Chapter 114: Invitation

The glaze shuttled back and forth among the children like a stream of water, causing bursts of shrill screams.

Standing under the tree, Seeing Pei Ye suddenly had a thought—when he and Zhu Gaoyang were catching it that day, were they the only ones having fun?

Miss Ming probably wouldn't play this kind of game with it, right?

Seeing Pei Ye watched it float slowly in front of the children, as if it were trying to invite playmates after getting a taste of the fun, and couldn't help but have some new understanding of this famous sword.

At this moment, a broad figure passed through his field of vision. Seeing Pei Ye looked up and saw Master Huang hurrying toward the courtyard gate, already smiling and cupping his hands.

Following his direction, Chang Zhiyuan was smiling and standing in front of the courtyard gate.

"Why does Lord Chang have time to come over?" Master Huang reached out to help the old man into the courtyard.

"I heard little Pei was here, and I have something to find him for," Chang Zhiyuan said gently. He looked much more composed at this moment; his clothes were neat, his white hair was meticulously tied in a crown, his temples were clean and tidy, no longer the busy and disheveled mess from before.

It was just that this old body had long passed the age where one could be full of energy after a good sleep following hard work; even though he had rested for several days, his complexion still looked somewhat weak.

Hearing this, Master Huang looked at Seeing Pei Ye, and Seeing Pei Ye was already walking over.

"What is it, Uncle Chang?" Seeing Pei Ye stood beside the two elders.

"I was thinking, if you have nothing else to do here, would you like to go to the prefecture city earlier?"

"Earlier? When?"

"Tomorrow."

Seeing Pei Ye was stunned: "Tomorrow? Why so urgent?"

"It's not urgent," Chang Zhiyuan said, "it's just a good thing you should be able to use."

He fished a letter out of his bosom and handed it to Seeing Pei Ye: "This morning, when I was saying goodbye to Bai Sibing in the prefecture, I mentioned you when talking about this martial competition. Bai Sibing wrote a note, saying you could take this note to a large martial arts hall in the prefecture to practice for ten-plus days—this martial arts hall opens a courtyard specifically one month before every martial competition to recruit twenty-some people to teach the content of the martial competition."

"I have already asked Master Huang for advice on the martial competition, Uncle Chang."

Chang Zhiyuan shook his head: "It's not that; Master Huang can only tell you about the martial competition itself, but this martial arts hall will help you understand your opponents in this martial competition—down to the individual. It even includes demonstrations of the martial arts and fighting styles of the disciples from the three sects: White Bamboo Pavilion, Cuiyu Sword Gate, and Seven Serpents Cave."

"... There's such a thing?" Seeing Pei Ye was somewhat surprised.

"That's the business they're in," Chang Zhiyuan said, "How about it, do you want to go? I think it should be useful; you've never left the county, so you must know nothing about the opponents from the three sects."

That was true; Seeing Pei Ye indeed knew nothing.

"Go, of course I'll go!" Before Seeing Pei Ye could speak, Master Huang looked at him and said, "Why not go? Although this won't be of much benefit to your cultivation, it will be of great use for this martial competition."

"It's just..." He looked at Chang Zhiyuan, "Lord Chang, I've heard of such groups before, and the cost seems to be quite high."

Chang Zhiyuan laughed: "It is very expensive, twelve taels of silver per person, and they don't accept anyone below the Third Life Realm. However, don't we have Bai Sibing's favor?"

He pointed to the letter in Seeing Pei Ye's hand: "No need to spend money; you can enter once you go."

"How about it, little Pei?"

Seeing Pei Ye nodded slowly; this was indeed something with only benefits and no harm.

"Then, that's fine..." He pondered, "Should I go back and pack now?"

"Ah~~~"

Before the two elders could speak, the children who had been eavesdropping on the side let out a wail first.

"No! Brother Pei still has to train with us!"

"Yeah... we agreed..."

Master Huang turned his head, rarely showing that gentle expression he once had: "Alright, your Brother Pei isn't leaving forever. After the martial competition is over, he can come back and practice martial arts with you all. The martial competition is serious business; how did I teach you before? You must distinguish between what is light and what is heavy, what is urgent and what is slow."

"You also taught us before that we must keep our word."

"Exactly!"

"I—" Master Huang's eyes widened, "Are you all finished training? Go and practice the Opening Door Sword ten more times for me!"

Seeing Pei Ye looked at these children with some guilt; he knew that even if he returned from the martial competition, there wouldn't be time to train together, and he might not even be able to stay for a single day before following Ming Qitian to the Divine Capital.

Watching them walk away with their heads down and dragging their feet, Seeing Pei Ye suddenly had an idea: "That—"

The children looked back at him.

"How about this, Master Huang, I'll treat everyone to go watch the Jin Qiu Wu Bi!" Seeing Pei Ye said.

"..."

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

The first to erupt again were the children's screams, but Master Huang's voice was louder: "Go watch what?! Quiet!! Go practice your swords!"

After roaring, he grabbed Seeing Pei Ye and walked to the side, frowning at him and saying in a low voice: "Talking nonsense in the heat of the moment, what are you going to use to treat them?"

"Treat them to watch the martial competition," this sentence sounded quite strange, because the Jin Qiu Wu Bi wasn't covered, so one didn't need to buy seats close to the ring; one could see it standing in the back.

Countless prefecture city commoners watched it this way.

But for Fenghuai, going to watch the Jin Qiu Wu Bi was a threshold-crossing event—hundreds of miles of winding mountain roads, food and lodging in an unfamiliar place, these were all expenses.

"I have money," Seeing Pei Ye said.

"What money do you have left? Selling that little courtyard of yours?" Master Huang said, "I went to Cheng Feng's house the day before yesterday, and his parents said you gave away all your money. You don't know how money traps people until you leave home; when you arrive in a place where you have no relatives, and you have no money in your hands, that is 'difficult to move,' do you know—it means it's hard to even take a step."

"I borrowed twenty taels from someone," Seeing Pei Ye said, "I'll just keep one or two taels, and use the rest to let the children see the world. I remember you all calculated taking us to see it once back then, but in the end, there wasn't enough money and we didn't go."

"Who did you borrow it from?"

"He returned to the Divine Capital."

"..." Master Huang was silent for a while, "I'll think about this matter again—I'll go list the expenses first."

After saying this, he turned and strode back into the house, leaving Seeing Pei Ye and Chang Zhiyuan there.

"Master Huang said you could reach what ranking." The old man smiled with kind wrinkles.

"Top eight, he said," Seeing Pei Ye said.

"Haha, then what do you say yourself?"

"I think... top four, perhaps."

"Oh?" Chang Zhiyuan was slightly surprised, "So humble?"

"You asked what ranking I could reach, not what ranking I want to take."

"Haha, then I suppose I don't need to ask what ranking you want to take." Chang Zhiyuan laughed, then restrained his expression slightly and sighed, "Actually, if I were to say, you can stop fighting once you reach the top sixteen."

"Why?"

"Because you have high talent," Chang Zhiyuan said, "If you can't take it in the autumn competition, you can wait for the winter competition, the spring competition, or if that really doesn't work, you can even wait for the second year—you'll only be eighteen then. Fighting for your life at this time is too unsafe."

Seeing Pei Ye was silent.

These words were not false, but faced with this martial competition, he could rely on his talent to drag out time to secure a victory, but what about when he reached the Divine Capital where geniuses were rampant?

If those equally talented people didn't wait, how could he feel at ease squandering this time?

"It's just my thought." Chang Zhiyuan clearly understood this truth as well and shook his head. Just as he was about to continue speaking, a violent cough interrupted him.

Seeing Pei Ye supported the old man's stooped body and helped pat his back.

"No matter, just a little cold," Chang Zhiyuan straightened up, waved his hand, and said.

Seeing Pei Ye frowned slightly: "A cold can be big or small; you can't underestimate it when you're old."

"I know, Master Xing left me some pills before leaving; I've been taking them these past few days and feel much better."

Seeing Pei Ye felt slightly relieved.

"You haven't been to the prefecture city yet, have you?" Chang Zhiyuan laughed.

Seeing Pei Ye shook his head; he was a native little country bumpkin who had never left Fenghuai for a single step. At this moment, he looked up and imagined: "What does the prefecture city look like?"

"Actually, if I were to say, it's just a Fenghuai several times larger," Chang Zhiyuan walked to a stool and sat down gently, "But it will definitely be different for you. The prefecture city has too many things Fenghuai has never heard of; it's much more exciting."

"For example?"

"For example... for example, there's no end to the examples. You'll know once you go. All kinds of pavilions, all kinds of people, and countless places to spend silver." Chang Zhiyuan laughed.

Thanks to the generous boss Xiao Bai for the reward!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 115 =====