“No, this is a disgrace to Broken Sword Manor. Please stay at the manor tonight so I can prepare a feast to apologize to Miss Xue,” Jian Wuming insisted.
"Really, it's not necessary. I've already paid the deposit for the inn. Is that right, Liuying?" Xue Qing winked at Liuying.
"Yes," Liu Ying echoed, her gaze drifting further into the distance.
"Miss Xue, please don't refuse anymore. The sword without a heart can only be modified by tonight at the earliest. If you stay at the manor tonight, you can take the modified sword and set off first thing tomorrow morning. Wouldn't that be more convenient?"
"It'll take that long?"
"The rules passed down from generation to generation at Broken Sword Manor stipulate that there are 81 steps to making a sword and 49 steps to modifying a sword, and none of them can be omitted."
“Uncle-Master, it’s good to stay here. Tomorrow we can go directly to Mount Goulou, saving some travel time,” Liu Ying said.
"Alright, thank you for your trouble." Xue Qing said with a forced smile. She was really afraid of Jian Wuming, a cold and aloof man whose thoughts were hard to fathom.
Jian Wuxin was nowhere to be seen all afternoon. It was said that in order to complete the task within the time limit set by Jian Wuming, he stayed in his private sword-forging room and didn't even eat lunch.
"Although this second young master is unreliable, his work ability is quite reassuring, isn't it?" Xue Qing asked Liu Ying with some anticipation, wondering if her hidden sword would also become a powerful weapon.
"The reputation of Broken Sword Manor has been passed down through generations and has never been tarnished. You can rest assured about the work you entrust to them, Uncle."
Looking at Liu Ying's face, he clearly didn't want to mention Jian Wuxin's name, yet he still had to give an objective evaluation. His awkward little appearance made Xue Qing want to pinch his cheek. Liu Ying dodged back as if he had been burned. Xue Qing smiled wickedly and withdrew her hand, her heart pounding wildly. How could she have suddenly become so infatuated?
The apology banquet at Broken Sword Manor was indeed lavish, with a table full of splendid items that rivaled Xue Qing's hidden sword. After everyone had found their seats, Jian Wuxin appeared, looking travel-worn, with mud and grime still on his face, and carrying a hidden sword wrapped in silk in his arms.
"Phew... thankfully I made it in time... phew... brother... phew... I didn't exceed the time you set..." Jian Wuxin said breathlessly as he placed several disassembled gems on the table.
"Young Master Wuxin, you've worked so hard." Xue Qing was very grateful to see that Jian Wuxin was so tired from modifying her sword.
"For the sake of my sweet little Qingqing, so she won't be tired, what do you think?" Jian Wuxin said, lifting the silk cloth to reveal the modified hidden sword. Because the gems had been removed once, the blade was narrower than before, but... why were there still several blindingly bright gems on the blade?
"...Young Master Wuxin, weren't the gems on the sword already removed?"
"Well, you didn't like the original one, so I took it off and added a few new ones. How is it? Do you like it?" Jian Wuxin waited happily for Xue Qing's praise.
If Xue Qing hadn't lost all her internal energy, the white porcelain cup in her hand would definitely be broken by now.
drunk
"This piece of pure blue tortoise-shell jade is extremely rare, with a pure color that is not monotonous..." Jian Wuming was about to praise the gemstone on the sword again.
Xue Qing finally exploded: "No! I don't want it no matter how rare it is! Even if it's rarer than the gallstones left by Emperor Kangxi, I still don't want it! Why should a simple and cultured girl like me carry a sword that's more flashy than a male peacock's tail during mating season! Carrying this sword at night will easily make robbers think I'm trying to set off a signal flare to fight back and kill me to silence me!"
After the roar, all was quiet. The thoughts of Jian Wuming and Jian Wuxin were not the same.
Jian Wuming: There are many things I can't understand in Miss Xue's words. It may be the dialect of the area near Lingyu Mountain. Women who practice martial arts are all short-tempered. My mother is like that. In the future, I will have to marry a woman who does not know martial arts to be the first wife of Duanjian Manor.
Jian Wuxin: My future wife has amazing stamina. She can talk for so long without getting out of breath. Oh no, I might end up being the one next to her. Starting tomorrow, I'll have to run around the villa every day.
Xue Qing, of course, had no idea what the two brothers opposite her were thinking. She just felt great to have vented. Liu Ying coughed lightly twice to indicate that Xue Qing had been impolite. Xue Qing turned her head slightly and mouthed to him, "If you don't tell me, your uncle will go to the Western Paradise to fetch scriptures for Tang Sanzang."
"Miss Xue, please don't get agitated..." Before Jian Wuming could finish speaking, a maid stumbled in.
"Young Master, Young Master says his hand hurts and he won't go to sleep," the maid said timidly.
"Okay, you can go back now."
Jian Wuming thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "I'll go check on Wuyi and Wuxin. You stay with Miss Xue for now."
Jian Wuxin leaned back in his chair, looking rather unsteady, and said while waving his hand, "I know, don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of Xiao Qingqing."
Jian Wuming nodded and walked out. Jian Wuming was relieved, but Xue Qing was not. However, with Liu Ying and Jian Die present, Jian Wuxin probably wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.
"My dear Qingqing, since you've come to Broken Sword Manor, I should offer you a toast," Jian Wuxin said, raising his wine cup to Xue Qing.
A man like Jian Wuxin would never offer a woman a drink out of politeness; he only drinks with women to get them drunk. Xue Qing picked up her cup to drink, but Liu Ying stopped her.
"Uncle-Master is not fully recovered and should not drink alcohol, so I will drink it for you." With that, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Jian Wuxin wasn't very happy after sharing a drink with Liu Ying. If he would be happy after sharing a drink with a man, Xue Qing should suspect that the article she was reading was actually posted on a pornographic channel.
Cocoon Butterfly stood alone, holding a wine glass. Her keen senses, honed in the desert like those of a wild beast, made her feel the stiffness in the atmosphere. She watched the three people, their eyes sparkling, with curiosity as she drank her wine alone.
"To the past friendship between Broken Sword Manor and Lingyu Sect, my dear little Qingqing, I'll toast you again," Jian Wuxin said, raising his cup once more.
Liu Ying drank another cup.
Xue Qing stood there, stunned, holding her wine glass. If she didn't know that Liu Ying's sexual orientation was perfectly normal, she would have thought that Liu Ying was pursuing Jian Wuxin.
Jian Wuxin was anxious. Before he came, he had specially replaced the new rice wine that Jian Wuming had prepared with aged liquor in the kitchen, thinking that if he got Xue Qing drunk, the two of them could make bolder progress. Why was her junior nephew so enthusiastic?
"To the ever-growing friendship between our two factions," Jian Wuxin said, raising his glass again with unwavering determination.
Liu Ying drank again. After downing the glass, his body swayed visibly, and he slammed the glass down on the table. Xue Qing, still holding her glass, was somewhat surprised. Liu Ying was usually quiet and stealthy, like a cat; how could he possibly make such a loud noise at the table?
Liu Ying reached her hand to Xue Qing's chin, rubbed her chin twice with the pad of her index finger, as if wiping away dust, then pinched Xue Qing's chin, took her hand and brought the wine glass in Xue Qing's hand to her lips: "Drink it."
Xue Qing's eyes widened. She had never seen Liu Ying like this before. The smell of strong liquor seemed to emanate from his skin. His eyes were slightly flushed, and his cheeks were as pink as if he had applied rouge. His chin, which was touched by his fingers, was burning hot. These symptoms were clearly... the medical term is "acute alcohol poisoning," which is commonly known as "drunkenness." Liu Ying was clearly drunk!
"What are you doing!" Jian Wuxin was anxious and stood up, trying to pull Liu Ying away from Xue Qing.
With her other hand, Liu Ying drew her sword, pressing the tip against Jian Wuxin's neck, forcing him back into his chair. Jian Wuxin had no weapon with him, and even if he did, his swordsmanship, which he practiced in his spare time, was no match for the specialized swordsmanship of the Lingyu School. Jian Die, clutching her wine cup, blinked. Logically, in this situation, she would have used violence against the man who was harassing her aunt, but the one harassing her aunt was Liu Ying, whom she had become familiar with along the way. She couldn't lay a hand on Liu Ying, so she continued to drink her wine alone, like a hamster licking honey.
Xue Qing obediently drank the wine. It's best to go along with a drunk person, otherwise who knows what they might do.
After Xue Qing finished her drink, Liu Ying refilled it and handed it to her, saying, "Drink."
Xue Qing's eyebrows were practically drawn out into three lines. She hadn't expected Liu Ying to be such a terrible drinker. No wonder he rarely drank. Once he sobered up and she told him about this, he'd probably want to dig a hole and bury himself alive. It seemed Liu Ying's only pleasure when drunk was getting Xue Qing drunk. Xue Qing couldn't help but want to complain, "Then why bother drinking for her? She might as well just have a drinking contest with Jian Wuxin and die!"