Song Ying

"Honored guest, this magic tool of yours... I truly cannot repair it. It is beyond my abilities." Qin Sang was sitting in the shop sipping tea. After a long wait, the shopkeeper emerged from the back room holding the Chilong Sword. A look of utter helplessness was plastered across his face, yet his eyes lingered covetously on the blade, reluctant to part with it. Qin Sang was not surprised by this outcome. Over the past few days, he had consulted several artifact refiners. One of them reportedly even had ancestors from the Xuling Sect, a sect renowned for artifact refining, yet all of them had given the exact same response without exception. "Does Fellow Daoist know where I might find a master refiner capable of restoring the Chilong Sword?" The ebony sword took too long to prepare and could only be used as a trump card. For daily use, he needed a handy magic tool for self-defense. Though the Azure Wave Sword was serviceable, it fell far short of the Chilong Sword. Upon arriving at the cultivation market, Qin Sang had split his time between searching for the Song family and seeking someone to repair the Chilong Sword. To his surprise and bewilderment, every refiner had claimed it was beyond repair. The shopkeeper shook his head. "If you'll forgive my bluntness, honored guest, the crafting technique used on this Chilong Sword is exceedingly peculiar, and the restrictions placed upon it are unfathomably arcane—hardly something an ordinary craftsman could decipher. Whoever forged this sword was undoubtedly a grandmaster. I tried every method at my disposal, yet I couldn't even determine what materials it was made from. Unless you can find a Foundation Establishment senior who is thoroughly versed in both restrictions and artifact refining, there is little hope of fixing it. But as for the cost of such a service..." Qin Sang understood his meaning. Even if he could find such a master refiner, the price to restore the sword would certainly be no less than purchasing a brand-new top-grade magic tool. "Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist." Qin Sang reached out to take back the Chilong Sword, but the shopkeeper hesitated to let go. Gritting his teeth, the shopkeeper said, "To be frank with you, honored guest, if this magic tool isn't repaired, it won't last two more uses before shattering completely. What a terrible waste. If you are willing, I am prepared to purchase it for the price of a high-grade magic tool. What do you say?" Qin Sang did not hesitate in the slightest, shaking his head in refusal. Many artifact refiners had made offers to buy the Chilong Sword, and this shopkeeper had offered the fairest price yet. However, Qin Sang did not lack spirit stones, nor did he want the Chilong Sword falling into outside hands. Seeing that the shopkeeper could not take his eyes off the blade, Qin Sang decided to foster good relations and handed it back for him to examine. The two sat opposite each other, sipping tea and chatting amiably. Qin Sang glanced toward the Li Residence across the street and brought it up casually. "Fellow Daoist Wu, I seem to recall that when I visited the Wenyue Cultivation Market several years ago, the estate across the way was the Song Residence. How has it become the Li Residence now? Did they sell their ancestral home?" "That must have been at least eight years ago. You have quite a memory, Fellow Daoist Qin." The shopkeeper looked up, glanced toward the Li Residence, and scoffed disdainfully. "Nothing unusual about it—just vultures preying on an orphaned heir and stealing the family estate. Mortals do it, and cultivators are no different." Noticing Qin Sang's interest, the shopkeeper went into detail. "The Song family had its heyday once, but sadly their lineage grew thin and steadily declined. Even so, that ancestral home alone made them far better off than ordinary rogue cultivators. The former family head was an acquaintance of mine, but it was their family matter; no matter how distasteful I found it, I had no place to intervene. "The Song husband and wife passed away early, leaving behind a boy and a girl. The boy was named Song Hua. He had decent talent, breaking through to the fourth layer of the Qi Refinement stage in his teens. The girl, Song Ying, had no spiritual root and was merely a mortal. "As the saying goes, life is unpredictable. Over a decade ago, Song Hua set out on his own to travel, but who could have known he would never return? The poor girl was left behind—a mortal clinging to such a prime property, a target of greed from the start. "When a cultivator travels abroad without word for five years, it is practically certain they will not be coming back. "The two children had a paternal grandaunt who had married into the Li clan. Under the guise of an elder caring for kin, she took Song Ying in. I heard they treated her decently at first, but later their true faces showed. The moment Song Ying turned fifteen, they forced her into marriage with a sickly invalid, and the Song Residence changed hands, becoming the Li Residence. Later, the man she married died of his illness, and her in-laws drove her out onto the street. Her life must be quite miserable these days." *** Leaving the shop, Qin Sang went to the steward of the Wenyue Cultivation Market, paid a sum of spirit stones to lease a courtyard, and set about cultivating while making inquiries on the side. The Wenyue Cultivation Market was vast, but tracking down a mortal was not difficult. Within just a few days, Qin Sang located Song Ying and learned the details of her life. He also heard no news of anyone from the Li clan suddenly being accepted into Shaohua Mountain. Half a year after Song Hua disappeared, their grandaunt had taken Song Ying into the Li clan's care. For the first few years, they looked after her attentively, but when five full years passed without a word from Song Hua, the Li clan completely lost patience. As it happened, an allied clan of the Lis had a young master afflicted with a strange ailment that even cultivators could not cure. The two families put their heads together and came up with the idea of marrying Song Ying to him to ward off ill fortune and bring luck. On the third day after the wedding, the husband breathed his last. Her in-laws promptly threw her out, branding her a jinx who brought death to her husband. As a fragile mortal woman saddled with such a venomous reputation, scraping by in the Wenyue Cultivation Market was no easy feat. Song Hua had been strikingly handsome, and Song Ying was similarly blessed with exceptional beauty. Fearing that someone might covet her looks, Song Ying simply accepted the malicious rumors, donning a black veil whenever she went out and dressing in coarse hemp clothes, doing whatever menial labor a mortal could find to survive. *** "Granny, I'm heading out now," Song Ying said as she gently closed the shop door. From inside came two raspy coughs. "Be careful on the road." Song Ying answered with an affirmative, adjusted her veil, pulled her sleeves tight, and walked out into the street with her head down, eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes. She stopped at a nearby shop to quietly purchase a bit of wine and food before slowly making her way home, hugging the wall. The Li clan had not driven things to absolute extremes; they had left Song Ying a tiny courtyard as a token of appeasement. Pushing open the courtyard gate, Song Ying glanced back watchfully before latching it tightly behind her. "Young Miss, you're back." An elderly man opened the inner door. His face was weathered with age, and he leaned on a walking stick, his steps trembling. Song Ying hurried over to support him. "Uncle Zhou, the weather is turning cold. I bought a little wine to help warm you up." The old servant tightly clasped Song Ying's hands, tears welling in his eyes as he wept. "This old servant is useless, letting the young miss suffer such hardship while you still think of me... How will I ever face the old master? How will I ever face the young master?" Song Ying comforted Uncle Zhou with a few gentle words and walked inside. Lifting her veil, she revealed a delicate, lovely face. Looking around the empty room, a melancholy expression surfaced on her brow. "Big Brother, where are you..." *** Standing at the street corner, Qin Sang gazed at Song Ying's small courtyard, lost in thought. The Song family ancestor had sealed the Sword Intent decree in the ancestral tomb; retrieving it would likely be no simple task and might require the bloodline of the Song family. The best course of action would be to help Song Ying reclaim the ancestral residence, venting her grievances in the process. Yet the Li clan was no simple adversary. They held considerable renown within the Wenyue Cultivation Market, boasting two cultivators above the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage. Qin Sang lacked the strength to confront the Li clan openly. Just then, a slovenly young man strolled past, whistling casually. Reeking of alcohol, his lecherous eyes fixed squarely on Song Ying's courtyard. At a casual glance, one might have taken him for a common street thug, but he too was a cultivator, albeit only at the second layer of the Qi Refinement stage.