A Treasured Sword

Mei Chao Bing raised his brows but finally kept quiet. If his little bunny hadn't thought of the question, then he certainly wouldn't remind him. There was no reason to bring trouble to himself. He merely took out his sword, unsheathed it and held it in front of him. For now, teaching Yun Bei Fen was much more important.

"Flying isn't that hard. In fact, it could probably be learned by disciples of the Qi Refining stage already. It's just that they don't have as much spiritual energy at their disposal yet so they wouldn't be able to fly far and afterward, they would likely need to sit down and meditate to restore their energy so fighting would be impossible."

"Oh." Yun Bei Fen nodded but his eyes were widened and looked at Mei Chao Bing with a gaze that spelled 'I don't know what you're talking about but if it's what senior martial brother Mei says, it has to be right'.

Mei Chao Bing's lips twitched and he lowered his sword. "Is there something you don't understand, Fen'er?"

Yun Bei Fen considered pretending that he understood really well so that Mei Chao Bing wouldn't look down on him but when he imagined that he might expose himself accidentally later on … He curiously blinked his eyes. "If somebody in the Qi Refining stage can't learn how to fly because their spiritual energy isn't enough, then why did we crash? Haven't you formed your core several years ago? You should have a lot of spiritual energy to spare."

Mei Chao Bing's lips twitched. It seemed he would never outlive this lie. "Uh … That was … a special situation. Let's not dwell on it any longer. Do you have a sword?"

Yun Bei Fen nodded eagerly when his sword was brought up. He happily took it out, unsheathed it and held it in front of him just like his senior martial brother had done.

Mei Chao Bing heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the sensitive subject was already forgotten. He looked at the sword and raised his hand to guide Yun Bei Fen but stopped mid-motion. Wait. This sword … Why did it look so familiar?

He examined it more closely. The blade of the sword was in good condition, maybe a little thin from being sharpened too often over the course of time. The stylized brass guard showed some wear though. Faint lines marred the upper edge as if it had been struck by another sword. The worst was the handle though. The wood seemed to have cracked in several places and had been loosely bound with a bandage.

Mei Chao Bing's brows twitched. "What a nice sword you have there."

"Mn." Yun Bei Fen beamed at the compliment. "My third senior martial brother got it for me. Before that it was —" Yun Bei Fen's eyes widened and he shut up, staring at Mei Chao Bing timidly.

Mei Chao Bing rubbed his forehead in response. So that was where it had ended up. And he had wondered what his senior martial brother Qu had wanted with the sword. Turns out, it had somehow changed hands several times before it ended up with his little bunny. "Anyway, you can't use it anymore."

Yun Bei Fen's eyes teared up. Why? He had been so happy to have a sword that his senior martial brother Mei had used before him. He didn't want to give it up! He hastily sheathed the sword and hid it behind his back with one hand while reaching out with the other and tugging at Mei Chao Bing's sleeve. At this moment, only one thing could save him!

He blinked his eyes, making sure to flutter his eyelids cutely while he was at it, and tugged at the long sleeve again. "Mei Chao Bing … Please! Can't I keep it? It's really very important to me."

Mei Chao Bing's lips twitched. He felt that he finally understood how his little bunny had grown to be like this. If he always acted cute like this when there was something he wanted or something he didn't want, then it was no wonder that Elder Baili hadn't been able to resist and always given in.

Mei Chao Bing sighed and patted his little bunny's head. "I didn't mean for you to discard it. It's probably the first sword you used so naturally, that is something you hold dear. It's no problem to keep it but you should still get another one that you can use for a fight. This one …" His lips twitched again when he thought of how the sword had looked. "It's already too old. We can practice how to fly with it but it won't be a good idea to use it to fight."

"Oh." Yun Bei Fen took the sword out from behind his back and looked at it regretfully. Why hadn't he tried to learn how to fight sooner? Then he could have swirled around with it just like how he had seen senior martial brother Mei do it.

Seeing the depressed look on his little bunny's face, Mei Chao Bing's heart itched. Ah, being in love wasn't easy. He suddenly felt like giving in to all of his whims, regardless of how ridiculous they might seem. "Don't be sad. I'm sure we'll find another sword you like."

Yun Bei Fen pursed his lips. "But this one …" He continued to look at it as if his heart would break the very next moment. This had been Mei Chao Bing's sword, ah! He didn't want any new sword. What was so good about new swords?

Mei Chao Bing reached over and gently kneaded those cheeks that had pursed in a display of gloominess. How come he still looked so cute when being sad? "You don't want a new one?"

Yun Bei Fen looked up at him was unwilling eyes. He really didn't want to! But if senior martial brother Mei said he should, then … He squirmed on the spot but finally nodded. "If it's very important, then I'll get one."

Mei Chao Bing smiled. "My little Fen'er must feel that those normal swords are not worthy. Well, it's no wonder with Zhi Guan being your first senior martial brother. How about … I forge a sword for you?"

Yun Bei Fen's expression grew dazed and he almost dropped his treasured second-hand sword. Had he heard that right? His senior martial brother Mei wanted to forge a sword? Just for him?!

"Yes!" He threw himself into Mei Chao Bing's arms and rubbed his cheek against his chest. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Mei Chao Bing chuckled and patted his little bunny's back. "Alright. But first, you'll have to learn how to fly and then, we still have to go and find a spiritual beast for you. After that, I can take care of the sword. What do you say?"

"Mn." Yun Bei Fen didn't care when it happened. He only cared that Mei Chao Bing had promised. That was already more than enough.