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With a heart still fluttering with excitement, Wang Bo finally reached the center of the crowd and looked closely. It turned out that a conflict had broken out. Several burly ruffians were completely helpless against a single youth.

"What marvelous martial arts that young man possesses," Wang Bo whispered to Xun Yu beside him, gazing at the youth in the middle of the crowd.

"Indeed," Xun Yu replied with a nod.

The two exchanged glances and then spotted Guo Jia, who was sitting off to the side cheering loudly. They walked over to join him.

Seeing that Guo Jia was unharmed, Wang Bo began to examine the youth in the center of the crowd more carefully.

The youth was quite young, appearing even a few years younger than Wang Bo himself. His build was not particularly robust, but his movements were remarkably agile. The large men struggled to lay a hand on him and were instead run ragged. However, youth was still youth, and stamina could hardly match that of several full-grown men. Although he currently held the upper hand, the situation was slowly turning. The youth was expending his energy at an alarming rate and had already begun to gasp heavily. Witnessing this scene, Wang Bo had no intention of intervening, but things rarely went as one wished.

"Bravo!" Seeing the youth kick yet another burly fellow to the ground, Guo Jia suddenly burst out with a loud cheer. As the old saying goes, trouble issues from the mouth. Originally, the three of them were merely watching the fun, but Guo Jia's cheer invited disaster. The ruffian who had just been kicked to the ground abruptly turned his head toward Guo Jia, his face contorted with terrifying rage.

Seeing this, Wang Bo knew things were about to go wrong. He gave Guo Jia a tug and hurriedly said to the burly man, "Good sir, please do not misunderstand. My little brother acted without thinking; I beg you not to take offense."

However, the man paid no heed to Wang Bo's words and instead strode toward the trio with a ferocious expression.

As the ruffian closed in, Wang Bo's heart turned half cold. The three of them lacked the youth's martial prowess, and being somewhat frail scholars, they would likely not even withstand a single punch from this brute.

Seeing that the ruffian was already quite close, Wang Bo hurriedly exchanged a meaningful look with Xun Yu. "Run!" Wang Bo shouted at the top of his lungs, and the three of them rapidly bolted backward.

Yet how could the ruffian let them off so easily? He immediately gave chase. Fortunately, all three were slender of build, allowing them to slip easily into the crowd. Seeing this, the ruffian grew furious and roared, "Grab those little rabbits for me!"

This ruffian was evidently the leader of the group. At his command, two of the men besieging the youth broke away and gave chase to Wang Bo and his companions.

Wang Bo's sudden movement significantly lessened the pressure on the youth. Gratefully casting a glance toward the fleeing trio, he saw only three miserable figures being hotly pursued. This struck a chord in the youth's heart. Although he did not know whether the three had shouted out of pure carelessness, they had undeniably helped him buy a way out. Filled with gratitude, the youth quickly extricated himself from the attackers' perimeter and sprinted toward Wang Bo's group.

He caught up to them just in time to dispatch a ruffian who was about to grab Guo Jia, successfully uniting all four.

"Many thanks to you all for rescuing Fu from that predicament. Fu is endlessly grateful."

"Let's just run first!" Wang Bo glanced at the youth beside him and spoke up. Alas, none of the four possessed great stamina, and seeing the ruffian and his men gaining ground, Wang Bo broke out in a cold sweat.

"We have no choice but to take a desperate gamble now," Wang Bo panted as they ran.

"What?" The other three were slightly startled by his words. Right at that moment, Wang Bo thrust a hand into his bosom. Groping around for whatever he could find, he let out a thunderous roar: "Take my hidden weapons!"

Before the pursuing ruffians could react, they saw a sheet of golden light flying straight toward their faces. They instinctively ducked, followed by a crisp clattering sound as numerous objects struck the ground.

Though the ruffians did not immediately realize what Wang Bo had thrown, there were sharp-eyed onlookers in the crowd who instantly recognized the items on the ground as copper coins. People immediately rushed forward to snatch the money. Once one person moved, the rest of the crowd reacted, terrified of falling behind, and surged toward the scattered coins. In an instant, the enthusiastic crowd completely blocked the road. By the time the ruffians figured out what was happening, there was not a single patch of empty ground left; all around them, people were bent over picking up cash. When the ruffians finally managed to elbow their way through, Wang Bo and his companions were long gone. The leader could only stamp his feet in bitter frustration.

After reaching a relatively safe location, the youth hurriedly bowed to the three of them and said, "Thank you all once again for helping Fu out of danger. I am deeply grateful."

"Think nothing of it, brother. Helping you was essentially helping ourselves. We have yet to ask your esteemed name."

"This humble one is Xu Fu."

"Brother Xu," Wang Bo stepped forward and bowed in return.

"May I ask the three honored names as well?" Xu Fu asked, returning the courtesy.

"This junior is Wang Bo."

"Guo Jia."

"Xun Yu." The three of them stepped forward in turn to introduce themselves.

At that moment, Wang Bo muttered softly to himself: *Xu Fu... why does this name sound so familiar? Are there any military generals named Xu Fu in the Three Kingdoms? Even if there are, they aren't exactly famous. So why do I have this slight impression? Xu Fu... wait. Xu Fu, Shan Fu, Xu Shu... is this person actually Xu Shu?* With a look of utter astonishment, Wang Bo raised his head again and happened to catch sight of Xu Fu chatting and laughing amiably with Guo Jia.

Wang Bo's sudden stare startled the other three severely. Fearing that their pursuers had caught up again, they hurriedly looked in the direction Wang Bo was staring. Finding no one there, they let out a sigh of relief. Then they asked with puzzled expressions, "Brother Wang, what is the matter? Why are you so shaken?"

"Ah?" Wang Bo snapped out of his daze, waved his hands, and said, "It's nothing, nothing at all. I was just suddenly reminded of that heart-pounding moment earlier and felt a lingering fear."

Hearing this, the three of them simultaneously wore expressions of complete understanding. After all, what had just happened truly had been harrowing.

At this juncture, Xu Fu bowed to Wang Bo once more and said, "If not for Brother Wang's quick wit just now, we would hardly have escaped unscathed."

Guo Jia and Xun Yu also recovered their composure and bowed to express their gratitude. Both felt somewhat helpless; the three of them had sneaked out to have some fun, harboring the audacious ambition of visiting a pleasure house, only for this incident to ruin their plans entirely.

"We are brothers, why stand on ceremony?" Wang Bo said with feigned dissatisfaction.

"Exactly, why be polite to our elder brother?" Guo Jia chimed in. He then turned to Xu Fu and asked, "I wonder how Brother Xu managed to provoke those ruffians?"

"It's a long story. It happened like this..." Just as Xu Fu was about to explain, Wang Bo interrupted, "Come, let's find an eatery, order a jar of fine wine, and listen properly to Brother Xu's tale."

Wang Bo's suggestion won enthusiastic approval from Guo Jia, and Xun Yu smiled and nodded in agreement. Seeing that all three concurred, Xu Fu raised no further objections and accompanied them toward a tavern.

Upon reaching the establishment, Wang Bo ordered several meat dishes along with jars of fine wine. Once everything was served, the four of them began to drink heartily. Amidst the lively exchange of cups, Xu Fu recounted the origin of his conflict with those men.

That ruffian was named Li Shan, a notorious local scoundrel in Yangzhai who bullied the weak and committed countless misdeeds. Since childhood, Xu Fu had deeply admired righteous martial artists who hated evil like poison and aided the distressed, vowing to become a stalwart hero himself. He had traveled far and wide to study under masters and diligently practice martial arts. Having just returned from one such apprenticeship, he happened to hear of Li Shan's latest atrocities. Consumed by righteous fury, Xu Fu had set out single-handedly to teach Li Shan a lesson. After searching high and low without success, just as he was about to give up, he spotted Li Shan entering a pleasure house with several subordinates. Though it felt somewhat inappropriate for a righteous man to enter such a place, upholding justice remained his sworn duty, and he had stormed inside anyway. The rest of the events were already known to Wang Bo and his companions.

Filled with admiration for Xu Fu's actions, the three of them repeatedly raised their cups to toast him. They drank until the sun sank below the western horizon. Realizing that the hour was growing late, Wang Bo exchanged a meaningful glance with Xun Yu, who understood and gently pulled at Guo Jia, who was still clutching his wine bowl. Wang Bo then stood up and said, "To make the acquaintance of Brother Xu today is truly a supreme fortune. We should have drunk until we dropped, but we have matters to attend to and must take our leave."

"Brother Wang, what are you saying? Since the three of you have affairs to attend to, I shall not press you further. I wish you all safe journeys." Xu Fu stood up, bowed to the trio, and called the tavern keeper to settle the bill. But the moment Xu Fu thrust his hand into his robe, his smiling expression froze. Wang Bo, well aware of what had happened, hurriedly stepped forward and said, "How could we let Brother Xu pay? We agreed from the start that I would treat everyone." With that, Wang Bo called the proprietor and thrust his hand into his own robes for money, only to instantly remember that he had scattered his entire fortune to the winds during their escape. In a flash, Wang Bo's expression turned intensely awkward.

The proprietor cast a strange look at the four of them, a flicker of suspicion rising in his heart. Had their attire not appeared relatively decent, he likely would have called for men to throw them out.

"Brother Wang, have you forgotten? Your purse is with me." Just as Wang Bo found himself in utmost awkwardness, a gentle voice sounded beside his ear like a savior's call. Wang Bo turned his head and saw that it was indeed Xun Yu. Wang Bo felt a surge of profound gratitude. Yet the act still had to be played out; he slapped his forehead dramatically and said with a realization, "Ah, no wonder I couldn't find it! It was with you all along." With that, Wang Bo took the purse from Xun Yu's hand and handed it to the proprietor to settle the tab.

Seeing that the four patrons had finally produced the money, the proprietor banished his suspicious gaze, replacing it with a fawning smile. "Please wait a moment, honored guests."

Disregarding the mercenary tavern keeper, the four settled their bill and sauntered leisurely toward the city gates. Fortunately, they reached the gates just before they were bolted for the night.

"Brother Xu, please stay your steps. We must take our leave," Wang Bo said with a bow, followed closely by Guo Jia and Xun Yu.

Xu Fu hastily returned the courtesy. "Brother Wang is too polite. If we meet by fate again another day, I will surely drink till we are dead drunk with you all."

"Naturally. Farewell!"

"Farewell!"

After the formalities were finally concluded, the three of them hurried out of the city and headed straight back toward the academy.

The sun had completely vanished below the horizon, and the sky grew increasingly dark. In the outskirts of Yangzhai City, three furtive figures were sneaking around the grounds of Yingchuan Academy, searching for something. These three were none other than Wang Bo, Guo Jia, and Xun Yu. Having bid farewell to Xu Fu, they had made all haste back to the academy, yet they were still too late. By the time they drew near, night had fallen entirely. That was not even the worst of it; the worst part was that Guo Jia, having consumed a fair amount of wine, was lightheaded and dizzy, utterly failing to find the hidden breach through which they had originally slipped out.

"Well? Have you found it yet or not?" Wang Bo asked anxiously.

"Not yet," Guo Jia replied weakly, his voice entirely devoid of conviction.

"What are we to do now?" Wang Bo muttered in exasperation as the sky grew darker still. Xun Yu was equally depressed; who could have foreseen this turn of events? Glancing at Guo Jia, who was still straining to locate the entrance, Xun Yu suggested, "Perhaps we should enter through the main gate. At this hour, the academy gates may not have been bolted yet."

"That is certainly an option, though it carries some risk," Wang Bo muttered thoughtfully, nodding. He then turned to Guo Jia and asked, "What do you think?"

What more could Guo Jia say at this point? Since he was the one who had failed to find the entry point, he could only nod helplessly and reply, "It seems our only choice."

With Guo Jia's consent, the three of them crept stealthily toward the academy's main entrance.

Upon reaching the front gate, they found Xun Yu's conjecture confirmed: the gates had not yet been locked. Wang Bo motioned for the other two to hold their positions while he slowly edged closer to the entrance. The quiet gateway was desolate, devoid of a single soul. Wang Bo let out a deep breath and waved his hand. Receiving the signal, Xun Yu and Guo Jia scurried on tiptoe to the gate.

"Go!" Wang Bo whispered softly, and with a whoosh, he darted into the academy grounds, running for his life toward the back courtyard. Xun Yu and Guo Jia hurried to keep pace, though their physical endurance fell short of Wang Bo's. As they watched him steadily widen the gap, the two inwardly cursed him, yet had no choice but to accept reality.

They made it safely to the back courtyard, and the tension gripping Wang Bo's heart finally eased. *Safe at last,* he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow. Turning back, he saw Guo Jia and Xun Yu panting like oxen.

"All right, back to our rooms. See you tomorrow." It was Xun Yu who spoke; with those words, he turned and walked toward his own quarters.

After Xun Yu departed, Wang Bo felt soreness spread through his entire body. *Probably from overexertion,* he mused. Tugging at the still-dazed Guo Jia, the two shuffled slowly toward their dwelling.

Approaching the cabin, Wang Bo rubbed his left eye and complained with a frown, "Why is my eyelid twitching so much? Could some misfortune be about to happen?" Yet looking at his own front door, he figured he was just being paranoid. *We're right at our doorstep, what could possibly go wrong?* Shaking his head, he pushed the door open.

The room was pitch black, devoid of light. Groping his way in the dark, Wang Bo reached the desk, felt around for the oil lamp, and slowly lit it.

"Aah!"

A scream of sheer terror rang out from Wang Bo's room, carrying far into the night.

The entire back courtyard instantly erupted in commotion because of that cry. Scholars tumbled out of their quarters in a panic, quickly gathering outside Wang Bo's cabin and peering anxiously inside.

"What are you all looking at?" Sima Hui's stern voice boomed from within the room, causing the gathered scholars to shrink their necks in fear. Hearing that angry tone, they instantly knew the master was currently in a towering rage—who would dare stroke the tiger's whiskers at such a moment? In the blink of an eye, the space outside Wang Bo's door was completely deserted.

"M-Master..." Facing Sima Hui's livid expression, Wang Bo felt his head swell to the size of a bushel. Even Guo Jia, still tipsy moments before, snapped to sobriety and stared at Sima Hui with utter dread.

*If this isn't wretched luck, what is? We finally managed to sneak back, only to be caught red-handed by the master.* Wang Bo felt a boundless wave of grief and indignation; at that moment, he truly felt like crying without tears.

"What? Are you so afraid to see your master?" Sima Hui glared at Wang Bo with a chilling smile.

"No..." Wang Bo shook his head frantically.

"This is all my fault! If the master wishes to punish someone, punish me alone. It has nothing to do with my elder brother," Guo Jia blurted out from the side.

"Master, do not listen to Guo Jia! It is entirely my fault. I was the one who wanted to go into the city, so I dragged Guo Jia along," Wang Bo hurriedly corrected.