Walking at the back of the procession was Ma Lilian, daughter of General Guide, who had practiced martial arts since childhood and disliked needlework. General Guide didn't mind; on the contrary, he was proud of it, often telling everyone, "I have no sons, but having a daughter like this is enough. Even a seven-foot-tall man might not be able to compare to my precious daughter."
Ma Lilian began practicing martial arts at seven, could wield a long spear at nine, was skilled in archery at eleven, and by fifteen could handle almost all eighteen weapons. Crucially, she achieved an excellent grade in the military strategy section of the martial arts academy's exam this year. No wonder General Guide boasted so proudly; having such a daughter was naturally a cause for celebration. While other families' sons couldn't get into the martial arts academy, General Guide's daughter was a renowned student.
Ma Lilian was petite, but had a straightforward and even somewhat fiery temper. Although she disliked Fang Jie's aloof attitude, she disliked Yuan Chengshi and Liu Shuang's behavior even more. She was only in this group out of necessity; after all, Master Mo Wanwu only wanted Fang Jie and Zhang Kuang.
What annoyed her even more was the woman clinging to Yuan Chengshi.
That woman was Niu Miao, the youngest daughter of Niu Huilun, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. This girl, in the scholarly Niu family, should have been virtuous and gentle, but her reputation in Chang'an was more renowned than some courtesans. It wasn't that she was promiscuous, but rather that she was somewhat bold and forthright, and her acquaintances weren't from wealthy families, but rather from noble families.
The sight of them strolling arm-in-arm was commonplace in Chang'an, and the people secretly called her Niu Huahua (Niu Flower).
Since meeting Yuan Chengshi at the Martial Arts Academy, this woman had been inseparable from him. The two women got along quite well, and Niu Huahua already considered herself the daughter-in-law of Yuan Chongwu, the Governor-General of Hebei. Their families were indeed well-matched; one's father was a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, holding immense prestige despite lacking real power. The other was a high-ranking official of the second rank, wielding the power of life and death over millions of people.
Ma Lilian disliked Niu Huahua, and Niu Huahua disliked her in return.
It's said that pure friendship between women is rare, and these two, let alone friendship, might have ended up fighting if not for fear of being ridiculed. Although Ma Lilian came from a military family and enjoyed martial arts, she was conservative and disapproved of women's promiscuity. Niu Huahua, on the other hand, came from a scholarly family and seemed to disregard gender.
Both women were remarkable.
There were only two female students in Class B, naturally making them the envy of all the men. Many fawned over them, but Fang Jie was not among them.
Niu Huahua initially found Fang Jie quite pleasing to the eye; at least in terms of appearance, he was much more handsome than Yuan Chengshi. Unfortunately, that guy was always silent and never even glanced at her, so how could she remain calm? A woman accustomed to being pampered and coaxed by men often feels inexplicable resentment when faced with a man who has no interest in her.
"Young Master Yuan, don't beat him too badly. Fang Jie is, after all, a favorite of His Majesty. If you beat him badly and he goes to His Majesty to complain, it will be a huge loss," Niu Huahua said with a smile.
Liu Shuang replied, "What? Our Miss Niu has a bit of a crush on that pretty boy?"
"You've got a crush on him!"
Niu Huahua immediately cursed, showing no mercy to Liu Shuang. Her father was a Grand Secretary, though without real power, he frequently met with the Emperor. Liu Shuang's father was the Prefect of Chuzhou, wielding considerable power, but as an official stationed outside the capital, he was still inferior to a Grand Secretary in the capital. In particular, Niu Huilun could kill Liu Shuang's father, but Liu Shuang's father couldn't deal with Grand Secretary Niu.
Furthermore, given the relationship between Niu Huahua and Yuan Chengshi, Liu Shuang couldn't say anything. Yuan Chongwu was the Governor-General of Hebei Province, bordering the Northwest. If the court were to launch a military campaign against the Northwest, Hebei Province would be a strategically vital location. The real power Yuan Chongwu held would obviously attract even more jealousy, and Liu Shuang, eager to curry favor with the Yuan family, dared not offend him.
After scolding Liu Shuang, Niu Huahua looked at Yuan Chengshi with seductive eyes and said, "I'm thinking of Young Master Yuan."
Yuan Chengshi nodded and said, "I understand, but there's no need to worry too much. His Majesty won't interfere in the competitions between the Martial Arts Academy, and injuries to losers are commonplace. If His Majesty were to intervene, it would seem unfair."
"I'm just worried about you,"
Niu Huahua said sweetly.
Yuan Chengshi waved his hand and said, "Let's go. Although we have a map, we're not familiar with the terrain, and we can't send scouts to explore. We can't delay any longer."
Liu Shuang nodded and spurred his horse, rushing out of the city gate. The sight of thirty students in the martial arts academy uniforms rushing out of the city attracted the attention of many passersby. The guards at the gate looked at the students with envy in their eyes. Anyone who could enter the martial arts academy had a bright future.
Shortly after leaving the city, they entered a mountain path. Yuan Chengshi occasionally turned back to give instructions, clearly the leader of the group. He was the most distinguished among the students, so the others had no objections. Ma Lilian was the daughter of General Guide, a fourth-rank military officer, far inferior to a second-rank governor.
She wasn't the type to take charge, so she simply followed behind silently.
"The master once said that assassination and ambush are also the duties of scouts. Let's keep our formation tight. After all, Fang Jie and Zhang Kuang are both border scouts. If anyone is ambushed, don't say I didn't warn them. For the sake of final victory, I absolutely will not send anyone to rescue them."
Yuan Chengshi shouted a few words, then looked at the towering mountains before him and muttered to himself, "So what if he's excellent in the Nine Gates? He's just a useless piece of trash who can't cultivate!"
...
...
When Yuan Chengshi's group entered the mountains, Fang Jie and his two companions were already fishing. Their speed far exceeded that of the main force, especially Mo Wanwu, who knew the route so well he didn't need to stop to check the map.
Crescent Moon Pool was deep in the mountains, in a flat area halfway up the mountain. Usually, pools in the mountains are at the summit or foot of the mountain, so it was strange that Crescent Moon Pool was halfway up. Moreover, Fang Jie looked for a long time but couldn't find any connection between the pool and any river; it was a stagnant pool.
As Mo Wanwu had said, the water in Crescent Moon Pool was icy cold. Without even touching it, a chilling aura emanated from the pool. Fang Jie tried dipping his hand in, and immediately shivered. The water was unbearably cold; logically, it should have frozen long ago, but for some reason, it hadn't, which seemed illogical.
The surface was as smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple.
Since it was stagnant water, it should be very dirty. After all, this pool had existed for who knows how many years; fallen leaves and weeds wouldn't be washed away by the wind. Fang Jie's understanding of stagnant water was that it was green, dirty, viscous, and murky—even flowing rivers in his previous life were similar. But this Crescent Moon Pool was clear and bright, without a single impurity. He could even see black-backed fish swimming in the water, completely unafraid of humans.
The six-gilled fish in this water hadn't seen anyone in a long time. Mo Wanwu simply made a fishing rod, hooked an earthworm he had brought, and cast it into the pool. Before long, a foot-long fish came to bite. Fang Jie remembered Mo Wanwu saying that the fish in this cold pool only grow to one foot long after a hundred years, meaning the fish he saw was already a centenarian.
"Sir, this pool has no connecting waterways, so why is it so clear?"
Fang Jie couldn't help but ask curiously.
"I don't know either."
Mo Wanwu picked up the foot-long, six-gilled fish and casually tossed it into the prepared fish basket. The large fish thrashed powerfully, even knocking the basket over. Zhang Kuang rushed to grab it, but the fish still managed to struggle free when he held it in his arms. This showed that a hundred years of cultivation wasn't entirely useless.
"Professor Qiu speculated back then that there might be a large hole at the bottom connecting to other waterways. That's why she risked going down into the water, but only managed to dive a few feet before giving up. Only someone with her temperament would have that kind of courage; I certainly wouldn't dare."
Mo Wanwu skillfully baited the hook again and cast the simple, even crude, fishing rod out once more: "But since this water is so clear, it might really be connected to somewhere else. If some incredibly bored cultivator were to dive down and investigate, they might be able to find the truth."
"Are there really such bored cultivators in this world?"
Zhang Kuang finally managed to subdue the fish, then did something foolish. He instinctively tied the fish up with a rope, thinking that would stop it from jumping around. Seeing his flustered state, Fang Jie couldn't help but laugh: "Even if you tie a bow, do you think you can tie up a fish?"
Zhang Kuang blushed, casually tossing the fish back into the basket, then using a large stone to hold the basket shut: "I was so focused on listening to you, sir, that I made a fool of myself."
He walked over and squatted down beside Mo Wanwu, watching him fish, waiting for Mo Wanwu's reply.
"What kind of status do great cultivators have? Why would they come here to do such pointless things?"
Mo Wanwu pursed his lips and said, "The great cultivators I'm talking about aren't just seventh or eighth-rank experts. To be called a great cultivator, one must at least have ninth-rank cultivation. Fang Jie, I know you've seen a few such great cultivators, but don't think that ninth-rank cultivators are as common as hairs on a cow… Because this is Chang'an, it's naturally easier to see ninth-rank supreme experts than elsewhere. Before I entered the Martial Arts Academy, I traveled all over half of Jiangnan and didn't encounter a single one."
Fang Jie hummed in agreement. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Are those who cultivate to the ninth rank the strongest in the world?"
"Who dares to say that!"
Mo Wanwu said, "There is no limit to learning, nor to martial arts. You see this mountain is already very high, but there will always be higher mountains in the world. And in places you may never reach in this lifetime, there may be peaks that reach straight into the clouds. The so-called ninth-rank supreme strength is because people don't know how to define those above the ninth rank, but... it doesn't mean they don't exist."
"Have you seen them, sir?"
"If there really are such people in the world... the Dean is definitely one."
Mo Wanwu replied.
"That old rascal..."
Fang Jie swallowed the last word and changed his words to, "That old rascal..."
"I pretend I didn't hear that."
Mo Wanwu smiled, "But what you said is absolutely correct."
Just then, Fang Jie and the others suddenly heard a crunching sound behind them. The three men quickly turned around to look, only to see Fang Jie's crimson horse had actually stuck its mouth into the fish basket, snatched out a six-gilled fish, and was eating it with great relish. This crimson horse wasn't afraid of getting pricked by the fish bones at all; its eyes were shining with excitement. No matter how you looked at it, the way it ate the fish didn't seem like a horse at all.
"This...is this weird?"
Fang Jie asked in surprise.
"That's your horse!"
Mo Wanwu and Zhang Kuang shouted in unison.
Fang Jie looked at the crimson horse, feeling that the way it ate the six-gilled fish was a bit strange. It was as if it had eaten it before, and its excitement seemed unusual.
"Damn it, I need bait to fish, but this broken horse of yours knows how to pick up bargains!"
Mo Wanwu said angrily, but when he mentioned bait, he subconsciously glanced at Fang Jie, a fleeting hint of guilt flashing in his eyes.
"Fang Jie, are you sure it was a horse you rode here?"
Zhang Kuang asked in surprise.
Fang Jie thought for a while before answering seriously, "Actually, it's a pig..."
While the three of them were chatting, about fifteen li away from Fang Jie and his group, Yuan Chengshi and his students entered the dense forest. He unfolded a map, looked at it, and pointed in a direction, saying, "It's over there. We'll be there in less than half an hour."
High above them, on a protruding rock on a mountain peak, the monk Chenya pointed down and asked Fang Henshui, "See that? A lot of Sui people are coming down. You can call for help."
"I... dare not."
"Then you can volunteer to be bait and lure a few over. That way, we won't have to cut off your flesh again."
Chenya asked with a smile, "Isn't that right?"