Lin Zhiwei watched Su Xuan leave with her junior sister. She placed the Jade Bi on the stone table and climbed the wall onto the roof in a few quick movements. Like a small cat, she followed the group of stewards across the rooftops.
“Wu Renyou, it is you…”
She narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the middle-aged man among the group.
If he had not coveted her and her sister, they would not be in this danger today.
With her personality, since they were already at a point of no return and she had the ability to resolve it, she would eliminate the threat entirely!
She crawled along, following them quietly from above.
‘If it can kill… it is a sword move!’
She closed her eyes slightly, feeling the words Su Xuan had spoken. A moment later, she swung her right hand violently toward Wu Renyou!
—
“Brother Shangguan, that kid was just bluffing! I was just being careless…”
Wu Renyou was supported by two colleagues as he looked at the old man from before, his face full of resentment.
“Enough. That was the Sword Control Technique. How could it be fake?”
The old man scolded him coldly. His name was Shangguan Jing. He had followed the Market Master in the family for a long time, possessing high seniority and cultivation. He was effectively the superior of these stewards.
“That kid… who knows where he stole it from! If he were really from the Luoshui Sword Sect, could he have lived so miserably these past few years?”
Wu Renyou grew even more exasperated.
“Wait… just wait until I am better. I will take that kid, along with those two little girls…”
He gritted his teeth, his eyes treacherous and cruel.
Shangguan Jing stroked his beard, also recalling Su Xuan’s situation over the past few years.
Su Xuan had only used one move earlier. In his shock, Shangguan Jing had not thought to check his cultivation. Could it really have been a bluff?
Seeing Wu Renyou’s certain expression, he could not help but feel a flicker of doubt.
Just as he was struggling to discern the truth, the air suddenly froze, turning almost solid.
He looked up in shock, only to see a massive wave of sword qi slashing straight down from above. It carried the overwhelming momentum of the world itself, leaving him without even the thought of resisting!
“I will take those…”
Wu Renyou was still thinking of revenge when the cruel smile froze on his face.
“Take those…”
His voice gradually faded, and his body was like something passing through an invisible spiderweb. It was divided into countless tiny fragments, and when the wind blew, it slowly turned into dust.
Shangguan Jing’s eyes widened as he stared at the tragic scene before him. After a long while, he subconsciously swallowed.
“May… May I ask which senior is here?”
He felt a chill run down his back, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He peered cautiously toward the direction the sword qi had come from.
Having unleashed the strike, Lin Zhiwei had already turned back toward home. He saw only a few strands of dark hair and the back of a white dress.
It was…
It was that young girl, Su Xuan’s disciple!
In his understanding, even some Golden Core masters he knew could not have executed that sword qi so effortlessly — especially with such precision that it only killed Wu Renyou without harming the rest of them at all!
Shangguan Jing stood there like he had been struck by lightning, dumbfounded.
As he came to his senses, he felt an immense sense of relief.
It was a good thing he had not listened to Wu Renyou’s talk of revenge. It was a good thing he had shown kindness to Su Xuan.
If a disciple he had taken in possessed such high sword cultivation, could the master be any weaker than the disciple?
He recalled Su Xuan’s appearance again. He no longer seemed frail; instead, he felt unfathomable.
No, such a person must be reported to the Market Master immediately!
Thinking of this, Shangguan Jing ignored his dignity and hurriedly turned to fly toward the Inner Market.
“Damn that Wu Renyou, that bastard almost got me killed!”
Only his faint echoes remained in the air.
—
Lin Zhiwei returned home along the rooftops.
She jumped down and quickly braced herself against the stone table, gasping for breath.
Delivering that strike was not nearly as easy as she had imagined. It had exhausted almost all the strength in her body. There was even a metallic taste of blood in her throat; she might have overextended her vitality.
She panted for a long while before regaining her strength, but her expression shifted into one of confusion.
Lin Zhiwei looked at her hands. She did not know why, but even though she had personally killed the villain who harbored malice toward her — and even though she had gained a sword technique of incredible power — she did not feel happy at all.
In her moments of confusion and doubt, it was Su Xuan’s guidance that had allowed her to achieve her current swordsmanship. She was full of gratitude for her master’s teaching and could see the kindness he showed them.
Yet, facing her master’s kindness, she did not dare to accept even a shred of it!
‘Father, Mother, can I trust him again?’
Leaning on the table, Lin Zhiwei pulled the Dagger from her robe and murmured to herself, falling into a memory.
Since she was old enough to remember, she had never seen her parents. The only thing that had accompanied her was this Dagger.
The people who raised her from childhood were an ordinary couple, farmers who called themselves her uncle and aunt.
As a young child, she thought they were her parents, but they repeatedly emphasized that they were only the people who had taken her in, and that she should call them uncle and aunt.
In her memory, even though they said they were only fostering her, they never deprived her of food, clothing, or basic needs. They even treated her better than their own son.
When she occasionally fell ill as a child, they were extremely anxious. They would go out in the wind and rain to find a physician and spend money to treat her.
Young Zhiwei kept every detail in her heart. To her, the parents she had never met were nowhere near as dear as her uncle and aunt. In her heart, she considered them her true parents.
Later, her uncle and aunt’s child was accepted as a disciple by a small sect. He had a bright future, leaving the three of them to live together in harmony.
But everything changed during the year she turned ten.
It was the annual Lantern Festival.
She accompanied her uncle and aunt to release lanterns. Facing the river full of floating lights, she silently made a wish.
“You will be ten years old after today, right? What wish did Zhiwei make? Was it for your father and mother to come and get you?”
She still remembered her aunt stroking her head, smiling with motherly kindness.
Lin Zhiwei did not answer. Her small face simply flushed red as she followed them home.
In the middle of the night, it suddenly began to rain. In the winter, the cold was bone-chilling.
She was so cold in her small room that she could not sleep. She thought of finding her uncle and aunt to huddle together for a warm night’s rest.
“Husband, our son’s illness is almost due. She is ten now. Shall we do it tomorrow?”
She had just reached the door when she was stunned by her aunt’s words.
“That is a human life… I… I cannot bear it.”
Her uncle’s voice was as honest and simple as always.
“Why did you adopt her? Was it not for this day?”
“What do you mean you cannot bear it? If we had not raised her to be this old, she would have starved to death long ago. She owes us!”
Her aunt’s words, usually so kind, were now as sharp as a knife.
“Sigh… fine.”
Her uncle eventually compromised.
Lin Zhiwei stood silently outside the door. The rain soaked her, flowing down her face. It was impossible to tell if it was tears or rain.
So, that was how it was.
All that meticulous care had been for the sake of saving their own child’s life today.
Young and silent, she stood there for a long time. It was only after her uncle and aunt’s lamp went out that she returned to her room.
In the early hours of the morning, she braved the rain and fled the house one step at a time. She took nothing but the clothes on her back and a Dagger.
From then on, she no longer believed that there was any kindness in this world that did not seek a reward.
Until now, facing Su Xuan, she had to make a choice once again.
‘Master, can I trust you this time?’
Lin Zhiwei lay on the table, curling her body and clutching the Dagger in her hand. She remained silent, feeling a bit cold.
Late autumn was passing again, and the New Year was approaching.
In a daze, she remembered that night of the Lantern Festival once more.
“What wish did you make?”
‘I hope that I can be family with my uncle and aunt for a lifetime, living in harmony and health.’