Chapter 5: Zhao Family Village, Zhao Feng

  Zhao Fei, who had already walked far away, did not hear the conversation between the village chief and Zhao Feng. With nothing to do, Zhao Fei wandered around the village again, but didn't find anything valuable. "Looking left and right, except for the fresh air, it's really boring," Zhao Fei muttered to himself, shaking his head. He looked around reluctantly and headed home.

  At night, Zhao Fei lay quietly on the bed. Through the memory fragments left by Little Zhao Fei, Zhao Fei's classmate was trying hard to find out about Zhao Feng and the village head. Suddenly, an inspiration struck.

  Zhao Feng is the elder brother of Zhao Yun. It is said that his ancestors were once generals, but later the family declined. When he was young, Zhao Feng was full of vigor and had exceptional martial arts skills, able to defeat three or four large men at once. He also served in the army, achieved military merit, and even held a minor official position. He had hoped to revive his family's honor and rebuild their home, but later offended the son of a high-ranking military officer and was forced to resign and return to his village in shame. When he first returned, Zhao Feng felt extremely disheartened. Thanks to the encouragement of the village elder, he regained his confidence and started working as a hunter, becoming one of the few families in the village who could afford to eat meat every day.

  The village chief is a strict synonym in the hearts of Zhao Fei and his children, but he is also very kind. Moreover, it's worth mentioning that the village chief is not like ordinary farmers who are illiterate, on the contrary, the village chief is very knowledgeable in the eyes of the villagers. He had even gone out to study for a few years before and was the most cultured person in the village.

  "I wonder if this Zhao Yun is the same one from the Three Kingdoms. I remember a game that mentioned Zhao Yun having an older brother, but I forgot what his name was. But then again, it's just a game, who takes it seriously? Headache~~~" Zhao Fei rubbed his temples to relieve his tired brain.

  "But this Zhao Feng does seem to have some skills, and he's been through battles before. He must know more than others, I can try to ask him indirectly tomorrow. At least knowing something is better than being completely in the dark like now. Even if it's a chaotic world, I need to make some preparations. Although I've never had big ambitions, I want to live a stable life and achieve a modest prosperity. Otherwise, what's the point of crossing over and getting struck by lightning only to die in confusion? That would be embarrassing for a crosser like me."

  Thinking about this, Zhao Fei's face looked quite unsightly.

  "Whatever, I won't think about it anymore, time to sleep. This ancient era doesn't even have electricity, let alone computers or the internet. Every day is just eating and sleeping, and occasionally sunbathing... I'm starting to develop a pig-like habit. I should find something to do, Zhao Feng can be my stepping stone. First, follow Brother Feng to train my body, make it super strong, that way it'll be more convenient later."

  Zhao Fei muttered to himself in a low voice.

  Having made the decision, Zhao Fei fell asleep immediately. Drowsily accompanied by the flying mosquitoes all over the sky, Zhao Fei barely survived another night until the next morning. Early in the morning, Zhao Fei got up early.

  "Feier, how did you get up so early? Are you well-rested? Why don't you go back to rest for a while?" Li asked with concern as she saw Zhao Fei getting up so early.

  "Don't worry, Mother. I've already rested well. Yesterday, I met Zhao Feng at the village entrance. He saw how weak my physique is and said he'd come find me today to help me exercise and build up my strength a bit. So I got up early and was just about to head over." Seeing Li's kind expression, Zhao Fei felt an unusual warmth in his heart.

  "But..." Li looked at his son's frail body with some reluctance, stroking his son's delicate face, and choked back tears, unsure of what to say.

  "Mother, don't persuade me anymore, my mind is made up. I'm also a man in the family and can't always let you worry about me. My body will eventually have problems if it stays like this, so I think I need to exercise too. Don't worry, Mother, I'll be careful." Zhao Fei said firmly to Li Shi.

  "Alright...alright, but you have to take care of yourself, don't force it." Looking at Zhao Fei's determined expression, Li Shi nodded reluctantly, though her heart was filled with unease. Seeing her slightly sorrowful expression, she couldn't help but feel worried.

  "Goodbye, Auntie. I'll be off now. Feng Ge told me to come over early." With that, Zhao Fei turned around and ran out.

  "Hey! You're going out after eating, what's the hurry? How can you go on an empty stomach?" Mrs. Li followed Zhao Fei out.

  Zhao Fei didn't stop in his tracks, turning his head to say to Li's mother: "Don't worry, Mother, I'm not hungry yet, I can bear it." After speaking, he quickened his pace.

  Zhao Fei's home was not far from Zhao Feng's, so he didn't run many steps before arriving. When he came to the front of the courtyard, Zhao Fei bent over and panted heavily, looking extremely disheveled. After catching his breath, he took a few deep breaths, and then calmly pushed open the courtyard gate, finding Zhao Feng standing upright with his hands behind his back in the middle of the courtyard.

  "If he were to wear a long shirt, he would truly have the air of a martial arts master. And if he were to strike a pose like Wong Fei-hung, it would be even more perfect." Zhao Fei couldn't help but think this as she looked at Zhao Feng in the courtyard.

  "Brother Feng!" Zhao Fei greeted him and walked over to Zhao Feng's side.

  "I'm here." Zhao Feng's voice was low and piercing.

  "Uh-huh."

  "Are you ready? You have to know that once we start, there's no turning back."

  "Alright, I'm ready. Come on, Feng Ge. For my own sake (mainly for my own happiness), I can endure it." Zhao Fei nodded firmly. You should know that our classmate Zhao Fei is absolutely firm when it comes to righteousness.

  Zhao Feng nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad! Very good! You finally understand this point. Don't worry, I, your Wind Brother, will definitely train you well."

  "Alright, let's get started now. You should know that a person's physical quality generally includes strength, speed and endurance. Strength is the most basic aspect of physical quality. Training one's strength usually requires weight-bearing exercises, so today's first lesson is to have you bear weights. Wait for a moment, I'll go inside to find something." After saying this, Zhao Fei turned around and went back into the house, and soon the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets could be heard.

  "Is this searching for something or demolishing the house?" Zhao Fei couldn't help but think maliciously.

  After a while, Zhao Feng came out with several sandbags in hand.

  "Come on, tie it up. This was used by Little Cloud when she was 5 years old, after searching high and low, I think this one is the most suitable for you." Zhao Feng explained to Zhao Fei with a good heart, completely ignoring Zhao Fei's twisted face.

  "I'm already in my teens, but can I still not compare to 5-year-old Zhao Yun? What a pity..."

  "What's wrong, Little Fei? Tie it up." Zhao Feng reminded him as he saw Zhao Fei spacing out.

  "Uh-huh." He took the sandbag from Zhao Fei's hand, and with Zhao Feng's help, Zhao Fei tied the sandbags to his limbs one by one. After finishing, Zhao Fei moved his limbs a bit and felt an intense weight. Especially his hands, which almost couldn't be lifted up. "Was this really what Zhao Yun used when he was five years old?" This was the first thought that came into Zhao Fei's mind.

  Seeing Zhao Fei had already tied up the sandbag, Zhao Feng continued to explain.

  "From now on, without my permission, you can't take down your sandbag until I say so. No matter eating, walking or staying, it must be kept on."

  "Got it, Wind." Zhao Fei replied bitterly.

  "Feng Ge must have been very impressive when he joined the army, and he's been to many places, can you tell me about it? I've never even left Zhao Jia Village since I was a child, and I'm really curious about the outside world." Zhao Fei asked with a curious expression.

  "It's really big outside, I've also seen a small part of it..." Zhao Fei's face was filled with a nostalgic expression.

  "Uh... Brother Feng, can I sit down and talk to you? I'm a bit tired..." Just then, Zhao Fei's face turned bright red as he interrupted Zhao Feng's contemplation, looking like a bride-to-be who was extremely shy.

  Zhao Feng helplessly shook his head, "You little scamp, how can I praise you?! Alright then. You sit down and rest for a while first."

  Ignoring Zhao Feng's expression, he got permission and sat down on the ground with a thud. He looked up at Zhao Feng and asked, "Brother Feng, do you know what era and year it is now?"

  Zhao Feng looked at Zhao Fei in surprise, wondering why he had asked this question, but still honestly replied: "Now according to the rules it should be Guangyuan Year One."

  "How many years is it since the Guangyuan year?" Zhao Fei hastily asked back.

  "What are you talking about, Little Fei? What year of the Gregorian calendar?" Zhao Feng was very puzzled in his heart and had no idea what Zhao Fei was saying.

  "Uh... never mind." Zhao Fei was taken aback, feeling very self-reproachful. "Look at my broken mouth, when I get anxious, I say whatever comes out. Now there's no way to take it back, and modern words just slip out when I'm in a hurry."

  "Really nothing?" Zhao Feng asked with a puzzled expression. "I see that your complexion is poor, is there something wrong?"

  "It's really nothing, I was just talking nonsense. By the way, Wind Brother, Cloud Brother went where? I haven't seen him anywhere?" Zhao Fei hastily changed the subject, seeing that things were not going well.

  "Xiao Yun has gone to the mountains to learn martial arts, didn't you know that? Xiao Fei, why are all your words so strange today?" Zhao Feng asked in puzzlement.

  "This... this... that I didn't suddenly faint and hit my head, so it's a bit confusing. Ah, Feng Ge, who is Yun Ge learning martial arts from? Can't your skills teach Yun Ge?" Zhao Fei responded with a tense expression, muttering to himself.

  "It's all over and I'm getting more and more depressed. Why is my mouth so stupid?" Zhao Fei thought to himself with endless regret.

  "I don't have that kind of ability, what I have are just some old tricks passed down from my ancestors and experience learned in the army, it can't be considered martial arts. At most, it's just good for strengthening the body and giving soldiers a few more ways to save their lives. But if you want to talk about Xiaoyun's master, he is indeed a true master of martial arts. He is known as the Penglai Gun God Wanderer, called Tong..."

  "Call Tong Yuan," Zhao Fei hastily interjected.

  "Right, his name is Tong Yuan. He saw that Xiao Yun had a unique bone structure and was highly perceptive, plus he was diligent. So he took Xiao Yun as his closed-door disciple and hid him in Changshan, ten miles outside the village, to teach him martial arts." As he spoke, Zhao Feng revealed a satisfied expression.

  "Alright, stop mentioning Xiao Yun. You've been sitting here for a long time. Are you here to let me train you or listen to my stories? If you want to know about Xiao Yun's affairs, go ask him yourself. His relationship with you is closer than with me."

  After listening to Zhao Feng's words, Zhao Fei's expression was first bewildered, then slightly excited, and a little disappointed, finally becoming determined. "I didn't expect that I really crossed over into the Three Kingdoms era, this is the one I like the most and yearn for, but also the most chaotic of times." Shaking his head, Zhao Fei stood up.

  "Of course I'm used to training, starting with Feng Ge, I have no problem."

  "Alright, let's go." Zhao Feng nodded.