On the way back, Ch'en ate a bowl of freshly cooked congee. Fresh sea fish had been sliced into thin strips, and the rice porridge had been dyed golden by pumpkin. It had been specially cooled before serving, and after finishing it, Ch'en felt as though her entire body had loosened up.
Today was a day worth remembering.
She looked at Chi Xiao by her side. It lay quietly within its sheath, no longer as wild as before.
Thunder slept within the box; Chi Xiao was the beast lying in wait.
As long as she swung it day after day and practiced drawing and slashing day after day, one day, she would tame it.
It was strange. After witnessing power that could nearly reshape heaven and earth, Ch'en suddenly became calm. Her former irritability was gone, and she even seemed somewhat... gentle.
Seeing someone whose back she could never hope to catch up to in an entire lifetime, it was already a good thing not to fall into despair.
But that did not mean Ch'en would give up on herself.
She was the chief inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department, a protector of Lungmen, and she had her own pride. Once she found the right path, she would keep walking it. Who cared what kind of path others walked?
People were different.
"The food was pretty good. Should we bring some back for the others at the Guard Department?"
Setting aside the matter of swordsmanship, Ch'en felt rather troubled.
At first, she had thought the shrine maiden was bluffing, but she had really slept for sixteen hours. She had skipped work without reason for a day and a half, which undoubtedly damaged her image as a serious and responsible leader. She needed to think this through carefully.
"What if Swire