Chapter 27: The Old Man's Suspicions

Chapter 27: The Old Man's Suspicions

The early morning sun filtered through the windows, casting a golden hue over the siblings' small house.

Kent sat at the table, nervously tapping his fingers against the wood, the rhythmic tap-tap-tap echoing in the quiet room, while Nima busied herself eating a piece of bread she had drenched in sugar water.

"What's the plan again?" Nima asked between bites, her voice muffled by the food.

"We tell him our physiques are better than E-rank but stay vague," Kent said, pacing back and forth, his feet shuffling across the wooden floor with a creak-creak. "No specifics, no numbers. Just enough to make him think it's not worth digging deeper."

Nima rolled her eyes, her voice laced with mockery. "You're overthinking this. Grandpa Xian Yu isn't a detective."

Kent paused, rubbing his temples, his fingers pressing hard into his forehead. "You don't understand. The old man's sharper than he looks. One slip-up, and he'll start asking too many questions."

Knock! knock!

The sound jolted them both. Knock knock—the distinct, sharp thud against the door resonated in Kent's chest.

Kent straightened his back, forcing a calm expression as he walked to the door. Opening it, he found old man Xian Yu standing there, his arms crossed and a small smile on his face.

"Good morning, kid," Xian Yu said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. Creak. "So, did you test your physiques?"

Kent exchanged a quick glance with Nima, who gave him a subtle thumbs-up from behind her bread.

"Yes, we did," Kent said, his tone even. "And, uh… well, it turns out our physiques are a bit better than E-rank."

Xian Yu raised an eyebrow, his smile fading. "A bit better?"

Kent nodded quickly. "Yeah. Somewhere between E and D, I guess. But it's hard to be sure."

+999 SP copied from Xian Yu. (Frustration)

Xian Yu studied him for a moment, his sharp gaze making Kent's stomach churn with a sinking thud.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Xian Yu asked, his tone soft but firm.

"N-no!" Kent stammered, forcing a laugh. "Why would I lie about something like that?"

+99 SP copied.

Xian Yu's eyes flicked to Nima, who was busy pretending to be fascinated by her bread.

"And what about her?" Xian Yu asked. "She's never been tested before, right?"

Nima froze, then turned to him with wide, innocent eyes. "I think I'm around the same rank as Kent. Maybe a bit stronger. I'm just a kid, after all."

Xian Yu sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I see…"

The old man turned away, looking out the window as if lost in thought.

"I don't blame you for not trusting me," he said quietly. "You're orphans, and you've had to fend for yourselves. Trust doesn't come easy."

Kent and Nima exchanged guilty glances. The weight of his words hit them like a soft thud in their chests.

Xian Yu turned back to them, a small smile on his face. "But I'll earn your trust someday. Mark my words."

With that, he gave them a brief nod, preparing for the training. "I will wait outside." Then he left the house, leaving the siblings in an awkward silence.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Kent muttered, sinking into his chair with a sigh of relief.

Nima grinned, leaning her chin on her hands. "You were so nervous. I thought you were going to faint."

"Very funny," Kent said, glaring at her. "You're lucky you didn't slip up with your innocent act."

"Who, me?" Nima said, feigning shock. "I'm the perfect picture of innocence."

"Sure you are," Kent said, rolling his eyes.

Nima laughed, then pointed at the bottle of blood still sitting on the table. "So, what are we doing with that?"

Kent glanced at it, frowning. "I'll get rid of it later. It's useless now."

Just as Kent was about to relax, the familiar ding of the system echoed in his head.

Ding!

Mission Assigned: Learn (sword aura) the first stage of sword technique.

Reward: ???

Time Limit: None.

Kent groaned, slumping in his chair as the sound of the notification left him feeling drained. "Great. More training."

"What's wrong?" Nima asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing," Kent said quickly. "Just… thinking about how much work I have to do."

Nima smirked. "You mean how much work Grandpa Xian Yu is going to make you do?"

Kent shot her a look. "Don't push your luck, Nima."

A few minutes later, Kent joined Xian Yu in the small yard behind Aunt Zhou's house. The old man was already there, practising his sword techniques with his usual graceful movements, the swish-swish of his blade cutting through the air like a whisper.

"You're late," Xian Yu said without turning around.

"Good morning to you too, Grandpa," Kent said, earning a sharp glance from the old man.

"Alright, kid," Xian Yu said, lowering his sword. "Let's see if you've been paying attention."

Kent sighed, stepping forward. "Let's get this over with."

For the next hour, Xian Yu put him through a gruelling series of drills, and the thud of Kent's wooden sword meeting the ground echoed with every mistake. Xian Yu corrected his form repeatedly, pushing him to his limits.

"You're improving," Xian Yu said grudgingly as Kent collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. The air around Kent was thick with exhaustion.

"Thanks," Kent wheezed. "I think."

As Kent lay there, staring up at the sky, something clicked in his mind.

"The mission…" he muttered to himself. "It didn't say anything about the time limit. Just how hard is it to learn the sword aura?"

He sat up, his eyes narrowing. "It didn't even tell me about the reward."

Xian Yu raised an eyebrow. "What are you mumbling about, kid?"

"Nothing!" Kent said quickly, jumping to his feet. "Let's go again!"

"I like your warrior spirit, Kent," the old man said. "Don't blame me when your body gets sore. Now start doing the 500 swings (rock breaking) with the wooden sword."

"But remember, each time you break a wooden sword, three will be a punishment."

Kent groaned as he picked up a new sword. His body screamed for rest, but he pushed through, swinging again and again.

But it didn't last long. Today, he broke the wooden sword after just 20+ swings.

Crack!

From behind, the old man slapped Kent with LEVEL-D strength. Kent was thrown a few feet ahead.

Ouch!

Ouch! 🤕 Kent yelled, clutching his back. "Are you a mad old man? You want to kill me?"

"Stop nagging," Xian Yu said, unfazed. "This is also a part of training. My master trained me this way. See how strong I am?"

"You… your time was in dinosaur time. Don't compare that with this era!" Kent shot back, his pain momentarily forgotten.

+99 SP copied from Xian Yu. (Speechless)

A few seconds later, Kent stumbled back home, groaning as he went. "Today's training is over. Don't you have to sell in the market?"