Chapter 4 Frost Descent (Third Ascension)

  After all, at the age of seventeen, Wang Xuan's mental state was still far from reaching the standard that an adult should have. Under repeated frustrations, the resentment accumulated over the past few days finally erupted completely, and he didn't care whether his uncles were present or not. He wiped away the dust in his eyes, swung his wooden sword, and hacked at the starving ghost with all his might, shouting "I'll kill you, I'll kill you, you despicable guy, I'll kill you, I'll kill you..."

  Thirteen didn't dare to confront him head-on, only dodging and yielding. Feng Changqing saw this scene, took a sip of tea, smiled and ordered, "Thirteen, go all out and fight him! Don't worry about winning or losing, just make him surrender!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty!" The hungry ghost was overjoyed and began to exchange blows with Wang Xun using the wooden sword. This time, neither side held back, each aiming to make the other surrender completely. Wang Xun's legs and shoulders soon took more than a dozen hits, but fortunately, the wooden swords were wrapped in hemp cloth, so he didn't suffer any serious injuries. Every time he fell down, he quickly got up and challenged his opponent again.

  That starving ghost thirteen also killed out of a ruthless character, and the move was no longer merciful. Every move was full of sinister poison. Wang Xuan was a street fighter who had been fighting on the streets for years, and although he didn't have any other skills, his tenacity was unparalleled. Therefore, no matter how many times he was at a disadvantage, he would never beg for mercy, but instead continued to fight with all his might.

  Yun Yi's heart ached as she watched from the sidelines, her eyes welling up with tears. Feng Changqing chuckled and took advantage of the distraction to whisper words of comfort: "Don't be afraid. If he really wants to hurt him, San Shi can take him down in five moves and make sure he never gets back up again. Let them have their fun, it'll temper his arrogant nature and also help release some of the pent-up anger inside him. Otherwise, someone who's never experienced setbacks before will inevitably develop some bad habits when they first encounter a problem they can't solve!"

  Yun Yi listened and felt that it made sense, so she had to put on a smiling face and nod slightly at Feng Changqing. Feng Changqing sighed, then gently shook his head, unintentionally revealing a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

  It's been many years since then. At that time, I was about the same age as Wang Xun is now. I met Wang Zichu by chance and became close friends with him, completely forgetting the difference in our social status. Until one day, I met this woman in front of me.

  At that time, she was just as young. In her heart, she didn't care who was the son of a count and who was the son of an old gatekeeper. But since she ate the king's food and used the king's things, how could she muster the courage to compete with the king? So, on a certain day, she bid farewell to her good friends and returned alone to the Western Regions.

  Fame and fortune are only obtained on horseback. Over the years, I have risen from an unknown guard to a judge, general, high-ranking official, governor, and deputy envoy. Every time I reach the pinnacle of my life, there is always a lingering regret that cannot be shaken off. Over the years, I have had women from Goguryeo, Balhae, Tiele, and Loulan by my side, but none of them can eclipse the shadow she left behind.

  Fame and fortune can only be obtained through hard work. The younger generation, who easily obtain wealth and status, will not understand the hardships of their predecessors. And the older generation, who sometimes toil in vain for a lifetime, do so only because they do not want their descendants to repeat the regrets of their own youth.

  Generation after generation, this is life.

  "Fourth brother, you're absolutely right. Wang Xun looks like he's relaxed a lot!" Suddenly, Fourth Brother's words made Feng Changqing's heart tremble, and his thoughts immediately flew back from who-knows-where. Turning his gaze to the martial arts arena, all he saw was that Wang Xun's body had black and white marks all over, no one knew how many hits he had taken. But the anger and frustration in his eyes were all gone, replaced by an irrepressible youthfulness and vigor.

  "It's almost time for the result!" Feng Changqing smiled and said in a low voice. His eyes didn't dare to meet Yun Niang again, but instead stared tightly at the movements of the two people on stage.

  "You don't know how tired I am!" Wang Xuan panted heavily, dissolving the moves that Gui Si came at him with. After fighting for so long, he had slowly become familiar with his opponent's rhythm. Although he still occasionally got hit a few times, sometimes he could even counterattack once or twice.

  "Got used to it!" The starving ghost retreated with a flourish, causing Wang Xuan's counterattack to go empty-handed, and then another knife came slashing over. "A thousand times, a thousand slashes every day, from the age of eight, thirteen, never interrupted!"

  "Damn it, you're chopping firewood!" Wang Xuan used force to slant and parry, deflecting the blade of E Gui Shi San's knife, then counterattacked with a move, "A thousand times, aren't you afraid of chopping your arm swollen?"

  "It's gotten used to being swollen. Young Master Hou!" Thirteen parried while responding in a very stiff tone, "Not to deceive Young Master Hou, Thirteen was originally just a woodcutter. Later, thanks to the support of His Excellency Xiaodao, Thirteen became his attendant!"

  As soon as Wang Xun heard the words "lower-ranking official", he understood that the other person was not from the Central Plains. In his heart, he even less wanted to show weakness to the other party, and spat on the ground, continuing to use the tone of a hungry ghost, "Then why did you follow Feng Siu? You're just a general's family!"

  "His Excellency the Minister of the Lower Path sent me to General!" The hungry ghost didn't know what Wang Xun meant, and he chopped and hacked while loudly responding.

  "You're not a thing, how can you be sent back and forth like this?!" Wang Xun asked a very rude question with an ulterior motive.

  Who would have thought that such an obvious trick of sowing discord would not have any effect on the starving ghost. The other party just thought for a moment and replied with a straight face, "The next official is the master of thirteen. Everything about thirteen belongs to the master. Whoever the master wants to give thirteen to will be given to!"

  "Then your current master is Feng Siu. General Feng?" Wang Xun's plan failed, and he immediately came up with another one. He kept asking questions to relieve the pressure on his weapons.

  "Yes!" The hungry ghost replied with two words.

  "I'm Fang Siu's nephew and also your master, right? You're a servant, how can you raise your hand against your master?"

  "No! Young Master Hou, your surname is Wang, not Feng!" Thirteen responded without thinking.

  "What's your surname?" Wang Xuan found that his trick was very effective and he continued to use it, making the most of its effect.

  "Go back, young master! Thirteen has no surname. Thirteen is a woodcutter. A woodcutter is a lowly person, with no surname!"

  This time, Wang Xuan was puzzled. Almost out of instinct, he asked casually, "Then why do you call yourself Thirteen again?"

  "The lower official in the morning gathered attendants on the same boat, thirteen is the thirteenth one, so it's called thirteen!" The other party's response was serious but absurd to the point of being ridiculous.

  Wang Xun couldn't help but burst out laughing, and as soon as he let his guard down, he was hit hard on the shoulder. "Stop hitting me! Stop!" He covered the painful spot and shouted loudly, quickly creating distance between himself and the amusing ghost, "You have no idea what exhaustion is, I'm not fighting you anymore!"

  "The master has given an order, we must beat him until he is convinced and obedient!" Wu Si Shi San seemed to be a stubborn mule, holding his wooden sword tightly as he chased after him relentlessly.

  "I admit defeat, isn't that enough?!" Wang Jun was exhausted from being entangled by him, circling around the martial arts arena while shouting loudly.

  "Young Master Hou, this is just lip service, not heartfelt obedience!" Thirteen refused to give up and continued to follow closely behind.

  "What is this 'heart obedience' you're talking about? You haven't finished yet, have you? First tell me, what does 'heart obedience' look like?" Before he knew it, Wang Xuan's back was slapped five or six times again, and he gritted his teeth in inquiry.

  "This way, I'll go first and you follow!" The starving ghost didn't know what hit him and stopped his pursuit. He raised the wooden sword above his head, knelt down with a thud, and knocked his forehead against the ground, "I lost, I concede, please take my weapon!"

  "Alright, then I won't be polite!" Wang Xuan stepped forward and snatched the opponent's weapon, then kicked him with a flying kick. "This idiot, who would have thought there was such a move!"

  The servants who were watching had long guessed that their young master was not someone who would easily admit defeat. Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but burst out laughing loudly. Amidst the laughter, Huo Si San sprang up from the martial arts arena, pointing at Wang Xun with uncontrollable anger, "You, you are not worthy of being a noble of the Tang Dynasty! People of the Great Tang Empire should not resort to deceit and cheating!"

  This time, he actually stunned Wang Xun. Standing there, feeling quite embarrassed. What should the people of the Upper Kingdom look like? He didn't have any concept in his heart either. The envoys and merchants from various countries in Chang'an City, as well as those who followed the envoys and merchant groups to make a living in the Great Tang, had long forgotten their differences, seeing nothing strange about it.

  "All right, thirteen, Young Master is just teasing you!" Fortunately, Feng Changqing intervened in time to resolve the awkward situation. "You can withdraw now and go to the military supplies officer to receive two copper coins."

  "Thanks for the reward!" Hearing Feng Changqing's words, the starving ghost turned around, bowed his head and saluted, with a hint of irrepressible grievance in his tone. "Thirteen doesn't deserve your reward. Thirteen was careless today and got cheated by him."

  "You're doing great. He's already lost!" Feng Changqing waved his hand, smiling in praise. "He's still young, according to the customs of our Great Tang, older people don't usually interact with younger ones!"

  "Yes, thirteen years older, can't be compared with those younger ones!" The hungry ghost bowed again and repeated loudly.

  "How is it?" Feng Chang swept Wang Xun with a glance, and asked with a smile: "If you were on the battlefield today, have you counted how many times you've died already?"

  "Thank you, Fourth Uncle!" Wang Xun wiped the sweat from his face and thanked him solemnly. After a fierce battle, the knot in his heart had been untied, and his chest felt much broader. "However, I still wish to start from being a horseman and work my way up. Since Fourth Uncle has been ordered to train the Flying Dragon Imperial Guards, I can also join them for training."

  This answer was somewhat beyond Feng Qing's expectations. Looking at the other person's face, which still had a childish air but was full of determination, he couldn't help but nod his head lightly.

  Wang Zicheng, I owe you one for this lifetime. Back then, I received so much kindness from you, and now it's my turn to help you raise a worthy son.

  Note 1: The lower path of the morning minister, that is, Abe no Nakamaro, one of Japan's envoys to Tang Dynasty China, a prestigious Japanese clan. After returning home, he created laws, calendars, and hiragana based on what he learned from studying in the Tang Dynasty, and cultivated a large number of talents for Japan at that time.