A dangerous world

Year 0189 of the MunYu empire, day 20 of five Moons.

As Lee Yenshu woke up, a strange feeling haunted him. It was a feeling he was quite aware of, since very early on, someone was watching him.

To be honest, it was not the first time he felt it, however, since no malice could be felt, he choose to ignore it. He had bigger concerns at the moment. The animals he used to hunt during those months he had spent on the forest, started to fear him instinctively, and learned how to avoid the traps he had set.

For a couple of days now, all he could do was try to get some fish, and eat fruits, and roots. This had a good side to it, since with the help of his book, he learned of all the different type of roots, and made sure to use then, alongside his dailly training.

The forest near the immortal cave must have been influenced by it, and so, many ginseng, and other natural elixirs could be found, and by eating those, and practicing his newly made martial arts, he could feel his meridians unclogging, nurturing on the Qi of those natural Elixirs.

His understanding of the new martial arts had reached a new peak, and he managed to fully integrate the 169 Tàijí quán movements patterns with the 12 basic steps of the Viper's Sword, in the process, he created 5 variations of his new martial art stance, each with 36 steps.

It seemed as if he was a genius in integrating different martial arts, or, more like a genius in sensing the flow of movements. Either way, at the young age of 8, he had already created a new martial art, and even on a world filled with cultivators, that was something to be proud of.

"Those movements of yours, I've set then in my pages, as a custom martial arts, but have yet to give it a name. When you think of one, let me know, and I'll mark it.

The voice of the book was weary, tired, it looks like it was reaching the end of it's time, the few months they were together, were almost godsent to Lee Yenshu, and so, without letting the book know, he made a promise to himself, he would one day, find a way to restore the will of the Lifebound Life Chronicles, so that they could talk again, just like they do now.

"I just want to ask you Lee Yenshu, out of the 5 variations of this new technique, 4 of them are defensive, and only one is offensive, and even that one, is hardly offensive, as it requires the opponent to move first...

I do agree that it's better than the Tàijí Quan base movements, but as a offensive art goes, the Viper's Sword, even incomplete as it is with only it's basics steps, is more powerful than the one you created. You should train on that as well, for the future.

-This one knows that, but, it feels wrong, the way the movements connect to each other, and how they flow from one movement to the next, the Viper's Sword is...stupid.

"Stupid?"

-This one does not know how to say it better, but, it feels like a sword that is not afraid, that holds no fear of retaliation... This one can't be like that. This one remember how painful it is to be hit, to be cutted down, to be choked, and to be burned or beaten... A sword that ignores the pain of being hit back, is stupid...

"I'm sorry Lee Yenshu, even if this world holds so much more dangers than the realm you came from, you still have suffered this much... You are right, there's no sense of self preservation on the 12 basic steps of the Viper's Sword, and if you fail to hit your opponent, he will hit you back... I guess that's not something most cultivators think about when they train. They are always sure that their attack will connect, that their opponents will fail, and that must be why so few actually survive the road of cultivation."

That was a truth that most choose to ignore. The dangers of cultivation, and the dangers of the world. In his realm, he had suffered from being a slave, there was not a single peaceful day, he would always starve, his body was always marked by punishment, and he could not find a single ray of hope.

And yet, he was alive, and when the chance came, he took it, he ran.

And thus, he found himself in this new world. And even if it's a world that's more dangerous, were monsters live, he have been tormented by real monsters his entire life.

This world at least gave him the chance to fight back.

And, after talking a bit more with the book, Lee Yenshu continued his training, he had yet to name his new martial art, but if anyone else saw him move, while holding his short sword, they would thing it was a spirit, dancing with the air.

Today he was practicing the first variation, that he called the first dance. Each strike of the sword was followed by a push, that used the force of the strike, to move the whole body forward, and then, as the flow of the movement reached its peak, he would drop the sword from his right hand, for but a moment, and, as if it was pulled to the other hand, he would pick the sword again, with his left hand, and continue the movement, while changing the center of the flow, instead of going forward, he would use the strength of his strikes to push his body backwards, and move back to where he first started.

Today was the first time he completed the entire movement, without missing a single breathing exercise.

And just as he was about to finish it, and start the second dance, a voice shouted out.

-WHAT WAS THAT?

The voice cutted through the silence of the forest, and reached Lee Yenshu, it came from the same place were he could feel the eyes that kept on staring at him for the past few days.

-I wondered what you were doing this whole time, the young ones are afraid of you, so they asked me to keep a eye on you. But I've never seen a human move like that, it was like you were not moving, but flowing with the world. 

The voice grew nearer, but still, Lee Yenshu could not see who it belonged to.

-I told my young ones to leave you be, since you had the smell of the old pine tree, but now, you picked my interest, I now have one more reason to leave you alive.

And, just as it had said that, a giant, full of scars, white tiger began to move out of the cover of the trees, showing itself to Lee Yenshu.

-I'm one of the 4 rulers of this forest, I think humans called me Byakko back in the days. But some have called Baihu as well... you can call me like the young ones do, Tiaowen, tell me, are you really human?

Lee Yenshu was scared, that huge tiger, whose white fur was radiant, but mixed with red from old blood in some parts, was talking to him, and he could feel, now that it was close, that it was powerful, so much so, that he could kill him 3000 times in the time it took for Lee Yenshu to blink.

"Dont worry, from the 4 rulers, Byakko is the most wise, and curious of them all. And also, the most loyal. He was protecting you this whole time, as a way to repay the old Pine Tree. You can trust him"

After being put at ease by the worlds of the book, Lee Yenshu made a bow, and prostrated himself at the presence of Byakko.

-This one, is named Lee Yenshu, thank you for your kind words ruler Tiaowen, this one is human, was born a slave with no parents, in a realm that is not this one. Once more, thank you for keeping this one safe.

-Mewahaha. You do talk funny Lee Yenshu, why do you refer as "this one"? Don't need to be so cordial with me, I only approached you because of the way you moved just now. Not just your movements, even your breathing, was all in complete synch with the flow of nature just now. Even I find it hard to move like that now that I'm this old. You reminded me of when I was young, and was fighting against the other 3 rulers. 

The tiger took a look at the young human, measuring Lee Yenshu from top to bottom, his eyes were that of a predator, that had just found a tasty prey, but, at the same time, his expression was of a old man who had just seen his grandkid walking for the first time.

-If the young ones in my tribe could move like you, I would have a really easy time teaching them how to fend for themselves. 

Once more, the tiger looked at Lee Yenshu, and sat down next to rock.

-You don't have to worry, I like you. You can keep training here, I'll make sure no one comes near you for a whole year. After that. I want you to teach the young ones how to move like you. How about it? Do we have a deal? 

Lee Yenshu started thinking, and bowed again to the giant tiger.

-This one is sorry, Tiaowen, but, this one is human, how can it teach a tiger, who moves with all four of his limbs, how to move like this one, who have two arms, and two legs?

The huge tiger was surprised, and once again started laughing. 

-No need to worry young one. All of the young ones in my tribe can do this.

And, a surge of Qi flowed inside of that huge tiger, and he slowly took a form that was neither beast, nor human, but something in between.

-So you can teach them just fine. Again, do we have a deal?

This world never ceased to amaze Lee Yenshu, who happily agreed to the tiger's term, after all, this would mean that he would have a whole year, without having to worry about being attacked.