Chapter 67 The Secret of the Little Sword. A divine artifact? Interesting. ...
"Mother."
Ji Yinxiu called out to the woman softly, his voice sounding somewhat awkward. Ji Buzhao did not respond, shifting his gaze to a corner of the sky beyond the eaves.
The two looked very alike, but Ji Buzhao appeared more otherworldly and aloof than her son, and also more beautiful. She was merely a beautiful shell, as if she had lost something of her own being.
"Mom, I brought a friend home." Ji Yinxiu took another step forward, as if he was still too afraid to get close, only hovering at the edge, hoping that his mother would glance at him.
"He's the new friend of the Feng family that I mentioned to you last time."
His voice grew fainter and fainter. Ji Yinxiu in front of Ji Buzhao was completely different from before, so different that Xia Zhu even felt embarrassed by his presence.
She thought about it carefully and realized that in front of her mother, Ji Yinxiu had fallen from her pedestal and abandoned her lotus throne.
The wind rustled the leaves on the trees, and the shadow of the setting sun slowly lengthened on the green tiles. Time seemed to pass for a long time. Ji Yinxiu turned to face Xia Zhu and apologized to her in a soft voice.
"My mother isn't in good health and doesn't like to interact with people. Please don't mind."
Xia Zhu quickly shook her head.
"Come with me, let me show you the scabbard first."
The two left the courtyard and pushed open the door to a room on the west side. The afternoon sun baked the thin room dry and warm, and large swaths of orange-red sunset sunlight streamed in through the window.
Apart from a room full of fading photos, there was almost nothing in the room.
There was only a single wooden bed against the side, an old-fashioned wooden wardrobe, and a small table, with a blurry glass lampshade standing alone beside the table.
Ji Yinxiu opened the drawer, took out an object wrapped in silk, and handed it to Xia Zhu.
"I only gave a rough look at your sword. Let's try it out first to see if it fits. It should be fine."
Xia Zhu took it, lifted the cool silk covering, and revealed a wooden scabbard. It felt warm to the touch, had a simple appearance, and was not overly decorated. Only a few specks of cinnabar and gold powder were mixed into the lacquered scabbard, which shimmered and flowed with a subtle light when shaken.
The sheath has a handle with a dragon holding a ring on the side, which can be hung on the waist.
Xia Zhu took out the small sword, her eyes sparkling as she carefully sheathed it. It fit perfectly, not a single bit off. Excitedly, she held the sword up in the setting sun, looking at it from left to right. Her eyes felt hot, and she felt even her breath was hot.
"It's so beautiful!"
"I'm glad you like it."
The koi-shaped notch flashed in the light; it was a metal clasp to prevent damage to the scabbard when drawing the sword. Xia Zhu was taken aback, then held the sword up to her eyes. Metal clasps usually have animal-face patterns or similar decorations engraved on them. But on her scabbard, there was a comet totem exactly like the one on the hilt of her small sword.
Xia Zhu tried to pretend nothing had happened and put away her small sword, but when she looked up, she found Ji Yinxiu staring intently at her.
"It's very dazzling." She gave a dry laugh, but Ji Yinxiu still didn't look away.
"Thank you," she added, but there was still no response.
"Uh... how much?"
Ji Yinxiu's smile widened, and a muffled laugh escaped her chest.
You think I want to take your money?
Xia Zhu smiled awkwardly. "Isn't that right?" she silently asked herself.
“Alright, I do have a request, but of course, it has nothing to do with money.” Ji Yinxiu composed herself. “However, it’s fine if you don’t accept it; you can still take the scabbard back. After all, how can such a fine sword be protected without a scabbard?”
As he said this, he subconsciously reached for his waist, only to find that his sword had been hung outside the door, where there was nothing else.
"I don't know if you've had any dreams since the Nine Heavens Assembly. That prophecy is true, and the situation is far worse than we imagined. Once some things happen, they completely slip out of our control."
He raised his eyes and stared at Xia Zhu.
"The Ji family of Kongtong has issued an order that the mutilated body is not allowed to enter dreams, and they are not allowed to investigate cases related to the demon god on their own."
Xia Zhu looked into those equally pale, almost transparent eyes, his attention diverted as he wondered if his eyesight would be affected.
"So, my request is, could you let me join your team?" His eyelashes and hair had turned white, perhaps that was the reason for his divine aura.
Seeing that she didn't answer, Ji Yinxiu continued, "I know this request is a bit unreasonable, but I promise I won't hold you back or cause any other trouble. I just want to do more..."
Xia Zhu's eyes widened slightly. What was this talk of divinity? She suddenly remembered what Feng Feng had said: Ji Yinxiu's hair turned white overnight because he forcibly broke through the bloodline's restrictions, expending his lifespan and essence to pull out the Xuanyuan Sword and make the divine weapon recognize him as its master.
She didn't reply for a long time, and Ji Yinxiu was obviously unwilling to give up. Luo Chi and the others would never violate the clan rules and team up with him, and he would only practice swordsmanship in Xuanyuan Hill in his spare time and would never come into contact with the others. Xia Zhu and the others were Ji Yinxiu's only hope.
"To show my sincerity, I can tell you the secret of your sword."
Xia Zhu suddenly raised her head. The secret of the little sword?
"Also, regarding your identity... you're not actually a member of the Feng family, are you? As for why you used the name Feng Zhu to disguise yourself, I won't ask you any further questions, so you can rest assured. I won't use this to threaten you into accepting me."
She snapped out of her daze and shook her head.
"You don't want to?"
Xia Zhu shook her head again.
“What I mean is, even if you don’t tell me any secrets, Unnamed Team 1 would still welcome you to join.” She gently stroked the small sword in her hand. “Besides, you’re such a kind person, and you gave me such a precious gift. I have no reason to force you to do anything. On the contrary, I feel I should repay you in some way.”
Ji Yinxiu realized the meaning behind Xia Zhu's words. His fingers on the sword buckle at his waist tightened slightly, and his whole body, bathed in the sunset, turned into a transparent, light red.
You don't need to repay me.
"I cannot accept rewards without merit." Xia Zhu shook his head.
Ji Yinxiu couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she had to end the topic.
"My name is Xia Zhu." She hung the small sword at her waist and then earnestly introduced herself to the new team members.
"You mean your real name?"
“That’s right.” Xia Zhu nodded vigorously. Her intuition told her that Ji Yinxiu was as good as this sword sheath, or rather, someone who could make such a good sword sheath couldn’t be too bad either. Besides, he was so handsome. Standing under the sun, Xia Zhu was afraid he would melt or turn into a fairy and fly away.
No, besides, he is the master of the Xuanyuan Sword, not an ordinary person.
In short, although he was famous and capable, he looked inexplicably pitiful, standing there all alone.
Xia Zhu couldn't stand people like that.
She wants to bring them all together.
The light inside the room turned completely gray, and all the warm colors flowed away through the cracks in the window. Although Xuanyuan Hill had its own climate, the temperature in Ji Yinxiu's house seemed to be a bit lower than outside.
Does your sword have a name?
"Little Sword".
Ji Yinxiu paused for a second, then said, "A good name."
“Little Sword…” he murmured the sword’s name, “Do you know that this sword was forged by the people of the Chiyou tribe?”
Xia Zhu lowered her head, guessing the secret he was talking about regarding the small sword, and gently stroked the texture on the scabbard's mouth with her fingers.
"Is it because of the comet's symbol?"
Ji Yinxiu understood; she did indeed know something. However, he gently shook his head.
"That's not all. Ordinary swordsmiths like Chi You wouldn't engrave comets on their swords. Even if Chi You, the God of War, were alive today, he would marvel at his talent. Fortunately, our Ji family of Kongtong happens to have two of the divine artifacts he gifted us."
"The Xuanyuan Sword and the Sun-Chasing Bow."
"Both artifacts have the same engravings as the small sword."
Xia Zhu felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. No matter how good her little sword was, it was still something she had picked up at the market. Although in her mind it was no different from the Xuanyuan Sword, objectively speaking, it was definitely incomparable.
But now, according to the logic in Ji Yinxiu's words, all the weapons with comet totems were made by one person, and this person is a swordsmith with extraordinary talent. Even Chi You had to clap his hands and praise him when he was there. All the weapons he forged were famous divine artifacts.
So, a small sword = a divine weapon?
Xia Zhu was a little confused. Usually, the divine weapons and treasures in novels and TV series are either suppressed in the bottomless black pool or seized by powerful families. Even if one or two are lost in the world, they are usually picked up by chance by the seemingly ordinary but actually powerful protagonist!
It shouldn't be her turn no matter what.
Moreover, as far as she knew, these magical artifacts, often referred to as divine weapons, generally...
“Recognizing a master.” Ji Yinxiu cut to the chase. “It is no small matter for a divine artifact to recognize a master. Unless you have pure blood and are a chosen one of heaven, or someone like me… someone like me who has to pay a price to draw the sword.”
“A divine weapon that has not recognized a master is just a pile of scrap metal in the hands of others. So I guess that’s why your little sword ended up in the market.”
Xia Zhu finally understood what he meant, but she still didn't understand, "Isn't there any other possibility?"
It's not that one is a genius, nor that their lifespan will be shortened, but that they can still make a divine artifact recognize them as its master; there are other possibilities.
Ji Yinxiu pondered for a moment.
"There is one more condition: unless you are recognized by the swordsmith. The artifact is in tune with his will and will naturally acknowledge you."
A single tear welled up in Xia Zhu's eye and landed in her trembling hand holding the small sword. Ji Yinxiu was deeply shocked, unsure of what he had said that had touched her, and frantically tried to find something to stop her tears.
Then he heard Xia Zhu tremble and utter the words that made his cerebral cortex smooth.
"Grandpa! It must be Grandpa! He is that exceptionally talented swordsmith!"
"ah?"
For a moment, Ji Yinxiu was unable to think for himself. He wanted to say that the swordsmith had died thousands of years ago and his body was buried on Mount Kongtong outside Xuanyuan Hill, but seeing her holding the small sword in her hands and crying her heart out, he couldn't bear to interrupt her. So he stood silently to the side and held back his laughter amidst Xia Zhu's wailing.
After a brief loss of emotional control, Xia Zhu suddenly came to her senses and saw Ji Yinxiu's loving expression beside her. She wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and run away.
Although she felt it was unlikely after calming down, the only clue pointed to this possibility, forcing Xia Zhu to consider it. After Ji Yinxiu told her that the swordsmith had long since passed away, she fell into another kind of confusion. She couldn't even confirm the most likely piece of information, and she couldn't think of anything about herself that would make the artifact recognize her.
If there's anything special about her, she hasn't decided whether to tell Ji Yinxiu about her healing, recovery, and resurrection abilities.
Perhaps, it was because of the special power within her that Xiaojian chose her as its master.
"That's all I know. I don't know if it can offer any small help regarding your background."
Ji Yinxiu's sudden words sent a chill down Xia Zhu's spine; he had even guessed that he was searching for his origins.
"However, there is one person who might be able to provide you with more clues."
Xia Zhu wiped away her tears, eagerly awaiting the name Ji Yinxiu would utter.
"Shaohao Ying family, Ying Huo."
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