Chapter 8

He was far too practiced at it. So practiced that Ning Ning couldn't help asking, "Do you do this kind of thing often at home?"

"I only learned after I joined the sect."

Lin Xun gave an embarrassed smile. "Master told me this was a mandatory part of being a Sword Cultivator."

He'd only been here a short while, and look what they'd turned the poor kid into.

Ning Ning couldn't help asking the question that struck at the soul: "Making money is so hard for us. Why is it so easy for other people to take our money?"

"Senior Sister," Lin Xun said, pausing as he struggled to help her move the bookcase. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "I have a friend who taught me some ways to save money—but these are just things my friend does. I, I haven't tried them!"

Feeling Ning Ning's unwavering gaze, Little White Dragon grew flustered, his breathing uneven. "Basically... if your sect uniform gets damaged, you don't need to buy a new one. You can just find a piece of white cloth, cut it to size, then use gold paint to draw cloud patterns on it."

Ning Ning stared at his sleeve in horror.

The dark gold patterns were crooked and wobbly, like a Parkinson's patient had painted them. Where a flood dragon should have been embroidered, there was a bizarre, snarling mud loach with feet bigger than its head.

"And," Lin Xun added, his head hanging low, "you mustn't waste rainwater on rainy days. You can collect it, boil it, and use it for bathing. It's cleaner than the water in the pond. You can also save the rinds after eating watermelon or pumpkin, then stir-fry them with your next meal. That way, you'll have one more dish."

Ning Ning was stunned.

Ning Ning really wanted to ask him, "This friend you're talking about—is it you?"

But that question would hurt so much. To protect the little prince's self-esteem, she forced herself not to say it.

When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first makes their heart suffer, their muscles and bones toil, and their body go hungry.

So this was the greatest Sword sect under Heaven?

While all the other sects taught spells and Sword Formulas, the Xuanxu Sect was refreshingly different. If they published a textbook, it would probably look something like this:

Required Course One: Self-Cultivation of a Poor Man.

Required Course Two: Housework and Postpartum Care for Mother Geese.

Required Course Three: My Mushroom-Stealing Friend—A Few Tips on Stealing Vegetables When You're Broke.

Incredible. The whole thing was a guide to climbing the ranks as a penniless pauper.

"Oh, right, Senior Sister."

Seeing that her face had gone even paler, Lin Xun thought Ning Ning still hadn't recovered from the shock of going bankrupt. He cautiously stepped closer and took a radiant, pure-white orb from his robes. "I didn't bring much money when I left the Eastern Sea. This Night-Shining Pearl is the only thing I have that's worth anything. If you don't mind, take it and exchange it for some Spirit Stones."

It wasn't that he "hadn't brought much money."

Lin Xun had left home utterly penniless, simply because his master had once told him that a Sword Immortal never clung to worldly possessions.

Later, he discovered that his master had even eaten stir-fried melon rinds—and had gone on to develop an entirely new dish called Falling Petals and Fragrant Essence.

It was just stir-fried flower petals and leaves.

This Night-Shining Pearl was the only valuable thing he owned. He ought to have kept it safe, but...

The inexperienced Little White Dragon summoned his courage, darted a glance at Ning Ning's deathly pale face, and made up his mind.

They were fellow disciples, so they should help each other. If something he owned could give Senior Sister the confidence to keep going, then sacrificing this pearl was nothing.

He was a man who could hold up the heavens! At worst, he could go back to drinking dew and eating leaves. But if Senior Sister lost her mind, her whole life would be ruined!

Ning Ning's feelings were complicated.

In the original story, Lin Xun really had been a guileless, softhearted little white lotus. Whenever he saw injustice, even if he blushed and stammered from shyness, he'd still step in to uphold what was right.

One reader had hit the nail on the head: the author had given him that personality to highlight the male lead Pei Ji's decisiveness, coldness, and unbridled cruelty.

To be honest, when Ning Ning had read the novel from the all-knowing perspective of a reader, she'd also thought the little prince was far too compassionate. But now that she was the one he pitied—

He was an angel, wasn't he?! He was so poor himself, yet he was willing to give her the last of his belongings! So what if she was biased? Lin Xun was just too good!

"No, no, I don't need it."

Ning Ning hurriedly waved her hands. "Don't you need your Spirit Stones too?"

She put it delicately, deliberately glossing over Lin Xun's habits of eating melon rinds and bathing in rainwater, so she could preserve the little guy's pure, fragile self-esteem.

Unexpectedly, the silly rich boy grinned. "It's fine. Last time, Senior Sister took me to the Wanjian Sect to steal a whole bunch of melons. There's enough melon rind to last us several—"

Lin Xun abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

He had a strong sense of pride and was terribly shy. Before, he'd deliberately hidden his identity, claiming that all those things had been done by "a friend." But now...

Wasn't he practically announcing that he was that friend?

Heat rushed up his face. A flush spread over his jade-white cheeks, growing darker like a spreading blot of ink until his entire face was bright red.

Th-that was so embarrassing.

He'd wanted to make a good impression on Senior Sister.

He'd never been good at talking to people. The few times he'd run into Senior Sister before, he'd been too shy to speak. Today, when he heard something was wrong in her room, he'd entered the courtyard without a second thought. He hadn't expected it to turn into such a farce.

Lin Xun stammered, unable to get a word out. His mind had gone completely blank when, in a daze, he suddenly heard Ning Ning's voice. Her tone was no different from before. "The melons you brought back will last several days? How many melons did you and Senior Sister steal? Didn't the Wanjian Sect catch you?"

Perhaps she'd misheard.

He'd said "melon rinds."

He was uneasy, but Senior Sister's expression was perfectly normal. It seemed she really hadn't heard him clearly and hadn't connected him to "that friend," either.

Lin Xun pressed his lips together and smiled. The flush around his ears had faded a little. "Quite a lot. Does Senior Sister want to hear about how we stole the melons?"

Ning Ning said, "Go on."