True Solution of the Sword Dao

The next day, Jiang Nan followed Lin Fei’s family back to the residential area in Yizhong, and luckily there was an extra room. The original study was tidied up a bit, and the sofa inside was dragged out by Lin Fei and Lin Jianguo together.

The morning light was plentiful, but there was no sunlight, just cloudy weather. In the study, Lin Jianguo, Jiang Feng, Lin Fei, and Lin You were all present, with Jiang Nan standing on the side.

"The study is not small, it’s just right to make into a bedroom for Nannan." Lin Jianguo pointed to the spot where they had just dragged out the sofa. "We’ll go buy Nannan a single bed later and put it right here."

"Did Nannan sleep well last night? You always has a hard time sleeping, often kicking off the covers." Jiang Feng asked Jiang Nan gently.

"No, I slept very well," Jiang Nan replied with a smile. Meanwhile, Lin You couldn’t help but yawn. There was a faint darkness under her eyes—it seemed she hadn’t slept well.

Lin You looked at Jiang Nan, who was smiling, and suddenly started sizing her up.

"Actually, on closer look, she is quite pretty and has a good foundation. Although she’s still a bit lacking compared to me, she is above average. It’s just her style that’s a bit lacking." She didn’t know why she suddenly started paying attention to this. However, the image of Lin Fei smiling and rubbing Jiang Nan’s head from yesterday flashed through her mind, instantly stirring up a feeling of displeasure.

In fact, she had fantasized about having a loving elder brother who would rub her head gently like that, as warm as the sunshine, to rely on when she felt helpless, and who would embrace her when she was sad. He would silently fulfill all her whims when she was capricious, and smile gently at her when she was irritable. But reality was cruel. Lin Fei was not only not supportive of her but always confronted her head-on, had poor grades, lacked presence, was petty, and never considered her feelings, always minding his own business and often spoke harshly.

"Although... although it seems a bit better now," Lin You glanced at Lin Fei beside her. The white light from the window fell on his profile. Lin Fei seemed to notice her staring and slightly turned his face to give Lin You a soft smile. Under the light, his smile was as gentle and soft as cotton. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Lin You’s cheeks turned slightly red, and for some reason, she turned her head away on her own accord, while the black cat in her arms was yawning and suddenly got a fierce tug from her.

"Meow!" Feil’s fur stood on end.

"You damned cat, and here I was wondering why my face felt hot; it must be something you’ve done!" Lin You thought bitterly to herself.

"What does your blushing have to do with me?"

But Feil wasn’t annoyed; anyway, when it got tugged, Lin You felt the pain too. It was about to doze off when suddenly Lin You gave it a yank, and it realized something was off. Its cat eyes glanced between Lin Fei and Lin You, seeming to realize something.

"Lin You, you’re being tsundere again."

Lin You’s face darkened.

"You, why do you seem off? You should go and rest a bit." It was Jiang Feng who noticed Lin You’s complexion.

"Even if you disdain it, but when you see someone taking what should have been yours, everyone would feel uncomfortable," continued Feil.

"Mind your own business!" Lin You suddenly said.

Jiang Feng looked at her daughter with a puzzled face, not yet understanding what was going on.

However, Lin You realized what she had just blurted out and immediately panicked. She hurried over and grabbed Jiang Feng’s hand, apologizing repeatedly while trying to act cute and pitiful.

Jiang Nan’s eyes flashed with a hint of envy and quickly turned melancholic.

Lin Jianguo was putting the books from the desk onto the bookshelf. After everything was in place, he clapped his hands.

"Alright, Nannan, come with me to the market to look at beds, we’ll try to buy one today and have it delivered."

"There’s no need, I already said sleeping on the sofa is fine," Jiang Nan quickly waved her hands.

"That won’t do! A girl should take good care of herself," Jiang Feng interjected.

Jiang Nan declined for a while, but seeing that her grand uncle and grand aunt still insisted, she reluctantly turned her gaze to Lin Fei beside her. Her relationship with Lin Fei had always been very close, something everyone knew. Suddenly being in a strange environment, she naturally thought of the person she was most familiar and comfortable with as her main support.

"Feifei, come with me." Jiang Nan whispered.

Lin Fei was supposed to receive a call from Chen Chen today and visit the company’s well-addressed branch. But seeing the plea in Jiang Nan’s eyes, he nodded.

"In that case, let’s go together, and I’ll sort out your job as well today. Better to avoid any more delays."

Lin Jianguo expressed his concern, "Won’t it be too much trouble for Xiaoling? Even if you have a good relationship, constantly troubling someone is not right. It might lead to estrangement over time."

He took it as Xiaoling helping out.

"Dad, it’s not about Xiaoling. Didn’t I tell you I joined a Sword Dao hobby class a while ago? The fitness club that started the class decided to spin it off as an independent Swordsmanship Club. I, being the best student in swordsmanship there, was chosen by the club to be the instructor for daily lessons. They even gave me a slot to appoint a swordsmanship attendant. That’s why I’m so confident."

"Is it really that good? Doesn’t Japanese Sword Dao require a certain rank?" Lin You immediately interjected.

"We are not learning Japanese Sword Dao." Lin Fei explained, "And even if it were Japanese Sword Dao, rank and actual combat capability are not directly proportional. Because to qualify for the next rank, you must stay at the current level for a number of years. Those high ranks like seventh or eighth dan, they are usually in their thirties or forties. No matter how skilled you are, you won’t qualify if you don’t have the age."

"Is that so?" Lin You said, unconvinced. "Then what are you learning? Isn’t Sword Dao supposed to mean Japanese Sword Dao?"

"We are learning the orthodox Hua Nation swordsmanship." Lin Fei explained with a smile, which was a premeditated excuse and cover-up. "Japanese Sword Dao, when you get down to it, is just a variation of sword techniques, so a Japanese Sword can also be called a Japanese blade. Meanwhile, Hua Nation swordsmanship is the true Sword Dao, or rather, swordsmanship."

"Are you talking about those frequently shown on TV, those swordsmanship competitions where kids spin around and perform?" Jiang Feng asked doubtfully, referencing television’s performance-focused sword competitions.

"Not exactly, ours is more of a branch of martial arts, focusing on practical swordsmanship, not those performing routines." Lin Fei continued.

"Are there even people learning that?" Lin Jianguo asked with a frown.

"Yes." Lin Fei said with a smile, pointing at himself.

******************

After withdrawing some money, Lin Jianguo took Lin Fei and Jiang Nan to the nearest furniture mall.

Upon arriving at the first floor of the furniture mall, there was a vast array of beds, tightly packed together. Almost all were handcrafted by private artisans, each spot offering various types of beds. Wooden ones, iron ones, wire mesh ones, and so on.

They initially let Jiang Nan choose by herself, but after she selected the cheapest single beds twice, Lin Jianguo gave up on letting her choose and picked a moderately priced wooden bed. He paid to have it delivered to their home.

"I’ll go ahead and sort out Nannan’s job situation," Lin Fei said, knowing Jiang Nan’s strong sense of self-esteem. If she started earning her own income sooner, it would ease her burden a lot.

True enough, Jiang Nan immediately nodded, "That would be best, I want to start working soon too."

Seeing her agreement, Lin Jianguo couldn’t really object. "Then I’ll wait for the bed delivery people to come back with me. Feifei, take good care of Nannan."

"Understood," Lin Fei nodded.

Leaving the furniture mall behind, Lin Fei and Jiang Nan found a bus stop on Taoyuan Road and waited for the bus there.

Without Lin Jianguo around, Jiang Nan instinctively moved closer to Lin Fei. Staring at Lin Fei’s silhouette ahead, Jiang Nan felt as if he was her only support in the whole world. Among the myriad of strangers, he was the sole familiar face, and she couldn’t help but want to draw even closer to him.

"What’s the matter, Nannan?" Lin Fei suddenly turned around and asked, puzzled.

"No, nothing," Jiang Nan said, lowering her head and speaking softly.

When they reached Taoyuan Road, Lin Fei led Jiang Nan into a building at the street corner. This building was leased solely under the name of Kunpeng Club by Rainbow Group to serve as the company address. The Swordsmanship Club occupied areas from the Second Layer to the Fourth Layer. A large black sign hung from these floors, boldly emblazoned with the words ’Swordsmanship Club’ in white, the characters swirling dramatically, embodying a commanding presence.