Chapter 11: Child's Dream_1

In Pei Ye's perception, these eyes had been watching him many times before.

"Is something the matter?" Pei Ye asked.

The boy standing in front of him was a little younger than Pei Ye, only about fourteen or fifteen years old. His eyes sparkled with intelligence and he wore a green shirt. Sweat stains could still be seen on his forehead, clearly indicating that he had just been pulled out of the Martial Arts Hall.

"Brother, did you used to train with Sir Lin?" the boy asked cautiously.

Pei Ye nodded, "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Then, is your family name Pei?" the boy's tone became significantly higher.

"Yes it is, do you know me?"

"Brother Pei! It really is you! I remember seeing you at the Mid-Autumn Martial Arts Festival. Nobody could withstand more than ten moves against you! I used to climb trees to cheer you on!" The boy's face showed excitement, "I, I am Cheng Feng, are you now——"

The boy's voice faltered, his tone becoming lowered as he carefully asked, "Brother Pei, are your wounds getting better?"

Pei Ye was taken aback for a moment. Back in the days when he was high-spirited, he was often surrounded by a crowd of new students in the martial arts school, questioning him about various things. Seeing the face in front of him made him feel somewhat familiar.

"Cheng Feng ah..." Pei Ye's gaze refocused, smiling he said, "Much better, how's your martial arts training going?"

At Pei Ye's words, Cheng Feng pursed his lips, but he couldn't hide the smirk seeping through, "Pretty good. I came first last month in the martial practice in the school."

Of course, it wouldn't be bad. Being brought here itself signified a form of recognition.

Pei Ye looked surprised, "That great?"

Cheng Feng grinned, and finally couldn't hold back as he sniggered twice.

After a few casual exchanges, the conversation returned to their current predicament.

Cheng Feng worriedly said, "Brother Pei, I heard that those people can make you lose your soul and walk towards them on your own. Is that true?"

Pei Ye nodded, "Yes, it is."

Cheng Feng opened his mouth in surprise; this kind of ability was unheard of.

A child next to Cheng Feng piped up, "We could just bind ourselves, right?"

Another kid immediately objected, "Are you stupid, Zhang Xiaoyan? If we're bound, we won't be able to run."

The first child rolled his eyes, "You're the idiot! Can't we just hide?"

The second child pouted, seemingly unable to find a rebuttal and turned to Cheng Feng to ask, "Brother Cheng Feng, can we hide?"

Cheng Feng ruffled their heads, speaking in a deep voice, "Enough, both of you. We should follow what the adults instruct."

With the respect the kids had for "Brother Cheng Feng", they both obediently nodded.

"Yes, Brother Pei." After quieting down for a while, Cheng Feng leaned over with a furrowed brow and spoke softly, "Why don't we just bind ourselves and hide?"

Pei Ye replied, "Lin Yue rarely goes out and doesn't practice martial arts, yet they managed to take her straight from her house. They have ways to identify people and locate them. Hiding will be useless."

"...Oh."

The two stopped talking and the room fell into silence. Once the facade was lifted, the real atmosphere began to show. Cheng Feng immediately regretted stopping the two children from bickering as the oppressive anxiety at that moment was even harder to bear.

The room was not big to begin with, and with the constant drizzle outside, an overwhelming heat began to rise within the room. Pei Ye got up to open the two windows, turned around and smiled at the boys in the room, "Have you guys learned the Palm technique from Master Huang?"

A number of heads raised at his words. Cheng Feng replied, "Brother Pei, we all have."

Master Huang was a palm technique instructor at the martial arts school, highly popular among the children. Not only was he patient and hardly lost his temper, but also because he had been a storyteller in the state capital years ago, he was a smooth talker and often shared mesmerizing legends with the kids during their breaks.

Growing up near the deep mountains, the children were in awe of the world that Master Huang opened up for them, with sea mermaids from the South Sea, sages on Mount Yuhuang, and brave warriors from the Crane Catalogue...

These stories were Pei Ye's favorite pastime back then, as they were for the kids now. In order not to miss any part of the story, they wouldn't take breaks for water or restroom, waiting until practice resumed to run out all at once.

Pei Ye asked, "Do you know where Master Huang gets these stories from?"

This was a big mystery to all the kids.

After all, the break time was short and every time it ended just at the exciting parts, leaving the thirsty kids craving for more. They all wished to find the legendary storybook and enjoy it to their heart's content. But no matter how they prodded, Master Huang would not spill any beans. For this, Pei Ye and his pals had often sneaked over the walls of Master Huang's house.

Presumably, these young boys were no different.

A monkey-like boy stretched his neck, asking cautiously, "Brother, do you know?"

The other boys also looked forward eagerly.

Pei Ye couldn't help but laugh, not just to tease them, but the gleaming eyes really made him feel a hint of pride. He said with satisfaction, "From the time the martial arts school started, there's only one person who's ever been able to solve this secret. And that's me, Pei Ye."

"Holy cow!"

Unable to contain their excitement, the children gradually moved toward Pei Ye. Right then, his sleeve was suddenly pulled. Pei Ye looked down to see Cheng Feng's bright and sparkling face, "Brother! Brother Pei! Tell me in secret."

Then, he was immediately pushed aside by the monkey-like boy, "Cheng big butt, aren't you ashamed?"

Pei Ye laughed, "Cheng Feng, you are wrong for this. Happiness shared is happiness doubled, how could you hoard all the joy for yourself?"

The monkey-like boy instantly shouted, "He wants to impress Xiuxiu with it!"

A visible blush crept up Cheng Feng's thin face. He glared at the boy, but said nothing. The boy gave him an ugly face, unafraid of his glaring.

Seeing that Cheng Feng was becoming genuinely embarrassed, Pei Ye dismisses the topic with a laugh and gets straight to the point, "Actually, there are no storybooks at Master's Huang's house. Of all the stories he tells, the new and exciting ones all come from watching the county-government office."

"Eh?"

"The county-government office?"

"Mr. Chang secretly writes stories!"

"Not at all, not at all." Pei Ye shook his head and grimaced. Suddenly, he felt a pang in his chest and abdomen. He glanced subtly at the medicine and the wine on the side, continued to laugh, "Have you ever heard of gazettes?"

All the boys looked clueless.

Pei Ye gave a more triumphant smile and began to explain.