Vol. 2 - Ch. 28 - Mission Complete! Qilin Axe!

The Orphanage.

Chen Ye lounged on a recliner, eyes half-closed.

Balanced on the tip of his finger was a yellow soybean, quivering faintly.

It trembled so quickly that from a distance, it looked like a blurry golden dot standing still in mid-air.

Tap, tap...

Footsteps echoed from beyond the courtyard.

Chen Ye's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing through them.

Pop!

The soybean burst into fine powder, scattering into the air.

Two years ago, Nan Yiyun had given him the Thousand Folds and Hundred Waves Technique.

After two years of study and practice, Chen Ye had grasped the rudiments of resonance-based power control.

He could now direct two streams of innate Qi within him, spiraling together, resonating in harmony.

With such precision and finesse, he could release and retract that power at will.

That trembling soybean just now had been vibrating due to high-frequency resonance powered by his innate Qi.

As for his cultivation in Innate Qi Technique, Chen Ye could now manipulate two Qi streams like extensions of his own limbs.

If he faced Monk Qingyuan again, he wouldn't need several seconds to defeat him.

One breath. That would be enough to send him to the afterlife.

Chen Ye sat up and looked outside the hall.

There was Daming, returning with a slab of cured meat in hand—looking completely dazed and lost.

His eyes were vacant, utterly devoid of light.

As he stepped into the hall, though his movements were stiff, his voice remained respectful.

“Dad… my friend… she’s gone…”

His tone was low, filled with a heavy sense of loss.

Chen Ye fixed a deep gaze on him and said in a firm voice, “Daming, do you still remember what I told you that day at the wonton stall?”

Daming nodded blankly.

“Go then. If you still can’t figure things out, come back and see me.”

Daming nodded again, his eyes still void of any spark.

Chen Ye watched him leave the hall, a plan already forming in his mind.

…

Two days later.

Creak...

Chen Ye pushed open the door to Daming’s room.

Daming lay in bed, eyes fixed blankly on the wall.

His cheeks were slightly sunken, bloodshot eyes lifeless, expression wooden.

In Chen Ye’s hands was a bowl of steaming hot porridge.

“Daming, have some porridge?”

Chen Ye sat by the bed.

Daming didn’t even blink. He shook his head, his voice hoarse. “Dad… I’m not hungry.”

Chen Ye set the bowl aside.

For the past two days, Daming had completely drowned in lovesickness.

He barely ate, only nibbling a few bites before claiming he was full.

He stayed in his room all day. The morning exercises he’d kept up without fail for two years—gone.

Let alone chopping wood up in the mountains.

Chen Ye knew his son well.

Daming was simple by nature. The simpler the heart, the harder it is to climb out of emotional entanglements.

Time might smooth the wounds eventually.

But if it went on like this, by the time the wounds healed, there’d be no Daming left to recover.

In ancient times, lovesick deaths weren’t rare.

Weren’t rare at all.

Chen Ye sat beside him and asked, “Do you miss that girl that much?”

Daming nodded numbly.

He didn’t know why, but ever since Xiuxiu left, his heart felt like it was being cut open every second.

A fire seemed to burn inside his chest. Every night he woke before dawn and drifted through the days like a ghost.

He couldn’t focus on anything. He just wanted to sit and stare into space.

His mind was filled with her—Xiuxiu’s face, her voice.

Chen Ye sighed softly. “Tell me about her.”

A faint light flickered in Daming’s eyes as he sat up and began recounting how he met Xiuxiu.

The tale stopped at the morning she left—two days ago.

Chen Ye listened quietly. Then, in a calm voice, asked, “So what now?”

“Just going to keep sitting here?”

Daming lowered his head, silent.

There was confusion in his eyes.

Truth was, he didn’t know either.

Chen Ye stood up.

“I originally just wanted you to be an ordinary woodcutter.”

“Earn a living with your strength, live a steady life.”

“But do you realize the gap between you and that girl, Xiuxiu?”

Daming nodded silently.

He had heard.

She was the daughter of a prefect—a fourth-rank official.

Even the county magistrate of Yuhang was only seventh rank.

The difference between them… was like heaven and earth.

Chen Ye looked at him, sensing the boy may have misunderstood something.

But he didn’t explain.

“So then—what do you want to do?”

Head still bowed, Daming rasped, “Dad, I…”

“I want to… see her again. Just once.”

Just once?

Are you sure it’s not a billion times?

Chen Ye sighed inwardly.

His foolish son had reached the age of infatuation.

“Alright.” Chen Ye rose to his feet.

With hands clasped behind his back, he declared, firm and unyielding:

“In one month, if you can chop down eighteen trees, I’ll give you the travel money.”

“You can go to Jingzhou to find her.”

Daming froze for a second.

Then a flash of joy lit up his eyes.

“Dad… I…”

His body trembled. Tears welled in his bloodshot eyes, overflowing with gratitude.

Chen Ye smiled faintly and passed the bowl of porridge over.

“Eat. You’ll need strength.”

“So long as you chop down eighteen trees in a month, I’ll send you on your way.”

Daming’s eyes turned red at Chen Ye’s warm tone.

He nodded hard and gulped down the porridge in big mouthfuls.

…

Over twenty days later.

The setting sun painted the courtyard of Yuying Hall in a drunken gold.

Wisps of cooking smoke drifted through the air.

Chen Ye sat in his recliner, watching the children chase each other in the courtyard.

[Ding!]

[Chen Daming has completed his exclusive profession task: Tree Chopping (100/100)]

[Congratulations! You’ve received the following rewards: 5000 points, 500 taels of silver, Chen Daming’s Wish Item 1]

[Current remaining points: 6723]

[Ding!]

[Would you like to claim Chen Daming’s Wish Item?]

Hearing the cold mechanical voice ring out beside his ear, Chen Ye let out a soft sigh.

This kid Daming really was stubborn to the core.

Eighteen trees so large they needed a full person’s arms to encircle—he’d chopped them down in just over twenty days.

Chen Ye could tell now—Daming truly wanted to go see Princess Jiangzhu.

But even if he went to Jingzhou this time, he still wouldn’t see her.

Because he had gotten it all wrong.

Still, letting him fulfill this wish wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Only then could Daming give up for real.

Daming liked the princess, but he already had a marriage arrangement with the Zhang family.

Feelings were never something that could be achieved through one person’s effort alone.

It took two.

If Princess Jiangzhu also had feelings for Daming, Chen Ye wouldn’t object. For Daming’s sake, he’d even make a trip to the imperial palace in Bianliang.

But if this was just Daming's one-sided infatuation, it was better to let him get over it now.

Chen Ye had already tried to talk sense into him once before—but clearly, it hadn’t worked.

The kid was stubborn—what else could he do?

Chen Ye gazed at the system interface and silently muttered:

“Claim it.”

Since Daming had truly done it, he had nothing more to say.

Originally, Chen Ye had asked him to cut down those 18 trees for the sake of this wish item.

Xiao Lian had received a Peacock Plume with two built-in attributes.

If the system gave Daming a weapon, he’d at least be able to protect himself on the way to Jingzhou.

[Ding!]

[Distributing item...]

[Congratulations, you’ve received: Qilin Axe]

The mechanical voice rang out again.

Beside Chen Ye, a large wooden box appeared out of thin air.

The box was seven feet long, three feet wide.

On the surface was an intricately carved image of a charging qilin, its four hooves trampling flames, its face fierce and menacing, eyes filled with ferocity.

Chen Ye rose to his feet and opened the box.

A piercing cold gleam swept across the main hall of the Orphanage.

A massive axe, six feet long and two feet wide, appeared before Chen Ye.

The axe's surface was polished like a mirror, with the same charging qilin design as the wooden box etched into the blade.

The handle was thick and long, the grip engraved with anti-slip grooves, transitioning seamlessly into the flames beneath the qilin’s hooves.

A data window popped up in front of Chen Ye.

[Item: Qilin Axe]

[Category: Heavy Weapon]

[Built-in Attributes: Thousandweight, Eternal]

[Thousandweight: This axe weighs ten thousand jin (approx. 5000 kg), but will adapt its weight to the wielder.]

[Eternal: This axe cannot be damaged.]

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