Chapter 8

In the early morning, Wang Feng, who was comfortably lying in bed having a sweet dream, was awakened by a series of loud rooster crows. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, cursed the rooster that interrupted his conversation with his ex-girlfriend from a past life, and got up to put on his clothes. Zhang Weixin, who was sleeping on the bed next to him, had already risen and walked to the window, where he pushed it open. The sky seemed to be just past six in the morning. After taking a few breaths of fresh air, he felt invigorated. Soon, a servant from the Zhong family brought in water for washing, towels, salt, and a few willow branches that Wang Feng did not know the purpose of, asking them to wash up and informing them that breakfast would be served in about half an hour. After the servants left, Wang Feng approached Zhang Weixin and asked, "Teacher Zhang, what are they sending us salt and willow branches for so early in the morning? They can't be for breakfast, right?" His words made Zhang Weixin laugh uncontrollably, completely losing his usual solemn demeanor as a teacher. This left Wang Feng quite frustrated, gritting his teeth and cursing that he should have laughed so hard that he lost his teeth. Seeing his expression, Zhang Weixin quickly stopped laughing and said, "They are not for eating. If I'm not mistaken, they are for brushing teeth." He then began to clean his teeth with the willow branches and rinse his mouth with salt water, following the methods he had read in books. Wang Feng followed his example, finally completing the morning washing routine.

After washing up, seeing that there was still some time before breakfast, Wang Feng took off his shirt and started exercising in the courtyard. He did high knees, push-ups, sit-ups, and a few punching and kicking movements before stopping. Zhang Weixin, who was not interested in exercise, was even motivated to move his body a bit. While Wang Feng was showing off his well-defined abs to Zhang Weixin, he was unaware that a pair of beautiful big eyes was peering through the door crack, admiring his muscular body and hesitating whether to barge in and confront him. The owner of these big eyes was none other than the young miss of the Zhong family. She had originally come to monitor these two strange scholars but was unexpectedly captivated by this scene.

The young miss had already been outside the door when the servants delivered the washing supplies. The servants, following her instructions, did not make a sound, so the two men in the courtyard did not realize they were being watched while they washed and exercised. Although the young miss had seen the two men at the banquet last night, she had only caught a brief glimpse before running away, so she had not seen their faces clearly. Today, upon seeing them, she couldn't help but admire them in her heart. The older one was just average in appearance, not as good-looking as the "dog-skin plaster" Xu Gongzi. The younger one, however, was a rare handsome young man, tall, probably about eight feet tall. Although his skin was fair, he did not look weak. He had a heroic aura about him, giving off a vibrant and energetic vibe. Especially when he was exercising, his strong and well-defined muscles, combined with his handsome face, made him look like a reincarnation of Zhou Gongjin. Thus, the young miss was so captivated by this modern Zhou Gongjin that she blushed and her heart raced, completely forgetting that he knew martial arts.

Just as the young miss was admiring "Zhou Lang," someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. She was so startled that she let out a loud "Ah!" and turned around to see her brother standing there, apparently shocked by her scream and confused by her strong reaction. The young miss, now furious at being caught peeping at the half-naked man exercising, angrily shouted at her brother, "What are you doing?" Her brother, who was also startled by her scream, quickly recovered and asked, "I came to call the two scholars for breakfast. What are you doing here?" The young miss, caught off guard, couldn't say that she was watching the handsome man exercise, so she stubbornly replied, "None of your business." She then turned and ran away, leaving her brother thoroughly confused.

At this moment, the two men in the courtyard heard the noise and came to open the gate. Seeing the young master of the Zhong family standing there with a puzzled look, they quickly asked what was going on. The young master turned around and, seeing Wang Feng with his chest bare, his expression became strange. When the guests asked, he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Oh, breakfast is ready. I came to invite the two scholars." Although Zhang and Wang were a bit confused, they didn't ask more and said, "Thank you," before following him to the dining area.

After breakfast, Mr. Zhong, who had an appointment with Old Sun's son, left to go out, leaving the young master to accompany the two guests. The young master then accompanied Zhang and Wang back to their guest room, and the three young men started chatting about various topics. During the conversation, the young master casually asked about their ages and marital status, which the two men didn't pay much attention to. Zhang Weixin said he was 35 years old, married for many years, and had a son. However, his wife and child were lost in a storm at sea and were probably already dead. At this point, Zhang Weixin, who had not shown any emotion since his arrival, felt a deep sorrow at the thought of never seeing his wife and child again. The young master, seeing this, quickly comforted him. Wang Feng, watching from the side, also felt a deep sense of loss, thinking about never seeing his parents and friends again. The young master had to continue comforting him and, from Wang Feng's later introduction, learned that he was 27 years old, unmarried, and had only his cousin with him in China. Satisfied with the answer, the young master gave Wang Feng a meaningful look, but Zhang and Wang, lost in their grief, did not notice. After a while, seeing that the two guests were not in high spirits, the young master tactfully excused himself, saying he would come back to call them for lunch.

After the young master left, Zhang and Wang grieved for a while before finally pulling themselves together and began discussing whether to wait in the village or go into the mountains to meet the rest of their team. After much deliberation, they decided to wait at the place where they had parted ways with Zeng Zhilin the previous day to avoid unnecessary trouble. After all, they couldn't be sure that Mr. Zhong had no suspicions about them, and going into the mountains could easily cause misunderstandings. Wang Feng then took out a walkie-talkie from his backpack, adjusted the frequency, and placed it on the windowsill to reduce obstacles. When the distance was right, they could receive any calls from their team.

Time passed, and even after lunch, there was still no response from the walkie-talkie. Zhang and Wang began to feel anxious, and Wang Feng almost couldn't hold back his urge to go into the mountains to check. They weren't worried about their team encountering any accidents on the way, but they were concerned that Zeng Zhilin might have run into trouble on his way back. After all, he was alone, and if anything happened, he would have no one to help him. Just as they were getting more and more anxious, the walkie-talkie emitted a "beep," and Zeng Zhilin's loud voice finally came through: "Main force calling forward force, main force calling forward force. Please respond if you hear, please respond if you hear." Zhang and Wang almost jumped out of their chairs and rushed to the walkie-talkie. In the end, Wang Feng, who had martial arts training, was the first to grab it and, somewhat excited, said, "This is the forward force, this is the forward force. Please report your position, please report your position."

"We are about 500 meters from where we parted ways yesterday. Please come to meet us, please come to meet us."

"Forward force understood, forward force understood."

Zeng Zhilin's call was the order to act. Zhang and Wang immediately put the walkie-talkie in their pockets and rushed out of the courtyard to find Young Master Zhong Shiwén.

As Zhang and Wang pulled Young Master Zhong Shiwén along, although he didn't understand how they knew their companions were coming, he saw that their expressions were genuine and gave a signal to Zhong Fu. He then led a few servants and followed them to the western entrance of the village. After they left, Zhong Fu also hurried out of the Zhong residence and headed north.

When they arrived at the western entrance of the village, they looked towards the nearby hill. After a short wait, they saw figures appearing on the hill, one by one, until a total of fourteen people were visible. Wang Feng excitedly waved to them and, along with Zhang Weixin, quickly walked over. Young Master Zhong Shiwén, seeing this, hurriedly led his servants to follow. On the other side, Zeng Zhilin also waved to them.

The two groups finally met, and Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin's hands tightly clasped together. The穿越者们 were all quite moved, and a few of the women couldn't help but shed a few tears. Of course, some people saw this scene and felt it had a bit of a "meeting of the armies" vibe. After the excitement, Zhang and Wang quickly introduced everyone, and the group met Young Master Zhong Shiwén one by one before returning to the Zhong residence together in high spirits.

As the group laughed and chatted their way back to the Zhong residence, on a hill to the north of the village entrance, three people stood watching. The person in the middle was none other than Mr. Zhong, who had gone to Zhoukou Town earlier in the day. It was unclear how he had returned so quickly from a distance of over twenty miles. Standing beside him were Zhong Fu and Zhong Gui. Seeing that the group had entered the village, Mr. Zhong nodded to Zhong Fu. Zhong Fu quickly went to the hill where the穿越者s had come from. After a while, Zhong Fu returned and shook his head. Mr. Zhong sighed with relief and instructed Zhong Gui, "Go and report back to County Magistrate Chen that I have confirmed these strangers are indeed Han people returning from overseas and are not criminals. There is no need to arrest and interrogate them. He has been a great help, and I will visit him in a few days to thank him."

"Yes, I will go right away," Zhong Gui replied and turned to head east. Mr. Zhong then instructed Zhong Fu to go back and report to Young Master Zhong Shiwén, while he himself walked to Old Sun's house to arrange another time to take his son into town.

On the side of Young Master Zhong Shiwén, he welcomed the "returnees from overseas" into the Zhong residence, had tea served, and arranged accommodations for them. Although there were over ten people in the group, the east wing of the courtyard where Zhang and Wang had stayed the previous night had enough rooms to accommodate them without feeling crowded. The group, under the guidance of the servants, busily handled their luggage, washed their faces, and cleaned their hands, all in high spirits.