The more Little Hua Yan observed, the more she felt something was off about this person!
Every morning, without any prompting, he would rise at dawn, dress, wash, have breakfast, and then head to the training ground to practice swordsmanship. Even without supervision, he would practice for a long time, even more diligently than Qi Xiusi.
While she was still lying in bed, Lu Chengsha was often already out practicing his sword.
Because they lived close to each other and her small bed was near the window, Little Hua Yan, half-awake and rubbing her eyes, could see Lu Chengsha’s upright figure passing by outside the courtyard gate through her sleepy eyes.
She couldn’t help but lean out the window and call to him.
Lu Chengsha turned his head and saw a small, disheveled head poking out of the window in the adjacent courtyard.
The little girl yawned and sleepily said, “Getting up so early, aren’t you tired…”
Lu Chengsha replied, “I’m used to it.”
Little Hua Yan couldn’t understand it. Sleeping in was so comfortable!
She rested her head on her hands and asked, “Do your parents discipline you strictly?”
Lu Chengsha thought for a moment and said, “They don’t really discipline me…” He seemed a bit embarrassed, “They let me do whatever I want.”
Little Hua Yan’s eyes widened, “And you’re still so diligent!”
Her eyes were already big, and now they seemed even bigger. Lu Chengsha felt he had never seen a girl with bigger eyes, and he was momentarily stunned before he remembered to say, “Uh… because practicing swordsmanship is quite interesting.”
“What’s interesting about it!”
Lu Chengsha wanted to explain, but he felt words couldn’t quite express it. He thought for a moment, then swiftly leaped up to pluck dozens of leaves from the nearby tree and handed them to Little Hua Yan.
She took them, puzzled, and because there were so many leaves and her hands were small, she had to use both hands to hold them all.
Lu Chengsha drew his sword from his waist and said to her, “Scatter the leaves.”
Still confused, Little Hua Yan did as he said, vigorously scattering all the leaves.
Almost in sync with her movement, Lu Chengsha flicked his wrist and wielded his sword. The sword tip spun in the air, and he himself spun, moving incredibly fast. In an instant, he stopped, and the leaves fell to the ground.
Lu Chengsha then said to her, “Look at the leaves.”
Little Hua Yan looked closely and found that every leaf had been evenly cut in half by his sword. On the ground, all the leaves were in halves.
She was immediately astonished.
However, before Little Hua Yan could say anything, she heard Lu Chengsha ask her again, “Isn’t it interesting?”
His clear eyes looked at her with a hint of expectation for praise.
Little Hua Yan blinked her eyes and, despite herself, said, “…It is interesting.”
Lu Chengsha immediately said, “My father taught me; I can teach you.”
But she didn’t want to learn at all!
The boy in front of her seemed completely oblivious to the incongruity in her tone. He even demonstrated with his sword and encouraged her, “It’s very simple.”
Little Hua Yan felt a twinge of regret for talking to him.
Especially after her mother found out and eagerly sent her to practice swordsmanship.
You have to know, she was about the same height as the swords they used. While she could hold a sword, she might end up swinging herself away with it.
As if anticipating this, Huarun smugly dug out a small sword, only half the size of a regular one, and handed it to her, saying, “Look, isn’t this perfect! It’s practically made for you!”
Little Hua Yan held the small sword with a bitter expression, feeling very conflicted.
However, Lu Chengsha genuinely enjoyed practicing swordsmanship. After teaching her how to cut leaves, he would also teach her how to maintain a sword.
“You need to apply sword oil,” the boy said seriously. “Regularly have a blacksmith handle the edges of the sword, and after using it, wipe it clean with deerskin to prevent rusting… Otherwise, the sword will be ruined.”
Little Hua Yan couldn’t help but say, “If it gets ruined, can’t you just replace it with a new one?”
Lu Chengsha shook his head, “A sword is a companion; you can’t treat it like that.”
It was the first time Little Hua Yan had heard this perspective. She had read many martial arts stories where heroes had various companions and friends, but a sword was just a sword, at most a sought-after divine weapon.
“What if there’s a better sword? Wouldn’t you want to replace it?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “My own sword is the best.”
She still couldn’t quite understand and asked, puzzled, “What if it’s an extremely powerful sword? You don’t want it, and someone else uses it to defeat you. What then?”
The boy shook his head again, “That would mean my skills are lacking. I can’t blame the sword.”
Little Hua Yan thought to herself, he truly is a strange person.
“Did you read the ‘Heroes of the Jianghu’ I gave you?”
Lu Chengsha nodded, looking a bit embarrassed, “Do you have the rest of it?”
Upon hearing this, Little Hua Yan’s face lit up with joy, and she said, “Yes, there are several volumes! Unfortunately, my mother took the last volume away… but it’s okay, I’ll give you the next two volumes first! Oh, by the way, do you want to come tonight to listen to my father? It’s rare that he is in good spirits and has the energy to tell stories recently!”
Her father, knowing there was another listener, was also very pleased and prepared a pot of good tea in the courtyard in advance.
Little Hua Yan eagerly cradled her face in her hands and even set a chair aside for Lu Chengsha.
They lived next door, so it only took a quick turn to get there.
Before entering the door, Lu Chengsha felt a bit nervous, but as soon as she saw his face, she enthusiastically waved her small hand at him, saying, “Come over quickly, we were just waiting for you.”
The middle-aged man in scholar’s robes also smiled warmly at him, which immediately reminded Lu Chengsha of his own mother. This familiarity made him feel much less nervous. He politely said, “Hello, Uncle.”
“My father is very nice, no need to be so formal!” Little Hua Yan tugged at him and handed over a teacup with a cheerful smile, “Come and listen to the story.”
Lu Chengsha was slightly taken aback but found himself sitting down just like that.
She even pushed a plate of crispy fried insects in front of him, saying, “Give it a try, although they don’t look great, they taste quite good.”
Lu Chengsha was very moved but declined.
Little Hua Yan had to listen to the story alone while eating her snacks. This made Lu Chengsha, who indeed came to listen to the story, often distracted. He couldn’t help but watch the little girl beside him pick up a roasted insect with a calm face, put it in her mouth, and crunch it. She would even lick her fingers afterward, leaving him both shocked and confused.
Thinking he had changed his mind, she held up the plate and offered it to him again, “Do you want to eat?”
Lu Chengsha struggled, “No, no need.”
Little Hua Yan continued to recommend it enthusiastically, but her father, who had taken a break to drink tea, gently admonished, “If he doesn’t want to, don’t force him.”
She pouted and said, “I just wanted him to try, not forcing him…”
However, this made Lu Chengsha feel a bit embarrassed. After a moment of mental preparation, he resolutely reached out, took one from the plate, and said, “Well, I’ll… give it a try.”
Little Hua Yan immediately looked at him with great expectation.
Holding the insect, Lu Chengsha found it hard to bring it to his mouth. Finally, he closed his eyes and tossed it in, chewing regardless.
“How is it?”
Lu Chengsha opened his eyes, his taste buds struggling to describe the experience. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “It’s… alright.” Without thinking too much about what it was, it indeed tasted okay.
Little Hua Yan immediately smiled and said, “See, you have to try it to know if it’s good or not. People should always try new things.” She reached out and patted him again.
Lu Chengsha always felt it was strange to be educated by a girl younger than him, but after a pause, he still said, “…I understand.”
He had a pretty good temper.
Hua Yan started to believe that he might really be a good person!
Lu Chengsha’s diligence was truly remarkable.
At first, she thought he might only be diligent for a short period in the mornings.
Who could be so hardworking every day!
However, as time passed, she realized that he really was consistent, rain or shine.
In their sect, those who practiced swordsmanship diligently were rare. Most would dabble in other less demanding skills and take it easy, otherwise, they wouldn’t have joined the Demonic Sect.
Someone like Qi Xiusi, who practiced swordsmanship at fixed times, already garnered much admiration, with many praising Elder Qi for his excellent teaching. But after Lu Chengsha arrived, he showed up earlier, practiced longer, and even performed faster than Qi Xiusi.
This greatly stimulated Qi Xiusi.
Originally, Qi Xiusi had no one in the Tiancan Sect to compare himself with and had always considered himself sufficiently diligent. He never expected to be outdone!
Thus, Qi Xiusi began to practice swordsmanship before dawn, returning only after dark, insisting on practicing longer than Lu Chengsha.
Little Hua Yan could not understand this unhealthy competition, but her mother greatly appreciated it.
Hua Ran, while kneading her little face like dough, said, “You’re so weak now, how will you become our sect’s Holy Maiden in the future? You’ll be bullied! Why don’t you start getting up early to practice in the training ground?”
Little Hua Yan was stunned, “Mother, are you serious?”
Of course, she wasn’t the only one suffering.
A gray-clad boy, with drooping eyes and a messily tied belt, looked half-asleep, even the sword at his waist seemed listless.
Before dawn, they were thrown into the training ground where Qi Xiusi was already practicing swordsmanship. Scattered around were a few other reluctantly dragged children, and Hua Yan was the smallest among them.
Both were utterly exhausted.
Xie Yingxian, with sleeves gathered, yawned and said, “I heard the culprit hasn’t arrived yet?”
Little Hua Yan rubbed her eyes, calculating the time, and said, “He should be here any moment.”
Xie Yingxian gave her a sidelong glance, about to speak, when he saw a young boy in a light purple robe with a sword at his waist walking towards the entrance of the training ground.
Lu Chengsha arrived right on time, not particularly early. Since he was new here and had nothing else to do, he simply practiced swordsmanship. Lately, he noticed that more people seemed to be practicing with him. Initially, it was just him and one other boy, but now there were seven or eight others. However, he didn’t think much of it.
When he saw her, he was slightly surprised and walked over, asking, “You… got up to practice swordsmanship?”
Before she could respond, the gray-clad boy beside her spoke up, “It’s mainly your fault.”
Lu Chengsha was taken aback, “My fault?”
Xie Yingxian yawned again and said, “We’re all suffering because of you—brother, there’s no need to work so hard, really, take it easy.” He casually grabbed one of her small braids, “If this continues, our young miss here probably won’t grow tall.”
Lu Chengsha: “…?”
Why are you allowed to grab her braid?
However, she didn’t seem to mind. She cared about something else, shouting, “Who says I won’t grow tall! I just haven’t started growing yet!”
Lu Chengsha stared at his hand holding her braid and said, “That’s impolite.”
Xie Yingxian burst out laughing and turned to ask her, “Was he always like this?”
Little Hua Yan nodded, “He’s very…” She thought for a moment on how to describe him, “…upright, so he’s not doing it on purpose.” She couldn’t help but explain for him.
“Upright is good.” Xie Yingxian said with a mischievous smile, “We’re going out tonight, ask him if he wants to come.”
Little Hua Yan immediately got excited, “Where! Take me!”
Xie Yingxian said, “Just around the nearby town. We’ll sneak out, your mother won’t find out.” He then turned to Lu Chengsha and asked, “Are you coming?”
Lu Chengsha instinctively felt he shouldn’t go, but—
Little Hua Yan said, “Come with us! Staying here all the time is so boring. The nearby town is within our sect’s territory, so it’s not too far…”
—and he ended up going.
Mainly, he felt that it wasn’t safe for such a little girl to go out with such an unreliable-looking boy.
That evening, Xie Yingxian took them to watch dancing girls perform the entire night.
Lu Chengsha sat rigidly, while the little girl beside him seemed unfazed, eating the snacks provided and watching the performance, occasionally clapping and praising. Eventually, she fell asleep in the box. She dared to sleep, but Lu Chengsha didn’t dare.
The gray-clad boy continued to pour himself drinks, laughing like a fox, and asked, “Want a drink?”
Lu Chengsha firmly refused.
So, after a sleepless night, he had no energy to practice swordsmanship in the training ground the next morning.
For several days, he was dragged to gambling dens, forced to watch them dig for treasure in the sand at midnight, and even participate in petty theft—consequently, he couldn’t practice swordsmanship the next day.
Over time, the number of people practicing swordsmanship in the training ground noticeably decreased.
Even Hua Ran muttered, “How did he get led astray so quickly… His father doesn’t mind, but I hope his mother won’t come and bother me.”
However, Little Hua Yan felt extraordinarily happy during this period.
Although she had sneaked out with Xie Yingxian before, it was never this fun—mainly because Lu Chengsha was so amusing!
Every time he earnestly tried to educate them, saying it was wrong to do these things, that at their age they shouldn’t be going to gambling dens, or digging holes in the middle of the night, he would end up getting dragged into their antics whenever she complained and pleaded.
Once, when they caught a chicken in the sect’s kitchen yard, Lu Chengsha was forced to use his beloved sword to kill it—because Xie Yingxian didn’t bring his, and although Little Hua Yan wanted to use her short sword, Lu Chengsha stopped her.
He said, “…A young lady shouldn’t do this.”
Little Hua Yan felt a bit embarrassed to admit that while she hadn’t killed a person, she had killed chickens before.
They then roasted the chicken using a clay oven and enjoyed a great meal.
Another time, they climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, alarming the guard dogs. The ferocious dogs barked wildly, and Lu Chengsha grabbed her and ran. Little Hua Yan laughed as she ran, and Xie Yingxian laughed too, but only Lu Chengsha looked tense and bewildered.
Good people are truly adorable.
No, it should be said, he was adorably good!
***
However, happy times are always short-lived. Over a month later, Lu Chengsha’s parents came to take him away.
With his departure, the other children in the sect felt relieved—it’s always good not to have someone to compare to.
Only Hua Yan felt a sense of loss. She woke up in the morning, unable to resist looking out the window, not seeing that boy practicing swordsmanship in the morning light, and the courtyard next door was empty.
She cradled her face, leaning weakly on the windowsill, and asked her mother, “When will he come back…”
Hua Ran poked her head in surprise, “You wouldn’t be…” But then she thought about her daughter’s naive mind, surely not understanding early romantic feelings, and was relieved. “Don’t think about it. It depends on when his parents have something to do again. But you still need to practice martial arts properly, do you understand!”
Little Hua Yan lifted her head listlessly and said, “Alright, I understand…”
But she still thought about him from time to time.