264: Bargain (Bai Ye's Memory)

Bargain (Bai Ye's Memory)

The discovery of the sword spirit's hidden gift quickly led things in a new direction. Bai Ye started trying to spend more time with her, in hopes of learning more about the true nature of a sword spirit and guiding her in the right direction. A power and knowledge as unique as hers impressed him, but at the same time, he felt somewhat uneasy leaving it in the hands of such a naive girl.0

He quickly realized, however, that he should've thought better of what he was getting himself into. He had never taken a disciple before, and although this girl wasn't really a disciple, she required as much attention and patience as the worst ones, if not more. He frequently ended up staring into a pair of big, confused eyes, even if he was only explaining simple, common sense to her. Other times, he had to keep gritting his teeth while she challenged his way of things, bluntly and occasionally with radical logic.

"You make everything so strict and boring," she would complain. "Why does there need to be all these rules around how we do things? Why can't we just do what's reasonable and necessary?"

He would tell her that whatever one person deemed reasonable and necessary might not apply to everyone else, and that the world wouldn't be able to function properly without people following the norms and standards they are supposed to obey. She would disagree, with different examples and arguments each time. Those conversations almost always left Bai Ye fuming, making him wonder every day why he was still tolerating this impossible girl instead of sealing her back into her swords.

Winter was upon them before he knew it, and the days quickly slipped by while they busied themselves with those constant strifes. Then spring followed. The warm weather painted Mount Hua in shades of new colors … and brought him even more surprises.

It was a wet morning when Bai Ye found the sword spirit in the garden again. The last lingering snow from the winter months had just melted, turning the whole garden into a puddle of slush, and she was squatting on the side of the walkway, the hem of her dress buried into the deep mud.

Bai Ye couldn't help but frown. "What are you trying to plant this time?" he asked. "Don't tell me it's that grass again. There's enough of it here now to absorb all the yin power even if we live underground."

He regretted his tone a little as soon as he said it. It was true that the girl had been planting way too many random grasses and herbs in his garden, but he knew that she was doing it for his sake. He just couldn't get used to it.

Fortunately, the girl didn't seem to mind. "I have a plan for spring." She straightened and flashed him a bright smile. "Your garden is a bit monotonic. There's enough greenery, but not enough vibrant colors. I was thinking about adding some peonies behind these fences … Do you like peonies?"

Bai Ye frowned further at her words. Why would she think a man like him would be interested in flowers? He barely even knew what peonies looked like. "I don't like them," he answered flatly. "We don't need flowers here. This is not a garden for wooing visitors."

"Master!" The girl hopped over the cobblestones lining the walkway and looked up at him. "Please … Just a couple of stems? It won't take much of your space."

Bai Ye took a step back subconsciously. He always found himself a bit vulnerable when she looked at him like this, with so much hope gleaming in her big eyes that he didn't know how to react. But he wouldn't give in. "I don't want anything here unless it's necessary," he insisted. "Peonies aren't useful to us."

"They are my favorites …" she mumbled in disappointment. "Seeing them bloom makes me happy."

Bai Ye gritted his teeth once more at such an immature comment. Though just as he was about to scold her, a new idea formed in his mind. "If that's the case—" he couldn't help smiling as the girl's face lit up, "—how about we make a deal? If I let you plant those flowers, you need to do something for me in return, so we can both be happy with the outcome."

The girl blinked. "What can I do?" she asked eagerly.

"Practice with Twin Stars."

The truth was, Bai Ye had been trying to convince her to learn to use Twin Stars properly for a while, but to no avail. It baffled him that a sword spirit would dislike their own swords to such an extent, and her stubbornness had become his biggest headache lately. Not because he was intent on forcing someone to do what they didn't want to … but because he remembered what he had read before about spirits of legendary swords, that without proper handling of their connection to the swords, the spirits would weaken, sometimes to an extent that threatens their lives.

As much as he thought the girl was the most troublesome presence in his hall, he didn't want to see her hurt. If a bargain like this was necessary to get her to agree, he'd do it.

She lowered her head and bit her lips, as if making the hardest decision. "I told you I don't like Twin Stars … It's a weapon for killing. I don't want to learn how to use it."

Bai Ye shook his head. "And I told you as well, killing is never the purpose of wielding a sword. It also gives people the power to protect themselves, as well as others."

She opened her mouth, but before more protests came out, she pursed her lips again. Then she sighed. "If I agree … then you promise you'll let me plant those peonies?"

"Promise. And if you do well at your practices, you can plant even more flowers as you wish."

A long silence ensued. She looked like she wanted to argue more, but in the end, she nodded. "It's a deal then," she smiled, the spirited and carefree look returning to her face. "I'll start practicing tomorrow morning, and you won't say a word against my arrangement of the flowers."

Bai Ye let out a sigh of relief. For the first time in months, he felt like things were finally moving along the way they were supposed to.

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