In the State of Still Water, with his focus pushed to one hundred percent, Su Qing'an perfectly controlled the muscle fibers in every finger. Dazzlingly precise movements blossomed between his fingers.
In theory, this was his first time playing the game, so he had lost cleanly in his first match against Kiana. But after the next few rounds, Kiana gradually began to suspect that Su Qing'an's earlier performance—and even the game's records—had all been an act to fool her.
In the end, after deliberately holding back, Su Qing'an defeated Kiana by the narrowest of margins, winning only one more round than her.
He had given the girl the illusion that their skill levels differed by only a tiny amount, all for the sake of preserving her gaming experience.
Well, "a tiny amount" on a cosmic scale.
After the game ended, Su Qing'an opened the instrument case he had previously placed on the table right in front of Kiana.
Chen Junxuan had given it to him before boarding the plane and told him to open it after he returned.
Yet his first reaction upon returning had not been to open the case, but to play games with Kiana.
He had to admit, that was very true to life...
The girl asked with interest, "Su Qing'an, what's inside? An instrument? You know how to play one?" Clearly, all the gloom from her earlier defeat had vanished without a trace.
"My teacher left this for me before returning to Shenzhou. Although I don't know what's inside, I imagine it isn't an instrument."
As he spoke, Su Qing'an pulled open the zipper without hesitation under Kiana's curious gaze.
Inside was a long, narrow wooden box and a letter on paper.
The wooden box was exquisitely crafted, but because of its age, its surface looked somewhat dark and worn.
"Click." Su Qing'an opened the wooden box. Inside lay a sword.
Unlike Japanese swords, this was a double-edged blade. It was presumably an ancient sword from Shenzhou, three chi and one cun long and three fingers wide.
Judging from the refinement of the hilt and scabbard, it seemed less like a weapon for killing and more like a work of art kept in a study for decoration and collection.
Yet in a daze, he seemed to catch the bloody tang of blood from the sword. When he carefully sniffed again, however, it had quietly vanished. His instincts and understanding of Chen Junjunxuan told him that this was not a decorative piece.
This sword could kill.
Su Qing'an drew the ancient sword from its scabbard. Though it was ancient, the blade still radiated a dim, icy chill. Tentatively, he ran its edge across the corner of the table, and it sliced through the wood as easily as cutting tofu.
"Su Qing'an, what on earth did your teacher teach you?! This sword has obviously been sharpened!"
"Master Chen is merely an ordinary sixty-eight-year-old man. Although he remains hale and hearty, he still can't compare with how he was when he was young. In the past, Master Chen could subdue a tiger with one hand, but he probably wouldn't find it so easy now. For an elderly man whose body has weakened with age to worry about the safety of his only student and give him an ordinary artistic piece for self-defense is perfectly normal." Su Qing'an replied calmly, his face expressionless.
"What ordinary sixty-eight-year-old man can fight a tiger one-on-one?! And no matter how you look at it, this sword isn't an ordinary work of art! Su Qing'an, are you treating me like an idiot again?!" Kiana fussed, bristling slightly.
"Master Chen has practiced martial arts since childhood. His control over his body's vital energy has become extraordinary through the tempering of time. He says he can maintain this level of combat ability until he turns eighty. After that, he won't be able to keep up."
"Although I only trained in martial arts with him for two weeks, Master Chen probably considers me the sole successor to the school he founded. So this is his farewell gift to his successor. Among martial artists, aside from exchanging martial arts knowledge, there aren't many gifts more fitting than this."
To calm the somewhat bristling white-haired girl, Su Qing'an honestly and seriously explained.
In fact, before opening the box, he had considered the possibility that Chen Junxuan had given him a sword. But there was no need to hide that from Kiana.
If, four months later, Su Qing'an suddenly began drawing his sword and killing Zombies while the girl knew nothing about it, she might be left utterly bewildered.
So he might as well give her the impression that he possessed at least a little combat ability.
As for this sword, its hardness and lethality against Honkai Beasts should both be far inferior to Schicksal's weapons. But at this stage, it was already an excellent sword that he could not have obtained through his former connections and money alone.
Master Chen had given him a tremendous gift.
In a sense, the actions of this master and student were remarkably similar.
Neither of them liked the awkwardness of giving a gift face-to-face.
Su Qing'an opened the letter and read it carefully.
It mainly explained the sword's origins, along with some advice about life. The Chen Junxuan in the letter was not at all like a decisive martial artist. His rambling words instead suited his true age, making him sound like an old man in the twilight of his life.
The sword had been used by him in his youth. It had been a gift from Chen Junxuan's wife, who came from an ancient swordsmithing family. According to the old man's recollections in the letter, she had been a mischievous and clever girl when she was young. Though she had given him this fine sword that could cut through iron like mud and sever a strand of hair with a breath, she had deliberately named it after a ci tune whose title did not suit Chen Junxuan's style at all.
The old man proudly wrote that he did not actually dislike the name. But so that his wife could enjoy the satisfaction of having successfully teased him, he had put on an indescribable expression. That way, he would not make her worry that he was too angry, while still giving her the feeling that her prank had truly succeeded.
Thus, the sword could be considered the token of his love for his wife.
After his wife passed away, however, the old man had never used the sword again. To Chen Junxuan, it was no longer merely a treasured sword or weapon. Whenever he saw it, he could clearly recall that little girl with her sly smile, clever as a fox.
In a daze, the years had flowed to the present, yet his wife seemed to remain by the old man's side in the form of this sword.
And yet Chen Junxuan had still given it to Su Qing'an.
What Chen Junxuan had given him was no longer a sword, but the happiest and most beautiful period of the old man's life.
That was why the sword felt so heavy in Su Qing'an's eyes. It carried too much of humanity's purest emotions.
Perhaps to spare Su Qing'an's feelings—or perhaps because these were truly the old man's thoughts—he had written:
"Even without looking at this sword, I can clearly recall my wife's face. Actually, a peerless beauty like her is impossible for me to forget. And when this sword was forged, its destiny was to break in battle. For it to remain beside an old man like me, who could never bear to draw it, would be far too cruel to the sword."
"When the time comes for the sword to leave its scabbard, draw it without hesitation."
"Even if it breaks one day, do not feel guilty. That is the destiny a sword ought to have."
The old man had been that decisive. And so the sword chest that had remained sealed for countless years was passed into Su Qing'an's hands.
The sword chest was thick with dust, while the caged bird had endured the long years.
To that old man, every day since his wife departed had been torment. Thus, he had walked the path of martial arts for decades without pause, because apart from that, his life no longer had any meaning.
"That's so touching. Why did your teacher's wife have to die? Isn't that too cruel?" After hearing Su Qing'an recount the story in the letter, Kiana looked sadly at the ancient sword. Before this, she had never imagined that such a story was hidden within it.
"Master Chen didn't mention it, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to ask. Let the past remain in the past." Su Qing'an's feelings were exceptionally complicated. He knew the old man was carefree by nature, but he had never expected that after knowing him for only two weeks, the old man would regard him as his own child and give away something of such special significance without hesitation.
He did not know that during those brief two weeks of exchanging blows, the old man had already seen through so much about him—enough for Chen Junxuan to regard him as a true disciple.
"Mm. By the way, what was the name of that ci tune? You said the name was engraved on the sword, right?" Kiana leaned toward the blade curiously, trying to find the writing that might be on it.
Su Qing'an rubbed his fingertips around the hilt and found it.
Three characters had been engraved in traditional script.
Its name was:
[Calming the Tempest]
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