A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Li Guanqi spotted the little girl at the door and walked over. Seeing her reddened eyes, he reached out to stroke her hair and gently asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

All eyes turned to Yu Sui’an.

Qin Xian and Li Nanting, both visibly concerned, echoed the question. “What happened?”

Yu Sui’an glanced at the worried faces, then at Li Guanqi, who was already mostly healed. She forced a smile and waved a hand dismissively. “Haha, it’s nothing. I was coming back after buying some buns and tripped on the way. The buns fell on the ground, and I felt like it was a waste...”

Li Guanqi didn’t think too much of it. It wasn’t unusual for a young girl to cry over something like that. He stroked her hair again, smiling softly. “It’s alright. We can buy more for you. Are you hungry now? I can take you there.”

Li Nanting smiled. “If you’re worried about his recovery, I can take you to buy the buns instead.”

Putting on a brave face, Yu Sui’an said, “Now? No need. I’ll just eat two more tomorrow to make up for the ones I lost today. Little blind boy... are you feeling better now?”

Li Guanqi smiled and showed her his wounds. “Look, they’re already healing up and scarring. I’m fine.”

She stepped behind him and reached out to examine him, as if making sure he wasn’t just putting on a front. Then she gave a solemn nod, like a little adult. “Good, good.”

Then, she ran back to her room like the wind. Everyone just smiled. Qin Xian shooed the crowd away, saying he was going to help Li Guanqi regain his vital force.

Once the others had left, Qin Xian beckoned Li Guanqi into his room. Li Nanting shut the door and raised a vital force barrier around them.

Qin Xian approached Li Guanqi and barked, “Spit it out, brat!”

Li Guanqi threw up his hands innocently. “Elder Qin, you haven’t even asked me any questions yet!”

Li Nanting smacked him lightly on the head. “Nonsense! He’s asking how much of your strength you actually used today! If we hadn’t inspected your meridians, we wouldn’t have realized you held back!”

Li Guanqi grinned. His meridians weren’t as messy and damaged as they thought. In fact, when he took down the last Profound Gate Pavilion disciple, he still had twenty percent of his strength in reserve, and he’d even faked unconsciousness.

Qin Xian stroked his goatee and chuckled, eyes gleaming. “You little punk! Kids these days are too manipulative. Who were you putting on that act for? Was it really worth getting yourself so hurt?”

Standing in the middle of the room, Li Guanqi exclaimed, “Zhao Beichen! He’s the only one I see as a real threat. Even though I won today’s Hell Challenge, I’ll have to fight again tomorrow before I can face him.”

Li Nanting frowned. “Zhao Beichen’s not even that well-known. Is it so serious you need to start laying traps already?”

Even Qin Xian agreed.

Li Guanqi grinned. “My grandfather once said that if you want to trick someone, you need to start before they realize anything’s off. Once they catch on, it’s already too late.”

The two elders exchanged glances, each seeing disbelief in the other’s eyes. The principle wasn’t hard to grasp, but they couldn’t believe a teenager could pull it off to such an extent.

“Although your wounds looked very gruesome, none of them were fatal or serious enough to affect your mobility,” Qin Xian said. ”Are you saying that you did that on purpose? What would’ve been the outcome if you’d gone all out against Guan Qingyun?”

Li Guanqi pursed his lips in thought. “Back when Master and Elder Xu suppressed their cultivation to spar with me, this disciple was fortunate enough to win. If I’d used my left hand against Guan Qingyun without holding back... just ten breaths would’ve been enough.”

Both elders sucked in a sharp breath.

Li Nanting’s confusion was finally resolved. That’s why something had felt off during the match.

If he and Qin Xian hadn’t examined Li Guanqi’s body, they would’ve never known. Li Guanqi had fooled everyone.

Qin Xian’s understanding of the young prodigy deepened. He was starting to wonder if the sect should take in another closed-door disciple...

Li Guanqi shrugged. “Master, Elder... we have to keep up the act. If word gets out, even to the other disciples, all my suffering and acting will have been for nothing.”

Qin Xian let out a rare laugh. “You little rascal. Don’t worry. We won’t say a thing. The sect’s already ranked twelfth—we will receive far more resources than we’ve had in the past hundred years. Even if you win just one more round, we’ll be swimming in wealth. So don’t push yourself too hard. Your safety comes first. We’d rather lose the resources than see any of you get hurt.”

Li Guanqi nodded.

***

While the three of them spoke secretly, Yu Sui’an locked herself in her room.

She squatted down with a pained frown. When she lifted her coat, she saw a massive bruise blooming across her thigh—larger than her palm, nearly covering her whole thigh.

She limped and dragged her leg to sit on the bed. Then, she took out some ointment from her storage pouch and lathered it on her bruise. She rubbed her bruise hard, and the intense pain made her cry. But she quickly buried her head in the blankets, muffling her sobs.

Her eyes were still red when she straightened her clothes and whispered to herself, “I have to be good. I can’t let the blind boy worry. He’s already so badly hurt, and he still has to fight tomorrow... I mustn’t cry. I have to be strong. It was just six delicious meat buns... just six...

“Wahhh!”

Ultimately, she curled under the covers and cried for a long, long time.

No one knew how much pain she was in.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi continued to focus on restoring his vital force. The Hell Challenge wasn’t over—it would resume the next day, regardless of his injuries.