Chapter 22: Jiang Qianqian’s Gaze Hardens with Resolve

The sword’s handle was pitch black, paired with a deep gray forged blade, its spine adorned with subtle cloud-like patterns. The overall design leaned toward a greatsword meant for two-handed grip, yet compared to standard-sized greatswords, it was shorter and more slender. It exuded the elegant grace of an ancient noblewoman, hence its name: the Lady’s Sword.

Jiang Qianshao held it lightly, swinging it gently. The sharp, crisp sound of the blade slicing through the air was pleasing to the ear.

It felt incredibly handy.

This was made for her by nature.

Though the weapon’s design bore no youthful embellishments, Jiang Qianshao felt the name “Gravity Lady’s Sword” perfectly complemented its character.

Since the name suited the weapon so well, she pondered carefully whether the gift from Li Xingming carried some hidden meaning.

Jiang Qianshao knew she was cunning and always pretended to be naive in front of Li Xingming. She feared he might see through her act, for then he might dislike, fear, or distance himself from her…

“Why are you so distracted? Focus!” Li Xingming clapped his hands sharply, pulling Jiang Qianshao back from her drifting thoughts. “It’s bad habit to zone out during warm-ups. Once on the battlefield, there’s no room for distractions at any moment.”

“Mm-hmm!”

Stop daydreaming, Jiang Qianshao. Focus on the task at hand.

She took a deep breath.

Her eyes hardened with determination.

“Relax your waist. If it’s too tense during a vertical slash, it’s hard to recover properly. You don’t want to twist your waist on the battlefield and have me carry you back to the rear lines, do you, Qianshao?”

As he spoke, Li Xingming reached out and pinched the slender curve of the young girl’s waist.

Before arriving at the training room, Jiang Qianshao had changed into loose, practical sportswear in the school locker room—no longer in her uniform, but a comfortable short-sleeved shirt and pants suited for movement.

To guide her in proper waist engagement, Li Xingming lifted the hem of her shirt, pinching the soft, pale flesh beneath. Jiang Qianshao’s waist was so fair.

“Ah, okay~” Jiang Qianshao emitted a somewhat awkward sound, her slightly chubby, adorable round face flushing with a rosy tint.

Li Xingming was just like that—perhaps always seeing her as a child, he never hesitated to touch parts of her body that should normally be off-limits during martial arts instruction… In truth, Jiang Qianshao secretly enjoyed his touch. In a way, she got what she wanted.

The problem was, sometimes his touch sent a tingling sensation through her—like a mild electric spark when contacting someone you like—a pleasant, addictive thrill.

Suppressing the flutter in her heart, Jiang Qianshao focused on swinging the sword.

Li Xingming’s words skillfully played on her psyche. Her greatest fear was holding him back.

Only those close to Li Xingming truly understood how ridiculously powerful he was. His wild, eccentric public persona was merely a disguise.

“Standing out invites a storm of envy,” Jiang Qianshao thought. She preferred a partner who was low-key and reserved, who kept all his greatness just for her.

But still, the image Li Xingming painted was so pitiful—what did he mean by twisting her waist and having him carry her back to the rear lines?

Am I really that useless?!

Silver also has its dignity!

With renewed determination, Jiang Qianshao, under Li Xingming’s guidance, gradually refined her technique to become more precise and agile…

For most low-tier auxiliary supernaturals, mastering the basics of each move was sufficient; flashy, complicated techniques were unnecessary.

Li Xingming didn’t spar with her, letting her practice basic movements for just one session before letting her go.

The lunch break was short. Jiang Qianshao needed to rest, preparing for the afternoon’s lessons.

The final awakening test of the year was coming soon. She desperately wanted to pass it this time, lest she feel ashamed if it dragged on to next year.

Even a childhood friend had pride.

“Keep the sword sheathed when not in use, and carry it on your back. Get used to always having your weapon with you, except when you’re in the safe house.”

“Huh?” Jiang Qianshao paused, then nodded vigorously. “Okay! Hehe, it feels like going adventuring with you, Ah Ming. Quite vintage.”

“Well, if that’s how you see it…”

“Where exactly is the safe house?”

“For now, it’s the apartment we rented in the school’s family district.”

“Hehe~”

“Why the sudden silly smile?”

“Nothing, nothing. Ah Ming, my shoulders are tired. Can you give me a massage?”

Already asking for a massage after just one training session? That bad habit would get her scolded by the team leader in the Sixth Era.

But Jiang Qianshao was Li Xingming’s adorable childhood friend, and her coquettish demeanor always made it hard for him to refuse.

Modern people generally had a much lower pain tolerance—which was natural, because this was an era of comfort.

Fine then.

Go with her mood.

Li Xingming had Jiang Qianshao sit cross-legged on the training room floor and took a seat behind her.

His long, strong fingers gripped the girl’s cervical vertebrae, like a mother cat carrying her kitten by the scruff of its neck.

“Mm-hmm~”

Here it came again—Jiang Qianshao’s unique, suggestive little hums.

Li Xingming admitted he liked hearing that sound very much. It was partly why he never declined her requests during special training.

Lunch break ended.

Jiang Qianshao returned to the classroom for a final pre-exam study session.

Li Xingming made a trip to the academic affairs office to help Jiang Qianshao apply for permission to carry her weapon on campus.

Of course, students couldn’t roam freely around campus with knives and swords without restrictions.

Just a formality.

When the Gravity Lady’s Sword was made at the family workshop, Li Xingming had already prepared the necessary paperwork, stamped with the Sword Pavilion’s official seal—one of the benefits of having weapons made there.

If made at the school’s public workshop, the weapon couldn’t bear the school’s seal and would require evaluation by a third-party appraisal agency, involving a lengthy, complicated process.

Oh, and about that third-party agency—Ouyang, bored one day, had checked and found the actual owner was a relative of a certain vice principal.

How amusing.

The approval application, along with Jiang Qianshao openly carrying the Lady’s Sword on campus, was integrated into the information flow and sent privately through WeChat by evening to the provincial inspector’s phone.

The inspector’s spirits lifted, his once haggard face suddenly brightened.

In the dim room of a business hotel, he sprang from the disorderly bed, opened his laptop, logged onto the internal network, and checked Li Xingming’s recent transaction records.

“Surely the young master of the Li family isn’t playing the Sun Knight at midnight on the roadside—ridiculous… Okay, just as expected!”

The inspector found that two weeks ago, Li Xingming made an online purchase from a trading company: a piece of “gravity attribute supernatural material.”

The trading company was registered as “Bang Bang Kabang Trading Co., Ltd., Maple Sugar City, Dongjiang Province,” with Ouyang as legal representative.

“Ouyang councilor’s son… The records say he and Li Xingming have been childhood friends; both are rather eccentric at school, like sleeping dragons and hidden phoenixes… Well, then, no problem.”

The inspector’s brightened countenance dimmed back to calm.

Indeed.

Clues to folk gods are never so easy to uncover.

His intuition told him the weapon Li Xingming gave Jiang Qianshao had nothing to do with that stinky dog from last night.

Materials taken from supernatural creatures require pre-processing to be used in weapons, a procedure even the world’s most skilled engineers need at least a week to complete. Obviously, the black plug from last night could not have appeared on Jiang Qianshao’s sword.

Case closed!