Why Did a Girl with a Knife Solve What a Boy with a Teacher Could Not in Sword of Coming (剑来)?
On the grounds of the Da Sui (大隋) Mountain Cliff Academy, a young boy named Li Huai (李槐) is having a terrible time. He is not like his peers, Li Baoping (李宝瓶) and Lin Shouyi (林守一), who are known for skipping class. Instead, he sits through every lesson, but his head is always nodding off. The vice-master of the academy looks at him and sees a dull mind, a student with no apparent talent for scholarship. It is hard for anyone to imagine that this sleepy boy was once a student of the revered Master Qi Jingchun (齐静春).
But a master like Qi does not make mistakes in his choices. Since arriving here, Li Huai has been quietly miserable, his heart heavy with thoughts of a person he misses—Chen Ping’an (陈平安). As if his sadness were not enough, he becomes the target of some local bullies, making his situation truly pitiful.
The Unsheathed Spirit: A Sword in the Hands of a Girl
Li Baoping’s anger boils over when she sees how cruelly the bullies have treated Li Huai. What frustrates her even more is that they have taken his most prized possessions—the little clay figurines he treasures above all else. These are his babies, the things he guards with the most care. Li Huai might endure the humiliation, but Li Baoping will not. She has absorbed the fiery, unyielding nature of Chen Ping’an, and her eyes cannot tolerate even a speck of injustice. Immediately, she brings out her weapon, a narrow blade named Xiangfu (祥符).
Against a few troublesome boys, she has no need to draw the blade itself. The scabbard is more than enough to teach them a lesson. One might think being a girl would make her hesitant, but Li Baoping is a fierce and formidable fighter. The sheer intensity she radiates is impressive. She moves with a swift, practiced agility. In the blink of an eye, she sends the bullies scattering, each one nursing fresh lumps and bumps on their heads. It is a scene of utter defeat. It is clear that Li Baoping is a child of remarkable talent. Even at such a young age, she possesses a sense of righteous integrity and overwhelming physical prowess.
The Harsh Lesson: A Scolding for a Tearful Friend
After dealing with the bullies, Li Baoping turns her sharp attention to Li Huai. In her view, his meek acceptance of such treatment is unacceptable. She does not hold back, scolding him for being so timid and cowardly. Her fierce reproach only makes Li Huai feel more wronged, and he cannot hold back his tears. She offers him no comfort. She even tells him he is not allowed to join her in calling Chen Ping’an their “Little Martial Uncle” anymore. It is a moment of tough love. Her anger comes from a place of deep care; if she did not care about him, she would not have bothered to confront the bullies in the first place. Poor Li Huai, overwhelmed with homesickness, longs for the comfort of his family. Fortunately, he will not have to wait much longer to see them.
His father, Li Er (李二), is soon to arrive in the Da Sui territory. He will be accompanied by his daughter, Li Liu, and his wife. For Li Huai, the prospect of being reunited with the three people closest to him in a strange land is a beacon of happiness. But what Li Huai does not yet understand is the nature of the man who is coming. Li Er is not just any father; he is a protector of the most ferocious kind, a man who would never tolerate his son being mistreated. The lengths to which he will go to defend his son are beyond imagination. He is the kind of man who would ride alone into the imperial palace of Da Sui, challenging an entire dynasty by himself. It is an act of such overwhelming confidence and power that it is breathtaking.
The Unseen Protector: The Father Who Will Move a Kingdom
Li Huai is completely unaware of his own extraordinary fortune. He has no idea that his father is not an ordinary man, but one of the most powerful warriors in the world. In his own mind, he is just a simple, unremarkable child, perhaps the most ordinary one imaginable. He cannot see the immense shadow that looms over his life, a shadow that will soon sweep across Da Sui to pull him from his sadness. The quiet, boring boy who falls asleep in class is, in truth, tethered to forces far greater than he could ever conceive. His meekness is not a reflection of his family’s strength. It is simply his nature, one that is about to be shielded by a storm of paternal fury.
While Li Baoping handles the immediate trouble with her swift justice, the real reckoning is coming from a different direction. Li Huai’s sorrow and the bullying he endured will soon seem like distant memories. The man who is coming for him does not fight with a scabbard to teach a lesson; he fights with the intent to level mountains. Li Huai may feel like the most ordinary boy in the world, but he is about to witness the extraordinary lengths his father will go to for him. The lesson from his friend was about finding his own courage. The lesson from his father will be about the power that stands behind him, a power so immense it can shake the foundations of a kingdom.
