"How many seasons have passed since Ou Ye departed? Gradually, the sword of Zhanlu follows too." [1]
Since ancient times, the Zhanlu Sword was once said to be the sword of the king. There was no obstacle it could not overcome, yet it possessed no murderous aura, and contained a spiritual conscience. For thousands of years, a folk song was sung throughout the common people: "The one who comes into possession of Zhanlu commands all under the heavens." As a result, numerous people of Jianghu have gone crazy, throwing away their lives, for the sake of finding this sword.
~End World Building~
Xiao Wangye's[2] rear courtyard was bustling with noise and excitement, while in the kitchen, Situ Xin was playing with her fingernails out of boredom. "Zhanlu Sword where could you possibly be hiding?" she muttered. Of course, it wouldn't be hiding in the kitchen, but why was she in the kitchen? Originally, she had an agreement saying that she would work as Wangye's personal maid servant. Who would have thought that the Head of Affairs would just glance at her, shake his head, and have a fierce looking aunty pull her away.
"Ai, you've already stood there for half a day, and yet, you still haven't come over to help," the aunty in charge of the back kitchen loudly reprimanded her. Walking to the front of Situ Xin in large strides, the aunty raised her hands and pinched her hard.
Jumping up, Situ Xin shouted out in pain.
Damn witch, not knowing your own strength and pinching me so hard mercilessly.
"I'm new here, so I'm not sure how to do anything." Situ Xin said, as she rubbed the sore spot that was created from the pinch. She silently cursed in her heart, yet, her face still expressed a flattering smile. As the saying goes, you would not hit the person that is smiling.[3]
"Fine, then head over there and help wash the vegetables." The aunty pointed her finger at a pile of Chinese cabbage that was as tall as a small mountain.
How long would it take to prepare all of that…?
Slowly letting her shoulders fall powerlessly, Situ Xin could only aggrievedly glance at the aunty and obediently say, "Yes."
At the speed of a crawling turtle, Situ Xin finally reached the small mountain of Chinese cabbage. "Uggghhh, if she says I have to wash the vegetables, then I'll wash the vegetables! Damn Sword!! Wait til I snatch you back, and let that old fart look at you. Then, I'll chop you in half!"
In Situ Xin's hands, she continued to roughly handle the Chinese cabbage, and in an instant, the perfectly fine cabbages had turned into scraps. Then the roar of the lioness [4] once again came from her side, "Damned servant girl, you think you can rebel huh?" Purple bruises appeared on Situ Xin's arm once again. "You better go chop some vegetables for me then."
"Chopping vegetables is chopping vegetables, why do you need to yell so loudly at people?" Situ Xin muttered to herself in a low voice. She didn't dare let that old witch hear her words. But, could you blame her? These kinds of menial tasks would be left for the servants to do. When has her ten delicate fingers ever done such rough work?
Picking up the kitchen knife, Situ Xin started to chopped away, and once again, she heard a frightening roar. Seeing the aunty's large hand coming towards her again, Situ Xin immediately dodged out of the way. This life-saving skill had to be completely mastered, otherwise, she would end up like the scraps on the floor, full of bruises and cuts.
Grabbing only air, the aunty became even more furious as her eyes flickered with an angry flame, "Damned servant girl! Tell me, with your average appearance, why are you still acting like a rich young lady? Acting so sweet and delicate? Is there anything you can do at all?"
Situ Xin extended her hand and started to count off her fingers: "I can't cook, I can't prepare vegetables, I can't chop vegetables, I also can't stir-fry…" As she was counting, the aunty's facial expression got darker and darker. Seeing this, Situ Xin hastily starts to mention skills she has: "I can split logs. That's right, I can make firewood."
"Split logs?" Looking at the small, delicate servant girl in front of her, the aunty's eyes were filled with suspicion. "Okay, then go to the rear courtyard and split all the logs. If you do not finish, then don't even think about eating." Turning her attention away from Situ Xin, the aunty looked lovingly at the vegetable scraps and thought about what a pity it was to let this damn servant girl waste these fresh vegetables. As she was thinking, the aunty took out a dustpan and started to lovingly sweep up the destroyed scraps of vegetables from the ground.It was a pity that this damn servant wasted these fresh vegetables. The aunty then took out a dustpan and started to lovingly sweep up the destroyed scraps of vegetables from the ground.
Finally free of the evil aunty, Situ Xin dejectedly walked towards the rear courtyard. She still hadn't caught a glimpse of the Zhanlu Sword, and yet, she felt like she got hit by eighty large planks. She pouted her lips in displeasure and all of a sudden a mountain of logs appeared in front of her. It was truly a magnificent scene to behold. "Waaaa?!" This mountain of logs would normally take a physically fit man about a day to complete, let alone, a weak and delicate girl. Does that aunty actually have a black heart?
Fortunately, Situ Xin wasn't the typical weak and delicate girl. From her bosom, she took out a dagger and easily split the logs into two, as her eyes shone brightly.. In a short time, the large mountain in front of her quickly became two mountains.
Pleased with the results of her own work, Situ Xin patted her skirt and brushed off the dirt. Zhanlu Sword, here I come.
Footnotes: [1] Ou Ye was an infamous sword-crafter, who created the Zhanlu Sword. The Zhanlu Sword is one of the twelve famous swords in chinese history. **Note that this may not be correct. [2] Wangye: Refers to an Imperial Prince. Can also be used as a way to refer to an Imperial Prince. [3] Means you are not supposed to hit/reject someone who is showing their sincerity. [4] Typically refers to a shrewish wife or a henpecked husband, but in this case, it refers to the aunty's screeching voice