257. Bronya Still Searching for the Truth
The story goes back to shortly after Yun Ling left St. Freya Academy.
Bronya generously treated Kiana to desserts at Rita's shop.
To be honest, the desserts were really expensive, and given Kiana's big appetite, it stung a little.
However, to find out more about Yun Ling's situation, Bronya could only try to get information from Kiana.
Although Yuna and Mei might know something about Yun Ling, they were clearly not as easily fooled as Kiana.
"I can't believe it, Bronya, you actually treated me to desserts!"
Kiana scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth. The smooth cream slowly melted in her mouth, the sweet taste stimulating all her taste buds, making her unconsciously show a happy expression.
Bronya calmly sipped her coffee, seemingly considering where to begin her questions.
"Go ahead, what do you need my help with? Since I'm in a good mood right now, maybe I could consider it."
Although Kiana was a bit of a ditz, she could still see through Bronya's obvious advances.
Plus, spending so much time with Yun Ling had given her a bit of a knack for it.
"...Bronya wants to know about you and Yun Ling," Bronya said solemnly.
Kiana paused, her hand still holding the spoon as she was about to put the dessert in her mouth, then her cheeks involuntarily flushed red.
"Why...why are you suddenly asking this?" Kiana's expression became slightly embarrassed.
"Bronya isn't as gossipy as you think. Besides, I doubt many people at St. Freya Academy don't know that you like Yun Ling," Bronya retorted.
"It's not that exaggerated!" Kiana argued, then lowered her head shyly, enjoying the dessert in front of her.
"Bronya just wants to understand Yun Ling better," Bronya said solemnly, her fingers interlaced.
"Understand Yun Ling better?"
Hearing this, Kiana's expression gradually turned strange, even showing a hint of wariness.
"Idiot Kiana, are you imagining something impolite again?" Bronya's words exposed Kiana's thoughts.
"Uh…hehe." Kiana laughed awkwardly.
After all, Yun Ling was always talking about building a harem, so it was normal for her to be a little suspicious occasionally.
"Yun Ling is a very strong opponent, and Bronya just wants to understand him better so she can defeat him completely."
Bronya found a flawless reason.
Many people were aware of the conflict between Yun Ling and Bronya, so naturally, Kiana had no doubts about it.
Perhaps she was just a little surprised by Bronya's 'obsession' with defeating Yun Ling.
"I see…" Kiana nodded.
Bronya had always been the kind of person who refused to admit defeat.
And then, after being constantly suppressed and defeated by Yun Ling, starting from games to academics, she was always outmatched by Yun Ling. It wasn't surprising that she would have such thoughts.
"Then what do you want to know?" Kiana countered.
"Everything." Bronya simply uttered two words.
"Huh~?" Kiana's mouth dropped open, seemingly doubting that she had misheard it.
"Bronya wants to know that you know everything about Yun Ling," Bronya emphasized again.
"This…" Kiana felt a headache coming on. How should she answer this?
Perhaps realizing that her request was a bit excessive, Bronya thought for a moment and changed her approach.
"Then please tell me about everything that happened after you met Yun Ling, in as much detail as possible, because an enemy's weakness is always revealed unintentionally in the smallest details."
Kiana nodded and began to recount her encounter with Yun Ling.
"That day, Yun Ling and I transferred to Chiba Academy together, and we both overslept, then we bumping into each other at a street corner..."
Kiana described her journey with Yun Ling, bit by bit, from their first meeting to their growing acquaintance.
Up until Kiana's birthday, Kiana's description of Yun Ling was rather limited, almost as if she were viewing him from a completely unfamiliar perspective.
After Mei's father, Raiden Ryouma, was falsely accused and imprisoned, Yun Ling and Kiana were by Mei's side. Given this situation, Kiana and Yun Ling's relationship shouldn't be too bad.
However, Bronya could clearly sense a distance in Kiana's description.
"You seemed quite wary of Yun Ling at first?" Bronya raised an eyebrow, sensing something odd.
"Well, because…because I've met someone like that before, and he was a bad person. My encounters with Yun Ling were too coincidental, so I subconsciously projected that person onto him…"
Kiana explained, head bowed.
Bronya nodded in understanding, letting Kiana continue.
"After that, I thought Yun Ling could be trusted, so we gradually became friends. Shortly after, the vacation started, and Yun Ling invited Mei and me to visit his hometown."
"You might not believe it, but that idiot Yun Ling almost forgot where his own home was, and his descriptions of his two relatives were vague."
Kiana almost laughed at the thought.
Bronya, however, seemed to have grasped something crucial.
"You said he forgot his home? He can't even remember his relatives?" Bronya pressed.
"Hmm! What's wrong?" Kiana blinked, noticing Bronya's tense expression.
"Nothing, I just didn't expect him to be even more of a fool than you," Bronya said, feigning indifference.
"You mean... wait, are you insulting me?" Kiana was about to laugh when she realized something was off about Bronya's words.
"No," Bronya calmly shook her head.
Kiana stared at Bronya suspiciously for a while before continuing her story about Yun Ling.
"When we arrived at Yun Ling's house, we discovered he was from a wealthy family, like a scion of a noble family, living in a separate manor. Then we met Yun Ling's family."
"One of them is Aunt Lingshuang. Aunt Lingshuang has a very cold personality, giving off an unapproachable vibe, but she cares for Yun Ling in every way, even to a somewhat pathological degree. Can you believe that a family would require a high school student on vacation to be in bed by 10 PM?"
Kiana involuntarily shuddered; she couldn't accept it.
"..." Bronya remained silent, speechless.
"But Aunt Lingshuang is amazing. She knows the Taixu Sword Qi and is very generous in teaching it to us. Also, Aunt Lingshuang's cooking is incredibly delicious! I really want to eat it again..."
Kiana recalled the taste of Cheng Lingshuang's cooking, her mouth watering.
"And there's Aunt Sushang. Aunt Sushang is incredibly kind to us, taking us everywhere she goes. I even have photos of her!"
Kiana took out her phone, scrolled through her photo album, and then showed it to Bronya.
Bronya's eyes flickered as she looked at the photo of Li Sushang. Sure enough, it was the same Li Sushang from her past life.
So it wasn't just a coincidence of names…
"We spent our holidays like this: one day learning the Taixu Sword Qi, the next day going out to play."
"Yun Ling has an exceptional talent for the Taixu Sword Qi. In just two months, he actually mastered all five Taixu elements! He even learned the most difficult Divine Essence technique!"
Kiana still doesn't know how Yun Ling learned the Divine Essence technique.
She had just been playfully fighting with Yun Ling when he suddenly claimed to have grasped it and demonstrated it to everyone, causing a small earthquake in the process.
Bronya silently recorded in her mind the process by which Yun Ling learned the 'Taixu Sword Qi'.
And in that virtual game, Yun Ling had indeed used the terrifying killing move 'Taixu Divine Essence'.
"I remember when you were training, Teacher Fu Hua mentioned that the most difficult of the Five Elements of Taixu to learn are Divine Elements and Heart Elements. Did he learn Heart Elements, too?"
"Of course, but I heard him say that Aunt Lingshuang used to recite the Sword Heart Mantra to him while he slept, which is why he was able to enter the Dustless Realm. He heard it since he was a child, but he doesn't know exactly how long it took."
"It took a long time?" Bronya blinked; she couldn't quite remember either.
"Yes, forging a Sword Heart requires lifelong tempering. I have great talent, but it still took me a month to enter the 'Still Water' Realm! After Still Water comes Dustless, and I've only recently reached Dustless; I'm still a long way from the Clear Mirror Realm..." Kiana nodded.
Bronya's breath hitched.
She recalled Fu Hua's evaluation of Yun Ling's use of the Taixu Sword Qi in her past life.
"Only form, no spirit!"
This meant that Yun Ling at that time lacked a sword heart!
And the formation of a sword heart takes time, so perhaps this could explain why Yun Ling hadn't developed a sword heart in the game.
Because time didn't allow it...
Everything seemed to connect in a strange and unsettling way, and Bronya seemed increasingly convinced that her answer was correct.
But now many questions awaited her investigation, the biggest being those of Cheng Lingshuang and Li Sushang.
Why were they in this era? And why were they teaching Yun Ling the Taixu Sword Qi?
...