Sword Box Dust Fills, Caged Birds' Days Lengthen

Entering the State of Still Water at 100% focus, Su Qing'an perfectly controlled the muscle fibers in each finger, a dazzling array of intricate movements blooming at his fingertips.

Theoretically, this was his first time playing this game, so he lost decisively in his first match against Kiana. However, over the next few rounds, Kiana gradually began to suspect if Su Qing'an's previous performance and game records were just an act.

The final result, with him going easy, was that Su Qing'an defeated Kiana by a narrow margin, winning just one more match.

This gave the girl the illusion that their skill levels were only slightly different, the purpose being to accommodate her gaming experience.

Yeah, just a tiny bit, the universe at his fingertips.

After the game ended, Su Qing'an opened the instrument case he had placed on the table in front of Kiana.

Chen Junxuan had given it to him before boarding the plane, telling him to open it when he got back.

However, his first reaction upon returning wasn't to open the box but to play games with Kiana.

It could be said to be very realistic...

The girl asked with great interest, "Su Qing'an, what's inside here, an instrument? Do you play that?" Clearly, the dejection from her previous defeat in the game had vanished without a trace.

"This was left to me by my teacher before he returned to Shenzhou. Although I don't know what's inside, I imagine it's not an instrument."

As he spoke, under Kiana's curious gaze, Su Qing'an unzipped it without hesitation.

Inside was a long, narrow wooden box and a letter.

The wooden box was exquisitely crafted, but due to its age, the surface appeared somewhat dim and old.

Clack. Opening the wooden box, a sword was revealed inside.

Unlike Japanese swords, this sword was double-edged and should be an ancient sword from Shenzhou, three feet long and three fingers wide.

Judging by the exquisite craftsmanship of the hilt and scabbard, it was less a weapon for killing and more an artistic piece kept in a study for decoration and collection.

Yet, in a daze, he seemed to smell the metallic tang of blood from the sword. He sniffed carefully, but it was gone. His intuition and understanding of Chen Junxuan told him this was no mere decoration.

This sword could kill.

Drawing the ancient sword from its scabbard, despite its age, the blade still emanated a faint chill. He tentatively drew the edge across a corner of the table, slicing it off as easily as if cutting through tofu.

"Su Qing'an, what kind of ghost is your teacher teaching you! This sword is clearly been sharpened!"

"Master Chen is just an ordinary 68-year-old man. Although his body is still robust, it's not comparable to when he was young. In the past, Master Chen could subdue a tiger with one hand; it wouldn't be as easy now. For such an elderly man, gifting his only student a simple art piece for self-defense out of concern for his safety is quite normal," Su Qing'an replied calmly, his expression unreadable.

"What kind of ordinary old man at 68 can wrestle a tiger alone?! And this sword looks nothing like an ordinary art piece! Su Qing'an, are you treating me like an idiot again!" Kiana exclaimed, her voice rising in agitation.

"Master Chen has practiced Martial Arts since childhood. His control over his body and blood energy, honed by years of training, is beyond that of ordinary people. He claims he can maintain such combat power until eighty, after which it will be too much for him."

"Although I've only trained with him for two weeks, Master Chen probably sees me as the sole successor to the style he created. So, this is his parting gift to his successor. And among martial artists, gifts are usually limited to martial arts exchanges or things like this."

To appease the somewhat agitated white-haired girl, Su Qing'an explained earnestly.

In truth, he had considered the possibility of Chen Junxuan gifting him a sword even before opening the box, but there was no need to hide it from Kiana.

If, four months later, Su Qing'an were to draw his sword and kill Mortals without her knowing anything, she would likely be utterly bewildered.

So, it was better to give her the impression that he possessed some combat ability.

As for this sword, its hardness and lethality against Honkai Beasts were likely far inferior to Destiny's weapons. However, for his current situation, it was a fine sword that he couldn't have obtained even with his original connections and money.

Master Chen had given him a great gift.

In a sense, their teacher-student actions showed great tacit understanding.

Neither liked the awkwardness of giving gifts in person; they were exactly the same.

Su Qing'an opened the letter and read it carefully.

It mainly spoke of the sword's origins and some life advice. In the letter, Chen Junxuan didn't sound like a decisive martial artist; his rambling words were more in line with his actual age, like an old man in his twilight years.

This sword was what he used in his youth. Its origin was a gift from Chen Junxuan's wife. Chen Junxuan's wife came from an ancient family of swordsmiths. According to the old man's memories in the letter, his wife was a mischievous and spirited girl in her youth. Although she gave him this sword, which could cut iron like mud and sever hair with a breath, she wickedly gave it a name that didn't fit Chen Junxuan's style, a name from a musical tune.

The old man proudly stated in the letter that he didn't actually dislike the name, but to let his wife feel the satisfaction and joy of playing a prank, he put on an expression of indescribable difficulty. He neither wanted his wife to worry about him being too angry nor wanted to let her feel that her prank had failed.

So, this sword was their token of love.

However, after his wife passed away, he never used this sword again. To Chen Junxuan, it was no longer just a precious sword or a weapon. Every time he saw this sword, he could clearly recall that little girl with a cunning smile like a little fox.

In a daze, time flowed to the present, and it felt as if his wife was still accompanying the old man in the form of this sword.

Yet, Chen Junxuan still gifted it to Su Qing'an.

What Chen Junxuan gave was no longer just a sword, but the happiest and most beautiful period of the old man's life.

To the point that in Su Qing'an's eyes, this sword was so heavy because it carried too much of humanity's purest emotions.

Perhaps to consider Su Qing'an's feelings, or perhaps it was the old man's true thoughts, he said this:

"I can clearly recall my wife's face even without looking at this sword. Rather, a beauty as peerless as my wife is something I could never forget. And this sword, from the moment it was forged, was destined to break in battle. It's too stifling for this sword to be by the side of an old man like me who is reluctant to draw it.

If the time comes when the sword should be drawn, do not hesitate to unsheathe it.

Even if it breaks one day, do not feel guilty; this is the sword's rightful end."

The old man made this decision and handed the sword box, sealed for ages, to Su Qing'an.

The sword box is dusty, the cage confines the sun and moon.

For that old man, every day his wife was gone was an ordeal. Thus, he forged ahead on the path of Martial Arts day after day, because apart from that, his life had no meaning.

"That's so touching. Why did your master's wife pass away? Isn't that too cruel?" Listening to Su Qing'an recount the story from the letter, Kiana looked at the ancient sword with sadness. Before this, she could never have imagined that such a story was hidden within it.

"Master Chen didn't mention it, and it's not my place to ask. Let the past be the past." Su Qing'an's feelings were incredibly complex. He knew the old man had a carefree personality, but he hadn't expected that in just two weeks of knowing him, he would already treat Su Qing'an like his own son, even gifting him something so significant.

He didn't know that through their brief exchanges, their fists and feet colliding over those two weeks, the old man had seen through him so much, enough for Chen Junxuan to consider him a true disciple.

"Mm. By the way, what was that musical phrase called? Didn't you say its name was inscribed on the sword?" Kiana leaned closer to the sword, curious, trying to find any inscription on it.

Su Qing'an ran his fingertips over the hilt of the sword and then found it.

There were three characters inscribed in traditional script.

Its name was:

[Calming the Tempest]

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