Capital City Storms: Yuwen Rou

Ever since then, there had truly been nothing to do at Star Peak Manor. It had been unbearably boring. Today was finally the day school began; there would be plenty of people to keep me company.

I stood by the lake, gazing contentedly at everything within Star Peak Manor. Everything in the manor seemed especially beautiful. Taking a deep breath, I drew Dream Lake's fresh air deep into my lungs.

This artificial lake had originally had a name, but it had not sounded good. And calling it the artificial lake all the time was even worse. After everyone unanimously decided, its name was settled—Dream Lake. Dream Lake had appeared in reality, foretelling that our dreams, too, would become reality.

"Big Brother, let's go. It's time for school. Haven't you finished eating yet?" I called toward the rear hall where we ate.

Big Brother Lang Feng rushed anxiously out of the hall, several meat buns still in his hand and one still unchewed in his mouth. Even so, he shouted loudly at me, "Second Brother, you've gone too far! Don't you know your big brother doesn't have your cultivation and can't go without food? I still need to eat! From now on, you have to eat with me. Even if you don't eat, you have to sit there and watch me eat. You're not allowed to leave until I finish!" As he shouted, he swallowed the bun at his mouth.

I could only smile wryly. Who told me to bully him today? Now he wanted me to sit at the table and watch him eat even if I was not eating. Wasn't that too excessive? But he was my big brother. What else could I do? So I agreed.

"All right, hurry up. It's the first day, and we need to get there early. There are quite a few people we need to meet," I urged Big Brother Lang Feng.

The moment Big Brother Lang Feng heard that he could meet more people, he immediately crammed the buns in his hand into his mouth. Mumbling indistinctly, he said, "Let's go, hurry up. I'm ready."

Seeing him like that, I could only smile and head toward the National Martial Academy.

"Wow, Second Brother, it's so lively here today! So many carriages and sedan chairs, and so many servants—it's simply thrilling!" Big Brother Lang Feng started making a fuss again.

I looked around. There were indeed many wealthy clans and nobles here, so naturally there were plenty of carriages and sedan chairs. Still, their sheer number shocked me. Suddenly, I caught sight of my three new disciples at the entrance. It seemed they had already noticed me.

"Master, you're here! We've been waiting for you for a long time!" Chiyou and the other two ran over from the gates, shouting excitedly at me. They seemed to have missed me greatly.

Smiling at them, I said, "Did you three really wait for me that long? I don't believe it. I just saw that you had only just arrived." I deliberately fooled them. I had arrived very early, and although I had not seen when they arrived, I did not believe they could have come much earlier than I had.

"Master, we really did want to come early, but we woke up a little late today, so we arrived a little later. Luckily, we weren't too late, or we would have felt terribly guilty." Chiyou really was clever—no, he was crafty. In one stroke, he made it hard for me to criticize them. But how could he know that I had not actually seen when they arrived? As their master, of course I had to be better than my disciples!

"Come on, let's enter the academy. Don't waste time talking here," Big Brother Lang Feng said from the side. He had long wanted to study at this famous academy and truly could not bear listening to our nonsense any longer.

So we went with him toward the academy gates.

Security was much tighter today. There were nearly thirty constables at a single gate. It seemed the Emperor placed great importance on the start of school today. How could he not? The Emperor probably made a frightening amount of money from the National Martial Academy in a single year alone. One student cost fifty thousand taels of silver! Every year, there were hundreds, even thousands, of students. That was tens of millions of taels of silver!

Just as we showed our documents to the old man guarding the gate and were about to enter the academy—

"Zhang Xingfeng! Zhang Xingfeng, stop right there! Did you hear me?" A familiar voice entered my ears. It was Xianyan. I knew the moment I heard it. The image of that adorable girl surfaced in my mind: her twin horn braids, her rosy cheeks, and a voice just like my little sister Xiangyu's.

I turned around. The adorable Xianyan was behind me, her little face puffed up with anger and becoming more adorable the longer I looked. Her small brows were slowly rising upright—really adorable. Ah! Her brows were standing up. She was angry!

Only then did I react. Looking closely, wasn't she furious? If I did not go over soon, she would probably start crying. A beautiful woman stood beside her, looking at me with a teasing smile. I knew she was Xianyan's mother. Facing her, I gave a stiff smile before immediately walking over to Xianyan, who was on the verge of tears. Looking at her, I said:

"Xianyan, are you angry? Ah, I'm sorry. I really didn't see you. Don't be angry, okay? We're good friends! You wouldn't get angry over such a tiny thing, would you? Xianyan, look at me. Am I scary?" As I spoke, I pulled a face.

Fortunately, Xianyan was still a child and easy to coax. The moment she saw my silly face, she broke into a smile. I let out a long breath of relief inside. I could not bear to see girls cry.

"Zhang Xingfeng, look over there—the little silver sedan chair." Xianyan suddenly pointed her tiny hand toward a small silver sedan chair to the north. The two clear characters "Yuwen" were written on it. It was the Yuwen Family. Only the Yuwen Family would dare write "Yuwen" on their sedan chair. Who else would dare?

"Big Sister Rou is inside. Big Sister Rou came to school this year too. But wasn't she unable to attend school? Why did she come?" Xianyan said from the side, her adorable brows furrowed in a puzzled expression.

Looking at the sedan chair, I thought again of Li Tianxiang, the eldest young master of the Li Family, who had so disgusted me. He had also come here to study this year. This year's National Martial Academy was a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons gathered. Life would be interesting from now on. A smile naturally appeared on my face.

Suddenly, a maid beside the sedan chair lifted its door curtain. I raised my head to see what sort of person this Big Sister Rou was.

Suddenly, my entire body trembled for no reason. My mind went completely blank. I did not know what was happening to me. I only knew that the goddess destined for me had appeared. Though she was still just a little girl, my heart could feel that shock—the shock that struck the soul.

She wore a pale-blue long robe with wide sleeves, and her short hair was jet-black. Her face bore the pallor caused by long-term ill health, yet that only made people want to cherish and protect her even more. What shook me most were her eyes—eyes filled with love for life, eyes that regarded everyone with kindness.

Yuwen Rou was in an excellent mood today. Her father had finally agreed to let her come out. Even if she could only be within the National Martial Academy, it was already extraordinarily rare. Ever since she had first learned to walk as a child, she had never left home, all because of her supposedly poor health. Her father had invited countless renowned physicians, but her health had not improved at all. It was only because her mother saw how lonely she was at home by herself that she begged her father to let her come here to study.

Who was that boy in front of her? His smile was truly captivating, and his eyes were beautiful too, as deep as the endless night sky...

Just as the boy and girl gazed at one another, another person arrived. Who was he?

"Young Master, we have arrived at the gates of the National Martial Academy." A servant spoke in a eunuch-like voice as he respectfully lifted the sedan chair's curtain for his master.

Li Tianxiang sat in that extravagantly luxurious sedan chair, yet did not immediately get out. He merely asked the servant outside in an indifferent tone, "Xiao Guizi, has the Yuwen Family's Fourth Miss arrived?"

The moment Xiao Guizi heard his master's question, he immediately bent over and said with a fawning smile, "Young Master, the Fourth Miss has already arrived. Her sedan chair is right ahead."

Upon hearing this, Li Tianxiang's mood immediately improved. He had come to school precisely because of Yuwen Rou. Learn martial arts? His family could easily teach him peerless martial arts.

Ever since he had gone to the Yuwen Family with his father that day and seen Yuwen Rou, he had thought of her constantly. Though he was still very young, his mind was more mature than that of some adults. He understood that those who achieved great things could not be burdened by feelings, yet that first meeting had already determined that he would never be able to leave her for the rest of his life.

Li Tianxiang straightened his clothes. Only after making sure there was nothing wrong with his appearance did he step out of the luxurious sedan chair.

The instant he emerged, Li Tianxiang swept his gaze around, searching for the figure that haunted his dreams.

A trace of satisfied smile appeared at the corner of Li Tianxiang's mouth, because he had already seen the lovely girl from his dreams.

In an instant, frost covered Li Tianxiang's face, twisted by extreme fury. The woman he saw as his future wife was gazing at an exceptionally handsome boy, the two so engrossed in each other that they had utterly ignored everyone else.

Li Tianxiang had possessed an incredibly strong desire to possess things since childhood. Even if something belonged to someone else, as long as he took a liking to it, he would go to every conceivable length to get it. Much less Yuwen Rou, whom he had long designated as his future wife. Now someone actually wanted to steal the most important thing from Li Tianxiang. How could he not go mad?

"What is that boy's name? What background does he have?" A voice seemingly from the Netherworld rang beside Xiao Guizi's ear. Xiao Guizi shuddered all over, clearly feeling his body trembling beyond his control.

Xiao Guizi had served at Li Tianxiang's side for a long time and knew this young master very well. His young master rarely lost his temper, but once he became angry, the consequences were severe. Yet his young master had never been furious to this extent before.

Xiao Guizi was an extremely competent servant. Before school had even started, he had already obtained information on every student. Steadying himself, he immediately said, "Young Master, he is Zhang Xingfeng!"

"Zhang Xingfeng, hahaha... So he is the young master of the one who crippled one of my Second-Rank Experts and severed the right hands of two more Second-Rank Experts? The owner of Dragon Soaring, that Flawless Jade carving? Zhang Xingfeng, I hadn't even come looking for revenge, yet you came right to my door. And you want my Rou'er too? I will make sure you die!" Li Tianxiang roared furiously in his heart, but his expression grew calmer and calmer. Who could know that beneath that calm face surged raging waves of fury?

"Zhang Xingfeng. I'll remember you." Li Tianxiang murmured softly in his heart.

.