Borrowed Sword

Chapter 88: Chu Yinyin’s Gift

Outside the bamboo house, Chu Yinyin stood with her hands behind her back, slowly descending from the sky at a very leisurely pace.

She did not land on the ground, but instead stood atop the wooden stake where Chu Huaixu had just been sitting.

However, she was simply too short.

Even like this, she was only about the same height as him, just barely taller than the long-legged Han Shuangjiang.

This Dao Gate Tenth Elder was famously unwilling to be shorter than others.

At this moment, she looked at Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, and in the end, her gaze focused on those heaven-defying Jade Legs, her heart filled with envy.

“If I hadn’t been cultivating this damned cultivation method, my legs would definitely be longer than hers!” Chu Yinyin gnashed her teeth in her heart, spouting this kind of unrealistic nonsense.

The two young disciples, seeing Chu Yinyin arrive in person, immediately saluted: “Tenth Elder.”

This old maiden nodded in satisfaction, continuing to stand proudly on the wooden stake, her demeanor full of authority.

Today, she had taken the initiative to volunteer to come here and escort Chu Huaixu to the Purple Bamboo Forest.

For this reason, Chu Yinyin had even specially tied her hair up into a bun, making herself look more mature.

But with her tender, childish face, it did not match at all, only making her seem more like a little adult.

Hearing her say she wanted to test the sword scabbard’s mystical qualities, Chu Huaixu asked, “Elder, how do you wish to test it?”

“Oh? You certainly have some courage.” Chu Yinyin chuckled.

But thinking about how this boy had dared to carve words on the Gentleman Stele, she did not find it strange.

Thus, she turned around, her back facing Chu Huaixu, and said: “However you treated her just now, do the same to me.”

This Dao Gate Tenth Elder occasionally loved to put on the airs of a master, even pulling off this “turning her back to the world” act.

Little did she know, Chu Huaixu was staring at her pert little buttocks and slender waist, thinking in his heart: “Are you sure?”

He had his principles—he did not hit little girls.

As a proud cultivator of the First Heaven Third Realm, how could he strike recklessly at someone who was merely at the peak of the Sixth Realm?

So, Chu Huaixu only said: “Then may Elder draw her sword.”

He would only strike the sword, not the person.

“Good, I’ll satisfy you!”

On her wrist was a bracelet, upon which was a single red bead.

She extended her right hand, and the bead transformed into a spirit sword, held within her grasp.

—A Supreme-grade Spiritual Artifact, Parting Joy!

Han Shuangjiang watched curiously from the side.

In fact, this was her first time seeing Chu Yinyin.

The reason she could recognize her instantly was simply because Chu Yinyin was far too easy to recognize.

Among all the Major Cultivators of Dao Gate who could soar through the skies, only she looked like a little girl, with a height less than one meter fifty.

Chu Huaixu held the sword scabbard, circulating his Spiritual Energy, and the Heart Sword within his Sea of Consciousness was also activated.

Chu Yinyin did not draw her sword, only lowered her head to gaze at it, standing atop the wooden stake as she carefully sensed it.

“Hmm? This truly is quite interesting.” She clicked her tongue in amazement.

The old maiden, still with her back turned to them, continued, “Your cultivation is too low. Even if you hold the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Scabbard, you cannot unleash its power, and it would not affect me much.”

“However, the small sword within your Sea of Consciousness, even my Parting Joy’s sword spirit would be suppressed to some extent by it.”

Chu Yinyin raised her thumb and forefinger, making a gesture that indicated only a tiny bit of influence.

But inwardly, she praised him: “Sword Heart Clarity, truly extraordinary!”

For someone of merely the First Heaven, this was already astonishing.

With her cultivation, she could wipe Chu Huaixu out with a single move, leaving not even ashes behind.

Today, Chu Yinyin had come with her own purpose.

With a light exertion of her hand gripping the sword, she shattered the influence that the Heart Sword and sword scabbard had upon Parting Joy.

Holding the sword scabbard, Chu Huaixu was forced a step back from the counter-shock.

Having finished, the spirit sword in her hand once again transformed back into a bead on her bracelet.

She was clearly showing off on purpose.

Chu Huaixu looked at the Parting Joy bead in her hand, and felt the name carried quite a bit of meaning.

The first line of poetry that came to his mind was Li Yu’s Parting Joy – Silently, I climb the west tower alone:

“Cut but not severed, unraveled yet still tangled, such is the sorrow of parting.”

The poems under the title Parting Joy were not many, and those that were famous were ironically the least joyous—filled instead with sorrow and melancholy.

Yet, he thought the name of this sword was oddly fitting for this lively, eccentric, old maiden.

At this time, Chu Yinyin finally turned around, looking at Chu Huaixu with growing satisfaction.

Her gaze made this seasoned play companion’s heart feel uneasy.

“Why does this feel like when female bosses pick out male models?” he thought silently.

Meanwhile, the old maiden was thinking: “This boy—I must have him!”

She beckoned to Chu Huaixu, saying: “Chu Huaixu, follow me once more to the Purple Bamboo Forest. The Sect Master and the elders are all waiting for you there.”

“Yes.”

Chu Yinyin raised her chubby little face to the sky, extended her cute little hand with a light motion, and Chu Huaixu floated up into the air.

The two of them, under Han Shuangjiang’s gaze, flew toward the Inner Gate’s Purple Bamboo Forest.

As she watched them fly farther away, Han Shuangjiang suddenly remembered something.

“Weren’t we supposed to go to the Cold Pool later to check on Senior Brother Xu?”

“He probably won’t have time again today.”

“But I already gave him that Jade Token Fragment, and I can’t enter the Cold Pool’s secret realm myself.”

“Hopefully, nothing goes wrong…” she thought.

At that thought, the Little Housekeeper recalled another matter.

She glanced toward the bamboo house, where just outside Xu Ziqing’s bedroom window, a pile of Chu Huaixu’s dirty clothes hung. Her eyes hesitated.

The cold-faced girl immediately pulled her gaze away, rubbing her lower back—still red and sore from being poked by his sword scabbard—muttering:

“Hmph! I definitely won’t help him wash them!”

Along the way, Chu Yinyin flew especially slowly.

With her cultivation at the peak of the Sixth Realm, it would not take long at all for her to reach the Inner Gate.

Chu Huaixu, seeing her dawdling pace, guessed she probably had something on her mind.

Sure enough, the old maiden started looking for small talk.

“Funny, isn’t it? You and I both share the surname Chu. Five hundred years ago, we were one family.” She turned her head to look at the floating outer sect disciple beside her.

“In that sense, you could be considered my junior of the same clan,” Chu Yinyin added.

Chu Huaixu looked at her tender face while listening to her words, and the whole scene just felt strange.

She was exactly like one of those children in the village, young in age but very high in seniority.

Seeing that Chu Huaixu remained silent, she continued on her own: “Chu Huaixu, did you know? That day when you triggered the phenomenon at the Cold Pool, I was the very first to arrive.”

“Disciple did not know.” He answered.

Because when he emerged from the Cold Pool, only Li Chunsong had been there.

As for the scene where Chu Yinyin was “bullied,” he had not seen it at all, nor did he witness her furious stomping after the Sect Master silenced her.

“I’ve actually been paying attention to you for some time.” She raised her little face, flashing him a mysterious smile.

And indeed, she really did look quite cute—especially when she winked and made faces, which only made her appear even cuter.

But her constant “this seat, this seat” really did sound quite arrogant.

Chu Huaixu listened to her words, but his reply was distant and formal: “Disciple is fearful and apprehensive.”

Chu Yinyin frowned slightly, sizing him up. She did not believe those four words one bit.

With how he had acted atop Hidden Spirit Mountain, how could he be “fearful”?

Forget it—at least he seemed polite enough.

And she was not the type to beat around the bush, so she got straight to the point.

“Chu Huaixu, with your current performance, it won’t be long before you enter the Inner Gate.”

“By then, you will surely have the chance to enter Dao Gate’s Gentleman Temple and become a True Disciple.”

“You should know, the quota for True Disciples is very precious. At most, there are only 33 in each generation, and sometimes the quota isn’t even filled.”

Chu Huaixu nodded: “This disciple understands.”

Looking at him, Chu Yinyin finally revealed her true intent: “When you enter the Inner Gate, I can take you as my disciple. You can become my True Disciple under me!”

As she said this, she even lowered her voice, trying to make her little girl’s tone sound deeper and steadier, to appear more profound.

But inside Chu Huaixu’s mind was: “Huh—? You?”

What a joke. With so many experts in Dao Gate, why would he choose her, a mere Sixth Realm cultivator, and one of the hardest high-level elders to serve?

He immediately used Li Chunsong as a shield: “Tenth Elder, but the Sixth Elder once told me that if I entered the Inner Gate, I should take the Seventh Elder as my master.”

“What?” Chu Yinyin’s voice jumped higher: “He told you that?”

“Yes.”

Even though his future master Shen Man, according to the proper storyline, was fated to die in three years’ time, she was still one of the Four Great Divine Swords.

Not to mention, from the glimpse of her back, she seemed like a cold, ascetic Daoist nun—clearly more appealing than this childish “little girl.”

Chu Yinyin’s expression flickered between gloom and brightness, her inability to hide emotions leaving her with no air of a lofty master.

Inwardly, she grumbled: “Nobody said he couldn’t have two masters. I was even thinking I could take him as my first disciple, and then let Shen Man be his second master.”

“But thanks to Li Chunsong’s big mouth, this has gotten a bit tricky…” She suddenly felt quite vexed.

This old maiden was well aware of her own weight. Chu Huaixu already possessed Sword Heart Clarity—only Shen Man could truly guide him.

She merely wanted to share him with Shen Man.

If she were honest, Dao Gate’s Seventh Elder was in the Seventh Realm, one of the Four Great Divine Swords, and had even gained a Dao Ancestor inheritance.

Compared to her, the Tenth Elder, she indeed lacked competitiveness.

“Forget it.” Chu Yinyin lifted her gaze toward the sky, saying: “Shen Man is my senior sister. I won’t contend with her for such an empty title.”

“When the time comes, you can take her as your primary master, and me as your secondary master.”

“With two Elders of Dao Gate as your masters, isn’t that wonderful?” She smiled at him again.

Chu Huaixu: “???”

What was this—The Proud Twins? One master, two masters… was she trying to make him Flowerless of the Shifting Flowers Palace?

The virtual male model began displaying his acting skills, a trace of confusion and surprise appearing on his face.

Seeing this, Chu Yinyin felt smug, and decided to increase her bargaining chips.

With a wave of her small hand, she retrieved a wooden box from her Storage Token.

“Your apprenticeship gift, I’ve already prepared. I might as well give it to you early.”

“Catch.” She tossed the wooden box, and it landed in Chu Huaixu’s hand.

Looking down, he found it was a Spirit Pill treasure box.

“This seat knows you are still a Third Level low-grade Spirit Embryo, so I have prepared what you need most right now.” She puffed herself up proudly.

Surely, this would win him over?

Hearing her words, Chu Huaixu looked at the treasure box in his hand, faintly guessing its contents.

He gently opened it, and inside lay a familiar Spirit Pill the size of a longan.

—The Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill!