Hua Yan grumbled about how unreasonable it was to be required to wear her clothes neatly even while sleeping. Nonetheless, she obediently buttoned up her robe. However, Lu Chengsha’s robe was too large for her; even with her arms fully extended, only her fingertips peeked out. It was manageable when left loose, but once she buttoned it up properly, the inside felt quite empty and not very fitting.
At least the robe from Tingjian Manor wasn’t too shabby; Hua Yan found it quite comfortable. If they had skimped on even this, she would truly have believed that Tingjian Manor intended to mistreat Lu Chengsha.
Lu Chengsha finally came in after hearing her repeatedly assure him that she was properly dressed.
However, he didn’t look at her once he was inside. He simply said, “Sleep,” and then sat on a chair a few steps away from her.
Hua Yan asked, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “I’m not sleepy.”
Fine.
Hua Yan sat on the bed and tugged at the quilt. The quilt cover was plain, without any patterns or designs, only a sword-like emblem in the corner, the crest of Tingjian Manor.
Before she could pull the quilt over herself, she caught a faint, familiar scent—Lu Chengsha’s scent. It was very light, almost undetectable unless one paid close attention, a faint smell of pine needles after a snow, crisp and clean. It reminded her instantly of the Meditation Cave at the mountaintop earlier.
As she pondered whether this scent came from Lu Chengsha, her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
Hugging the quilt, Hua Yan asked, “Great Hero Lu, are you often confined?”
Lu Chengsha was taken aback by her question and replied, “No.”
Hua Yan sighed in relief.
She thought for a moment, then pointed upward and asked, “Do you often go up there?”
Lu Chengsha responded, “Yes.”
Hua Yan couldn’t help but ask, “What do you do up there?”
“Practice swordsmanship,” Lu Chengsha answered.
Hua Yan was dumbfounded. She had clearly seen a martial arts practice field in Tingjian Manor. “Do you go up there alone?”
“Yes,” Lu Chengsha confirmed.
Hua Yan asked again, “Since when?”
“Since I was six,” Lu Chengsha replied.
Hua Yan blinked a few times to make sure she hadn’t heard wrong.
Even if he was exceptionally gifted, at six years old, there wouldn’t have been any internal energy to protect him. He would have had to climb step by step to the top of the peak, which was so high that it remained cold even in summer, and in winter, it must have been even colder.
Hua Yan thought about what she was doing at the age of six. She probably sat beside her father every day, listening to him tell stories about heroic figures, or she would run around the sect with her hair tied into two small buns. Sometimes she would drag Shui Se along with her. The hall masters and elders, finding them adorable, would always find some rare and interesting trinkets or food to give them. However, Hua Yan would insist they tell her stories in exchange, and if they didn’t, she would throw a tantrum until her mother came and dragged her away by the arm.
Hua Yan pondered for a moment, then pursed her lips and said, “Great Hero Lu, tell me about your childhood!”
Lu Chengsha hadn’t expected her to ask about this in the middle of the night.
He remained silent for a while before asking, “What do you want to hear?”
Hua Yan replied without hesitation, “I want to hear everything… just tell me whatever you can!”
This request clearly troubled Lu Chengsha. He seemed at a loss for words and finally said, “My childhood was very boring; you wouldn’t be interested.”
“Who says so!” Hua Yan immediately retorted. “I’m very interested. You just tell me! Besides, whether it’s interesting or not isn’t up to you to decide!”
Her forceful logic left Lu Chengsha speechless.
“I…” He paused, then said, “In my childhood, it was just eating, sleeping, and practicing swordsmanship.”
Hua Yan was taken aback by this brief response. “So… do you really enjoy practicing swordsmanship?”
“Enjoy?” Lu Chengsha seemed puzzled for a moment. “I don’t know.”
Hua Yan decided to pursue this line of questioning. “Besides practicing swordsmanship, was there anything you liked to do as a child?”
Lu Chengsha asked, “What do you mean by ‘like’?”
Hua Yan hadn’t expected this to need explaining, so she said, “It’s something you willingly do and find joy in, like…” She decided to give an example, “I enjoy going to different restaurants to find delicious dishes.”
Lu Chengsha thought for a long time but eventually shook his head.
Could it be that all heroes were like this?
Focused solely on the sword, without any other interests or hobbies, and that was how they became so formidable.
Previously, Hua Yan would have simply marveled at this, but now it felt heavy, like something was clogging her heart.
“What kind of person was your grandfather?”
Lu Chengsha answered this question quickly, “Very strict.”
That made sense.
Hua Yan’s impression of Lu Zhenxing was also from Tiancan Sect. This infamous figure was as famous decades ago as Lu Chengsha is now.
Back then, their sect uncovered a traitor during a purge. This traitor had been leaking information before their actions, leading to repeated failures and heavy casualties. After being discovered, the traitor was subjected to extremely harsh torture and eventually killed. Her mother didn’t go into details, but Hua Yan could imagine how horrific it was. They hung the body as a warning, and when they wanted to deal with the traitor’s entire family, they discovered that this traitor had a sworn brother in his youth, named Lu Zhenxing.
Lu Zhenxing collected his brother’s body and then, with just one sword, stormed Tiancan Sect.
Of course, he couldn’t wipe out the entire sect alone, but he turned the grand hall into a bloodbath, leaving corpses everywhere, and was himself gravely injured, almost dying.
Elder Qu’s wife died under Lu Zhenxing’s sword, and his leg was crippled by him. Elder Qu could curse Lu Zhenxing for three days and nights without stopping, calling him a madman who was more sinister than their sect when it came to killing, yet dared to claim he was from a righteous sect.
This incident wasn’t the only feud between their sect and Tingjian Manor, but it certainly cemented their mutual enmity, resulting in more deaths between them than from all other sects combined.
Clearly, such a person wouldn’t be a gentle and kind old man.
Hua Yan sighed inwardly and asked, “When you were a child, was there anyone you were close to or familiar with?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “Yes.”
Huh?
Hua Yan immediately leaned forward, “Who?”
Lu Chengsha said, “Granny Xu.”
Hua Yan blinked, “Who’s that?”
Lu Chengsha explained, “She was my mother’s wet nurse. She passed away very early.”
“Oh,” Hua Yan nodded, “Can you tell me about her?”
She had realized that asking Lu Chengsha broad questions wouldn’t yield much. She needed to pry bit by bit to get any information.
Lu Chengsha seemed unaccustomed to heart-to-heart conversations. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, “She cared for me when I was young, taught me to read, and gave me sword manuals. She passed away from illness when I was seven.”
Lu Chengsha’s simple explanation made Hua Yan quickly realize there was more to it.
“Taught you to read, gave you sword manuals… Didn’t your Lu family have tutors?”
Impossible!
Although Hua Yan learned to read and write from her father, their sect also hired scholars to teach the young children—though the manner of inviting these scholars might be questionable. Nonetheless, even if it was just to understand martial arts manuals, they wouldn’t let their children remain illiterate. Even Yu Ye benefited from this.
The more Hua Yan thought about it, the stranger it seemed. “And since your martial arts weren’t taught by your grandfather, how come he didn’t give you the sword manuals?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “Maybe because I’m different.”
Hua Yan asked, “How are you different?”
Lu Chengsha said, “I was left at the gate of Tingjian Manor over twenty years ago.” His tone was casual, as if he were talking about someone else’s story.
Hua Yan was speechless for a moment. “But aren’t you…”
This was the information she had tried to find out about, but no one would ever say anything when it came to Lu Chengsha’s background. It seemed like everyone clammed up when his origins were mentioned.
Lu Chengsha, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think there was anything too secretive about it. He continued, “My mother was once betrothed to the young master of Baiya Peak. She later ran away from the marriage, and not long after, I was left at the gate of Tingjian Manor with a token from my mother and a letter in my swaddling clothes.”
No wonder Lu Chengsha said he had never seen his mother or his grandmother.
And of course, he had never seen his father either.
No wonder he always seemed like an outsider at Tingjian Manor.
Hua Yan’s mind whirled before she blurted out, “Your mother is… Lu Huaixian?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “Yes, that’s her name.”
Hua Yan had naturally heard of this name, but she had heard so many stories from the martial world that it took her a moment to recall it.
In her memory, Lu Huaixian was a famously beautiful woman, gentle in nature and extraordinarily talented, with many admirers in the martial world, comparable to Qin Xiaoran. Unfortunately, she had a short life and died young.
Hua Yan had once sighed to her mother, lamenting that such a beautiful elder sister didn’t get to have a legendary romance with a handsome hero.
Her mother had pinched her cheek and said, “The stories I tell you aren’t for you to spread around. She’s from Tingjian Manor, and we have a grudge against them. Normally, your mother should be setting off fireworks to celebrate, but I did meet her once…”
Hua Yan had immediately asked with interest, “And then?”
Her mother had replied, “I thought at the time, if your father were a woman, he would probably look like her—far better than that demon Yin Xiangsi. But alas, she’s from the Lu family.”
The characters from the stories linked together, and her past sighs turned into a sense of regret.
If she were still alive, would Lu Chengsha have had a mother’s love? Would someone have cared for him?
If she were as her mother described, she must have been a gentle woman.
Suddenly, Hua Yan felt a pang in her heart, and her nose tingled with an impending tear.
She buried her face in Lu Chengsha’s quilt and took a deep breath.
It was Lu Chengsha who asked her, “What’s wrong?”
Hua Yan shook her head, trying to dispel the strange emotions, and said, “Nothing, nothing.”
She had once idly wondered what kind of people Lu Chengsha’s parents were to produce someone like him. Now she thought that despite his cold nature, he had a face with soft and refined features, probably taking after his mother.
With this thought, Hua Yan slid off the bed and sat opposite Lu Chengsha. By the candlelight, she looked at his face.
Lu Chengsha hadn’t anticipated this, and when Hua Yan suddenly leaned in, he almost turned his face away in a fluster.
Hua Yan said, “Take off your hair tie and show me again!”
Lu Chengsha responded, “…No.”
Taken aback by the refusal, Hua Yan pouted, “Stingy!”
Lu Chengsha: “…”
He seemed unsure of what to do, finally saying, “It feels strange.”
“Why do you always have to complicate things?” Hua Yan sighed.
“Alright,” Hua Yan reluctantly accepted, “Then continue… You still haven’t told me why your mother’s wet nurse was the one who taught you to read and gave you the sword manuals.”
Lu Chengsha thought for a moment before answering, “That was before I turned six.”
“Nobody looked after you before you were six?” Hua Yan frowned, “…So what happened when you turned six?”
She still felt something was off. Lu Chengsha had his mother’s token, so why was he ignored?
Lu Chengsha said, “I hit Lu Chengzhao.”
“What?” Hua Yan blinked in confusion, “Why did you hit him?”
Lu Chengsha explained, “He said some unpleasant things to Granny Xu.”
Hua Yan thought it made sense. Lu Chengsha never reacted to Lu Chengzhao’s insults before.
“But you were only six at the time, right? And you beat him?”
Lu Chengzhao should have been older and started martial arts training earlier, probably with proper instruction, yet…
“Yes,” Lu Chengsha replied. “After that, my grandfather started teaching me personally and gave me a name.”
This made it even stranger.
Hua Yan stared blankly, “You didn’t have a name before you were six?”
“Correct,” Lu Chengsha said.
Hua Yan couldn’t help but ask, “Then what did they call you…” She suddenly recalled Lu Chengzhao’s words and changed her question, “Wait, never mind what others called you… How did Granny Xu address you?”
Lu Chengsha thought for a moment, “…Young Master.”
He seemed a bit embarrassed as he said it.
Hua Yan, if not for knowing Granny Xu was already deceased, would have wanted to hug this adorable old woman.
At least there was someone who treated him kindly.
But she passed away so early, leaving Lu Chengsha alone for so many years. Hua Yan couldn’t help but reach out and grasp Lu Chengsha’s hand, feeling a slight chill.
Lu Chengsha’s body stiffened slightly but he didn’t pull away.
Hua Yan thought of many things to say, but none seemed appropriate. Finally, she smiled and asked, “Where is Granny Xu buried? Let’s visit her tomorrow, shall we?”
The night was deep, and the small lamp cast a soft light, making Lu Chengsha’s face appear exceptionally gentle and refined.
He blinked his dark eyes, which now seemed gentle and calm, and said, “Alright.”
***
Hua Yan finally started to feel sleepy again.
She tugged on Lu Chengsha’s hand and said, “Let’s sleep. You need to sleep too, or you won’t have any energy during the day.”
Lu Chengsha’s gaze lingered on their intertwined hands.
Hua Yan didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. She stood up, still holding his hand, walked to the bed, and pointed to both ends of the bed. “I’ll sleep on this side, and you sleep on that side.”
Lu Chengsha: “…???”
Hua Yan said, “There’s no second bed here, so let’s make do. We’re children of the martial world, not bound by small matters. I don’t mind, so you shouldn’t either, right?”
Lu Chengsha said, “I’m not sleepy.”
Hua Yan didn’t believe him. “You must be sleepy!”
Lu Chengsha said, “I…”
Hua Yan insisted, “You’re sleepy!”
Lu Chengsha: “…I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Hua Yan couldn’t win this last point, so she had to climb into the bed by herself.
Lu Chengsha’s bed, Lu Chengsha’s quilt, Lu Chengsha’s pillow—she was even wearing Lu Chengsha’s clothes. She hadn’t noticed before, but now that she was lying down, she realized she was surrounded by Lu Chengsha’s scent, and the person himself was lying on the floor beside her. He had laid a mat on the floor and was sleeping in his clothes, his eyes closed.
She had felt very sleepy just a moment ago, but now she didn’t feel so sleepy anymore. She remembered this was probably the first time she and Lu Chengsha had slept in the same room.
Hua Yan rolled around a bit, then stretched out her hand to peer over the edge of the bed.
After a while, Lu Chengsha opened his eyes and said, “Sleep.”
“Oh,” Hua Yan withdrew, but she couldn’t sleep and soon peeked again.
After several rounds of this, Lu Chengsha got up and drew the bed curtains for her.
Hua Yan sulkily rolled around in Lu Chengsha’s quilt and asked, “Do you have an extra hair tie?”
After a moment, a slender hand reached in, offering a dark blue hair tie.
Hua Yan used Lu Chengsha’s hair tie to cover her eyes and finally began to fall asleep.
Lu Chengsha, with his long hair loose, saw that the bed had finally quieted down. He breathed a gentle sigh of relief.
Outside the window, a faint hint of dawn was beginning to appear. He sat on the floor and waited for a long time, then carefully used the tip of his sword to slightly lift the bed curtain. He gazed at the girl’s sleeping profile, her breathing even, and stayed like that for a while, his eyes becoming extremely gentle.
After a long moment, he retreated to the side and began to meditate.