Chapter 443: The Worthless Jade Pendant

Though Zhang Xiaohua’s longsword looked utterly ordinary, just lying there without the slightest trace of peculiarity, not to mention Lu Meng, even Nie Qianyu herself felt she could easily lift it. But knowing Zhang Xiaohua as she did, Nie Qianyu was well aware that this fellow wasn’t someone who’d let himself be taken advantage of. How could he possibly offer a challenge that simple?

So, despite her doubts, Nie Qianyu still nodded hesitantly.

Seeing that Nie Qianyu had agreed as well, Lu Meng no longer held back. He stepped forward, bent down, and grabbed the sword’s hilt with a hand, chuckling: “Little brother-in-law, don’t try to weasel out later! I’ll show you what the second-strongest man in the Artifact Refining Hall can do…Oh…!”

Before he could finish speaking, his words came to an abrupt halt.

“This…?” Lu Meng looked down at the ugly sword embryo lying motionless on the ground, clearly surprised. He muttered: “That can’t be right.”

He glanced at Zhang Xiaohua, who stood off to the side with a faint smile, then looked at Nie Qianyu, who was equally stunned. Only now did he finally realize: this harmless-looking young man wasn’t joking around with him.

Lu Meng first solemnly grabbed the sword hilt again and channeled all his strength into it, but could only nudge it slightly. Standing up, he spat into his palms with a loud “ptui,” rubbed his hands together, then bent down once more. This time, he gripped the sword with both hands, steadying his stance. Once he had a firm hold, he let out a mighty shout: “Up!”

As Lu Meng strained with both arms, the longsword was actually lifted bit by bit.

“Hmm?” Zhang Xiaohua’s face showed a hint of surprise. He silently thought, This brute really is quite strong. Good thing I didn’t overestimate myself earlier and only said he had to lift it high up. If I’d said he needed to move it, I might’ve lost the bet.

Although Lu Meng did manage to raise the sword, the tip still dragged along the ground. When the hilt reached a certain height, his face had turned beet red. In the end, he just couldn’t hold it anymore—his grip loosened, and the longsword came crashing down with a loud Bang, shaking the entire floor.

Nie Qianyu, watching from the side, was utterly shocked. This longsword, so plain in appearance, was the kind that anyone would glance at once and immediately forget. She was the same. All this time, the sword had been carried on Huanhuan’s back as they traveled. Even when Zhang Xiaohua used it in battle, it had always seemed light and effortless, not even stained with dust. She had always assumed it was a failed, unrefined sword embryo, never once considering its true weight.

The weight of that longsword—how could it be this heavy!?

In a flash, Nie Qianyu suddenly understood why Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t brought the longsword onto the stage!

At this moment, Lu Meng stood to the side, rubbing his hands, clearly embarrassed. His face was still flushed red, and as he looked at Zhang Xiaohua, his gaze held a mix of admiration and lingering disbelief. He couldn’t help but ask: “Erm… little brother-in-law, how about you give this sword a lift? I just can’t believe it. You’ve got such a skinny frame—how can you possibly pick up something this heavy?”

Nie Qianyu couldn’t help but laugh and said: “Senior Brother Lu, don’t make a fool of yourself. If Brother Ren brought this sword over, obviously, he could lift it. Just think about it with your head. Besides, I saw it with my own eyes.”

Lu Meng scratched his head and muttered: “Little junior sister, I just wanted to see it for myself.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t bother to respond. He stepped forward, reached out with his left hand, grabbed the longsword, and casually waved it a few times in front of Lu Meng. A gust of wind stirred up from his swings, blowing Lu Meng back several steps.

“Well?” Zhang Xiaohua asked with a bright smile, though the corner of his eye was glancing toward the booklet on the table.

Lu Meng hung his head dejectedly and said: “Little brother-in-law, you really are impressive. With such a heavy weapon even channeling inner force wouldn’t be enough to lift it. I admit defeat.”

With that, he walked to the table, picked up the booklet, and hesitantly held it out in front of Zhang Xiaohua. “I’ll leave this manual with you for now. I’ll come back with silver to redeem it later. Oh right—how much silver do you want?”

“Whatever works. Three or five hundred taels will do.”

By now, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes no longer even registered small bits of loose silver. When he opened his mouth, it was whole figures.

Lu Meng’s eye twitched at the number, but he clenched his teeth and said: “Five hundred it is. But—this book contains the secret techniques of our Artifact Refining Hall. You’re not allowed to peek at it.”

Zhang Xiaohua laughed: “Of course. Didn’t I just say? I absolutely won’t use my eyes to read it.”

With that, he reached out to take the booklet.

Nie Qianyu, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke up with a smile: “Brother Ren, stop teasing Senior Brother Lu already.”

Zhang Xiaohua was startled, and Lu Meng was taken aback.

Lu Meng quickly drew his hand back, and Zhang Xiaohua glanced at the little booklet being withdrawn, unconsciously swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Lu Meng widened his eyes and asked: “Junior Sister, what are you talking about?”

Nie Qianyu chuckled and said: “Senior Brother Lu, were you thinking that if Brother Ren simply kept your booklet without reading it, he wouldn’t be able to see what’s inside, and then you wouldn’t be punished under the sect rules? So you could rest easy?”

Lu Meng nodded vigorously.

Nie Qianyu continued: “But what if Brother Ren asks me to read it to him, and I recite it aloud? Wouldn’t that also count as not using his eyes to read, and yet still learning the Artifact Refining Hall’s techniques?”

“This…” Lu Meng suddenly realized. He stared straight at Zhang Xiaohua and asked, “Was that your plan, little brother-in-law?”

Zhang Xiaohua put on a completely innocent face, spreading his hands. “I can only say that Little Fish Nie is using a petty heart to judge a gentleman’s intent. I swear to the heavens, I never had such a plan in mind.”

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua take a solemn oath, Lu Meng finally relaxed his expression. However, his hand still hesitated—he wasn’t quite willing to hand over the booklet.

Nie Qianyu looked at Zhang Xiaohua and said: “Brother Ren, don’t hold it against Senior Brother Lu anymore. He just came to test your strength because he wanted… wanted you to see the strength of his family’s brother-in-law, so that you…”

By the end, her voice had dropped to a whisper, barely louder than a mosquito, and her face was flushed bright red.

Finally, she forced herself to say: “If you keep the booklet, even if you don’t read it, Senior Brother Lu will still likely be punished under sect rules. I think… you’d be doing him a favor by letting it go this once.”

Zhang Xiaohua was practically crying in his heart: Little Fish Nie, just whose side is your elbow bending toward!?

But on the surface, he could only chuckle and say: “Hehe, Miss Nie really does know what I was thinking. Indeed, I just wanted to teach him a little lesson—running over here just because someone said something, trying to make trouble for me. If I didn’t show him a bit of strength, there’d probably be more people coming tomorrow, right?”

“You—you knew about that…”

Lu Meng pointed at Zhang Xiaohua in surprise.

Zhang Xiaohua looked at Nie Qianyu and smiled: “Anyone who can hold a conversation with Miss Nie—could they possibly be foolish?”

“Pfft!” Nie Qianyu couldn’t help spitting in mock annoyance.

Lu Meng quickly gave a deep bow and said: “Then I must apologize to little brother-in-law. If not for your strength, I would’ve made a huge mistake.”

Even as he spoke, his hands were quick—he immediately stuffed the little booklet back into his robe. Zhang Xiaohua’s gaze reluctantly followed it until it disappeared.

Then, seeing the messy odds and ends left on the table, Lu Meng grabbed a handful of jade pendants and stuffed them into Zhang Xiaohua’s arms, saying: “Regardless, little brother-in-law, you won. The bet must be honored. These jade pendants aren’t worth much, but take them as a pledge.”

How could Zhang Xiaohua accept it? He righteously declared: “Senior Brother Lu, you’re underestimating me. It was all just playful banter—why take it seriously?”

As he spoke, he made to push the jade pendants back. But the moment his fingers touched them and felt their warm, smooth surface, his divine sense involuntarily swept over them. Good heavens! There was a faint fluctuation of Yuan Qi. His hand, which was pushing them away, couldn’t help but pause mid-air.

Hearing Zhang Xiaohua try to refuse, Lu Meng leaned forward again, insisting: “Just take it! These may not be worth much, but they represent my face as a man. I’ll bring those five hundred taels of silver tomorrow and redeem them!”

“Redeem them??” Zhang Xiaohua laughed to himself. How could I possibly give them back?

He immediately became even more upright and forthright, saying: “Senior Brother Lu, now that’s not right! We’ve already agreed it was all just a misunderstanding. If we bring silver and worldly things into it, wouldn’t that make me seem petty and shallow? That’d mean I don’t know how to handle myself in the world. Tell you what—since this is about your face, and I can’t just throw it on the ground, and you said the pendants aren’t worth much and don’t mind giving them, then I’ll just treat them as the wager I won.”

With that, he put on a look of solemn determination and decisively tucked the jade pendants into his robe.

Lu Meng was so moved that he grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s arm and said: “No, little brother-in-law, we agreed to speak plainly and act plainly! How can these worthless pendants count as a wager? Don’t worry, little brother-in-law—I’ll definitely bring the silver tomorrow!”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s expression instantly changed. “So Senior Brother Lu doesn’t regard me as family, is that it? If that’s how you feel, then I won’t accept the pendants either. Just pretend you never came here tonight.”

“Ah! How could that be?” Lu Meng panicked. “Alright, alright! We’ll go with what little brother-in-law said. The jade pendants are the wager. Sigh, I never expected little brother-in-law to be such a noble and selfless man. I, Lu Meng, am truly ashamed!”

Zhang Xiaohua was secretly delighted and laughed: “The strength of a horse is seen over long distance, and the heart of a man over time. What kind of person I am, Senior Brother Lu will find out the longer we interact. Oh right—Senior Brother Lu, you won’t be insisting I leave tomorrow, will you?”

Lu Meng was instantly flustered again. “No, of course not! Even if little brother-in-law wants to stay in Peach Blossom Hermitage for a lifetime, I wouldn’t say a single word against it. I was just offering my congratulations!”

“You…” This time Nie Qianyu, standing at the side, couldn’t stay quiet.

Realizing he’d said the wrong thing again, Lu Meng didn’t dare linger. He cupped his hands and said: “Wishing little brother-in-law many more days like today, and many more nights like tonight. Farewell, farewell!”

At that, even Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t keep a straight face.

Watching Lu Meng hurry off in a fluster, he could only shake his head again and again.

The little hall, which had just been full of laughter and commotion, fell silent once more—still echoing with the awkwardness of Lu Meng’s parting “congratulations.”

Zhang Xiaohua saw that Nie Qianyu had lowered her head shyly and remained silent. He didn’t speak either, but his divine sense was already spreading outward. Sure enough, once Qiang Sheng saw Lu Meng walk out, he immediately darted forward to intercept him. Though he couldn’t hear what was being said, Lu Meng’s furious expression and the way he pointed at Qiang Sheng made it obvious that he was cursing and saying unpleasant things.

Watching Lu Meng stride away in a huff and Qiang Sheng stomp his foot and rush after him, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Xiaohua’s lips.

Just then, he heard Nie Qianyu softly say: “Brother Ren, are you still upset over what I said?”