Fang Yun climbed into the carriage, just as he had on the way there.
Zhang Jing'an sat at the front, motionless for a long while.
"What are you staring into space for? Why aren't you driving?" Fang Yun asked.
"Let me gather myself. My brain's a bowl of mush right now." Zhang Jing'an earnestly propped his chin on his little hand, looking deep in thought, his bright, large eyes blinking.
"It's getting late. If we don't go back now, we won't even have dinner," Fang Yun said.
"Then I'll get moving." Seemingly afraid of going hungry, Zhang Jing'an immediately picked up the whip and lashed the horse's rump.
"Hyah!"
Fang Yun closed his eyes to rest and recalled the battle just now. Finally, he shook his head lightly. Reviewing a battle afterward had become a habit, one that allowed him to make considerable progress. But Gou Zhi had been too weak. Even after going over it repeatedly, Fang Yun could learn nothing, and instead found countless flaws in Gou Zhi's performance.
Scholars in the literary world really are far inferior. His literary qi was indeed at the level of a Seven-Palace Hanlin, but judging solely by his use of the Lip Spear and Tongue Sword and his grasp of timing in battle, he was at most a Fifth-Palace Hanlin. Still, even if I couldn't learn anything, I could at least learn not to make the same mistakes, Fang Yun thought.
"Zhang... you there, this young master... ahem, this humble student has a question for you. How did you become so powerful? You cut down a Hanlin Academician with one sword strike. Even my grandfather couldn't do that when he was a Hanlin Academician. Of course, once he became a Grand Academician, he could do it easily," Zhang Jing'an said.
"Have