Inside a serene courtyard,
Morning light spread across the stone paths as it shine slightly.
A slender willow tree stood beside the koi pond, its long branches lightly touching the water and creating small ripples.
Beneath the surface, gold and red fish moved steadily, disappearing now and then behind the smooth rocks at the bottom.
"One! Two! Three!"
A childish shout echoed through the quiet courtyard as a little girl in a light training robe stood near the center of the courtyard, beside the pond.
She seed to be practicing her swings, her small hands gripping a wooden sword tightly.
Her hair was tied into two uneven buns that bounced with each movent.
At the mont, her face wore a serious expression, yet she looked more cute than fierce.
She held a wooden practice sword that looked slightly too big for her hands.
With a determined frown on her face, she swung it forward.
"Four! Five!"
The sword cut through the air clumsily.
She stumbled a little but quickly steadied herself, glancing around as if to check whether anyone had seen before continue.
But a door from a nearby room slowly opened, and a voluptuous yet graceful woman stepped out.
She was extrely beautiful.
Her long, silky black hair was tied elegantly with a jade hairpin, radiating mature charm.
Her face was slightly flushed as if she had just finished an intense exercise, and at the mont she wore a faint, victorious smile.
But when she saw the adorable little girl practicing with her sword, her eyes turned tender as she slowly walked toward the child.
"Aha~ What is my adorable Jian’er doing so early in the morning~?"
Jian Ruyi paused mid-swing as she suddenly felt sothing soft yet springy spill over the top of her head.
She glanced back and, with her pure and serious eyes, replied,
"Mother! Father told to master the basics of the Radiant Sword Art if I want to start killing those bad guys!"
At her innocent face and words yet speaking of killing as if it were sothing common, Jian Ruyi’s mother’s eye twitched.
Then she angrily squeezed her daughter’s soft cheek.
"Don’t listen to your father’s nonsense! You’re only ten years old!"
"Muhhh—"
After disciplining her daughter, who seed to grow eerily more similar to her husband with each passing day, she couldn’t help but feel worried.
She knelt down and gently turned Jian Ruyi to face her.
Seeing that familiar sharp gaze and serious expression despite her reddened cheeks.....she couldn’t help but sigh.
"Jian’er, don’t grow up to beco a stoic person like your father, okay? You should be elegant and ladylike, just like your mother~"
She said it with a proud smile.
But Jian Ruyi’s answer made her heart drop.
"No. I don’t want to be an elegant lady."
She blinked in confusion, then tried to explain gently.
"Why not, Jian’er? Being an elegant lady is far better than being a warrior. You won’t need to constantly surround yourself with enemies like your father..."
Jian Ruyi fell silent for a mont after hearing that.
Then her gaze slowly dropped toward her mother’s ample chest.
"I don’t want to have such huge breasts, Mother. So I don’t want to be an elegant lady. It looks like a real burden when practicing."
Jian Ruyi’s mother gasped at her words and angrily yet gently pulled her cheek again.
"You little brat—!"
Once again, Jian Ruyi’s soft cheeks fell victim to her mother’s ruthless affection.
"Hmph! What do you know? This pair of flesh might seem useless, but it’s also very convenient~"
"Muhh—What use is it for that?"
At her daughter’s innocent question, she grinned slyly.
"Ah~ you might be too young to understand, but... your father absolutely adores them~"
Jian Ruyi tilted her head slightly.
She truly didn’t understand.
But her mother’s eyes gradually softened as she looked at her daughter.
The way she acted... the way her attitude was slowly forming...
She almost felt like she could see a miniature version of her husband in this little girl.
She had a strange feeling that her daughter might not inherit that particular "treasure gene" from her...
But that only worried her more.
Because if the path her daughter chose was the sa as her husband’s, then it would be filled with endless bloodshed and countless enemies.
As a mother, she didn’t want her child to live such a life.
So she cupped her daughter’s cheeks gently and looked at her seriously.
"Jian’er, if you truly wish to walk this path... then promise one thing, okay?"
"Whaaat is ittt?"
Seeing her mother suddenly so serious, Jian Ruyi tried to look serious as well.....only to appear even more adorable in her mother’s eyes.
"Promise that if you ever have a man in the future... make sure he defeats you first."
Her serious expression then turned playful.
"Hehe~ just like how I beat up your father~"
Jian Ruyi didn’t really understand, but she still nodded and took her mother’s words to heart.
Seeing her ever-so-serious and adorable daughter, the woman couldn’t hold back any longer.
Overwheld by cuteness, she pulled Jian Ruyi tightly into her chest.
"Ah~ my daughter is just too adorable~"
With her face buried between two soft mounds that were bigger than her entire head, Jian Ruyi’s muffled voice ca out weakly:
"Mother... I can’t breathe."
After satisfying her affection toward her precious treasure, she finally let go of the hug, only to see Jian Ruyi staring at her chest with open disgust.
Jian Ruyi rubbed her face and took two quick steps back, staring at her mother with a small frown.
"It’s too soft..." she muttered seriously.
Her mother placed a hand on her hip, pretending to be offended.
"Too soft? Hmph. One day you’ll understand the power of softness."
Jian Ruyi narrowed her eyes at that.
"...Is softness stronger than the Radiant Sword Art?"
Her mother blinked, then burst into laughter, the sound bright and unrestrained in the quiet courtyard.
"Stronger? Of course not. But life isn’t only about swords and killing bad guys, Jian’er."
She crouched down again, this ti keeping a reasonable distance, and tapped her daughter lightly on the forehead.
"There are many kinds of strength. Your father believes in cutting everything apart. I..." She paused, her smile turning gentler. "...prefer controlling the situation before the sword even leaves its sheath."
Jian Ruyi tilted her head.
"Like... beating Father before he can beat you?"
Her mother coughed lightly. "That was different."
The little girl looked unconvinced.
The willow leaves rustled as a breeze passed through.
Sowhere beyond the courtyard walls, faint sounds of servants beginning their morning duties drifted in.
Her mother reached out and adjusted Jian Ruyi’s slightly crooked hair buns.
"You can practice your sword," she said more softly, "but you must also learn how to think. When to fight. When not to fight. And who is worth drawing your blade for."
Jian Ruyi looked down at her wooden sword.
"...Father said bad people are everywhere."
Her mother’s expression dimd ever so slightly.
"Yes." she said quietly. "But not everyone you et is your enemy."
Jian Ruyi thought very hard about that.
After a long pause, she nodded with unusual seriousness for a ten-year-old.
"Then I will only defeat the bad ones."
Her mother smiled faintly, though sothing complicated flickered behind her eyes.
"That’s already harder than mastering any sword art."
She stood up and extended her hand.
"Co. Since you’re so eager to grow up, I’ll teach you sothing your father absolutely cannot!"
Jian Ruyi’s eyes lit up when she heard this.
"A stronger sword technique?!"
"No~"
Her mother leaned down and whispered dramatically,
"It is how to properly glare at soone while remaining elegant~."
"...That’s a technique?"
"It is if you do it correctly."
Monts later, the courtyard that had once been peaceful was filled with a mother demonstrating exaggerated "graceful intimidation," while a small girl tried to copy her serious graceful expression...
.....only to end up looking like an angry dumpling.
_
_
_
Days passed peacefully for Jian Ruyi.
Today, after finishing her morning practice, she eagerly ran around the manor with her wooden sword in hand, hoping to receive guidance from her parents on a new sword technique.
"Hmm?"
Little Jian Ruyi tilted her head slightly when she noticed servants hurrying past her, their expressions tense as if sothing urgent had happened.
But she paid them no mind and continued toward the main hall, where her parents were usually found.
After running for a while, she finally arrived at the main hall and quickly noticed that a crowd had already gathered inside.
’Did sothing happen?’
There were many adults present, but what caught her attention the most were the old n with grey hair and long white beards.
She recognized so of them as they had visited her parents several tis before.
She knew they were all powerful and knowledgeable, as she had occasionally received techniques and useful teachings from them.
At the mont, her mother seed to be discussing sothing with them.
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