True Solution of the Sword Dao

"Classmate, what would you like?" the lady at the counter asked, walking up to Xu Ke.

"I... I want..." Xu Ke looked dazedly at the items in the glass cabinet. Eventually, he shook his head helplessly. "Never mind, I don't want anything."

Stepping out of the snack bar, Xu Ke just happened to see Lin Fei finishing his yogurt with a look of still wanting more.

Lin Fei, seeing the disheveled Xu Ke who had made his way to him, couldn't help but chuckle before asking.

"What's wrong? Didn't find what you were looking for?"

The little tiger shook his head without saying a word.

"It just so happens I haven't eaten my fill yet, I need to buy some more food. Want to come?" Lin Fei spoke honestly, his appetite increasing by the day. A single bread and a box of yogurt were far from enough to satisfy his hunger.

Fortunately, the crowd was only intense for a short while, and when the two leisurely exited the snack bar, they each had a sausage in hand.

"Alright, let's head back. Yesterday's incident was just an accident. Just pretend we never met," Lin Fei said gently.

Xu Ke slightly opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond or what to say. He could only stare blankly as Lin Fei walked composedly into the school building, slowly disappearing around the corridor corner.

**************

In the afternoon, the school bell rang.

Lin Fei quickly packed up the textbooks from his desk. Chen Yun, looking a bit shady, adjusted his glasses and leaned in close.

"What's really going on between you and Xu Ke? Come on, we're all brothers here!"

"Enough, don't mess around. We're just acquaintances, nothing special," Lin Fei said casually, his mind actually considering whether he should buy something for self-defense.

The incident from yesterday afternoon could have been troublesome if Uncle Wei hadn't shown up. Having something that could serve both as a hidden weapon and a classic one would have made a big difference.

He glanced around the classroom. As expected, Xie Shishi wasn't there today. Probably, news of her transfer would spread in a few days.

He felt the Renminbi in his pocket, his entire savings. 14 yuan.

"What can I buy with this money?"

After packing his backpack, Lin Fei found an excuse to let Chen Yun and the others go first, and waited a bit before he slowly left school, heading towards the commercial street.

The commercial street at night was brightly lit. At the very end of the street, near the People's Square, a thin, tall boy with bright eyes and short hair, carrying a backpack, walked into People's Square.

The originally spacious ground of the square was now filled with various small stalls. There was a little bit of everything for sale.

Most of these stallholders were people with private goods they wanted to exchange quickly for money. It was effectively a flea market in Ping City. Among them, there were some stalls selling martial arts novels and other books. Lin Fei used to scour these stalls for books in his past life, but today he wasn't here for the novels.

Following the small path made by the stalls, Lin Fei eventually stopped in front of a stall that appeared to be run by a former soldier. Apart from Lin Fei, there was only an old man squatting on the side, flipping through a red booklet called 'The Quotations of Chairman Mao.'

Lin Fei squatted down and picked up a black object from the stall that resembled a small knife.

*Tssk!* Lin Fei quickly pulled it out. It was a glossy black, hook-like weapon. Under the square's lights, Lin Fei saw a row of English letters on the handle of the weapon.

"BearClaw."

Very fitting. The weapon was entirely shaped like a claw, only as long as a palm, lacking a cutting edge but having a curved tip densely populated with metal teeth on the inside. Lin Fei could even imagine it brutally digging into an enemy's muscle tissue and then ripping downward. The sound of skin and muscle tearing apart like fabric was undoubtedly any enemy's nightmare.

Without a doubt, this was an extremely vicious weapon.

"Boss, how much for this?"

The stall owner glanced over.

"12."

"Here!" Lin Fei was delighted as the amount was exactly right. He counted the money and handed it over, then, gripping the Bear Claw, flicked his fingers and skillfully produced a sharp 'swish' sound in the air.

The vendor saw this and his expression changed instantly. He knew well that not just anyone could make that sound with the item.

"Sorry, I'm not selling the Bear Claw anymore," he said, throwing the money back.

Lin Fei was stunned. He couldn't believe there were people in the world who would refuse to sell their goods for no reason.

"Hey, boss, I've already paid you. What's with this trick? That's really dishonorable."

The vendor replied gloomily, "Nothing. I just don't want to sell it anymore. A word of advice—unless you're buying it for a collection, it's better to stay away from this kind of thing."

Great, Lin Fei thought, the vendor considers me a bad guy who buys weapons for fights and brawls.

"Brother, what you're saying now doesn't matter. Didn't we settle both the money and product earlier? I really like this Bear Claw. It's my call if I want to return it or not. What you're doing is unreasonable."

Lin Fei swiftly flicked the Bear Claw in his hand, making swift cuts in three directions, generating a slicing sound. Worried, the vendor's face slightly paled and he said no more.

Lin Fei smiled, slid the Bear Claw back into its sheath, tucked it into his bag, and walked away.

********

Morning

"Lin Fei! Someone is looking for you!"

Seeing Xu Ke's pretty face peek through the classroom door, Lin Fei sighed with a headache. Dozens of eyes in the classroom instantly focused on Lin Fei, like spotlights.

Outside the classroom, seeing Xu Ke's blushing face holding two small plastic bags, Lin Fei's headache grew worse.

"Here! This is the breakfast I bought for you," Xu Ke said, hanging one of the bags on Lin Fei's hand.

"Oh~~~~" A synchronized third tone of Mandarin pinyin rang out both inside and outside the classroom.

This was the third day since buying the Bear Claw.

For the past three days, Xu Ke had brought breakfast for Lin Fei to the classroom door every morning, then silently pulled him to the rooftop to eat together.

The first time, because the breakfast consisted of expensive, delicate cakes and such, Lin Fei, without a word, threw it back and bought regular bread and sausages to eat on the rooftop.

However, a few minutes later, Xu Ke also came up with ordinary bread and sausage, sitting beside Lin Fei nibbling quietly.

Then the second time, Xu Ke directly bought tasty food and handed it to Lin Fei.

On the rooftop, the wind was strong, but because it was midsummer, the breeze was warm.

"I mean, this makes me feel quite embarrassed," Lin Fei said somewhat helplessly.

Xu Ke, nibbling on the bread, looked up upon hearing this.

"You have the right not to accept me, but you don't have the right to make me give up! Until you are not my boyfriend," Xu Ke replied frankly.

"Between us, it's really not possible," Lin Fei said, even more helplessly. "Your family wouldn't agree, either."

Xu Ke's cheeks turned pinker.

"Have... Have you already thought that far ahead?"

Seeing Xu Ke, now dressed in a simple school uniform and jeans instead of her usual fashionable outfits, Lin Fei knew she had dressed down just for him. For a girl who loves to look beautiful, the uniform from Ban Middle School was definitely a last choice.