LAVW – Chapter 29 The Silver Furball

Long Ye’s voice rang out as Wang Xingzhi, who was guarding his storage pouch, turned toward the man and the rat.

He stared at Long Ye’s face, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Then, seeing the round creature on Long Ye’s head, he barely managed to recall who they were. A hint of confusion crossed his face before quickly turning into envy.

Just like in cliché dramas where lovers keep missing each other, Shi Qian was actually envious of him too.

Shi Qian’s gaze was locked onto the flying silver swords, glistening in midair. The scene looked thrilling and dangerous, yet Wang Xingzhi remained unshaken, standing his ground, exuding a calm and powerful aura.

After watching for a while, Shi Qian had already started thinking about how to get himself a good sword once he and Long Ye joined the Sword Sect.

Other people’s swords were cool, but they looked too dangerous. They could only be admired from afar. Having his own sword would be different—he could slow it down and play with it. Shi Qian still hadn’t overcome his instinctive fear of sharp, high-speed objects, a remnant of his modern-day soul. It was similar to how he used to imagine cutting his own fingers whenever he chopped vegetables.

Shi Qian straightened up and began setting the stage for his request to Long Ye: “Squeak Squeak.”

I want a sword with a sword spirit too.

Long Ye felt the topic was a bit off-track, but it didn’t stop him from agreeing with his little spirit beast. “You’ll have one eventually.”

In the past, he wouldn’t have dared to make such a promise. But now that his strength had improved and he had discovered his own extraordinary abilities, his confidence had risen as well.

With Shi Qian on his head, Long Ye approached the mine and smiled. “Brother Wang, it’s me. I just look different now.”

Meanwhile, the Xiao Yin creature beside them was hopping around noisily. Wang Xingzhi picked up a piece of Star Silver Ore to appease his sword.

Then, tilting his head up, he asked with undisguised longing, “Long Ye, where did you get your opportunity in the secret realm? Your transformation is so drastic—can you tell me about it?”

He might as well have had ‘This is really important to me’ written all over his face.

Long Ye saw right through Wang Xingzhi’s thoughts and responded regretfully, “It was in the Ancestral Hall. But it happened because of my own circumstances, not because of the secret realm itself.”

Shi Qian, perched on Long Ye’s head, had to crane his neck to see Wang Xingzhi properly.

Too much effort.

Just like how Wang Xingzhi had to crane his neck to talk to Long Ye face-to-face since he wasn’t standing on his flying sword, the height difference was too inconvenient.

Shi Qian jumped down and landed on the handle of the shovel in Wang Xingzhi’s hand.

Tapping the shovel with his paw, he got straight to the point: “Squeak Squeak.”

Brother Wang, do you have extra mining tools? Can we borrow a set?

After all, how could they mine without tools?

Since Brother Qian had already taken the initiative, Long Ye had no choice but to shamelessly translate for him.

Wang Xingzhi lowered his head. Though he was still disappointed, his mood improved a little. At least not all creatures in this world were tall and mighty.

He responded, “I do have extras. I’ll get you some. The Star Silver Ore here is of excellent quality—you can even eat some if you want.”

Shi Qian pointed at himself with his paw, eyes wide in surprise. “Squeak Squeak?”

Eat some? Me?

“Yeah! You didn’t know? Demonic beasts can eat Star Silver Ore too—it strengthens their fur, shells, and even internal organs. But since Star Silver Ore is so rare outside, it’s usually fought over by artifact refiners, formation masters, and sword cultivators like me. There’s never enough to go around.”

Otherwise, Wang Xingzhi wouldn’t be so obsessed with mining. These ores were rare and valuable.

Just as Shi Qian was considering whether he could digest it, a flash of silver light shot toward him.

There was no killing intent, but the silver sword flew swiftly and fiercely.

Shi Qian instinctively fled far away. When he turned back, he saw the silver sword flicker and then fly toward him again, seemingly in a joyful and excited manner.

As the flying sword zipped through the air, a “wuu la la” sound rang out, as if it were laughing.

But Shi Qian was genuinely a little scared—this was a real sword.

While using his escape technique to flee, he shouted, “Squeak Squeak!”

Wang Xingzhi, control your sword!

Long Ye naturally went to find Wang Xingzhi.

Wang Xingzhi tried to control it but was completely unsuccessful. After consuming the secret medicine, his cultivation level had dropped from the Golden Core stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, but the sword’s cultivation had not decreased.

Thus, after Shi Qian’s cries, a second shout followed.

“Xiao Yin! Stop playing around! Stop right now, do you hear me?”

“Long Ye, don’t worry. Xiao Yin can tell friend from foe. Brother Qian is fast at escaping, and back in the Sword Cave, the swords loved playing this chase game the most.”

“Star Silver Ore, do you want it?” Wang Xingzhi tried to tempt the silver sword with Star Silver Ore.

The silver sword flew over, precisely passing through the Star Silver Ore in Wang Xingzhi’s hand, taking it away before turning back to continue chasing after Shi Qian’s tail.

Shi Qian had no choice but to rely on himself. Thinking of a clumsy trick, he started making sharp turns while escaping.

However, sharp turns were a double-edged sword—they might harm the enemy, but they also took a toll on himself.

Dizzy from all the abrupt turns, Shi Qian fled to Long Ye’s side and Squeaked, “Squeak .”

I’m so dizzy.

Long Ye quickly stuffed him into the front pocket of his robe, shielding him with his scaly hand, ready for battle.

The silver sword, a beat slower, wobbled to a stop outside the pocket, happily rubbing itself against Long Ye’s hand.

As it rubbed, it shed silvery dust with a soft rustling sound.

It was the Star Silver Ore it had just swallowed, not yet fully digested.

Wang Xingzhi seized the opportunity to scold, “Why don’t you ever listen?! Brother Qian isn’t a flying sword—he’s not playing with you!”

Shi Qian noticed that the silver sword seemed to have calmed down. He thought Wang Xingzhi had finally managed to assert control, so after some hesitation, he poked his head out to check the situation.

Long Ye was guarding against the silver sword but didn’t expect Shi Qian to stick his head out himself.

As a result, Shi Qian pushed past Long Ye’s hand and peeked out.

The silver sword, with its exceptional reaction speed, seized the opportunity—whoosh! It instantly shrank in size, slipped past Long Ye and Wang Xingzhi’s hands as they tried to grab it, and shot straight for Shi Qian’s exposed head.

Shi Qian swiftly raised his paw to press down on his ears, ducked his head, and immediately fled again.

This time, he rushed into a cave, surrounded by intertwining silver and blue light, dreamy and ethereal.

There was no time to examine his surroundings carefully, as he felt a weight on his head and a strange chill.

It didn’t hurt, but… could he have been shaved bald?!

He quickly reached out his paw to touch his head.

Fortunately, his fur was still there. It just seemed to be coated with something, making it feel heavy and cool.

Shi Qian retracted his paw and saw that it was covered in a silvery glow.

He was puzzled. “Squeak.”

Silver sword… does it shed powder?

But as long as he wasn’t bald, that was all that mattered. Shi Qian put aside his worries about his hairstyle and began to examine his surroundings.

At a glance, he realized that he seemed to have escaped into a Star Silver Ore mine.

Wasn’t the mine made of the same material as the stone chamber? Then how did he get inside?

Thinking back to how he entered—head first—he lifted his paw and examined it, suddenly realizing the key: “Squeak.”

It was silver powder.

Good stuff! If he smeared more of it on his head, maybe he’d be able to run through more places.

Shi Qian suddenly thought about asking Wang Xingzhi for more of the silver sword’s shed powder. But the more he considered it, the weirder that idea seemed.

He turned his gaze to a piece of Star Silver Ore protruding from the cave wall, pulled out his small sword, and laboriously chipped off a piece.

Then, giving himself some encouragement, he tried opening his mouth to take a bite.

Taste test conclusion: Too hard, bad for the teeth.

But after taking two bites, a refreshing coolness, like the night breeze of summer, spread comfortably through his body.

So it really did have the properties of Star Silver Ore.

Shi Qian stored away the Star Silver Ore with his bite marks, preparing to escape and get Long Ye to mine more—he needed to compete with the silver sword for food.

But… he couldn’t get out.

“Squeak—!” Shi Qian hugged his head, wailing in pain from hitting it against the rock. Just like in the stone chamber, he found that he couldn’t phase through the Star Silver Ore layers.

The problem was—he had managed to get in, so why couldn’t he get out?! This was absurd.

Shi Qian gave up on his escape technique, venting his frustration by biting into the Star Silver Ore as he reflected on his experience.

He figured that when he entered, he must have been in a state of “burst mode”—completely focused on running, with no distractions. That must have been why he managed to phase through.

Now, to get out, he needed that same state.

But in this tiny mine tunnel, where was he going to find another silver sword to chase him and give him the pressure he needed?

The only two exits in the mine were as small as ant tunnels, barely enough for one of Shi Qian’s fingers—clearly impassable.

After analyzing his situation, Shi Qian looked down at the Star Silver Ore in his arms. “Squeak Squeak.”

I swear I’m not just greedy. This is a necessity.

Other than an optimal mental state, another crucial factor in getting into the mine had been the silver powder on his head.

If that was the case, Shi Qian thought, eating more Star Silver Ore should also help him get out of the mine. Otherwise, he’d have to wait for Long Ye to dig through the entire mine to find him. That would be too much trouble—it was better to work together.

Outside the mine, Wang Xingzhi and Long Ye arrived at the outer edge, each holding a mining tool.

Wang Xingzhi felt a little guilty. “It’s all because Xiao Yin is too mischievous.”

Long Ye recalled how Shi Qian had stuck his head out at the last moment and felt that it wasn’t entirely the silver sword’s fault.

“It’s not Xiao Yin’s fault. Brother Qian was the one who got close to you first. And I could tell—Xiao Yin just wanted to play with Brother Qian. Once he started running, it got excited.” Long Ye said, “I can vaguely sense that Brother Qian is in this direction. Let’s dig toward him.”

Wang Xingzhi took one look and knew it was going to be a massive project—at least a few days of digging.

But he didn’t say anything, because no matter how far, they had to dig through and help him.

Rather than complaining, he decided to share some useful knowledge instead. Without hesitation, Wang Xingzhi began imparting all his mining experience.

“The Star Silver Mine has a very faint scent, like fresh grass. You can remember this smell to find the mine in the future.”

“When mining, you have to pay attention to your posture. The way you’re doing it now will make you extremely tired and won’t last long—”

Long Ye humbly learned and quickly grasped the new knowledge and techniques.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yin was flying nearby. It couldn’t find a new companion to chase around with, so it sulked and approached its master, Wang Xingzhi.

However, Wang Xingzhi said coldly, “Xiao Yin, you didn’t listen today. I don’t want to deal with you. Stay away from me.”

No matter how much Xiao Yin tried to nuzzle up to him, Wang Xingzhi maintained the same attitude.

In the end, Xiao Yin huffed in frustration and darted toward the mine, aggressively stabbing at the rock to help loosen the ore. Only then did Wang Xingzhi show it a slightly better expression.

But unlike Long Ye, Xiao Yin wasn’t good at reading faces and quickly started acting up again.

Watching all this, Long Ye felt exhausted just by looking at it. Remembering that Brother Qian had said he wanted a sword with a sword spirit too, he asked, “Do all sword cultivators in your sect have such a hard time raising their swords?”

Wang Xingzhi shook his head. “No, don’t get the wrong idea. Xiao Yin is just different.”

“I was small in stature, and the batch of sword spirits that awakened in the sword cavern at the time didn’t think highly of me. Only Xiao Yin, a newly born sword spirit, took a liking to me and was willing to follow me.”

“Besides, I really haven’t disciplined Xiao Yin properly,” Wang Xingzhi admitted, reflecting on himself. “I’ve always treated it like a child, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

“Most sword spirits are much more mature than Xiao Yin, and the relationship between a sword cultivator and their sword spirit depends more on the cultivator themselves.”

Seeing that Long Ye was interested, Wang Xingzhi continued to mine skillfully while sharing his experiences. “But one thing’s for sure—sword cultivators are poor. The ores and rare materials for refining swords in the cultivation world have all gotten more expensive because of us. And unlike pill refiners or formation masters, who can sell their products to make money, we only know how to fight and kill, and on top of that, we have to raise our swords. The expenses are huge.”

Long Ye was about to respond when he suddenly sensed the presence of a small spirit beast nearby.

He quickly grabbed Wang Xingzhi’s hand to stop him from swinging his shovel. “Brother Qian is out.”

“Squeak squeak!”

That’s right! I’m out—and I’ve gotten stronger!

Shi Qian emerged from the mine, lifted his head happily, and looked at Long Ye. Like Long Ye before, he proudly declared that he had become stronger—only to be met with Long Ye’s utterly shocked face.

Long Ye stared at the Xiao Yin furball in front of him, which now had only its face and ears retaining their original color, and finally understood the expression Wang Lianzhi and Wang Xingzhi had when they first saw him.

Pure shock.

Shi Qian thought his new look was being disliked and glared at Long Ye in reproach. “Squeak squeak.”

I didn’t dislike you back then.

Long Ye: ?

Why don’t you try remembering that again?