The next morning, beside the waterfall.
Little Jun Bai wore the training clothes Jun Mo Li had used at six years old and drew the crimson short sword from his waist.
Jun Mo Li stood to the side, staring intently at the crimson short sword in little Jun Bai's hand.
The next moment, little Jun Bai gripped the hilt and began to swing.
His wrist deftly turned, coordinating with the rotation of every joint in his arm. The crimson short sword rapidly extended, transforming into streaks of crimson shadows encircling little Jun Bai's body.
To ordinary mortal eyes, only those streaks of crimson shadows were visible. Even a swordsman like Jun Mo Li—who had practiced for five years—could only glimpse the blade itself in the fleeting changes of stance.
Jun Mo Li's gaze sometimes fell on little Jun Bai's wrist, sometimes on the crimson shadows.
The swordsmanship was the same as what he'd learned from his dad.
All of it evolved from basic fundamentals, yet the sword in Ah Bai's hand...
Recalling yesterday's defeat, Jun Mo Li began pondering the difference between his own sword and little Jun Bai's sword.
As he thought, the bladeless sword in his hand unconsciously began to move.
Scenes of little Jun Bai drawing his sword replayed over and over in his mind. Gradually, the redundant elements in those mental images diminished.
No more full motions, no more people—only the untraceable crimson shadows remained.
If there was one difference between Jun Mo Li's and little Jun Bai's use of the same basic swordsmanship...
Perhaps it was only the difference in speed.
Little Jun Bai also used basic-level swordsmanship, but with the extendable property of the crimson short sword, his sword was incredibly fast—fast enough that ordinary people couldn't follow it.
Fast. Jun Mo Li's eyes lit up.
The youth flicked his wrist, and his sword-swinging motions suddenly accelerated.
In all the martial arts of the world, only speed is unbeatable!
Jun Mo Li abandoned the structured forms he'd practiced before. No longer bound by the swordsmanship learned from his father, every movement aimed only to draw the sword faster.
Faster—the sword could still go faster!
"Oh—Mo Li-ge is so amazing!"
Little Jun Bai's cheers snapped Jun Mo Li out of his immersion in swordsmanship.
The next moment, Jun Mo Li witnessed a shocking sight.
The waterfall separating the two of them from a nearby pool had been split in two. A shallow mark had appeared on the cliff face behind the waterfall.
Very shallow, but extremely clear.
Although the falling water covered the mark again in an instant, the scene still burned itself into Jun Mo Li's heart.
"This was... me?"
Jun Mo Li murmured to himself.
"Of course it was Mo Li-ge! Mo Li-ge really is amazing!" Little Jun Bai's eyes sparkled like stars.
Jun Mo Li looked at his own wrist, still finding it hard to believe: "Did I really do this?"
A sudden epiphany, like clouds parting to reveal the moon.
A single sword cleaving a waterfall—a scene countless swordsmen only dared to dream of—was now achieved by a ten-year-old boy.
...
The Jun family basement.
The sword sealed in its scabbard trembled slightly. Without anyone drawing it, the blade slid out a fraction.
Chill permeated the basement until the long sword slid back in.
Everything returned to calm.
...
From that day on, Jun Mo Li kept trying to recreate the scene from that day, but he could never reproduce that one sword strike.
"Was that sword strike really something I swung?"
"Was it just a coincidence?" Jun Mo Li said while swinging his bladeless sword.
A fist-sized stone flew toward him as usual.
But the sword shadow flashed past, and the stone was sliced cleanly in two.
Li Tonghui walked over, picked up the smoothly cut stone, and sighed: "Ever since that day, your swordsmanship seems to have improved by leaps and bounds every single day."
At first, Jun Mo Li could only knock stones flying. After practicing with little Jun Bai, the stones were shattered outright. Now they were sliced clean through, and the cut surfaces were gradually becoming smoother.
This was proof that Jun Mo Li's swordsmanship level was constantly rising.
At the same time, Li Tonghui's defeat time was also shortening.
Current record: 2247 losses, 1 draw.
"Is that so? I haven't noticed." Jun Mo Li felt nothing.
Forget the unintentional sword strike from that day—even just comparing himself to little Jun Bai, Jun Mo Li felt he was still far behind.
He still couldn't achieve the effect of crimson shadows encircling like little Jun Bai could.
"Never mind that. You're coming here at this time—don't tell me you want to keep getting beaten?" Jun Mo Li asked.
"Of course." Li Tonghui nodded, then shook his head. "I'd like to say that, but right now it's because there's something more important that I came to find you."
"Oh?" Jun Mo Li set down his sword.
This guy actually wasn't here to get beaten—was the sun rising in the west today?
"Your grandfather's back. He's at your house right now researching the reason for Ah Bai's amnesia."
"Let's go back and see." Jun Mo Li sheathed his sword and headed toward Qingce Village.
The two returned to the Jun family together.
Jun family, in the main hall.
An elderly man with graying hair had already finished a full-body examination of little Jun Bai. He frowned deeply, stroking his beard in thought.
"Dad, how's little Bai's condition?" Bai Zhirou stepped forward and asked.
"Dad only has one question for you right now." Bai Jianshu looked at little Jun Bai behind her, dressed in a ruqun skirt. "This is clearly a boy—why are you raising him as a daughter?"
"Dad, don't worry about such minor details. Just tell me—how is our little Bai?"
Bai Zhirou changed the subject.
Bai Jianshu was about to speak when two half-grown teenagers burst in from outside.
"Grandfather, have you found the reason for Ah Bai's amnesia?"
"Next time you come in, can you at least announce yourselves? Sudden attacks aren't good for an old man's health."
Bai Jianshu sighed, then shared his diagnosis with the three of them.
"God remnant?" ×3
"Yes. If nothing unexpected happens, the reason this little friend lost his memories is god remnant." Bai Jianshu nodded.
"But if it's god remnant, how could little Bai—who was only four at the time—have survived until now?" Bai Zhirou asked in confusion.
God remnant was tantamount to deadly poison for ordinary people.
Yet little Jun Bai's performance over these two years really didn't look like someone tainted by god remnant.
"I'd like to know that too, but there really are traces of god remnant left on this little friend's body. I examined Jun Xiao before—he won't be mistaken."
Jun Xiao was Jun Mo Li's father who had passed away early.
To protect Qingce Village during a monster attack, Jun Xiao had stepped forward voluntarily but ended up tainted by god remnant, ultimately passing away amid agonizing torment.
And now little Jun Bai also had that kind of god remnant on him?
The three of them looked at little Jun Bai—who was smiling back at them—with eyes full of worry.
"Dr. Bai, so Ah Bai lost his memories because of god remnant? Will there be any other aftereffects?" Li Tonghui asked worriedly.
Bai Jianshu shook his head: "Unclear. Logically speaking, since he's shown no problems at all in the two years since being tainted by god remnant, he probably won't have any issues in the future either."
"But it is god remnant after all—something involving gods—so it's better to be cautious."
"My suggestion is to observe for a while longer. Then I'll prepare another dose of medicine for him."
Bai Zhirou nodded: "Then we'll have to trouble you, Dad."
"We're family—no need for thanks."
Jun Mo Li remained silent, his gaze fixed on little Jun Bai the whole time.
Ah Bai and Dad both have god remnant on them—does that mean Ah Bai will end up dying like Dad?