Alternate Reality Setting: If Both Parents are Alive
A little girl with two braids was perched on a tree branch, diligently reading a book that almost covered half of her face. Her round eyes were wide open, as if afraid to miss a single word. The book’s cover bore the hastily written title “Heroes of the Jianghu · Volume Seven.”
She could recognize quite a few characters now, but reading such a hefty volume was still a bit challenging. However, it was just too fascinating!
Little Hua Yan’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she delved into her admiration for the heroes of the righteous path.
Unfortunately, she had only been reading for less than half an hour when her mother’s voice interrupted her.
“I told you not to spend all day learning from your father! What’s the use of reading that? Come down here immediately!” Her mother, Hua Ran, stood under the tree, looking displeased.
With that, Hua Ran used her lightness skill to ascend the tree, effortlessly grabbed little Hua Yan by the collar, and brought her down. However, the little girl’s chubby arms clung stubbornly to the book, her round face puffed up with a hint of dissatisfaction that she didn’t dare to show.
“Give me the book.”
“No!” Little Hua Yan struggled, trying hard to hide the book behind her.
But her mother was not as easy to deal with as her father. With a light touch on her shoulder, little Hua Yan couldn’t move. Hua Ran smugly took the book from behind her.
Little Hua Yan immediately pouted, her big eyes blinking rapidly with tears welling up, on the verge of crying.
Hua Ran tapped her forehead, smiling mischievously, “Your father’s tricks don’t work on me. You’d better focus on your martial arts practice. When you can withstand ten moves from me, I’ll give the book back to you…” She patted little Hua Yan’s shoulder, unlocking her acupoint, “Now go back. By the way, a boy is coming to stay here for a while. I heard he’s good at martial arts. You can learn from him when you have time. Don’t slack off and make your mother worry every day.”
However, little Hua Yan’s heart was still attached to her “Heroes of the Jianghu,” thinking about the next part of the story. She walked away slowly, turning back every few steps.
When she returned to the courtyard, she saw her father taking advantage of the sunny weather to lay out the books from the room to dry. Hua Yan immediately forgot her displeasure and ran over to help her father, secretly asking if he had bought any new storybooks recently.
She couldn’t afford to buy them herself!
Her father smiled knowingly and said gently, “Not recently, but the bookstore said they’ll have new ones next month.”
Hua Yan cheered immediately!
When she finished her tasks and walked out, she saw her mother talking to a young man who was a full head taller than her. The young man was dressed in a light purple brocade robe, with a jade belt around his waist, and his long hair tied high with a silver crown, exuding a noble air. From the back, he appeared tall and upright like a pine tree.
Little Hua Yan was pondering when her mother noticed her and waved her over, “Come here, let me introduce you.”
Hearing this, she trotted over on her short legs.
With Little Hua Yan’s movement, the young man slightly turned his head, revealing a pair of black eyes as clear as if washed by water, with a hint of curiosity and a touch of unease.
Hua Ran grabbed Little Hua Yan’s shoulder and turned her to face the young man, saying casually, “His parents have some matters to attend to and left him here for the time being. Get to know each other. By the way, when Xiao Xian comes back, you two take him around.”
Little Hua Yan stared at him with wide, curious eyes. The young man had a gentle and handsome appearance, quite attractive. A long sword hung at his waist, and he stood like a pine tree, exuding a clean aura that seemed out of place in their sect. She couldn’t help but want to take a few more looks.
Her gaze was so direct and bold that the young man felt a bit uncomfortable and slightly averted his eyes.
Seeing this, Little Hua Yan burst into laughter, “Hello! My name is Hua Yan!”
As she spoke, she extended her chubby little hand.
The young man was slightly taken aback by the sight of her fair, tender, and somewhat plump hand. He was a bit bewildered but still said, “Hello.” His voice was cold, his words brief, but his tone was very polite.
But Little Hua Yan didn’t care. She grabbed his hand and said, “Come on, I’ll show you around!”
Though small in stature, she had quite a bit of strength. The young man was caught off guard and was pulled a couple of steps forward by her, a look of astonishment appearing on his face.
Hua Ran laughed heartily, “Aren’t you waiting for Xiao Xian to come back?”
Little Hua Yan replied, “No need, no need!”
Yesterday, Xie Yingxian was chased by his mother to practice martial arts, causing such a commotion that he ran off with Ning Yin and Jiang Lan overnight, saying he’d be back in the evening. Who knows when he’ll actually return!
The young man, regaining his composure, gently freed his hand from hers. This was the first time he had shaken hands with a girl other than his mother, and his face was a bit red—even though she was a girl much shorter than him.
Little Hua Yan was dissatisfied, “I’m taking you around, why did you let go of my hand?”
The young man hesitated and said, “Thank you. You can walk in front, and I’ll follow. No need to pull me.”
Little Hua Yan found his manner really strange.
However, she was always magnanimous.
“Alright then!” Little Hua Yan started walking, saying, “Keep up! Let me tell you, Elder Wu lives over there. He has a lot of birds in his yard, the kind that peck at people’s eyes, so don’t get too close. Over here is Elder Qi’s yard. He has a son named Qi Xiusi, who always has a stern face and only knows how to practice martial arts. He’s got a bad temper. Oh, and over there is our dining hall, but the food isn’t very good. I’ve heard that the food outside is exquisite and delicious. Is that true?”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but ask the boy beside her.
The young man was taken aback again, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “I usually eat with my parents. Several restaurants have good food, like…” He named a few dishes that sounded delicious.
Little Hua Yan couldn’t help but wipe her mouth, showing an envious expression.
“I really want to go out too!” she said angrily. “But my mom won’t let me. She says it’s easy for me to get kidnapped!”
The young man took a careful look at her and thought it was indeed possible.
Little Hua Yan then asked, “By the way, what’s your name?”
The young man had a hard time keeping up with her train of thought, but he replied honestly, “Lu Chengsha.”
Little Hua Yan moved closer and asked, “Which three characters? Write them for me!”
As she leaned in, he instinctively stepped back a bit. Then he drew his sword and wrote the three characters on the ground with the scabbard. But after finishing, he suddenly remembered something important: “Do you… know how to read?”
Little Hua Yan immediately raised her eyebrows and said, “Who do you think you’re looking down on? I know even more complex characters! I can even understand ‘Heroes of the Jianghu’! Have you read it?”
Lu Chengsha shook his head.
Little Hua Yan immediately looked at him with a sympathetic expression as if saying, “Oh my god, you haven’t even read that,” and said, “Come on, I’ll show you!”
Lu Chengsha, being new here and somewhat wary and nervous, was led back to the courtyard by the little girl without much resistance.
She went inside and quickly came out with a large book, throwing it into Lu Chengsha’s hands. Her eyes sparkled as she said, “This is the first volume! It’s really good! If you have time tonight, you can come over and my dad will tell you the story. He’s really good at telling these kinds of legendary tales! But he’s just gone to rest now.”
Lu Chengsha took the book, not knowing how to react, and could only say awkwardly, “…Thank you.”
Little Hua Yan, undeterred, said, “It’s really good, trust me!”
As she spoke, her little pigtails bobbed up and down, making Lu Chengsha almost want to pull on them—though he knew that would be very impolite.
He had to hold back his urge and said, “I will read it.”
After that, the little girl inexplicably stuffed him with many things. He had originally come with just a sword, empty-handed, but after one round of the tour, both of his hands were full. Besides the book she insisted on giving him, there were other things she thought useful: two strange stones, a worn-out box, several sets of old clothes, and some odd snacks she had asked for along the way—Lu Chengsha had never seen anyone eat bugs as snacks before.
After one round, Little Hua Yan was satisfied and said, “Alright, where are you staying?”
Lu Chengsha had a good memory and retraced his steps to the courtyard the outspoken woman had pointed out to him earlier, “It should be here.”
Little Hua Yan looked at it and said, “…Ah, that’s right next door to us!”
Lu Chengsha: “…Huh?!”
Little Hua Yan clapped her hands and laughed, “Great, I’ll come find you to play tomorrow!”
***
Lu Chengsha had never encountered such an enthusiastic little girl and didn’t know how to handle it.
His mother had told him to be kind and polite to girls, but… she was so young. How was he supposed to be kind?
And she didn’t seem to care about manners at all.
That night, as he fell asleep, Lu Chengsha was quite troubled, even wondering how to deal with her if she came to find him the next day.
However, the next day, she didn’t come at all.
Lu Chengsha waited for three days before seeing her again.
She looked very dejected, with a stack of martial arts manuals on her head, standing against the wall outside the courtyard as punishment, her little mouth pouting, looking like she was about to cry.
He originally had a vague sense of dissatisfaction, but it all turned into, “What’s wrong with you…”
Little Hua Yan saw him and immediately sniffed, complaining, “I got caught reading leisure books instead of practicing martial arts… My mom got so mad that she punished me to stand here. Even my dad couldn’t talk her out of it.”
Lu Chengsha asked curiously, “Isn’t practicing martial arts easy? Why slack off?”
Little Hua Yan exclaimed, “…??? Easy?! It’s exhausting!”
Lu Chengsha said, “It’s not tiring.”
Little Hua Yan accused, “You’re lying! You must be sent by my mom to trick me into practicing martial arts!”
Lu Chengsha felt wronged, “I don’t lie.”
To prove his point, he casually drew his sword, stepped back a few paces, and assumed a starting stance.
Just a moment ago, he was casually chatting with her, but the moment he gripped his sword, it was as if he transformed into a completely different person, like a bow being drawn taut into a full moon.
Lu Chengsha’s movements were agile like a swimming dragon, moving at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Every move was filled with a palpable killing intent, and the long sword in his hand seemed like an extension of his body. He drew, slashed, rotated his wrist, and thrust…
He wielded the sword with the fluidity and sharpness of a master.
Hua Yan recognized the sword technique, but she felt he executed it even more perfectly than her mother!
Each sword strike was powerful and overwhelming, and the nearby branches trembled and fell, their leaves rustling to the ground.
However, his form didn’t pause for a moment until he finished the entire set of techniques. Only then did Lu Chengsha stop, sheathing his sword and retracting his killing aura, without a single drop of sweat on his forehead.
Little Hua Yan stared in awe and asked, “How long have you been practicing?”
Lu Chengsha was just sheathing his sword when he suddenly froze, his previous aura completely gone. He hesitated, knowing it might sound boastful to tell the truth, but lying wasn’t an option either. Finally, he said frankly, “That set? About half a day.”
Little Hua Yan’s eyes lit up immediately, “Do you want to become a righteous hero?”
Lu Chengsha was confused, “…What?”
Little Hua Yan waved it off, “Never mind, I was just saying. You must be a bad guy too, I just know it!”
Lu Chengsha was speechless for a moment and couldn’t help but defend himself, “I’m… I’m not bad!”
Little Hua Yan said, “You don’t need to explain! There are no good people in our sect! Oh…” She scratched her head, “Maybe except my dad and me.”
Lu Chengsha felt incredibly wronged.
“What makes me bad?”
Little Hua Yan said, “It’s okay, I understand how you feel.” She tried to comfort him, “…Being a bad guy isn’t all that bad. Look at Xie Yingxian, he’s quite adapted to it, and so are the others in our sect.”
Seeing her disinterested expression, he couldn’t help but seriously tell her, “I’m a good person!”
Little Hua Yan was surprised by his seriousness, “…What a coincidence! So you think that way too!” As she spoke, she extended her small hand again, making a funny gesture of a salute towards him.
Lu Chengsha wasn’t sure if he should return the gesture.
Little Hua Yan exclaimed, “Ouch!” The movement made the martial arts manuals on her head wobble, and she quickly steadied them before asking, “So why did you come to our Tiancan Sect?”
Lu Chengsha was taken aback and said, “I don’t know… My parents sent me here.”
Little Hua Yan couldn’t help but say, “…Could it be they abandoned you?”
Lu Chengsha felt the need to explain, “…I don’t think so.”
Little Hua Yan took it upon herself to decide his fate: “That’s so pitiful!” She struggled to reach out and pat him, still balancing the stack of martial arts manuals on her head.
Lu Chengsha: “…”
He sighed, feeling both powerless and somehow not angry at all.
Little Hua Yan had no idea what he was thinking. Her mind raced as she said, “It’s okay! Since you’ve been left here, just ‘make the best of it.’ And…” Her big, dark eyes sparkled, “…you’re so good with a sword, why don’t you teach me? I’ll treat you to something delicious in return!”
Lu Chengsha couldn’t help but say, “…Didn’t you say there’s nothing good to eat here?”
Little Hua Yan’s face turned red, “Why are you being so picky! Do you want to be friends with me or not?”
Lu Chengsha was taken aback, “Friends?”
Little Hua Yan grinned, “Yeah! We’ve talked so many times already, we’re friends!”
Lu Chengsha looked at the little girl who barely reached his shoulder and boasted so brazenly, feeling like he wanted to say something but didn’t know what.
Little Hua Yan continued to push her luck, “Alright, since you didn’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes! So… tell me, do you have any shortcuts for mastering swordsmanship?”
Lu Chengsha had to honestly reply, “No, but…”
He paused.
Little Hua Yan looked at him expectantly.
Lu Chengsha said, “…I can supervise your practice.”
Little Hua Yan’s expression changed, and she angrily said, “…You really are sent by my mom to trick me into practicing martial arts, aren’t you!”