Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 62 - 53: It’s All Your Fault for Not Sleeping Well at Night
The Communication Spirit Jade that Li Xinyu bought to mend sibling relations is undoubtedly of excellent quality. It requires very little True Essence infusion to activate its internal technique upon the owner’s command, connecting sound and images between both sides.
Furthermore, despite the Spirit Jade’s resilience, even if its body were destroyed with only fragments or dust remaining, it would still endeavor to fulfill its mission, unable to transmit images, at least it could convey the sound from the other side.
Therefore, at this moment, Wang Jiu and Shen Qingming vaguely heard a tragic family incident occurring within the Li Family Mansion, and the first words left Shen Qingming with her mouth agape.
"Xin’Er, from today onwards, I entrust Chaolu to you... Although she usually likes to chase after celebrities and poets, and doesn’t get along well with Xinyu, she’s still a good child who is diligent in her cultivation and considerate to her family. She is my greatest pride... Please take good care of her."
Shen Qingming was stunned as she listened, hurriedly gesturing non-stop to Wang Jiu, eagerly asking what was happening.
Wang Jiu directly answered in her mind, "Obviously, this is a conversation about transferring a child, involving major characters like Li Chaolu, Lu Xin, and..."
"I know!" Shen Qingming said anxiously, "I’m asking why Zhao Yan would give her daughter to Lu Xin!"
This question left Wang Jiu at a loss for words; after all, he wasn’t the person involved, how could he know their thoughts? However, from a logical standpoint, issues regarding child transfer usually relate to matters of extinction, inheritance, and lineage, so the most reasonable conjecture is...
"Li Wushuang is dead."
"What!?" Shen Qingming nearly exclaimed.
Wang Jiu seriously analyzed, "This is the most fitting assumption. After you distanced from the family, the patriarch Li Fengyun only had one son, Li Wushuang. If he unfortunately passed away, there would be a need to adopt a child within the mansion. Considering the Li Family has never favored males over females, with more than a quarter of the patriarchs being female, choosing Li Chaolu to inherit the family business would be logical."
This meticulous analysis left Shen Qingming unable to refute, no matter how much she wished not to believe it, leaving her dazed... That tiger-headed little fellow who always followed her around calling her Sister Qingming was actually dead?
Amidst the shock, Lu Xin’s voice came again through the Spirit Jade.
"Oh, Sister, you’ve misunderstood... Calm down first, look at you, you’ve scared Chaolu to tears."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan was silent for a while, then released Li Chaolu, gently stroked her head apologetically, and then embraced her tightly.
"Sorry Chaolu, it was Mother who was wrong."
At this moment, Li Chaolu dared not respond.
Lu Xin continued, "Sister, I didn’t really want Chaolu as my daughter. It’s just that every time I see this beautiful and outstanding child, a tidal wave of regret surges within me. Do you understand? I clearly had an excellent daughter, yet I pushed her away step by step out of the family. I... feel truly miserable."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jiu was somewhat surprised and asked Shen Qingming, "Lu Xin has another daughter? I’ve never heard anyone mention it. Is she an illegitimate child?"
Shen Qingming was also taken aback, "I don’t know... Did she and Father have a daughter?"
With puzzled confusion, the two continued to quietly listen to the dialogue transmitted through the Spirit Jade.
"Actually, I know there are always people in the mansion commenting that I was too harsh on Qingming, saying I deserved it. Given her talents, achieving this step is already commendable, and she should be given more encouragement and praise. But... Sister Yan, do you remember? After Wanqing left the mansion, she became the Inner Sect Chief of that generation. The way she accepted the Chief Sword Seal back then reminded me of myself."
"Yourself?"
"When I was 10 years old, I was also the chief disciple of the Cyan Cloud Lu Family’s younger generation. Although my aptitude for Immortal Dao cultivation was mediocre, my Body Refining Technique and cultural studies before the Wind-Rising Realm were the best in the Cyan Cloud Lu Family. On one hand, I was more diligent and stronger than anyone else; on the other hand, I had access to the richest resources. At that time, everyone around me praised and honored me, as if my future was bright and limitless, and the Mountain-Shifting Realm was within reach! But the truth is, I was at a standstill for nearly three years before the Wind Barrier. I achieved Body Refining Perfection at 11, but by 14, I hadn’t seen an opportunity for Barrier-Breaking, while junior disciples were Controlling Qi into Wind, stepping into the Immortal Domain, while I was still stagnant... The praises from years ago felt like little knives, occasionally stabbing at my heart. Then... then I couldn’t bear it anymore and begged my family to use elixirs and empowered techniques to forcefully break the Wind Barrier. On my 14th birthday, I stepped into the Immortal Realm, surrounded by cheers and celebrations."
As Lu Xin recounted her past, her voice was calm as water, yet it carried an inexplicable impact, with both sides of the Spirit Jade silent, focused solely on her story.
"From then on, I could no longer restrain myself. Although I continued to cultivate diligently, whenever faced with difficulties, I would become restless, unable to calm down, and would resort to external forces, relying on elixirs or empowered techniques to surpass bottlenecks. Breaking the Wind Barrier, Spirit Cloud Formation, Condensing True Essence... all these difficulties were overcome in this manner, leading to my current state. Sister Yan, I’m already destined to be disconnected from the true Immortal Dao. My True Essence is dense like rain, while my Spiritual Sense Cultivation remains stuck in the Cloud Flipping Realm, with both aspects out of sync, making any part of my cultivation challenging and bothersome. In recent years, besides daily Breathing Meditation and occasionally sparring with Thirteen in Swordsmanship, I hardly cultivate anymore, as cultivation has really become a torment for me. But once, I was a Cultivator who was immensely passionate about Immortal Cultivation."
After a long pause, Zhao Yan sighed.
"You were indeed too hasty; in the Immortal Cultivation path, while talent is important, it only accounts for two or three parts at most. Aside from those top-notch experts like Fengyun, for other Cultivators, regardless of their talent disparities, the final achievements might not differ much..."
Lu Xin said, "Yes, if not for my youthful impetuousness and rash advances, had I cultivated steadily over the years, at the very least, I would have the cultivation of the Mountain-Shifting Realm today, being a pillar of the family... Alas, it is already too late."
"I see, I used to think you were harsh on Qingming because of Yue’e, but I did not expect there to be such hidden reasons..."
Lu Xin gave a bitter smile and said nothing.
——
On the other side of the Spirit Jade, Shen Qingming’s face was livid, biting her lip... Due to excessive force, the trembling of her jaw muscles gradually spread through her whole body.
Wang Jiu watched from the side, turned around, and poured Shen Qingming a cup of hot water, but the girl completely ignored it, only lowering her head and murmuring to herself softly, "What utter nonsense!"
Wang Jiu, surprised, said, "I haven’t even said anything yet!"
"Not you!" Shen Qingming said angrily, "I’m talking about Lu Xin spouting utter nonsense! That woman is truly vicious!"
Wang Jiu heard this and was perplexed, thinking: Lu Xin was just recounting a tragic part of her history, what was so vicious about it? Could it be that Shen Qingming, this steed, was naturally vulnerable to tragic stories and suffered indelible psychological trauma after hearing one?
"Didn’t you understand?" Shen Qingming explained with some annoyance, "She’s trying to wash away her guilt! She’s portraying herself as someone heavily burdened by history, with a good intention towards her stepdaughter, in order to highlight my narrow-mindedness for leaving the family!"
Wang Jiu pondered, "Is that so?"
"Of course! Otherwise, do you really believe she was criticizing and suppressing me without mercy at the time I needed support and encouragement the most, for my own good?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Just as they were saying this, Zhao Yan also raised a question within the Spirit Jade.
"If you really had good intentions, then why... didn’t you clarify things with her from the start?"
Lu Xin mumbled softly, almost inaudibly, more to herself than anyone else. Yet, the Communication Spirit Jade was extraordinary, equipped with self-correcting and voice-enhancing functions, forcibly parsing out the sentence.
"I did say so."
Zhao Yan was puzzled, "You did!?"
Wang Jiu was equally surprised, "She told you?"
Shen Qingming was initially bewildered but then remembered something, her face flushing red, and turned to leave. Even Wang Jiu, who was clueless about human interaction, knew there was something fishy here.
He didn’t need to forcibly stop Shen Qingming from leaving. Instead, he simply invoked the supplementary clauses in the Master-Servant Contract concerning exceptions to the prohibition on mind-reading, smoothly peering into Shen Qingming’s inner world, discovering the truth lost for so many years...
At the same time, Lu Xin also recounted that piece of history to Zhao Yan.
"When she first failed to break the Wind Barrier, I privately approached her, intending to tell her that Immortal Cultivation is a lifelong endeavor, one shouldn’t rush, instead endure loneliness, especially in the early stages, withstand pressure, and experience more setbacks..."
Zhao Yan said, "That’s very much correct, what did Qingming say?"
"She, she said she didn’t need my hypocritical act, and accused me of deliberately slowing her progress in Breaking Wind Barrier."
"..." Zhao Yan was dumbfounded, "Is this paranoia!"
Lu Xin blushed, "Well, that might not be entirely it."
Simultaneously, Wang Jiu also questioned Shen Qingming, "Do you have paranoia since childhood?"
Shen Qingming was utterly mortified, "I knew all along there were loopholes and traps in your supplementary clauses, yet you still unabashedly spy on my privacy!"
"Thank you for proving your paranoia once again."
"It’s not paranoia at all!" Shen Qingming protested, "You don’t understand how hateful her face was that night when she came looking for me! I was just about to sleep, half-asleep, and she suddenly appeared at my bedside, her first words were a cold sneer, saying: Heard you failed to break the Wind Barrier? Hmph, not surprising at all!"
——
On the other side, Zhao Yan was mouth agape, "How could you greet Qingming like that!?"
Lu Xin, embarrassed, admitted, "I thought she was already asleep at the time and intended to just leave a letter. Then she suddenly opened her eyes, startling me, and in my panic, I... blurted something out without thinking."
"You, you are such a fool!"
