"kindness."
“He once told me that no one else in the world was worthy of using Suwen, and asked me to melt it down after his death. I never expected that it would still be passed on to you.”
"He kept saying that my mind wasn't stable enough and that I couldn't use Suwen, but then he suddenly changed his mind for some reason." Liu Ying couldn't figure out what Dong Chou was thinking either.
“Since he has such high hopes for you, I will take you to see Ling Shu,” Linghu Chenguang said, standing up.
Liu Ying and Xue Qing followed him to the Linghu clan's underground secret chamber, which contained all sorts of weapons—the Linghu clan's treasures. At the very back was the room where the Spirit Pivot was kept; the Spirit Pivot sword alone occupied the entire room because…
“This is an unlucky sword, and I keep it separate,” Linghu Chenguang said. “This sword is stained with blood. It’s not that it has killed many people; not many people have died by this sword. More people have died because of it.”
The Test of the Sword
The sword room where the Spirit Pivot was kept was just an ordinary stone-walled room, empty except for a sword hanging on the central wall. Its bronze scabbard was no different from those displayed in a typical blacksmith's shop, and even less refined than Xue Qing's hidden sword; it was so crude it almost didn't seem like something made by the ancestors of Broken Sword Manor. In Xue Qing's mind, a Spirit Pivot, if not magnificent, should at least be a finely crafted, high-end piece; this one wouldn't even be picked up if thrown on the street.
"...Senior, did you come to the wrong house? It's not quite what I imagined." Xue Qing asked Linghu Chenguang hesitantly.
"Take the sword down and let me see it," Linghu Chenguang said confidently.
Xue Qing took the sword off the wall, almost falling over from the force. It was much lighter than a regular sword, weighing only about one-tenth the weight of the Qingyun Sword. When she pulled it out, at first glance it seemed like there was no blade. Upon closer inspection, the blade was indeed attached to the hilt, but the material was so crystal clear that it looked transparent if you didn't look closely.
"Is this the Spirit Pivot?" Xue Qing had never seen such a sword before. She couldn't tell what the material was. It looked like glass and would shatter at the slightest touch. Could this thing even be used to cut people?
Liu Ying also moved closer to look at the sword in Xue Qing's hand. Her slender fingers pressed down on the middle of the Ling Shu sword, and the blade of the Ling Shu sword actually bent into a semi-circular arc according to the force of Liu Ying's fingers.
“What amazing resilience,” Firefly said.
"Ling Shu, the softest sword in the world, the only nemesis of evil and bewitching divine skills." Linghu Chenguang lovingly stroked the blade of Ling Shu.
Xue Qing held the sword but was troubled. This sword was so soft, could it cut Yan Ming's little sister?
"Then, this sword is for me?" Xue Qing asked Linghu Chenguang.
"No, because..."
As they were talking, the door was kicked open, and a boy of about ten years old stood in the doorway, glaring angrily at the three people inside: "Ling Shu is mine!"
The little boy ran over angrily, trying to snatch Xue Qing's sword. Xue Qing, having finally found the Spirit Pivot, was naturally unwilling to hand it over easily, clinging tightly to it. Both held onto the Spirit Pivot tightly, locked in a tug-of-war. Xue Qing's body, due to her martial arts training, possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary people. For a ten-year-old child to have the strength to contend with her—were all the people on this mountaintop possessing superhuman strength?!
"Little brother, let go! Miss Xue has brought guests with her, Zui Huai Chun. Have you forgotten the hospitality of our Linghu clan?" Linghu Chenguang stopped him, pulled the little boy aside, and apologized to Xue Qing, "This is my little brother, Linghu Julin. He's the youngest in his family, and he's always been spoiled. Please forgive him."
The Linghu clan's way of treating guests... isn't it just that they only receive guests when there's wine?... It can hardly be called very polite.
"Ling Shu is mine! I won't give it to her!" Linghu Julin said angrily.
Xue Qing didn't take the child's words seriously, and deliberately teased Linghu Julin, saying, "Why won't you give it to me? Give me a reason."
"I am a great hero, and a great hero should be equipped with a fine sword. The Spirit Pivot is mine, and I will not give it to anyone else. Brother, you promised to leave the Spirit Pivot to me!" Linghu Julin looked at Linghu Chenguang angrily.
Linghu Chenguang picked at his ear with one finger and muttered softly, "It's all because you're always bothering me. I just want some peace and quiet."
“A heroine should also be equipped with a good sword. I am a heroine, and I also need a Ling Shu.” Xue Qing made a face at Linghu Julin.
Liu Ying shook her head helplessly, wondering why she was arguing with a child.
Linghu Julin's face flushed red with anger: "You unreasonable woman! You'll never get married! You'll never get married! Just like Second Sister!"
"Little brother, who are you saying can't get married?"
A sinister voice came from behind Linghu Julin. Xue Qing could clearly see the tall Linghu Zhencai standing behind him, with that fierce expression... she really would never be able to get married.
“A true hero should be open-minded. Since you overheard me, do with me as you please,” Linghu Julin said, stretching his neck out.
"I'm sorry, I've caused you both trouble. I'll take him back and give him a good 'education'," Linghu Zhencai said, lifting Linghu Julin up by one arm and carrying him out like a briefcase. Linghu Julin struggled desperately, crying out, "My Ling Shu! My Ling Shu!"
"Please excuse my rudeness. I've always wanted to be a great hero, and I even secretly designated Ling Shu as my sword. Miss Xue, you don't need to worry too much. If you take the sword and run far away now, he definitely won't be able to find you," Linghu Chenguang said.
Xue Qing came to retrieve the spirit scepter openly and honestly, so why did she act as if she were stealing a hen? "This is not good. He's so young. Won't this have a negative impact on him?"
"It's alright. He'll think that as a swordsman he can't even protect his own sword, and he might become despondent. He might become an assassin on the Blood Ranking with the lifelong ambition of killing you. At worst, he might take his own life. That's all," Linghu Chenguang said with a yawn.
Xue Qing's eyebrows twitched; none of these three points were "just that."
"Liu Ying, did I hear about suicide and becoming an assassin?" Xue Qing asked Liu Ying again to confirm.
"Yes, the way of the swordsman is that the sword is more important than life. It's rare that he has such a strong sense of swordsmanship at such a young age," Liu Ying said approvingly.
"You, you're all bad people! Don't you know that teenagers need to grow up healthy in body and mind!" Xue Qing looked at the two indifferent people with disdain. In Wuji, Wu Huan held a grudge against Qingcheng because of a steamed bun. This was a sword, after all. It wasn't impossible that Linghu Julin would dedicate his life to hunting her down for a sword. Xue Qing ran out the door. She had to take Ling Shu with her. Before that, she had to make Linghu Julin accept her as the rightful master of Ling Shu without any resentment.
After Xue Qing left, only Liu Ying and Linghu Chenguang remained in the empty sword room.
"Is this your test? Isn't it too easy?" Liu Ying said to Linghu Chenguang calmly.
"Is it simple? Don't underestimate me. If you hadn't come, I really was planning to hand over Ling Shu to him." Linghu Chenguang smiled for no apparent reason and said that whether Ling Shu was the one destined for him was for her to find out for herself.
Inside the Qilin Pavilion, Xiao Guiying and Cheng Ling were discussing matters in the hall when a guard brought in a letter and presented it to Xiao Guiying.
"What's wrong?" Cheng Ling asked anxiously when she saw Xiao Guiying's complexion getting worse.
"...Qiao Yijun from the Wudang Sect was assassinated and seriously injured." Xiao Guiying was a little embarrassed when he said Qiao Yijun's name. Everyone in the martial arts world knew the joke about Cheng Ling being rejected by Qiao Yijun.
Cheng Ling didn't care about this joke; she only asked with concern, "Is the injury serious?"
"His life wasn't seriously injured, but it wasn't minor either. Those assassins came to kill him; he escaped death this time," Xiao Gui replied.
"Another assassin from the Underworld Sect?"
"It doesn't look like it."