Capital City Storms — Feng Yu Yan (2)

"Come on, say it—does my name sound nice?" Feng Yu Yan was very displeased that I had not answered her question.

I immediately came back to my senses and smiled at her, treating her just as I would my little sister Xiangyu. "It sounds wonderful. Your mother must really love you. You're so fortunate to have a mother like that. Actually, my name was given to me by my mother too. It's not bad either!"

"Really? What a coincidence! Your mother treats you well too. Sigh, my mother always forced me to study poetry and prose. It was simply unbearable, so I came here to learn martial arts!" Feng Yu Yan immediately began chatting with me happily.

Feng Yu Yan was a name that ought to belong to a gentle beauty. Her mother had apparently hoped that forcing her to study poetry and prose would turn her into a refined young lady, yet as a girl, she disliked poetry and loved staffs and clubs instead. Her mother must have been angered half to death by her.

Just as we were chatting happily, my big brother Lang Feng and my three newly accepted disciples were idly wandering around the National Martial Academy. They suddenly spotted a passage leading straight underground and, curious, wanted to go in and investigate. But after taking only a few steps down, they found a huge iron gate before them, completely sealing off the passage. The four of them were furious, but there was nothing they could do except turn around and return to the surface.

From the corner of my eye, I saw my big brother Lang Feng and my three disciples coming up from an underground passage with their heads hanging low. I could not help wondering what that passage was for.

"Feng Yu Yan, my friends are here. Let's go see what they're doing!" I said to Feng Yu Yan beside me.

"Sure, let's go! Hurry up! Why are your four friends coming up from there? Are they really so bored they have nothing to do? Hahaha..." Seeing Lang Feng and the others emerge from the underground passage, Feng Yu Yan found it so amusing that she could not help laughing out loud.

When Lang Feng saw that the little girl who had just been talking to his second brother was now clutching her stomach and laughing at him, he could not help feeling puzzled. He had not done anything embarrassing, so why was she laughing at him—and so brazenly, too?

"What were you guys doing over there? Don't you know what kind of place that is? Are you really that bored?" Feng Yu Yan asked my big brother Lang Feng and the others with a grin.

Hearing that, Lang Feng realized that whatever lay beyond that underground passage was no ordinary place. What could it be? Looking at Feng Yu Yan, he said, "We really were just wandering around because we had nothing to do. What's down there? Is it some especially important place?"

"You idiot! If it weren't important, why would they lock it with a huge iron gate? Does the Emperor have nothing better to do? That place is the most important place in the National Martial Academy! I'm not telling you what it is—I'll leave you four guys to die of suspense! Hahaha..." Feng Yu Yan deliberately whetted their appetites, then refused to tell them, making big brother Lang Feng and the others flush red with anxiety.

They were all just children, after all. They loved teasing people. I watched Feng Yu Yan blink those big eyes of hers as she laughed at big brother Lang Feng. Ever since arriving here, I had found it strange. The National Martial Academy was a sacred land of martial arts, with more secret manuals than anywhere under heaven—yet where were they? At first, I had thought they were somewhere beyond another stone passage, but after hearing Feng Yu Yan mention the National Martial Academy's most important place, it became crystal clear. In a place like the National Martial Academy, which taught martial arts, the most important place was naturally where the secret manuals were stored. It seemed only my big brother Lang Feng and the others had not figured that out.

"Feng Yu Yan, is it where the secret manuals are kept?" I asked, looking at the smug Feng Yu Yan. I could not stand by and watch her mock my big brother Lang Feng and my three new disciples like that.

"Yes, yes! Zhang Xingfeng, you're so smart! You're absolutely amazing! I admire you so much!" The little girl was not embarrassed in the slightest that I had guessed it. Instead, she widened her eyes and looked at me with worship. I could not take it anymore and could only smile at her.

"Yu Yan, where are you? We're leaving! Hurry up!" A woman's voice called from not far away.

"Oh! Zhang Xingfeng, sorry, I have to go. My mother's calling me. I'm leaving now. Let's play again on the day school starts. Goodbye!" The moment Feng Yu Yan heard the call, she immediately said farewell to me.

I smiled. "I'll be leaving soon too. We'll play again on the day school starts. Goodbye."

Watching Feng Yu Yan's cheerful retreating figure, my mood improved as well. Turning around, I looked at Lang Feng and the others, who were peering east and west not far away. Honestly, their curiosity was something else. Were they determined to inspect every inch of the National Martial Academy before going home?

I could only shout, "Big Brother, we should be heading back! Hurry up, stop looking around! Let's go!"

The moment Lang Feng heard my voice, he immediately ran over and said loudly, "You think I wanted to look around? Once you started talking to that little girl Feng Yu Yan, did you even remember you had a big brother? If I didn't wander about, was I supposed to stand there like an idiot listening to you two talk?"

Hearing that, I realized that I really had not paid attention to anyone around me while talking with Feng Yu Yan. I could only cough a few times to cover it up and say, "Enough talking. Let's go back."

The three Chiyou brothers ran over. The eldest, Chiyou, said to me, "Master, the three of us brothers will head home first. When will Master teach us martial arts?"

Only then did I remember that I still had to fulfill my responsibilities as their master. I could only say, "We'll talk once we return here when school starts. If I'm pleased, I'll teach you. That depends on how you perform. Do you think peerless martial arts are so easy to learn? Go home now!" I could still wield my privileges as their master.

When Chiyou heard that, he thought it made sense. How could peerless martial arts possibly be learned so easily? Better to be more patient! He immediately nodded in agreement. The three brothers bade me farewell and headed out.

"Second Brother, let's go too!" Big brother Lang Feng had already started walking before saying it to me.

I nodded and went home with him. Thinking of Feng Yu Yan and the three Chiyou brothers, I found myself looking forward to my coming year at the National Martial Academy.