Chapter 30 - The small loyal dog’s sword broke when I used it as a can opener, I feel guilty.
Ye Tan’s sword broke.
In the morning, I bought a can of tangerines. My ancestors didn’t actually have tangerine cans in their era, but in the world I created, there obviously must be tangerine cans.
Someone as weak as me can’t twist this can open, and he went out to buy horses, so he is not here. He said he was leaving his sword behind so I could defend myself, and didn’t take it with him. That small dull sword of his looked dusty and worn-out, it didn’t actually give me the impression of being the ruler of a hundred weapons so, inevitably, I grabbed it to pry open the can.
Then I broke it.
Awkward.
A small dull sword, sure enough, is a small dull sword, of such poor quality too.
But even if it’s a damaged sword, it’s still Ye Tan’s, and I feel very sorry that I broke it. I asked the waiter to lend me some paste and paper, and then I glued it together and put it back to where it was.
When Ye Tan returned from buying horses, he reported to me and, not suspecting anything, tied the sword back to his waist in passing.
I absolutely did not dare look at him.
“Right, this subordinate heard that this place is currently holding a Swords Convention.” Ye Tan spoke again.
“Huh? Does that mean there’s a lot of swords?” My eyes sparkled.
“Naturally, there are displays, auctions, and competitions.” Ye Tan nodded, “This place is not too far from Suyang’s Qiu Manor and the One Sword Tomb, so there could actually be some top-quality goods.”
Even though Ye Tan had no interest, seeing that I’ve been looking forward to it, he has recently also began paying attention to it. I was even more ashamed of that can-opening sword-breaking incident, and wanted to find him a better weapon, preferably before he discovered his small worn-out sword, now glued together with paste, was even uglier than before. I instantly proceeded to urge him out the door, unable to wait any longer.
This city is called Yangxi, it was built facing the river, and it somewhat has the misty rain and soft wind of Jiangnan. The host of the Swords Convention is located on an island in the centre of the Yang Lake, the arena is also there. Vendor’s booths loop all around the lake, announcing swords and all different kinds of weapons, some even going as far as offering discounts on kitchen knives to promote sales.
Ye Tan took me along for a stroll for a bit, but seeing my expression was not as excited as when we arrived, he asked: “Does Master not like it?”
I shook my head: “None of these match up to you.”
Ye Tan looked at the small dull sword on his waist, not understanding: “No, they’re all very good.”
“That won’t do, I’m going to find the best sword to give you.” Even though all these swords were a lot better than the one he has now, when I think about it being the first sword I’ll give him, I feel like I can’t be careless no matter what. I knew that people from outside the lake were here to join the fun, and that the host’s treasured objects were hidden away to wait until the auction, so I grabbed Ye Tan’s hand, “Come on, let’s go to the island to have a look.”
The Yang Lake is the main venue for the Swords Convention, and the rules are naturally more strict, those entering must have a sect and a group, and they must also pay for a name card and silver taels. We rode a small boat to the shore of the centre island, but when we arrived the waves crashing into the shore caused the boat to rock incessantly. It’s hard enough for me to stand still on dry land, so I felt that climbing ashore would be harder than climbing to heaven, but Ye Tan had long since become used to this, so he nimbly carried me ashore.
The usher registering people at the port saw that our actions were excessively intimate, and angrily said: “If you two are looking for a brothel, I’m afraid you’ve gone to the wrong place.”
Ye Tan apologised: “Forgive me, my Master is injured.”
The usher rolled his eyes: “Two cripples, making such a fuss.”
I was very angry, even though I only have ten HP, I still have a cultivation base of thirty thousand! I took out my can of tangerines from inside Ye Tan’s chest pocket and coldly said: “Humph, you prattle on self-importantly, I’ll have you know, you could die if I put this can down.”
The usher had a vulgar expression: “Nonsense, if I smash you into a can, don’t tell me you wouldn’t die?”
I seriously thought about it: “That makes sense.” I stuffed the can back into Ye Tan’s arms.
Beside him, a more stable person came over and smacked him on the head, reprimanding him: “I know you never follow the rules, but how can you be so irreverent towards our foreign guests?” He turned towards the two of us and saluted, “I am Yang Qingzhou, this one is my younger brother, Yang Su, I ask for both our esteemed guests’ origin so I can record it.”
I returned the salute: “Moling’s Sword Pavilion1 , Jun Xuanheng, Ye Tan.”
“Sword Pavilion? That’s a mouthful2 .” Yang Su hardly made any attempts to hide his contempt, he repeatedly looked us up and down, and saw that I did not have a sword on my body. When his eyes landed on Ye Tan his expression became even more strange.
Yang Qingzhou was also somewhat astonished, but his manners were excellent, and he reprimanded in a low voice: “Su’er, how can you judge a person by their appearance, let alone by their swords?” Having said that, he also seemed to really care about it as he cupped his hands in courtesy and said: “I wonder if I could be fortunate enough to ask Young Master Ye to allow me to take a look at his sword.”
Ye Tan looked at me, inquiring with his eyes, and I couldn’t help but laugh: “Do you also need my approval for this sort of thing? Just do as you wish.”
Ye Tan nodded, and drew his sword out.
The sword was already naturally unremarkable, but that paste stuck to it stood out even more abruptly. Just after drawing it out, before even handing it over and in front of everyone’s eyes, the crack opened up again and half of the sword fell to the ground with a clang.
The four of us stared at that paste-covered, broken blade on the ground.
......As it turns out, paste doesn’t actually stick to metal. I made a mental note to try something else next time.
Yang Qingzhou and Yang Su found it hard to believe.
I reacted slowly as I felt a little embarrassed.
Ye Tan, just like a shameless warrior who has faced many struggles, remained calm and composed. He bent down to pick up that broken blade, and handed it all together to the man in front of him, obediently asking: “Do you still want to look?”
“No, no need.....” Yang Qingzhou quickly waved his hands.
“What kind of rubbish is this? Did you come here to cause trouble?!” Yang Su felt ridiculed, and he was very resentful. As he began to flare up, Yang Qingzhou had no choice but to stop him.
I calmly said: “It’s because we don’t have good swords that we came here.”
“What you say is reasonable.” Yang Qingzhou was afraid a disturbance would occur again, so he hurriedly blocked Yang Su’s mouth and let us in.
Immediately after, someone led us to our accommodations, explaining matters like meals, the competition, and the auction. Unexpectedly, food and lodging was included. No wonder they charged a fee to enter the island.
We went back to the room to freshen up and unpack. Ye Tan again took out both pieces of his small broken sword, arranging them on the table and quietly looking at them.
I had a guilty conscience, and bashfully said: “A-Tan, I’m sorry.”
Hearing this, Ye Tan lifted his head: “Huh? Why is Master apologising?”
I took out the tangerine can from his front pocket.
Ye Tan glanced at it, helping me twist off the lid and putting it back in my hands, and looked at me with a questioning expression, indicating that I should go back to what I was just saying.
I hurriedly said: “No, no, I didn’t mean for you to open this, this morning I couldn’t open the can, and I wrongly thought I would be able to use your sword..... I never thought it would break like this.”
Ye Tan: “Aren’t you going to eat?”
I: “.....I’ll eat.”
I had eaten a few pieces of tangerine when Ye Tan asked: “Did you glue this together?”
I nodded.
Ye Tan: “Pfft.”
??? What’s so funny???
I doubted: “Aren’t you angry?”
Ye Tan was puzzled: “Why would I be angry?”
I: “I broke your stuff, you should naturally be angry.”
Ye Tan: “What belongs to this subordinate also belongs to Master, it doesn’t matter.”
This reminded me of memories of his previous two masters, who did not even hesitate to sacrifice him and treat him as expendable, but he still did not feel the slightest bit of resentment or unease. I couldn’t help but be slightly annoyed: “Ai, A-Tan, you’re too good of a person, it makes people want to bully you when they see you.”
Ye Tan gave me a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and profoundly said: “Didn’t you say the opposite?”
I: “?”
Ye Tan sighed softly and didn’t answer, his eyes returning to the broken blade.
To cover up the shame in my heart, I took a piece of my beloved tangerine and offered it to him. Ye Tan lightly grabbed my hand and ate it, licking up the little bit of juice that had dripped down my fingertips, and then he lifted his eyes up and locked his gaze with mine.
In the past Ye Tan had avoided the etiquette of master and servant, and didn’t look at me directly for long periods of time, so I have had a lot more opportunities to look at his eyelashes than to look at his eyes. I had just committed a grave mistake and had a guilty conscience, so looking at him straight on gave me goosebumps, so I hurriedly said: “A-Tan, don’t mind this little dull sword, tomorrow I’ll certainly take the best one and give it to you.”
“This sword can also be considered as something you took a lot of trouble trying to fix..... it would be a pity to ignore it.” He returned the broken blade into the scabbard, and asked as he carried the sword: “Allow this subordinate to go out for a time.”
I hurriedly said: “Go on, go.”
With no one to support me, I had a hard time sitting up for long periods of time, so I rolled into bed early.
Ye Tan didn’t get back until nightfall, carefully placing a kiss on the centre of my forehead.
I went into the Modifier Tool Interface again.
Surprisingly, inside there is a line of data that read:
[Main Hand Weapon][Small Dull Sword]: ATK+3 DEF+1 Rank: [N]
.....So it’s actually called Small Dull Sword.
It could be because the sword itself doesn’t have a name, and Ye Tan has never chosen one for it either, I clicked this rather slanderous nickname without thinking, and unexpectedly the system saved it as the default.
I felt even more guilty: Now I’m not only sorry towards Ye Tan, but also towards this sword.
Thinking that Ye Tan had seemed to take an exceptional liking towards this sword, I casually changed it a bit.
[Main Hand Weapon][Small Dull Sword]: ATK+5000 DEF+10000
Rank: [SSR]
A real-life Six-star Broom God3 . Are you seeing this?4
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1 Updated Ch 17’s ‘Jiange’ to the literal ‘Sword Pavilion’ for better place name clarity.Top.
2 好大口氣 lit. big mouthful of air. Used to mock people who boast about themselves, kind of like the english expression ‘being full of hot air’.Top.
3 六星帚神 The Broom God, or Hahakigami, is a character from the mobile turn-based MMO Onmyoji. The Broom God is an N rarity character (lowest rarity), though some players started upgrading their Broom God characters to max and showcasing their unexpectedly powerful teams.Top.
4 The actual text 看見沒有 is from a chinese meme but I have no idea how to translate it lol.Top.