Why do I have so many masters?

Guan City connects Guangwu with several other counties; the most plentiful in this city are the merchants.

To enter the city from here, one must pay a considerable county entry tax. Many merchants simply choose to trade within the city itself.

Just this one city has gathered merchants from four county cities, making what should be a solemn border city seem overly prosperous.

Wang Anfeng and his companions found an inn in the city to settle down.

Having traveled from Candle Dragon Perch for seven or eight days, not to mention the physical toll, they were somewhat mentally exhausted. After hastily eating a meal on the ground floor of the inn, they opened several guest rooms and rested individually.

Lin Qiaofu and Lv Baiping shared a room.

Because she had lived on Qingfeng Edge since childhood and had never left the sect before, this was her first time coming to such a distant place and seeing so many people. Even though her martial arts were weak, she seemed more spirited than Lv Baiping.

As soon as Lv Baiping entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed in a heap, her sword half-dragged on the floor, while Lin Qiaofu stood by the window, eyes slightly widened, gazing at the grand city that stood at the edge of the Great Qin's Guangwu Border Pass.

Lv Baiping propped herself up and said to her in resignation, "Qiaofu, you're really spirited..."

Lin Qiaofu smiled without responding. She then saw Wang Anfeng stepping out of the inn's entrance, her expression slightly stunned. She had been curious about him for several days because he had always been silently contemplative.

After thinking for a few short moments, Qiaofu hopped off the stool where she had been observing the city below and patted her small cloth bag. She only said to the curious Lv Baiping, who was propping herself up, "I'm going out for a look," and then dashed out in a trot.

"Qiaofu, where are you going..."

Lv Baiping managed to sit up but only caught a glimpse of Lin Qiaofu's back.

Despite her low martial arts skills, Lin Qiaofu moved through the small inn with excessive agility. Lv Baiping could only sigh in resignation, threw herself back onto the soft bed of the inn, spread her arms out wide, and murmured softly, "Nothing problematic should happen in this inn..."

"This bed is soft, much more comfortable than squeezing into a carriage."

She stretched her body, curves well-defined.

Yuchi Jie sauntered by the door, first noticing Lin Qiaofu rushing out and pausing, then chuckling to himself about her recklessness before slowly moving on. Next, he stared blankly at the door for several moments before slowly diverting his gaze.

Recalling the force of the sword scabbard knock on his head, he instinctively slowed his pace and continued walking.

After passing by the half-open door without attracting the attention of the person inside, he let out a sigh of relief, quickened his steps, and as he turned down the stairs, he saw the inn's waiter carrying dishes and drinks to deliver to other rooms. He frowned slightly.

As the waiter passed by, he casually took a jug of wine.

The waiter was stunned, but then saw this richly dressed noble clan disciple take a couple of gulps. Yuchi Jie then frowned and said indifferently, "What kind of wine is this? It's rather awful."

"Change it."

The waiter was dumbfounded.

This wasn't even his wine.

Yet there stood Yuchi Jie, exuding all the haughtiness of a spoiled noble, just shy of branding the words "I am luxuriously bred, provoke me not" on his forehead. How could the mere waiter dare to object? He could only force a smile, turn around and go down, planning to add more wine and deliver it after this distinguished guest had descended the stairs.

Yuchi Jie waited for the waiter to go downstairs, then leisurely turned around and walked back.

Seeing Lv Baiping still displaying a vulnerable demeanor, he sighed and muttered about bad luck. Without closing the door, he pretended to enter the room, making intentional noise. Lv Baiping, realizing something was amiss, immediately sat up.

Seeing Yuchi Jie as if he was about to push the door open, she spotted something amiss in her attire through his eyes. She quickly pulled the bedding to shield her body and hissed through clenched teeth, "Yuchi you..."

Yuchi Jie offered an awkward grin and said cheekily, "Isn't this a bit too unfeeling? I just wanted to come in and talk..."

Lv Baiping raised her longsword, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Close the door, get out!"

"Alright, miss."

"You rest well, my lady; I won't disturb you further," Yuchi Jie said, turning around, exiting, closing the door in a practiced manner. It was almost as though he had rehearsed this flow many times to perfect the seamless execution.

After closing the door, Yuchi Jie shrugged helplessly, but then saw Gong Yu standing there, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He was slightly startled, then smiled in greeting and walked away as if nothing had happened. As he brushed past Gong Yu, she spoke in a mild voice, "Why do you do this?"

Yuchi Jie, raising an eyebrow at the tranquil woman beside him who hadn't shifted her gaze, was momentarily surprised. Then, pointing at himself, he laughed, "What do you think I should have done, respected senior Gong Yu? Gently and considerately closed the door? And then said a few tender words with a smile?"

"To me, that would simply be sickeningly pretentious. It's enough to have one with a gentle nature like Wang Anfeng among us, besides..." He shrugged his shoulders and left the sentence hanging.

Besides, having her think it was a frivolous noble lad with ulterior motives pushing the door open was surely better than letting her discover it was her own close junior sister who caused the disturbance, only to have that frivolous noble lad 'take advantage by intrusion and feast his eyes,' right?

Gong Yu was lost in thought.

Yuchi Jie walked forward, and as he leisurely descended the stairs, the waiter happened to be bringing up wine and food. Catching sight of Yuchi Jie, the waiter's body stiffened slightly. His palm, holding the tray, trembled, and the cups and dishes clashed with a clang.

Yuchi Jie, however, did not trouble him further and simply went straight downstairs. The waiter, who had already resigned himself to bad luck, turned to look at him, his face full of confusion.

Inside the room, Lv Baiping was drowsy and somewhat blurred, yet she vaguely thought to herself.

Ah, did Qiaofu forget to close the door when she rushed out just now?

Her eyes widened in realization.

Lin Qiaofu ran all the way to the road, but at the entrance of the inn, she could no longer find Wang Anfeng's trace. She looked left and right and then asked the inn's doorman who was greeting guests.

The doorman had a good memory; recognizing the girl in white as the one who had arrived with the scholar, he warmly pointed out the direction in which the green-clothed scholar had left.

Lin Qiaofu breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the young doorman, and hurried in the direction he had indicated.

When she had looked out from the high floors of the inn, she had felt that Guan City was majestic and bustling, but she hadn't expected there to be so many people. Thinking about it, it made sense, as it was a gathering place for merchants, so a large crowd was almost inevitable.

But she was still not fully grown and was just a little girl. Most people on the road were taller than her. Plunging into the crowd, she could hardly make out the direction and felt dizzy and disoriented.

Just as she was at her wit's end, thinking about turning back to the inn, a hand gently patted her back. Startled, Lin Qiaofu turned around sharply, only to see a familiar figure. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and said,

"Big Brother Wang..."

Wang Anfeng asked her helplessly,

"Miss Lin, why did you come out?"

Lin Qiaofu mumbled, unable to articulate. She had come out on a whim, just standing at the inn's window. If she had to do it over, she probably wouldn't have come out, at a loss for how to explain her reasons.

Seeing her in this state, Wang Anfeng did not press for an answer but raised his hand to the side, a gentle Qi Forces separating the stream of people. Looking sideways into the distance, he smiled warmly and asked,

"Did you also plan to come out and enjoy the scenery of Guan City?"

Lin Qiaofu was taken aback, then, as if she had grasped a lifeline, she nodded repeatedly.

Wang Anfeng smiled and said,

"Then let's go together..."

His left hand hovered three inches away, virtually supporting Lin Qiaofu's back, while his right hand led the way forward. The gentle Qi Force spread out, forming a faint protective layer around Lin Qiaofu, preventing the little girl from bumping into any passersby as they moved forward.

They walked while casually talking about various things.

Although Wang Anfeng had read many books at Fufeng Academy, how could he compare to Lin Qiaofu, who had grown up in the Qingfeng Edge Library? Often, he would just start the topic, and Lin Qiaofu would suddenly understand, sharing many things he was completely unaware of.

When they reached a lakeside, they could see people competing on a nearby platform. One was dressed in white with a sword in hand; the other wore black vigorous attire, wielding a Wind-Splitting Wave Slaying Saber. The two of them fought back and forth, drawing continuous cheers from the crowd below.

Lin Qiaofu watched the competition on the stage and suddenly said, "Big Brother Wang, do you know that the Sword and Saber List is about to be released?"

"The Sword and Saber List?"

Wang Anfeng recalled for a moment and laughed, "Is it that event where the old masters from the Academy rank the sword and saber skills of the Jianghu people every five years?"

"So, it's about to be released?"

Lin Qiaofu nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement and curiosity, she said,

"I wonder who will make it into the top ten of the Sword List this year."

"It's a pity that Sword Saint Pei Danding, who emerged in the Jianghu just over a decade ago, leaped to the eleventh place on the Sword List. Once, he fought 131 strokes against a Grandmaster without taking a single step back with only Fifth Rank Cultivation, becoming a widely told tale for a time."

"Unfortunately, in the three subsequent rankings, he lingered at the eleventh position on the Sword List and never managed to step into the ranks of the top ten Sword Dao Grandmasters."

"Besides, although every Sect has inherited swordsmanship and martial arts, among the younger generation, only the Northern Kunlun's Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect and the Xuanyuan Family from the Hedong Road have managed to rank within the top twenty of the subsidiary list."

"The Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect is renowned for its peerless Sword Intent from the Northern Lands, while the Xuanyuan Family is unmatched in its powerful and profound Sword Dao."

She counted on her fingers as if reciting treasured knowledge.

The Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect is one of the seven major Sects, taking the cold of Heavenly Mountain into their swordsmanship, while the Xuanyuan Family was once part of the Imperial Family, reigning for seven hundred years without decline and remains one of the four great Noble Clans. If not for their recusal, they would unquestionably be considered as leading figures among the world's Noble Clans.

Wang Anfeng listened to the little girl counting but noticed his own Sect was not among those mentioned. He jokingly asked why she didn't count Gong Yu among them.

The young girl of only fourteen or fifteen frowned, sighed heavily, and explained that Uncle Master Gong Yu was too aloof and rarely fought others; even when he did, he rarely made a big scene.

Even though he had never lost, he did not boast about his victories, and those who lost to him considered it a humiliation and naturally would not speak of it to others.

This way, Gong Yu, despite his high level of swordsmanship, wasn't very famous.

As she spoke these words, Lin Qiaofu, though young, showed a look of mature concern and helplessness as if she were worried about a younger generation, which brought a smile to Wang Anfeng's face.

Just then, a disturbance suddenly arose from up ahead, swords clashing and clanging.

Wang Anfeng instinctively looked up.

PS: Posting the second update of the day…

Three thousand two hundred words