Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chen Xuan didn't go along with her. As Zhao Qingluan took a step, he pulled her sleeve back, saying with a wry smile, "Miss Zhao, be more composed, be more composed."

"Oh, is little Chen Xuan shy?" Zhao Qingluan immediately turned around and teased as her hand was empty.

She wasn't without restraint; knowing her current cultivation level was not weak, she was worried about hurting Chen Xuan, this frail little pageboy, so she didn't use much force. Therefore, she wasn't surprised that Chen Xuan pulled her sleeve back.

I'm shy? If I had any ulterior motives, someone like you could easily trick me into having eight children, not even one less. Unfortunately, you're not my type, not then, and not now.

This kind of simple-minded girl is easy to deal with, so Chen Xuan directly changed the subject, saying, "Miss Zhao, isn't it inappropriate for you to just bring me in like this?"

She was indeed swayed by the conversation, and after a moment's thought, she smiled and said, "It's alright, come with me. Qingxue and I are best friends, and you're my friend too. A friend of a friend is a friend. Besides, Qingxue is also a person of the martial arts world, not the kind of sheltered young lady who never leaves her home, so there's no need to be so formal."

I don't know when the two of them became best friends. Guo Qingxue has only been in Beijing for a few days, right? Girls' relationships can develop so inexplicably, just like Zheng Wanqian and that Zhang Yu.

"Thank you very much then," Chen Xuan said, not one to be coy, and nodded as he followed.

She led the way, saying nonchalantly, "Why are you being so polite with me? We were practically in the same boat back then. But you were too young to understand what it meant to go through thick and thin together. By the way, Chen Xuan, you have a good memory. You remember everything from back then so clearly. I didn't forget, it's just that it's been so long that I didn't immediately recall. But your reminder brought it all back to me."

"The first time I accompanied my young master on a long trip was quite dangerous, so it left a deep impression on me..."

Under the curious gazes of the apprentices, the two chatted as they headed toward the back of the sword hall.

"You're all not concentrating on your martial arts practice. You'll have to practice for an extra half hour," the instructor said, seizing the opportunity to challenge them. Hearing this, the apprentices forced themselves to concentrate with pained expressions.

Once out of sight of the crowd, Zhao Qingluan slowed her pace and said, "That's right. By the way, where's your young master? Why are you the only one here? Aren't you two inseparable?"

"Where did you get so much information from?" Chen Xuan blurted out, "My young master passed the imperial examination with top honors and has entered the court as an official. He's very busy, and he's the one who sent me here."

This was Chen Xuan's excuse for coming to visit; good buddies are just there to take the blame.

“I know about this. I even went to see the parade on horseback that day. It was truly a magnificent sight. Although I am a person from the martial arts world and don’t know much about fame and fortune, I know it’s very impressive. Congratulations! And what about you? Your young master has already become the top scholar in the imperial examination. You, Chen Xuan, won’t be too bad either, right?” Zhao Qingluan was not surprised and turned around to ask curiously.

As someone from the martial arts world, she considered literature and martial arts to be two completely different fields. Her highest evaluation of a scholar was limited to the three words "very impressive," and she didn't understand the true value of the title "top scholar."

However, Chen Xuan was speechless. "Do you even know how to have a conversation? Do you know how to get to the point? The point I'm talking about is, did Gao Jingming become the top scholar? The point is, he's the one who sent me here."

"I'm stupid. I haven't made any progress over the years and I'm still just a lowly student with a minor academic degree," Chen Xuan said frankly.

Instead of making fun of him, she encouraged him, saying, "It's alright, keep up the good work, and take your young master as your role model." Perhaps to protect Chen Xuan's feelings, she decisively changed the subject, saying, "How have you all been all these years?"

"What else can we do but study? Seven years of our lives have been spent at Liuyu Academy, and then we just keep running around," Chen Xuan said casually.

Zhao Qingluan said with great empathy, "Pretty much. These past few years I've been in Yuhua Kingdom learning martial arts from my master. I only sleep for three hours a day, and I don't even have time to play. It's all tears when I think about it. By the way, you should know about Xiao Chenxuan, right? Yuhua Kingdom is famous for its beautiful women. I've met quite a few over the years. Do you want me to introduce you to a few? You're not getting any younger."

"Thank you, Miss Zhao. Do you think I need someone to introduce me to someone with my looks?"

"Hey, you're getting all worked up over calling you fat. I must say, you do have a respectable appearance, but we martial artists don't like someone as frail as you..."

During their casual conversation, the two arrived at a courtyard behind the sword hall. As a residence for people in the martial arts world, it didn't have many fancy decorations; the style was rugged, and weapon racks were standard in the courtyard.

Before even entering the courtyard, one could hear the whistling of swords inside, which sounded menacing.

Zhao Qingluan immediately stopped talking and instructed, "It sounds like Qingxue is really in a bad mood. Xiao Chenxuan, stay behind me to avoid being accidentally hurt."

Accidentally hurt me? Too lazy to argue with her, Chen Xuan said irritably, "Could you please stop adding 'boy' before my name? I'm a grown man now, you know!"

"It's because I was only eleven when I first met you, so it feels more familiar..."

As they entered the courtyard, they saw Guo Qingxue, dressed in a pink and white dress, practicing swordsmanship. Her figure moved swiftly and gracefully, the three-foot-long sword blade exuding a chilling aura, and the surrounding temperature felt cold.

Her taut, pretty face was covered in frost; one could only imagine how many times her imagined enemies had been killed by her. At the edge of the martial arts arena, Chen Xuan saw the senior sister who had come to the capital with Guo Qingxue that day looking at him with concern but hesitant to speak, while his second senior brother, who had entered earlier, was full of admiration.

Following behind Zhao Qingluan, Chen Xuan glanced at her and said, "This must be Miss Guo. She wields her sword quite beautifully."

In Chen Xuan's eyes, her murderous swordsmanship was indeed only good for looking at.

Without deliberately lowering his voice, the moment he said this, both the senior sister and the second senior brother looked over. The senior sister was speechless when she saw Chen Xuan, while the second senior brother frowned slightly.

Zhao Qingluan turned to look at Chen Xuan, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Little Chen Xuan, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Sister Qingxue's swordsmanship has already reached a high level. Even I can't guarantee that a winner will be decided within thirty moves."

Chen Xuan nodded, with an expression that said, "You're absolutely right."

Perhaps because of Chen Xuan and the others' arrival, Guo Qingxue, who moved with the agility of a butterfly, sheathed her sword, and the chill in the courtyard dissipated. She looked over with her sword on her back and smiled, her icy expression melting away, "Sister Qingluan is here! Why didn't you let me know?"

"I heard that Sister Qingxue was in a bad mood, so I came to see who upset you. Just now, I saw you perform a sword technique that looked like you wanted to kill someone," Zhao Qingluan greeted her with concern.

Shaking her head, Guo Qingxue said, "Thank you for your concern, Sister Qingluan. It's just a trivial matter."

During the pleasantries, she looked at Chen Xuan and said in a daze, "It's you?" Then she looked at Zhao Qingluan and asked in confusion, "Sister Qingluan, do you know each other?"

“It’s nice to meet you again. I, Chen Xuan, have met Miss Guo. I just delivered my visiting card, but you said you weren’t here. I was planning to come another day, but I happened to run into Miss Zhao and took the liberty of visiting. I hope you will forgive me if I have disturbed you,” Chen Xuan said with a cupped hand and a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingluan glanced at Guo Qingxue in surprise, almost bursting out laughing. Without making a fuss, she nodded and said, "Qingxue, let me introduce you. This is Chen Xuan. I spent some time with them when I went north to Mochen seven years ago; we were practically inseparable. I almost didn't recognize him at the door just now."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Guo Qingxue's face as she cupped her hands to Chen Xuan and said, "So it's Young Master Chen. It's a pleasure to meet you. This must be our third meeting. I didn't know you were Sister Qingluan's friend. I was feeling down before, so please forgive me if I offended you in any way."

"It's alright, it would be impolite of me to come here so abruptly," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

Nodding, Guo Qingxue smiled and said, "Guests are welcome, please come inside and have a seat." Then she looked at her senior sister and said, "Senior sister, please arrange for tea to be served."

"Hold on……"

The group entered the living room and sat down. After tea was served and some pleasantries were exchanged, Chen Xuan learned from Guo Qingxue that the senior sister who had come to the capital with her was named Qin Yun, the fourth disciple of Guo Qingxue's father, Guo Sihai, and the second senior brother was named Fang Jing. Both of them were Guo Sihai's prized disciples and had already received his true teachings.

Although their cultivation was not weak, they had not reached the Innate Realm and could not carry the banner of this generation.

After getting to know each other, Zhao Qingluan was more concerned about Guo Qingxue and asked, "Sister Qingxue, I saw your swordsmanship was so fierce just now, who offended you?"

After hesitating for a moment, Guo Qingxue sighed and said, "It's nothing serious, just a bunch of untrustworthy people. Don't worry about it."

"It seems that Sister Qingxue has suffered in silence? This won't do. Tell me, I, your older sister, am not without my abilities. I have to get my revenge," Zhao Qingluan said with a frown.

With a helpless smile, Guo Qingxue said, "Thank you, Sister Qingluan. I didn't suffer any loss. Don't make things worse; it's useless."

"Tell me whether it's useful or not, we can't just sit here and sulk," Zhao Qingluan said, eager to help others.

Fortunately, it wasn't anything shameful. Under Zhao Qingluan's persistent questioning, Guo Qingxue sighed and said, "A couple of days ago, wasn't there a medicine dealer selling Xiaoyao Pills? Rumor has it that he only trades, not sells. One of the ingredients is Ice Silkworm Silk. And as you know, Sister Qingluan, Ice Silkworm Silk is unique to our Cold Mountain Sword Sect in Jing Kingdom. As a result, many people have come to our door seeking to buy Ice Silkworm Silk, intending to exchange it for Xiaoyao Pills."

"Those who came were all important figures from the Forbidden Martial Arts Division. It's no surprise that they represent people with powerful backgrounds. We couldn't refuse, so we sent a message back to the mountain gate overnight and rushed to send over all the ice silkworm silk we had in stock—a full thirteen catties! But after just one night, everyone said they didn't want it anymore. Isn't this just deliberately making things difficult for us? When we need it, it's like a death knell, but when they say they don't want it, we can't even get a meeting. My father sent me to the capital to take charge of the overall situation, hoping it would be a good experience and help me build a good relationship with the Forbidden Martial Arts Division. But it's all been for nothing, so it's no wonder I'm unhappy."

The young girl couldn't keep things to herself, and it was inevitable that she would feel emotional after being hurt.

After hearing her explanation, Zhao Qingluan smiled awkwardly and said, "I see. I really can't do anything about it. Who can blame us for the Forbidden Martial Arts Division suppressing the martial world? We can't afford to offend them. Fortunately, we still have the item. Don't take it too hard, Qingxue."

“Who says otherwise? That’s why I’m upset. A bunch of untrustworthy people,” Guo Qingxue said wistfully.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. "If they don't want it, I'll take it! That's exactly why I came here—I really made the right choice..." (End of Chapter)