Chapter2:TheLoving-JealousChildhoodSweetheart

"Unfortunately,timeisrunningout..."LookingatHuaHuo’sfreshlyblossomingfigureleave,YunXilaughedtohimself.

(TranslatedbyGravityTales馃槨)

Althoughtheiroccupationswerebothatthe3rdRank,afightingoccupationrepresentedawholenewlevel.

Asa3rd-rankedBaker,hecouldmakedeliciousbread.However,hisbestworkwasthebutterbread,liketheonehegaveHuaHuointhemorning.

Addingextrastrengthwashishandmadebread’sspecialabilityandhecouldonlymake10loavesofsuchbreadaday.

AlthoughHuaHuowasonlyatthe3rdRank,withherThousandSwordTechniquethathadararebalanceofattackanddefense,shewaspubliclyacceptedasatruemaster.

HuaHuoandYunXicouldeasilyunderstandeachotherwithnothingmorethanawordortwo,thus,YunXihadalreadybeguntoputthebreadintheoven.

The3rd-rankedHuaHuowassuretoentertheWhiteLotusSwordDomain’sSwordPalace,shewouldn’tevenneedtotaketheexam.Asa3rd-rankedswordsman,shewouldexcelamongherpeersattheSwordPalace.

"Well,youmightaswellconsidertherestofthecandidatestoo."Hewasreluctanttopartwithhischildhoodsweetheart.YunXibegantoseriouslyponderabouthisfutureaswellasthefutureoftheothercandidates.

AlthoughhewasnotlikeHuaHuo,whopossessedthetalenttobecomeahero,hehadtheskillstomakebreadandhasreceivedtheacknowledgmentofthepeople.Therewereevenseveralyoungbashfulgirlswhowantedtoconveytheirfeelingstohim.

Butnotknowingwhy,theyoftenstayedawayfromYunXiaftertheyhadreallyconveyedtheirfeelingstohim,whichmadeYunXifeelawfullyconfused.

"Theyoungladyfromtheflowershopdownthestreet,Milei,is12-year-oldthisyear.Icandiscussmarriagewithherthreeyearslater."

"Theneighboringvillage’sgemstore’seldestdaughterEl’phyllisrecentlyturned17.ThelasttimeIvisited,thestoremanagerwantedmetoimmediatelymarryher."

"Thecakeshopacrossthestreethasanawfullyadorabledaughter,YeLi.Unfortunately,sheisonly9-years-oldthisyear."

YunXicountedhisfingers,calculatingthepotentialgirlfriendshecouldpursue.

Bytheway,hewasnotbeingunfaithful!

Upuntilnow,hewashead-over-heelsforHuaHuo.Thosefeelingswereabsolutelynotfake.

But,HuaHuowasdestinedtobecomeadazzlingheavenlystarasatrulytalentedswordsmanwhilehedecidedtostayinthissmallvillagethatwasrootedtotheground.

Thetwowerefatedtohavedifferenttalents,destinedtobeapart.

TheywillbelovelornandeventhoughYunXiconsciouslyknowsthathewillbedejected,hewillnotletHuaHuostay.Rather,hechosetosmileandlethergo.

SuchageniuslikeHuaHuowasnotmeanttostayinthissmallvillage.

"Atthattime,Imustsmileandsendheroff."YunXipattedhisface,remindinghimselfofwhattodowhenthetimecame.

ThatdaywasnotfarawayastheSwordPalaceexamsweregoingtobeheldnextweek.FortheentireWhiteLotusSwordDomain,itwasaverycrucialday.

Countlesschildrenonthatdaywouldbeshowcasingtheirtalentsandstrength,provingthattheywerenotworthless.

Countlesspoorchildrenwillalsostrivetodotheirbesttocatchabigbreakandbecomethecarpthatleapsoverthedragon’sgate.

TheSwordPalaceexamswereonlyopentoteenagersfrom16-18yearsold.Afterthattimeperiod,youcouldonlytryyourluckatotherswordschools.

IntheWhiteLotusSwordDomain,theSwordPalacerepresentedasupremehonor,alongwiththeotherschoolsandpalaces.

IntheentireWhiteLotusSwordDomain,nonecouldcomparetotheSwordPalace.Lookingoverthenumeroushills,onewouldseethattheSwordPalacestoodattheapexofthemall,standinginsupremacy.

Theword"sword"inSwordPalaceitselfisapartoftheSkySwordGod’sDomain.FollowingtheowneroftheSkySword,itwasfoundedasoneofthemostpowerfulswordschoolsandclans.

IntheWhiteLotusSwordDomain,andevenintheentireSkySwordGod’sDomain,themainfocusofthepeoplelivingtherewasthe"sword".Eventheshapeofeverysworddomainisintheformofasword.

IftheSwordPalacehadtobelocatedonasword,thenitwouldbeatthetip.

YunXialongwitheverylargeclan,prestigiousfamily,city,andtown,hadnochoicebuttoliveattheverybottomofthesword:thehilt.Asforthebladeitself,thatwouldbetheotherschoolsandforces.

ThiswasthewayoftheSwordDomainsofGod.Thehiltforthepeople,thetipfortheSwordPalace,andthebladefortherestoftheotherpowers.

Betweenthesworddomainswasastarbridgethatactedasaconnector.TheSkySwordGod’sDomainislikeoneuniquebigswordthatismadeupofcountlesssworddomains.

LocatedattheverytopoftheSkySwordGod’sDomainwasnaturallytheowneroftheSkySword,thepalacemasteroftheSkyPalace.

OneofthelowestofthecountlesssworddomainsintheSkySwordGod’sDomainistheWhiteLotusSwordDomain,whichwasnotahighlyrankedsworddomain.

However,theWhiteLotusSwordDomainpossessedaspecial"secrettreasure".Becauseofthis,itcausedtheWhiteLotusSwordDomain’sSwordPalace’snametoberenownedthroughoutthevastsworddomainsofGod.

EverytimetheWhiteLotusSwordDomain’sSwordPalaceheldanexam,geniusesfromtheuppersworddomainswouldalsocomerushingtoparticipate.

Ofcourse,everyoneexceptYunXi.

Theswordpalace’sexamswerealsototargetthoseupperdomaingeniuseswhohadaneyeoutfortheirsecretgem.However,toYunXi,thatwasjustlikefloatingclouds.(Hehadnointerest).

Hewasgoingtocontinuouslytemperhimselftomakebreadsothathewouldadvancetoa4th-rankedBaker.Thusbecomingtheyoungestinvillagetoeverachievea4thRankinalifeoccupation.(stufflikebaker,seamstress,etc...anythingnotrelatedtotheswordorcultivating)

Manywouldgetmarriedwhentheyturned18-thebesttimetobeabletogivebirthtoaboyandagirl.YunXiwantedtoexpandhisstorelittlebylittle,andpassitdownfromgenerationtogeneration.ThatwasYunXi’slifegoal.

"Yes,Ilikeyou.

"Fromtheoceanofmany,Ifellinlovewithyouatfirstsight.

"Beautiful,canyousmileforme?"

HummingthesongfromtheWesternGod’sDomain,YunXibegantopreparetheingredientstomaketheafternoonbread;itwasimportanttohaveeverythingyouneed.

Step.Step.Step.Afamiliarfootstepsoundednearthedoorasitpowerfullykickedthedooropen.

"LittleXi,Iforgotsomething!"ThemorningexercisescausedHuaHuo’scheekstoturnbrightredassheheldontoherkneesforsupport,gaspingforair,asshelookedattheconfusedYunXi.

"Ifyou’retalkingaboutthebread,thereisnoneleft."Ifheknew,hewouldhavegivensomemoretoHuaHuo.Unfortunately,thatwasn’tso.

"Notbread!"HuaHuo’seyescrossed,burning,asshestaredfirmlyatYunXi.

"Whathappened?"YunXitriedtomakeoutwhatwasgoingon.Besidesthewhiteflouronhim,nothingwasamiss.

"It’syourheart!Justamomentago,youwerebeingunfaithful!Iheardyoursoliloquy!Mileifromtheflowershopdownthestreet,El’phyllisfromthegemstoreintheneighboringvillage,aswellastheadorableYeLifromthecakeshopacrossthestreet.I’msayingyouwerenotbeingfaithful!"

HuaHuo’sfaceseemedcontortedasshewasawareoftheunfaithfulness,"Donotquibble!"YunXiwasbarelyabletosqueezeasentenceout:

"Thetruthis..."

"Howdidyouknow?"InregardstoHuaHuo’sjealousyradar,itwassoincomparablysharpthatitleftYunXistunned.

Asachildtopresentday,solongasheshowedeventhelittlestofaffectionforanothergirl,hisheartratewouldchange.JustalittlehazyamountoffavoritismandHuaHuowoulddiscoveritandarriveimmediately.

"Uncleandauntyrepeatedlywarnedmetoneverletyougetcarriedaway!"OnelookatHuaHuoandYunXicouldtellthatshewaspantingwithrage.Healreadyhadherasachildhoodsweetheart,whycouldn’thebesatisfied!

Asachild,onedoesnotmakeanappointmenttogetmarriedinthefuture.

Childhoodsweethearts,wasofcourse,naturally...ah...andforYunXi,thememoriesofthelasttenyearstogetherwasmorepreciousthananytreasure.

InordertobeatbackthosegirlswhowereattractedtoYunXiandmadlywantedtogetclosetohim,shehadnochoicebuttopracticetothe3rdRank,becomingthefirsttruemasterofthevillage.

YunXiwasabigidiot.Afterall,hewasn’tawareofhowattractivehewastoothergirls.

Buttoprotecthimandcoverhimfromthosewhoharborederrantthoughtsandoldersisterswhowantedto"eathimup",shecompletelywipedthemout,leavingnothingbehind.

Eversincetheywerechildren,YunXihadyettodiscoverthathewasveryattractivetogirls.

Andevenbackthen,inprimaryschool,everyValentine’sday,thenumberofgirlswholineduptogivehimchocolatecouldeasilyformasquadron.

"Uh...Iwasfoundout?"YunXiremainedsilentaftersayingthat,ashethoughtaboutHuaHuo’sreaction.

Shehadtohavesomemagicalability...clairvoyance?

"Stupid,stupid!Countlesslysayingsthatyouwillonlymarryme!"HuaHuotookoutherlongswordanddirecteditatYunXi’sneck,"Don’tmarrymeandI’llgiveyouabloodyending."

Well,theperfectHuaHuo,thegeniusHuaHuo,thevillage’sprideHuaHuohadonesmallshortcoming.

Shewasincrediblyjealous.

Ittrulycausedherchildhoodsweethearttohaveterribleheadaches.

****

Attheendofthebusinessday,YunXiclosedupandpreparedfortomorrow’ssales.AfterYunXiinspectedthestore,heheadeduptothesecondfloortogotohisroom.

Thesmallfamilystorehadalreadybeenpasseddownforfourgenerations.Thewoodenstaircasewassomewhatold-fashionedbecauseasonewentup,itissueda"Creak!Creak!"sound.ButforYunXi,itwassomethinghewasfondof.

"HuaHuo,youreallyneedtogo."Inthemorningsofthepast,HuaHuoalwaysplayedpranksonYunXibutheneverpaidanyattentiontoituntilshestartedtoswitchtohersword.

Hersimplecyanlongsword’shiltwasengravedwithawhitelotus.

TheWhiteLotusSwordPalacegaveallitsdisciplesasword.AndjustlikeYunXi,HuaHuodecidedtoadvanceandobtaintheSwordPalace’sapproval.

A16-year-old3rd-rankedcombatantwasfarbeyondtheSwordPalace’sentryrequirement.Evenherswordwasonethatonlyelitedisciplescouldget,showingthatHuaHuo’stalentwasgenuine.

鈥楽ureenough,childhoodsweetheartscan’tgetmarried.鈥橝lthoughhewasonly16-years-old,hehadalreadydecidedtoinheritthefamilybusinessandtobecomeabreadstoreowner.YunXisighed,abandoninganunrealisticfantasy.

HeandHuaHuowerenotfatedtobetogether.

Theymetattheageof6.It’salreadybeen10yearsofschool,andhavinggraduatednottoolongago,theybegantochoosetheirfuture.

The16-year-oldYunXiandHuaHuohavealreadybeguntoembarkondifferentpaths.

"Really...isthecakeshop’sYeLibetter?"YunXilaidonhisbed,lookingouthiswindowatthestars.

Onthetablenearthewindow,wasaverysmallcakewithacandleonit.Ofcourse,YunXipreparedhisownbirthdaycake.

At12o’clocktonight,hewouldofficiallybe16.

Tonight,wouldhedreamofthemaidenguardingthegate?

ForYunXi,turning16wasnothingspecial.

Perhapseverydayofhislifewouldbeliketoday,ordinarilypassingby.

Closinghiseyes,YunXibegantowish.

Hehadadream...adreamrelatingtothestars.