Chapter Twelve: Ruan Xiu

Thinking of this, Su Ling couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. At this point, it was clear he had been too complacent, completely oblivious to the darkness and schemes lurking within the Sword Arrival world.

The great master sat steadily at the chessboard, each piece in hand representing a calculated strategy...

Now, regarding the matter of the life-born porcelain, it seemed impossible to resolve. The only way forward was for him to grow stronger himself, so that the hidden hand behind the scenes would reveal itself.

Using his life-born porcelain as a bargaining chip to achieve some unknown purpose...

“Boy, don’t be too downhearted. Just look at how full of spirit you are now. Your life-born porcelain is certainly safe and sound.”

“...Yes.”

Ruan Qiong saw his newly accepted disciple wearing a worried expression and awkwardly offered some consolation. After all, he had previously sworn with utmost confidence that there would be no problems with the life-born porcelain.

But seeing the situation had yet to improve, Ruan Qiong felt like an ant on a hot pan, scratching his head in frustration.

“Alright, I’ll first teach you some self-defense techniques. Practice them well, and learn and observe more at the blacksmith’s shop.”

“...Okay.”

Su Ling was clearly somewhat distracted, which made his master quite vexed. After all, there was a reason for his mood, and this matter concerned Su Ling’s very life.

However, Su Ling’s gloom was not caused by Ruan Qiong’s inefficacy. The real reason was that he had recalled something crucial.

That was... he seemed unable to read!

The original self was from a destitute family, barely able to afford meals, so how could he have spent money on learning to read? Yet the first thing in martial arts training was to understand one’s own acupoints...

In this day and age, even martial arts required literacy. How could he argue that?

Before long.

After a friendly exchange with his somewhat stingy master, Su Ling found himself nursing a fist-sized bump on his head.

For some reason, Ruan Qiong’s punches landed with exceptional force, leaving Su Ling with a headache for quite some time...

“Hmph, you really know how to cause me trouble, boy.”

Ruan Qiong’s face lost all trace of embarrassment, replaced by sheer frustration. After all, having a new disciple who couldn’t read was a serious blow to his reputation.

Just then, a somewhat playful and pleasant voice came from outside the door.

“Father.”

Su Ling, rubbing the bump on his head in pain, turned toward the voice and looked outside the blacksmith’s shop.

There stood a well-proportioned young woman in a green dress, her sweet and sultry voice accompanied by footsteps that fluttered like a dancing butterfly as she approached.

“Hmm.”

Ruan Qiong glanced wearily at his eldest daughter, who had arrived unexpectedly early, and sighed in silent helplessness.

“Daughter, have you run out of pocket money again?”

At this hour, his daughter rarely woke up so early and especially came here...

Most likely, the little foodie had already spent all the pocket money he gave her three days ago, causing her father quite a headache.

The key was, he had to pamper his precious daughter; otherwise, she would sulk for an entire month without paying him any attention, which was very frustrating.

“Oh, Father~!”

“Isn’t it because the pastries on Fuloo Street are just too delicious~?”

Ruan Xiu took her father’s arm and gently swung it, her mischievous face full of laughter.

Her cherry lips parted to reveal a row of gleaming white teeth, and in a voice sweet enough to kill, she began to coax her old father to get up.

It wasn’t exactly filial piety, but it was a legitimate enjoyment of family affection, which made Su Ling, watching from the side, feel a pang of sourness — almost enough to make a Shiba Inu bare its teeth.

“And who’s this?”

At that moment, Ruan Xiu suddenly noticed Su Ling standing nearby.

She released her father’s arm and quickly adjusted her expression, pretending not to have lost her composure earlier, and looked at Su Ling with curious eyes.

“This is your old man’s new disciple. What do you think? Handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yes, yes, Father, you speak truly~.”

“You… hey.”

Ruan Qiong was exasperated but couldn’t treat Su Ling the same way he did before—with his iron fist of love. Helplessly, he pulled out a few pieces of silver from his pocket, making a show of throwing them to his daughter.

Ruan Xiu smiled brightly, but the next moment, she heard her father snort in displeasure and say sternly,

“Daughter, how many characters do you actually know now?”

Ruan Xiu felt as if struck by lightning. She stepped back awkwardly, completely losing her earlier confidence.

“Not many, just enough to understand the acupoints…”

As she spoke, under her father’s gaze that seemed capable of killing, she shrunk her delicate little head into her collarbone, unwilling to meet the eyes filled with disappointment.

“Daughter, you…”

Ruan Qiong didn’t know how to put it. If he were too harsh, his daughter might burst into tears; if too gentle, she wouldn’t learn her lesson. He found himself in a difficult position.

Perhaps this was the hardship of being a father—once a dear little cotton jacket, now not exactly a perfect child but putting on one face for her father and another for outsiders...

“Here’s the deal: you first teach my disciple some simple knowledge of acupoints.”

“And the pocket money…”

“Hmph, if my disciple doesn’t learn, don’t even think about buying pastries again!”

Having said this, Ruan Qiong walked briskly down the mountain, not looking back, leaving the two dumbfounded inside the blacksmith shop.

Su Ling was the first to react. Gritting his teeth, he bowed respectfully toward the seemingly petrified Ruan Xiu.

“Greetings, senior sister.”

Since the original owner was younger than Ruan Xiu, it was proper to address the master’s daughter as senior sister.

“Oh, go away, I’m annoyed just seeing you.”

Ruan Xiu revealed her true nature without pretense, puffing out her cheeks. Her bright eyes seemed to ignite a blazing fire, visibly irritated.

“Yes…”

Su Ling breathed a quiet sigh of relief inwardly. Getting along with this fiery young lady was truly a challenge for someone as taciturn as him.

Having read the original story, he was also aware of Ruan Xiu’s true identity, so he preferred not to get too entangled with her.

“Wait!”

Just as Su Ling turned to familiarize himself with the blacksmith’s shop, Ruan Xiu suddenly called out to him.

“If you leave, how will I teach you about acupoints?”

Though Ruan Xiu was utterly unwilling, her father had already resolutely ordered her to teach Su Ling.

Nevertheless, she understood her father’s temper. If she failed to teach Su Ling some basic acupoint knowledge, she probably wouldn’t be able to buy delicious pastries for some time...

Puffing her cheeks in displeasure, Ruan Xiu rummaged around the blacksmith’s shop but found the primer books she had casually discarded years ago were nowhere to be seen.

Helpless, she grabbed the somewhat unruly Su Ling and went outside, crouching on the yellow earth to start drawing characters directly on the ground...

“This one is the Tai Chong point...”

Looking at the crude scribbles made with fingers on the dirt, Su Ling felt deeply embarrassed but had to pretend to understand; otherwise, he might receive a punch on the head from his senior sister.

One could only say that even without a shred of divine power, the reincarnation of the Supreme Fire God still carried a fiery and fierce humanity within.