As night fell, Wang Anfeng sat alone in the courtyard, sipping tea by himself, and it wasn't until the faint glow of dawn appeared on the horizon that he suddenly realized he hadn't slept all night, nor had he practiced his martial arts, which was extrely unusual for soone as diligent as he was.
He touched the center of his eyebrows and let out a bitter laugh.
It was one thing to say he would pick up where his father left off, but it wasn't so easy, the entire Tian Ce Mansion had scattered across Jianghu, and his uncle Li had been telling him stories for five or six years, covering almost the whole Great Qin Jianghu.
Even if, as he hoped, every place was personified by an individual, it would take a very long ti, not to ntion, he himself didn't want to beco the Young Marshal of the Tian Ce Mansion.
Yet, the search must go on.
At that ti, he invited them to settle down, to drink and make rry often, but as for returning under the Great Qin's command and campaigning in the east and west, he would think no more of it.
The first great victory of the Tian Ce Mansion, leading a hundred thousand troops, shattered the enemy nation.
Three thousand Divine Martial warriors set out, only seven hundred returned carrying coffins.
And now, with campaigns in the east and west, who knew how many remained?
Wang Anfeng sighed, drained the cold tea from his cup in one gulp, got to his feet with a sweep of his sleeves, and turned back to his room, but he didn't rest. Instead, he changed out of the loose clothes he wore after bathing into his vigorous attire, shouldered his wooden sword, and entered the courtyard with his broad sword.
Brandishing the sword with focused intent, he practiced swordsmanship for an hour.
Starting with the simple sword moves used for foundation building, on to the Killing Sword Thirty-three taught by Master Ying, the sword moves gradually beca more intricate. The Jianghu swordsmanship rewritten by Gongsun Jing after gathering it, experiencing the Heavenly Inquiry Scroll Fragnt, and catching glimpses of moves during encounters in Copper Man Lane.
The multitude of moves flowed like the Milky Way's waters, endless, perford by his hand, originally executed with a broad sword, based on the suprely positive and strong inner strength foundation of Buddhism, channels with the force of the Yellow River descending from the heavens, his hand wielding moves that did not repeat—indicative of their complexity.
Finally, with a resounding cry, the shadow of the sword dispersed.
A cyan Sword Gang thrust straight ahead as a finishing move, and Wang Anfeng took a long breath, his left hand slightly opened, and the sword scabbard resting on the table flew into his hand with a whoosh, he then slowly sheathed his broad sword.
His swordsmanship prioritized technique and power. The swordsmanship taught by Master Ying was ant to exploit the opponent's vulnerabilities and kill in the mont of breaking their moves, and with daily practice and battle in Copper Man Lane, he himself didn't know how many moves he knew by now.
With the principle of Killing Sword Thirty-three, specifically designed to counter moves, he deduced and mastered many sword moves. His swordsmanship had beco as nurous as the branches of a tree. At this mont, facing any move, he felt he could break through it. Yet, for the next step, he didn't know where he should be heading.
Whether to exhaust all his ntal energy on the swordsmanship, seeking a level of technique that approached the Way, or to turn to cultivating Sword Intent, imprinting heart upon heart, commanding the sword with intent, not needing to dwell on specific moves or weapons, casually wielding them, a thrust or slash that ranked among the upper echelon of Jianghu swordsmanship.
Standing in the courtyard hesitantly for a while, after all, such matters couldn't be figured out in an instant. He simply shouldered his sword at his back and, by that ti, hours had passed and it was bright daylight. He then saw the young Miss i from yesterday, dressed in hunting attire, already standing at the doorway looking inside.
Without the slightest embarrassnt at being caught, she stuck out her tongue and ntioned that Old Master i had ordered a breakfast prepared for them; would he care to join?
Wang Anfeng still nodded in agreent, his deanor as gentle as ever, showing no signs of sleeplessness from the previous night or the deep contemplation on swordsmanship he had just experienced.
At the breakfast table, i Lianhua was quite cheerful, and Old Master i let her be, creating a relaxed atmosphere. This morning, apart from the few of them, there were also several juniors from the i family present, around the sa age as i Lianhua.
Old Master i was advanced in age and lacking in energy, couldn't keep up with these young ones, and after not too long, the kindly old servant helped him back to his room, leaving the younger generation behind, who spoke without much reserve, and their voices grew louder.
The conversation turned to this year's spring hunt after the start of spring. The spring hunt was originally a grand ceremony for training the royal troops, with regal horses, chariots, and excellent mounts to the left, strong arrows for the sumr outfit, and carved bows to the right. It described the magnificent state of the spring hunt, roaming the cloud forests and circling the orchid marshes.
Later on, leading clans in various regions also often gathered their offspring for hunts. It was one way to promote martial spirit and another to strengthen connections, often organized by local clans.
In Wanling City, the foremost clan was the Wen Family, which Yuchi Jie once ntioned, with three Second Rank officers produced over a hundred years, enjoying imperial favor, though it couldn't last forever.
The current family head in Heaven Capital City was a Third Rank Minister of the Ministry, a person of remarkable stature.
However, in Wanling City, the Wen Family was managed by the younger brother, Wen Hong, who didn't pursue an official career but possessed the elegance of a renowned scholar. He had a strong reputation on Jiangnan Road, with a profound understanding of the teachings of the old masters, ticulous in nature, and an excellent calligraphy skill that reflected a robust character.
Jiangnan Road was where the scholarly clan customs thrived the most, with thirteen major noble clans, Wen Family being one of them. There wasn't a second clan in Danyang County capable of creating a sea of flowers stretching for tens of miles. The upcoming spring hunt was proposed by Wen Hong's eldest son, with nurous clans agreeing to it.
It was said that an invitation had been sent to the i family yesterday, asking their younger generation to join.
The amiable juniors from the i family invited Wang Anfeng and the others to accompany them; Lin Qiaofu and Lv Baiping had heard from Yuchi Jie about the beauty of the Wen Family's flower sea earlier, and couldn't help feeling tempted, but they didn't speak up, looking towards Gong Yu and Wang Anfeng instead.
Gong Yu spoke briefly and to the point, "Practice swordsmanship."
Lin Qiaofu's expression faltered.
Wang Anfeng put down his chopsticks and sighed inwardly.
The i family had treated them very courteously, and given that Old Master i and i Wangsheng had personally welcod them, it wouldn't be good manners to refuse the invitation, especially since Lin Qiaofu and Lv Baiping also wanted to see the Wen Family's flower sea that stretched down from the mountain peak for tens of miles. He then softly said:
"If Miss Gong Yu does not wish to go, I will accompany Miss Lin and Miss Lv on their visit."
Lin Qiaofu's eyes subtly brightened.
i Lianhua glanced at Wang Anfeng and suddenly said,
"Does Brother Wang also know how to use a bow?"
Wang Anfeng nodded and smiled,
"I know a little, mostly not enough to dampen everyone's spirits."
Yuchi Jie clapped his hands and laughed,
"Since Brother Wang is interested, I'll accompany you. Just yesterday, I felt sowhat suffocated from reading too much at ho. It would be nice to go outside the city to get so fresh air."
Wang Anfeng looked at the smiling Yuchi Jie and suddenly felt that this matter might not be as simple as it seed.
This young man, who also hailed from the Divine Martial Mansion, always acted with thod. Just yesterday, he treasured a few books he had found in i Wangsheng's room as if they were treasures, and today he was ready to set aside those books to join the spring hunt outside the city. Wang Anfeng couldn't believe there wasn't sothing attracting him there.
The group left the i Mansion; being a noble clan with three hundred years of history, the i Family naturally had multiple sets of hunting attire and splendid horses. Hong Luoyu was nowhere to be found; otherwise, Wang Anfeng would have really worried that the bizarre creature that definitely couldn't be called a horse would appear and cause trouble again.
At the mont, he was riding a black horse that had been previously purchased by Yuchi Jie. Its hooves trod upon the snow, and it looked magnificent. On one side hung a bow, and on the other were two quivers, each containing ten long arrows with feathered tails. Yuchi Jie and Wang Anfeng rode side by side. Yuchi spoke easily,
"In the past, have you truly never heard of the Wen Family?"
Wang Anfeng frowned and said,
"The Wen Family? I only know they are one of the thirteen noble clans on Jiangnan Road. Beyond that, I'm unclear. Besides, why should I know?"
"It couldn't possibly be that they are also from our fathers' generation?"
Yuchi Jie said with amusent, "Of course not."
"If you're talking about connections, then there are tenuous ones at best. In those days, your father and the current Minister of the Ministry, Elder Mister Zhou, turned Jiangnan Road upside down, forcibly shaking a great amount of silver coins from the clans' mouths and adding it to the national treasury. With the noble clans' centuries of accumulated wealth, they filled the deficits from the Great Qin's wars."
"However, back then, seven of the thirteen noble clans had their backbone taken from them, nearly failing to stand firm on their feet. Speaking of which, they should bear a grudge. There's a saying in Jianghu, 'Taking a person's wealth is like killing their parents.'"
"That's not a small grudge. Sir i San rarely brings people into his ho, and this should have already drawn their attention."
Wang Anfeng said calmly,
"I see."
Yuchi Jie gave a smile and continued in a relaxed manner, "But it's okay. Yesterday, I had Old Lu expose my identity intentionally. With the exposure of my identity as a big fish, as long as no one knows about your identity, it should be fine."
"As for , no matter what, with my stubborn old man sitting in position, he wouldn't dare to move against . At most, there might be so minor harassnts."
"Otherwise, it wouldn't be just the son of Sir Wen Hong showing up today."
The group rode their splendid horses and wore hunting attire complented with bows, as they galloped out of the Wanling City gates heading towards Mount Jiu Hua.
Not far beyond the city, they saw a large and impressive group of people. Although the i Family was also quite a splendid sight, in comparison, they seed insignificant.
At the forefront of the crowd was a young nobleman in white, holding a folding fan. The twelve ribs of the fan were all made of the finest mutton-fat white jade.
Following closely behind and a half horse's length away was a man in grey, his eyes closed, embracing a sword.
Yuchi Jie glanced over and let out a sound of admiration. Born into a military family, where the Divine Martial Mansion's Iron Cavalry had been unrivaled, and as one who hailed from the lineage of strategists, he was extrely knowledgeable about the different breeds of warhorses of the Great Qin. If it were any other family, who would use the "Horse Classic" to learn to read?
At that mont, he recognized that the horse ridden by the young man was one of the thirty-four exotic breeds, a top-notch breed known as the Bone-Piercing Silver Dragon Colt, entirely white and as fast as a flash of silver light.
So say that in the saying 'ti flies', the 'fly' refers to this very horse, which had left his current mount far behind.
Yuchi Jie shook the folding fan in his hand and turned his head towards Wang Anfeng, smiling serenely,
"It has already begun."
PS: Today's first update presented...
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