Xing Tie: After the simulation, they all wanted to lock me up in a dark room.

[At twelve years old, your master was often away from home, the bountiful battlefield keeping her almost entirely occupied with caring for you. Meanwhile, you were entering puberty, and this year brought significant changes to your life. You could sense a vague, budding affection for Jing Liu's various actions. You felt that Jing Liu didn't seem to treat you as a senior brother.]

When you two go out to eat, people around you often say that you are Jingliu's childhood sweetheart. Jingliu just blushes and neither admits nor denies it. You don't understand what "childhood sweetheart" means, after all, your master only taught you how to use a sword.

"Junior sister, what is a child husband?" Chen Yue asked curiously.

Looking into Chen Yue's still somewhat innocent, blood-red eyes, Jing Liu felt a pang of guilt. "Junior Brother, that was actually taught to me privately by Master. It meant that someone would always be by my side, and that person would be my childhood sweetheart. And didn't you promise to be with me forever?"

Master: ...? When did I teach you this? She's slandering me!

"Oh, I see. I understand now." This was the first time Chen Yue had heard her childhood sweetheart's explanation.

"By the way, Junior Brother, you must never tell Master about this form of address," Jing Liu said earnestly.

"Why?" Chen Yue asked, puzzled.

"Master is thin-skinned."

Seeing Chen Yue like this, Jing Liu couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"Junior brother, I remember that the status of a child groom also includes dual cultivation. Would you like to cultivate with me?"

"ah?"

Although I don't understand why Master suddenly taught Jingliu this, you believe that whatever Master taught you must be correct.

[This year, Jingliu has already successfully controlled 12 flying swords, making her a genius among geniuses. You, on the other hand, have already controlled 36. This is why, when your master compared you to Jingliu, she said that Jingliu was not suited for martial arts. She only wanted to focus all her energy on you, to help you go further, since you are a short-lived species and your time is limited.]

At thirteen, your swordsmanship began to catch up with your master's. Your master once predicted that you might surpass her by the time you were sixteen.

At the Sword Capital, two figures, one tall and one short, clashed as Chen Yue and Jing Liu practiced swordsmanship. Jing Liu's sword attacked relentlessly, while Chen Yue defended with ease, occasionally launching a deflection at Jing Liu.

"General."

"what!"

"General."

"what……"

"General."

"Hungry……"

Jing Liu squatted on the ground, covering her fair, delicate, and smooth forehead, which was covered with red marks from Chen Yue's fingers. However, such injuries would heal quickly for her physique as a Celestial Being.

"Junior sister, your swordsmanship has improved so quickly! I'm deflecting attacks much less often now," Chen Yue said with a smile.

"It's all thanks to my junior brother's excellent teaching," Jingliu said, while covering his forehead.

Seeing Jingliu like this, Chen Yue couldn't help but worry, even though she had clearly controlled her strength.

"Junior sister, are you alright? I remember I definitely controlled my strength." Chen Yue walked up to Jing Liu, then suddenly felt embarrassed. "Junior sister, could you kneel down so I can see your forehead?"

Jingliu squatted down and moved his hand away from his forehead. "I'm fine, junior brother."

Chen Yue saw Jing Liu's fair and delicate forehead and found that there was no red mark. Although he was puzzled, he still took out the medicine and carefully wiped Jing Liu's forehead.

Feeling the coolness on his forehead, Jingliu looked on with enjoyment, while observing his junior brother and thinking to himself, "Junior brother, when did you finally grow up?!"

Although a few years is just a blink of an eye for immortal beings, Jing Liu felt as if each day was an eternity.

"Junior brother, the dual cultivation I was talking about..."

"Junior sister, why are you so obsessed with dual cultivation?!"

At fourteen, your swordsmanship was essentially on par with your master's. To celebrate your mastery of swordsmanship, Jingliu took you directly to Jinren Alley. Meanwhile, your master returned to the Sword Master's Mansion to find both of her disciples gone. They had gone out to eat without inviting her, leaving her a lonely old woman.

Master: Clown (JPG)

Silently picking up her juice, Chen Yue sat in the chair, her movements slightly stiff.

As the snack stall that they frequented every day when Chen Yue was a child, Aunt Gao and Aunt Ai watched Chen Yue grow up. They had no children of their own and regarded Chen Yue as their own son. If Chen Yue was Jing Liu's childhood sweetheart, they would be the first to tease him about it.

At this moment, they looked at Chen Yue and Jing Liu with maternal smiles, especially the way they looked at Jing Liu, as if they were observing their future daughter-in-law, which Jing Liu really couldn't bear.

Aunt Gao looked at the mirror more and more and liked her more and more, and felt that she was a perfect match for Chen Yue.

"Jingliu, you've brought your childhood sweetheart again." Aunt Gao's teasing voice rang out once more.

"Aunt Gao." Chen Yue had never understood why Aunt Gao always called her Jingliu's childhood sweetheart when she was clearly Jingliu's senior brother. Aren't these two the same thing?

"Why do you always call me my junior sister's childhood sweetheart? I'm her senior brother!"

"You silly child, why are you pretending to be shy in front of me?" the short aunt next to me said irritably.

"ah?"

Jingliu sensed something was wrong and hurriedly ordered food, her smile a mixture of embarrassment and helplessness.

Unbeknownst to her, she seemed to have misled her junior brother so much that he couldn't distinguish what a child groom was. She could only blame her master for only teaching her junior brother to use a sword.

Her eyes swept over Chen Yue, who was sitting to the side, and their gazes met.

Jing Liu's guilty gaze shifted; he had been deceiving his junior brother every day by saying he was either a child groom or a dual cultivator, which easily made him feel guilty.

"You two enjoy your meal." The short aunt placed the food Jingliu had ordered on the table, then looked at Jingliu. "Remember to let me know when the date is set."

"Okay, Auntie." Jingliu nodded.

Chen Yue was even more confused. Why did it feel like I wasn't on the same wavelength as them?

"Junior sister, what day is it? Why do you need to tell her?"

Upon hearing Chen Yue's words, Jing Liu paused for a moment, then explained, "Junior Brother, your swordsmanship has already surpassed Master's. Becoming the Sword Master of Luofu is a foregone conclusion. I wanted to tell them in advance."

"Oh, I see..."

Something's not right. Something's not right. Jingliu's words make so much sense, but the emotions in her eyes are not right.

"But thank you for taking me out to have fun, junior sister."

"No need to thank me, Junior Brother." Jing Liu said, his face slightly flushed, and whispered, "Junior Brother, if you really want to thank me for what I said about dual cultivation before..."

"Junior sister, why do you always want to practice those evil arts?! Aren't you afraid Master will break your legs and expel you from the sect?!"

"I'm not afraid at all! You taught me all my swordsmanship!"