My mind was bubbling with gossips and questions when I returned to our hall. Wen Shiyin's love affairs were none of my business, but her challenge was, and I had no idea at all about her techniques and style. How could I prepare for it in a mere two days?
Bai Ye noticed my preoccupied look as soon as I stepped through the gate. "Did you get yourself into another bet?" he asked.
His guess was pretty close to the truth, although this one really wasn't my fault. "Not exactly a bet … but I did get a last-minute invitation." I smiled awkwardly. "Senior Wen Shiyin challenged me because of … some complicated story between her and Senior Xie Lun. At least it's a challenge with no consequences attached."
Bai Ye listened to me recount the tale at the field. When I finished, he said, "A challenge is a challenge. No matter the deal, you should take it seriously. Especially when it will help with your matchup rounds."
I blinked. "Matchup rounds?"
He looked at me as if I had just grown another head. "You don't know how the tournament works?"
When I returned him a blank stare, he sighed. "I see that I've failed as your master … This is called a tournament instead of a dueling ground for a reason. Only the first day is for personal challenges, and the rest are for matchup rounds among disciples of the same experience level. Your opponents will be chosen based on the results of your challenges, so the more you win on the first day, the more advantage you'll have during the matchups. And if you score high enough in those rounds … Well, let's just say there are more tournaments ahead."
This was all news to me, and I didn't realize that I had signed up for the tournament without knowing what it actually was. I turned the new information over in my head. Matchups and more tournaments ahead would be great opportunities for me to gain more experience and advance my progress. If winning against Wen Shiyin could give me a good head start on those rounds, then I'd face her with the best of me.
"Do you know what Senior Wen's style is like?" I asked. "How can I prepare for it?"
I wasn't sure if I saw it right, but Bai Ye seemed a little reluctant when he said, "I haven't met that disciple, though I know her master. Their styles should be about the same." He picked up his sword. "I'll try my best to imitate. Your move first whenever you're ready."
I hadn't expected him to get to it right away, but any opportunity to spar with him was too precious to let go. With a nod of excitement, I drew my swords.
The moment he moved, I understood why he was hesitant about showing me Wen Shiyin's style. Her master must be a woman, as the form was obviously feminine, with all soft turns and flowy motions. Bai Ye's style, on the other hand, was all about sharpness, and I could see his struggle while trying to mimic the utterly opposite technique.
But strangely, the moves didn't look out of place on him at all. The softness only made his moves more graceful, and as our blades crossed and clicked, I realized that he was trying to show me the essence of Wen Shiyin's tactics, the fundamental rules of her attacks and defenses, without capturing the details of each motion. In a way, he had merged their technique into his, demonstrating to me how a little change in strength and speed can make a world of difference.
"Watch this one closely," he called out when I sliced a cut from behind, and he turned to block with a Tornado Swirl. It was a move from one of the intermediate forms I learned last year, a fast turn of the body that used the momentum to swing the sword at top speed and cover farther distance than the opponent would expect, striking out of surprise.
I watched him. His footing shifted, his arm moved, and then … all similarities to a Tornado Swirl ended there. As opposed to relying on speed, he spun his body almost leisurely, as if he was simply turning around to greet me. His movements seemed so slow that I could suddenly follow every inch of motion of his sword, every flap of his robe.
He turned towards me just like that, slowly, elegantly. His sleeves fluttered lightly from the spin, and his hair drifted loose against the wind. I didn't realize until then that the soft movements of this style could fit him so well, so beautifully, painting every detail of his smooth motion and his graceful figure like a dream. I knew I was getting distracted again … but I couldn't help it. My body froze, and the next moment, his sword was edged against my neck.
"Qing-er," he sighed. "I told you to watch my move. Not to watch me."
My cheeks burned a little. I was really trying to focus on the right thing at first … "I'm sorry." I recollected myself and reasoned through what I had just experienced. "I did watch your move, and I understand it now. The secret behind their style is to utilize slow and soft movements to create illusions of a lack of speed. Similar to how the Tornado Swirl works, it catches the opponent by surprise because they'd expect it to take longer for an attack to land." Though of course, the effect shouldn't have been nearly as dramatic if I wasn't so bewitched.
He raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed that I had seen through the trick. "Then why didn't you react if you knew what was happening?" he asked.
"I …"
"Was distracted?" He shook his head. "How many times do I need to stress this? Treat your practice as a real battle. You can't afford to stop moving and stare at someone that might kill you at any time."
I nodded and opened my mouth to apologize, to promise again that I wouldn't let this keep happening. Yet the words that came out of me were: "But I don't stare at anyone except you, and you would never hurt me."
He stilled, as if startled by what I said. A quiet breeze stirred through the garden, and for a moment, I saw something waver in his eyes. "Qing-er …" he breathed. But before he could continue, the look on his face changed, and his head snapped towards the front gate.
"We have a visitor," he said.. With those words, a bright flash of flying sword landed outside our hall.
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