Bloodline Tree

“A ladle?” Tianan asked as he came over and took a seat.

“Yeah,” Tianhu nodded, his eyes focused on smoothing the surface of the ladle with his sword intent.

“You have this ability, and I still had to make my own cutlery?” Tianan asked, watching as Tianhu worked his magic.

“I thought you brought everything from the city?” Tianhu asked.

“We couldn’t bring everything,” Tianan answered, “Besides, we have had quite a few little ones joining us since then.”

“That’s because you keep marrying wives,” Tianhu said.

“Hey, two of them were from Jing and Hua,” Tianan said.

“Right,” Tianhu nodded, still with his attention on the ladle. He was almost finished with it, and the finishing touches still required some effort for him.

“You’re just jealous,” Tianan muttered.

Tianhu looked up from his ladle and turned to Tianan with a raised eyebrow.

“Fine. But you should be jealous. It’s just that you’re weird,” Tianan argued.

“Fair enough,” Tianhu shrugged and looked down at his ladle again, “If you need anything carved, you can ask in the future. I didn’t really have this hobby back when we got here, so I didn’t think to offer.”

“It’s fine,” Tianan said, “It’s something to do, I guess. But it does feel a bit like an old man's hobby.”

“Well, you’re not young,” Tianhu said, “Xinming and Xinqian are 14 soon, right?”

“Just because I got kids earlier than you doesn’t make you younger than me,” Tianan said.

“True,” Tianhu admitted.

“Then again, I guess it’s relative. Dad doesn’t really age despite getting older, does he? I think he looks younger than me now,” Tianan commented.

“Well, he is a Saint,” Tianhu said.

“Still can’t believe it,” Tianan said, shaking his head slightly.

“It’s Dad, is it really that surprising?” Tianhu asked.

“I guess not,” Tianan admitted.

Tianan turned quiet for a moment, and Tianhu kept smoothing out the ladle in his hand. There wasn’t really any way to improve the power of his sword intent. If he practiced at full power, the commotion would be too great, so he had started using it for these sorts of things instead. He figured it shouldn’t be useless to practice the more precise aspect of his sword intent. Not to mention that there was always a use for whatever he made in the settlement. It wasn’t like there was a shop around where they could get this stuff.

“So, grandpa is getting worse,” Tianan said after a while.

“Worse than yesterday?” Tianhu asked.

“Yeah,” Tianan nodded, “It’s noticeably worse every day now, it feels like. I don’t think he has many more days in him.”

Tianhu frowned slightly, “Have you met Mom today? How is she?”

“Sad, of course. But he’s been sick for some time now. I think she has accepted it,” Tianan answered, “As much as you can accept it, at least. Anyway, I thought we could bring the kids over and visit him with Mom. When grandpa gets tired, we could go back to Mom’s and have dinner together?”

“Alright,” Tianhu nodded, “I’ll tell Xiaoshi about it.”

“Good,” Tianan nodded, “Where have she and the kids gone off to? It’s rare to see the courtyard empty. Usually, you are all gathered, swinging your swords together.”

“They’re inside. Xiaoshi is teaching them,” Tianhu answered.

“Teaching? I thought you were the one who taught them?” Tianan asked.

“I teach the Shu Characters and the family rules,” Tianhu answered, “Xiaoshi teaches them etiquette and culture and…well, I can’t remember it all. Noble things, you know.”

“Right,” Tianan said, “Sometimes I forget they have royal blood. Anyway, I’ll head over to Tianren, then, and talk to him about seeing grandpa.”

“Right,” Tianhu nodded.

Tianan rose to his feet and walked off. Tianhu finished his ladle in peace, waiting for the kids to finish their lesson.

Twenty minutes later, two little girls came rushing out of the house.

“Dad! We’re finished!” Xinjiang shouted.

“Dad! Time to play!” Xinxi joined in, throwing herself on his back.

“Play? I thought you wanted to practice?” Tianhu asked.

“Same thing. Let’s go, hurry,” Xinjiang said, pulling Tianhu to his feet.

Tianhu sighed. Sometimes, he wondered if he and Xiaoshi had made a mistake letting them practice with swords so early.

They were still young; they really should be playing. But swords weren’t toys, and they couldn’t play if they wanted to practice swordsmanship.

“Dad,” Xinmo walked out and nodded to Tianhu before walking off, probably to train on his own.

‘At least Xinmo doesn’t cause me any worry.’

“We’ll start soon,” Tianhu said, “I need to talk to your mother first.”

“Can you give us our swords first?” Xinjiang pleaded.

“No,” Tianhu refused firmly before hurrying inside. He didn’t dare look at his daughters’ cute pouts.

Xiaoshi was in the living room, tidying up the papers on the table.

Tianhu glanced at them. There was a bunch of nonsense about various musicians, all long dead.

‘What’s the point of learning about these people when we don’t even have a way to listen to the music they made?’

“Do the kids really need to learn all this?” Tianhu asked.

“You think the girls are too obedient and already very cultured?” Xiaoshi gave him a look and asked.

“Well,” Tianhu didn’t know what to say. His wife seemed prickly.

“It’s all knowledge,” Xiaoshi said, picking up the papers, “It can’t be bad to know a bit more. Besides, what else can I do with my days?”

Tianhu sighed. Xiaoshi had been a Grandmaster for over eight years, seeing no improvement in her strength. She had just begun feeling the bottleneck to the Saint stage when his father had told her to hold off until he returned, hopefully bringing some resources.

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Tianhu had thought that his dad might have just been cautious, so he had asked what the chances of success were.

His father had looked him straight in the eyes and told him that if Xiaoshi attempted to break through, she would definitely die.

Needless to say, Tianhu would never allow Xiaoshi to advance after he heard that.

Not that Xiaoshi was very eager herself after hearing his father’s words, but she was still upset at being stuck for so long.

It wasn’t strange; she had always been improving her strength rapidly since she was just a child. Suddenly standing still for over eight years was hard to accept.

“You could try to comprehend sword intent,” Tianhu suggested.

“Maybe,” Xiaoshi sighed, “Anyway, what’s up?”

Tianhu explained the plan to visit his grandfather.

“Sure,” Xiaoshi nodded. She gathered all the papers and started carrying them away. But when she got to the door, she stopped. “Are you really sure your dad is correct about my breakthrough?”

“Absolutely certain,” Tianhu said with a grave voice, “Trust me, Xiaoshi. He’s right.”

“Then why does it feel like I can break through?” Xiaoshi turned around and asked with a confused frown. “I really feel like I can do it, and it’s uncomfortable not trying to. It’s like I have an itch I’m not allowed to scratch.”

“I don’t know,” Tianhu said, “But my dad is a Saint; he should know what he’s talking about.”

“Then how did he manage to advance? While I will face death?” Xiaoshi asked.

“Dad is dad,” Tianhu said with a shrug, “He’s special.”

“Right,” Xiaoshi muttered. She narrowed her eyes slightly, “You keep saying that. But what exactly is special about him?”

‘Why is she always so curious about that?’

“I really don’t know,” Tianhu said, “You’ll have to ask him.”

“You’ve never asked him?” Xiaoshi asked.

“No,” Tianhu answered.

“Fine,” Xiaoshi said, shaking her head, “I really married into a crazy family. And I actually believe you all. I even accepted that the twins have a Founding Trait.”

“You don’t think they have a Sword Bone?” Tianhu asked.

“I said I believe you, didn’t I?” Xiaoshi asked, rolling her eyes, “It’s still crazy. Anyway, I guess we’ll notice sooner or la-”

Xiaoshi was interrupted by a large crash sounding from outside. It sounded like a large tree had fallen over.

Tianhu and Xiaoshi looked at each other for a quick moment before hurrying outside.

“Dad! I did it!” Xinxi said, cheering loudly next to a tree on the ground.

“Give me the sword, I want to try,” Xinjiang said. She looked up at Tianhu as he came running over, “Dad! I promise I can do it too. Just watch.”

“This…what happened? What did you do, Xinxi?” Xiaoshi bent down and asked, taking the sword that Tianhu didn’t know where she had gotten from her hands.

“I figured out sword intent,” Xinxi said with a proud smile, “It’s so simple, Dad! Just cut it! You made it sound so complicated for no reason.”

‘Just cut it?”

“You…” Xiaoshi turned to look up at Tianhu, “Is it sword intent, Tianhu?”

Tianhu walked over to where the tree had been cut off, and he could feel that it was the work of sword intent.

‘She actually comprehended it. At four years old.’

Tianhu had also believed his father’s words, of course, but seeing it still shocked him.

‘Is there no need to actually comprehend anything for them?’

Tianhu didn’t think his daughter had actually comprehended the concepts he had tried to explain to her. Just like Xinxi said, she had ‘just cut it’.

The tree falling over caused quite the commotion, and it wasn’t long before other people came running over to see what was going on.

Luckily, Shen Ye was quick to realize what was happening and the implications, so he made sure that no outsiders got close enough to overhear anything.

“A genius! A true genius!” Tianren exclaimed after hearing about the situation.

“Nothing like this has been seen in…ever,” Shen Ye said, “I bet this would cause a commotion even in the Land Beyond the Mountains.”

One by one, different family members stepped forward to look Xinxi up and down, all the while Xinjiang was telling people that she could do the same if someone just gave her a sword.

Tianhu noticed that one person wasn’t joining in on the praise, though.

His son, Xinmo, stood by the side, looking at the cleanly cut-off tree in complete disbelief.

“Xinmo,” Tianhu called out, “Come with me for a moment.”

He could talk with his daughters later, when things settled down. For now, he felt that he needed to pay attention to his son.

“Dad,” Xinmo said after they had walked away a bit, “Is it really sword intent?”

“Yes,” Tianhu nodded.

“Xinxi comprehended it? How?” Xinmo asked, looking completely lost.

Tianhu shook his head and smiled slightly, “She and Xinjiang have a Founding Trait, called a Sword Bone. They will probably be able to slay Saints in the future. Perhaps the insights will just come to them with barely any effort. I’m not sure myself.”

“That…Do I have that too?” Xinmo asked hopefully.

“No. You don’t,” Tianhu answered bluntly.

Xinmo was silent for a while before asking, his voice choked with tears, “Why?”

Tianhu looked at his son, smiled, and ruffled his hair, “It’s just the way it is. Unlucky? Lucky? Who can say?”

“How can it be lucky?” Xinmo asked, his voice raised.

“I didn’t inherit any traits,” Tianhu answered, “Your uncle Tianren was the one with a talent for martial arts. I could never keep up. But was that unlucky? In the end, I comprehended sword intent, I met your mother, and I became a Master. Even if Uncle Tianren had inherited more talent, and was a Saint already, what does that have to do with me? You have the talent you have; there is nothing to think about. You just have to make the most of it.”

“But…” Xinmo couldn’t find his words.

“Do you know why you’re named Xinmo?” Tianhu asked.

“Xin is the character for the third generation of our Shu family, and Mo…was your teacher, right?” Xinmo asked.

“That’s right,” Tianhu nodded, “Teacher Mo taught me my first sword art. He brought me into these mountains, and we traveled around, hunting beasts, honing our swordsmanship, and arguing about the way to swing our swords.”

“You argued with your teacher?” Xinmo asked.

“I was already pretty firm in my belief about what the sword was when we met, so we argued about it,” Tianhu said with a shrug. They arrived at a jutting cliff, and Tianhu gestured for Xinmo to sit down beside him.

“Teacher Mo always argued that the sword was unfettered and free, and the swordsman should live free of worries and restraints in harmony with that philosophy,” Tianhu continued explaining, “I, on the other hand, believed that the sword carried with it heavy burdens. The responsibilities and duties you carry with you give the sword its weight and its swing momentum.”

“I know,” Xinmo nodded.

Tianhu took a deep breath and continued, “Teacher Mo never really lived the way he taught, however. He would always worry about other members from the sword school, and would put himself in danger just to make sure they were safe. And in the end, that old man, who claimed to be unfettered, stood up against an army of Grandmasters as an Innate warrior just to protect me. He didn’t even last a second. He died in a single second. He died to give me just one second. One second more of life. One more second for a chance to turn things around.”

Tianhu turned quiet. Xinmo didn’t speak either, appearing to be deep in thought.

Tianhu looked out over the landscape, his thoughts drifting back to that man.

‘Why was he always going on about the unfettered sword, when it was obviously so laden with responsibility?’ Tianhu thought with a smile.

“I’ve never managed to teach anyone sword intent,” Tianhu finally spoke after a few minutes.

“I thought you taught grandpa?” Xinmo asked.

“He just never corrected anyone saying so, but the truth is that he learned it on his own,” Tianhu said. “I used to think it was because sword intent is so hard to grasp, but maybe…”

“Maybe what?” Xinmo asked.

“Maybe I taught it wrong,” Tianhu said, “Do you think Xinxi has comprehended the same sword intent I have?”

“She can’t have, right?” Xinmo asked.

“So don’t take my word for the truth,” Tianhu said, “My sword intent feels correct to me, because it suits me perfectly. But perhaps there are other ways. What do you want the sword to be?”

“What I want it to be?” Xinmo asked.

“Yeah,” Tianhu nodded.

Xinmo was silent for a moment before shaking his head, “I don’t know.”

“That’s fine,” Tianhu said, “Just keep swinging your sword, and you will eventually know why you do it.”

“Right,” Xinmo said with a determined look on his face.

“When you do think of something, I look forward to arguing about it,” Tianhu said, ruffling Xinmo’s hair with a smile.

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