Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi scratched his head, wondering whose child that was.

“Really… that little girl had a strong vitality, probably around five or six years old.”

Without dwelling on it any further, Li Guanqi pushed open the courtyard door and stepped inside. Once he entered, he stood still in amazement. The courtyard was exquisite compared to his previous cottage in Fulong Village. A stream flowed down from Heavenly Thunder Peak, accompanied by small bridges, flowing water, peculiar rocks, and pine trees.

Walking forward, he saw a stone table. Upon entering the courtyard, a very spacious main hall, about eighteen yards in length, welcomed him. All the furniture in the room was brand new and made of mahogany. Passing through the main hall led to the bedrooms. There were three rooms in total, one for the main occupant and two secondary rooms.

This cottage was better than he had expected. In the backyard, there was even a small spiritual farm as the sect had promised him. The soil was dark, sprinkled with some green powder on top—probably the fertilizer used to maintain the soil.

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of gentle knocking echoed. Li Guanqi quickly came out to open the door. Outside, a gentle voice spoke.

“Junior brother, take your time~! No rush to open the door.”

Li Guanqi was slightly surprised upon hearing this…

Could they be disciples of Heavenly Thunder Peak?Weren’t they supposed to have the peak entrance ceremony tomorrow?

Creak!

As Li Guanqi opened the courtyard door, he found seven or eight people standing outside— all slightly older than him. Each person wore a smile. Some were holding cotton, and others carried wooden basins and similar items.

Upon seeing the cloth covering the young man’s eyes, a touch of compassion flashed in the eyes of the onlookers.

They were all disciples of the sect, donned in white robes with two purple lightning embroideries extending down their left and right shoulders. On the sect flag pinned to their chests was the purple character for ‘thunder.’

Surprisingly, the leader was a slightly tanned woman. She appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail and a delicate, goose-egg-shaped face. Her features were elegant, and her large eyes were exceptionally bright.

The woman gazed commandingly at those around her, then gestured towards the young man’s eyes, signaling everyone to avoid speaking without care.

She then spoke gently, “Junior brother, hello. I’m Gu Ran, the Second Elder’s disciple.”

“Just call me senior sister. These are all fellow disciples of our Heavenly Thunder Peak, and they can be considered your senior martial brothers and sisters.”

“We came to see you today mainly because we were afraid you didn’t have bedding cotton.”

Li Guanqi quickly stepped aside and smiled, “Junior gives greetings to senior sisters and senior brothers. Don’t just stand at the door, come inside.”

Gu Ran beckoned to the people behind her, and they entered the courtyard. The taller senior brothers immediately headed for the main building and laid out the bedding they had brought.

Watching them doing all this work for someone they hadn’t even met before today, Li Guanqi felt a longing for his mother and sister. His past before entering the cultivation world had always been a sore spot, as he had shown when Zhao Yuanlin had provoked him on the Spirit Testing Platform.

His current personality had gradually developed during the eight years he spent with Su Xuan. Perhaps he was consciously imitating his grandfather’s carefree personality. At this moment, Gu Ran came to the young man’s side, took his arm, and they walked very slowly. “Walk slowly, get familiar with the surroundings first. There’s a step under your foot; it’s a stone bridge, about ten steps ahead.”

“On the right is a stone table, and on the left is a pond. Be careful on your way back.”

“I’ve already picked up your sect clothing from the inner affairs. We’ll help you try it for size later. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll have them change it.”

“In the future, treat Heavenly Thunder Peak as your own home. We are your family. If you have any trouble, call out to us. Your senior brothers and sisters will definitely support you!”

“If anyone dares to bully you, Big Sis Gu will stand up for you.”

After saying so much, the two of them hadn’t even walked off the bridge yet—indicating just how slow their pace was.

Meanwhile, the young man was being led by Gu Ran, slowly moving forward.

“Big Head! Go help Bamboo Pole cover the corners of the furniture. You’re always just standing there doing nothing.”

The tall young man saluted and responded, “Sure thing, senior sister.”

“Junior martial brother, if Elder Xu accepted you as a member of our Thunder Peak, then you’ll be the youngest junior disciple of Heavenly Thunder Peak, hahaha.”

“If you need anything, just ask senior sister Gu. She’s very helpful! When I first came here, I felt like she cared for me more than my own mother.”

“Bighead, are you interested in extra practice? Hm?”

“Hahaha! You’re just looking for trouble, kid.”

“Three years! I finally have a junior martial brother!”

Listening to the casual chatter, it felt like a family gathering, bringing the young man to a different world. The words of everyone were like the warm spring sun and the mountain stream. They turned into warm currents flowing in his heart.

Suddenly.

Tears flowed from his eyes, covered by the black cloth.

He could endure Zhao Yuanlin insulting him and betraying his sister’s life for money in front of everyone. He could admit in front of everyone that he was blind, a lowly beggar. He could laugh off the taunts of a thousand people calling them ignorant village dogs. But he couldn’t bear even a little bit of concern from a stranger.

“So, in this world, there’s more than just suffering…”

The faint sound of Li Guanqi’s tears hitting the ground echoed across the courtyard. Gu Ran’s body stiffened slightly, and she wiped the tears from the young man’s face with her hand. She exclaimed, “What are you looking at? Don’t you have anything to do?”

“Hurry, there’s only a stick of incense time left before we go to practice!”

Then Gu Ran handed a new white robe to Li Guanqi, saying softly, “Hurry and change to see if it fits.”

Li Guanqi smiled faintly and held the clothes, saying softly, “Thank you, senior martial brothers and sisters. Guanqi is honored to become your junior brother.”

Although he saw everyone avoiding him during this bow, he still went through with it.

After standing up, a playful smile appeared on Li Guanqi’s lips as he said, “Senior sister, if you keep pulling senior martial brother’s hair, you might end up pulling it off…” He turned his head as he spoke, seemingly looking at the girl directly.

Gu Ran was slightly stunned, then she waved her hand in front of him and said cautiously, “But you can’t see, can you?”

Li Guanqi slowly untied the cloth, revealing his pure white eyes.

“I am truly blind, but… I have opened my mind’s eye.”

“What? This kid is actually messing with us!”

“That’s right! I thought he really couldn’t see, so I even tidied up the edges of the table!”

“Brothers! Let’s get him!!”

The crowd rushed over, playfully wrestling with Li Guanqi. Finally, a few senior martial brothers said, “We’ll go ahead, see you at the sparring grounds. I’m challenging senior sister Gu!”

“Hmph~ Just you? Fine, I’ll teach you a lesson today.”

“By the way, should we go pick up a few missions tomorrow? I’ve really been struggling with money lately…”

Once everyone had left, Gu Ran looked at the young man in white robes and couldn’t help but nod, saying, “Right! As I thought, a handsome face goes well with white clothes!”

“Is this sheath for your sword? It’s quite large. Did an elder give it to you? Is there a sword inside?”

Li Guanqi scratched his head. Even he didn’t know what was inside.

Gu Ran turned towards the exit, saying, “Junior martial brother, rest well today. The peak entrance ceremony is early tomorrow morning, don’t be late.”

After everyone had left, Li Guanqi looked at the transformed house, and a gentle smile played on his lips.

That night, he slept especially soundly.