Chapter 983 Senior Sister's Gift of a Sword
Song Zhian's words drew nods of agreement from everyone.
Ouyang Rong noticed Li Wan's gaze, met her eyes, and then calmly looked away.
I seem to have said too much.
In this room, only Sha Ergou could make him worry a little and give him earnest advice. If it were anyone else, he would remain silent and not interfere with cause and effect.
Ouyang Rong sighed softly to himself.
Sha Ergou had no idea how rare it was to get "Brother Liu" to make such an exception.
He nodded emphatically: "Brother Liu, I understand."
"Um."
At this moment, Lu Jinghong, who had initially started the conversation, also spoke up.
He nodded reluctantly.
"Yes, Brother Liu is right. However, Brother Sha should seize this opportunity. It's not good to remain unequal to the next level. If people outside the Bamboo Hall find out, Senior Jia Shu will definitely lose face, and it might even make outsiders look down on our Bamboo Hall..."
Sha Ergou muttered, "I understand..."
Lu Jinghong raised her head slightly and said with composure:
"Yes, yes, as long as Brother Sha keeps it in mind."
Beside her, Li Wan picked up her teacup, took an elegant sip, lowered the rim of the cup, and smiled at Sha Ergou, saying:
"Brother Sha really should cherish this opportunity. It's not easy to be favored and taught by Jia Shu and Dong Ya, two top sword cultivators from the Bamboo Hall. This kind of opportunity may only come once in a lifetime, so once you seize it, you've got it."
She sighed, her smile fading slightly.
“Hey, Brother Sha, please don’t think I’m being long-winded. Look at Jinghong, he’s not very lucky. He has to work hard on his own. Fortunately, thanks to the blessings of our ancestors, he has done quite well so far.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Jinghong frowned slightly, but didn't show it in front of everyone. He then continued, picking up where his mother left off, patting the seemingly hopeless Sha Ergou on the shoulder and encouraging him:
“Mother is right. You should seize the opportunity. It’s really rare to be favored by those two seniors. Who knows if you’ll have this kind of luck again later on…”
He almost blurted out what he was really thinking, but changed his mind halfway through, and said with a pout:
"Look at me and Brother Liu, we're not as lucky as you. It's hard for everything to go smoothly for a person..."
"Alright, Young Master Lu, stop talking about Brother Sha. Once is enough. Brother Sha isn't stupid."
Yu Mili couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up for Sha Ergou: "Besides, I think we shouldn't think so much. Just let things take their course. Luck is also a part of ability."
"Yes, you're right."
Lu Jinghong nodded in agreement, but judging from the twitch of his lips, he was clearly just going through the motions and didn't really agree.
Sha Ergou remained silent, mimicking Brother Liu beside him, burying his head in his food without responding.
However, some words still took root in his heart. Despite Ouyang Rong's encouragement, Sha Ergou wasn't stupid. He understood the meaning behind Li Wan and Lu Jinghong's words and felt somewhat depressed.
Just then, there was a rhythmic knocking on the door.
"Thump thump... thump thump..."
The gate to the courtyard was probably unlocked; it was ajar.
Everyone turned their heads in confusion, and saw a white figure peeking through the crack in the half-open gate of the courtyard outside.
The visitor did not enter the room; he was quite polite.
"who?"
Song Zhian stood up, sword in hand, and asked a question from afar.
She looked somewhat confused, unsure of who the visitor was who had suddenly arrived during her mealtime.
Just then, a woman's voice, which sounded like a half-smile, came from outside the door:
"Junior Sister Zhi'an, it's me."
Aside from Song Zhian, everyone else, including Ouyang Rong, felt that the woman's voice was unfamiliar.
However, the next moment, everyone saw that Song Zhian's face first showed surprise, and then a happy smile appeared on her face.
This expression was rarely seen on Song Zhian's usually calm and elegant face.
"Senior Sister Lan!"
Song Zhian put down her sword, waved to signal everyone to continue their meal, left the table, ran into the courtyard alone, and personally opened the door to welcome the guests.
Inside the room, the people who remained at the table looked at each other in bewilderment.
Ouyang Rong raised his head, his eyes no longer sleepy, and his gaze silently fell on the courtyard gate.
Although Song Zhian closed the courtyard gate after stepping out, she could still roughly see the situation at the gate through the crack.
The newcomer was a woman in white, dressed in the same Qiutang sword attire as Song Zhian, with a long ponytail, exuding a clean and neat demeanor.
She and Song Zhian were standing with their backs to the courtyard gate, so their faces were not clearly visible.
Judging from her tone just now, this woman seems to be Song Zhian's senior sister in Qiutang.
Song Zhian and her senior sister with the single ponytail chatted for a while at the courtyard gate. They didn't come in immediately, but they didn't leave either.
Their voices were low, and the others couldn't hear them clearly.
However, judging from Song Zhian's occasional pointing towards the door and the way the senior sister with the single ponytail tilted her head curiously, it can be roughly guessed that Song Zhian was introducing the people in the courtyard to the senior sister with the single ponytail.
The crowd waited in silence for a while.
A short while later, the courtyard gate creaked open again, and Song Zhian led the guests back in.
Only then did everyone see clearly who the newcomer was: a slender and beautiful woman with a pretty face, and most striking of all, her thick eyebrows, which gave her a touch of masculine charm.
The senior sister Lan mentioned by Song Zhian looked to be in her prime, a few years older than Song Zhian, Yu Mili, and Lu Jinghong on the field, and about the same age as "Liu Aliang".
However, compared to the dull young man, she has a sharp aura and, like Yingqi Meier, is confident and radiant.
The crowd's expressions varied as they sized them up.
Ouyang Rong stood among the crowd, glanced up, and for some reason, his intuition made him feel a little apprehensive.
His gaze fell on the token at the waist of this Senior Sister Lan, which was a silver token. However, compared to the Yue woman with the silver token he had encountered before, this Yue woman surnamed Lan was obviously younger.
Ouyang Rong's gaze swept over her shoulder, where she carried two swords on her back, one long and narrow and the other slightly shorter. His eyes lingered on the two swords for a moment.
As the two women approached, Ouyang Rong lowered his eyelids, appearing almost invisible.
"Senior Sister Lan, please have a seat and wait for me."
Song Zhian led the curiously looking senior sister Lan into the room, made room for her, poured tea, and at the same time, introduced her to everyone:
"By the way, this is Senior Sister Lan, her name is Ruoxi. Since I joined Qiutang, Senior Sister Lan has taken care of me and given me a lot of help..."
She poured the tea while laughing and talking:
"Moreover, you don't know this because you're not in Qiutang. Senior Sister Lan is amazing. She's a legendary figure in our Qiutang. She entered the seventh rank before the age of 20. Yutang extended an olive branch to her, but she was too lazy to go. She only stayed in Qingliang Valley for three months. After a short period of seclusion, she returned to Qiutang to follow the Sixth Lady."
"Everyone's saying in private that it's because the Sixth Lady is unwilling to release her. Moreover, the Fifth Lady also favors Senior Sister Lan. Before Senior Sister Lan left Qingliang Valley, she told her that Yutang would welcome her back at any time..."
Lan Ruoxi, with a smile on her lips, interrupted:
"Alright, Junior Sister Zhi'an, stop bragging like that. If you keep praising me, I'll be too embarrassed to drink this tea."
She said jokingly, "And where did you hear all this information from? I didn't even know it myself until you told me."
Song Zhian replied earnestly, "It's just the truth; Zhian isn't exaggerating."
Lan Ruoxi looked somewhat helpless and didn't reply. Instead, her eyes fell on the crowd as if she were sizing them up.
At this moment, everyone was also surprised, because Song Zhian was a proud girl with outstanding talent and an arrogant personality. In all the time they had known each other, apart from the time with A Qing, they had rarely seen her praise others like this.
It is clear that this Qiutang Yue woman named Lan Ruoxi is indeed someone she respects and admires.
Li Wan, Lu Jinghong, and the others all adopted serious and respectful expressions, not daring to neglect their guests.
Song Zhian then introduced:
“Senior Sister Lan, these are friends I met when I was still in Taoyuan Town. I just introduced them to you… Aren’t we going to be on duty again soon? I had some free time today, so I invited them to dinner.”
She paused, then asked curiously:
"Didn't Senior Sister Lan send a message this morning saying she went to Qingliang Valley and wouldn't be back until evening? Why did she suddenly come here..."
After surveying the crowd, Lan Ruoxi's scrutinizing gaze softened, her sharp eyes gently shifting away from everyone. She shrugged at Song Zhian.
"I went to Yutang to visit the Fifth Lady, but the people there told me that she was in seclusion in the water dungeon and refused to see outsiders. Since I had nothing to do, I had to return."
Upon hearing this, Song Zhian seemed somewhat envious of her senior sister's ability to freely enter and leave the Jade Hall, and asked in her clear voice:
"Since you're already there, why doesn't Senior Sister Lan stay a little longer in Qingliang Valley? You could visit the library, or explore the valley and search for the sword-marked stone carvings..."
Senior Sister Lan put down her teacup, leaned back in the wooden chair, put one hand behind her head on the pillow, and said lazily:
"We're about to leave, so there's no time to browse the bookstore. Besides, the people at Yutang are so boring. They're all so aloof, and while they're not exactly cunning, they're not exactly shrewd either. It's just that kind of oppressive, dull atmosphere. It's pointless to talk to them if we don't click..."
A smile played at the corners of her lips, and her eyes held a hint of amusement, before she suddenly changed the subject:
"Yes, nowhere is as interesting as my junior sister Zhi'an, of course I have to come back."
Song Zhian had been listening attentively to what Lan Ruoxi said earlier, nodding in agreement. However, Lan Ruoxi's teasing remark at the end made her blush with embarrassment.
With so many people around, and Senior Sister Lan making such jokes between sisters and best friends, Song Zhian looked quite helpless.
As expected, Li Wan, Lu Jinghong, Sha Ergou, and others all turned their heads to look.
The most unreliable one was Yu Mili, her eyes sparkling with a hint of gossip burning within her as she sized up Sister Song and Senior Sister Lan in front of her, no one knew what was going on in her little head.
Song Zhian couldn't help but flick Yu Mili's forehead as she peeked over, then regained her composure and asked again:
"Senior Sister Lan, have you eaten? Would you like to have a meal together?"
"No need, you go eat with your friend."
As Lan Ruoxi spoke, she tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over everyone again, as if... searching for something.
"good."
At this moment, Lu Jinghong stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said loudly:
"Senior Sister Lan, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lu Jinghong, a sword cultivator from the Bamboo Hall, and my master is Mei Qinghe."
Lan Ruoxi glanced at him and nodded slightly, as if returning the greeting.
"Senior Mei was obsessed with swordsmanship throughout his life. He created the sword technique 'Listening to the Rain on Withered Lotus,' which was extremely accomplished and serves as a model for us all."
Upon hearing the praise, Lu Jinghong's tense face couldn't help but break into a smile:
"Senior Sister Lan, I've long admired your name..."
But before he could even say a few humble words to get closer to her, Lan Ruoxi had already looked away from him.
Her praise just now seemed a bit perfunctory and polite.
Lan Ruoxi continued to scrutinize the group of people except for Lu Jinghong, who had stepped forward, but she completely ignored Yu Mili and Li Wan.
His gaze finally settled on the two unremarkable young men, one with short hair and the other with a dull expression, sitting at the table.
This time, Lan Ruoxi was more focused and attentive than when looking at others.
This situation made Sha Ergou a little nervous, and he kept glancing at Brother Liu, whose face was still expressionless.
But Ouyang Rong's face beneath the bronze mask also showed some puzzlement, and he began to mutter to himself.
He couldn't understand the meaning behind Lan Ruoxi's unusual action.
Could it be that she discovered him? Does Lan Ruoxi also possess a supernatural ability similar to the Innocent Eyes, just like Huang Xuan?
Lan Ruoxi ignored the stares of others and silently glanced back and forth at Ouyang Rong and Sha Ergou for a while. At a moment, she suddenly asked:
"Which of you is Sha Ergou?"
The room fell silent as soon as he said this.
Ouyang Rong silently turned his head.
Everyone's eyes turned to Sha Ergou, who looked completely bewildered.
Song Zhian looked somewhat surprised. She suddenly remembered that she had indeed introduced the friends in the house to Senior Sister Lan at the courtyard gate, but why did Senior Sister Lan only pay attention to Shargou?
“I…I am.”
Sha Ergou stared at everyone's gaze and stood up with a stiff upper lip.
Lan Ruoxi stopped looking around and stopped paying attention to Ouyang Rong beside her. She focused all her attention on the short-haired young man and carefully examined him from head to toe.
Throughout this time, she remained calm and composed, revealing nothing of her thoughts.
Song Zhian asked, "Does Sister Lan know Brother Sha?"
Lan Ruoxi sighed softly, as if she had come back to her senses. After giving a soft "hmm," she approached Sha Ergou and said gently to him:
"I've heard Senior Dongya mention you before. Are you currently cultivating under Senior Jiashu's guidance?"
Sha Ergou nodded blankly:
"Yes, it's me, Senior Sister Lan. Are you a friend of Master and Senior Dongya?"
Lan Ruoxi remained noncommittal, a thoughtful expression on her face, before calmly saying:
"Since it's our first meeting, I don't have much to give you, so I'll just give you a sword."
After saying that, she took the long, narrow sword off her back with one hand, placed it horizontally in front of her, and handed it to Sha Ergou cleanly and neatly.
Everyone was surprised and astonished upon seeing this.
The sudden gift of the sword also took Song Zhian by surprise:
"Senior Sister Lan, wasn't this Blessing Blade a gift from the Sixth Lady? It was your reward for risking your life for Qiutang last time..."
Lan Ruoxi did not respond, remaining facing Sha Ergou with direct eye contact, and explained calmly:
"This sword is an ancient craftsmanship. The Six Goddesses named it Jiangfu, and it is said to have the effect of 'warding off evil and bringing good fortune.' It was obtained by the Six Goddesses from the belly of a three-foot-long fish they caught in the center of a strange lake during their travels deep in the Yunmeng Marsh..."
(End of this chapter)
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