Lian Qianying hadn't participated in a competition in many years—whether it was formal or private, she rarely participated—

Even the Gongyi family knew that she actually possessed considerable strength—but she was more inclined towards theory than practical instruction.

When the library was burning, she had taken a step forward, which had already made Gongyi Shuiqing quite happy—

He originally wanted to proceed step by step, but his wife gave him an unexpected surprise -

"You didn't force yourself, did you?" Gong Yi Shuiqing asked with concern.

Although this is in line with his long-held expectations, he still hopes that he will not force things.

"Of course, I never want to force myself—whether it's temporarily leaving or choosing to fight again, it's not a sign of unwillingness..."

Lian Qianying smiled faintly at Gongyi Shuiqing.

I don't know how long it has been since I saw such a smile - it was like the first time I saw her, that stunning look -

Even though he rarely saw her after that, Gongyi Shuiqing's attachment to her never diminished, however - he still felt a little regretful.

He knew his wife was right—Lian Qianying had never been someone who was willing to force herself—

Back then, I joined the martial arts world out of sincerity with my originally fragile body, and my subsequent withdrawal was entirely out of my own will.

No one can force her to do something she doesn't want to do - no matter the opinions of others, worldly pressure, or her own expectations -

But this was also part of Gongyi Shuiqing's personality that he liked, so he had no intention of complaining...

Now it was as if the fragments of a dream that had been shattered for many years had fallen to the ground and were picked up by him again and carefully pieced together -

It was moving in a good direction—just this alone was enough to comfort him...

"If you hadn't forced yourself, I certainly wouldn't have any objections. Now that you've calmed down, you won't be angry if I tell you the truth. Not only do I have no objections, I'm even a little happy about it."

"Well, of course I'm not angry. This is actually something I've known for a long time."

Lian Qianying took his weapon from the stool beside him—

A slender willow-leaf sword—

"Even without Tian Ning's suggestion, I've actually been wanting to give it a try—that's why I brought it out." Lian Qianying stroked the scabbard, "But I don't know how to put it in the right way—I can take this opportunity to just walk down the stairs—"

"I see you guys are having a lively discussion here." Chu Shangli came over and asked: "What are you talking about?"

"Actually, there was nothing to talk about." Lian Tianning said hurriedly.

"Hmm? That actually makes it a bit suspicious." Chu Shangli raised the corner of his lips. "I saw that you were the first to speak. Does that mean you proposed something first? Could it be that seeing that I had one draw and one loss, you decided to go back on your word and, since the scabbard didn't have a pattern that matched my sword, my battle with Gongyi Tianhe was actually cheating. Is there anything wrong with comforting yourself with this idea? Are you determined to take Chu Moyin as your master?"

"How...how is this possible?"

"Look at your panicked expression—" Chu Shangli said, "tsk tsk," and then said in a very generous tone: "Okay, it doesn't matter. Your mistake was just that you had to leave the Gongyi family in order not to break the rules of the Gongyi family. As for whether you choose Chu Moyin or me, I don't really care..."