Yingxing didn't understand. He was utterly shaken.
All he could say was, if he ever met someone who acted this abstractly, he'd have to use his forge hammer to let the other party truly feel the weight of a hundred refiners' hammer! Just give them one good hit!
These hands of his, these were the hands that could forge three thousand pounds of shattered metal.
Yingxing realized that Zero didn't seem to mind practicing swordsmanship at dawn, and immediately, he was filled with awe.
What a good temper. If it were him, he would've been swinging the forge hammer at someone by now.
No wonder Jingliu liked him. No wonder he liked Jingliu. They really were a match made in heaven...
Yingxing's gossip-loving heart began to itch. Jingliu was never one to openly share her thoughts; you could only guess them through the analysis of her more emotionally intelligent friends.
Now that he could chat with Zero under the pretext of the hairpin order and get first-hand gossip, how could he resist? He couldn't hold back his curiosity and took the initiative to ask...
[Yingxing: How many days have you been practicing now?]
[Zero: …Haven't started yet.]
Yingxing, "…"
'So… not even a single day yet!'
'What kind of spirit is this?! You're really going all out just to spend time with Jingliu, huh? If he remembered correctly, Zero worked in the Divination Commission, a regular nine-to-five, weekends off kind of job…'
If it were Yingxing, and he didn't have work that day, there was no way in the world he'd get up early. But Zero was actually willing to wake up early for Jingliu… incredible.
'Do all you Xianzhou people go this hard when you fall in love?!'
Yingxing's emotions were all over the place. 'Zero, you're not turning into one of those "love-brained idiots," are you?'
Even though he was Jingliu's friend and closer to her, at this moment, he couldn't keep taking her side.
A sudden wave of guilt hit him.
Jingliu was really too much. How could she lie to a twenty-year-old kid like that…
The more he thought about it, the stiffer his expression became.
Jingliu had never gone easy on Jing Yuan. Early training, extra practice, it was as normal to her as eating or breathing.
Usually, by the time Yingxing finished overtime and was heading back to the workshop dorms to sleep, Jing Yuan would be getting up to train.
But that kind of harsh regimen… could a clerk like Zero handle it? What if the two of them ended up fighting because of training?
As the thought crossed his mind, Yingxing's face went blank as he turned toward the half-finished hairpin.
So in the end… was their entire relationship progress depending on him, Yingxing?
He'd better hurry and finish those hairpins… Once they were done, maybe that divine client wouldn't have to wake up at four in the morning to train. And the two of them wouldn't end up fighting because of sword practice…
A few very colorful Xianzhou curse words flashed through his mind.
Zero, Jingliu, how are you two ever going to pay me back for this?! Oh, what's that? Zero transferred a ton of credits and even provided rare materials? Okay, never mind then.
With a blank face, Yingxing condensed a thousand words into one sentence, [Yingxing: I'll finish the hairpins as soon as possible.]
Zero didn't think much of it. He casually told Yingxing to rest early and then went back to scrolling on his jade terminal.
He had been lying in bed in his robe, but worried that he might fall asleep while playing, he moved to the couch in the sitting room instead.
The couch had been carefully selected after countless trials, extremely comfortable, perfect for a shut-in to lie around like a corpse.
He lay there for a while but, afraid he might doze off again, moved once more, this time to the floor.
Leaning against the couch, he sat cross-legged on the carpet and set the alarm for 4:45 again.
This time, the alarm wasn't to wake him up, but to remind him to get changed.
He'd already washed up, so he just needed to put on clothes to start practice.
Zero thought for sure that this time, he wouldn't fall asleep.
Reality proved otherwise, if you're sleepy enough, anywhere can be a bed.
Even sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch, playing on his jade terminal, he still managed to pass out completely.
He vaguely heard the alarm stop ringing and felt a hand brush against his cheek.
That hand gently stroked his face a few times, then shifted, its thumb and index finger pinching at his cheek.
Half-asleep, Zero blinked his heavy eyes open, only to find Jingliu pinching his chin with two fingers, while the other hand held his jade terminal up, apparently taking a picture.
Zero, "…"
So… had Jingliu been secretly pinching his face and taking pictures before, too?
He gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile toward the camera, gazing straight into the lens.
He didn't move, still letting Jingliu hold his chin, but he clearly noticed her hand pause for just a moment.
Zero kept his eyes fixed on her. She maintained her usual cool expression, withdrawing her hand naturally.
Well, if her face hadn't turned red, it would've been very convincing.
Suddenly, he remembered what she'd once said to him in the Alchemy Commission. So he locked eyes with her and drawled, "Your face is so red."
Jingliu looked away, pretending nothing was wrong, and said coldly through her blush, "Aren't you going to change clothes?"
A more sensible man might've spared her embarrassment and let it go.
Unfortunately, she was facing him, the man dedicated to messing with people's heads and driving everyone insane, Zero.
He shifted his gaze toward the jade terminal still in her hand, pulled his robe collar a little tighter, then stood up, taking slow steps toward her with a faint, teasing smile.
He came close, so close that they could feel each other's breath.
He looked straight into her eyes until her red pupils began to waver, until she seemed about to step back, then he reached out and gently took the jade terminal from her hand.
Holding it up, he asked, "Were you taking pictures of me?"
Jingliu, "…"
When their distance had closed like that, her mind had gone completely blank. Her gaze had flicked, just once, to his lips.
And, almost involuntarily, a line from that "dating guide" popped into her head, 'You have to wait until the other person asks what your relationship is before you confess.'
But when Zero took the jade terminal, a storm of feelings surged in her chest, she couldn't tell if she was angry or disappointed.
Probably angry.
He was doing this on purpose.
She took a deep breath, stepped back, putting space between them again.
That pet of hers, Jade, had clearly picked up bad habits from him. Always stirring things up, always testing her patience.
With the pet, she could easily open up. But facing him… the words never came out.
Only when Zero was asleep could she speak her thoughts freely, touching, even pinching his face.
As for the photos…
She didn't think Zero would ever look through her jade terminal.
He was the kind of man with strict boundaries, if he accidentally glimpsed someone else's screen, he'd immediately look away.
If their relationship didn't take another step forward, Zero would never pry into her privacy. Even if they were lovers, he'd still give his partner plenty of space.
Just as she thought, Zero didn't open the terminal. He only smiled, handed it back to her, and said, "I'll go get changed first."
Then casually added, "By the way, you didn't take pictures of anything else, did you?"
Jingliu, "…"
Her expression didn't change, still that perfectly cold face, but inwardly, she froze.
At that moment, his robe had been loose. She had accidentally captured his collarbones and part of his chest before adjusting his collar for him.
So… does that count as "something else"?
Zero, "…"
After he said that, he also fell silent.
He was completely lost inside.
'Jingliu, why aren't you saying anything?'
'Wait, why did that sound weird just now?'
His brain short-circuited for a moment, then he tried to patch it up, "It's fine, just… don't go posting it anywhere."
Jingliu, "..."
As if she would go posting Zero's photo anywhere.
As he walked toward the bedroom, Zero was caught in a mental spiral.
'Why did that sound even weirder?!'
This was the same man who once said to Lan, 'Your mother? I'll take care of her.' Yet no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with his phrasing.
He quickly changed into more suitable clothes for sword practice, put on the gloves Jingliu had given him, and returned to the sitting room.
Jingliu wasn't there.
He went out to the courtyard and saw her standing beside the delivery box with the ribbon tied on top, examining it.
When she saw him dressed and ready, her gaze inevitably drifted to his hands. She stared for a moment, then looked away and asked,
"Why don't I bring Jade back with me?"
Apparently, Zero really liked that pet. Even its delivery box had been decorated with a bow.
Zero didn't really care.
Whether the cat was home or not didn't make much difference.
That little "pig-cat" either ate nonstop or caused chaos, always making him want to smack it.
But Jade was different, a sleek, shiny-coated, handsome cat. Larger than most breeds, imposing-looking, but actually just a big, clingy baby who loved to be spoiled.
Pig-cat always knocked things off the table, and whenever Zero got mad, she'd roll over and meow pitifully.
Petting that soft belly, Zero often questioned his life choices.
Leaving the truth aside, was it really his fault for leaving fragile things lying around?
It was a cat's nature, and since he'd adopted her, it was his responsibility.
By the time he came to his senses, the cat had already flipped over and bounded away. Hard to believe that chunky thing could move so fast and gracefully…
When she wasn't home, though, things were much quieter, and at least his sleep quality was great. Let Jade keep tormenting Jing Yuan for now.
Besides, Zero didn't even need sleep anymore. Cat or no cat, it made no difference. He shook his head and refused, "Let Jing Yuan keep her for now. If he runs out of cat food or litter, he can tell me."
Jingliu nodded and didn't say more. She handed the sword resting on the courtyard stone table to him.
"You're not like Jing Yuan. You're talented. You don't need to start from the basics…"
Back then, she had made Jing Yuan repeat the same sword forms endlessly, not just to teach swordsmanship, but to temper his mind.
Zero's mind needed no tempering. His emotions were steady; he only showed his true self to her.
So instead of drills, she said, "Let's spar directly."
She picked up the sword she'd brought from home as she spoke.
Zero took the sword and walked with her to the most open space in the courtyard.
Honestly, he had no idea what level his swordsmanship was.
In his previous life, when he first fought those golden automatons, his sword technique had been pure chaos.
If you compared it to a game, it was like someone who'd turned on an invincible cheat and just rushed the enemy towers without a shred of logic, completely bewildering both teammates and enemies.
He ignored the attackers and the tower damage, single-mindedly hacking at the target structure, not even sneaking, just blatantly cutting it down in front of everyone.
He never thought about his teammates' conditions. All he saw were the tower and the core crystal. Even when his low-HP teammates were screaming for him to stop, he didn't care.
'I can win this for us,' he'd think.
And in the end, through sheer stubborn persistence, he really did blow up the enemy's core crystal all by himself, leaving everyone else with no choice but to call him "dad."
Whether as General Yaoqing or as the Marshal of the Xianzhou, his fighting style had never changed. As for sword technique, it had developed naturally, forged through endless real combat.
He'd faced countless near-death battles. Those who died by his blade were either enemies of Xianzhou or assassins sent for his life.
He only ever used his sword to kill. He had never sparred with anyone.
And of course, as both general and marshal, no one had ever dared to critique his swordsmanship.
So he truly didn't know what level he was at. Considering that spar he'd once had with a drunk Jingliu, though, maybe not too bad?
Still, he wasn't sure if, now that he'd recovered part of his memory, he could safely spar with her.
Would he hurt her?
Taking a deep breath, Zero put on a flawless smile.
"Then I'll have to ask the honored Swordmaster to go easy on me."
Jingliu gave a faint nod.
Then her gaze changed in an instant, focused, sharp. She twirled her sword in a graceful flourish, then moved. In a blink, she closed the distance between them.
Instinctively, Zero raised his sword to block, the two blades clashing with a clear, ringing note. Before he could react, Jingliu withdrew, her long hair tracing an arc through the air.
She rarely spoke during sparring. She didn't explain sword forms, she preferred to answer others' doubts about the sword with her sword.
Calmly, Jingliu watched his every move, feeding him strikes one after another.
For some reason, Zero always stayed on the defensive. Even when she deliberately showed an opening, he didn't counterattack.
So she started trying to guide him into striking back. When he finally did, it only lasted a few exchanges before he slipped back into defense again.
Fortunately, patience was something the Swordmaster had in abundance.
When her pre-set alarm finally went off, Jingliu lowered her sword.
Zero stopped as well, breathing deeply several times.
Before he could catch his breath, Jingliu asked, "You've trained in swordsmanship before?"
Sheathing his sword, he didn't hide the truth, "No. I just figured it out myself."
Jingliu looked at him for a long moment, then turned away just as his eyes met hers.
She didn't remember their spar from when she'd been drunk, but now, she could sense it, every move he made was a killing strike.
A mix of pride and melancholy welled up in her. Pride that he could protect himself even without her… and sadness that he'd ever had to learn such things at all.
So where had he learned them? Self-taught? She didn't believe it.
He lived on Luofu, a clerk of the Divination Commission, where would he have faced life-and-death danger?
Jingliu knew he carried many secrets. But she could wait.
It seemed… she couldn't really teach him swordsmanship anymore.
The one skill she'd always taken pride in, the one thing she could offer, she couldn't teach it to him after all.
She'd just have to find another way to save more patrol points for him.
That's what she thought.
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