Chapter 878: Things Unattainable in Youth

Mister Lan's craftsmanship was excellent.

Her attainments in the art of weapon forging were far from ordinary.

Seeing the weapons hanging in the shop, Yunxiang remarked, "The weapons Mister Lan forges are becoming increasingly exquisite."

Lan Ting shook her head. "These ones on the wall are nothing more than showpieces. If used in actual combat, they would fall far short. They are merely flashy, impractical weapons. True weapons are always much plainer."

Yunxiang smiled. "I have little experience and don't know much else, but I do like such beautiful weapons."

"I'll give you one," Lan Ting said with a smile.

Yunxiang stared blankly for a moment before waving her hands. "No, no need..."

Before Yunxiang could finish her sentence, Lan Ting raised a hand and summoned a bright green Jade Sword. It was much narrower than an ordinary sword, slender from end to end. The hilt was carved with cloud patterns, and the blade itself was translucent—it hardly looked like a weapon of the mortal realm.

"This sword was carved from jade stone, then refined with several materials to immensely reinforce its hardness. It makes the sound of a clear breeze when swung, and it is light and nimble. It is perfectly suited for a woman."

Yunxiang took the sword and gripped it, giving it two light swings.

She could handle its weight easily.

Beautiful. It truly was beautiful!

She simply liked things that looked this nice.

Yunxiang was an ordinary woman, after all, so naturally she liked such objects. How could a sword like this fail to draw her in?

She looked over at Mister Chen.

Chen Changsheng nodded. "Don't reject Mister Lan's good intentions."

Yunxiang nodded, then cupped her hands in thanks. "Thank you, Mister Lan."

Lan Ting smiled. "It's nothing. As long as you like it. I have plenty of these flashy, impractical swords lying around."

Her words could be a bit blunt, but that was just her nature. When it came to weapons, good was good and bad was bad. There was no middle ground, and she took the matter exceptionally seriously.

Moreover, she wasn't implying that Miss Yun had poor taste; it was simply the truth about the sword.

Yunxiang knew this and took no offense. She merely said, "I am no peerless master anyway, so I don't need a powerful sword."

Lan Ting nodded. "True."

She liked pretty things.

Who didn't like pretty things?

Yunxiang said, "When I was young, the servants in the manor all loved listening to tales of the jianghu. I was still a maid back then. Most of us basically couldn't read, but there was an older sister who knew a fair number of characters. In her free time, she would read to us, and a whole group of us would gather to listen..."

She smiled. "The stories in those books weren't actually anything spectacular, but at the time, we found them incredibly fascinating. We would fantasize that we were the young heroes and heroines of the jianghu, standing tall with swords in hand, looking majestic. Some of the girls would break off tree branches and thrust them around. They thought they looked so impressive..."

The gray-haired woman lowered her head, gently stroking the Jade Sword in her hand.

Her eyes brimmed with irrepressible fondness.

Mister Lan asked, puzzled, "The Tang Manor is wealthy and powerful. Getting a sword should have been simple, right?"

Yunxiang smiled. "By the time I could, I was already grown. I was no longer a child."

People, after all.

Are ultimately trapped for a lifetime by the things unattainable in their youth.

When things desired in youth fall out of reach, they seem to lose their meaning by the time one grows older.

Hearing this, Lan Ting said, "Think less, dwell less, and it won't seem like such a big deal anymore."

Yunxiang nodded, thoroughly agreeing with the sentiment.

She said, "If I had nothing, I wouldn't waste time thinking about such things. It's only because I have everything now that these thoughts come to mind. To put it bluntly, I just have too much free time."

Chen Changsheng interjected, "That's not exactly true. Everyone has regrets, don't they?"

Yunxiang nodded. She looked at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Do you have any regrets, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng stared blankly for a moment, then fell deep into thought.

"My regrets..."

He pondered, recalling his past life, recollecting his present one.

Yet he found that his memory of certain things seemed to have grown much blurrier.

Startled by the realization, Chen Changsheng drifted into a daze for a moment.

He felt like he should have many, many regrets, but he could never recall them, or perhaps they simply hadn't reached that extent yet.

Chen Changsheng sighed softly and said, "I can't recall any offhand. Perhaps it is because This Chen truly has nothing."

Yunxiang looked at Mister. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't leave her lips.

She felt that the more Mister acted like this, the more it meant he had countless regrets—so many that he could not count them, nor remember them all...

Yu Hongjin chimed in from the side, "My regret is that I haven't drunk every kind of wine in the world. Oh, what a tragedy."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Yunxiang rubbed the girl's head and said, "Who asked you?"

Yu Hongjin smacked her lips and huffed, "Can't I speak without being asked? Sister Yun is so overbearing."

Yunxiang chuckled, answering softly, "What nonsense are you babbling about?"

Overbearing or not, it was just a mess of words.

Yu Hongjin turned to look at the dozing Mao'er and asked, "Stupid Lihua, do you have any regrets?"

Lihua woke up slightly. "Mmh, what?"

"Any regrets?"

Still bleary-eyed with sleep, Lihua muttered, "Lihua is hungry..."

Yu Hongjin facepalmed. "You'd better just go back to sleep."

What regrets could Mao'er possibly have? Even if it did, it wouldn't remember them.

Lan Ting watched the group. She found herself growing quite fond of these people, and for some inexplicable reason, she was reminded of the days she had spent by The Prince's side.

Back then, it had also been this fun, this noisy.

Only, those days were gone forever, never to return.

Everyone ended up parting ways. The old Prince's Manor in Shangjing had been torn down and rebuilt who knew how many times, leaving it completely unrecognizable from what it once was.

Thinking about it still filled her with nostalgia, but it remained forever out of reach.

Lan Ting later brought out some spirit fruits for them. These items could be used as currency or eaten, and their taste was quite good.

Yunxiang asked if she wanted to go to Shangjing together, but Lan Ting declined. She had no plans to leave just yet. Hearing this, Yunxiang didn't press the matter.

The group said their goodbyes.

Lan Ting suddenly remembered something. She raised her hand and said, "Could Mister Chen stay a moment? I just thought of a matter I'd like to ask your advice on."

Chen Changsheng turned back and asked, "Mister Lan wants to ask about King Yu?"

Lan Ting nodded.

Chen Changsheng looked at her. "Go ahead and ask."

Lan Ting said, "Over the years, I have traveled through the Mortal World and seen many novel things. Later, I learned of the method of reincarnation and resuming past connections from a cultivator. By accumulating merit and doing good deeds in life, one can enter Reincarnation. Mister knows a great deal about my Prince's affairs. May I ask... has my Prince entered Reincarnation?"

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng did not know how to answer for a moment.

There wasn't much that Lan Ting actually knew.

There were many things that Zhu Sheng had not dared tell her.

Chen Changsheng said, "This Chen does not know the answer to this matter either. Perhaps Mister Lan could ask someone else. Surely someone bore witness to the events of those years."