Twelve Moonlit Nights

Rain-Listening Tower, top-floor private room. The window lattices were tightly shut, sealing out the clamor below.

Thin gauze hung down, obscuring most of the light and shadows. In the dim room, Wei Dong and A Qing sat facing each other across a wooden table.

Wei Dong could no longer hold himself back. Lowering his voice, he asked, "When do you plan to make your move?"

A Qing's figure was graceful, his face covered by black cloth, his entire countenance hidden in shadow. Hearing this, he gently shook his head. "No hurry. The time has not yet come. Wait a little longer."

Wei Dong's brow was full of helplessness as he complained in a low voice, "Xie Jinghan is far too patient. He stays behind closed doors all day and never comes out. At this rate, you will have no chance to strike. Dragging this out any longer will only be futile."

A Qing's expression did not change in the slightest. He said calmly:

"A killer must first have patience."

"If the enemy does not move, I do not move. If the enemy is still, I am even stiller."

"Striking rashly will only throw me into disorder and expose my trail."

"We need only wait quietly for the right moment."

Xie Residence's Armory Pavilion was a vital place where the Xie Household had stored weapons throughout the generations. It remained sealed year-round, and ordinary members of the lineage were not allowed to step inside.

Today, the dust-covered pavilion doors slowly opened, and Xie Jinghan entered at an unhurried pace with Xie Ku and the other seven.

The pavilion was deep and spacious. Layer upon layer of wooden racks stood along its four walls, with rows of sabers, swords, and other weapons displayed in order, their fragmented cold gleam flowing faintly.

"Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

This was the first time Xie Ku and the others had seen so many weapons. Their mouths fell open as cries of astonishment escaped them.

The swords they had used in their daily cultivation had been the most ordinary ironwood swords.

The old man on duty stood to one side. Seeing the youthful innocence of the boys, he could not help introducing the place in a soft voice, with a trace of emotion in his tone. "My Xie Household has practiced martial arts for generations. Over several hundred years, we have gathered thousands of weapons. Most of the weapons in this pavilion are Common Iron or standard weapons forged from refined iron. There are also quite a few Named Weapons tempered over many years, enough to support the daily cultivation of our lineage's younger generation."

"But as for high-grade Treasure Weapons, our Xie Household possesses only one ancestral Thunderclap Sword."

He looked at Xie Jinghan and sighed faintly, helplessness showing on his face. "The materials required to forge Treasure Weapons are exceedingly rare, and the cost is far too great."

"Most importantly, their edge is too dazzling, making them all too likely to draw covetous eyes."

"With the Xie Household's previous strength, we simply had no power to guard them. We did not dare purchase them recklessly."

The old man led Xie Jinghan toward the deepest part of the pavilion, where a sword case stood upright.

The old man stepped forward and lightly tapped the sword case.

"Click~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A burst of mechanism sounds rang out, and the sword case slowly opened.

Twelve longswords lay arranged in a row. Their blades were smooth and lustrous, overflowing with Flowing Light, utterly different from ordinary weapons, with an air of transcendent refinement.

"These twelve longswords alone are a complete set of swords that the lineage purchased at great expense from Sword-Casting Manor, a top-tier weapon-forging sect, in its early years. Their blades contain exceedingly rare Star-Meteor Iron. Their material is incomparably tough, far surpassing ordinary Named Weapons. They are the finest swords closest to Treasure Weapons."

Xie Jinghan's gaze tightened slightly as his eyes fell upon the twelve longswords, and joy rose in his heart. I had originally planned to find a few ordinary swords to carry with me.

He spoke calmly:

"Later, I will inform Father to increase our efforts in purchasing weapons and acquire more high-grade arms."

With that, Xie Jinghan directly removed the complete set of twelve famous swords and put them away together with their matching ancient sword case.

"Does this set of swords have a name?"

Xie Jinghan could not help asking.

The old man thought for a moment before answering:

"This set of swords has Star-Meteor Iron blended into its blades, carrying the Flowing Light of stars and moon. At night, the blades shine with a lustrous white radiance, bright and pure as the full moon."

"Thus, they are called 'Twelve Moonlit Nights.'"

"Twelve Moonlit Nights?!"

"A fine name."

Xie Jinghan could not help murmuring.

After strapping the sword case to his back, he turned to Xie Ku and the others, whose hearts were filled with anticipation. "You may each choose a Common Iron-grade weapon for yourselves. It will be enough to suit your current cultivation."

"Thank you, Young Master~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Thank you, Second Brother~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"Young Master is the best~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Hearing this, the eight of them answered at once and rushed happily toward the wooden racks to choose their weapons.

Half an hour later, Xie Jinghan emerged from the Armory Pavilion with the sword case on his back, followed by Xie Ku and the other seven.

Each wore a longsword at his waist, their steps light and their spirits soaring.