Martial Cultivator

In the end, Chen Chao bought two candy figurines. His was shaped like a little tiger, while the one he gave to the girl was in the form of a rabbit. Taking the candy figurine handed to her by Chen Chao, the girl took two steps back, bowed solemnly, and said, "Thank you, sir."

This demeanor made Chen Chao even more convinced that the girl in front of him was indeed from an influential family. At the very least, she was from a family of scholars.

Then the two of them, one big and one small, began to stroll around the city while eating their candy figurines. Two hours was too long, and it was boring to wait, so they might as well walk around and explore. The girl did not hold Chen Chao's hand, but she stayed close, keeping only half a step away from him. In this kind of unfamiliar place, it would be very troublesome if she got separated from Chen Chao.

The two unwittingly arrived at a bustling street crowded with people. There were many vendors on both sides of the street, and the middle was teeming with pedestrians. Although Chen Chao appeared thin and weak, his body beneath the black clothes was as tough as steel; not something ordinary people could bump aside. However, the girl was not so lucky. Although she had stayed close to Chen Chao before, once the crowd grew, she quickly lost sight of Chen Chao. Just as the girl started to panic, a hand suddenly reached out from the crowd, wrapped around her waist, and before she could even cry out, she found herself outside the crowd. Next to her was precisely that young man in black with a saber.

Rubbing his face, Chen Chao said, "Let's go somewhere else."

The girl nodded silently, but after walking a few steps with Chen Chao, her mouth could not stay shut anymore. She asked softly, "Are you very strong?"

Inexplicably hearing such an interesting question, Chen Chao thought for a moment, then asked, "What do you think counts as strong?"

The little girl shook her head and said, "You're definitely stronger than Uncle Fu."

Chen Chao chuckled helplessly. That old martial artist, who was already aged and feeble, could not be considered strong. But considering that the girl probably had not encountered anyone more powerful, it made sense. However, Chen Chao did not answer the question; instead, he continued to move forward slowly, constantly surveying the surroundings.

The girl said softly, "My father is also very strong."

Chen Chao's interest was piqued by this remark, but before he could ask, the girl spoke with a hint of sadness, "But he doesn't want me anymore."

Chen Chao was taken aback, then found himself at a loss for words. He had considered some reasons why this mother and daughter pair were heading south, but had not thought along these lines. Turns out that it was a tale of a heartless man abandoning his wife and daughter?

Seeing the girl's eyes turning slightly red, Chen Chao rubbed her little head and comforted her, "You still have your mother."

The girl murmured softly, "Only my mother."

Chen Chao sighed, hesitating for a moment about whether to inquire further about the girl's family background. However, after some thought, he gave up on the idea. Reopening old wounds repeatedly would only seem cruel.

Afterward, the girl's mood visibly became low, and Chen Chao did not continue exploring around. The two of them quickly returned to the city gate, where there were still about 15 minutes left until their agreed time.

They stood in front of the city gate, watching the bustling crowd coming and going.

Soon, 15 minutes had passed, but Chen Chao did not see the figure of the woman and the old man. He could not help but furrow his brow slightly.

The girl also began to look around anxiously. For her, her mother was now her only kin. If she could not see her mother again, it would probably be as if the sky had fallen.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, the girl's mother and the old man arrived late.

Approaching Chen Chao, the woman's face was full of apology. "Sorry for the delay, sir."

Chen Chao shook his head, indicating that he did not mind.

The girl threw herself into the woman's arms and quietly wiped away her tears.

The woman gently patted the girl's back, comforting her in a soft voice, "Mom is here, don't cry, darling."

Chen Chao was silent.

……

……

Afterward, the four of them traveled together for several days. The girl and Chen Chao clearly spoke a lot more, and they became friends of sorts. However, the girl had grown up at home and had not ventured out much. This journey was her first time traveling so far. Although she knew it was a path they had to take, she was not actually as sad as her mother. Children's emotions were famously capricious like the weather in June, so any sadness was short-lived. It was the mother whose complexion grew increasingly grim as they approached the border of Changping Prefecture.

The day of parting arrived at the border of Changping Prefecture, at the banks of the large river. Chen Chao was going to cross the river and head to Yellow Dragon Prefecture, while the mother and daughter were to follow the river southward, and head to White Deer Prefecture.

Standing by the riverside, the woman thanked Chen Chao, "Thank you for your escort these past few days, sir. May I have your name, so that if there's a chance in the future, I can repay you?"

Chen Chao shook his head, "We met by chance, and it's just traveling together. There's no need for thanks."

Though the woman did not entirely agree with Chen Chao's words, since he did not want to leave his name, she did not insist and just expressed her thanks once more.

As Chen Chao turned to leave, the little girl ran up to him again, standing in front of him with her hands outstretched. In her palms lay a small but delicately embroidered perfume sachet. She looked up at him, "Big Brother, this is for you."

Chen Chao reached out and took the sachet, examining it carefully before saying with a smile, "I don't have anything to give you in return."

The girl shook her head, laughing, "You treated me to the sugar figurine!"

Chen Chao smiled and did not say anything. Instead, he plucked a strand of grass from the riverbank and began to manipulate it in his hands. After a moment, a bright green grasshopper appeared.

"This is for you."

Chen Chao ruffled her hair, his eyes suddenly showing a hint of reluctance.

As the mother and daughter continued their journey southward, the path ahead was incredibly perilous. This might be the last time they met.

He looked towards the woman, and opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the woman quickly shook her head, "We've troubled sir for too long already. Asking sir to change your route again will weigh heavily on my conscience."

Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "I'm not in a hurry, even if I take a detour..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the woman shook her head again.

Chen Chao could only drop it.

The woman came over to take the little girl's hand, then turned and walked away. The old servant also bowed deeply to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao watched the three of them walk away in silence for a long time, then turned and headed towards the ferry crossing ahead.

……

……

The chance encounter with the mother and daughter, though it did not form any deep bonds, left Chen Chao feeling somewhat bewildered. Despite serving as the warden in Tianqing County and occasionally venturing into the mountains to hunt demons, he had been driven more by the pursuit of wealth than the duty of protecting the land and the people. His earlier life had mostly revolved around repaying kindness and taking revenge. To others, he might seem amicable, but deep in his bones, there was a hint of coldness. He could not tell whether it was because of the many experiences he had in the Divine Capital or due to some other reason, but now he found himself uncertain whether his actions were right or wrong.

In a daze, Chen Chao arrived at the ferry crossing, where a ferry happened to be approaching from afar.

There were not many people at the ferry crossing. Nowadays, most people would not choose to leave home unless they had a compelling reason to do so.

When the ferry docked, Chen Chao stepped onto the moderately sized vessel and handed over a few pieces of celestial gold coins. Although the ferry could accommodate several people, seeing no other travelers at the crossing, the ferryman began to paddle the boat towards the other side.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Chen Chao's mind was filled with the image of that little girl.

Despite traveling together for so long, he had not even asked the little girl's name.

Taking out the perfume sachet, Chen Chao glanced at it and noticed a small "Xie" character embroidered in gold thread at the bottom.

That little girl's surname was Xie too?

Chen Chao fell into a trance.

The ferryman was a talkative guy. Seeing Chen Chao standing at the bow, seemingly lost in thought while looking at the sachet in his hand, he took the initiative to ask, "Are you missing your lover, Sir?"

Chen Chao snapped out of his reverie and shook his head slowly.

The ferryman's guess was off the mark, so he just chuckled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, asking, "From your accent, it seems like you're not a local?"

Chen Chao asked curiously, "You can tell just from my accent?"

Chen Chao had been in the Divine Capital for a long time. As the saying went, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." He had heard a lot and his accent was already very close to the local accent of Changping Prefecture.

The ferryman chuckled, "Sir must have been here for some time. With exposure to the local customs, your accent has naturally become closer to the local dialect. However, it's still not quite there. There seems to be a hint of Wei Prefecture in sir's accent. I wonder if I'm right."

Chen Chao did not immediately respond. When asked where he was from, even he was not sure how to answer. Although he was born in the Divine Capital, he grew up in Wei Prefecture. It was not easy to define where his hometown was now.

"I'm from Wei Prefecture."

Chen Chao thought for a moment before giving this answer.

The ferryman said with vicissitudes of emotion, "Speaking of Wei Prefecture, that flood two or three years ago claimed many lives. Was sir affected?"

The flood in the Wei Prefecture in the thirteenth year of Tianjian was one of the most famous events in recent years in the Great Liang Dynasty.

Chen Chao chuckled lightly, "My home was by the Wei River. Although the flood washed everything away, I survived."

The ferryman looked at Chen Chao with some sympathy but then comforted him, "Surviving is the greatest blessing. Everything else is secondary."

Chen Chao nodded and smiled, "That's the idea."

The river was not too wide, so after an hour, they reached the other side. The ferryman anchored the boat, and people began to disembark slowly. Chen Chao walked off the boat last, while the ferryman remained seated, waiting for the next round of business.

Once ashore, Chen Chao put away the sachet and started heading towards the direction of the Yellow Dragon Prefecture.

The Sword Qi Mountain was located deep within the Yellow Dragon Prefecture, belonging to the Jiangzuo Commandery. However, it rarely disturbed the common people. The swordsmiths there only thought about one thing: how to forge a peerless flying sword.

Throughout history, the swordsmiths of Sword Qi Mountain had dedicated their lives to sword forging.

But this time, if they were to learn that Chen Chao had come to them to repair a broken saber, one could only wonder what they would think.