On this day, which happened to be the fortieth birthday of the Qiang Kingdom emperor, the old emperor, on a whim, did not hold a banquet as he had done in previous years. Instead, he secretly came to the Grand Preceptor's residence with the empress and two guards to have a drink with the old Grand Preceptor.
The emperor was in high spirits after drinking, and before leaving, he stuffed a pure black sword into Ji Nanshu's bosom.
Overjoyed at receiving the gift, Ji Nanshu rushed to the old Grand Tutor: "Master! Master! Today, Uncle Emperor gave me a sword! Look!"
The sword in his hand gleamed with a cold light, and a sliver of silver light flashed in the moonlight.
"Wow, Old Luo actually gave you this sword! It's a really good sword. Too bad your master already has the parts!"
The old imperial advisor chuckled and patted the sword at his waist.
"Pah! You wanted this sword back then, but unfortunately, it doesn't recognize you!" The Grand Tutor's wife retorted mercilessly, angrily revealing her husband's past misdeeds.
The old imperial advisor chuckled awkwardly, "Why did you expose my past in front of the Nanshu? Have you spared me some face?"
"Master, how can you possibly have any face in front of your mistress!" Ji Nanshu teased his master, shaking his head.
Hey! You little rascal!
To avoid a beating, Ji Nanshu stuck out his tongue and ran away.
He carried the sword back to his room and examined it closely. The sword was entirely black, with only a hint of silver light gleaming at the blade, and it looked incredibly sharp.
This sword is so beautiful, it deserves a nice name.
However, Ji Nanshu thought hard but could only think of one Chinese character, so the name of this sword was decided hastily.
Ji Nanshu was so fond of the sword that he carried it with him everywhere, from eating and sleeping to bathing; they were practically inseparable.
That day, Ji Nanshu, on a whim, went to bathe in the hot spring in the backyard of the Imperial Preceptor's residence, and as usual, he brought his black sword with him.
As he carried the sword down, he carefully wiped the ink twice with a handkerchief, then gently placed it beside him, standing side by side.
After a while, seemingly getting bored of soaking, he said, "Mo, I'm going for a swim. You stay here and wait for me to come back."
As he spoke, he even gave the sword hilt a serious kiss.
However, Ji Nanshu, who had already plunged into the hot spring, did not see that the black sword swayed slightly.
Whenever Ji Nanshu thinks about this incident, he feels that he was a bit of a pervert back then. How could anyone think of kissing a sword?
After Ji Nanshu plunged into the hot spring, only a lone black sword remained on the surface of the spring.
A long time passed, and Ji Nanshu still hadn't come up. Hei Jian was getting anxious. Could he have drowned? Humans are still so fragile.
The sword trembled a few times, and a handsome man dressed in plain black robes appeared on the surface of the spring.
As soon as the handsome man appeared, Ji Nanshu floated up from the bottom of the spring and crashed head-on into a wall of flesh.
"Who... who are you?!" Ji Nanshu asked warily, raising his hand in a defensive stance.
The man in front of him was tall and handsome, but his face was expressionless, and his gaze seemed to be scrutinizing him.
Examining him?! Are you out of your mind?! This is his master's Imperial Preceptor's residence! What right does this random person have to examine him?!
"Ji... Nanshu?" Good heavens, this handsome man is actually speechless! Indeed, there is no such thing as a perfect person in this world.
Oh, except for myself!
Having already mentally cursed men a hundred times over, Ji Nanshu threatened somewhat hesitantly, "W-what do you want to do?! Let me tell you! This is the Imperial Preceptor's residence! If you dare do anything to me, you won't be able to escape!"
The man paused for a moment, seemingly considering how to begin.
Then, Ji Nanshu saw the man grab the black sword and hand it to him, then point to himself and say, "Mo!"
Ji Nanshu fell into an eerie silence, pondering for a long, long time before finally managing to speak with difficulty, "Could it be... you're trying to say that you are this black sword?!"
"Yes!" the man nodded affirmatively.
It's not entirely true; the sword is him, but he is not the sword. The sword merely resides within him.
That's hard to say.
Seeing that Ji Nanshu didn't seem to believe what he said, the man didn't know what else to say, after all, he was never good with words.
Silence fell between them.
He was extremely vigilant, fearing that the other party might do something to him if they were unhappy.
One is trying to figure out how to prove that they are the sword, no, that they live inside the sword.
Then, the man performed a feat of disappearing on the spot.
"I'm here."
A deep, pleasant male voice sounded beside Ji Nanshu.
Ji Nanshu looked down and saw that the sound was coming from the sword in his arms.
Then he widened his eyes slightly, frowned, pouted, and began to wail loudly. "Aa...
The piercing screams almost pierced through the entire Imperial Preceptor's residence.
After a loud crash, the old Grand Preceptor almost rushed out without even putting on his pants. If it weren't for his wife reminding him, he would have become the first Grand Preceptor in the Qiang Kingdom to go out without pants!
He's in a hurry!!!
This was the disciple he had painstakingly searched for all his life to find. Talented and good-looking, aside from being a little mischievous and prone to picking on his father's past mistakes, he was flawless! What would happen if a monster ate him?!
When the old Grand Tutor arrived, he was speechless when he saw his disciple pointing at his precious black sword with a terrified expression.
" Nanshu, what are you yelling about in the middle of the night? Where are there any monsters around?"
As the imperial advisor, how could he not sense the demonic aura?
Ji Nanshu pointed at the black sword, trembling, "Master... Master... Master! There's a monster inside the sword!"
As soon as they finished speaking, a man suddenly appeared in front of them.
The old imperial advisor's gaze sharpened as he carefully examined the man who had appeared out of nowhere, then glanced at his beloved disciple, and suddenly smiled.
"My dear disciple, this isn't a monster." The old Grand Preceptor stroked his white beard and said with a chuckle, "Alright, look at you! You're the next Grand Preceptor of the Qiang Kingdom, what's with this fear!"
Ji Nanshu's eyes widened, his cheeks puffed out. "You old geezer! I don't believe you weren't afraid before! Your master's wife said you used to be even more timid!"
Hmph, Master's wife and Master were childhood sweethearts. Master's wife told him all the embarrassing things Master did when he was little. Don't think he doesn't know! Are you trying to fool a child?
The old imperial advisor. "..."
Oh dear, why does his dear wife keep revealing his past to his apprentice all day long? Doesn't he have any dignity?!
The old imperial advisor coughed awkwardly twice, then abruptly changed the subject. "You get up right now! Sir, would you please come up as well?"
The man gave a faint "hmm".
After Ji Nanshu realized that the man opposite him was not a monster, he gradually grew bolder.
After getting dressed, he opened his eyes wide and leaned close to the man. "Hey, Master said you're not a monster, so what are you?"
The man was about to say something when, a second later, Ji Nanshu bluntly added, "You're really good-looking, I like you!"
The man froze for a moment, a rush of heat to his head, and two red blushes quickly spread across his cheeks. How could this little kid... how could he talk so... so shamelessly!
Just then, the old imperial advisor arrived, having changed his clothes again.
He had some late-night snacks prepared, and after the servants had set the food out, he said with a smile, "May I ask what business this gentleman has with my beloved disciple?"
The man lowered his eyes, his mind filled with Ji Nanshu's earlier words of affection, and for a moment he forgot to answer.
Ji Nanshu waved her hand in front of the man's eyes. "Hey! My master is talking to you, why aren't you answering?"
"He drew the sword." The man pursed his lips. "I'm going to follow him."
"Huh? Follow me?" Ji Nanshu didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from being very happy. "Then you're mine?"
Man:... That's not wrong either.
The old imperial advisor smiled meaningfully, "Alright, since you're no longer afraid, I'll go and rest now. Your mistress is still waiting for me."
Haha, he saw a beautiful peach blossom blooming on his apprentice's face!
After the old imperial advisor left, Xiao Ji Nanshu immediately pounced on the man. "Hey, you still haven't told me your name!"
"Mo," the man said calmly. Actually, he didn't have a name, but since the child had asked, he would call him by the name he had given him.
Ji Nanshu said happily, "Hey, isn't that the name I chose?! How about I call you A-Mo from now on?"
"Good."
(I'll still refer to the Chu Mo from now on!)
The next morning, Ji Nanshu took Chu Mo out, and the first thing he did was buy Chu Mo more than a dozen sets of clothes.
Chu Mo: "..." He actually wanted to say that he didn't need so many clothes, but seeing Ji Nanshu's eyes crinkling with laughter, he silently swallowed the words "no need".
"Oh, isn't this Ji Nanshu? Our future Imperial Advisor?"
Just as he finished shopping and was about to leave, an annoying voice reached Ji Nanshu's ears. He looked up and saw Jiao Yuan, the heir of the Marquis of Nan'an, once again.
After Jiao Yuan finished speaking, his lackeys burst into laughter.
Ji Nanshu secretly rolled her eyes, turned around and smiled, instantly captivating Jiao Yuan.
The next second, Ji Nanshu darkened and he said, "Get out of the way."
Jiao Yuan closed his fan and shouted fiercely, "Shameless!"
The two started fighting as they were talking.
This development was unexpected by Chu Mo. He didn't know whether he should help, since Ji Nanshu didn't seem to be in any immediate danger of losing his life.
Just as Chu Mo was struggling with his decision, Ji Nanshu sat on Jiao Yuan, grabbed his ear, and shouted, "Are you still going to fight? Are you still going to fight?! You're always causing trouble for me. If you do it again, don't blame me for beating you every time I see you!"
"Let go!! It hurts so much!!"
After Ji Nanshu released him, Jiao Yuan jumped three miles away, covering his ears with flushed cheeks, and angrily shouted, "You just wait!"
Then he ran away with his henchmen.
Ji Nanshu twitched his nose and said smugly, "Hmph! I've never been afraid of anyone in a fight! Come on, A-Mo ~! I'll take you to the south of the city for some delicious food!"
"Okay." Chu Mo obediently followed behind.
Golden sunlight bathed the earth, casting two elongated shadows on the ground, one tall and one short, as they surged towards the crowd in the morning light.
With a subtle smile on his face, Chu Mo carefully protected Ji Nanshu as they walked through the crowd. The whole scene looked noisy, but it was exceptionally beautiful.
Hmm, I combined two short chapters into one, so... I guess you could call it two chapters.