Chapter 331: 340 Whose Youth Is This

Zhongtian Prefecture is the provincial capital of Yunzhou, located in Zhengyang Jun at the very center of Yunzhou, surrounded by the four Juns of Dong Mountain, Dansheng, Riyang, and Yuxia.

A few years ago, this place was still called "Yunzhong Prefecture." Later, the Gaoyuan Marquis reorganized the city's defenses and expanded the city walls here, officially renaming it "Zhongtian Prefecture." After several years of renovation, the city walls are high, the moats are deep, the population has grown, and all industries are flourishing, making it the undisputed premier city of Yunzhou.

Zhongtian Prefecture was built along the water. To the north of the city, the Tongyang River circles most of the city wall, serving as the prefecture's water source and a natural barrier. This great river has a peculiar feature: its water is warm all year round, like a hot spring. Even in the Northern Territory, it never freezes, nourishing thousands of households through all four seasons; it is a river gifted to Yunzhou by Heaven.

Travelers coming to Zhongtian Prefecture from the north must cross the Tongyang River to enter the city. The river, dozens of zhang wide, has not a single bridge spanning it. The official ferry on the river is busy all year round, bustling with noise and excitement; ordinary merchants have to wait at least half a day for a ferry boat.

Fortunately, Tang Zhao's party had official travel documents from Jichun City and, bearing the identity of the Jiandisi, crossed the river on a military transport ship at a military ferry a few miles away from the official one. On the other side of the river was a sparse forest. A small path split the area in two: one half was a military restricted zone, while the other was an ordinary suburban forest. Walking along that path leads directly to Zhongtian Prefecture.

By this time, their party of four had been traveling for ten days or so. Although there was no great exhaustion, they were inevitably a bit tired. Seeing that Zhongtian Prefecture was close at hand and the journey was clearly nearing its end, most of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Zhongnan, however, could not help but sigh and lament, wishing only that the journey were longer. Tang Zhao comforted him, saying, "If Brother does not want to go back, you can help us look after the site selection and branch preparations for White Jade Brilliance in the city; that could surely drag things out for a year or a year and a half."

Xu Zhongnan sighed, "I cannot stay that long, unless I truly intend to pack up and leave. Under the State Preceptor, there are many monks but little porridge; it is not easy for me to hold a position, and in the end, I cannot bear to let it go."

Just as they were speaking, they heard someone shouting and running over from behind.

Two young men, at most sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing simple martial attire, came running from the small path. They passed by them at a considerable speed. It looked as if they had been running for a long time; they were drenched in sweat and their breathing was growing heavy, but their momentum had not dissipated, and their steps remained steady.

Tang Zhao let out an "Oh," and said, "They are young men from the Jiandisi Training Camp."

Xue Yeyu said, "You recognize them?"

Tang Zhao was also a member of the Jiandisi, so he naturally recognized the Training Camp uniform. He said, "I recognize it. I almost went to the Training Camp for training myself."

If it hadn't been for the discovery that he could force the Sword Seed out of his body, and having Zhuoyu Villa as an alternative, Xing Ji would have put him in the Training Camp back then. His life's trajectory might have been different.

Thinking about it carefully, going to Zhuoyu Villa was more suitable for him. His ability to study and the cheat in his Glasses were better suited for scholarship. Going to the Training Camp, not to mention whether he could stand out, he certainly could not have become a Sword Guest at that age.

"It's a pity it's no longer suitable for me to go now. I quite wanted to have a real school experience; I probably won't have the chance again, right?"

As he said this, one of the two youths who had already run ahead turned his head back, seemingly wanting to say something. The youth beside him pulled him and said, "What for?"

The first youth had a pair of leopard eyes like copper bells and said, "This brat's words are infuriating. What 'not suitable to go,' what 'school experience'—it's as if our Training Camp is his family's private school, and he can just enter if he wants to. I want to have a word with him."

The latter youth was taller than him and a year or two older. His forehead was quite large, and although he wasn't balding, it looked a bit sparse. He laughed, "Are you stupid? What did the Teacher say? Don't look for trouble, but don't fear it either. That brat sounds like he's climbed a high branch and surpassed the Training Camp, so he's showing off there. If you go up and talk to him, he'll just happen to throw his status in your face. He'll have successfully acted the big shot, and you'll have become the clown on the stage."

The short youth snorted, "You think he's a child of a powerful family who came in through the back door?"

The latter youth said, "What else? Don't look at how unremarkable he's dressed; he's likely deliberately wearing plain clothes to play the 'pig eating the tiger.' YoungMasters love that sort of thing."

The short one said, "But we haven't lacked children of powerful families in our camp, have we? Those with good backgrounds but poor grades still get eliminated just the same; it's not like we haven't seen that."

The tall one said, "Those are the ones willing to endure hardship, or at least willing to pretend. The one behind is the type who isn't even willing to pretend."

The two of them went back and forth, seemingly talking among themselves, but they didn't lower their voices, nor did they speed up to shake off Tang Zhao and the others. Every word was heard clearly.

Tang Zhao was slightly embarrassed, but Xu Zhongnan suddenly laughed out loud and said, "These two kids are quite interesting. 'Don't look for trouble, but don't fear it'... If they mock you and you can't stand it and take the initiative to strike, then you are the one looking for trouble, and they certainly won't fear it."

Tang Zhao realized, "You mean they are holding back to fight me?"

Xu Zhongnan said with a grin, "What do you think? You brat, your words are a bit infuriating."

Tang Zhao laughed out loud and said, "I meant no malice, perhaps I was a bit abrupt. But if we really must fight, that is fine too, though it would be a bit like bullying the weak."

The previous sentence was unintentional, but now, saying this was intentional. Xu Zhongnan raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking to himself that this Tang Shidi had quite a temper.

As these words were spoken, both youths stopped in their tracks, as if waiting for him to pass.

Wei Se glanced at Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao shook his head with a smile. Originally, he was just bored and happened to want to test the level of the Jiandisi Training Camp disciples. Good heavens, letting Wei Se go up would be a bit too much like a blood feud. He reined in his horse and moved forward himself.

If it's a fight, then it's a fight; if it's bullying the weak, then it's bullying the weak. In any case, judging by their ages, he wasn't bullying the young.

Before he could walk over, someone came running from the path ahead. It was also a youth, slightly older than them, also wearing simple martial attire, but he was in a green robe with a black vest over it, and a Waist Token hanging at his waist. He shouted, "Why are you two still dawdling? Running is a disciplinary lesson, not an invitation for you to go on a leisurely outing."

At a glance at the newcomer's attire, Tang Zhao knew he was also from the Jiandisi Training Camp. He was not a student, and likely not an instructor either. He was probably a Teaching Assistant of some sort, because he saw a token hanging from the youth's waist. That should be the mark of a Training Camp graduate, but he only had one hanging.

Generally, a new generation of orthodox Jiandisi personnel should have two tokens: one white, representing graduation from the Training Camp, and another black, representing employment in the Jiandisi. Tang Zhao only had a black one and would never have a white one in the future, while the other party only had a white one, clearly not yet employed.

For some reason, Tang Zhao found this youth somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him before. However, it was the kind of familiarity where they were strangers, at most a one-time encounter.

As soon as the two youths saw the newcomer, they stood straight and said, "Pei Zhujiao, we are running."

That Pei senior looked serious and scanned them, saying, "Why did you stop running? And why did you turn around to face others? Did you see a thief and need to bring them to justice, or did you see injustice on the road and need to draw your sword to help? It couldn't be that you were looking for trouble to start a fight, could it?"

The two youths lowered their heads in silence for a moment. The leopard-eyed youth wanted to say something, but the big-foreheaded one pulled him, signaling him not to speak. Pei Zhujiao said with a stern face, "If you want to cause trouble, take off this uniform first. In any case, you've persisted until now; do you really intend to give up halfway? Don't make me look down on you. There are two months left; give me an honest effort to prepare for the final test and see it through to the end. Once you are out, I won't care how much trouble you cause."

The two youths lowered their heads and said in unison, "Yes."

That Pei Zhujiao shouted, "Run—march."

The two youths didn't say a word and ran off quickly.

Pei Zhujiao turned his head to look at Tang Zhao, a trace of doubt in his eyes, seemingly also finding Tang Zhao somewhat familiar. But he immediately stiffened his face and said bluntly, "Zhongtian Prefecture is to the east; to the west is the Jiandisi Training Camp. No idlers allowed; violators will bear the consequences."

Tang Zhao cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, Brother Pei."

Mentioning Pei, he remembered. The Pei Family of Heiyang County, that is, Pei Shoujing's family. Back then, the Pei Family fled to the deep mountains to take refuge, just in time to encounter the fall of the Heavenly Demon, suffering a catastrophe. At that time, Tang Zhao and his group were receiving the children who had suffered the disaster to evacuate, and there was a Pei-surnamed youth who fought side-by-side with him. But later, he was the first to go down, and he didn't know what happened to that youth.

Could he have been absorbed into the Jiandisi as well?

He could recall this past event and match the person because that youth was fifteen or sixteen at the time. Now, four years later, he was exactly around twenty. His appearance had changed somewhat, but he could still be recognized. And Tang Zhao had grown from twelve to sixteen, so his appearance had changed a lot; the Pei Family youth clearly didn't recognize him either. Seeing that Tang Zhao was quite polite and didn't look like someone looking for a fight, he thought the previous incident was just a misunderstanding, so he gave a slight gesture and turned to leave.

Tang Zhao didn't start a conversation to reminisce; after all, there was nothing to reminisce about. If a suitable opportunity arose in the future, they could chat. The past events in Heiyang County were a very precious memory for him.

By the way, he also had a friend, Wei Zhangle. Calculating it, he should be in the same class as this Pei Zhujiao. He wondered if they knew each other?

According to Xing Ji, Wei Zhangle ultimately made a more risky decision, performing dangerous missions to earn merit in exchange for the chance to obtain a sword, and was currently lurking in a dangerous area. He wondered how he was doing now?

After this small interlude, the four of them didn't encounter anyone else and arrived at the city of Zhongtian Prefecture all the way. The city gate was indeed strictly guarded just like Jichun City; anyone slightly suspicious would not be allowed to enter the city and might even be taken away for strict interrogation. Tang Zhao and his party had complete identities and official status, so no one made things difficult for them.

Once inside Zhongtian Prefecture, the city was bustling with traffic and very prosperous. The streets were clean, the shops were flourishing, and it was a good place to live and work in peace. There was no need to ask for directions in the city; following the wide and bustling main road would lead directly to the Gaoyuan Marquis Mansion.

Compared to the street scene in the city, the Gaoyuan Marquis Mansion was not exactly opulent or magnificent. It occupied a large area, and the etiquette and rituals were all in order, but otherwise, it was just "spacious." However, the guards of the Hou Mansion were exceptionally elite; even a small soldier on guard was full of Spirit, with glowing eyes, clearly having a foundation in both Internal and External Arts, at least a Knight-Errant.

Tang Zhao recorded his identity according to the rules and requested an audience with the Gaoyuan Marquis, and someone led them to the entrance hall to wait.

Just as they entered the side door, before they reached the entrance hall, someone came out from the mansion, dressed in a Confucian robe, looking refined and scholarly.

Tang Zhao was startled; he actually recognized him and greeted, "Zhang Xiansheng!"

It turned out this person was Zhang Rong. It had been half a year since they parted in Xun City, and he saw him here again. When they parted, Zhang Rong had been personally invited by the Gaoyuan Marquis to be a guest at the Hou Mansion, and Zhang Rong also had the intention of choosing a master, so it was not strange to see him here.

At this time, Zhang Rong was still dressed as a commoner, not wearing any official uniform, but he walked in and out of the Hou Mansion as if strolling in a courtyard, standing out from the crowd of officials, his status transcendent.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Rong saw Tang Zhao, he smiled and said, "I knew you were coming, and I've been waiting for you. You arrived later than I thought. Alright, since you're here, the Marquis is free now; you don't need to wait, come in with me."