Chapter Seven: Wind Chasing Steps, Cloud Exploring Hands

  Zhang Yang sat in the carriage with Zhang Tie sitting beside him.

  Apart from the two of them, there were over a dozen young people sitting in the carriage, making the spacious carriage seem somewhat crowded.

  These young men all came from villages near Qing Shi County and were recommended by someone to be taken in by a surnamed Liu, the leader of the Longmen Escort Agency's entrance examination.

  The people in the carriage can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is young people from the town, who come from all walks of life, with some having families that run shops, others already working and earning money, and even those like Zhang Yang, whose family runs an inn.

  These young people obviously have more experience and are superior to those of the second category.

  The second type is poor young people from remote and impoverished villages, just by looking at their clothes, you can tell, most of them are patched up!

  Unlike the first type of young man who is calm and composed, the second type of young man often has a timid and hesitant demeanor, similar to Zhang Tie when he first arrived at Qing Shi Inn.

  These young people, more or less, can establish some near or distant relationship with the people of the Dragon Gate Escort Bureau, and someone recommends them.

  If there is still a third type of young man, then it would be Zhang Yang and Zhang Tie.

  Both of them were wearing brocade robes made from the fine fabric sent back by Zhang Yang's sister, Zhang Ranyi.

  Zhang Yang obviously did not treat Zhang Tie as an outsider, and when his mother was sewing, he specially made two sets according to Zhang Tie's size, which moved Zhang Tie for a long time.

  Neither the brocade robes on their bodies, nor the horizontal scabbard sword on Zhang Yang's leg, nor Zhang Tie's height of over 1.7 meters, nor the aura of years of martial arts training, dared to approach the first two types of boys.

  There were a few youngsters who had learned some social skills and got close to Zhang Yang, who smiled and dealt with them. After all, they all came from Qing Shi County, and if they became fellow disciples in the future, they would naturally become closer.

  One of them, a boy named Bian Yunsheng, was only eight or nine years old, but he was very clever. His family ran a tailor's shop, and when he saw the brocade robes on Zhang Yang and Zhang Tie, his clever eyes lit up.

  Ban Yunsheng was the most active and also the first young man who dared to approach Zhang Yang and Zhang Tie.

  At this time, Bian Yunsheng lifted up the curtain on one side of the car and looked outside, smiling and saying: "Qingshi County has arrived!"

  As soon as this was said, some people showed a curious expression, mostly young men from poor and remote villages. Although they looked curious, they did not dare to get up and take a look.

  Zhang Yang and Zhang Tie were also very curious, the two of them lived in Qing Shi Town which was remote, but had never seen the city of Qing Shi County, while some young people in the carriage looked normal, apparently they had been to Qing Shi County before.

  Zhang Yang picked up the treasure sword on his leg, slightly got up and looked out, with his years of martial arts training, he could see Qing Shi County clearly.

  It was Zhang Tie, whose figure had already become indistinguishable from that of an adult, who turned his head and saw outside the train carriage.

  It was a small county town with walls only one zhang high, looking like it was built from stones in the mountains.

  Zhang Yang's face showed a hint of disappointment. From his perspective, he couldn't see anything special about the county town, and it even seemed a bit rustic.

  From a military perspective, he didn't see any defensive strength in the county town at all. If someone were to attack the city, they might not be able to withstand even one charge.

  Of course, this is Zhang Yang thinking too much. Qing Shi County is not a strategic location, even in the midst of war, it's probably just an insignificant small town that no one would turn into a military fortress.

  It was Zhang Tie who looked at the county town with interest, and there was something unusual in his eyes. These were all the journeys of his life, broadening his horizons.

  Zhang Yang sat down with a hint of disappointment, placing the treasured sword horizontally on his leg again. This was one of the three treasures bestowed upon him by his master, Si Tu Feng.

  It is said that there are three treasures among them, and one of them has been taken back by Situ Feng.

  The treasure that was retrieved is a martial arts manual called "Chasing the Wind Steps", just by the name, you can tell it's a lightness skill manual.

  Chasing Wind Steps is the lightness skill that Thief Sage Situ Feng relied on to gain fame, able to sprint for a long time and also display prowess in close combat.

  This secret book was left with Zhang Yang, and Si Tu Feng taught him for about a month before leaving on his own, letting him slowly practice it. Along with the Wind Chasing Step, he also taught another technique called "Exploring Cloud Hand".

  With Zhang Yang's intelligence, he learned two ultimate skills in just one month. Although it wasn't perfect, he had a glimpse of the doorway, which made Situ Feng quite admire his disciple's cleverness.

  Zhang Yang was also marveling at the master's vast knowledge, seemingly only having one light skill and one divine thieving technique, but actually encompassing strange arts like the I Ching and Qimen Dunjia.

  Situ Feng strictly ordered that the Wind Chasing Steps were not to be passed on to anyone outside of the Thieves' Guild, but after a month of getting familiar with his master's temperament, Zhang Yang immediately taught the Wind Chasing Steps to Zhang Tie as soon as Situ Feng left.

  He only followed Zhang Tie's footsteps and it wasn't until over a year later that he barely caught a glimpse of the doorway, also dispelling Zhang Yang's idea of teaching him the Exploring Clouds Hand.

  Compared to chasing the wind step, the cloud-exploring hand is a more extensive and versatile divine thieving skill. Many treasures are hidden in intricate mechanisms within secret rooms.

  As for himself being able to master the Wind Chasing Step and Cloud Exploring Hand within a month, Zhang Yang attributed it to his strong spiritual power, perhaps with a stronger soul power, his comprehension also grew.

  During this time, Situ Feng returned again. With his keen eyesight, he naturally saw that Zhang Tie had practiced the Wind Chasing Steps. Without saying much, as a successor of the divine thieving school and being called the Thief Sage, he was somewhat unorthodox and actually had some admiration for Zhang Yang's actions.

  Zhang Yang's cleverness and some unconventional insights made him even more fond of this apprentice, and sometimes he was both a teacher and a friend. Every time he thought about it, Situ Feng couldn't help but laugh and cry, never expecting to become friends with a child under the age of ten, who was also his apprentice!

  Zhang Yang had already mastered the Wind Chasing Step, so Si Tu Feng took back the secret manual of the Wind Chasing Step and left behind a precious sword and a bottle with three pellets of medicine. After staying for a few more days, he wandered off into the distance.

  This treasured sword has an unknown origin, but after trying it out, Zhang Yang knew that it could cut through iron like mud.

  A bottle of three pills, called Jiuhua Yulu Pill, is made from nine rare flowers and can cure all poisons. As for the two words "Yulu", they have nothing to do with Jiuhua Yulu Pill, as Sutu Feng would say, it's purely for good sound.

  The name Jiuhua Yulu Wan sounded somewhat familiar to Zhang Yang.

  This treasured sword and the three Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pills are the defensive objects given by Situ Feng to his disciple, in his words, Zhang Yang has already graduated, and what he will become in the future depends on Zhang Yang himself.

  Now, the treasured sword named Xuan Yuan Jian by Zhang Yang was placed horizontally on his leg, and the Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill was also kept close to him. Adding the bag of gold and silver in his arms and the clothes and gold and silver wrapped up, this was all the property he and Zhang Tie had.

  Zhang Yang calls it going out equipment!

  Before long, as the carriage drove into Qing Shi County Town, it stopped in front of a wine building.

  Liu surname escort Mali jumped down from the horse-drawn carriage and shouted loudly towards the compartment: "Get off the bus to eat!"

  However, when he saw Zhang Yang come out first, the Liu surname escort immediately stretched out his hand to receive him, smiling and saying: "Young master be careful."

  "Thanks, Uncle Liu." Zhang Yang smiled and gave a slight pat on the arm of the surnamed Liu's escort, then jumped down from the carriage with quick and nimble movements, which slightly surprised the surnamed Liu's escort.

  After being surprised, Liu surname escort smiled and said: "I don't dare to accept."

  Zhang Tie and the other young men also got off the horse carriage.

  Zhang Yang's gaze swept across the two-story high wine building and landed on a figure standing by the side of the entrance.

  All that was seen was a frail figure crouching by the wall, with disheveled hair and a dirty face, wearing tattered clothes. This was an emaciated child! Or perhaps it was just a small beggar.

  Zhang Yang's gaze met that of the little beggar, and the other's dead gaze made his heart tremble, revealing a desperate despair towards life.

  This gaze, he had never seen it before, even in the movies and TV shows of his past life, no one could clearly express this desperate emotion through their eyes.

  He's still just a kid!

  After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Yang pulled out the money bag from his bosom, which was exactly the one that Liu, the courier, had refused to give to Zhang Dapang. When he opened it, there were several gold ingots and several silver dollars inside.

  Zhang Yang walked forward, under the surprised gaze of Liu's escort and a group of young men, took out a gold ingot and placed it in front of the little beggar, saying softly: "I hope I can help you."

  "Thank you."

  A pleasant voice came from the little beggar's mouth, making Zhang Yang slightly surprised. The little beggar was actually a little girl.