Chapter 235

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Chapter 235: Wooden Sword and Pompom

The first item is a wooden sword.

The old woman directed Chao Lu to a path, and she followed it until she reached an open area in no time.

On the ground of the open area, there was a wooden sword held in the hand of a wooden sculpture.

The little girl named Liu Er, who was previously unseen, was standing by the edge of the open area.

She crouched by the edge of the open area, holding a pompom in her hands, with a pout on her face.

Chao Lu approached and tried to take the wooden sword, but failed. She exerted several attempts, only to find the sword firmly grasped.

“Little girl, are there any other wooden swords?” Chao Lu could only crouch down and inquire.

“No, there are no more. There’s only that one,” the girl said unhappily.

“What’s wrong?” Chao Lu found her adorable.

“This wooden head just keeps practicing sword techniques all day long.” The girl rubbed the pompom forcefully, complaining with a pout, “Every time I come, I have to wait for a long, long time before he pays attention to me. But now he’s not paying attention to me at all. I don’t know how to make him let go of that wooden sword.”

Chao Lu looked at the wooden figure and suddenly understood something.

She pondered and said, “You should try to get his attention.”

“How can I get his attention?”

“For example, practice sword techniques together with him?” Chao Lu suggested.

“I don’t know how to practice sword techniques, and fighting is scary. I don’t want to,” the girl shook her head, her pigtails swaying like breaking waves.

“Then, how about pretending to cry?”

“That would just attract the uncles and aunties, and then I’ll have to go back home,” Liu Er still disagreed.

Chao Lu also felt perplexed for a while. This problem was a bit too challenging for her as well.

When she was a child, she used to be a leader of mischief, responsible for leading her little friends to all sorts of misbehaviors.

Playing is a child’s nature. This girl looks like she’s about seven or eight, and the boy is not even ten. How can he be so diligent in practicing sword techniques?

“Do you want him to play with you?” Chao Lu asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Liu Er nodded.

“What about other playmates? Leaving this sword training idiot here,” Chao Lu pretended to be indignant.

“They’re all mean, bullying others and saying they won’t play with girls. Wood is still better,” Liu Er blinked her big eyes, “You’re not allowed to say bad things about the wood, even though he really is a wooden head.”

Chao Lu resisted the urge to spin around with the girl in her arms. Despite the fact that her life was at stake, she still had the mood to chat with a child.

But she was so adorable.

“Alright, I won’t say bad things about him,” Chao Lu pondered, “If you want him to play with you, have you told him yet?”

“Yes, I told him, but he said he doesn’t have time, he needs to practice sword techniques.”

“So, you shouldn’t just wait like this. Don’t you have the pompom in your hands? Hold it and try to exchange it with him,” Chao Lu suggested, thinking this might be a key item.

Liu Er’s eyes brightened, but she hesitated. She handed the pompom to Chao Lu.

Chao Lu placed the ball in front of the wooden figure, and indeed, he let go of the wooden sword and picked up the ball.

The little girl smiled with joy, then grabbed the wooden figure and ran out of the yard.

Chao Lu picked up the wooden sword, and suddenly noticed that it was somewhat heavy. It was made of wood, but not ordinary wood. The handle of the wooden sword was stained with some blood, seemingly the traces left behind by long-time gripping.

She returned to the courtyard where the old woman was and put down the wooden sword.

The old woman said softly, “Would you like to hear the story behind this wooden sword?”

Chao Lu was initially a bit anxious, planning to immediately find the next item and leave early.

But by a strange twist of fate, she said, “Sure.”

The old woman began to tell the story with great detail, “This is a story about childhood sweethearts, two innocent children.”

“…”

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

Swinging the sword through the air, the sound of airflow continued.

There were no wooden stakes, only swinging the wooden sword in the air, constantly training physical stamina.

In this life, Bai Wei suddenly found himself waking up as a six or seven-year-old child. He was awakened due to falling into water, feeling weak and having a fever.

He might have woken up much later, but waking up at the age of six or seven might not be so bad, as there was still plenty of room for growth.

It was the twenty-seventh cycle, not even halfway to a hundred, still a long way to go.

Also, because the previous cycles were evaluated to be too dismal, he didn’t receive any usable cheats in this life.

He chose the simple compensations of ‘iron willpower’ and ‘diligence makes up for clumsiness.’

He was born into an ordinary small wealthy family in the southern region, barely making a living. The worldview seemed like an ancient one, but it was said to be far from peaceful, and people’s circumstances were not good.

Bai Wei remembered that his falling into the water wasn’t straightforward. He had been bullied by a bully, and something was hidden beneath the water. The motivation for revenge drove him to start learning martial arts.

Even though the physical foundation of this body was average, relying on extensive training allowed him to always improve his level. Without any cheats, he could only rely on sweat.

He began to continuously train, from morning to night, until his stamina was completely drained.

Many people saw his training, adults didn’t take it seriously, but in the eyes of children, he seemed like a completely different person.

After he taught a lesson to the bully in that group of children, hardly anyone dared to approach him, except for one exception.

The little girl from the neighboring house, his childhood sweetheart, named Liu Xiaowan.

She came from a scholarly family, with a father renowned for his talents and a mother who was an elegant lady. The reason they became neighbors was that their family was in a humble background.

Liu Xiaowan was taught by her father, who studied the books of sages, so she was more mature than ordinary people. She and Bai Wei were childhood sweethearts, though they weren’t particularly close in the past. However, after Bai Wei fell into the water, she quickly became clingy to him.

Bai Wei believed that women would only affect the speed of swinging a sword, and girls were the same. He often ignored her and let her sit in the courtyard for a long time, thinking that she would leave on her own when she got bored. After all, children don’t have that much patience.

Adults find children annoying. If they’re not their own offspring, who would willingly take care of them? In ancient times or in rural areas of the last century, children were mostly left to roam freely once they reached a certain age.

But Liu Er was incredibly patient. She could actually wait for Bai Wei to swing his sword thousands of times until he was too tired to move before taking out a book and teaching him how to write. However, Bai Wei had already learned on his own to a reasonable extent. The characters of this era were not difficult to memorize. The only thing he lacked was experience reading articles. He didn’t have much reverence for this unfamiliar world in his heart.

Being taught to read by a little girl, Bai Wei naturally had a stern face, hoping that she would be quiet for a while on her own.

But she always persevered and followed him, even staying in Bai Wei’s house several times to mooch off his meals.

With such cold treatment, half a year passed until one day she didn’t bring a book but held a newly bought ball instead.

The ball, known as “juqiu,” was a leather ball used in a sport called cuju. Its origins could be traced back to the Yellow Emperor and it was used for military training.

When Bai Wei saw her coming with the ball, he knew what she meant. Being stared at by the little girl, he softened a bit, but he still didn’t give in.

He continued with his iron will.

There is no room for women in his heart, and the sword naturally becomes his god.

This made Liu Xiaowan very sad and upset. She cried, wiped her tears, and ran home while scolding Bai Wei as being oblivious. She even attracted the attention of adults.

Liu Xiaowan’s mother also walked over and didn’t know what to say when she saw Bai Wei pretending to be oblivious. All she could do was sigh and say, “You’re an honest child.”

…No, why are you still scolding people?

Liu Xiaowan, who was less than ten years old, inherited the appearance of both her mother and father. She was already good-looking, and in a while, there would naturally be young boys who admired her.

In the eyes of adults, Bai Wei was just a simple-minded child who didn’t interact with pretty girls, so naturally there were no other thoughts. He merely didn’t have any interest in this little girl. In the previous reincarnation, he had encountered many beautiful but wicked women who all wanted to have an intimate relationship with him, the kind that could be fatal. Unfortunately, Bai Wei didn’t have the ability to resist. He struggled back and forth but ultimately succumbed.

In the cycle of reincarnation, the protagonist’s halo actually had no real effect. Instead, it had a negative impact because it meant having to die multiple times.

Bai Wei thought that after her tantrum, she wouldn’t come again. However, the next day she arrived once more, holding a book and bringing the ball. She had an attitude of “If you don’t play with me, I’ll wait for you forever.” Then, after a while, her eyes turned red. Bai Wei thought of what happened yesterday and his iron will wavered slightly. He glanced at her, and just with that glance, the girl’s eyes brightened, she chuckled lightly, and then raised the ball.

Bai Wei turned his head, ignoring her. She was actually pretending to cry.

Liu Er rubbed her eyes again, sniffed, and seemed to be gathering strength.

Bai Wei gritted his teeth and looked at her again.

Liu Xiaowan pouted and looked at the ball.

Bai Wei turned his head for the second time, took a deep breath, and continued to swing his sword.

Then the soccer ball directly hit him on the head with a loud smack, causing him to stagger.

“Woodenhead!” she crossed her arms and, no longer meek and submissive, shouted loudly, “Play with me!!”

Bai Wei couldn’t take it anymore and slapped the wooden sword onto the ground.

“Fine, let’s play!”

“I’m going to beat you 40 to 0, aaah!”

Translator: Vol 21 has been translated and published on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3KqS7jV);