Chapter Twelve: The Scimitar

“What a difficult sword technique!”

After unleashing the sword light, Shi Fei couldn’t help but say.

To have him practice it arduously for over ten days in his dream, this technique was indeed challenging.

The old man gave him a stern glance and simply said, “If that’s the case, then let’s go out.”

Some people spend a lifetime never mastering this move, while others learn it in just over ten days.

Shi Fei had no thoughts to voice.

He shook his head and said, “Let’s wait a few more days! I’m barely able to go out on my own now, let alone take you with me!”

“Have you ever wondered why I taught you martial arts?” the old man suddenly asked.

Shi Fei replied, “Because you wanted to go out?”

The old man continued, “Have you ever thought about why you didn’t die after drinking the poisoned wine, or why you survived after rejecting Lan Lan?”

Only he knew about the poisoned wine.

Only he and Lan Lan knew about the rejection.

How did the old man before him know?

Why would he know?

“You…” Shi Fei suddenly realized, “You’re a fox too?”

“Indeed!” The old man’s aura exploded like towering mountains and vast seas, and his figure appeared beside Shi Fei like a ghostly apparition.

“Let’s go!”

With that, he grabbed Shi Fei and soared toward the cave entrance like a great bird. Shi Fei felt weightless in his grasp.

Only when the old man’s movement slowed did Shi Fei lightly step against the stone wall, using it to continue flying upward.

Before Shi Fei could react, they had already reached the cave entrance.

For the old man, this cave was as easy to traverse as a small dirt pit.

Countless questions swirled in Shi Fei’s mind as he saw Qingqing.

Qingqing was still as beautiful and gentle as ever. Seeing Shi Fei’s bedraggled state, she said with concern, “You’ve lost weight.”

Beside Qingqing stood an elderly woman with silver hair, leaning on a dragon-headed staff, radiating dignity and nobility.

The old woman glanced at Shi Fei, then at the old man beside him.

Her eyes held a deep and unfading affection as she looked at the old man.

“How is it? Has he passed your test?” the old woman asked.

Shi Fei turned to look at the old man and found him transformed entirely.

Dressed in a blue robe, his features were handsome and youthful.

His eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose, and expression were almost identical to Qingqing’s.

Just from his appearance, he seemed too old to be Qingqing’s brother, but a bit too young to be her father.

“A test?” Shi Fei then looked at Qingqing.

Qingqing’s eyes were full of apology as she said, “It was grandfather and grandmother’s test for you.”

The grandmother referred to the silver-haired old woman, so the grandfather must be…

The man in blue said, “I am Qingqing’s grandfather. If you wish to marry Qingqing, call me grandfather now.”

Finally, the man in blue released the frustration that had built up inside him.

In recent days, Shi Fei had vexed him greatly.

“He’s your grandfather?” Shi Fei looked at Qingqing, whose pale, translucent face flushed faintly, but he suddenly realized this wasn’t the main point.

“Marry?”

Shi Fei had never been married, nor had he ever imagined marrying such a beautiful woman.

Not even in a dream.

“Can I… really?” Shi Fei stammered.

He didn’t know how to handle such a situation.

The man in blue looked at Shi Fei’s stuttering and asked, “Are you unwilling?”

Shi Fei saw the hopeful, gentle look in Qingqing’s eyes, and blurted out, “Of course I’m willing, but…”

“But what?”

“But I don’t have money for a bride price, I have nothing at all…” Shi Fei said.

Marriage required a bride price. He understood Qingqing’s feelings but chose to feign ignorance.

A hero without a penny—how could he marry?

Marriage was not simply about mutual affection.

The man in blue laughed heartily and glanced at the silver-haired old woman, saying, “Foxes don’t need those things. Foxes only need your true heart.”

“You’ve passed three tests and have earned the right to be our grandson-in-law!”

He showed courage that would transcend life and death for love. He rejected the temptations of beauty, wealth, and power, remaining loyal to Qingqing. He did not give up even in hardship.

Even if he couldn’t learn martial arts, the man in blue respected him.

If Shi Fei hadn’t accidentally mastered martial arts, he might have brought him out much sooner.

It was only a test, not a true attempt to trap Shi Fei.

But Shi Fei knew that only in dreams did he find the courage to reject the temptations of beauty, wealth, and power.

Only in dreams could he make such choices.

He was just an ordinary man.

Blushing slightly, Shi Fei said to Qingqing, “I’m not as good as you think. But if you’re willing, I…”

Qingqing said nothing, simply throwing herself into Shi Fei’s arms.

The silver-haired old woman watching nearby smiled upon seeing Qingqing’s embrace.

Finding a good grandson-in-law for their granddaughter was their shared wish.

Though this man seemed quite ordinary.

She said, “We don’t want a bride price; instead, we will give you a betrothal gift.”

With that, she took the silver-sheathed curved knife from Qingqing’s waist and hung it at Shi Fei’s side, saying, “This is the betrothal gift.”

The man in blue’s expression changed sharply as he saw the old woman hang the curved knife at Shi Fei’s waist. Suddenly, he said, “Wait—”

Before he could finish, Shi Fei drew the curved knife, on which seven characters were engraved:

“Listening to the spring rain in the small building overnight.”

The man in blue looked at Shi Fei and was surprised by his quick hand. “You shouldn’t have drawn that knife! That knife…”

Shi Fei didn’t hear the rest. Instead, the memories from the dream flooded back.

The full moon, the curved knife, and these seven characters instantly brought everything to mind.

He blurted out, “You’re not foxes. You’re humans!”

The man in blue’s tone shifted. “You recognize this knife?”

Shi Fei looked at him and at Qingqing, suddenly understanding. “I remember now. Not only do I recognize this knife, I also know you.”

No wonder this dream was so strange. Foxes that didn’t quite seem like foxes—and they knew martial arts!

He recalled the martial arts novel he read as a child, *The Curved Moon Saber*.

It was an obscure novel he read long ago.

Later parts were ghostwritten and not by Gu Long, so he forgot much of the story.

Only upon seeing these seven characters did he remember.

These seven words were even more famous than *The Curved Moon Saber*.

Dreams were always bizarre. Hearing “fox,” he thought of the supernatural and strange tales, never imagining someone would claim to be a “fox,” nor that his dream would be such a world.

The man in blue and Qingqing were not foxes but members of a demonic sect.

In this martial world, the demonic sect had gone into seclusion, and this was their hidden refuge.

Qingqing said to Shi Fei, “You remember now,” her expression suddenly changing.

He had guessed her true identity.

Would he still marry her?

The man in blue also looked at Shi Fei without speaking. He wanted to know what Shi Fei meant by “I know you.”

Shi Fei smiled at them and said, “Legend has it that prolonged possession of this knife turns the wielder’s heart bloodthirsty and insane. But I’ve seen Qingqing carry it for a long time, and she remains so gentle.”

“So that legend is false.”

The man in blue remained silent.

Shi Fei continued, “The legend calls this the world’s greatest demonic knife. Paired with a certain demonic sect technique, it’s said to be unstoppable!”

“But I know that’s false too.”