CHAPTER 69: 61. ADMITTING A MISTAKE_2

The crow also sized up the old and young figures under the tree, feeling that their relationship... had finally improved a bit, with a sense of increased trust.

Old Yao said, "Didn’t you cultivate the Sword Seed Path? Let me see your Sword Qi."

"Alright," Chen Ji activated the Sword Qi within his body, navigating through the meridians until it finally shot out from the tip of his right finger and struck the ground.

It stirred up some dust.

"Heh," Old Yao snorted with amusement, "Turns out a person does indeed crack a smile when they’re speechless. She Dengke’s fart has more force than your Sword Qi. Liu Quxing just won’t do—he always has those lackluster farts."

"...You’re too harsh, Master. Haven’t I just started cultivating less than ’two hours’?"

Old Yao pondered for a moment: "Lu Yang nourished his sword at the North Sea of the Jing Dynasty. What do you use to nourish your sword? Back then, Lu Yang’s father took him to travel through mountains and rivers for a full year before choosing the North Sea. You’ve chosen a place to nourish your sword far too hastily, could it be that you’ve chosen my Taiping Medical Hall?"

Speaking of which, Old Yao became indignant at the suggestion: "Since you’ve obtained the Sword Seed Path, you should have told me earlier so that I could take you out to find the best place to nourish your sword. Whether it’s the Esoteric Sect’s Seven God Mountains or the Ten Thousand Mountains of the southwest, any would be better than here! How could you decide on such a matter so carelessly!"

Chen Ji pointed towards the east and said, "Master, I’ve chosen the sun as the place to nourish my sword."

Old Yao’s expression froze, then slowly he looked up at the rising sun: "You..."

...

...

At that moment, sneaky whispers came from beyond the courtyard wall: "Princess Bai Li, step on me to climb up, be careful and don’t fall."

The crow took to the sky, departing in advance.

Chen Ji turned his head to look at the courtyard wall, just in time to see Princess Bai Li sticking her head out, silently surveying the courtyard.

"Wow, Chen Ji, Doctor Yao, you’re awake? Good morning," Bai Li, standing on the Princely Heir’s shoulders, greeted them with a wobble.

Chen Ji asked in surprise, "Princess Bai Li, you and the Princely Heir are up this early too?"

Princess Bai Li replied with a smile, "We’ve just finished our morning class with Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang is so strict—a plank struck my brother’s palm again this morning."

From beyond the courtyard wall, the Princely Heir urged, "Bai Li, go over before you start chatting."

Bai Li braced herself with her hands, flipped over, and climbed down the ladder to the courtyard.

Old Yao, seeing how familiar she was with the place, raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Ji with a stern expression.

Chen Ji quickly said, "Master, I’ve paid the ’tuition fee’."

"Almost forgot," Old Yao’s frown relaxed as he rose to his feet and took a bamboo stick into the apprentice’s bedroom, "You two chat, I’m going to wake up She Dengke and Liu Quxing."

A moment later, the house echoed with the ghostly wails of the two senior disciples—one heading out to fetch water with a guarded behind, the other going to sweep the floor the same way, while Liang Mao’er happily crawled into the kitchen to light the stove and cook.

Surprisingly, Princess Bai Li also rolled up her sleeves and proficiently scooped a spoonful of lard into the pan, seemingly preparing to help with the cooking.

Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Why are you so skilled, Your Highness?"

Bai Li laughed, "At the academy, we all did it this way. The masters didn’t allow us to bring attendants, so everyone had to fend for themselves."

"Everyone fends for themselves?"

"Not really," Bai Li thought for a moment and said, "Some who came from very wealthy families would pay other students from less affluent families to help them with washing and cooking, so they lived more comfortably. My brother wanted to do that, but I wrote to father and snitched on him!"

The Princely Heir leaned weakly on the kitchen doorframe, "Bai Li, think of it this way: some students from poor households strive to attend Donglin Academy, using all their family’s resources just for the ’tuition fee.’ Yet they have the Imperial Examination to look forward to, and if they pass that, they must travel to the Imperial Capital for the Metropolitan Examinations; and if they place high, they’ll need to buy property in the Imperial Capital. All these require money. Isn’t it good that we save effort and they earn ’silver’?"

"That’s no excuse!"

Sizzle—a sound signaled that the Princess had skillfully started to cook the oil. She poured well-washed and chopped cabbage into the pan, preparing a dish of hot and sour cabbage. The scent wafted through the courtyard.

In the past, the Taiping Medical Hall was like a corner forgotten by the world; now it seemed like a bustling common yard full of life and vibrancy.

This vibrant atmosphere pulled Chen Ji back from the world of the Executive Officer to the realm of the living.

He struggled to sit up, lying on a bamboo chair, wearied, he slowly closed his eyes.

Chen Ji reined in the Molten Flow from within the sixteen furnace flames, allowing the Ice Flow to extend to every corner of his meridians, plunging once more into an abyss of dark clouds, returning to that ancient battlefield.

...

...

Chen Ji opened his eyes atop Mount Qingshan, only to see Xuanyuan clad in Golden Armor, leaning on the Royal Banner seated at the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distance.

The banners no longer fluttered, the armor no longer clinked.

Following his gaze, Chen Ji saw a range of snow-capped mountains covered in perennial snow.

Every other time he arrived, Xuanyuan would fight like a war god amidst countless soldiers; this time, he sat like a solitary traveler encased in his own piece of amber.

Chen Ji approached the edge of the cliff and stood beside Xuanyuan, "What are you looking at?"

Xuanyuan suddenly turned his head, his gaze as piercing as lightning, filled with sharp intent, "Why have you come again? Cultivating the sword requires hundreds of years of arduous work. Didn’t I tell you there’s no need to come before you’ve found a good place to nourish the sword?"

"I’ve found it," Chen Ji said.

"Mere finding isn’t enough. You need to delve deep and spend time communicating across the starry sea with it, to make it your nourishing celestial body," Xuanyuan spoke slowly, "When the time comes, you will understand that four hundred years of dedicated effort, it’s all worth it."

"I’ve already communicated."

Xuanyuan rose slowly, "You’ve never lied before... Which star did you choose? Let me guess, given your character, it should be the brightest in the sky—Sirius. But even if it’s Sirius, Divine Sense would take years to reach it. How could you possibly have done it in just ’two hours’?"