Su Guanhai truly dotes on his only son, even casually giving him such a rare Jade Spirit Inkstone.
"Stop!" Baili An naturally couldn’t bear to see such a fine inkstone being smashed.
Unfortunately, Su Jing, with a cold look, paid no heed and still raised his hand to throw it.
Baili An locked his gaze on the inkstone that could be thrown at any mont, preparing to adjust his position to catch it, and hurriedly said:
"You should have heard your father’s instructions outside the door just now. He hopes we can beco good friends. Now that I’m here, is this how you treat your friends?"
He hadn’t expected this awkward plea to stop his actions.
But unexpectedly, it had an unexpected effect.
The hand holding the Jade Spirit Inkstone froze in midair, hostility lingering in Su Jing’s eyes, yet a look of confusion also erged. He warily eyed Baili An, muttering: "Friend?"
Baili An showed a harmless smile, nodded, and said: "That’s right, friend."
Su Jing’s eyebrows, darker than his face, quickly furrowed. He gripped the inkstone tightly, causing it to creak.
"I have no friends, you’re not my friend! Besides, that person beside you ruined my estate. I don’t like you!"
Baili An said: "I apologize on her behalf. It was indeed unintentional when she destroyed that estate. At the ti, she was likely too worried about my safety to consider the surroundings."
Su Jing still didn’t put down the inkstone in his hand, clearly indicating that this explanation couldn’t alleviate his anger.
Baili An suddenly had an idea and said: "Have you ever eaten tomatoes this small?"
He gestured with his hand, outlining a small oval shape.
For the first ti, a hint of interest appeared in Su Jing’s empty eyes. He loosened his grasp on the inkstone slightly, frowning, and said: "There are no tomatoes this small in the world."
Baili An laughed, pulled out a Qiankun Bag from his chest, and took out a small crystal bottle. Inside were tiny, brown seeds. He stepped forward and placed the crystal bottle on the desk.
"There are, these are small tomatoes produced in the Central Netherworld, these are their seeds, left to by my mother. As a child, I used to eat such small tomatoes, they’re very sweet. Every bite is refreshing when chilled."
Thinking back to his childhood, there was a ti when he, like this young man, would plant a few potted plants in his spare ti, growing fruits and vegetables not found in the Central Lands.
His mother had soone bring him so seeds from the Central Netherworld, among them were these small tomato seeds.
When tired of reading, he’d plant these little things, and the days went by alright.
It was only because he injured a fellow disciple at the Sword Sect who bullied him that he angered his father. During his father’s reproach, a sweep of Sword Qi destroyed all the little things he had planted.
He was scolded for indulging in trivial pursuits and neglecting his duties.
From that day on, he no longer dug the soil to plant, but focused solely on studying and literacy.
Looking at the delicate crystal bottle on the desk with its tiny brown seeds, Su Jing’s eyes lit up. He finally put down the inkstone in his hand, taking the porcelain bottle and looking at Baili An with his dark face raised.
At this mont, you could really see a touch of youthful innocence on his face.
He asked: "Can these seeds really grow such small tomatoes?"
Baili An nodded vigorously: "If I’m lying, I’m a puppy."
Su Jing showed a shallow, happy smile, cradling the crystal bottle, saying: "Is it for ?"
However, before Baili An could speak, his face turned solemn again, "Even if it’s not for , I still want it!"
Baili An gave a helpless smile and said: "It’s for you, of course. Didn’t I just say? We’re friends, if it’s sothing you like, I don’t mind giving it to you."
Due to his childhood experiences, Baili An, although not good at social interactions, saw a reflection of himself in this skinny, dark-skinned young man in front of him.
Though he seed to have a bad temper, even a bit cruel and violent.
Interestingly, Baili An felt it was much more natural and relaxed to get along with Su Jing than with those peers from his own sect.
A person’s eyes don’t lie. Initially, Baili An might have approached him because of Su Guanhai’s instructions, but after several interactions, he genuinely wanted to beco friends with him.
Looking at Baili An’s gentle eyes, Su Jing pursed his lips and muttered, remaining silent.
Baili An smiled slightly, retrieved a cushion from beneath the table, sat down, and rested his chin on his hand, "I noticed you seem to like these seeds, shall we plant them together now?"
It’s been years since he last planted anything, unsure if he’s beco rusty.
Su Jing’s eyes brightened, nodding enthusiastically, but soon he seed to rember sothing, frowned, and his expression dimd, "But I haven’t finished the punishnt writing set by my father, so I can’t plant it with you."
Baili An pointed to the books spread out on the table and asked: "Can I take a look?"
There was no longer any hostility in Su Jing’s eyes. He nodded and lowered his head, looking at the crystal bottle in his hands.
Baili An flipped through the books and saw three large characters written on one of them.
"Heart Clearing Technique."
Baili An couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking that Elder Su had indeed put much thought into this.
When Su Jing’s temper was irritable, he was punished by copying this, which was quite a clever punishnt.
However, it’s a pity because he rembered Su Guanhai ntioning that Su Jing was born with blocked channels.
His intelligence isn’t comparable to others, and even the simplest reading and writing are hard to learn. How can he comprehend the mysteries through copying the Heart Clearing Technique?
Looking again at the scattered rice paper on the table, with its crooked characters like earthworm doodles, Baili An understood why Su Jing found it so painful to copy.
Baili An shook his head with a smile, picked up a blank piece of rice paper, spread it on the desk, and secured it with a paperweight.
Then he looked up at Su Jing and said: "Naturally, you can’t defy your father’s orders. How about this, you co over here, and I’ll teach you how to write and copy.
Today, we won’t delve into the essence of the Heart Clearing Technique, just learn to write. Once you complete your task, tomorrow at dawn, we can go down the mountain together to plant these small tomatoes."
Although Baili An didn’t understand why, with a courtyard right here, Su Jing chose to plant his fruits and vegetables at the foot of the mountain.
But seeing how much he cherished that piece of land, he decided to let him do as he pleased.
The Heart Clearing Technique isn’t long, just a thin volu. If Baili An were to copy it, focused, he could flawlessly transcribe the entire technique ten tis within an hour.
However, teaching Su Jing to copy the Heart Clearing Technique by hand might take a bit longer...
The night deepened, and everything was silent in the rear mountains of Tianze, with an abundance of spiritual energy in the air.
The night outside was vast and deep, enveloping the bamboo house in a dim light.
Baili An picked up a slender silver needle, brightening the two wax candles on the table, the dim candlelight casting a gentle and warm glow on his fair face, reflecting a gentle and scholarly deanor from the Mortal World.
Su Jing stared blankly at his face, sowhat entranced.
Baili An sensed his gaze and turned to look at him, "Hmm? What’s wrong? Is there sothing on my face?"
Su Jing shook his head, seemingly in a not very good mood, and whispered: "My mother and father are both very fair, but I am very dark. They all say I am a wild child they picked up."
Baili An’s two handso eyebrows furrowed slightly.
The ’they’ Su Jing ntioned was, of course, fellow disciples of the sa generation.
Su Jing’s appearance was unappealing, his temperant harsh, and his actions unrestrained, so it was understandable that others were reluctant to befriend him.
But the term ’wild child’ went too far.
Baili An was sowhat angry, and so his expression naturally turned cold. He looked at Su Jing and said: "I think you’re quite competent. Did you beat them up when they said that to you?"
Su Jing nodded and answered honestly: "I did, nearly beat them to death, and since then, they never dared to say that to face to face again."
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