The great formation faded from sight.
Xie Jinghan returned to his little courtyard.
Before long, a petite figure pushed open the courtyard gate and slipped inside at a light run.
It was Zhao Xin'er.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, as though she had been crying.
She stood quietly in the courtyard, gazing at Xie Jinghan, her eyes full of reluctance to part.
"Brother Jinghan..."
Xie Jinghan raised a hand and ruffled her hair, smiling gently as he comforted her.
"Xin'er has grown up."
"You've even learned to be sentimental."
"Everyone has their own path to walk! A young eagle must learn to fly!"
Zhao Xin'er pressed her lips together and lowered her head, her sorrow beyond words.
Xie Jinghan said gently,
"This journey to Heaven Beyond Heaven is your opportunity and your good fortune."
"You're about to travel far from home. Let me give you a gift."
"Here!"
Xie Jinghan took out a Moonlit Night Sword to give her, along with a solid wooden scabbard he had carved himself.
He placed them in Xin'er's hands himself.
As he looked at Xin'er, he still could not set his mind at ease.
"Xin'er, I'll also teach you a sword technique. This is my own unique technique."
"It's called the Sword-Drawing Technique!"
"This sword technique is supremely simple, supremely fast, and immensely powerful, but easy to learn and difficult to master. It seeks no elaborate moves, only to defeat the enemy in a single instant."
"You're traveling far to Heaven Beyond Heaven to embark on the path of cultivation. The dangers along the way are impossible to predict, and I cannot go with you, so I'll give you this sword technique. It will make you strong, so others cannot easily bully you."
"Thank you, Brother Jinghan. I'll work hard to learn it..."
Tears blurred