The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 312 Sharpening the Sword
Du Yuan and the fairy did not talk for long. After exchanging a few words, the fairy turned and left, her figure quickly disappearing into the thin mist on the riverbank, leaving him alone standing quietly by the water.

Looking in the direction the fairy had gone, Du Yuan exhaled a long breath, and with a slight twitch of her fingertips, she took out the sword-washing stone she had found earlier from the mountain seal.

He reaped a truly rich harvest on this trip. The sword-washing stones were of various kinds, some as large and heavy as a round table, others as delicate as a fingertip. Scattered around his feet, they actually filled up to the size of a thatched hut.

With such a wealth of resources at his disposal, Du Yuan felt very confident. He immediately picked up a sword-washing stone and began to grind it on the old sword in his hand.

But as soon as his fingertips touched the sword-washing stone to the blade, the stone, just like before, melted away with a light stroke, leaving not a trace.

Du Yuan's brow twitched suddenly—this seemingly insignificant ash tree of hers probably really had some hidden meaning!
But then I thought, since I have enough Sword Cleansing Stones, even if I use them all, surely there will be some reaction at all?
With this expectation and confidence, he patiently took stones one after another to sharpen his sword.

Before she knew it, the east began to lighten and the sun slowly climbed over the mountain. Only when the last piece of the sword-washing stone in her hand silently melted into the sword did Du Yuan freeze in place.

His gaze was fixed on the old sword bar in his hand, and he was completely stunned: the sword-washing stones, which were almost the size of a thatched hut, had been completely used up, but the sword bar was still the same as before!
It was still horribly rusted, as if all the painstaking polishing just now had been a complete waste of effort.

Du Yuan gripped the sword blade and brought it close to her eyes, repeatedly stroking the undulating blade with her fingertips, wishing she could find even the slightest trace of "polishing" on it.

No matter how closely he looked at it or how much he touched it, the sword blade remained exactly the same as before, without the slightest change.

He stared at the sword for a long time, then slowly released his grip. Looking up at the gradually brightening sky, he couldn't help but sigh deeply.
"Isn't this a bit too much of a justification?"

"It's the sage from last night! He's still here!"

A child's exclamation startled Du Yuan from his reverie. He turned around in the direction of the sound and saw a group of elderly people with graying temples standing behind several children in the morning light, their eyes filled with awe.

As soon as the children saw him looking over, their faces lit up with excitement, and they rushed over in a huge swarm.

The elderly were much more reserved than the children, their bodies trembling like withered leaves in the wind, and they would kneel down as soon as they saw Du Yuan.

"Greetings, Immortal Lord!"

Du Yuan couldn't possibly make them kneel down, so she immediately raised her hand and gently lifted them up, so no matter how hard the old people tried, their knees couldn't touch the ground.

“You needn’t be like that,” he said gently. “I read books precisely to do these things.”

The more composed he was, the more agitated the elderly people became, their eyes reddening, and they became even more determined to kneel down.

They were all fishermen who had spent their lives guarding the river. They were illiterate, knew nothing of formalities, and had nothing of substance to offer as tribute to the immortals.

With nothing in his hands, not even half a piece of pastry or a pot of coarse tea, he could only express his gratitude in this simplest way.

The riverbed was dry last night, but before dawn this morning, they saw that the once-dry riverbed was not only full of water again, but even wider than when they were children.

What surprised them even more was that, just as they were rubbing their eyes in disbelief, they saw a large group of plump white-scaled fish swishing their tails and slowly swimming past the river at the entrance of the village.

This saves the trouble of waiting for the fish to slowly grow back! So when the children mentioned "the Immortal Master," all the old people in the village came looking for him.

Seeing how stubborn the old folks were, Du Yuan stopped trying to stop them—as long as they didn't make a fuss about selling everything they owned to build a temple and erect a memorial for him, she would let them have their way with this small token of their affection.

He remained upright, standing quietly in place to receive the bow, and then nodded slightly, accepting their gratitude.

The children, however, had no such worries. Their little faces flushed red as they huddled around Du Yuan, chattering excitedly.

"Master! My grandfather said that there are so many big fish in the river, and if we sell them, we can save enough money for our school fees!"

"Yes, yes! Then I, Little Monkey, and Ah Niu can go to school together!" Hearing these words, Du Yuan felt extremely happy.

Great, really great! Doing good deeds can yield immediate results; it's a tremendous reward.

He bent down and whispered his instructions:

"Then you must study hard and not waste this rare opportunity. And remember, after you graduate, you must treat others well, because studying is not only for yourselves, but also for the world!"

The children all nodded vigorously, except for the little monkey, who tilted its head, pointed at the old sword at Du Yuan's waist, and frowned curiously.

"Master, your sword is so rusty."

Du Yuan lowered her head, untied the halberd from her waist, held it horizontally in front of her, looked at the mottled old sword blade, and said with a touch of helpless amusement:
"Yes, this sword of mine is so extraordinary that even I find it difficult to polish."

As he spoke, under the children's curious gazes, he stretched out his finger and gently brushed it across the sword blade.

But the moment his fingertips touched the blade—the old sword, which hadn't changed at all despite using up a whole hut-sized sword-washing stone last night—seemed to be awakened.

The deeply entrenched red rust crumbled and fell away as if scattered by the wind.

To Du Yuan's surprise, the ash in her hand was still hanging at her waist, to the point that no one would question her.

But it's clearly far better than last night!

At least, it's not as rusty as before, looking like it could break at any moment.

Looking at the ash tree, the children asked curiously:
"Master Immortal, didn't you just grind a little bit?"

Du Yuan withdrew her gaze and looked back at the children in front of her, then chuckled and patted their heads, saying:
"Yes, I've managed to grind a little bit."
-
In Wuyi Lane, Kyoto, a finely dressed young man was followed by a large entourage of carriages.

These were all betrothal gifts prepared by the Langya Wang clan for the Xiao family.

Looking at the Xiao family before him, the richly dressed young man let out a long breath and then lowered his head.

When he looked up again, he had become the same carefree and unruly person he used to be.

The Xiao family had been waiting there for a long time. As soon as the two sides met, they greeted each other warmly and had a lively conversation.

When the elegantly dressed young man was led into the inner room, it was time to follow etiquette and have the young lady of the Xiao family look at him through the screen.

The elegantly dressed young man, who had entered alone, suddenly heard the door behind him slam shut with a loud bang.

He, his servants, guards, relatives, and the entire Xiao family were all isolated.

'This is? ’

The elegantly dressed young man, his brows slightly furrowed, then looked towards the center of the hall.

A beautiful woman was sitting upright with her legs crossed.

Seeing his expression, the other party said with a forced smile:
"Oh, back when your grandmaster brought you to see me, I never imagined that I would have to call you my husband now!"

(End of this chapter)