My Wife Is A Sword Immortal

Chapter 57: Chapter 49 Farewell Gift
 

The room was pitch black except for the moonlight streaming through the window.

The person returning at night pushed open the door and walked toward the desk in the dark room.

A candle suddenly lit up, its bright yellow flame carving out a world of its own.

Beneath the lamp, the night returnee didn’t pause to think but started writing immediately, the words flowing in one go.

The brush stopped, the verse completed, the lamp extinguished.

The room filled with the breeze.

————

At dawn, the sun rose.

Zhao Rong got up early, finished his morning exercise and lessons, and after eating the breakfast served by the servants, he packed up his things, slung his bookcase on his back, secured his scholar sword at his waist, and strode out the door.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, he halted, glanced at the desk inside the room, then turned his head and left.

On the desk laid a carefully folded piece of poetry paper, the gentle breezes swirling around it, yet it remained motionless.

Zhao Rong arrived outside Su Xiaoxiao’s courtyard and called out a few times before he starting to wait. About a quarter of an hour later, Su Xiaoxiao, with her little bookcase on her back and a spring in her step, bounced out from inside.

Zhao Rong pursed his lips and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Su Xiaoxiao quickly followed. “Wait for me, wait for me.”

Zhao Rong didn’t turn back. “Why are you so slow every time? We agree on five minutes, but it always ends up being more than a quarter of an hour.”

Su Xiaoxiao replied indignantly, “Aren’t you the same? You always coax me by saying it will be half an hour, but each time it’s over in less than five minutes.”

“This young master needs to practice a supreme divine skill—how could I possibly have that much time to fool around with you, a silly girl who hasn’t fully matured?”

Su Xiaoxiao hastened her steps and, looking at Zhao Rong’s profile, tugged at the hem of his clothes, her tone hopeful. “Um, Zhao Rong, could you perhaps spend a bit more time next time?”

Zhao Rong kept a straight face. “Su Xiaoxiao, you’re too greedy!”

The hem was tugged once more.

Zhao Rong turned his head to see the expectant eyes of the little fox demon, but then he remembered something and said annoyed, “It depends on my mood. Every time you interfere halfway through, can’t you cooperate with me for once? I’m very busy, I have to travel during the day, I need to cultivate in my free time, and on top of that I have to spare time to attend to you at night, and you still make trouble… By the way, how would I know whether the child born to Ying Ning and the prince is human or demon?”

He paused. “Can’t they be half-demon?”

Su Xiaoxiao answered seriously, “There’s no such thing as a half-demon.”

Zhao Rong nodded. “The words of Su Huxian indeed make sense. Then from now on, you tell the story.”

The little fox demon who loved stories of the Fox Fairy Scholar immediately panicked, hastened to cajole Zhao Rong, and in the end shamefully signed a series of humiliating treaties.

Zhao Rong nodded in satisfaction.

The two of them, each carrying a bookcase, walked along the winding corridors of the mansion for a while, got a bit lost, and Zhao Rong called over a servant from the Lin family to guide them. Shortly, they arrived at a quiet and elegant house. Su Xiaoxiao waited outside while Zhao Rong followed the servant in.

Inside the house, in a room that was both modest and tasteful, Lin Wenruo sat straight-backed on a chair reading, wearing only a white undershirt. Behind him stood a pretty maid who was helping him tie his hair, but just as she had half finished, a servant came to the door and reported in a low voice.

The maid helping the master with his hair was surprised to see that as soon as he heard the arrival, he immediately looked up, got up, threw the book he was holding onto the table, and strode toward the door.

Lin Wenruo, with his hair loose and wearing only a single layer of clothing, hurried to the reception hall and stood just outside the threshold, looking in. Zhao Rong, with his bookcase on his back, was inside admiring the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Lin Wenruo then glanced back at the doorway of the house where Su Xiaoxiao was circling around a fruit tree holding her little bookcase.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Lin Wenruo’s eyes, and he sighed softly, but then he put on a natural smile and stepped into the hall.

“Ziyu has arrived.”

Zhao Rong turned around and seeing the visitor dressed like this couldn’t help but laugh. “Have I come at the wrong time, interrupting Wenruo and his beauty’s sweet dream?”

Lin Wenruo arched an eyebrow. “Ah, those girls really cling too much. Qinqchi was ready to get up early but was dragged down by them until now. Hmm, this kind of trouble, Ziyu must have experienced it too, right?”

After saying that, he gave Zhao Rong a sincere look.

Zhao Rong ignored his words and, frowning sternly, said, “Wenruo, we Confucian scholars should focus on serious matters and not linger in the land of tenderness; this is what you said to me last night!”

Zhao Rong spoke with commanding righteousness, “No, I must save you. Wenruo, pick out a few of the clingiest ones for me to take away. We can’t let them stay by your side and lead you astray any longer.”

Lin Wenruo nodded. “Ziyu’s admonition is correct; I have indeed been lax. However, Ziyu is someone destined for great things, and we can’t have them leading him astray either. I’ll return home tonight and discipline them properly.”

In the hall, the two men—one sincere, one brimming with righteousness—looked at each other for a moment, and Lin Wenruo couldn’t help but crack first, as both burst out laughing.

Lin Wenruo looked Zhao Rong up and down. “Has Ziyu come to bid farewell?”

He then smiled slightly. “Please wait a moment, Ziyu. I have prepared a small parting gift for you.”

With that, he clapped his hands.

Before Zhao Rong could respond, eight maidens in robes entered gracefully.

They carried trays or held various items.

Lined up in a row, they stood before the two men.

Zhao Rong’s eyebrows rose.

Lin Wenruo stepped forward.

The first maid’s tray held a small incense burner and a mysteriously black embroidered pouch.

Lin Wenruo picked up the pouch and, with a smile, handed it to Zhao Rong.

Curious, Zhao Rong accepted it and pulled the drawstring open. Immediately, he was greeted by a peculiar fragrance, one of profound milky scent, yet also carrying a refreshing chill that sent his blood churning uncontrollably, like a starving shark smelling the freshest blood.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a pile of brownish-red wood shavings inside the pouch.

This reminded him of the incense Lin Wenruo had lit inside the carriage yesterday, but now, without even lighting it, the fragrance from the pouch in his hand was even more effective than the burning incense from the day before.

Taking a deep breath of the scent, Zhao Rong exhaled slowly, then looked up at Lin Wenruo.

“Ziyu, Zhongnan is abundant in Spiritual Objects. This pouch of incense in your hand is one of the highest grades of Agarwood called Qi Nan, extremely rare. I don’t know its specific price because our Lanxi Lin family never sells it; we reserve it solely for our own family members’ use.”

“The scent of Qi Nan can help ignite one’s blood and strike through the meridians, serving as one of the top auxiliary substances for those in the Ascending Realm’s Clear Void Stage and the Embroidered Clothes Stage. Usually, we won’t waste it on the Clear Void Stage, but use it to help break through during the Embroidered Clothes Stage as we enter the Fu Yao Realm.”

With a smile, Lin Wenruo said, “Yesterday in the carriage, I saw that you enjoyed incense and later noticed you were diligently practicing your cultivation, so I remembered this item. This small pouch is all the stock from our family’s treasury, and it should be enough for you to break through from the Embroidered Clothes Stage to the Fu Yao Realm.”

“However, I see you are still in the Golden Stone Stage. To use this, you need to reach the Clear Void Stage, and from the Golden Stone Stage to the Clear Void Stage, you’ll need to find a source of Innate Primordial Qi. I can’t help with that; you must rely on yourself, as external items are of little aid.”

Having said that, Lin Wenruo walked over to the second maid and picked up a rosewood box from her tray.

Turning to face Zhao Rong, Lin Wenruo opened the box to reveal a violet handkerchief inside. He gently lifted the handkerchief, unveiling a stone the size of a baby’s fist with a smooth surface beneath it.

The stone was of a pale green color, with a ribbon of deeper green liquid flowing within that seemed to move about like a living being.

“Zhongnan produces Lan Tian Jade, and the jade in this box comes from a thousand-year-old mine deep within Zhongnan Mountain. It is of the finest quality among Lan Tian Jades and has reached the grade of Spirit Jade.”

Lin Wenruo walked to the window and placed it in the sunshine. After three breaths, wisps of green smoke began to rise from the Lan Tian Spirit Jade, lingering and not dispersing within the hall.

“I heard you’re going to Linlu Academy. Scholars at the academy all wear jade, and whether you want to polish this block of Spirit Jade seed material into a new Jade Pendant or use it to upgrade an existing pendant, either way it’s suitable,” Wenruo told him with a light smile. “Previously, many schoolmates at Siqi Academy asked to buy Zhongnan’s Beautiful Jade from me. I never sold it, only giving a few pieces to close friends.”

Lin Wenruo passed the Lan Tian Spirit Jade to the silent Zhao Rong, winking at him. “With this jade, Ziyu, you’ll have to make a good name for me at Linlu Academy.”

Zhao Rong looked at him and took the Lan Tian Spirit Jade, admiring it closely. He too was a lover of jade and could not help but be captivated by fine jade.

Seeing this, Lin Wenruo turned to attend to the other maids.

“Ziyu, this guqin is called ‘Ming Yu,’ its sound naturally carries the crisp tinkling of jade striking stone. I noticed you liked it last night, so take it; you must practice well though, don’t be as haphazard as you were last night.”

“Ziyu, I heard you’re going to travel down that Great River to the east, planning to take a boat to Du You City. I just happen to…”

“Ziyu, this ivory paper knife…”

“Ziyu, this blue and white brush washer…”

“Ziyu, these two ancient first-edition books…”

A bare-chested man with loose hair, clad in only his inner garments, moved around the hall, offering farewell gifts to his friend who was about to leave.

Zhao Rong listened quietly, not making a sound.

Soon, as if everything that needed to be said had been uttered, Lin Wenruo sighed and approached the last maid.

On her tray, instead of treasures, there were simply two cups of wine.

With an apologetic tone, Lin Wenruo picked up one cup. “Qingchi is busy this morning with important matters and can’t see you off, Ziyu. So we can only have this cup of farewell wine here; I hope you won’t hold it against him.”

With that, he lifted his cup towards Zhao Rong as a gesture.

Zhao Rong glanced at the man before him and then at the gifts laid out on the trays.

Although it was certain that these gifts were not the most valuable treasures preserved by the Lanxi Lin family,

They were, without doubt,

gifts of the heaviest sentiment as a farewell to Zhao Rong.

Zhao Rong offered a slight smile and, under everyone’s gaze, picked up the remaining cup of wine.

Seeing this, Lin Wenruo raised his cup ready to down it in one go.

After finishing this cup, he would have sent Zhao Rong off, then he’d need to begin preparing for the Confucianism debate in ten days’ time.

Suddenly, something completely unexpected happened in the hall.

Zhao Rong tilted the wine in his hand, spilling it entirely onto the floor.

Lin Wenruo was taken aback.

Then, Zhao Rong put back the Qi Nan Fragrance and the Lan Tian Spirit Jade where they were, and pushed all the trays in front of him aside.

“Wenruo, I don’t want these things,” he said.

Lin Wenruo’s brow furrowed, about to speak, but Zhao Rong was already continuing.

“Who told you I was leaving?”

Lin Wenruo blinked and glanced at Zhao Rong’s bookcase, then turned to look outside the open door, where Su Xiaoxiao was jumping up and down beneath a fruit tree, holding a small bookcase and plucking fruits.

Zhao Rong raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t today the day I promised to accompany Su Xiaoxiao into the city for a stroll? I just came to greet you.”