"I'm looking for Tian Fan." said Lin Feng to the guards at the gate. There were four guards in front of him.
The four guards said sternly, "Tian Fan is our Young Prince's teacher, guests are not permitted inside. Please leave! Thank you." replied one of the guards, relatively politely. The guards from both East Lang Xie and West Lang Xie were quite strict.
Lin Feng knew they would say that before asking, so he had to find another solution.
"So, please go and call him. Tell him to come and meet me outside." said Lin Feng. He took out a crystal and wrote a few things on it, then gave it to the guards.
One of the guards took it, read it, and looked at Lin Feng. That guard could see that Lin Feng wasn't an ordinary person. He seemed mysterious and didn't seem like the right person to offend. Better safe than sorry, so the guard decided not to cause trouble.
"Alright, wait here. I'll hand this to Prince Tian Fan. I can't promise he'll come out, though." said the guard, before running inside the palace. Lin Feng wasn't in a rush and waited at the door calmly.
After a few minutes, the guard came back out and threw the crystal at Lin Feng, "Sorry, Prince Tian Fan is not here. He took out Young Prince away to train him. Please come back another time," the guard waved him away.
Lin Feng inspected the crystal. It hadn't been read by anyone else. Tian Fan really wasn't there. However, Lin Feng didn't have time to waste and it had taken him a little while to arrive so he just stood there thinking.
At that moment, a few men in fines clothes arrived, chatting and laughing. Very quickly, they arrived at the gate. When the four guards saw them, they hastily descended from the steps they were standing on and shouted respectfully, "Welcome back to the palace, Princes!"
"Lin Feng?"
The men didn't pay attention to the guards. When they saw Lin Feng at the gate, they were surprised. The men hadn't forgotten that Lin Feng had taught them a good lesson in East Lang Xie.
Lin Feng had already recognized these Young Masters. They were Jiang Yi Ze's sons, Jiang Yi and Jiang Leng among them.
"My leisurely and carefree friends," said Lin Feng, narrowing his eyes and smiling broadly. Jiang Yi's hair bristled. He remembered Lin Feng had instructed them nicely.
"Lin… Prince Lin Feng… What are you doing in West Lang Xie?" asked Jiang Yi. He was initially going to say Lin Feng's name directly, but then he had recalled their prior meeting and hastily called him using an honorific.
Lin Feng knew that these princes could help him get inside, so he said to them straightforwardly, "I want to see Tian Fan."
Jiang Yi was surprised, but then he understood. The guards had prevented Lin Feng from entering the palace and Lin Feng had probably been waiting because he didn't want to trespass on the palace's property. Now that they had come back, he hoped they'd let him in.
Jiang Yi didn't really want to let Lin Feng in, but he knew that if he refused, Lin Feng might bully them again. They couldn't offend him. Jiang Yi Ze had even told them that if Lin Feng ever came to West Lang Xie, they'd have to welcome him as a guest of honor!
"Prince Lin Feng, please follow us," Jiang Yi smiled. The others looked at Lin Feng respectfully as well. The four guards were startled, but they weren't dumb, and immediately understood he wasn't an ordinary person.
"Alright, thank you!" said Lin Feng, heading into the palace. Jiang Yi and the others sighed in relief.
"Let's go," said Jiang Yi, waving at the others to follow Lin Feng.
The guards were all astonished. When Lin Feng and the princes disappeared from their field of view, they finally came back to their senses.
"Lin Feng, Lin Feng, could it be that…?" Suddenly, a guard thought about something and his expression changed suddenly. The three others looked at him nervously. The guard said, "The teacher of East Lang Xie's Young Prince is called Lin Feng."
"You mean that he's like Prince Tian Fan? He's also one of the Young Princes' teachers?"
"Indeed! It's him. No wonder he was looking for Tian Fan. There are tensions between them," the guard nodded.
"I hope we didn't offend him," said another guard anxiously. They didn't know that Lin Feng hadn't taken it to heart and didn't care about them.
——
The interior of West Lang Xie's palace was extremely complex. At the beginning, he was walking at the front, but in the end, he had to let Jiang Yi and the others lead the way. He followed them into a big hall.
"Prince Lin Feng, please wait here. We're going to see our father," Jiang Yi said respectfully. All the nervous princes left hastily. They were afraid to stay alone with Lin Feng.
When Lin Feng saw their expressions, he chuckled to himself. Was he that terrifying? Those people were even afraid to stay near him…
But Lin Feng didn't know that those days, the princes had been worried since he had beat them up. They were much less proud.
Lin Feng sat down to wait for Jiang Yi Ze. Since Tian Fan had left with Jiang Hao to train him, he had no choice.
Jiang Yi Ze didn't dare make Lin Feng wait for too long. He arrived in the hall soon after. When he saw Lin Feng, he seemed very happy.
"Brother Lin Feng! It's you!" said Jiang Yi Ze, smiling happily.
Jiang Yi Tian and Jiang Yi Ze were not very similar. Jiang Yi Tian was discreet and reserved, and he never talked too loud. Jiang Yi Ze was a free and unrestrained big fellow. He like to speak loudly and laugh.
Lin Feng quickly understood why West Lang Xie and East Lang Xie looked so different; it had to do with their respective Great Leaders!
When Lin Feng saw Jiang Yi Ze, he stood up and bowed hand over fist. "Master, I am sorry for disturbing you."
"What do you mean? Don't say that. We're happy to see you in West Lang Xie! You never bother us here," said Jiang Yi Ze. He didn't want Lin Feng to feel awkward.
Lin Feng smiled wryly and shook his head.
"Please, please, sit down," said Jiang Yi Ze, pushing a chair towards Lin Feng. Lin Feng nodded and sat back down.
"Bring a cup of tea for the guest." shouted Jiang Yi Ze. Very quickly, a disciple arrived with a teapot and got ready to pour some for Jiang Yi Ze.
"Pour a cup for Brother Lin Feng first!" said Jiang Yi Ze, putting his hand above his cup, pointing to Lin Feng with a smile. He had told Jiang Yi Tian several times that if Lin Feng wanted to come to West Lang Xie, he was more than welcome and he'd be treated as a guest of honor, but each time Jiang Yi Tian had said it wasn't necessary. However, Lin Feng was finally here.
The disciple was surprised. Their Great Leader seemed to think highly of that prince. Even when his own brother, the Great Leader of East Lang Xie, came, he wasn't treated as well as this prince.
That disciple shook his head. He didn't understand, so he just stopped thinking about it and poured a cup for Lin Feng first, then for Jiang Yi Ze. Then, he walked away and left them alone.
"Brother Lin Feng, what brings you here?" asked Jiang Yi Ze, smiling widely. He was very enthusiastic.
It was the first time Lin Feng had talked to Jiang Yi Ze alone, so he wasn't used to such enthusiasm.
"Master, I am looking for Tian Fan, but I've heard that he had left with your son to train him," replied Lin Feng honestly.
Jiang Yi Ze nodded and informed him clearly, "Indeed, Tian Fan and my son left a month ago. I think they'll be back soon."
"Master, do you know where they went?" asked Lin Feng. He didn't want to waste time and wait for so long.
Jiang Yi Ze didn't think too much either and replied, "Tian Yuan."
"Tian Yuan?" Lin Feng frowned. What was that place? He had never heard of it.
"Hehe, you've never heard about it, it's perfectly normal. Tian Yuan is the first imperial kwoon of Lang Xie City. Everybody in Lang Xie City knows about it and goes there to cultivate. People can also challenge each other there.
"People don't go to Tian Yuan showing their true faces, however. They wear masks. People can also choose a number and use that number to challenge someone. The winner then obtains a Tao skill."
"Why? Are you interested in Tian Yuan?" asked Jiang Yi Ze excitedly.