“Eh? Isn’t this person Uncle Zhou who bought the haunted mansion? Is he being possessed by ghosts? Why is he staring at the sword without uttering a word?”
“Hehe… My mother said that Uncle Zhou bought the mansion with a beautiful lady. I think they might be a couple who eloped from some rich family.”
“A couple running away from their family? What a shame!”
Several children grimaced mischievously at Ning Fan. Some of them even made up a nursery rhyme to make fun of him.
As he got disturbed from his thoughts, each of the scenes of killings surfaced in his mind and he shot a cold glance at these children. For a moment, he felt like dashing towards them to kill them right then and there.
“No! I can’t. They are mortals and should not be involved in the killings between cultivators… Besides, I promised Ling Er that I will not kill anyone in Gusu City… Killing intent, get out of my mind!”
Ning Fan clenched his teeth and forced himself to put away his killing intent. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the plants in the courtyard red.
His mind gradually calmed down after he spurted out blood.
“They are mortals. They should not be involved in the bloodshed of the cultivation world.”
Ning Fan continued to study the sword without giving one more glance at the children.
Seeing Ning Fan who was in perfectly good condition a moment ago suddenly cough up some blood, the children were frightened and dispersed in an uproar.
But after they disappeared for a bit, they started to make up nursery rhymes again to tease Ning Fan for being weak as he vomited blood after being angered by some children.
They would never know that if Ning Fan had not spit out the blood just now, they would have died.
“My murderous intent is too heavy…”
Ning Fan murmured to himself. He finally understood Xu Qiuling’s painstaking effort.
Killing has nothing to do with right or wrong. On the path of cultivation, if you do not kill, you will then be killed.
However, if one’s mind only knows about killing, they will eventually lose sight of their original intention and be led astray from the path of cultivation.
“Wow! What a beautiful sword! My father is the most famous blacksmith in Gusu City, but none of the swords he forged in his life is as beautiful as this!”
After the other children left, only one child stayed there and looked at Ning Fan with envy.
He was a young boy, approximately at the age of nine. He looked rather tall and robust and his hair was tied into a knot.
Other children made fun of Ning Fan but he was the only one who did not.
It was because this child was captivated by this sharp sword at first sight.
His obsession with swords made him forget that the mansion Ning Fan bought was haunted which was also the most taboo place for Gusu residents to visit.
“Is uncle a swordsman? I saw you bleed just now. Was it because you were hurt by the sword qi? I heard from my father that when a powerful swordsman comprehends sword qi, they might suffer a backlash because of the sword qi out of carelessness… Is uncle a very powerful swordsman? Can you beat ten people alone?!”
“I’m not a swordsman…” Ning Fan shook his head. A swordsman was the perception of mortals of fighters who wield swords.
He was not a swordsman but a cultivator! However, he definitely would not tell the kid about it.
But when he saw the obsessive eyes of this child with his sword, a trace of recollection welled up Ning Fan’s eyes.
This child was a fan of martial arts. He was also good material for practicing mortal martial arts.
The obsessive look on his face when looking at swords was the same look that Ning Gu had when it came to learning martial arts in the past.
“You’re not a swordsman…?” The child sounded a little dispirited. If Ning Fan was a swordsman, he was ready to acknowledge Ning Fan as his master.
The child’s dream was to learn to wield swords and hidden weapons as well as Qinggong1 and Neigong2 so that he would be an outstanding swordsman in Gusu City in the future!
Unfortunately, he could not find a good master…
“My name is Little Stone. Uncle, could you lend me this sword for me to bring home to have a look?” Little Stone pleaded with him.
“Just take it.”
A low grade magical treasure to Ning Fan was something of very little value. To this kid, however, it could be the dream of his entire lifetime.
The kid, Little Stone, had Ning Gu’s shadow… In the past, when Ning Gu was searching for masters to learn martial arts, Ning Fan was still a mortal.
Memories surfaced in Ning Fan’s eyes and it was this recollection that made his state of mind show tiny signs of advancement.
Little Stone would never be able to understand why Ning Fan would have such a look on his face. He just immediately took the sword and went home joyfully after obtaining Ning Fan’s permission.
He decided that he must hug the sword to sleep tonight!
Holding the sword in his hand, Little Stone felt that he had become a great swordsman, although this little ‘great swordsman’ could not even wield the heavy sword for a single inch. As he carried the sword in his hands, he was already panting heavily.
Ning Fan looked at Little Stone who was walking further and further away and he seemed to have understood something which he previously could not be sure of.
Little Stone might just be a mortal, but he had something that Ning Fan was lacking.
It was because of this element that Ning Fan was unable to condense his sword intent…
“What am I lacking…” Ning Fan fell into deep contemplation.