Chapter Fourteen: Planning to Leave the Village

  "Heh heh, this is the old Xiao Fei's way of thinking, taking things one day at a time. But since you don't have any ideas, why bother reading books? And it's not just about reading books, either. I see those three volumes on your bedside table aren't simple at all." Zhao Yun said with deep meaning.

  "That was forced on me by the teacher. Actually, I didn't want to accept it either." Zhao Fei shook his head helplessly.

  "The village head holds you in high esteem, otherwise he wouldn't have given you such a valuable book." Zhao Yun turned his head to glance at Zhao Fei, then turned it back again.

  "I know the teacher has high expectations of me, and I also know that he values me highly. But I really don't have such great ambitions, I just want to accompany my parents and Duan'er peacefully. However..." Zhao Fei was lost in thought, gazing at the sky with a bewildered expression. The night sky of the Han Dynasty was extremely beautiful, without the reflection of bright lights, the stars twinkled like flowers, and Zhao Fei's thoughts also drifted far away with the stars. Zhao Yun turned his head to see Zhao Fei so absorbed in staring at the sky, he couldn't bear to disturb him."

  "Don't always talk about me, talk about you instead. Brother Yun, where do you plan to go and join the army?" Zhao Fei suddenly asked. The sudden question made Zhao Yun pause for a moment, thinking carefully before speaking: "I don't know my own path either, everything has to wait until I finish my studies and return." Zhao Yun gazed at the starry sky, equally perplexed about his own future.

  "With your strength, Cloud Bro, you can at least be a general. Don't forget to take care of me when the time comes." Zhao Fei joked.

  "Alright, haha, once I become a general, I'll definitely invite you out of retirement to be my military advisor. At that time, I'll rely on you to come up with strategies for me. Haha!"

  Zhao Yun laughed loudly.

  "That's all in the hope of General Zhao's care and promotion." Zhao Fei winked at Zhao Yun, his expression looking rather lewd.

  "You..." Zhao Yun pointed at Zhao Fei, feeling quite helpless.

  With that sly expression, Zhao Fei asked seriously: "By the way, Yun Ge, what kind of person is Tong Shi?" "You're asking about Teacher? You don't plan on learning martial arts, why are you suddenly interested in him?" Zhao Yun asked suspiciously. "Nothing, just curious. I wonder what a legendary figure looks like. They seem so far away from me, always out of reach." Zhao Fei chuckled.

  "Actually, I'm not quite clear either, what kind of person the teacher is." Zhao Yun looked up at the ceiling with a puzzled expression. "Although I've been learning from the teacher for a long time, I still haven't figured out the teacher."

  "Hey, Cloud Uncle, can I go with you to see Master Tong?" Zhao Fei asked suddenly, his eyes full of hope. "Uh..." Zhao Yun hesitated, knowing that after the master's seclusion, he rarely interacted with the world. Although there was no rule against refusing visitors, it was rare for him to receive guests. He also didn't know if bringing Zhao Fei would displease the master. But looking at Zhao Fei's pleading eyes, Zhao Yun found it hard to refuse. This was the first time Zhao Fei had ever asked him for anything, and now Zhao Yun was in a dilemma.

  Seeing Zhao Yun's embarrassment, Zhao Fei hastily changed his words: "Brother Yun, if it's not possible, then forget it. I just admire Master Tong, so I wanted to go see him." Zhao Yun was embarrassed and said: "It's not that it can't be done, but you should know that the teacher is in seclusion and doesn't want to be disturbed by others. However, if I were to plead for you, it might be possible."

  "Really?" Zhao Fei suddenly sat up, grabbing Zhao Yun's arm. He was still very excited about the possibility of seeing Tong Yuan. Looking at Zhao Fei's excited expression, Zhao Yun was puzzled. "Little Fei, you don't plan to learn martial arts, why do you want to see Master? And why are you so excited?" Zhao Yun asked curiously.

  "Although I didn't plan to learn martial arts, I really admire Master Tong. He's a legendary figure in the world of guns after all. So it's only natural that I'm excited." Zhao Fei explained. "Why don't I go with you tomorrow to pay respects to Master Tong?" Zhao Fei asked eagerly. "Is this okay? Besides, your parents don't know about it yet. We need to get Uncle Hu's agreement first." Seeing Zhao Fei's eagerness, Zhao Yun couldn't help but persuade him. "I'll go ask my parents for permission early tomorrow morning. With Brother Yun accompanying us and going to see Master Tong, I'm sure they'll agree."

  Seeing Zhao Fei's excited expression, Zhao Yun couldn't bear to refuse him anymore. He could only helplessly say: "Alright, if Uncle Hu agrees tomorrow, I'll take you to see the teacher. But don't get too excited yet, if Uncle Hu doesn't agree tomorrow. No matter what, I won't take you there."

  After hearing Zhao Yun's words, Zhao Fei stopped his joyful expression. In fact, he was also worried that his parents would not agree to let him go out. After all, he had never left the village since childhood, even with Zhao Yun's company. His parents would still be worried. "Cloud brother, don't worry, if my parents don't let me go, I won't force it." Seeing Zhao Fei like this, Zhao Yun was also very relieved, he was afraid that Zhao Hu and his wife would not agree while Zhao Fei insisted on going. "Alright, it's getting late, get some rest early. If you can't wake up tomorrow, I won't guarantee to call you." Zhao Yun looked at him with a mischievous gaze.

  Zhao Fei turned over and lay down again. Looking at Zhao Yun who was gradually falling asleep, Zhao Fei felt a deep sense of emotion in his heart. Who would have thought that Zhao Yun was like an older brother next door? To become the fearless Zhao Zilong, he still needed to go through a lot of tempering. Forget it, time for sleep, tomorrow I'll prepare to meet Tong Yuan. Unconsciously, Zhao Fei fell into a deep sleep.

  The next day, Zhao Fei got up early. Looking out the window, the sky was still dark. And beside him, Zhao Yun had disappeared. This... couldn't be that he left on his own, could it? Zhao Fei was still thinking wildly when he heard a commotion outside the courtyard. He flipped over and got out of bed to go take a look. There, he saw Zhao Yun standing upright in the courtyard, completely still. Zhao Fei blinked once, and suddenly saw Zhao Yun quickly spring into action. It was as if the Zhao Yun in the courtyard had transformed into a leopard, bursting forth with an intense aura all over his body. Every punch, every kick seemed to bring about the sound of tearing through space. Zhao Fei tried hard to see clearly what Zhao Yun was doing, but it was futile. The afterimage of Zhao Yun in the courtyard seemed to be constantly shifting, like a thunderbolt, fast as lightning, with fists and feet stirring up a lot of dust in the courtyard. It was unclear how much time had passed when Zhao Yun's movements gradually slowed down, then came to a stop with one final pose.

  Seeing Zhao Yun stop his movements, Zhao Fei walked over. "Brother Yun, what were you just practicing? It looked so dazzling that my eyes are spinning."

  "Little Fei, when did you arrive?" Zhao Yun turned around and looked at Zhao Fei.

  "I've been standing at the door for half a day now. Seeing how engrossed you are, Brother Yun, I didn't have the heart to disturb you." Zhao Fei said with a smile.

  "Oh." Zhao Yun nodded and continued: "When practicing martial arts, one must be focused and determined. Otherwise, a slight carelessness can lead to mistakes."

  While Zhao Fei and Zhao Yun were talking, Zhao Hu emerged from the house yawning. "Little Yun, Little Fei, you're up so early. Why don't you sleep a bit more?" Seeing Zhao Yun and Zhao Fei in the courtyard, Zhao Hu asked. When he saw his father come out, Zhao Fei went to pay his respects as usual. Looking at his father, Zhao Fei hesitated for a moment before suddenly speaking up: "Right, Father, I have something I want to talk to you about." Zhao Hu looked at Zhao Fei in surprise; in his impression, Zhao Fei rarely spoke so solemnly to him. "What is it? Just say it." "It's like this...I was thinking of going with Brother Yun to see Brother Yun's teacher, Tong Yuan Dashi. I hope you'll permit it." Zhao Fei's eyes were full of entreaty.

  "Haha, I thought it was something. Since Xiaofei you want to go out and see the world, why should Dad stop you? If you want to go, just go." Zhao Hu also didn't think much about it and nodded in agreement. In his opinion, being able to leave the village and gain more experience wasn't a bad thing.