His breathing was heavy.

Amidst the rugged mountain path, Chen Ji waded through weeds and bushes, constantly looking back over his shoulder.

Feng Huai, who had been trailing behind him, had vanished, and even Feng Lie with his great axe was nowhere to be seen.

He gripped the “Whale” in his hand, then suddenly abandoned the path and dove into the woods, concealing himself in the dense shadows of the tree canopy.

However, just as Chen Ji looked back again, a flash of blade light erupted from the tree canopy ahead of him, like a ribbon pulled from the Milky Way, striking down towards his head.

The whistling wind was accompanied by a sharp hiss.

Chen Ji instinctively raised his blade to block, but before he could fully raise it, the tip of Feng Huai’s blade was already resting on his brow.

In the silence, the blade tip did not descend.

Chen Ji breathed heavily, recalling everything that had just happened.

He didn’t know when Feng Huai had hidden in the trees, nor how Feng Huai could have guessed he would take this path.

He felt like a novice at a board game, every move anticipated by his opponent.

Feng Huai’s face was smeared with grass stains, and his body was bound with branches. His blade tip remained motionless, without the slightest tremor. “The King only allowed us to fight on the mountaintop before to protect you, so that we would only compete in skill. But true combat involves more than just skill.”

Chen Ji mused, “Combat?”

Feng Huai asked gravely, “What is combat?”

Before Chen Ji could answer, he continued, “True combat means thinking like your enemy, anticipating their moves. It means utilizing everything at your disposal: mountains, rivers, trees, and human nature. It means ending the other person’s life.”

As he spoke, Feng Huai withdrew his blade and slowly retreated into the woods behind him. Before disappearing into the shadows, he softly said, “Teacher, you taught us all this back then. Now it’s my turn to teach you.”

Only then did Chen Ji realize that Feng Huai’s strength extended beyond mere swordsmanship, and that the true combat had only just begun.

From noon until evening, Chen Ji was ambushed by Feng Huai again and again.

His opponent, like a ghost, displayed the culmination of his life’s learning to its fullest.

He would be killed walking in the woods, killed walking by the river, and even in open ground, he would be surrounded and killed by Feng Huai and Feng Lie.

Sometimes Feng Huai clung to trees like bark; other times he drifted like a piece of driftwood in the river, embodying whatever role was needed. He had effectively transformed the entire mountain into a terrifying, ghostly presence.

This time, however, Feng Huai did not deliver the killing blow. Instead, he stopped just short of it, time and again, leaving Chen Ji alone to recall every detail of the encounter.

At one point, Chen Ji walked into an open area and looked back towards the mountaintop.

Xuanyuan stood quietly at the highest point, leaning on his royal banner, gazing down at him. The expression on his face was indiscernible, whether mockery or pity.

“Chen Ji, wake up. Chen Ji!”

Someone slapped Chen Ji on the shoulder, and he instantly stood up, instinctively swinging the ‘Whale’ in his hand, slashing towards his left.

In that instant, as he swung his blade and raised his hand, he was still in the dense shadows of the forest.

But when his arm came down, he was back in the fading sunset of Yichuan County town. His hand was empty.

Chen Ji hesitated, then looked down and around. Mr. Wang, Bai Li, the Prince, and Chen Wenzong – an entire cartload of people – were sitting in the ox cart, staring up at him in a daze.

Bai Li’s hand, which had patted his shoulder, was still suspended in mid-air.

The ox cart had stopped, and beside them was the ‘Xiying’ Inn.

The old two-story wooden gatehouse looked rather ancient.

Wang Daosheng scrutinized Chen Ji for a moment, then asked, “Had a nightmare?”

Chen Ji quickly affirmed, “Yes, sir, I just had a nightmare.”

Wang Daosheng smiled. “You must not have rested well. We’ll stay at this inn later, and everyone should get some early rest.”

At this moment, several innkeepers from the establishment came out with smiles. “Please come in, esteemed guests.”

Zhang Xia asked, “Do you have hot water?”

The innkeeper quickly replied, “Yes, yes, it’s heating in the backyard. A pot of hot water costs two *wen*.”

Zhang Xia casually asked, “Do you have bean feed for the horses?”

The innkeeper said with a smile, “Yes, we do. Your magnificent steed is truly impressive and divine; it must have the best bean feed.”

Zhang Xia casually tossed the horse whip to the innkeeper and said with a smile, “You’ve got a way with words.”

The innkeeper fumbled to catch the whip, then bowed and led them inside.

Before entering, Chen Ji instinctively surveyed the surroundings, scanning every corner and crevice, terrified that Feng Huai might suddenly appear from somewhere.

Bai Li asked curiously, “Chen Ji, what are you looking around for?”

Chen Ji came to his senses, secretly amused that Feng Huai’s ambush had given him such a psychological complex.

On the first floor of the inn, several Eight Immortals tables were casually placed, with a few groups of guests eating. The guest rooms were on the second floor.

Perhaps due to Chen Ji’s overly tense nerves, the moment he stepped over the inn’s threshold, he felt that all the diners were looking his way, whether intentionally or not.

Chen Ji rubbed his temples. Was he simply too cautious, leading to a misunderstanding?

As he rubbed his temples, he lowered his head and scrutinized all the diners from the corner of his eye.

It was no misunderstanding.

These people had wine on their tables, but no one had taken a sip. Their eyes were clear, and their expressions were normal.

Most importantly, every one of these diners had a short knife hidden in their sleeve.

Others might not have noticed, but Chen Ji could.

He stepped forward and gently tugged on Wang Daosheng’s arm. “Sir, this inn seems a bit unclean. Let’s find another one.”

Wang Daosheng paused, “Oh?”

The innkeeper behind the counter quickly came out, feigning a smile. “You jest, esteemed guest. For miles around, our Xiying Inn is absolutely the best. Large merchants traveling north and south to Yichuan County town always stay here.”

Chen Wenxiao turned to Chen Ji, scoffing, “You don’t have the life of a young master, but you’ve picked up their airs. This inn is perfectly fine. None of us are complaining, yet you are?”

Chen Ji ignored him and looked at Wang Daosheng instead. “Sir?”

Wang Daosheng gave him a deep look, then thought for a moment and said, “Let’s find another one over there.”

With that, he turned and walked out, without any hesitation.

However, they walked for two *li* along the long street until dusk, finding only three inns. Without exception, all three were fully booked, with people even staying in the stables. Most were likely heading to Mount Lu Hun Villa to observe the literary gathering.

Chen Wenxiao complained, “Let’s hurry back to Xiying Inn, or we won’t even have a place there. Chen Ji, if you’re going to act up, don’t drag everyone down with you, alright? You can’t even handle this much hardship. I think Imperial Physician Yao spoils you too much.”

Bai Li frowned. “Why are your words so unpleasant? That inn really wasn’t clean.”

Just then, Wang Daosheng suddenly turned and asked Chen Ji, “You weren’t changing inns just because it was ‘unclean,’ were you? Tell me the real reason.”

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, but ultimately voiced his concern: “Just now in the inn, many of the guests were carrying short knives, which seemed suspicious.”

Chen Wenxiao suddenly burst out laughing. “It seems you haven’t traveled much, have you? What’s wrong with carrying a knife?”

Prince Jing also chuckled. “I thought it was something serious. These days, it’s perfectly normal to carry a knife when traveling far. Even if you don’t encounter mountain bandits or robbers, you still need to guard against local extortionists.”

As he spoke, Prince Jing pulled a short knife from his sleeve.

Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao also took out short knives from their cloth bundles.

Even Zhang Xia drew a dagger from his boot.

Chen Ji: …

He had noticed Prince Jing carrying a knife, but he hadn’t expected everyone else to be carrying them too.

Chen Ji couldn’t think of a retort at that moment, so he cupped his hands and said, “My apologies, I overreacted.”

Wang Daosheng shook his head. “It’s alright. When traveling, it’s better to be cautious than to make a big mistake. This literary gathering at Mount Lu Hun Villa has attracted too many outsiders. If we don’t stay at Xiying Inn, we’ll truly be sleeping on the streets tonight.”

Chen Ji hummed in agreement. “Then we’ll stay at Xiying Inn.”

The group returned to the inn, and the innkeeper greeted them with a smile as before.

Chen Ji looked around. The diners from before had all disappeared.

He cupped his hands towards the innkeeper and said, “I apologize for any offense earlier. I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

The innkeeper, smiling widely, said, “What are you talking about? We’re in business; how can we be afraid of guests pointing out flaws? Please, feel free to stay. Our Xiying Inn is very clean.”

Wang Daosheng asked, “Innkeeper, how many rooms are left?”

The innkeeper pointed to the second floor and said, “Only one ‘Heaven’ class superior room and one ‘Yellow’ class dormitory room are left.”

Chen Wenxiao raised his voice, “Dormitory? When have *we* ever stayed in a dormitory? Innkeeper… do we look like people who stay in dormitories? We have…”

He was about to say that none other than Prince Jing was among them, but Chen Wenzong promptly stopped him, politely asking, “Innkeeper, I remember when we first came in, you said there were many rooms available?”

The innkeeper looked troubled. “If you had stayed directly just now, there would have been three ‘Heaven’ class rooms available. But in the short time you were out, more merchants arrived to settle in.”

Chen Wenxiao frowned. “I’ll go talk to them. Since they’re going to Luocheng for business, they’ll surely give us some face.”

However, Wang Daosheng simply raised his hand to stop him. “It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. A dormitory is fine. As long as there’s a place to sleep. Bai Li and Zhang Xia can take the ‘Heaven’ class room. The rest of us will take the dormitory.”

Inns these days were often like large compounds, with the front building for lodging, and the back courtyard featuring hitching posts, watering troughs, and countless piles of goods belonging to traveling merchants.

Single rooms were rare in inns; most were dormitories prepared for merchants and horse teams.

One room would accommodate fifteen to twenty people.

Inns commonly used the characters ‘Heaven’, ‘Earth’, ‘Mysterious’, and ‘Yellow’ to name their rooms. ‘Heaven’ designated the best rooms, while ‘Yellow’ always referred to the most chaotic dormitories.

Chen Ji looked at the innkeeper. “Innkeeper, is there really no way to free up another ‘Heaven’ class room?”

The innkeeper shook his head. “Guest, I genuinely cannot spare another.”

Chen Ji’s heart sank. All the inns in Yichuan County town were full. Only Xiying Inn had rooms, which most likely meant they were waiting for someone.

If they were indeed the last group of guests, it implied that they were the very people the other party was waiting for.

But why couldn’t Prince Jing and Wang Daosheng see this?

The innkeeper led them upstairs and, upon reaching the ‘Yellow’ class dormitory door, gently pushed it open.

The room was dark and cavernous. On the large dormitory bed, big enough for over twenty people, several guests were already asleep under their blankets. Snores filled the room, and the smell of unwashed feet assaulted them.

Chen Ji said softly, “I apologize, sir. I delayed us, which is why you have to stay in a place like this.”

Before he could finish, he saw that both Wang Daosheng and Prince Jing had walked in as if nothing were amiss.

Wang Daosheng replied with a smile, “When leading troops in the field, the greatest wish was simply a mattress and a blanket. The smell of those soldiers was countless times worse than this. It’s fine.”

Prince Jing also chuckled. “I’ve also led troops; I’m no worse off than Mr. Wang.”

Late into the night.

Chen Ji lay on the dormitory bed, sleeping in his clothes, without even a blanket covering him.

He closed his eyes but did not wish to sleep, merely listening to the intermittent snoring.

Outside the window, a night watchman passed by, calling out, “The weather is dry, be careful with fire.”

Just then, a rustling sound came from the room, as if someone was getting up.

Chen Ji slightly opened his eyes and saw Prince Jing quietly leaving the room.

Outside the door, someone softly said, “This way, please. The Lord is already waiting for you in the backyard.”