"This sword is my finest work. I really went all out for those three Divine Life Fruits of yours." Ling Xu handed the sword to him.
"Does it have a name?"
Ling Xu waved a hand. "No. Let your little disciple name it herself."
"Mm." Luochen gave a faint nod, left the three fruits behind, and departed.
"Talk about a lavish trade..." Ling Xu sighed again, cradling the fruits in his arms.
*
Bai Sinan, who was happily swinging on a swing, immediately spotted Luochen as soon as he returned.
"Master!"
Bai Sinan let go of the swing, flying forward in the momentum of the arc without a care in the world for what lay ahead—after all, Master would always catch her.
Sure enough, a second before she hit the ground, she leaped into Luochen's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
"You've already come of age, yet you're still so reckless," Luochen said coolly, though the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. He calmly plucked her off himself and set her down on the ground.
"Hehe, Master! Sister Lingyun told me you went to get a gift for me?" Bai Sinan stared at him with bright, gleaming eyes.
Whatever Master gave her had to be good!
"Mm."
Luochen produced the sword and handed it to Bai Sinan.
It was a silver longsword shimmering with flowing light. Ancient, intricate patterns were carved along the blade, and its guard was shaped from translucent blue glass that rippled like water. Red plum blossoms were embossed upon the hilt, giving the entire weapon a touch of seductive allure.
Seeing Bai Sinan staring blankly at the sword without making a move to take it, Luochen frowned slightly. "You don't like it?"
His cool voice sounded beside her ear.
Bai Sinan snapped back to her senses and hastily said, "No, Master! I love it!"
Bai Sinan joyfully accepted the longsword. The moment she laid eyes on it, she had felt an odd sense of familiarity.
"Thank you, Master!"
"It is good that you like it," Luochen said. "This sword has not yet been named. You may give it one."
Bai Sinan looked at the blade, a stroke of inspiration striking her. "Let's call it Huoshui!"
Red plum blossoms set against a cold silver longsword, like a disastrously captivating beauty—a *hongyan huoshui*.
Bai Sinan felt she was a genius at naming things! What a seductive yet domineering name, and she had come up with it herself!
*Huoshui? For a sword, isn't that name a bit too wicked...?*
"This name..." Luochen began.
"Master thinks it's great too, right?"
Seeing the eagerness in Bai Sinan's eyes—practically screaming *praise me, hurry up and praise me*—Luochen sighed helplessly.
*Ah well, let her have her way.*
"Mm. Passable."
Bai Sinan squealed with excitement. She *knew* she was a little genius!
A faint trace of amusement showed in Luochen's eyes. "Now that the Huoshui Sword has been given to you, starting tomorrow, I will personally teach you swordsmanship."
Swordsmanship!
*Aaaah! So exciting!* She had been drooling over the scenes of sword dancers in novels for ages!
The next day.
Bai Sinan carried the Huoshui Sword to the peach blossom grove to find Luochen.
She had planted every single tree and bush in this grove herself, and had even built a pavilion inside.
It was originally her sacred sanctuary for slacking off, but somehow her master had claimed it for himself.
He often sat alone in the pavilion playing chess. In the past, Bai Sinan had wanted to play chess with him, but she was terrible at it—horrible even at Gobang—so she had eventually given up.
"Master, I'm here!" Bai Sinan's loud voice pierced the sky.
Luochen put down his chess piece and teleported right in front of her. "I will demonstrate the sword art once. Watch closely."
Luochen summoned Buqun Zhifang.
The sword was pure silver-white, etched with profound golden runes that shivered with light. Its razor-sharp tip glinted with cold radiance, as icy and unfeeling as its master.
Luochen swung the blade, each move dreamlike yet infused with sharp sword intent. The sword Qi moved around him as if alive, fluttering his robes in a dance.
It felt as though the whole world paled in comparison before him. His feet never touched the dust, light as a drifting cloud. She stared, mesmerized, feeling as if a cloud from the heavens had accidentally fallen into the mortal realm.
It was a scene of exquisite beauty.
Though Bai Sinan was entranced, she did not forget to learn the sword art.
Once the performance ended, Luochen spoke calmly, "This sword art is called Momentary Flowering. Every stance exists within an instant. Once you are familiar with it, its power will go far beyond this."
"Your disciple understands!"
Eager to try, Bai Sinan gripped Huoshui tightly, recalling Luochen's movements and imitating them stance by stance.
Her coordination was decent enough, and after enduring hellish training, she could perform all sorts of high-difficulty maneuvers.
Only...
The corner of Luochen's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Every move looked technically correct, so why did it look so odd?
It was a bit... painful to watch.
"Ahem."
Luochen coughed lightly, stepped up behind Bai Sinan, and took her hand, guiding her step by step through the stance.
"Here. Raise your arm higher, relax your shoulders..."
Warmth slowly enveloped her from behind, accompanied by his voice in her ear—a low, raspy tone laced with an indescribable charm. As every word spilled from his thin lips, Bai Sinan could even feel the warm breath brushing against her ear...
Bai Sinan swallowed hard despite herself.
*Damn it, this is way too tempting! I really want to call him a seducer and turn around to tackle him!*
She slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, chanting silently in her heart:
*This is your aloof master. You can't have such scandalous thoughts! Just think about it—he's lived for thousands of years! Right, he's an old monster!*
Brainwashed by her own logic, Bai Sinan forced herself to focus on learning the sword art!
From that day on, her figure practicing swordplay could be seen in the peach grove every day, with Luochen standing nearby to correct her mistakes from time to time.
*
Time flew by, and one day four years later...
After finishing her sword practice, Bai Sinan ran over to a peach tree and started digging up the dirt.
Yaya had spent the recent period building a nest for itself inside the Wushang Domain. Having finally finished it, it came scampering out of the domain.
"Yaya, come help me dig!" Bai Sinan called out.
Together, the girl and the mouse quickly unearthed several wine jars from beneath the peach tree. Hugging a jar, she ran up to Luochen.
"Master! This is peach blossom wine I buried under the tree two years ago! I brewed it myself using the blossoms from this grove. Do you want to try some?"
Luochen looked up at the filthy Bai Sinan, cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell on her, and said calmly, "Do not drink too much."
"Hehe, got it!"
Bai Sinan somehow produced two wine cups out of nowhere.
She poured a cup for her master, poured a tiny cup for Yaya, and then guzzled straight from the wine jar herself.
*Mmm, sweet and light—really good!*
"Master, do you remember where you picked me up?"
Bai Sinan had been only five years old when Luochen brought her back, and now she was nineteen. In these fourteen years, she had never possessed any memories from before the age of five.
Luochen took a sip of the peach blossom wine. "Shengzhan Kingdom. Fan Village."
He had gone to Fan Village guided by the Fate Chess, where he ended up meeting Bai Sinan.
Bai Sinan rested her chin on her hands. "Fan Village... Master, I'm already a Rank 4 Spirit Lord, and I've memorized Momentary Flowering by heart. Can I go down the mountain for real-world experience now?" She blinked her large, sparkling eyes at him.
She felt her background was definitely not simple! She planned to investigate, and if she discovered some deep-seated blood feud, she could avenge the original owner of this body while she was at it.