Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two: A Different Kind of Successful Strategy
The Grand Sword Palace Competition has come to an end.
Although Chun Lan’s bruise wasn’t severe, Qiu Ju took her away to apply some ointment.
Right before leaving, Chun Lan shot a fierce look at her, but Young Master Sang, with his thick skin, didn’t care at all.
After the contest concluded, Gu Yingmian let out a quiet sigh.
“It seems…”
“Young Master Sang is the one who’s more perceptive.”
“In this bet, Young Master Sang has won.”
Young Master Sang pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “Forgive my boldness. Does the Palace Master know why I was certain that Qiu Ju would win?”
Gu Yingmian looked at him.
“Because, in the Palace Master’s eyes, there is a focus on the sword.”
“But I, being distracted, can’t help but see things unrelated to the sword.”
“Oh?” Gu Yingmian smiled lightly, “So, according to Young Master Sang, having a wandering mind is a good thing?”
Gu Yingmian was just teasing.
Unexpectedly, Young Master Sang shook his head earnestly, “It’s hard to say.”
“I foolishly believe that while the way of the sword is vast and profound…”
“Relying solely on the sword makes it difficult to grasp the way. Ultimately, it’s the person using the sword that defines the path.”
“So, if one becomes too fixated on the sword itself, they might overlook certain things.”
Gu Yingmian looked at Young Master Sang’s clear and pure gaze.
A thoughtful glimmer flickered in her beautiful eyes.
“Younger Master Sang’s perspective… is indeed novel and interesting.”
Young Master Sang immediately bowed, “This is merely my foolish opinion, I don’t dare to show off in front of the Palace Master.”
“No need to be humble. Young Master Sang’s swordsmanship is extraordinary, and it seems you are even better than me at teaching others.”
Gu Yingmian murmured, “With Young Master Sang’s guidance, both Chun Lan and Qiu Ju have broken through their bottlenecks and reached a state of blending hardness and softness.”
“Young Master Sang deserves great credit for that.”
Young Master Sang could only smile shyly.
In a sense, he really did deserve some credit.
——
After the competition, Young Master Sang returned to his residence.
He routinely trained with the Dream Jun Sword for a while and then lay down to prepare for some serious slacking.
Suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door that startled him awake.
“Sang Ce! Open the door!”
“Young Master Sang, Qiu Ju has business to discuss.”
Hearing the voice, he knew it must be Chun Lan and Qiu Ju, who had healed from their injuries and were here to demand an explanation.
Young Master Sang felt a bit guilty and hesitated to open the door, but if they caused a scene and it got back to Gu Yingmian, he would be in even bigger trouble.
He had no choice but to brace himself and put on a nonchalant façade as he opened the door.
“What’s all this noise? Can’t a person sleep during the day?”
At the door, Chun Lan’s chest was heaving with anger, and even Qiu Ju looked at him reproachfully.
“Sang Ce, you better explain yourself!” Chun Lan said angrily, “When did I ever practice the forbidden techniques of the Sword Palace?”
“Oh come on, why the rush?”
Young Master Sang said leisurely, “Come in, now that the two of you have cleared up your misunderstandings, I can come clean with you.”
Chun Lan and Qiu Ju exchanged suspicious glances before reluctantly entering the room with Young Master Sang.
Once he served them tea and they calmed down a bit, Young Master Sang sipped his tea slowly.
“Originally, I intended to confess the truth to you after the competition.”
“However, I didn’t expect you both to come storming in here to accuse me.”
“I’m baffled, aren’t you supposed to thank me?”
Thank you?
Chun Lan nearly bit her silver teeth in frustration, saying angrily, “Pfft! Sang Ce, you deceitful troublemaker! You nearly caused a rift between me and my sister, and you want thanks?”
“What else?”
Young Master Sang answered nonchalantly, “Think about it, even if I didn’t stir up trouble, wouldn’t there still be misunderstandings between you two?”
“Instead, isn’t it because of my little scheme that you two finally managed to be open and communicate?”
“And your sword intents, haven’t they both broken through the bottleneck after this competition?”
As Young Master Sang continued talking, Chun Lan and Qiu Ju exchanged confused glances, and he pounced on the moment:
“Exactly!”
“Everything was meticulously planned by me!” he declared with righteous indignation.
“All to help you both break through your swordsmanship bottlenecks and rebuild your sisterly bond!”
Chun Lan: “…Huh?”
Qiu Ju: “…Really, Young Master Sang?”
“Think carefully.”
Young Master Sang put his hands behind his back, pretending to be wise, “The reason your swordsmanship was stuck was precisely because of what?”
“It’s your personalities!”
“Chun Lan, you’re too rigid, too direct, not flexible in your ways.”
“And Qiu Ju, you’re too timid and weak, always lacking the courage to fight back.”
“Your personalities are completely different, which not only affected your sisterly bond but also hindered your sword practice.”
“So, to fundamentally eliminate your inner demons, you needed to confront each other to break free!”
Young Master Sang used all his tricks to persuade them: “I might have deceived you both by saying your sister practiced forbidden techniques…”
“But why have you taken so long to see through such an easily broken lie?”
“Because you sisters lacked communication, and your personality traits prevented you from being open with each other.”
“And my painstaking efforts to teach you different sword intents were meant to help you recognize your own flaws.”
As he saw both of them begin to think, Young Master Sang got even more into it:
“The reason you two ended up at odds because of my provocation is precisely because under my guidance, your personalities gradually began to change.”
“Chun Lan, so strong-willed and unyielding, ended up not being able to go all out against her sister during the duel, choosing to concede.”
“Qiu Ju, who was previously timid, mustered the courage to stand up to her sister.”
“You both inadvertently overcame your personal flaws, allowing you to reconcile in the end, communicate honestly, and blend the martial hearts of rigidity and softness.”
“This is my heartfelt intention!” Young Master Sang proclaimed earnestly.
Ah… A glimmer of doubt crossed Qiu Ju’s face as if Young Master Sang’s words had truly touched her.
Chun Lan also hesitated, lowering her head.
“Now that you two have reconciled, and your sword techniques have improved, I’m already satisfied.”
“As a price, even if you both consider me a liar, what does it matter?”
Young Master Sang feigned a casual sigh, his eyes revealing a sense of loneliness and melancholy.
He gave off a vibe of “I’m just a passing stranger, no accolades needed for my deeds.”
The sisters fell into a long silence, all quiet and contemplative.
Finally, Chun Lan’s voice softly broke the silence, “Y-you’re saying all this is true?”
“You really did mean well from the beginning by lying to us?”
“Well, if Lady Chun Lan doesn’t believe, that’s fine.”
Young Master Sang put on a sorrowful act, “In the end, I’m an outsider to the Sword Flower Palace. It’s only normal not to be trusted.”
“As long as my help truly benefited you two, it doesn’t matter if I’m not trusted.”
Though these words came out of his mouth, inside he was sweating bullets, desperately pleading, “Please believe me! You must believe me!”
If they don’t believe him and told Gu Yingmian, he might as well pack his bags and run.
Fortunately, just as Chun Lan was wavering, Qiu Ju’s soft voice chimed in:
“Sister, I think Young Master Sang has a point…”
“Looking back, the results speak for themselves. We did break through our sword techniques and have a better sisterly relationship now.”
“Maybe we were just too foolish to appreciate Young Master Sang’s good intentions.”
Yes! That’s it! Let’s think of it that way!
Chun Lan exchanged a dubious glance with Young Master Sang but eventually lowered her head and muttered softly:
“Maybe.”
“Even though you’ve been playing tricks on us during this time…it’s true you didn’t really do anything too outrageous.”
“Thinking about it, you have been pointing out our swordsmanship and guiding us to discover our problems.”
“Seems…you’re not really a bad person.”
Phew. Young Master Sang let out a sigh of relief internally.
Finally, he had managed to get through this.
After listening to Young Master Sang, Chun Lan and Qiu Ju leaned close together, whispering among themselves.
After a while, Qiu Ju pushed the slightly blushing and darting her eyes Chun Lan to stand in front of Young Master Sang.
“Younger Master Sang, um…”
“Thank you…” Chun Lan said shyly, her cheeks flushed. “If it weren’t for you waking me up, I might still be lost in my own self-absorbed sense of protecting my sister.”
“And… I’m sorry for my rash attitude toward you earlier…”
“It’s okay.” Young Master Sang smiled, “Recognizing and correcting one’s mistakes is what a good child does.”
Qiu Ju behind her covered her mouth and giggled, “Although sister finally apologized, it looks like she still can’t change her stubborn nature.”
“You little brat, mind your own business.”
The two sisters playfully tussled a bit, then Qiu Ju suddenly leaned in beside Young Master Sang and whispered:
“Young Master Sang, even though you’re a good person…”
“If you want to make a move on my sister, you’ll still have to get past me first, okay~”
Young Master Sang: “…Huh?”
After Qiu Ju winked playfully at him, she quickly ran away.
As Young Master Sang stood there in bewilderment, Chun Lan blushed, fiddling before coming closer, softly saying:
“I-I don’t know what Qiu Ju just told you.”
“But… if you want to be my brother-in-law, it won’t be that easy!”
“I will seriously vet you!”
Young Master Sang: “…Huh??”
After the sisters ran off, Young Master Sang gradually emerged from his dazed state.
They wouldn’t think he was being so helpful because he had his eyes set on one of them, right?
Well, there you have it. In the end, he was just misunderstood by these two sisters.
But hey, at least this counts as a different kind of successful strategy, right?
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