Chapter 46 The Blade Weeps

The Su family members were unable to process this scene for a moment.

A stranger suddenly appeared in their home, dropped a bag of rice and flour, and announced he wanted to share their meals.

No matter how one thought about it, this was not something a normal person would do.

"Who are you?" Recovering his senses, Su Da instinctively stepped forward to shield his family, while quietly blocking the dining table behind him.

The kitchen door was rather low, and the man had to duck his head as he walked in. "There's no need to hide it. Rabbit meat, fish meat, chicken meat—you eat them every day."

The Su family, "..."

When did they give themselves away?

Had this man been lurking outside their house sniffing the air for a long time?

As the man stepped further inside, the light previously blocked by the doorway poured in again, instantly making the tiny kitchen feel cramped. At the same time, the man revealed his true appearance to the family.

He was tall and robust, with a straight back and an imposing stature, standing half a head taller than Su Da, who was well over six feet tall.

He wore narrow-sleeved grey robes, a belt cinched around his waist, black cloth shoes, and held a broken saber in one hand.

His facial features were cold and sharp with distinct angles. Beneath a mop of disheveled hair, a pair of dark eyes were as sharp as a falcon's, looking at people like an ancient, thousand-year-old well—cold, calm, and devoid of the slightest ripple.

The moment the Su family got a clear look at him, two words surfaced in all their minds simultaneously: deathly aura.

Utterly lifeless.

The aura emanating from him felt as though he had weathered the purgatory of the mortal realm, stepping over piles of bones out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, completely indifferent to life and death.

"Broken Saber." Completely unconcerned with the Su family's scrutiny, the man shifted his gaze to Su Xiu'er and opened his mouth. "I want to eat rice."

His name was Broken Saber.

He wanted to eat.

The Su family, "..."

When Su Xiu'er made contact with those cold, rippleless eyes, her heart skipped a beat. Feeling cold in her hands and feet as if she had been targeted by a wild beast, she instinctively followed the other's command, pulled over the rice bag, scooped some rice, and set about cooking.

Su Er was furious! "Xiu'er, wait a minute!"

He glared at the man and scolded, "No matter what kind of saber you are, is there any reason to break into someone's home and demand they cook for you? Even if you want to share meals, you should at least ask if we're willing first! Do you understand any manners?—"

Clang—

A silvery-white broken saber flashed through the air. The sharp, piercing sound of the cold blade cleaving the air was fierce and uncompromising, chilling one to the bone.

Immediately following that was a faint snapping sound. A piece of firewood scattered on the ground split cleanly into two halves, the cut completely smooth.

Su Er withdrew his gaze from the fractured firewood and swallowed hard. "Xiu-, Xiu'er, cough, go ahead and cook."

The others wore stiff expressions and twitching mouths, unsure whether to be terrified or amused by the scene.

Yet everyone once again understood a single truth:

In the lands of exile, reasoning was nothing more than a joke.

The man before them demanding nothing more than to share their meals was already considered courteous, seeing as he had at least brought rice and flour with him.

People like those from the Twelfth Wharf, who would barge straight in and slaughter others, were the truly deadly ones.

The hearth in the kitchen was soon reignited, and a cooking pot was set atop the stove to make rice.

Throughout the process, the kitchen remained dead silent. No one spoke, and no one ate first.

This silence persisted for quite a while before it was shattered by a soft, babbling cry.

The little baby held tightly in the old woman's arms waved her tiny hands, babbling as she reached out toward the man, her target being the half-broken saber in his grip.

Her little body leaned more than halfway out of the old woman's embrace, and even after being pulled back, she struggled forward again with a rather persistent momentum.

Upon seeing this, Madam Su and the others broke out in a cold sweat of fright.

Oh, my goodness! Why on earth would she want to crawl over there? That man has a saber!

Su An and the other three little rascals were huddled near their parents' feet. Initially, they too had been stunned by the saber the man had swung, but seeing their little sister reaching out toward him now, and noticing that the fierce-looking man showed no sign of displeasure, the boys' courage grew bolder.

Children were always more curious than afraid of new things, especially given the trick the man had just pulled, which seemed nothing short of miraculous to the young boys.

"Mother, why is his saber only half left?" Su An tilted his head and asked his mother in a low voice, though in the cramped kitchen, the young boy's subdued voice didn't sound all that quiet.

Su Wu chimed in immediately, his eyes sparkling. "I know, I know! It must have been chopped off when he was fighting someone!"

Su Wen added, "Then he lost the fight! Uncle isn't all that impressive after all!"

The Su family's legs turned to jelly.

They had no idea how this was going to end.

Where did the little brats in their family get the audacity to grow such bold whiskers!

Tianbao struggled fiercely in her grandmother's arms, but ultimately failed to break free, ending up firmly pinned against the old woman's chest.

The tiny baby's little face crumpled into a frown, her eyes still glued to that saber, filled with deep regret.

She had heard a very strange sound coming from the saber and just wanted to get closer to take a look, but if she kept struggling, Grandma would get hurt.

While the child was wallowing in her regret, that saber unceremoniously appeared right in front of her.

Madam Su turned as pale as a sheet, assuming the man was about to attack them, and instantly yanked her granddaughter away to the side.

Yet in that briefest of moments, she saw her granddaughter actually reach out and press her tiny hands against the cold blade.

"Tianbao!" the Su family cried out in unison, terrified she might suffer the slightest scratch, and nearly ready to drop to their knees before the man.

Tianbao giggled, "Giggle, giggle!"

The child's crisp, innocent laughter drifted gently through the kitchen. Her flawless, tender little cheek tilted over to press against the body of the blade, her dark, glossy eyes flashing with novelty and brilliance.

Yet the man made no superfluous movements. He merely held the saber level in one hand, seemingly humoring the childlike innocence of the baby, or perhaps using the blade to support her so she wouldn't fall.

"..." Cold sweat streamed down the temples of the Su family members.

With her ear pressed against the body of the blade, the strange sound Tianbao had heard earlier echoed in her ears once more.

A scene unfolded in her mind accordingly.

A battlefield filled with flying yellow sand, ten thousand horses galloping, battle banners fluttering in the wind, and war drums pounding.

Roars were bellowed until voices cracked. Amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, who was that wielding a saber on a galloping steed, resolute and fearless, charging forward relentlessly to protect the mountains, rivers, and people?

Finally, all the sounds converged into the blade, condensing into a wisp of a low hum imperceptible to ordinary people.

Tianbao's laughter gradually died down, her little face turning calm.

She lacked the ability to resonate with human emotions, but she could feel it—the saber was crying.

Tianbao raised her head, looked at the man holding the saber in one hand, and then abruptly reached out, her tiny, soft hand gently patting the back of that large, saber-wielding hand.

The large hand that had held the tens-of-pund heavy broken saber horizontally without a single tremor shuddered slightly at that gentle pat.

Beneath his disheveled hair, the man's dark, sharp eyes stared quietly at the little baby. For a fleeting second, his calm, rippleless gaze held a trace of emotion.

Yet it vanished as quickly as it appeared, too fast for anyone to catch clearly.

"Food... is... is ready..." The young woman's trembling voice broke the tense silence.

Madam Su hurriedly pulled her little granddaughter back into her arms, and the family spontaneously moved to one side of the dining table.

The man strode over to the dining table and sat down. A bowl piled high with rice was placed before him right on cue. He silently picked up his chopsticks and, under the intense gaze of eleven pairs of eyes from the Su family, began to eat with calm composure.

Though he looked rough and unkempt, his movements while eating were extremely elegant, possessing a poise ordinary people lacked.

It completely clashed with his outward appearance.

Once full, the man put down his chopsticks, stood up, and turned to leave.

Leaving behind a single sentence.

"Cook more for dinner. The rice and flour will cover the meal cost."

Upon hearing this, the Su family members felt their minds spin in unison.

Once the man vanished, Su Er gritted his teeth, his face contorted with anger. "He's coming back?!"