"And then what happened?" Bianka was getting anxious. Seeing the middle-aged man pause, she couldn't help but ask.
"Hey, what's the rush?" the man said with a chuckle, though he didn't drag it out. After all, his own desire to share the story was just as irrepressible.
"That monster was terrifying. It could create a fire tornado hundreds, even a thousand meters tall! I saw it with my own eyes!" the man said, his eyes wide with exaggerated emphasis.
"The whole city was like a giant oven. All the skyscrapers and buildings looked like they were about to melt! To be honest, I wasn't even that scared during the fight against that Herrscher three months ago!"
"I thought it was the end of the world... Hiss, no, wait, the end of the world already happened..." the man muttered to himself.
"But even a scene as terrifying as that was perfectly resolved by Captain Shu!"
A look of reminiscence and longing appeared on the man's face.
"I saw... a huge, huge sword appear in the sky. I felt like... there were so, so many people standing in the sky, right behind Captain Shu.
"That sword killed the Emperor-class Honkai Beast in an instant, as easily as flicking away a speck of dust..."
Could he... really be that powerful...?
Bianka could even picture the scene the man was describing in her mind. Perhaps that's how a marvel like the Sword Valley was created...
Even though she was mentally prepared, Bianka was still stunned by the man's words.
"But if it were just about his strength, we wouldn't admire Captain Shu so much, nor would we hold him in such high esteem as we do now.
"What we truly admire is Captain Shu himself," the man said, looking at Bianka with a wistful expression.
"He told us... that he would lead us back to civilization, that he would make sure we would no longer suffer from the Honkai. He made a promise to every single one of us—"
The man's eyes glinted. And then, deep within them, Bianka saw a light as hard as steel, as brilliant as a diamond.
"No matter the cost, humanity will triumph over the Honkai!"
The man uttered this sentence with the most solemn tone Bianka had ever heard from him, even more solemn than when he was imitating Shu earlier.
"We all believe that Captain Shu can do it. Even though things are still difficult now, we are indeed slowly getting better. We can see the hope he gives us, we know what the future he promised looks like...
"So, we are willing to follow him, to help him achieve our shared wish..."
The man clenched his fists. Bianka could feel the fervent passion radiating from him, like a fire burning in his heart...
Suddenly, Bianka's gaze went past the man to a badge hanging behind him.
It was the emblem of the MOTHs: a moth with its head held high, its wings made of fire, soaring even as the flames consumed its body.
Bianka felt like she was beginning to understand the meaning behind that emblem.
Just as Bianka was getting lost in a storm of thoughts, a somewhat childish voice sweetly interrupted her.
"Uncle Liu, can I have a few Great Homu Milk Candies, please?"
"Eh! Coming right up!" The man, now called Uncle Liu, beamed the moment he heard the voice. He stood up and grabbed a large handful of yellow-wrapped Great Homu Milk Candies, piling them into the hands of a small figure who had appeared at some point.
"That's too much! Too much!" the child cried out in alarm, struggling to hold all the candy with both hands. "If I buy this many, Sifu will scold me again when I get back!"
Sifu? What a strange form of address...
Bianka turned her head curiously and saw a little girl, about six or seven years old, frantically trying to put some of the candy back.
What was strange was that the little girl was carrying a gorgeous, golden longsword on her back. The sharp aura it radiated made Bianka take a second look.
But after that second look, Bianka couldn't tear her eyes away.
This sword is powerful! Bianka didn't even know why she felt the sword itself was powerful, rather than the person wielding it or the person who forged it.
Her first instinct was simply—this sword is powerful.
Instinct and reason clashed, and Bianka froze on the spot, staring intently at the golden longsword on the little girl's back.
Until a voice reached her ears.
"Why do you keep staring at my sword?" The little girl's curious voice held a hint of wariness. Bianka snapped back to her senses and saw that the girl had, at some point, taken a step away from her while clutching the candy.
Before Bianka could react, she looked up and saw Uncle Liu standing behind the counter, watching her every move, the same wary look in his eyes.
"Wait!" Being stared at like this, Bianka immediately panicked. She quickly stood up, raising her hands to defend herself. "I'm not..."
"Not what?" Uncle Liu's voice was grim. "Come to think of it, I thought you were a bit strange from the start. Not only do you not know much about what goes on in the MOTHs, you don't even know Captain Shu's story. And now you've been staring at Sushang's sword for so long..."
"What a weird person..." Li Sushang nodded in agreement. "To be here and not even know that scoundrel..."
Bianka fell silent. She realized she had no way to refute that.
Uncle Liu's gaze instantly sharpened. His hand, which had long been resting under the counter, quickly pressed a button. Then, Bianka watched as Uncle Liu somewhat clumsily vaulted right over the counter and landed in front of her
"Sushang, go find Lady Fu Hua! I'll hold them off here!"
At that moment, a long final testament was already echoing in Uncle Liu's mind. Scenes from his past began to flash before his eyes, making him clench his fists even tighter.
Bianka: "..."
Li Sushang: "..."
Ah, this really isn't necessary... Li Sushang could sense that Bianka meant no harm, and the Xuanyuan Sword wasn't giving her any dangerous feedback.
Bianka, on the other hand, was frozen in her seat, her hands still raised. She didn't dare move, afraid that the slightest motion would cause Uncle Liu to throw his life on the line and lunge at her.
About half an hour later...
"I am so sorry!!" Theresa bowed deeply to Uncle Liu and Li Sushang, one hand pulling Bianka along.
Thump! Uncle Liu knelt even more decisively. "No, no, no! We misunderstood her, Lady Judah! You don't have to bow so deeply!!"
Li Sushang nodded vigorously. "That's right, that's right! Sister Theresa, she didn't do anything!"
Theresa finally let out a sigh of relief. She looked back at the very timid Bianka, gave everyone an apologetic smile, and then led Bianka and Li Sushang, who was hugging a pile of candy, away from the scene.
"Senior Theresa, I really didn't do anything..." Bianka was still explaining, terrified that Senior Theresa would misunderstand and revoke her qualification to go to the front lines.
Or even worse, expel her from the squad, forbidding her from ever fighting on the front lines again...
Something like that can't happen! Nooo!!
Even the unflappable Bianka was in a panic now, but there was nothing she could do but explain herself to Theresa over and over again.
"Alright, Bianka." Theresa turned back, a little exasperated. "Of course I believe you didn't do anything..."
In fact, I'd be more surprised if you had done something...
Bianka sighed in relief. Theresa turned to Li Sushang. "Sushang, why aren't you training with Fu Hua today? What are you doing here buying candy?"
Li Sushang, who had been enjoying the show... and the candy, looked up. "Sifu had something to do today. She said I could take a half-day off and even gave me some merit points to buy myself something I like."
"Oh..." Theresa nodded, her gaze drifting to the large pile of candy in Li Sushang's arms. "So you used all the merit points Fu Hua gave you to buy candy?"
"Of course not!" Li Sushang immediately grew flustered, twisting around to try and show Theresa the points she had left. "The shopkeeper just gave me extra! I didn't spend all the allowance Sifu gave me!"
Li Sushang squirmed left and right, trying to shift the entire pile of candy to one hand so she could use the other to show them the remaining money.
But she just couldn't manage it. Instead, candies kept falling from her hands, leaving her looking rather flustered.
The sight made both Bianka and Theresa want to laugh. Sensing their amusement, Li Sushang's face flushed red. In a huff, she tossed the candy into the air and quickly made a hand seal.
The expression on Bianka's face froze instantly. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the candies now floating in mid-air.
Wait, what is this?!
Am I seeing things? The candies... are flying on their own?!
Bianka desperately wanted to grab a candy to see what was going on, but she also didn't want to interfere with whatever technique Li Sushang was using. She could only endure the itch of her curiosity and stare, wide-eyed, at the scene.
"Wow... that's really convenient..." Theresa remarked. There was little surprise in her voice, as if this was a common sight for her.
Li Sushang could control swords with her mind, so controlling other objects for a short time was also possible. Theresa had seen things float in mid-air like this more than once.
But while Theresa had seen it, Bianka had not! Seeing a child no older than six or seven use such a miraculous technique, Bianka once again began to doubt her own strength.
So here, am I really that weak?
"See!" Her hands now free, Li Sushang took out the money she had left and held it out for Theresa and Bianka to see clearly.
"Alright, we know." Theresa smiled and patted Li Sushang's head. This kid will grow up someday. I have to make the most of it and pat her head while she's still shorter than me!
Having proven her point, a puffed-up Li Sushang put her money away and began to quickly gather the floating candies back into her arms.
Theresa started to help, and Bianka's eyes lit up as she quickly joined in.
There was almost no resistance when moving the floating candies. If you took one and tossed it up again, it would fall normally. It seemed the force keeping them afloat was rather weak.
Also...
While secretly trying to figure out the "principle," Bianka returned the collected candy to Li Sushang. By the time she looked up, they had already arrived on the tenth basement level, right in front of the small villa where Theresa lived.
"Bianka, want to come in and sit for a bit?" Theresa asked as she opened the door and took off her shoes.
Li Sushang also naturally took off her shoes, slipped on a pair of small slippers, and ran inside to sit on the living room sofa.
Considering she really had nowhere else to go, Bianka accepted Theresa's invitation. She changed into a pair of slippers shaped like big white geese and walked into the villa.
"You two wait here, I'll go get you something to drink," Theresa said cheerfully after closing the door, about to run to the kitchen.
Bianka loved the bitter melon juice she made. Every time she drank it, she would say how delicious it was! This was one of the few things that had made Theresa happy since meeting Bianka.
Bianka, who had just sat down, was instantly on high alert. Li Sushang, who was happily eating her candy, sprang right off the sofa.
"I want milk!!" Li Sushang yelled, leaning over the back of the sofa and shouting at the retreating Theresa. She had no idea if Theresa heard her.
Getting no response, a nervous Li Sushang sat back down and began to consider if she should make a run for it.
Bianka, however, sat up straight and prim, awaiting the "training trial" from Senior Theresa.
That's right. Bianka had always treated drinking bitter melon juice as a form of "training."
Those who are destined for greatness must first endure hardship...
Senior Theresa must have gone through countless trials to be able to drink so much bitter melon juice with a look of bliss! Bianka looked forward to the day she could do the same.
It was just that her own training was still too shallow. She could only barely manage to drink it without changing her expression...
"Um... Big Sister Bianka, right?" On the other side, Li Sushang, realizing she probably couldn't escape, decided to find an ally.
Bianka, who had been addressed, nodded. "Yes... What is it?"
Li Sushang looked left and right, then whispered to Bianka, "You wanted to see my sword, right?"
Bianka paused. "I did want to see it..."
"Then let's make a deal, okay?" Li Sushang said immediately.
"A deal?" Bianka was confused. "What kind of deal?"
Li Sushang hugged her Xuanyuan Sword and looked at Bianka. "It's... I'll let you see Xuanyuan, and you help me drink the bitter melon juice. How about it?"
Bianka: "?"
So, the difficulty of this training is actually that high?
Bianka pondered for a moment before shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that." After all, she couldn't interfere with another person's training. If she helped her pass the test this way, wouldn't that be cheating?
Li Sushang's first attempt at negotiation failed, and a look of despair washed over her face.
As expected, is the bitter melon juice really that torturous?!