Clear Summer Courtyard at Zhu Tianhao's home was just as lively.
After chatting, shooting the breeze, and eating and drinking their fill at the ancestral hall, Zhu Yanfeng, Ding Bingyuan, and the other old fellows had come over together.
Zhu Yanfeng did not usually live here. He lived at the Zhu Family Old Residence beside the Slaughterhouse in the village's northeast.
With great satisfaction, Zhu Yanfeng lit the Woodland Tobacco Shreds he had shamelessly wheedled out of Qin Lüguang earlier.
Ding Bingyuan, meanwhile, sat beside Spirit, reveling in the delicate fragrance and rich, fresh flavor of the Fragrant Snow Spirit Tea.
Zhu Yanfeng's leisurely voice drifted over. "Wu Kui, placing in the top three this time made up for your father's regret-and fulfilled my dream, too."
Zhu Wukui replied modestly, "Second Granduncle, please don't say that. My father is away all year round. Everything I've achieved is thanks to your guidance."
Zhu Yanfeng waved a hand, his eyes roaming about. "Wu Kui, come, come. Hurry and let your great-uncle see that Copper-Inlaid Jade sword of yours."
"Sure, Second Granduncle. I'll go get it for you," Zhu Wukui answered in a voice just like his father's.
The prize sword was a full-scale replica, a good four feet long, so he had needed somewhere suitable to keep it.
Zhu Yanfeng took the Third Place prize Zhu Wukui handed him: the Copper-Inlaid Jade Seven Kill Sword.
He swung the long sword, sending cold gleams flashing in every direction, like solid snow trembling in the air. He looked as though he had discovered a peerless treasure, caressing it as if it were his lover.
Beside him, Ding Bingyuan curled his lips disdainfully. "You old fossil. Do you have to look so sleazy?"
Zhu Yanfeng immediately shot back, "Your mother! How many years has it