"I know, but I think... I want you to treat me as a friend." The boy stumbled over his words. "...Then you have to let me go face these things alone."
"Mm," Ming Qitian said softly. "I do consider you a friend."
"...Hehe."
"Do you still have the little jade sword I gave you?"
"Yes, yes." Pei Ye patted his chest. "Is that a token your Cloud Lang Mountain uses to repay kindness? But I've already used it... Miss Ming, since I saved you this time, shouldn't you give me another?"
He held out his hand to ask for one.
Ming Qitian actually took one out and placed it in his palm.
Pei Ye froze and drew his hand back. "Ah, I was joking! I wasn't really asking for a reward, Miss Ming!"
"This is for a friend."
"..."
"If anything comes up, you can write to me anytime," Ming Qitian said.
"...Mm."
In the quiet, Ming Qitian suddenly asked, "Once you reach the Divine Capital, how do you plan to study the sword?"
"...I'm not sure yet. I'll see when I get there. Do you have any suggestions, Miss Ming?"
"In the short term, joining the Dao Initiation Assembly would naturally be best," Ming Qitian said. "As long as your talent is high enough, there will always be a higher ladder left for you to climb."
"...But the assessment criteria seem very complicated. I hear the Divine Capital's Sword Cultivation Academy is especially strict." Pei Ye hugged his knees. "I think I'm all right with a sword, but all those other criteria... I don't even know what they are yet."
"I'll write you a letter of introduction."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you ask me to write one for Piao Qing before?"
"...Oh." Pei Ye blinked. "That would be wonderful."
Right there,