Why do I have so many masters?

```

The young girl had changed out of her Taoist robe today, donning ordinary attire in the color of lotus root starch, which made her appear even more delicate and exquisite, sitting quietly on the little stone bench in the Wang Family's courtyard as if she had stepped right out of a painting.

Of course, where the young girl was, there naturally was also a tall, elderly Taoist.

There was Qin Xiao, still dressed in his Taoist robe, Zhang Tingyun's mother was frail and had no choice but to rest at home. Qin Xiao secretly thought that the lady of official birth must have been unnerved in recent days by the constant companionship of the large black bear beside her daughter, coupled with the cold weather, which led to her falling ill.

Of course, such thoughts he only dared to turn over in his mind.

Originally, Zhang Weiran, the County Magistrate of Jinxian County, was supposed to go with them, but to his dismay, he had a case to adjudicate that came up suddenly today.

So, the loving father could only look on with a pained expression as his treasured daughter took the old Taoist's hand without looking back and walked out the door, leaving the huge black bear lying in the courtyard to exchange a sympathetic look with him.

"Let's go."

Wang Anfeng emerged from the house, still dressed in his blue shirt with a sword slung on his back.

He walked up to the young girl and, under Qin Xiao's nearly jealous and sorrowful gaze, effortlessly took her hand and walked forward. The old Taoist gave Qin Xiao a look, smacked his lips, then turned to Li Qidao, who was lazily sprawled in the courtyard, and said:

"General Li, aren't you going?"

After failing to address Li Qidao as 'General' the last time, he had simply feigned ignorance, referring to Li Qidao with the abbreviated 'General Li' these past few days.

Li Qidao lazily lifted his eyelids and said:

"I'm not going."

"It's no fun."

The old Taoist wasn't annoyed, just smiled, shook his head, and then quickened his pace to follow behind the three young ones, before slowing down to a leisurely pace on his way out.

Great Liang Village was not close to Yulin State.

Zhang Weiran, worried about his ten-year-old daughter, specially arranged his own carriage to follow. Of course, the carriage was reserved for his little cotton-padded jacket; he did not trust the others, especially Qin Xiao and Zhang Tingyun being alone together in a confined space.

After a moment's thought, the County Magistrate, troubled by official duties, decisively allocated two strong horses, one for the old Taoist and one for Qin Xiao. Inside the carriage also sat an old nurse with an Eighth Rank cultivation, completely thwarting Qin Xiao's attempt to sneak into the carriage.

Wang Anfeng was riding the skinny red horse that had finally recovered its strength.

Although revitalized thanks to Hong Luoyu, the horse had become somewhat subdued, no longer as tyrannical as before, and at least obedient enough to keep up with the carriage's speed without much effort.

In fact, after going through the transitions from Wang Anfeng to Qin Xiao and back again, the first person whom Zhang Weiran now detested in his heart had come full circle back to Wang Anfeng—

His daughter had come home after a long absence and yet, during this half-month, she almost spent every day following the old Taoist to Great Liang Village, where she would stay the whole day. Such closeness made even him, her father, feel inferior.

A few days prior, an elder from the clan had specially come from the County City to Jinxian County to meet Zhang Tingyun, a junior who had joined the Taoist Sect. They waited several hours until dusk when the young girl finally arrived leisurely.

The three-time-uncle, who was over fifty years old at the time, was furious, but before he could erupt, the old Taoist slapped a greasy pork knuckle on his shoulder.

Claimed to be so aromatic it trails for ten miles, it is a slippery and exceptionally fragrant creation of the Zhang Family's chef.

The Taoist's five fingers intimately smeared the precious 'Mengze Bamboo' cloth as he wiped them.

Carrying on so brazenly, the old Taoist, dressed in his humble Taoist robe, caused the visiting uncle from the County City to be taken aback, his aged face turning beet-red. He choked back the words he wanted to say, skipped dinner, and left Jinxian County in anger and humiliation that very day.

Zhang Weiran's good mood lasted all night.

It continued until the next day when his daughter ran off to Great Liang Village again the moment dawn broke.

Clutching his chest, the County Magistrate stood in the courtyard, facing an empty house, his face so pale with anger that his whiskers trembled.

During this trip back to Wangxian County, Zhang Tingyun, who claimed to be visiting her relatives, actually spent most of her time with Wang Anfeng. If Wang Anfeng practiced martial arts, she sat by and watched; if he cooked and did chores, she quietly groomed the black bear in the courtyard, calm and quiet, neither fidgeting nor speaking out of turn.

Even when Wang Anfeng went to the County City to visit the Li couple who had enlightened him in medicine, Zhang Tingyun followed along. Eventually, Wang Anfeng simply accounted for the young girl's presence in all his plans.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, he took her to the summit of Great Liang Mount, pointing out a place sparser in trees than elsewhere, as he fondly recounted his martial arts Foundation Establishment experiences.

He'd knock down trees with his bare fists and drag them down the mountain to sell for silver coins.

Back then, Wang Anfeng's martial arts skills were nowhere near what they were now, but when he brought up the story, there was a hint of nostalgia in his tone and expression.

The skies were clear on the eighth day of the first month.

The two visited the village beneath Liuxu Villa to pay tribute to Liu Wuqiu and Mei Chuxue.

```

In some secluded corners of the village, Wang Anfeng added soil to the tombs of two senior predecessors, all the while narrating their stories fragment by fragment, as much as he himself knew. Although incomplete, these fragments offered insights into the ferocity that had marked the old man's life.

Zhang Tingyun was sitting on the side, on a piece of bluestone, propping her chin with her right hand, listening attentively.

The little girl held in her hand an ice-sugar gourd that had been partially eaten. The crimson hawthorns were coated with honey and syrup, reflecting in the eyes of the black bear, inducing the fierce beast to constantly swallow its saliva, yet it lay there obediently, daring not to move rashly.

Three of those sugar-coated hawthorns ended up in Wang Anfeng's stomach.

The Lantern Festival in Yulin State was actually not very lively, nowhere near as bustling as the one in Fufeng County City, but there were various kinds of lanterns ingeniously crafted by the city's artisans.

Perhaps because the city was somewhat smaller, the streets were packed full with all sorts of lanterns; it was an advantage that even the great county cities could not compare with. By day, it was Yulin State City, but as night fell, it transformed into the Jade Void Illusory Realm, filled with glittering lights everywhere.

There were dragons and phoenixes dancing, flowers blooming brightly.

The mortal lanterns, like flowing water, divided the entire Yulin State City.

On this day, from the surrounding three to five county cities and a dozen villages and towns, countless people carrying lanterns flooded into the city. Wang Anfeng held Zhang Tingyun's palm, walking extremely slowly, yet somehow, they still managed to lose the old Taoist Qin Xiao who was following behind them.

Turning back to look, they could no longer see the old Taoist, only the ever-changing lanterns of the mortal world. The faces coming toward them, a mix of old and young smiles, passed by swiftly, their presence unending like a tidal wave of people, billowing to and fro. For a moment, the two of them seemed to be in the midst of an illusory realm, unable to discern up from down, left from right, creating a sense of bewilderment.

Wang Anfeng tightened his grip on Zhang Tingyun's hand.

The little girl held on obediently in return.

Wang Anfeng turned to look at Zhang Tingyun, who was wearing a dress the color of lotus root paste, and asked gently,

"Scared?"

Zhang Tingyun shook her head, her right hand still holding Wang Anfeng.

In her left hand, she carried a bright red lantern; her quiet, clear black eyes reflected the boundless world ahead of them, catching the already resplendent beauty of the Lantern Festival and making it shine even brighter within her gaze.

Wang Anfeng led the little girl forward slowly.

The light of lanterns slid past on either side.

Along the road, vendors had set up their stalls with wooden poles supporting their structures. Stretched between them were wires from which hung a variety of lanterns, wind chimes dangled beneath long white strips of paper inscribed with riddles, and all kinds of masks were displayed, depicting mountain foxes and celestial maidens, among others.

Wang Anfeng solved a lantern riddle and chose a celestial maiden mask, which Zhang Tingyun wore on one side of her face. He led the little girl forward, following the stream of people; the light from the lanterns illuminated their path, extending far into the distant, seemingly endless reach.

In the sky above, flashes of fireworks ascended.

A loud burst, and the heavens were ablaze with brilliant stars.

The two of them stopped to watch as fireworks scattered across the sky like flares, and Wang Anfeng stared fixedly before turning to look at Zhang Tingyun. The little girl was wide-eyed, captivated by the fireworks above.

The scenery reflected in her eyes was even more entrancing.

"Tingyun, Old Taoist?!"

"Where are you all...?"

Qin Xiao was moving through the crowd like a headless fly, trying to find the people he had been separated from.

His face showed a hint of panic, but he was carried along by the tide of people, unable to move freely. Growing anxious, he bumped into several passersby, surrounded on all sides by people and the red lantern lights, unable to make out any direction.

Beside the path that the pushed Qin Xiao was taking, the old nursemaid from Zhang Family who had been following Zhang Tingyun got squeezed to one side of the crowd, watching the stream of people with a helpless, wry smile.

The old Taoist in his coarse robe sat in the dim light of the Liuxu Pavilion, next to another Taoist whose demeanor was serene and tranquil. The Supreme Taoist lifted his eyes to the fireworks exploding in the sky, took a sip of tea, and sighed leisurely.

The night of the Lantern Festival had arrived.

It was time to part...

A night of dancing dragons and phoenixes.

The fourth year of the Great Yuan Era during the Great Qin dynasty, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Supreme head from the Taoist Sect led a pair of youths and a slightly plumper black bear, bidding farewell to Zhang Tingyun's parents, returning to the ancestral Taoist home.

Wang Anfeng accompanied them alone for fifty li before turning back.

PS: The second update for today is here...