Warrior Mansion Ward was dotted with martial arts schools, and most of the people coming and going were full of vigor.
There were often all sorts of challenge arenas to watch here: challenges to schools, contests for marriage, bouts for money or fame, duels to the death, and more besides.
Ding Songyan was in no hurry to find out where Ou Luwen was. He wandered leisurely through the streets and alleys, entering martial arts schools, visiting drill grounds, or stopping by the roadside to watch one bout after another, gathering nourishment for his Dao One Sword.
Before he knew it, he had arrived outside a house facing the street.
A crowd had gathered there, all craning their necks to look inside, though none actually went in.
Candle flames appeared in Ding Songyan's eyes, starlight concealed within them. He looked over and discovered that the house connected to a courtyard behind it, extending more than ten zhang in depth. Tables, chairs, and benches furnished the place, and a freshly inked, rather unpolished couplet had been pasted beside the entrance:
"Two forms, mountains and rivers, a realm unto themselves; who shall decree the true and false, illusion and reality?"
The horizontal inscription read, "The literary sea has its Dao."
"What's this?" Ding Songyan casually asked the martial artist beside him.
Judging by the words, this might be a case of wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find what he sought without the slightest effort.
"Hero Ou is making friends through martial arts and offering a fortune for stories," the martial artist said, both eager and apprehensive.
Just as I thought... Ding Songyan asked with interest:
"What does that mean?"
Having nothing else to do, the martial artist explained in detail:
"Hero Ou calls himself the Literary Sea Gourmand.