76: Chapter 76 Sword, Do You Have a Sword Spirit?

This reasoning sounded perfectly reasonable.

Ye Yuan was a Sixth-Rank martial artist, after all; even without a suitable sword in hand, he still possessed some ability to protect himself.

And in this prefecture city where demons and evil spirits might be lurking, it was perfectly normal for a young girl to want a weapon for self-defense.

Ye Yuan was silent for a moment.

He could not perceive the faint blush on his daughter's face or the complex emotions hidden deep within her eyes.

Perhaps it was due to guilt toward his daughter, or perhaps because he felt this broken sword was not some divine weapon.

In the end, he handed Su Chen over.

"Be careful. This is your first time handling a real sword; do not hurt yourself."

"Yes, thank you, Father."

Ye Jingjun took the longsword; it felt heavy in her hand.

She clasped the sword tightly to her chest, as if fearing someone might snatch it away from her.

Ye Yuan casually snapped off a wooden stick, whittled it into the shape of a sword, and left the small courtyard.

Ye Jingjun hugged the sword and returned to sit on the steps.

The sunlight gradually dispersed the morning mist, falling into the courtyard.

She looked down at the longsword on her lap, her fingers carefully tracing the winding cracks.

"Hey, hey… Sword, do you have a sword soul?"

Ye Jingjun did not immediately call out Su Chen's name; instead, she asked softly, carrying the shyness unique to a young girl.

The sword was naturally silent.

Not to mention that Su Chen was not in the mood to answer her question, even if he were, as a sword, he could not speak when not in human form.

But Ye Jingjun was happy.

She seemed to feel as if the sword was silently listening to her confidences, so she began to speak intermittently.

"Father is in a lot of pain."

"I know, he wants to save people."

"He is a good man, but he can do nothing right now."

"Why has the world become like this?"

"Demons and monsters are running rampant, and the imperial court seems unreliable as well."

"And also…"

"Master Su, he didn't come last night either. Did he encounter something?"

"Will he… come again?"

She spoke of the tragic scenes she had witnessed these past few days, the confusion in her heart, and her worry for her father.

And that budding, unspeakable longing for Su Chen was all poured into this silent confession.

As she spoke, a faint smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

Meanwhile, Su Chen, as the sword soul, felt quite strange.

He could clearly "hear" every whisper of Ye Jingjun, sensing the worry, kindness, and that faint, imperceptible ripple in her words caused by him.

He could not respond, only able to transmit a trace of vague comfort through the imperceptible trembling of the sword body.

At the same time, he was calculating rapidly in his mind.

Ye Yuan had started to take action; this was a good thing.

With Ye Yuan's ability, he believed that what he had caused by the seaside yesterday afternoon must have already been discovered.

In the evening, Ye Yuan returned to the small courtyard.

He said with a grave expression,

"Last night… the Prefect of East Lai Prefecture turned into… oh no, was killed by someone."

"The imperial court has sent a new Prefect to East Lai, and it is said that he is bringing a special prescription from the Imperial Academy of Medicine."

"The Prefectural Governors Residence has posted a notice that medicine will be distributed in front of the City God Temple in three days."

"In addition, the sect leader of the nearby Penglai Immortal Sect also said that they will send disciples to come and save people after some time."

"This perhaps… should be considered a turning point."

Ye Yuan did not mention the matter of the former Prefect turning into a monster and being killed by an unknown robed person.

But from Ye Yuan's expression, Su Chen could infer that he probably knew.

He just didn't say it out loud, fearing that Ye Jingjun would find out.

The credibility of the imperial court had already gone bankrupt in his eyes.

Yet, he still subconsciously believed that the new Prefect might truly be able to resolve all of this.

Subconsciously, he wanted to resist the current order, but it seemed he was held back by something.

Ye Jingjun listened silently to "Father's" words.

Her thoughts had drifted off to who knows where.

...

That night, at the hour of the Rat.

Su Chen appeared on time before the sleepy Ye Jingjun.

He was still wearing that green shirt, and looking at Ye Jingjun, who had been waiting in the courtyard for a long time, a trace of apology flashed in his eyes.

"Jingjun, I apologize. I was delayed by some important matters last night and could not keep our appointment."

Ye Jingjun sat up abruptly, looked at Su Chen, and was slightly startled.

She hurriedly shook her head, trying hard to make her expression look natural.

"It's okay, Master Su. It's good that you are alright."

Su Chen nodded, pondered for a moment, and said,

"Besides, there is something I need to discuss with you."

"From now on, the time I come to instruct you in sword techniques will likely need some adjustments."

"Starting at the hour of the Rat in the first half of the night, I will still come here for half an hour."

"In the second half of the night… I have other urgent matters to attend to."

He did not specify what matters.

Ye Jingjun's heart twinged slightly, but she obediently did not ask further, only replying,

"I will leave it all to Master's arrangements."

"Good, then let us begin now."

Su Chen composed his mind and began to instruct Ye Jingjun in sword techniques.

But half an hour passed by in a flash.

When the moonlight tilted to the west, Su Chen left on time, his figure dissipating into the night.

Ye Jingjun stood alone in the courtyard, looking in the direction where Su Chen had disappeared, remaining still for a long time.

An indescribable emotion slowly welled up in her heart.

The young girl always had a feeling that something originally belonging to her had been split in half by someone else.

If Su Chen were truly just a sword soul, then the people he was familiar with should only be herself and Ye Yuan.

Then, at this moment, since he had suddenly left, who was he going to find?

Ye Jingjun did not have strength as great as Su Chen's and could not keep up with the speed at which he left, so she had to lean against Su Chen's sword, feigning sleep while waiting.

Meanwhile, Su Chen had already appeared by the reef at the seaside as promised.

Cang Mingyue was already waiting there.

Seeing Su Chen's arrival, she smiled happily.

"Young Master Su!"

Su Chen nodded.

"Hmm, Miss Yue, let us begin."

On the beach under the moonlight, the tides murmured.

Su Chen looked at Cang Mingyue, contemplating the investment plan for this second investment target.

The previous two investment targets were both human.

He really did not have much understanding of the abilities of the demon race.

How could a Daughter of Destiny be simple?

There must be unique abilities that he was unaware of.

If he wanted to cultivate the other party, he first needed to be clear about where Cang Mingyue's greatest strengths lay.

Su Chen looked at Cang Mingyue, who was visibly excited by his arrival, and smiled.

"Miss Yue, last night was rushed, and I did not have time to ask in detail."

"As a sea demon, besides your enchanting singing voice, do you have other innate abilities?"

"For example, water control, or something else?"

Cang Mingyue tilted her head slightly, her azure long hair sliding down like a waterfall.

She thought carefully, and her slender jade finger pointed toward the sea surface.

A water arrow rose in response, accurately striking a shell attached to a reef several yards away, with a force that was neither too light nor too heavy.

"Water control like this is something everyone in the tribe can do."

She felt a bit embarrassed.

"Also… I swim quite fast and can stay in the deep sea for a very long time."

Su Chen nodded; these counted as the conventional abilities of sea demons.

He encouraged her,

"Very good, your foundation is very solid."

"But every individual is unique; I think you must also possess some abilities that your tribespeople do not have."

Cang Mingyue showed a look of hesitation.

After a moment, she nodded.