BB | Chapter 9

Everything Is but a Worldly Possession

Before Shen Canglan could say anything, the System immediately asked: [Fight? What kind of fight♂ing♂?]

Li Yaochen answered without thinking, “Of course it’s a sparring match.”

The System sounded terribly disappointed: […All right then.]

Shen Canglan tilted his head and blinked at Li Yaochen in confusion.

Li Yaochen explained, “You only know the theory and have no real combat experience. That may be why your progress has stalled.”

Shen Canglan felt that Li Yaochen made a lot of sense.

He scrambled out of bed at once and grabbed his outer robe to put it on.

Li Yaochen walked to the side of his bed and asked, “Where’s your sword?”

“You mean Xiaobai?”

Shen Canglan pulled the sword out from under the blankets.

“This sword is called Xiaobai?”

Li Yaochen asked two questions in a row. “You sleep with it in your arms?”

Shen Canglan nodded a little bashfully.

But he had to make one thing clear here.

He did not have the same habit some senior brothers did, of treating their swords like wives.

It was just that his previous sword had somehow run off with someone else’s sword, and after that he had been without a weapon until Ye Xuezhu gave him this one.

This was the most valuable thing Shen Canglan owned, so of course he had to keep it safe.

Li Yaochen turned his face away, pressed a fist to his mouth, and cleared his throat.

Shen Canglan said gloomily, “I saw you smiling…”

“Of course not.” Li Yaochen leaned back and, looking solemn, drew his sword, ran a hand along the blade, then flicked it.

His movements were so professional he looked exactly like a swordsmith, and Shen Canglan somehow felt the nervousness of being inspected together with Xiaobai.

He asked Li Yaochen, “Can my child be a child model?”

Li Yaochen kept silent in a kindly way: “…”

“Sharpen the tool if you wish to do the work well.”

He picked up the sword beside him—an entirely silver-white blade carved with intricate patterns—and handed it to Shen Canglan. “Brother is poor right now, and I don’t have anything good to give you. Take my ‘You Ta Zui.’”

You Ta Zui?

That was the name of Li Yaochen’s sword?

It did sound more imposing than his Xiaobai.

But he had absolutely no reason to take someone else’s treasured possession.

He raised a hand to refuse, but Li Yaochen seemed to know what he was going to say and waved his own hand.

“There’s no need for formalities between us brothers.”

He asked Shen Canglan, “If one day I need to borrow your magic treasure, would you give it to me?”

Shen Canglan answered without the slightest hesitation, “Of course!”

Li Yaochen’s brows lifted as he smiled, then tossed the sword he had forged himself—a sword once said to have the “bearing of a king among artifacts”—straight into Shen Canglan’s arms.

Shen Canglan hugged the sword, his gratitude overflowing beyond words.

Li Yaochen—how could he be like this, handsome and loyal both?

He was simply the best brother in all the world.

Clutching You Ta Zui, Shen Canglan looked up at Li Yaochen with bright, expectant eyes.

Li Yaochen reached out and bumped fists with him.

Behind the inn there was a small courtyard, usually used to pile firewood and other odds and ends; sometimes guests would also set up a table there in the daytime to eat and chat.

The two of them went to the courtyard, casually moved the clutter aside, and cleared out a patch of open space.

Li Yaochen’s sword had been given to Shen Canglan, so what he held now was Shen Canglan’s Xiaobai.

In appearance, the slender Xiaobai did not suit Li Yaochen very well, but Li Yaochen’s bearing made up for it perfectly.

Li Yaochen said, “Come on.”

Shen Canglan felt that his brother looked truly very handsome like this.

He flourished the sword once, getting used to the weight of You Ta Zui.

Only after comparison did he realize how huge the difference was.

Whether in hand-feel or anything else, it surpassed Xiaobai by who knew how many levels.

In the time it took to take zero breaths, Shen Canglan fell in love with the sword.

He drew a deep breath, straightened his back, and made a sword flourish before Li Yaochen. “Brother, don’t go easy on me. Please teach me well.”

–

…Strenuous.

After exchanging ten moves with Li Yaochen, this was the only word left in Shen Canglan’s mind.

So strenuous.

Li Yaochen seemed to have endless combat experience; no matter which direction Shen Canglan attacked from or what sword technique he used, Li Yaochen could break it immediately.

How could this be!

Shen Canglan felt his whole body filled with burning fighting spirit, and those bright black eyes of his were especially vivid in the night.

He thought there must be some way to turn Li Yaochen’s counter against him into his own counter.

His sword techniques gradually became very slow, like a fish swimming upstream.

The System had never been interested in this high-spirited sparring to begin with, and seeing Shen Canglan move so slowly, it nearly wanted to yawn.

But Li Yaochen laughed and praised him, “Impressive!”

The System asked very cooperatively, [What’s impressive?]

“Didn’t you notice?” Li Yaochen asked. “Once he slowed down, he could catch every one of my sword strikes.”

Though the sword was slow, that did not mean Shen Canglan’s mind was slow—to block like this, his sword first had to be in a position where it could change angles at any moment, then he had to judge the direction based on Li Yaochen’s attack.

What if Shen Canglan moved five times faster? Ten times? Twenty times?

In a world like this, Shen Canglan naturally would not have much combat experience—one could even say none at all.

But the surprise he gave Li Yaochen was something no one from his former world could ever have given him.

He was proud of his brother’s progress, and with a laugh said, “Again!”

As his blocking became more and more practiced, Shen Canglan began to want to switch from defense to offense.

He tried several times and failed. Just as he was pondering it, he heard Li Yaochen remind him, “Don’t forget your goal.”

Goal?

The goal was to build his foundation.

Mm… mm-hm…

So it was spiritual power?!

Combining spiritual power with sword techniques?

How had he not thought of something so simple just now!

Shen Canglan tapped Li Yaochen’s sword tip with his own. “Again, again!”

Li Yaochen smiled and nodded.

–

After a brief round of experimentation, Shen Canglan entered a new realm.

This was true mastery, this was a genius youth, this was a good teacher and helpful friend, this was the ability to apply one principle to many cases…

Before Shen Canglan could even finish praising himself, something suddenly felt off.

His dantian was like a person who had gone more than ten days without water, parched beyond measure; without him doing anything, it had already begun operating on its own, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.

Shen Canglan felt both cold and hot. “Brother, I—”

Only when he spoke did he realize his voice was trembling.

Li Yaochen reached out, hooking Shen Canglan’s wrist with his index and middle fingers, his face bright with a smile. “Congratulations, brother, you’re about to break through—we’re going back to the room!”

As he spoke, he turned his back directly, grabbed Shen Canglan’s arms with both hands and hauled him onto his shoulder, carrying him on his back.

He supported Shen Canglan by the legs and lifted him a little higher, then strode into the inn, where they happened to meet a servant coming down from the second floor.

The servant asked succinctly, “Need water?”

Li Yaochen was even more succinct: “No.”

The servant let out a disappointed sigh.

The System in Li Yaochen’s mind also sighed.

–

Li Yaochen wanted Shen Canglan to sit on the bed.

But Shen Canglan said, “Wait a moment.”

Just now during the sparring match with Li Yaochen, he had worked up a sweat and rolled around on the ground several times, so he was covered in dust and sticky all over.

He liked cleanliness, and normally he couldn’t even accept getting into bed wearing outer robe and trousers, let alone now. He forced himself to use two spells on himself, and only after both he and his clothes were clean did he flop onto the bed.

He closed his eyes and sat in meditation, only to feel the surrounding spiritual energy rushing toward him like mad.

Shen Canglan faintly heard Li Yaochen’s voice beside his ear.

Li Yaochen was reciting a cultivation method, word by word, his voice steady and clear.

Shen Canglan took a deep breath and steadied his mind.

The risk in foundation building was not great; it would not even summon heavenly thunder.

Li Yaochen recalled how he had built his foundation back then.

It seemed he had been catching a demonic creature, and while holding it in his hand he casually found a place to sit down. When he opened his eyes again, he had already succeeded in foundation building, and the demonic creature, seeing him awake, had even cried and begged him for a bite to eat.

But when it came to Shen Canglan’s breakthrough, Li Yaochen was extremely tense.

He stood high above others and disdained all social maneuvering, so in fact he had no one around him who could be called a friend.

Shen Canglan was different. The moment they met, they took to each other; they had the same goal and pursuit, the same temperament, not brothers yet better than brothers.

How rare it is in life to find a true confidant.

He recited the mental method for Shen Canglan until Shen Canglan’s condition stabilized, and only then did he stop.

By then, dawn had already begun to break.

A little sweat had gathered on Shen Canglan’s forehead. Li Yaochen raised a hand and had originally intended to wipe it away with the inside of his sleeve, but then remembered that Shen Canglan disliked dirt and spent a long while rummaging through his storage pouch before finding a clean handkerchief to wipe him clean.

The System asked with a hint of expectation and a hint of unwillingness: [Host, you really don’t think your actions are strange at all?]

“What’s strange about this?” Li Yaochen turned the lining of the handkerchief inside out, folded it in half, and wiped the sweat from the tip of Shen Canglan’s chin again. “He’s younger than me. As his elder brother, it’s only right that I look after him. Don’t keep thinking so vulgarly; these are all just external possessions.”

The System let out a “heh” through clenched teeth.

When the sky was fully bright, Shen Canglan suddenly opened his eyes.

Li Yaochen was still keeping watch over him, but out of boredom he had somehow found a storybook and was reading it with one hand propping up his head and the other holding the book.

Before Shen Canglan could even speak, Li Yaochen had already looked up and fixed his gaze straight on him.

“Congratulations, brother. Foundation building successful.”

Shen Canglan sprang to his feet, hands on his hips, and laughed up at the sky. “Wahahahaha—cough, cough.”

Li Yaochen came over helplessly and patted his back.

What was so good about foundation building?

To be honest, Shen Canglan still did not really know; he only knew that his eyesight seemed a little better than before, and he could see things more clearly.

Absorbing that spiritual energy had left both his mind and body exceptionally tired, and he was drowsy beyond endurance. Li Yaochen said, “Rest first.”

Shen Canglan answered, then grabbed the quilt beside him and pulled it over his face.

There was the sound of movement in the room, and Shen Canglan heard Li Yaochen lie down on the bed opposite him.

A feeling of fullness and warmth swelled in Shen Canglan’s heart.

He said, “Brother Chen, thank you.”

Li Yaochen did not speak, but seemed to have smiled.

Not long after, even breathing sounded evenly in the room.

—Li Yaochen’s.

Shen Canglan stared wide-eyed from under the covers, his heart full of disbelief.

He, actually, had insomnia???

Just because he had just built his foundation and was too excited??

Experts were supposed to be calm and unruffled. If he lost sleep over foundation building, how could he ever become an unrivaled master??

Shen Canglan despised himself inwardly.

To distract himself, he grabbed the waist token and looked at the messages.

Shen Guanqi would be coming down the mountain in a few days and asked whether the route would be convenient;

Qin Chun had already returned to the Lovers’ Sect;

There was no new news from Ye Xuezhu’s side. She might have been tied up and unable to move easily.

After reading the messages, Shen Canglan very naturally clicked into the “Lovers’ Square.”

The top posting contained many characters and had been posted by a fellow disciple called “There Is True Feeling in the Mortal World.”

Shen Canglan read for a long while before realizing that this was probably some fellow disciple writing a storybook.

The storybook was about two cultivators who unexpectedly met while traveling, became brothers, and helped each other on the path of cultivation, their bond as solid as gold.

The writing was very sincere, and the plot was sufficiently full of twists and turns. Shen Canglan read with great focus and was even deeply moved.

At the end, “There Is True Feeling in the Mortal World” also said it was their first time writing a storybook and hoped everyone would support them.

Below were already a few comments—

Nice

Daoist friend, please continue

Did they do it later?

Shen Canglan also left a comment, encouraging There Is True Feeling in the Mortal World:

[Love Companion 8814]: The brotherly bond between the two protagonists is deeply moving. I look forward to your next work, daoist friend!