Chapter 4: Oath of Brotherhood

  I lay quietly on that small rattan chair, gazing at the pear blossoms filling the garden, my mood extremely calm. A gentle breeze stirred, and a few pear blossoms slowly fell down.

  I truly enjoy this quiet feeling, my soul becoming more peaceful and more ethereal. I slowly closed my eyes, slowly sensing the mystical realm of being far away from the world, observing the entire universe. A piece of silence, in the entire backyard there was only me... Slowly, as if a long time had passed, yet seemingly just an instant, I detached from this realm, I felt the gentle breeze caressing my face with refreshing comfort, truly feeling my liquid prenatal energy circulating faster, a faint smile appeared on my face.

  "Third Master, the boy you brought back has woken up. But he keeps wanting to go find his mother and none of us can stop him, please go take a look." A green-clad maid stood at the back garden gate looking extremely anxious. Mainly because I had previously set a rule: no one was allowed to enter my back garden without my permission.

  He woke up and was making a fuss about finding his mother. Fortunately, Ouyang Liang had already brought his mother over, haha.

  I ran to the east wing of Xingfeng Pavilion with a smile, "Chunyu, hurry up, I'll go see him first, you take care of the person sent by Ouyang Liang, got it, hurry up."

  "Yes, I'll go right away." Chun Yu immediately ran towards the west wing of Xing Feng Pavilion, muttering to herself as she ran: "What's wrong with Third Young Master? He's so concerned about these people. I've never seen him care about anyone like this before."

  I was walking down the corridor when I heard Wolf's voice from afar: "Please, let me go find my mother. My mother is at the Ouyang residence and she's not feeling well, she needs medical attention. This time I lost, Young Master Ouyang won't give her treatment, please, after seeing my mother, I will come to thank Third Master."

  "No, we don't have the right to let you go. Wait for Third Master to come back and decide." This must be Wang Shu, his tone of speech is always like that.

  I strode into the room, and as soon as I entered, Wang Shu saw me, lowered his head, and immediately said: "Third Master, this Wolf Blade Master insists on finding his mother." After finishing speaking, he leaned to one side, waiting for my orders.

  "Third Master, I, Wolf Fang, am deeply grateful that you did not kill me and instead brought me back to recover and took care of me. However, my mother still needs my care, so I beg of you, Third Master, please let me go find my mother." Wolf Fang stood before me, clasping his hands together in respect.

  I smiled and immediately helped him up, saying: "Wolf Blade big brother, don't worry, I've already brought your mother from the Ouyang family to my place, and I've had a famous doctor come to treat her, so you can rest assured."

  "Really, thank you so much, Third Master, for your great kindness to me. I, Wolf Fang, don't know how to repay it. You still call me Big Brother, how can I bear it?" Wolf Fang's face was bright red, looking very excited, constantly bowing his hands.

  I looked at Lang Feng and said, "Lang Feng big brother, you are obviously older than me, so it's only natural to call you big brother. Don't decline." This was just a trick I used to win him over. It's pretty clever, but also makes me seem a bit petty. Whatever, people who achieve great things don't get bogged down in trivialities.

  "Third Master......" Wolf Fang seemed very excited. A ten-year-old kid isn't someone I can toy with. "Third Master, what orders do you have for me from now on? I, Wolf Fang, will absolutely obey." Wolf Fang's face turned solemn as he replied seriously.

  I smiled and said, "Wolf Fang big brother, let's go, I'll accompany you to see your mother." I pulled Wolf Fang's hand towards the west wing. It seemed that Wolf Fang was extremely eager to see his mother, not showing any resistance at all, and he followed me willingly as we walked towards the west wing.

  Crossing a small bridge connecting east and west wings, we came to the door of an elegant room. Chun Yu was standing in front of the door at this time, waiting for us.

  "After seeing Third Young Master, this young master's mother has completely woken up and her body is much better." Chun Yu said from the side.

  "Alright, Chunyu, go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare some extra nourishment for tonight. Wolf Blade's mother needs more nutrition to recover her body, that's all, got it?"

  "Third Master......" Wolf Fang got excited again. No choice, I pulled him along, "Family brothers, nothing to say, let's go see the old lady." I said it immediately, otherwise who knows how Wolf Fang would thank me? Looks like he really missed his mother, didn't even wait for me, and directly went to see her.

  A very kind middle-aged woman was lying in bed, and it could be vaguely seen that she was also extremely beautiful when she was young. Those decades of hard work had made her hair gray and yellow, and her face was not looking good either. At this moment, she seemed to be very happy, and a smile appeared on her face. She seemed to be happily chatting with Wolf Fang, and there seemed to be endless topics between mother and son, talking non-stop, as if they realized that I, the benefactor, was still standing by the door.

  "The madam has met the third young master." Wolf's mother seemed to be very grateful, or perhaps she was too nervous seeing someone from high society like me. She immediately wanted to get out of bed, I was shocked, no way, why would you want to get out of bed? I thought about it with my knees. Of course, I wouldn't let something like this happen, I'm supposed to be on equal terms with Wolf, if she kneels down, how can I show my face in the future?

  I'm Jianbu Rufe, I immediately helped her with both hands, "Auntie, Langfeng is my brother, taking care of Auntie is what I should do, please don't say that, you just take good care of your body, everything will be arranged by me."

  I looked at Wolf Blade and said, "Wolf Blade brother, you just stay here and have a good talk with Big Auntie. From now on, Big Auntie will live here, and you don't have to leave either. Let's be together from now on, okay?"

  "Third Master..."

  "Lang Feng, stop being so pretentious. What's with the machismo? Just accompany your wife properly and sleep in that room tonight. I'll have someone prepare dinner for you. I'm leaving, haha."

  Lang Feng gazed at Zhang Xingfeng's back, feeling deeply moved. From young to old, except for his parents, no one had ever cared about him so much. For the first time, he felt warmth in his heart from someone else's concern: "Third Master, I, Lang Feng, will be loyal to you and never betray you, or heaven will strike me with lightning." Lang Feng secretly vowed in his heart. Perhaps Zhang Xingfeng didn't expect Lang Feng to be so easily devoted to him.

  Mainly because Zhang Xingfeng didn't know how it felt to have someone care about him after no one had cared before.

  The night is like water, I stand in front of the window, that fresh air breathing is also a kind of enjoyment, that air with a hint of moisture is blown onto my face by the night wind, my skin naturally absorbs that bit of moisture, gazing at the countless stars in the sky, those chaotic and numerous stars are like the Tao, no one can figure it out.

  A thread of spiritual energy entered my body, flowing through my meridians, slowly transforming into a liquid state, the liquid prenatal true energy still tirelessly turning...

  It's late, I stretched my body out of the window to close it, but suddenly I found that Lang Feng's house was still lit up and there were faint shadows by the window. What is Lang Feng doing? He hasn't gone to sleep yet?

  I was very curious and walked out of the room towards him.

  I stood outside the window, looking at Lang Feng. He was really reading a book. Oh, Lang Feng can read books too, not bad.

  I quietly walked in from the door, standing still behind him, he seemed extremely focused on what book he was reading, so deeply absorbed. I stretched my head, oh, it's just the secret recipe of Shaolin Long Fist, this Shaolin Long Fist is the most ordinary martial art of the Ming Dynasty, all the servants in our house can do it, and there is also Shaolin Luo Han Fist, but this Shaolin Luo Han Fist is easy to learn but difficult to master, while Shaolin Long Fist is more effective and easier to grasp. Therefore, every room in our house has the secret recipe of Shaolin Long Fist and Shaolin Luo Han Fist in their bookshelves.

  I stood for a while, and Wolf's Edge seemed to sense that someone was behind him (reacting too slowly). He turned around: "Third Master!"

  "Oh, I saw that your room's light was still on, so I came over to take a look. I didn't expect you were still studying the Shaolin Long Fist manual." I said with a smile.

  "Third Master, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have rummaged through your things. Please forgive me." Lang Feng immediately became sincere and fearful.

  "It's okay, you can use these things. I just find it strange that you don't know Shaolin Kung Fu, this is almost something every martial artist knows!" I explained immediately.

  "Oh, I only learned to read with my mother when I was young. Most of the time, I went hunting in the mountains. When I was a kid, I used to go hunting with my father, but later he was surrounded by wolves and got bitten several times while trying to save me. He lost too much blood and died on the way back home. I was only six years old then. My father died for me." Wolf's eyes seemed to be getting moist.

  "After my father's death, my mother and I relied on each other for survival. I practiced the qigong that my father had taught me before he passed away, but unfortunately, it was just an ordinary technique, or else my father wouldn't have died. However, I continued to practice it diligently. I also went hunting in the mountains, but I didn't dare venture too far in, only staying on the outskirts. That's how I lived with my mother until that day when I returned home and saw a white-browed tiger devouring someone. The villagers were all fleeing, but my mother was waiting for me, waiting for me to come home. When I saw her, her arm was being bitten by the tiger, and I was so scared of losing my mother. All I could think about was saving her and killing the tiger. I don't know what happened next, but when I came to, the tiger had been torn apart. The villagers were all afraid of me and kept their distance, except for my mother, who still looked at me with kindness in her eyes. I only hoped that we could be together forever, never parting ways again, taking care of her until eternity... But on that day, when I returned home, the nightmare began. My mother had a high fever. I sought help from others, but no one was willing to assist me. I looked for doctors, but they all demanded a lot of money. I begged and pleaded with people, and finally, an old doctor agreed to take a look. At that time, I was full of hope, but the result was that my mother's illness wasn't severe, but she needed careful nursing and expensive medicine to recover. But where could I get those things? Later, I saw the Ou Yang family's advertisement for a servant, so I went there. I hoped they would be able to take care of my mother. Their requirement was that I had to be able to kill ferocious tigers, but since the day I saved my mother and killed the tiger, my internal energy had grown stronger, making it easy for me to pass their test. The Ou Yang family then agreed to help take care of my mother. That's when I met you, Third Master."

  I gazed at him, my heart inexplicably aching. I could imagine all that he had sacrificed for his mother - how old was he? My eyes also couldn't help but redden, my heart truly feeling the thick bond of affection between them. I also felt a pang of sadness thinking about the heavy psychological burden he had shouldered since childhood. Ha! What's wrong with me? If it were my past life, I definitely wouldn't be moved to emotions like this, yet now I'm struggling to control myself. Is this me becoming more immature or is it that I have more human feelings? Whatever the case, I am still me - I want to live out a new image, start a new life, and not be influenced by my past life.

  "Brother Wolf Fang, let's become sworn brothers." I admired him and respected him deeply. From then on, Wolf Fang was my brother with whom I would share life and death. My gaze at him was firm and unwavering.

  "Third Master, you... Wolf Blade seems quite surprised. These sworn brothers are not just any ordinary brothers who acknowledge each other verbally."

  "If you think I'm worthy, let's become sworn brothers. If we're brothers, then there's no need to say anything else." I said firmly, staring straight at Wolf Fang without blinking.

  Lang Feng took a deep breath and said: "Alright, I've made up my mind today."

  "Alright, big brother, why don't we just make a vow of brotherhood right here under the bright moon?" I said with a smile.

  "Alright, no need to be polite, let's just do it here." The older brother was also extremely pleased.

  We walked out onto the lawn outside the house and knelt down, raising our right hands with index and middle fingers together.

  "I, Zhang Xingfeng, today under the bright moonlight, have sworn brotherhood with my elder brother. We share fortune and misfortune together, not seeking to be born on the same year, month, and day, but only seeking to die on the same year, month, and day. Heaven and earth are our witnesses, if either of us betrays this brotherly bond, we shall be abandoned by both gods and men."

  "I, Wolf Fang, today under the bright moon with my second brother, we form an oath of fraternal bond. We share fortune and misfortune together, not seeking to be born on the same year, month, and day, but only seeking to die on the same year, month, and day. Heaven and earth bear witness, if either of us betrays this brotherly bond, we shall be abandoned by both gods and men."