The Yening Sword was once the sword of True Lord Ningyu.
The Yening Sword Spirit had once suffered a severe injury, thus True Lord Ningyu was unable to bring her to ascend to the Upper Realm and instead left her in a place called the Ten Thousand Swords Tomb. When Jiang Huai was sixteen years old, he entered the Ten Thousand Swords Tomb and, using the Water Moon Sword Intent, roused the slumbering Yening Sword Spirit. Even though his cultivation level was low at the time, she still recognized him as her master. At that time, they made an agreement: if Jiang Huai had the opportunity to ascend to the Upper Realm in the future and meet True Lord Yuning, he would return the Yening Sword to True Lord Yuning.
Jiang Huai had agreed, but fortunately, Little Yening wasn’t in a hurry. Whether it was a thousand years or ten thousand years, as long as Jiang Huai fulfilled his promise one day, it would be fine. After all, she slept inside the Spirit Sword most of the time, unaffected by the seasons.
Currently, the Yening Sword was in Mu Jianghe’s hands, being tempered and refined by the Sword Quenching Fire he had activated. The Yening Sword already had sword edge runes personally carved by True Lord Yuning, which could store a portion of spiritual energy. Now, the Sword Quenching Fire was burning on those runes, making them shine even brighter. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, all the Sword Quenching Fire extinguished, or rather, merged into the Yening Sword. When the Yening Sword released spiritual energy again, the sword edge lit up with a faint, ethereal blue cold light, identical to the Sword Quenching Fire.
“Catch.”
Mu Jianghe raised his hand, and the Yening Sword flew back into Jiang Huai’s hand. The moment Jiang Huai gripped the sword, he sensed the faint coldness flickering on the blade. He indelicately tested it with his hand, and in an instant, the blade left a tiny bloodstain on his palm.
The bloodstain was quickly healed by the Overlord Art. He couldn’t help but praise softly, “This Sword Quenching Fire is amazing.”
A smile appeared on Mu Jianghe’s face. However, after a moment, Mu Yao gently tugged on his sleeve. Mu Yao looked up, her face full of innocent and pure cuteness, “Grandpa.”
“Hmm?”
“I want some too.”
Mu Jianghe was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He looked down at Mu Yao with a face full of doting affection, yet also helplessness. “If you practiced swordsmanship, Yao Yao, and had such a good sword that you wanted to temper with Sword Quenching Fire, Grandpa would naturally be willing to give you a cluster. But you don’t practice swordsmanship, Yao Yao. I’m afraid you want this cluster of Sword Quenching Fire to give to him, aren’t you?”
Mu Yao’s little face instantly turned red, and she replied guiltily, “No way? Yao Yao has been wanting to learn swordplay recently, and wants to have one first.”
Seeing Mu Yao’s guilty expression, Mu Jianghe immediately guessed her thoughts. He wasn’t stingy, but this Sword Quenching Fire was extremely precious. If it were given to Mu Yao to pass on to someone else, it would be against the rules. So, he slightly bent down and whispered, “If that’s the case, then when Yao Yao reaches the Seventh Realm and her sword techniques are almost there, bring your Spirit Sword to the Mu Family then, and Grandpa will personally temper your sword.”
“Yao Yao wants it now.”
“No,” Mu Jianghe put on a stern face. Mu Yao knew there was no room for negotiation, so she playfully stuck out her tongue. “Okay, okay, then we’ll talk about it later. Grandpa, you promised me… don’t go back on your word then.”
“You little girl, when has Grandpa ever lied to you?”
Mu Jianghe became even more amused.
***
After tempering the Yening Sword, Mu Jianghe, accompanied by Mu Yao and Jiang Huai, walked out of the earth’s core. At this moment, the rogue cultivators were in the reception hall specially reserved for them by the Mu Family, trading the spirit treasures they found in the secret realm. As Mu Jianghe led the two out of the ancestral hall, his steps suddenly halted. He looked towards the middle-aged man standing opposite him.
The middle-aged man was dressed in white, with a handsome appearance, and was playing with two jade chess pieces in his hand.
Jiang Huai also paused slightly, while Mu Yao’s eyes lit up. She immediately ran to the man’s side and gently grabbed his arm, “Why is Daddy here?”
The Chess Saint lowered his head and replied softly, “Your mother’s birthday is the day after tomorrow. I was afraid you wouldn’t make it back by Spirit Boat, so I came to pick you up personally.”
Mu Jianghe snorted coldly, looking at the Chess Saint with disdain, not even bothering to speak another word. The Chess Saint also glanced at Mu Jianghe. The two father and son met but remained silent.
Mu Yao suddenly stood on tiptoes, tugged at the Chess Saint’s sleeve, signaling him to bend down slightly, and then whispered a few words into his ear. The Chess Saint looked surprised after hearing her, glanced at Mu Yao, and then smiled helplessly.
What Mu Yao said was very simple.
The Chess Saint raised his head and looked at Mu Jianghe in front of him, softly saying, “Father, is Mother well today?”
“She is very well, and doesn’t need a disobedient son like you, who never returns home, to worry about her!”
“It’s good that she’s well,” the Chess Saint nodded gently. The two fell silent again and looked at each other for a while. After a moment, the Chess Saint softly said, “Lingwan asked me to bring you two jars of her ‘Drunken Dream Dew’.”
“Hmph, wine brewed by women is not strong enough and tastes bland. I don’t want it.”
“Many years ago, when I brought Lingwan back to the Mu Family, Father you said the same thing because you disliked her background. Lingwan didn’t argue with you then because she respected you as an elder. She has also dedicated herself to studying the brewing of spirit wine in recent years. These two jars of wine are her kind gesture; she was afraid you wouldn’t like her, so she didn’t come with me.”
“I not only dislike her! I dislike you too!”
The Chess Saint just stood there calmly. He slightly raised his head and looked at Mu Jianghe in front of him, softly saying, “Father, you have lived for too long and have been the Patriarch for too long. You always think you can control everything. When someone escapes your control one day, you become anxious and reject everything.”
“I am only here to bring Yao Yao back early, not to mend our relationship. It’s just a pity for Lingwan’s good intentions. From now on, I won’t let her spend any more effort trying to coax you, this old stubborn man. She doesn’t need your approval to be with me.”
Mu Jianghe’s beard trembled with anger, but the Chess Saint’s eyes remained calm. His posture was straight, and a hint of indescribable sorrow and contempt flickered in his eyes. “Regarding what happened back then, haven’t you reflected on even a shred of your mistake?”
“I made a mistake?! What mistake did I make? What is wrong with the Second Miss of the Qin Family? If you had married her, the position of Patriarch could have been rightfully passed on to you, and managing the entire Mu Family would have been nothing but good!”
“My ambition is not here, so it is not good. I do not love her. If I were to marry her, it would ruin her life.”
“Good! You are so impressive! How could I have raised such a disobedient son like you?!”
“Perhaps it is precisely because of this that I am more capable than my elder and younger brothers,” the Chess Saint’s expression remained indifferent. A moment later, as he released his aura, his Mahayana ninth-level cultivation was immediately revealed.
Mu Jianghe froze in place and sneered, “What use is your artifact cultivation, even at Mahayana ninth level? What, do you think your wings have hardened now and you want to teach me a lesson?”
“It’s nothing,” the Chess Saint shook his head. “But even if my elder brothers and cousins were to combine their strength, they couldn’t even touch me. When Father taught me chess, did you think this day would come?”
“Chess, chess, chess! Is chess all you have in this life?!”
“No,” the Chess Saint shook his head. “There is also Lingwan, and Yao Yao. The Mu Family members who left with me back then also left because they couldn’t stand Father’s tyrannical and autocratic rule. If Father’s management of the family was truly so good, why would anyone be willing to leave with me?”
“If you are dissatisfied with me in any way, when you become the Patriarch one day, you can naturally do all this better!”
“I don’t want to,” the Chess Saint shook his head. “It’s utterly boring.”
The Chess Saint slightly lowered his head, looked at Mu Yao, and said softly, “Alright, let’s go, Yao Yao.”
After speaking, he thought of something. He looked up at Jiang Huai, “Do you want to go with Yao Yao to attend her mother’s birthday banquet?”
Jiang Huai scratched his head. “I still need to go to the Central Province Royal Family to handle some urgent matters.”
This was indeed the case. Jiang Huai had to rush to the Central Province early to clarify the matter of Ji Qinghai and the two Northern Region Princes. The Northern Region Royal Family would soon receive the news of the two princes’ deaths. He didn’t know if they had any Daoist magic means to investigate the truth. The sooner the matter was clarified, the fewer troubles there would be.
Prodigies with profound backgrounds like these were bound to have elders leave behind Dao seeds when they traveled. After their deaths, some images might remain, mainly to deter rogue cultivators who might develop greedy thoughts of killing and stealing treasures.
Jiang Huai was already using that Sound Transmission Jade Token to contact Jiang Zhi. Jiang Zhi had responded to him. She had been a little busy these past two days, and if it wasn’t urgent, she would appear in the Central Province Imperial City in two days.
The Chess Saint nodded gently. Just as he was about to turn, he suddenly thought of something. After a moment, he sighed and placed the two jars of wine on the ground, saying softly, “Lingwan specifically told me before I left that if you didn’t like it, I should leave the wine jars here. I have delivered Lingwan’s sentiment.”
Mu Jianghe suddenly fell silent.
He channeled spiritual energy, and the two wine jars were brought before him by spiritual energy. He opened the seal on the wine, and instantly, the aroma filled the entire courtyard. Mu Jianghe’s expression changed slightly.
When Mu Jianghe was cultivating in his early years, he had been invaded by a cold toxin, and his body was often cold. Therefore, his greatest hobby was drinking. Mu Lingwan had visited the Mu Family twice with the Chess Saint in the past, and he had never shown her a good face. However, each time, Mu Lingwan would bring her homemade spirit wine. Mu Lingwan was adept and meticulous, and her brewed wine tasted excellent. But out of pride, he had never bowed even slightly.
Sniffing the wine aroma from the jar, he fell silent for a moment, then softly mused, “This is indeed good wine… When you get back, thank her for me.”
“This wine is extremely potent. Lingwan instructed me to share these two jars with you before I left.”
“You probably won’t last more than two cups before you collapse in front of me with your alcohol tolerance,” Mu Jianghe snorted disdainfully.
“In the past, when I drank with you, it was because when you were drunk, you liked to talk nonsense and put on your patriarchal airs. Thus, I only drank two cups and pretended to be drunk. Now you’re getting proud?” the Chess Saint’s tone remained calm and contemptuous.
“You brat! Take your seat! If I don’t get you drunk at the Mu Family today, then I, Mu Jianghe, am not worthy of being your father!”
“That would be great,” the Chess Saint shrugged.
Jiang Huai watched this inexplicable farce unfold, blinking blankly. Immediately after, Mu Jianghe called out to the Chess Saint, and they set off. Mu Yao and Jiang Huai followed behind them and returned to Mu Jianghe’s courtyard. He ordered servants to bring plates of snacks, and the two jars of wine were now poured into four wine bowls. Except for Mu Yao’s bowl, which only had a small sip, the others were full bowls.
Wait, Jiang Huai realized with dawning comprehension.
Why did they drag him into this drinking contest so suddenly?
