Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

"..."

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence, with only Shen Wei's steady breathing.

"The person I hate is definitely not you..."

Gu Lengyue looked at Shen Wei's tightly closed eyes and asked in a very soft voice.

"Will you hate me because I'm Gu Hanfeng's daughter?"

But she naturally didn't get a response. After uttering those drunken words, Shen Wei had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Gu Lengyue sighed softly and began to speak to herself:

Do you want to know who I hate?

She seemed to be telling someone something, her tone sounding somewhat desolate.

"I must take my revenge on him, but the sword in my hand is too dull. I'm afraid I can't even touch the hem of his clothes, let alone kill him."

Looking at Shen Wei's tightly closed eyes, Gu Lengyue grew a little bolder. She took a deep breath, leaned down slightly, and whispered in his ear:

"I need you to find me a suitable sword; I want it to be sharp enough..."

"May I?"

A low, indistinct response suddenly rang out. Shen Wei turned over and assumed a side-lying position, his back to Gu Lengyue.

"......Can."

He casually agreed, but his tone still carried the lingering effects of drunkenness, as if he were merely talking in his sleep.

Gu Lengyue was stunned for a moment, and then her face instantly turned slightly red. She quickly lowered her head to calm herself down.

As the blush on her face gradually faded, she went around to the other side of the bed and half-squatted in front of it.

His gaze fell on Shen Wei's sleeping face, slightly tinged with the smell of alcohol, yet unusually quiet and gentle. His tone was soft, as if giving a word of advice, or perhaps confirming something:

"You promised...you absolutely cannot go back on your word."

After saying that, she did not leave immediately, but stayed quietly in his room for a long time, her gaze fixed on Shen Wei's sleeping face, her expression complicated.

Finally, she carefully covered Shen Wei with the blanket, then quietly turned around, closed the door, and left his room.

The next morning, warm sunlight streamed through the window and into the room, falling on the bed.

Shen Wei slowly opened his eyes, feeling a splitting headache and a complete mental fog.

After calming down for a moment, he sat up and looked down to see that his clothes, which were still reeking of alcohol, had been changed into clean and simple plain clothes.

He rubbed his throbbing temples, his brows furrowing slightly.

Who helped him change his clothes?

After thinking for a moment, Shen Wei concluded that it could only be Gu Lengyue.

He vaguely remembered that the girl helped him back to his room when he was drunk yesterday, but he had no idea what happened after that.

Shen Wei got up, straightened his clothes, pushed open the door and walked out. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Gu Lengyue dressed neatly, practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

Her posture was as upright as a pine tree, her sword intent was awe-inspiring, and every move she made was becoming more and more skillful and sharp, showing that she had improved even more than before.

When Gu Lengyue saw him approaching, she sheathed her sword and stood still, her expression unchanged.

The two chatted casually for a while, mostly about practicing swordsmanship and trivial matters in the courtyard, creating a rare peaceful atmosphere.

As they chatted, Gu Lengyue suddenly changed the subject and casually asked:

"You drank so much yesterday, you probably don't remember anything, right?"

"Hmm...did you change my clothes?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lengyue's heart beat slightly faster, and her expression became somewhat unnatural:

"It was me... who changed it..."

After a moment of silence, Gu Lengyue continued to press:

"Do you remember what you promised last night?"

Shen Wei found Gu Lengyue's stammering manner somewhat adorable and couldn't help but laugh.

"Promise what?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lengyue's tense expression vanished instantly, replaced by her usual aloofness. Her tone also turned colder, becoming firm and resolute:

"I've made up my mind."

"Decid what?"

"Once my swordsmanship is fully mastered, the first person I will kill is you!"

"..."

Shen Wei! Shen Wei, you're being stupid again. She's Gu Hanfeng's daughter. How can you think she's cute?

"Stop being so arrogant. Don't forget, the only reason I'm keeping you alive is because I think living you will only cause you more suffering."

"snort."

Gu Lengyue groaned and turned her head away.

After a long while, Gu Lengyue seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, and finally she sighed softly:

"You promised me yesterday that you would help me find a sword that is powerful enough."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wei frowned and thought carefully for a moment. In his dream, it seemed that a gentle voice was indeed pleading with him.

And it seems I casually agreed to something.

He rubbed his still throbbing head, his tone tinged with doubt and confusion:

Why would I agree to this?

"How should I know? Anyway, you agreed."

"I was drunk yesterday and not thinking clearly. You're taking advantage of me."

Gu Lengyue scoffed and stubbornly replied:

"Ha, so what if I took advantage of someone in distress? Do you think I'd feel any guilt about it?"

"Since I'm a scumbag, then I don't have to keep my promise."

"you--"

Gu Lengyue's chest heaved, clearly enraged. Her voice rose unusually, like a cat with its fur standing on end, but in the end, she only managed to squeeze out two words through gritted teeth.

"asshole."

Rongrong, who happened to be squatting next to the two, was startled by Gu Lengyue's suddenly raised voice. Her body trembled slightly, and she timidly shrank back to Shen Wei's feet.

Incidentally, Rongrong was the name Gu Lengyue gave to the brown and yellow raccoon dog. It was usually very attached to her, but now it was somewhat timid because of her.

Shen Wei squatted down, gently stroking the soft, fluffy fur, then looked at Gu Lengyue, who was puffing up in anger and ready to leave with her sword drawn.

"Okay, I promise you."

He spoke helplessly.

******

"Where's the sword?"

"I gave the swordsmith two months. It should be finished by now. I'll go get it in a bit."

"I'll go with you."

"Alright, that will save you from sitting here feeling restless and not being able to practice your sword properly."

Gu Lengyue provided the majority of the resources for forging this sword.

Incidentally, most of those resources came from Gu Hanfeng's legacy. Even though a lot of them were distributed along the way, they also helped some displaced people.

He left behind a large portion of his legacy, more than enough to forge a top-tier spirit sword.

Since Gu Lengyue provided the resources, Shen Wei naturally provided the connections.

Shen Wei had been navigating the world of martial arts for many years, so he naturally had some tricks up his sleeve.

Finally, he found a suitable swordsmith in Autumn Cloud City in the western part of Central Continent.

The swordsmith was a renowned figure in the martial arts world, possessing unparalleled sword-making skills. However, he was eccentric and stubborn, rarely accepting jobs, and even if someone offered a large sum of money, he might not be able to win their favor.

Fortunately, Shen Wei had a good personal relationship with him and had been kind to him in the past. In addition, Shen Wei was generous and not only brought the ample spirit stones provided by Gu Lengyue, but also used his connections to find various rare and top-quality sword-making materials, each of which was the best choice for sword making.

Seeing this, the swordsmith naturally poured his heart and soul into forging the sword, almost gambling with his life's work on it, determined to create a legendary sword that would live up to the value of the fine materials and Shen Wei's trust and their friendship.