Separation 02

Early the next morning.

Just at dawn, as the first ray of sunlight pierced the dark night and the first rooster crowed outside, Xia Lun opened his eyes right on time.

He kissed the cheek of Aina, who was still fast asleep beside him. Aina's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she didn't wake up.

Xia Lun got dressed neatly, intending to go to the courtyard to practice his swordsmanship as usual.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, he found that Aise was actually already waiting outside.

"Father."

"Why are you up so early today?" Xia Lun was a bit surprised. Usually, he was the one who woke Aise up, and then the two would go practice swordsmanship together.

When Aise was ten, Xia Lun officially began teaching him swordsmanship, and five years had passed since then.

Aise's talent was quite good, and his swordsmanship improved rapidly. If he didn't use the power bestowed by the Goddess, Xia Lun felt that Aise would definitely be stronger than him in the future.

Aise didn't reply; he just handed over a longsword.

Xia Lun was slightly taken aback. The familiar weight and feel in his hand... undoubtedly, he knew the origin of this sword.

"Where did you get this sword?"

Xia Lun's gaze suddenly sharpened, and his expression instantly became quite serious.

Aise rarely saw his father like this. In his impression, Xia Lun had always been amiable, with a faint smile on his face, and was completely obedient to his mother... At this moment, he couldn't help but be intimidated.

"I... found it."

"Found it?" Xia Lun scrutinized Aise for a moment.

"Uh... I wiped out a group of bandits, and this is something one of them dropped." Aise confessed truthfully.

Aise knew he couldn't hide it from his father. After all, he knew his father's identity: the Hero who had crusaded against the Demon King... His lies couldn't escape his eyes and would be easily exposed.

"Wiped out bandits? When did this happen?" Xia Lun frowned. "Nonsense! Why didn't you discuss it with me before doing something so dangerous?"

Aise fell somewhat silent, not knowing how to respond.

A soft, delicate body wrapped around Xia Lun's waist from behind.

"What are you arguing about out here so early in the morning?" Aina's chest pressed gently against Xia Lun's back. The soft touch instantly softened Xia Lun's expression.

"Did we wake you? I'm sorry," Xia Lun said apologetically.

"Not really."

Aise also rarely saw his mother like this... Although her temperament was still a bit aloof, she lacked her usual domineering edge, appearing as delicate as a young girl.

Aina's gaze fell upon the longsword in Xia Lun's hand.

"Your Holy Sword?" Aina also recognized it at a glance.

"Yes."

"Didn't you lose it many years ago?" Aina said indifferently; Xia Lun had obviously told her about this before.

"Aise found it and brought it back."

"Isn't that a good thing? He even knew to hand this over to you on his own initiative." Aina poked Xia Lun's cheek. "So what are you two still talking about?"

"Aise..." Xia Lun opened his mouth, but looking into Aina's calm, crimson eyes, he ultimately said nothing. "It's nothing."

"Then what are you standing around for? Hurry up and put this sword away. Isn't it a Demonic Sword now?" Aina took Xia Lun's hand. "Don't practice swordsmanship today. Your sword is lost and found, shouldn't you find a place to study it properly?"

Xia Lun patted Aina's head, fastened the Holy Sword to his waist, and left.

This thing was very wicked now... Naturally, he couldn't draw the sword casually; he had to find an uninhabited place first.

With Xia Lun's departure, Aise clearly felt a shift in his mother's attitude.

Her expression seemed unchanged, but the surrounding air felt as if it had begun to freeze and solidify.

"Thank you, Mother." Aise actually quite enjoyed this atmosphere, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

The matter of wiping out the bandits... if his father looked deeply into it, it would undoubtedly become very troublesome. After all, his goal wasn't to maintain public order.

Aina glanced at Aise indifferently.

"Rest assured, Mother, I will hide it well in front of Father," Aise promised.

"Did you draw that sword?"

"Mother, you must be joking. Isn't that Holy Sword something only the Hero can draw?" Aise replied with a warm smile.

If his father knew, he would definitely take him for all sorts of examinations again...

He didn't want to continue causing trouble for his father.

"Heh, you brought this upon yourself." Aina simply left this sentence behind before turning away to follow Xia Lun's retreating figure.

...

Xia Lun drew the longsword, and ink-like black energy completely saturated the blade. Terrifying resentment and killing intent washed over Xia Lun like crashing waves, but Xia Lun stood like a reef by the sea, towering and motionless, his expression not changing in the slightest.

"The situation is much worse than before," Aina's voice sounded from behind Xia Lun.

Xia Lun nodded with a solemn expression.

The Holy Sword had been missing for nearly ten years. He didn't know what had happened for it to turn out like this.

In the past, the Holy Sword was merely entangled with killing intent, but the blade itself remained unaffected... Now, however, he feared it had completely become a Demonic Sword.

But even so, it was still Xia Lun's sword.

It was exactly as Moke had said; it returned to his side... it just took a rather long time.

Xia Lun could feel its intimacy toward him; holding it in his hand, it still felt like an extension of his own arm.

Aina: "Are you going to hand it over to the Goddess Church again?"

Xia Lun shook his head: "No, I'd rather keep it by my side."

Ordinary priests simply didn't have the ability to suppress this Demonic Sword, which was why such a tragedy occurred before, causing the sword to go missing for over a decade.

Rather than handing it out again, it would be much more reassuring to keep it with him.

With him and Aina around, it wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.

"Then what about Aise? This sword seems to react to him as well." Aina narrowed her eyes. "He seemed to have drawn it last night... I caught a trace of the aura it leaked. Aise has that condition; the Demonic Sword's influence on him will likely not be small."

Xia Lun's expression changed: "Then Aise...?"

"He should be fine for now, but if he is in long-term contact with your sword..." Aina didn't continue.

Xia Lun rubbed the center of his brows, clearly having a bit of a headache over this.

Aina suddenly suggested: "Or perhaps... we live separately from Aise?"

"Separately?" Xia Lun was stunned for a moment.

"Aise is already fifteen this year, it's about time he learns to be independent... Xia Lun, how much longer do you plan to watch over him?" Aina squeezed Xia Lun's broad palm. "If I remember correctly, when you were fifteen, you and Liyana had already come to the human realm to start as adventurers."

"That is true..."

"Then it's decided." Aina hummed slightly in a pleasant mood. "We just need to have Aise move out."