazing into the distance.

I jumped off my horse, ran straight to the mountaintop, and shouted, "Young Master, Sixth Uncle has brought a message!"

Li Bai turned around and walked towards me, asking, "Who did Sixth Uncle ask to deliver the message? What did it say?"

"Zhang Shuming met Sixth Uncle in Rencheng. Sixth Uncle said his term as magistrate of Rencheng is coming to an end, and he will be returning to the capital to report for duty in the next couple of days. He wants you to go back there."

"I'll go tell Master, we'll head back now." Li Bai said as he walked down the mountain. Reaching the courtyard at the foot of the mountain, he saw Pei Min practicing his sword. Li Bai said, "Master, I have some business to attend to back in Rencheng, is that alright?"

"Alright, you've been quite obedient over the past year, and your skills have improved considerably. Go do what you're supposed to do."

I led out a horse for Li Bai, and we both mounted and rode straight towards Rencheng. It was already dark when we reached our doorstep. We dismounted, and I went up to knock on the door. Lin Jie's voice came from inside:

"Who is it?"

"Sister Lin, it's me and the young master."

Pingyang and Boqin's joyful shouts came from the courtyard: "Father is back! Uncle Yuehua is back!" Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, the door opened, and Xu Ziyan stood at the door with her whole family.

Li Bai led Pingyang and Boqin by the hand with one hand and Xu Ziyan by the other, walking towards the living room. I led my horse into the courtyard, closed the gate, and also came into the living room.

Xu Ziyan asked, "Why didn't we set off sooner? It's not safe to travel at night."

"It was dark when we entered the city," Li Bai replied.

Li Bai said, "Sixth Uncle hasn't left yet, has he? I came back immediately as soon as I received the news."

"Not yet, Aunt Liu said they're leaving the day after tomorrow."

"Luckily, I made it in time," Li Bai said.