Chapter 22: Tong Yuan Wants to Teach Boxing

  In a daze, Zhao Fei didn't know how long he had been asleep. When he opened his eyes, he found himself still inside the thatched hut. "It's okay, it's okay, I didn't have a nightmare," Zhao Fei muttered to himself. A rumbling sound came from his stomach. Zhao Fei felt unbearable hunger in his abdomen and thought of getting out of bed to find something to eat. Just then, Xia Houlan walked in with a tray.

  "Xiao Fei, you're awake. You must be hungry, come and eat something." Seeing Zhao Fei wake up, Xia Hou Lan smiled kindly at him and walked to the bedside, putting down the tray and helping him sit up.

  Looking at the food in the dish, Zhao Fei's eyes were filled with desire. His mouth kept salivating. It was no wonder that Zhao Fei would be like this, climbing a mountain was originally an exhausting thing to do, and after being frightened and fainting for a period of time, he hadn't eaten anything during that time, even someone made of iron couldn't withstand it.

  Seeing Zhao Fei like this, Xia Houlan couldn't help but smile. "Alright, hurry up and eat." Before Xia Houlan could even finish speaking, Zhao Fei had already grabbed a pancake from the plate and hastily stuffed it into his mouth. "Cough... cough..." Due to eating too quickly, and the pancake being very dry, Zhao Fei couldn't help but start coughing. "You're going too fast, slow down, there's plenty, no one is competing with you for food. Here, drink some soup first." Seeing Zhao Fei like this, Xia Houlan picked up a bowl of clear broth from the plate and handed it to Zhao Fei, also gently patting his back.

  After drinking the soup handed over by Xiahou Lan, Zhao Fei's expression improved a lot. "Thank you, Brother Lan, I'm sorry to have made you worry." He said, looking at Xiahou Lan with gratitude.

  "What's laughable and what's not, saying these things is too much." Xiahou Lan said with a smile, he thought the Zhao Fei in front of him was still quite interesting.

  "Right, Lan Ge, how long have I been asleep? How's Yun Ge doing? Can I go see him?" After eating something, Zhao Fei felt his body recover a bit of strength, and he asked again about Zhao Yun's situation.

  "You were unconscious for two whole days and nights, while Yung Ge's physique is much better than yours. He woke up on the second day after being injured. After waking up, he insisted on seeing you. If Master hadn't stopped him, saying that you needed to rest quietly, who knows what would have happened? "Xia Hou Lan said with emotion."However, Little Fei, I'm actually very envious of you. Not only does Yung Ge take care of you as a brother, but even the teacher looks at you differently. When he saw that you were injured, he personally went up the mountain to pick herbs and made medicine for you. Cloud Ge and I rarely receive such treatment."

  "By the way, is Lanzhong (Lan) the elder or younger brother of Yunzhong (Yun)?” Zhao Fei suddenly asked. Because in Zhao Fei's impression, Tongyuan only took three apprentices, namely Zhang Ren, the great general of Shu, Wang Zhangyi and also Zhaoyizhao, but there was no such person as Xiahoulan, only that Xiahoulan was a fellow villager of Zhao Yun, nothing else was known.

  "Haha." Xiahou Lan let out a bitter laugh. "I'm not talented, how could I possibly enter the teacher's eyes? It was just my one-sided wishful thinking that the master would be my teacher, but the master never acknowledged it. I'm just an orphan taken in by the master." As he spoke, Xiahou Lan seemed to fall into some painful memories again, his face changing once more. "When I was very young, both my parents passed away, and I relied on begging to survive. Once, I got a very serious illness, and it looked like my life was not guaranteed. The master came, cured my illness, brought me up the mountain, and had me live there, even teaching me some martial arts. But he never took me as his disciple."

  "Sorry, Lan Ge, I didn't know it was like this. I'm not..." Zhao Fei hastily apologized to Xia Hou Lan.

  Xiahou Lan stretched out his hand to stop Zhao Fei, who was about to apologize. "Ignorance is no sin, and besides, you didn't do it on purpose. How could I blame you?" He looked at Zhao Fei again, seeing that he had almost finished eating, then asked, "How's that? Do you need to eat some more?"

  Zhao Fei patted his slightly bulging belly and said contentedly: "No need, Lan Ge, I'm full already."

  Upon hearing Zhao Fei's words, Xia Houlan put away the food plate and then said to Zhao Fei: "Alright, Little Fei, you rest for a while longer, I'll go out first." After saying that, she took the food plate and left.

  "Uh-huh, got it." Zhao Fei nodded in response and then turned over to lie down again. However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't fall asleep. Helpless, Zhao Fei could only force himself to sit up. He moved his limbs around a bit, and although there was still some pain, it wasn't as intense as before. Holding onto the edge of the bed, he shakily got to his feet and hobbled over to the door.

  He pushed open the door and walked out. Zhao Fei carefully observed his surroundings. The place where Tong Yuan Dashi was hiding was quite good. The environment was beautiful, located in a small valley with flat terrain, surrounded by mountains on three sides. One side was surrounded by dense forest, just enough to cover the entire valley. Outsiders could hardly see the situation inside the valley. Inside the valley, there were three thatched cottages, and behind the cottages, there was a stream flowing down from the mountain. Not far away, it seemed like something was planted on the ground.

  Looking around the surroundings, Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. "If I can find such a haven in the future, I won't be afraid of any chaotic world." Just as Zhao Fei was shaking his head in nostalgia, Tong Yuan walked out of one of the thatched cottages.

  "How are you feeling a bit better?" Suddenly asked Tong Yuan, looking at Zhao Fei shaking his head there.

  Hearing someone speak, Zhao Fei hastily turned his head. He found Tong Yuan standing behind him and hastily made a bow. "Thanks to the master's concern, I'm feeling much better now." As he spoke, he moved his hands and feet, but pulled on the wound, causing himself to grit his teeth in pain.

  "Heh heh, you're quite something." Tong Yuan stroked his white beard and smiled at Zhao Fei's toothy grin. "If it's not going to work out, then don't force it. How can you take care of your body like this?"

  "The master said, I have been taught by you." Zhao Fei said and bowed deeply like Tong Yuan.

  "Hehe, you're a kid who knows his manners." Looking at Zhao Fei's appearance, Tong Yuan nodded repeatedly. "I heard from Xiao Yun that you've been working out?"

  Zhao Fei's expression changed as he listened. He had come to this deep mountain and old forest with great difficulty, but what was the point of it all? Wasn't it just to learn a thing or two from Tong Yuan? After all, Tong Yuan had only taken on three disciples, each of whom possessed extraordinary skills that would later shine brightly in history. Although Zhao Yun was deeply revered, Zhang Xiu, the King of the Northern Territory, and Zhang Ren, the great general of Shu, also left a deep impression on people's minds. One had killed Cao Cao with a single blow, while the other had shot and killed Pang Tong at Lofeng Slope - neither was an ordinary person. If he could learn even a little from Tong Yuan... At this point, Zhao Fei's expression became solemn, his face filled with reverence, and his eyes shone with a pleading light. "I am such a great master, I have been weak and sickly since childhood, and just the other day I fainted from exhaustion. So I made up my mind to... I hope that Master can..."

  "I once vowed, I will not take any more apprentices in this life." Before Zhao Fei finished speaking, Tong Yuan interrupted him. "When I saw Xiao Yun, his talent was really hard to refuse, so I made an exception and took him as my apprentice, hoping he could inherit my legacy. And Xiao Yun did not disappoint me, he has already learned seven out of ten of my skills." When Zhao Yun said this, Tong Yuan showed a satisfied expression. But Zhao Fei's face turned bitter. Hearing Tong Yuan say so, Zhao Fei also clearly told him that it was impossible to take him as an apprentice.

  Looking at Zhao Fei's expression, Tong Yuan stroked his beard and smiled. "Although I cannot accept you as my apprentice, however..." Tong Yuan deliberately dragged out the sound.

  "But how?" Zhao Fei asked anxiously.

  "But teaching you a set of physical exercises is no problem." Tong Yuan looked at Zhao Fei, smiling mysteriously.