The cursed blades in the cave had turned to dust due to some unknown, well-meaning cause. Chu Xinghui no longer hesitated and approached the altar to retrieve the spiritual sword.

He sent spiritual power into the sword, and its glow suddenly intensified.

The cold and clear spiritual energy radiated from the sword, and the residual evil energy in the cave was instantly cleared.

Chu Xinghui felt the connection between him and the sword and furrowed his brows: “It’s bound by a contract.”

Xie Liufeng nodded: “If there were no contract, we wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

Since meeting the black bird, it had been hovering around them, and Chu Xinghui had already suspected this outcome. However, he was curious about when exactly the contract had been formed.

The moment he grasped the sword, the subtle connection between him and it solidified, and Chu Xinghui used the connection to trace back to the moment the contract had been made.

Then, a scene appeared in mid-air—the moment the black bird had forcibly knocked him off the cliff.

Xie Liufeng stifled his laughter but couldn’t hold it in, and chuckled.

Chu Xinghui had never wanted to share the details of his first encounter with the black bird before meeting Xie Liufeng.

No wonder when he found the black bird for the first time, he had just yanked out half its feathers.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He was definitely going to replace this sword spirit with someone more reliable.

The black bird, unaware that it was being sentenced to death over and over by Chu Xinghui, sneakily watched from the side before hastily flying over to grab Chu Xinghui’s old spiritual sword, planning to make some room for itself and perhaps have a bite to eat.

After all, it already had its original form to be used by Chu Xinghui. This old sword should retire early!

Chu Xinghui was quick on his feet, grabbing the bird by the neck and forcing it to spit out the sword.

Then, through the contract, he forcibly shoved the black bird back into its original form and locked it up.

Once he confirmed that the poor bird wouldn’t be causing trouble anytime soon, Chu Xinghui finally felt that it was a good thing the black bird had returned to its original form.

At least, locking it up didn’t require a cage.

Xie Liufeng watched him smoothly perform the entire sequence of actions and laughed: “You should replace it. This new sword is more suitable for you.”

Chu Xinghui looked down, hesitating as he stared at the two swords in his hands.

It had been easy for him to replace his first sword, but now, parting with the one he had been using for so long was harder.

Perhaps because he had already grown accustomed to the feel of this sword in his hand, or perhaps… because this sword was a gift from Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng seemed to sense his thoughts. He took the old sword from his hands, bent down, and personally placed the new spiritual sword on his waist.

He adjusted the sword’s position, stepped back, and admired his work, fully satisfied: “There, old things go, and new things come.”

Chu Xinghui touched the new sword at his waist and said nothing more in opposition.

Xie Liufeng picked up the old sword from the side, unconsciously glancing at Chu Xinghui’s storage bag.

The storage bag immediately complied with his thoughts, taking the old sword inside.

Xie Liufeng froze for a moment: “How can I open your storage bag?”

Chu Xinghui acted as if nothing had happened and shifted his gaze away: “Is it a problem?”

Xie Liufeng stood there stunned for a while, finally snapping back to reality: “When did you add me?”

Chu Xinghui kept a straight face, determined to play dumb: “I don’t know.”

Xie Liufeng asked softly: “Do you realize that giving someone permission to open your storage bag is a very dangerous thing?”

Chu Xinghui remained silent for a moment, then, with a little hesitation, fiddled with the hilt of his new sword before lifting his head to meet Xie Liufeng’s gaze: “I won’t give anyone else permission, only you.”

Xie Liufeng couldn’t quite place what he felt, his emotions a bit conflicted.

After a long pause, he sighed and ruffled Chu Xinghui’s hair: “Aren’t you worried I’ll do something bad to you?”

Chu Xinghui thought about it for a moment before answering seriously: “If you wanted to do something bad to me, I’d probably… forgive you first.”

He honestly couldn’t imagine a scenario where Xie Liufeng would harm him. If such a thing were to happen, his first reaction would be to think that Xie Liufeng must have a reason.

Moreover, if Xie Liufeng wanted to do something bad, he wouldn’t need to use the storage bag.

Xie Liufeng sighed deeply, clearly a bit afraid of him now: “Alright, alright, stop saying that. If you say two more things, I might just end up giving myself to you.”

Chu Xinghui was immediately interested and looked up at him: “Would you really give yourself?”

If so, he wouldn’t mind saying a few more things.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He grabbed Chu Xinghui and ruffled his hair a few more times before sighing: “Let’s go, we’re heading home.”

Chu Xinghui let out a soft “Oh,” feeling a bit disappointed.

He still hadn’t asked him whether he was really giving himself to him or not.

*

The two of them quickly left the cave.

On their way back, Chu Xinghui suddenly remembered something and tugged on Xie Liufeng’s sleeve: “Xie Liufeng.”

Xie Liufeng responded with a hum.

Chu Xinghui asked: “What about my gift?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment before saying: “Close your eyes.”

Chu Xinghui studied his face for a while. Seeing nothing suspicious, he obediently shut his eyes.

In the pitch-black darkness, he felt Xie Liufeng draw near.

The two of them were very close now, their breaths Mingling in the air.

Chu Xinghui’s ears couldn’t help but flush, his body feeling a strange mixture of wanting to back away yet also inexplicably wishing for them to be even closer.

He stood there, caught between his conflicting emotions, waiting for Xie Liufeng’s next move.

Xie Liufeng reached out and placed something around his neck, saying with a chuckle: “Alright, open your eyes.”

Chu Xinghui opened his eyes and saw a jade pendant hanging from his neck.

The pendant was carved into the shape of a small sword, and it felt warm to the touch, the spiritual energy flowing within it.

Chu Xinghui touched the pendant on his neck and asked Xie Liufeng: “What’s this for?”

Xie Liufeng’s eyes curved into a smile as he began to play coy: “It’s an old item I used before. It might be useful, or it might not be. You guess.”

Chu Xinghui raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you say you made it?”

Xie Liufeng, without a hint of hesitation, replied: “I made it a long time ago, and I did make the cord for it just now.”

Chu Xinghui had to admit, that logic made sense. He smiled and accepted the gift, touching the pendant again as they continued walking.

*

As they were nearing home, Chu Xinghui tugged on Xie Liufeng’s sleeve once more: “One more thing.”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment but couldn’t recall anything else important: “What is it?”

Chu Xinghui said seriously: “Before we go back, we need to find some suitable wood for repairing the door.”

Xie Liufeng, a bit startled, almost forgot about it: “You’re right, we nearly missed that. Let’s stop by the city first.”

*

So, they went into the city to buy the proper wood and returned to fix the door, which now had a bit more practical use than just a symbolic one.

Afterward, their life returned to its usual peaceful rhythm.

Chu Xinghui continued his cultivation, sometimes going out on expeditions, occasionally encountering the ever-present Xie Liufeng in the most unexpected places.

He was very content with this kind of life.

As autumn turned to winter, snowflakes drifted in the northern mountains for a few days, and then the weather gradually warmed again.

Winter was almost over.

One day, Chu Xinghui received an assignment from a distant place and told Xie Liufeng that he planned to be away for a couple of days.

Xie Liufeng suddenly remembered something and reminded him: “Remember not to go too far during this time.”

Chu Xinghui gave him a strange look: “Are you trying to lock me up again?”

Xie Liufeng, a little taken aback by the unexpected comment, couldn’t help but laugh: “What are you thinking? Spring is when the Beiyue Sword Sect recruits new disciples. If you go too far now, you’ll miss the registration.”

Now that it wasn’t about locking him up, Chu Xinghui seemed somewhat uninterested: “Oh.”

If Xie Liufeng hadn’t mentioned it, he probably wouldn’t have thought about his original plan to join the Sword Sect.

Also… he wasn’t as eager to join the Beiyue Sword Sect anymore.

*

After the start of spring, the Beiyue Sword Sect announced the recruitment of new disciples.

Countless young people flocked to North, hoping to participate in the selection

Chu Xinghui remained unmoved, continuing his daily cultivation, sometimes sparring with his sword spirit.

At first, Xie Liufeng thought he was avoiding the crowd and wanted to wait for the busy days to pass, but after the excitement died down, Chu Xinghui still didn’t make a move.

With the deadline for registration approaching, Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but grab Chu Xinghui: “Didn’t you always want to join the Beiyue Sword Sect? Why haven’t you signed up yet?”

Chu Xinghui shook his head: “I’m not going.”

Xie Liufeng cleared his throat and hinted: “I’ve already spoken with them. Once you pass the initiation trial, you can go straight to the Qingjing Peak.”

Qingjing Peak was the place where the Beiyue Sword Sect Sword Sovereign resided, and it had never accepted disciples before.

The main reason was that the Sword Sovereign was rarely present in the sect and didn’t have time to take on students.

Many years ago, Xie Liufeng had suggested that they should cancel Qingjing Peak and just leave it as a cave for him, but his disciple insisted that it should remain as a peak for storing miscellaneous items during special times, so it had never been canceled.

Now, they could finally put a disciple there.

However, Chu Xinghui didn’t seem as happy as Xie Liufeng had imagined. He looked up at him and asked: “You don’t plan on taking me as your disciple?”

Xie Liufeng, feeling a bit awkward, didn’t know how to respond. He hinted further: “Aren’t you a fan of the Sword Sovereign? You could be his disciple now.”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “The Sword Sovereign is still a senior I greatly admire.”

Xie Liufeng thought he was almost there, but then heard Chu Xinghui continue: “But you are more important than him.”

He already had a good mentor in Xie Liufeng, and there was no need to seek another master.

 

Support translation: