A Gift from Yaoqing

The place they went to eat was near the Martial Arts Arena, an old establishment with red lanterns hanging by the entrance. Yunli was clearly a regular; she had barely sat down before the owner brought out two heaping plates of Qiongshi Bird Skewers, their aroma filling their noses.

Jingxing took a bite. It was too sweet—he wrinkled his nose and took several gulps of water before speaking. "Yunli, you weren't really going all out today, were you?"

"Obviously." Yunli bit down on a bamboo skewer and mumbled, "If I'd used Old Iron, you'd have gone down in one hit."

That was what she said, but she wasn't sure herself. Jingxing's responses in the arena today had been too strange. Yunli couldn't help wondering whether there were still many flaws in her sword techniques that needed fixing.

Jingxing wasn't offended. He nodded, seemingly accepting Yunli's boast. "I could tell. That Old Iron of yours is heavy. If I'd tried to block it head-on, I'm afraid the impact would have numbed my hands."

"But I couldn't have used Old Iron to fight you anyway." Yunli put down her skewer and grew serious. "Old Iron isn't for fighting..."

For some reason, she got stuck there for a long moment, then continued, embarrassed and annoyed, "Anyway, it's not a weapon I can use to fight you."

After stuffing down three more Qiongshi Bird Skewers, Yunli propped up her chin and looked Jingxing up and down. "But you—you only set foot on a Path recently, right? You kept up with my sword's momentum for so long. Your eyesight is ridiculously good."

Jingxing's heart skipped a beat, but he kept his expression neutral. "We artists all have good eyes. Working out a composition, finding the center of balance—those things are instinctive by now."

Yunli narrowed her eyes at him for two seconds, gave a huff, and picked up another Qiongshi Bird Skewer.

"When we get back to the General's Residence, I'll tell Grandpa. From now on, you can train with me," she said. "I may be devoted to the sword, but I still know Zhuming's basic spear techniques. Your fundamentals are so poor that you need to start by getting them down. Only then will your eyesight be useful."

"My eyes could see it, but my body couldn't keep up." Jingxing smiled wryly. "I found that out firsthand in the arena today."

"That's why you need to train." Yunli spoke as though it were obvious. "Good eyesight is a gift from heaven, but footwork is earned through sweat. You're already late starting at your age, so you'll just have to sweat twice as much as everyone else."

Jingxing was taken aback. "Wouldn't that be a bother for you, Yunli?"

Yunli rolled her eyes at him. "It'd be more of a bother to hear someday that you died somewhere embarrassing."

Jingxing smiled, picked up his teacup, and said with utmost seriousness, "Then I'll be counting on you, Master Yunli."

Halfway through the meal, Jingxing casually asked, "Have you run into many Demonic Swords lately, Yunli?"

Yunli slowed her chewing for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"When someone mentioned curios at the docks, your hand went straight to your sword hilt," Jingxing said. "I figured you were sensitive about them."

Yunli smiled, but there was little warmth in it. "You're sharp. Things really haven't been peaceful these past two months before departure."

She tapped her bamboo skewer against the edge of her plate. "A few days ago, I stopped an idiot on Stella I. He was hugging a sword and wouldn't let go, insisting it was his lover from a past life. What a joke. The sword was desperately draining his blood and vitality. What kind of lover does that?"

Jingxing's chopsticks paused. "What happened to him?"

"Luckily, I acted fast. He's still alive." Yunli put down the skewer, her tone turning cheerful again. "All right, eat your food. That stuff's my job. You're a painter, so stay out of it."

Jingxing lowered his head and took a bite of a Qiongshi Bird Skewer, asking no more questions.

By the time they left the restaurant, the sky had grown dark. Warm yellow lights glowed along both sides of the street. Yunli walked ahead with Old Iron on her back, its scabbard tapping softly against the stone pavement with each step.

When they returned to the General's Residence, Huaiyan was still sitting beneath the eaves, his small hammer tapping steadily against a piece of ore.

"You're back at just the right time." The old man didn't look up. "I've heard all about what happened at the Martial Arts Arena."

Jingxing stopped and bowed.

"That was quite a performance for your first spar." Huaiyan put down his hammer and looked up at him, a smile in his eyes. "Did you set foot on the Path of Preservation?"

Jingxing was taken aback.

"If it's the Path of Preservation, you should apply to join the Interastral Peace Corporation." Huaiyan nodded to himself. "The corporation likes followers of Preservation. If you apply, they'll definitely offer you a good package. Starting at P35, with full benefits—you'd be set for a comfortable life."

The corner of Jingxing's mouth twitched. He could tell now that the old man was teasing him.

"General, I don't want to clock in for work every day," he said.

Huaiyan burst out laughing, his beard shaking. "You brat. So many people want to join the corporation, and here you are looking down on it."

When he'd had his laugh, he grew serious. "Joking aside, I originally planned to have Yunli guide you for a while and help you build a solid foundation in spear techniques and footwork. But after I heard how you performed, I specifically asked General Tianji of the Yaoqing Xianzhou for something."

Huaiyan tossed Jingxing a Light Cone. "You should recognize this, right? It uses technology the Interastral Peace Corporation acquired from the Garden of Recollection. It can hold memories, as well as experience and abilities. This Light Cone contains General Tianji's martial skills. Compared with Yunli's experience, hers is better suited to you."

"As for the Furnace Palace—" Huaiyan paused. "I'll make arrangements for the curio you wanted."

With the Light Cone tucked inside his robes, Jingxing felt half the weight lift from his heart. Then he bowed deeply. "Thank you, General."

"No need for thanks." Huaiyan waved a hand, then suddenly remembered something and added, "Besides, Yunli's reputation as a teacher is well known among the Cloud Knights. The last three recruits she trained still tremble when they see a sword."

Jingxing: "..."

That night, in a guest room at the General's Residence, Jingxing lay over the edge of the bed, grimacing as he rubbed medicinal wine onto his forearm.

Although Yunli's sword hadn't hit him, the recoil had still injured him somewhat. Yunli said that was with her holding back. Jingxing believed her—if she hadn't held back, he would probably have been in a clinic now, not a guest room.

After applying the medicine, he wasn't in a hurry to sleep. He pulled out his sketchbook and, by lamplight, drew Yunli as she had swung her sword at him during the day.

His pencil flew across the page. The sword's torrential momentum, the direction of the surging energy, the varying force behind it—all of it appeared on the paper as dense hatching and blank spaces.

I could practically call that a full day of sketching from life, Jingxing thought to himself.

Jingxing closed his sketchbook, and just as he was getting ready for bed, his phone lit up beside his pillow.

[Robin: Have you arrived on Zhuming?]

[Jingxing: I have. The general is willing to help. But a Sword Hunter gave me a lesson with her sword today, and my hand hurts a little.]

[Robin: You're hurt? Are you all right? The Xianzhou is going too far. You only just set foot on a Path, and they did that to you.]

[Jingxing: I'm fine, just a few bumps. Besides, I didn't lose. She was the one who ended up all angry.]

[Robin: It was a draw? Jingxing, you're amazing! I need to work hard too!]

Jingxing looked at the smiling emoji Robin had sent at the end, and his arm seemed to hurt a little less. He replied, "Get some rest," and placed his phone face down beside his pillow.

"Tomorrow, I'll try out General Tianji's Light Cone."