MCIF Chapter 26.1

Chapter 26.1 – The Free Wind’s Gentle Hymn

Xue Ji smiled slightly and said, “I also heard what younger brother Ming said and found out that you were actually Senior Demon Chef’s disciple. I am so ashamed to have actually let you chop firewood at the Pure Wind House.”

In his mind, Nian Bing said, ‘You are younger than my master, but you call my master, senior. It’s hilarious.’

Outwardly, he said, “Mister Xue, there is no need to be so polite. It is me who chose not to reveal my profession, how could you be to blame? I apologize for being unable to offer you a seat. .”

Xue Ji sighed lightly, then said, “I flaunted myself as someone who could read people, but this time I made such a mistake. For slighting you at the Pure Wind House, and also for my daughter making trouble for you, I apologize. My daughter acted willfully at that time, to actually make you pose as her boyfriend. As such a talented person, how could my daughter ever match up to you?”

Nian Bing felt kindly towards Xue Ji. “Mister Xue you are too courteous, I don’t deserve such praise.  As long as Miss Xue Jing no longer blames Nian Bing for concealing himself, Nian Bing is satisfied.”

Xue Ji smiled slightly before saying, “You are youngsters. There is no harm in a little interaction between you two later. In terms of the culinary arts, even Little brother Ming has admitted to not being your equal. My only daughter, Jing’er, will be the inheritor of the Pure Wind House. If she could learn some knowledge of the field of cooking from you, I could pass down the Pure Wind House worry-free.”  

‘Long Zhi, you have a daughter. I have one too. My daughter does not look much worse than your daughter. It’s such a shame that my daughter’s temper is so terrible. This Nian Bing does not only have superior cooking skills, but is also not weak in magic. His moral character is also pretty good……’

“Father.” Xue Jing’s pretty face pinked slightly. She looked at her father, and then looked at Nian Bing. She shyly lowered her head. The present her did not have a single trace of the wild girl.

Xue Ji reprimanded her. “You troublemaker, you still haven’t apologized to Nian Bing.

Xue Jing looked again at Nian Bing. She hesitated for a moment; the words of apology would not leave her mouth. Nian Bing said, “There is no need to apologize. Miss Xue Jing did not do anything wrong. I only hope that the Miss’ temper will change for the better. It’s better when girls are gentle.” While saying this, he looked at Long Ling to the side. Among the three beauties of Ice and Snow City, the one to give him the deepest impression was undoubtedly the Wise Girl Luo Rou. However, the one who gave Nian Bing the most favorable impression was the gentle Long Ling.

Xue Jing stared at Nian Bing, but in front of her father, she dared not say anything. Xue Ji sighed in his heart. In terms of temperament, his daughter was far from comparing with Long Ling! He took the brocade box from Xue Jing’s hands into his own. To Nian Bing he said, “This is a small gift for you. I hope I did not disrespect you. Please accept this, Nian Bing. Although I know you cannot return to the Pure Wind House, I still hope you can become a friend of the Pure Wind House.” While saying this, Xue Jing took the brocade box and held it out in front of Nian Bing.

Nian Bing did not take it. “Mister Xue, is there need for such politeness? I cannot accept this present. The Pure Wind House has done nothing wrong. I also have a relationship with Master Ming. Naturally, I am the Pure Wind House’s friend.”

Xue Ji smiled slightly, saying, “This is similar to the so-called bestowing knighthood with a sword, this is an item passed down through the generations of the Xue family. My older brother inherited my father’s duchy; this is what I inherited. I do not have much use for it, but I think that for you, it will at least be of some assistance You should accept it; it can be taken as my goodwill to you.”

Nian Bing shook his head, saying, “After listening to what you said, the more I can’t accept it. Seeing as it’s a treasure passed down in Mister Xue’s family, this object should be Miss Xue Jing’s to inherit.”

Xue Ji smiled slightly and said, “Since you have already promised to be the Pure Wind House’s friend, you don’t need to call me Mister Xue. Call me Uncle if you don’t mind. I will not force you to take it; however, would you not like to take a look at it? Though the outside of this brocade box is made of cloth, the inside is forged out of lead, and can keep the aura of things from leaking out.”

In his mind, Long Zhi silently said, ‘Not good. Based on what Xue Ji said, this brocade box must contain a treasure. In light of this, it’s too late for me to make a move. I did not think that Xue Ji regarded Nian Bing with enough importance to even bring out a treasure passed down in his family. What’s more, we’re not just receiving  a few of Nian Bing’s scrolls. It seems I must wait till after they leave to make a move.’

As expected, although Nian Bing’s resolution was strong, the curiosity of a youngster was not small. Subconsciously, his eyes drifted towards the brocade box in Xue Ji’s hands. Xue Ji smiled slightly and unfastened the clasp of the brocade box. The instant the box opened, the whole room immediately filled with a green light. Even the air in the room began to flow more intensely. That was the aura of wind, the aura of the wind element. The wind element in the room flew quickly, gathering at the box and making the green light stronger. The wind seemed like it was groaning softly, a beautiful buzzing sound.

Long Zhi’s whole body shuddered. As a wind system Magic Scholar, how could he not recognize what it was. With his voice trembling, he said, “This, this is the Humming Wind Stone. In legends, as the Wind God moaned, his own great magic power condensed into the Humming Wind Stone! Only the Humming Wind Stone could emit such a strong aura of wind element. Big Brother Xue, you really have been working hard to hide this from me!”

Xue Ji smiled slightly. “Brother, if it was just a Humming Wind Stone, how could I not have given it to you? You know that I have always been generous as a brother. For things not part of my body, I would not regard the broom as my own ¹ if I didn’t have a use for it. Me and Jing Jing have fire attribute bodies, and are based on fire. Therefore, we have no use the stone.  The reason I didn’t give it to you, or even take it out for you to look at however, is because it’s not just a Humming Wind Stone. It’s a knife, one that can display the greatest of speeds, a knife with the Humming Wind Stone. The knife is called Proud Sky, but it has another name: The Free Wind’s Gentle Hymn.”

Finally, the long brocade box was completely opened. The wind element went crazy, probably because it had been sealed for too long. The whole library had been washed with a green color. The knife was 54 centimetres long. The blade was three inches wide, but the shape of the blade was exceedingly strange. It was not shaped like an ordinary knife, but the knife blade had a perfect arc. It was a knife with an extremely thin blade. Even at its thickest point it was not even a seventh of a chinese inch thick. The tip of the knife spiralled in neat curls. The knife handle was also strange. It had four circular, deep, depressions on top of it, ostensible to grip. The forefinger and middle finger depressions metal had another depression right on top of it in the metal. Right where you would to hold the handle, the end of the knife handle had a dark green precious stone protruding out. The protruding part was circular. The whole handle emitted an intense green light. As time passed, the green light continue to converge.

The knife was resplendent. It was so wonderful that Nian Bing could not help but mumble, “The Free Wind’s Gentle Hymn – the Proud Sky Knife. As expected, it is a good knife!”

Xue Ji seemed to have anticipated his surprise. He smiled whiled while explaining, “The Humming Wind Stone is the most precious spot of the knife, but the body of the knife is also made of a high quality material. It’s forged out of Free Wind Green Metal. This material was able to match with the Humming Wind Stone to form this Proud Sky Knife. The Proud Sky knife has a soul of its own. Although you are not a wind mage, if you use your strength to swing it, it can gather the wind element contained in its body to form an ordinary wind blade. Although it won’t be that threatening to high level warriors, it will be difficult for an ordinary warrior to block it. As a mage, you you only need some time to resist so you can cast a spell. Of course, this is just the Proud Sky’s knife auxiliary use. The most important thing is that it can display faster speeds when you use your almost god-like knife skills. If you have it, when you make that Nine Mysterious Green Dragons Hidden in Clouds of Ice, you can at least reduce the time by half. A famous knife suits a famous chef. Since you do not hold your master’s True Sun Knife in your hand, this Proud Sky Knife suits you. In terms of quality, I dare to say that Proud Sky is definitely not below True Sun. It may be even better in particular areas.”

Long Zhi moved close to Xue Ji’s side, looking at the dark green precious stone. He spoke while sighing, “Such a pity, such a pity. This Humming Wind Stone has already been fused completely with the metal of the knife, their auras intertwined. The knife soul and stone are truly one, otherwise it wouldn’t be able to display the special characteristics of the Humming Wind Stone. If I could use the Humming Wind Stone to make a wand, perhaps in twenty years, I could become a Descended God! Big brother, It’s a good thing that you didn’t show it off in front of me. If you had, I might’ve really thought of ways to dig out the Humming Wind Stone and make a wand.”

Xue Ji gave a slight smile and said, “Geez, you. The Wind Green Metal is so hard that even if you used a rank 10 magic the stone wouldn’t come free. Even if you had gotten it free, you probably would have no way of finding a matching material to make a wand out of it. The Wind Green Metal, although very good, has edges too sharp to be a wand, and is only suited to becoming a bladed weapon.”

Long Zhi smiled, saying, “If a Humming Wind Stone was really made into a wand, it would be God Grade. Anyways, I don’t have such an opportunity. It’s a pity Nian Bing isn’t a wind mage. If he was, as a chef familiar with the properties of the knife, he would definitely be able to display the Humming Wind Stone’s might. This knife displays the same might as a magic staff. Honestly speaking, giving this knife to Nian Bing makes me feel like somebody was wronged……”

Xue Ji smiled slightly and said, “How can someone be wronged. Although Nian Bing’s magic power is not the wind type, he is very familiar with magic elements. He can display at least a little bit of the power. What’s more, I gave him this knife only for him to use as a kitchen knife, not as a magic staff! Nian Bing, won’t you try it out?”

It would simply be impossible to say that the Proud Sky Knife held not a whit of allure for Nian Bing. This knife was more precious than the True Sun Knife, which didn’t have the Fire God Stone inlayed into it. It was also not worse than Morning Dew. The quality of the knife itself was already enough to make Nian Bing’s heart tremble. Walking to Xue Ji’s side, he reached a hand into the box. He had yet to make contact the knife when the strong wind element had already sent a slightly clean and clear feeling through his body. When he grabbed the knife handle and the depressions, it matched his hand completely. The knife separated from the brocade box and suddenly Nian Bing felt like his hand was wrapped in a faint wind. His wrist trembled slightly, and the knife immediately transformed into a blur.When the faint wind around his wrist trembled, the knife  made his own speed faster. Until now, Nian Bing’s own speed at which he handled the knife had reached a limit, but if he had the Proud Sky knife, the limit would be broken through. As long as he matched well, doubling his speed would be entirely possible.

The Ice and Fire Source inside his body’s strength seemed to be affected by the Wind Element, spinning faster. But it didn’t show a rejection. After all, no matter whether it be ice or fire, neither of them had any compatibility with wind.

With the Proud Sky Knife, Xue Ji’s eye strength couldn’t see the number of green knife images. He spoke with a satisfied tone, “ It definitely suits you very well. As a true outstanding chef, how can you not have a good knife that suits you? You are a magic chef. This Proud Sky knife is most suited to you. I hope that the Free Wind’s Hymn can, in your hands, sing even more happily.”

Nian Bing nodded his head and said, “As expected, it’s a good knife. “But I can’t take it.” While saying this, he placed the Free Wind’s Gentle Hymn back into lead-lined box.

Xue Ji’s brows creased. He said, “Didn’t you feel that it suited you? Why don’t you want it?”

Nian Bing said, “Uncle, Nian Bing has received your kind intentions, but this knife is too precious. Moreover, it is passed down as a treasure in Uncle’s family. It’s price cannot be assessed. I really cannot take it.”

Xue Ji smiled. “Still not greedy in the face of treasure. Good, as expected, you are no doubt the disciple of Demon Chef. That’s fine, I will not give this knife to you. However, since I don’t have any use for it, can I sell it to you?”

“Sell?” Hearing these words, Nian Bing’s heart could not help but jump. He really, really liked this knife, a treasure that could increase his hand speed. Feeling him out, Nian Bing asked, “How much are you selling it for?” He of course understood that this grade of treasure was priceless.

Xue Ji smiled slightly and said, “It’s for sale then. It’s one hundred thousand purple gold coins. On top of that you must personally stay at our Pure Wind House as the head chef for a month. I will then sell the Free Wind’s Gentle Hymn to you.”

“One hundred thousand purple gold coins?” Xue Ji, Nian Bing, Long Ling, and Long Ji could not help but simultaneously exclaim in surprise.

Long Ji smiled bitterly, saying, “Even if I sold the Mage Association, I am afraid it wouldill be worth less.” It should also be known, that normally purple-gold coins were rarely used. Normally gold coins were used in circulation. A hundred thousand purple gold coins was equal to one million gold coins!

Xue Ji smiled slightly and said, “How about it? Do you think it is expensive? Of course, if Nian Bing stays at the Pure Wind House for five years, then he will also obtain the knife.”

1. Means to have sentimental attachment