The ti had finally entered into September.
In Fufeng County, situated to the north of Great Qin, the weather had already turned bitterly cold. Even martial artists had mostly donned thick clothes. For the foreign rchant caravans from the Northern Desert of Great Qin, in order to catch up with the grand national sacrifices of their holands, they had already left Fufeng with their teams after purchasing the highly treasured tea leaves and porcelain.
The sound of cal bells continuously echoed on the main roads over the past two days.
Mingled with the rustle of footsteps on fallen leaves, it was a characteristic of Fufeng that never ceased.
anwhile, tens of martial artists within Great Qin’s Fufeng were frantically searching for soone. They had finally found so clues the day before, but there was one thing that made them stop helplessly—their target, though alone, was constantly in the Academy and hadn’t co out.
A man dressed rather lavishly stood not far from the Academy.
Looking at the old man pretending to sleep at the entrance of the Academy, he paced back and forth, ultimately letting out a sigh, not daring to approach. Even if he did enter the Academy, what could he do? Not to ntion that the bookkeeper who carried the wooden sword was himself a powerful figure among the Ninth Rank Martial Artists, even if it were an ordinary student with modest martial skills, he couldn’t bring himself to harm them.
Thinking of the orders he had received, he wore a troubled expression and sighed,
"It’s tough, really tough..."
Fufeng Academy.
Inside Wind Character Tower.
Because during this period, various sects and schools had finally begun their assessnts, the number of people borrowing volus from Wind Character Tower had dwindled to a re few. Nowadays, particularly with the Military Family and Yin Yang Family’s first round of assessnts underway, only Wang Anfeng and Old Ren remained in Wind Character Tower.
Having spent the better part of the year inside Wind Character Tower, Wang Anfeng was familiar with every corner. However, now that it was just him and Old Ren, he felt uncomfortable all over, and the book in his hands beca impossible to focus on. He also didn’t feel quite right looking around.
When spending ti alone with an elder whom he wasn’t very familiar with, his temperant made him feel constrained. If Baili Feng were here, he would have been completely unconcerned, doing whatever he needed to do, unaffected by anything else.
Right at that mont, the door of Wind Character Tower was pushed open.
As the cold breeze entered, footsteps also sounded, dissipating the uneasy atmosphere for the teenager, who breathed a quiet sigh of relief, naturally raising his head and turning to look in that direction. He stretched his stiff neck and saw a Master whom he had not t before, and around the newcor were three disciples clad in dark garnts and wearing longswords, their attire quite formal.
They seed to be from the Confucian Sect.
The young man made an assessnt in his heart but then noticed that there were so differences in the details of these students’ clothing compared to that of others in the Academy. He grew curious. However, at that mont, one of them waved at him with a radiant smile. Wang Anfeng was mildly startled but then nodded amiably in return as a gesture of acknowledgnt before he withdrew his gaze once more, putting his curiosity aside for the mont.
But then, at the edge of his vision, he saw a flash of fla and started slightly, lifting his head again to catch sight of a youngster dressed in black creeping past the front of Wind Character Tower, carrying a heavy Mo Blade on his back.
The wooden door closed at this mont, separating the inside from the outside.
Wang Anfeng’s eyebrows knitted slightly as he murmured to himself,
"Baili...?"
"Wait, today is supposed to be the Military Family’s assessnt. What is he doing?"
The young man hesitated for a mont, then computed the ti with his fingers, his expression growing more certain.
And more curious.
According to the schedule, today was indeed the initial assessnt for the Military Family. They were not to perform martial arts or military tactics, but rather be examined on "The Great Qin Famous General Exam".
It involved dozens of military generals over the hundreds of years since the founding of Great Qin, each renowned for their outstanding military achievents and sweeping victories. The content covered in the assessnt was mainly about these generals’ battles to fa. As disciples of the Military Family, they were expected to be well-versed in the military strategies used in these battles and demonstrate their analytical skills and application.
Having thought this through, Wang Anfeng stood up, ready to go outside, first because he was reluctant to stay in Wind Character Tower any longer. He presud that after the unfamiliar Master left, the situation would revert to that awkwardness. Secondly, he was sowhat astonished.
"Why is Baili so bold today?"
"To actually skip the assessnt... Isn’t he afraid of his inherently irritable Master?"
Recalling how Baili Feng would speak of his Master with such trepidation, as if chilled by the winter wind, the young man shook his head, even more curious now. As he left, he first, as always, bowed in Old Ren’s direction as a sign of respect before stepping out of Wind Character Tower.
Ren Changge withdrew his focused gaze from Wang Anfeng, his expression unchanged as always.
The Master with the two tufts of beard from the Confucian Sect chuckled softly and said,
"That young man over there is the bookkeeper, I gather…"
"Indeed, a young hero, extraordinary in stature,"
The voice paused slightly, then suddenly the topic changed, saying,
"Speaking of which, I still don’t know who the chosen one from our senior’s lineage is this ti? So I can report back to the One-Leaf Pavilion."
Ren Changge was silent for a mont, as if in thought, but eventually shook his head.
Without speaking, a calm voice rose.
"None."
A look of understanding passed over the man’s face, and he bowed again, saying,
"Since that’s the case, then I will not disturb the elder’s retreat."
"I take my leave now."
With respectful deanor, after he spoke, he took a few steps back before turning to leave. His disciples followed him out of the Wind Character Tower, and after walking down the path for several dozen steps, one of them with particularly sharp features touched his chest, letting out a breath of relief as if he had been extrely nervous. After calming his heartbeat, he finally spoke up and asked,
"Master, was that the elder Ren from years ago...?"
The man gave him a glance, nodding slightly, and sighed,
"Yes."
"Back then, Elder Ren’s sword qi filled the air with his lody, traveling far and wide undefeated. But for so unknown reason, he suddenly withdrew from the Jianghu, imprisoning himself within the Wind Character Tower and refusing to step out of Fufeng, discarding his sword in a deep valley. Naturally, he no longer accepted disciples."
The voice paused slightly, as he thought back to several decades ago, when that Confucian hero dominated the world, drinking snow on the Heavenly Mountain, galloping his horse at the border, playing his sword and singing—unmatched in elegance. He couldn’t help but long for that ti, but then he rembered the withered old man in the Wind Character Tower, silent and unmoved, his heart and mind still, contrasting against his past. He felt even more acutely the swift passage of ti, the ruthless years, and shook his head with a sigh.
Ren Changge had still not found a successor, a result they had already anticipated. This visit was out of respect and due to his profound admiration for this elder from his own sect, leading to this trip to Fufeng.
But now, he almost wished he had never t the old man.
While his thoughts were complex, the junior next to him was counting on his fingers and suddenly asked again,
"But previously, wasn’t there an elder who represented Elder Ren’s lineage?"
"Didn’t that elder take on disciples and pass on his skills?"
The man suppressed the turmoil in his heart and shook his head, saying,
"Why are you so curious?"
"Hehe, your disciple is just curious..."
The master laughed and lightly patted his head, falling silent for a mont before saying,
"That one..."
"Ha, he roams the world, and I don’t know where he is. With his temperant, teaching others knowledge is naturally simple, but passing on his heart’s understanding and musical skill is extrely rare... I don’t know if he has found a suitable disciple, and even if he has, it’s been less than two years since this event began."
"I’m afraid it’s too late."
After speaking, he sighed and fell silent, no longer responding to his students’ inquiries about that elder, only shaking his head with a smile. Before long, the three youths grew bored of questioning and turned to discuss the local customs and human sentints of Great Qin’s northern regions, finding them very different from those in Jiangnan, be it their food or clothing.
The master looked up at the distant sky, exhaling a breath of cold air and feeling an unusual chill for a mont. He tightened his clothing and looked at the three disciples in front of him. He was then reminded of a white-robed, jade hairpin-wearing, black-haired youth from twenty years ago. While feeling nostalgic for the irretrievable tis, he sighed leisurely in his heart.
"Twenty years, indeed."
"Clouds and dogs change, but the pri of life is but a mont, neglected in an instant..."
"I wonder if in this lifeti, I shall ever again hear your zither sound reaching the clouds, the Nine Heavens Ring."
"Jiang Shouyi."
PS: First update...
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