Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 105 - 88: Are You Really Not Related by Blood?

Chapter 105: Chapter 88: Are You Really Not Related by Blood?

August 22, 2017, afternoon

Lu Xin returned from the Bamboo Forest Cloud Sea, utterly exhausted, feeling like a sheet of paper splattered with ink, unable to take on any more colors.

The events of the past two days had truly been mentally and physically draining. Lu Xin felt as if she had been in the Fire Chamber cultivating in seclusion for a whole month and now just longed to plunge into a cold, damp tomb for eternal rest.

However, as she dragged her weary body back to the bedroom, she saw Li Ping anxiously waiting at the door.

Lu Xin couldn’t help but feel both irritated and amused: "What did you mess up this time?"

Li Ping hurriedly explained: "No, no, it wasn’t me this time. It’s the young lady looking for you."

Lu Xin was surprised: "Qingming?"

"Yes, she came by this morning. I wasn’t here at the time; Li Li and the others received her... The young lady only said she wanted to talk to the lady. But after waiting a while and not seeing you return, she said she had cultivation tasks in the afternoon and evening, and if you have time, you’d meet at the Pinxiang Pavilion at the Drunken Immortal Tower tomorrow afternoon."

Lu Xin felt it was unbelievable. That child, who had always had a poor relationship with her, actually came over on her own and left a message to meet at Pinxiang Pavilion?

In an instant, Lu Xin felt all the accumulated fatigue vanish, replaced by a new sense of excitement filling her heart... yet, on the other hand, her dignity as the Lady of the Li Family made her immediately calm down, raise her head slightly, and say, "Mm, I know... Send her a message back saying if I have time, I’ll come by."

——

Exciting times always feel long.

When the sunlight of August 23 in the morning shone on her face, Lu Xin knew her dark circles had undoubtedly returned.

For a cultivator at the Rain Cover Realm, staying up all night was hardly a burden. But if staying up all night in a highly excited state, it imposes a considerable mental burden, accelerating fatigue and resulting in physiological phenomena like dark circles.

But at this moment, a mere dark circle was no obstacle; even if it were broken limbs, Lu Xin would overcome all difficulties to attend the appointment at the Drunken Immortal Tower.

In her own words, Shen Yue’e’s daughter issued me a formal challenge; how could I not show up!?

When Lu Xin arrived at the Pinxiang Pavilion of the Drunken Immortal Tower with weary steps, she only saw Shen Qingming nervously drinking tea cup after cup, ignoring that the tea at the Drunken Immortal Tower was not free nor had refills... Considering Shen Qingming’s usual spending habits, this was incredibly strange.

Noticing something was off with Shen Qingming, Lu Xin skipped the pleasantries, went straight to the point, stepping in and asking, "What do you want to see me about?"

Upon seeing Lu Xin enter, Shen Qingming was so nervous she shuddered all over, spilling the tea in her hand.

She had ample reason to be nervous.

For instance, at the previous birthday banquet, she had sincerely apologized to the family elders, somewhat resolving past misunderstandings, but later cleverly shifted a considerable amount of blame onto Lu Xin...

Also, the reason for meeting Lu Xin today stemmed from the breathtaking Spirit Cat show she witnessed two nights ago, and if Lu Xin were to find out, she would explode like the Golden Crow on the spot.

Fortunately, Lu Xin did not mention these details, diving right into the main topic.

Relieved, Shen Qingming put down her teacup, collected her thoughts, and recited her prepared lines: "I heard you’ve been helping me find the Original Sword Essence lately... I want to say, there’s no need to bother. This is my own cultivation; any difficulties are for me to handle."

Lu Xin was startled by the words and couldn’t help but frown: "What do you mean by that? Handling your own cultivation? Aren’t you cultivating the technique provided by Wang Jiu?"

Shen Qingming was at a loss for words: "Wang Jiu, Ah Jiu is different; he’s not an outsider."

Lu Xin’s eyebrows raised sternly: "He’s not an outsider, but I am an outsider, right?"

Shen Qingming was even more tongue-tied, not knowing how to respond.

Lu Xin, growing more agitated, said, "That’s right, we have no blood relations, and back then I was at odds with Shen Yue’e. If you consider me an outsider, I have nothing to say..."

Shen Qingming hurriedly explained: "No, I didn’t mean that..."

"No matter, I don’t care if you mean it!" Lu Xin said firmly, "I never intended to play sentimental games with Shen Yue’e’s daughter anyway!"

"I... why do you keep mentioning my mother? So what if I’m her daughter? Does it make you feel guilty!?" Shen Qingming couldn’t help but argue.

Lu Xin replied angrily, "Guilty? What do I have to feel guilty about? Yes, in terms of conditions, I can’t compare to your mother in any aspect, but even when she was alive, I was never afraid of her! Let alone a little girl like you who hasn’t even come into her own and hasn’t inherited your mother’s strengths!"

Shen Qingming retorted angrily, "I truly have poor aptitude and low intelligence, and even my height is about the same as yours, not inheriting any of my mother’s strengths. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to care about me! I never asked for your help!"

"You’re the heir of the Li Family, of course I can’t just stand by!"

Shen Qingming said, "Who cares about being the heir?! If you’re so concerned, then go train your own kids!"

"You!?" Lu Xin was practically fuming, "Fine, since you’re so determined, I’ll let you be. Original Sword Essence, you’ll have to go get it on your own, I want to see how you’ll manage!"

Shen Qingming said, "I fully intend to rely on my own efforts! Do you think you’re the only one in the world who can get the Original Sword Essence? Don’t be so conceited!"

Lu Xin retorted, "There are plenty of talented people around the world who can get the Original Sword Essence, it’s definitely not just me. But I don’t believe you can get it too!"

Shen Qingming slammed the table and said, "The Cyan Cloud Competition is at the end of the year. As long as I win the championship, I can choose a reward from the Saint Sect, and the Original Sword Essence has never been missing from the prize list. Why wouldn’t I be able to get the Original Sword Essence!?"

Lu Xin was dumbfounded: "The Cyan Cloud Competition? You’re actually planning on that? Ha, hahaha!"

As he spoke, Lu Xin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Oh heaven, I thought you had a real plan, and it turns out to be this... You’re truly your father’s daughter, dreaming the same ridiculous dreams. One jumps off cliffs to seek adventure, and the other wants to win the Cyan Cloud Competition, really..."

Shen Qingming’s anger only grew, "Is it really that funny? Is it so ridiculous when I say I’ll win the Cyan Cloud Competition? Are you that sure I can’t win first place?"

Lu Xin reined in his laughter, "If you’re serious, then tell me, how do you plan to win the Cyan Cloud Competition? It’s held every ten years and requires cultivators under twenty. The last two winners were nineteen and nineteen and a half, both with late-stage Cloud Surge Realm cultivation, and their cultivation techniques and magical treasures were of high tiers. Tell me, at only fourteen, with your cultivation merely at the Wind-Rising Realm, how exactly do you plan to win? By relying on the power of the Celestial Divine Sword?"

Shen Qingming was stupefied for a moment, then nodded and said, "Why not?"

"You can, sure." Lu Xin said, "Even though your cultivation is shallow, if that senior is willing to intervene, not just the Cyan Cloud Competition, you could even hope to win at Heaven-Reaching City’s competition. The only issue is, if you win relying on the power of the Celestial Divine Sword, how can you call it relying on your own efforts!?"

"..." Shen Qingming was caught in a verbal trap and was at a loss for words.

Lu Xin suddenly felt weary and internally cursed himself for bickering with a teenage girl. Who hasn’t been unreasonable when they were young? Besides, after finally being able to talk peacefully with this girl, should he let this momentary squabble set back their relationship?

With that in mind, Lu Xin softened his tone voluntarily, "Since you don’t reject help from outsiders... why won’t you accept my help?"

But Shen Qingming was already defeated by Lu Xin’s consecutive questions, feeling a bit helpless as she said, "I, I just don’t want you to... feel awkward and wronged because of my affairs."

She quickly added, "Of course, I just don’t want to owe you such a big favor..."

Lu Xin was surprised, "Feeling awkward and wronged? What are you talking about?"

"I mean... do I really have to spell it out? Don’t you get it!?"

Lu Xin thought the girl was worried about her lack of sleep recently, feeling quite moved, and earnestly said, "If you really think so... I can only say that I don’t feel like I’m wronging myself at all, everything I do comes from the heart."

"What!?" Shen Qingming looked shocked, "You... you really do those things from the heart? That’s a bit much..."

Lu Xin was starting to sense something, a feeling of foreboding arose, "Exactly what happened?!"

"Nothing, it’s nothing." Shen Qingming waved dismissively, although she remembered that earlier Wushuang had mentioned Lu Xin’s habit of collecting Spirit Cat series products, making her more convinced that this older motherly figure was secretly an irredeemable idol fanatic.

But since the other was her fan after all, she couldn’t dampen her enthusiasm, so she smiled gently and said, "Well, the current pop culture scene has a diversified audience. Even elderly folks are enthusiastic about idols and chasing stars. The Spirit Cat series is designed with a broad audience in mind, so it’s understandable if you’re into it..."

Before finishing her sentence, Shen Qingming suddenly felt a sharp rise in the surrounding temperature, scorching hot, while Lu Xin stood speechless, his cheeks flushed as if engulfed in flames.

In the next moment, the flames burst out.

"Who said I was obsessed?! You think this is what I want?! If not for getting the Original Sword Essence for you, I wouldn’t dance that ridiculous dance even with a knife to my neck!"

Shen Qingming was also provoked, "Who forced you to get the Original Sword Essence! Don’t keep pushing everything onto doing it for my sake to make yourself seem pitiful. I don’t need your help with the Original Sword Essence, I’m determined to win the Cyan Cloud Competition!"

"Ha, you really think having a Sword Spirit makes you invincible? The Saint Sect judges aren’t blind. How could they let a Wind-Rising Realm cultivator win over many fellow cultivators just with a Divine Weapon?"

"I don’t need Wang Jiu’s help. I can win the championship on my own!"

"If you really can win on your own, I’ll acknowledge you as my mentor!"

"It’s a deal! If I don’t win, I’ll become your student!"