Chapter 08

"What were you doing when you went out this morning?"

After saying this, Yingjian put a tempura in her mouth and curiously looked at the young man.

"Lately, there have been some new warriors in Tianshou. In the morning, the samurai will train them in the training grounds." The young man poured a glass of water and pushed it in front of Yingjian. He said, "During this month, I've been studying and mastering the basic knowledge as a human. Learning is an important task for me, so when I happened to see that scene, I became interested in martial arts."

Yingjian held the teacup with both hands and nodded thoughtfully.

"My mother is a model of martial arts, both in forging techniques and martial arts skills, she is undoubtedly at the pinnacle."

"Hmm." After understanding Yingjian's meaning, Raiden nodded. "Lord Ball is always occupied with many important matters, and I am still inexperienced, so I haven't reached the point where I can trouble her for advice. So during this time, I wanted to train with those people, but..."

Seeing the young man lower his gaze, Yingjian asked, "But what?"

"My power is innate, but it's difficult to keep up with their pace." Raiden looked at his own hands and said, "The knowledge and skills they possess are far beyond my reach."

At first, Yingjian didn't quite understand, but after thinking for a moment, she quickly understood.

Even the newly recruited warriors who were selected to protect General Tianshou, even though they were new recruits, they were outstanding. Their training might be basic for them, but to outsiders, it would definitely be considered advanced.

For example, it's like she hasn't even started training yet, and Teacher Linlong puts a stone several times her height in front of her and tells her to cut it in half with a single slash.

This is already an oversized training, making you run before you can even walk.

"That's easy." After swallowing the last piece of tempura, Yingjian put down her chopsticks, supported her face with her right hand, and smiled with her crimson eyes.

"If you call me 'Teacher Yingjian,' I'll teach you swordsmanship~"

"Huh?" Raiden was confused. "If the human rule is that I have to call you teacher in order for you to teach me, then you should call me 'Master' in order to have your meal, right?"

Yingjian: "...By the way, shouldn't you be questioning whether I can or cannot teach?"

Knowing that the young man's thoughts are pure and that he will express what he thinks without any embellishment, Yingjian couldn't say anything in response.

"There's no need to question. Besides, even the worst technique has some guiding significance." Raiden said seriously, "Just like when you're about to try cooking, no matter what you make..."

Before he could finish, Raiden felt a warm touch on his wrist. He looked up and saw that the girl who had been sitting in her seat had stood up, holding his wrist. Her gem-like crimson eyes reflected his own appearance.

"Puppet, it's fine if you question my cooking, but you're not allowed to question my swordsmanship." The girl said, "Come, I'll show you what true swordsmanship genius looks like."

One moment later -

Remembering that the breathing method is completely useless for a puppet who doesn't need to breathe, Yingjian looked at the wooden sword in her hand and began to withdraw into herself.

"Forget it, Teacher Yingjian, I'll just teach you pure swordsmanship." After realizing this, Yingjian regained her spirit and said, "Your physical abilities far surpass those of ordinary people, so this process can be skipped. Here, give me the wooden sword."

Raiden handed the wooden sword given to him by the samurai to Yingjian. When Yingjian took it, she asked the question that had been hidden in her heart.

"Why do you want me to call you teacher?" Raiden seemed a little unnatural when he said this, "You didn't seem to like my answer just now... How should I respond to satisfy you?"

"You had a heavy look on your face just now. Are you still thinking about that thing?" Yingjian didn't expect that this insignificant old grudge would be brought up again. She could have casually brushed it off with a few words, and the boy wouldn't have pursued it any further. But Yingjian knew that he was serious.

So Yingjian thought seriously for a moment before saying, "Actually, some things don't require an exact answer. But... if you had agreed with what I said earlier and called me 'teacher,' I would have been happy."

Leidiansan pondered for a moment and asked, "Would you be happy if I continue to address you that way?"

"Yes, I would be happy."

"Okay." Finally putting his worries aside, Leidiansan felt relieved and smiled. "I will need your guidance in swordsmanship from now on, Teacher Yingjian."

"Mhm~" Yingjian was pleased and also gripped the hilt of her sword with her left hand.

"So, please watch closely."

Since setting his goal to approach humanity, Leidiansan had learned to observe every move and action of humans in his daily life.

Actions, emotions, demeanor - with his observations, he gradually became more sensitive to all these changes.

Therefore, when the girl grasped the hilt of her sword with both hands, he could confirm without a doubt - something seemed to have changed.

As the sword wind swept up the falling snow on the ground, he looked at the white-clad girl dancing like a butterfly and confirmed his judgment.

When she held the sword, her original laziness and indifference seemed to transform into sharp ice cones - just like the aura he felt during the girl's nightmares.

Every time, he would hear fragmented thoughts from the sleeping white fox. He couldn't make out the words, nor could he understand them. Even after such a long time had passed, he still only felt that it was an extremely suppressed emotion that Yingjian unintentionally conveyed to him.

It was like wanting to shout but being silenced by someone. When the emotions accumulated to a certain extent, they would inevitably burst out.

He had once lain next to the sleeping white fox and felt the intense anger and sorrow emanating from her.

When she held the sword, Leidiansan felt the same aura. It was just that the aura flashed by, and if he didn't have absolute confidence in his memory, he might have thought it was his imagination.

Now, when the girl waved the sword in her hand, it seemed like she was venting. Each move was powerful and tenacious. However, compared to the beginning, there was something less terrifying.

At least now he could watch her with an appreciative gaze rather than worry.

"This is the most basic sword style, but I've made some modifications." The sword technique using breathing techniques was different from the ordinary sword techniques used by humans, but Yingjian still had confidence in the basics. She performed a sword flourish and handed the wooden sword to the boy. "Come, give it a try."

"Mhm."

As a puppet, he had a good memory, which allowed him to effortlessly reproduce the move that Yingjian had just performed. After finishing the move, he heard the surprised admiration from the girl beside him.

"Not bad, little puppet. Being able to do it to this extent after just watching it once is enough to be called a 'sword genius.'" Yingjian clapped her hands and praised generously. "But it's not enough to just learn the form. Each move has its own strength and technique - first of all, your grip on the sword is incorrect."

The girl's melodious voice approached like a warbler. By the time he realized it, he could feel the warmth of a human on his back.

"You have to place the tiger's mouth right on the line from the spine to the hilt of the sword, and remember not to press the blade too tightly, otherwise..." As she corrected his grip, Yingjian noticed that the boy hadn't responded. She asked again, "Little puppet? Are you listening?"

"Hmm? Yes, I am."

The boy snapped out of his daze, feeling the warmth of her hands on his cold ones. He saw her fair hands covering his, slightly tightening.

"Good." The girl's eager voice came from his ear. "Then let's start with the simplest moves, shall we?"

*

As a teacher, Yingjian felt that she was doing quite well - of course, this was also thanks to having such a quick-witted apprentice.

But as a person, she had failed miserably.

Because she had forgotten one thing - foxes have fur and paw pads, but humans don't.

"She doesn't have a clear understanding of this, which leads to her not realizing that she's only wearing a yukata. She was happy teaching Raiden about Thunder Manifestation in the snow, but in the evening, she couldn't laugh anymore.

"Achoo!"

She saw Yae wipe her nose and heard footsteps approaching. The door was opened, and a young man in white walked in carrying a bowl of medicinal soup.

"I really don't understand... why would a yokai want to transform into a human? It's asking for trouble," Yae muttered wearily, leaning on the table next to the kotatsu.

During the day, she boldly claimed that she would cook for Raiden, but in the end, she was the one being taken care of.

"Well, I don't quite understand either." Raiden knelt beside Yae and handed her the bowl of medicine. "After you drink the medicine, you can change back."

"I do have that ability..."

She didn't even know how she turned into a human. She had originally planned to visit her true aunt later, but now she felt completely powerless and didn't want to move at all.

Yae reluctantly took the dark and bitter medicine in her hand and wrinkled her nose. "It's so bitter."

"Yeah."

"I don't want to drink it."

"You have to." The young man put his hand on his knee and said seriously, "When you're sick, you have to take medicine, otherwise it's hard to recover."

"I know, of course..."

Seeing that Yae still looked reluctant, the young man suddenly remembered something. After a while, he said to her.

"It should be... I learned a method before that might make the medicine less bitter, but you have to drink the medicine obediently first."

"Really?"

"I think so."

Yae was somewhat skeptical, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and swallowed the medicine.

"..."

"It's still so bitter!"

Just when Yae felt despair, a soft and cool sensation suddenly spread across her forehead.

In her daze, the sensation disappeared. In the reflection of those blue-violet eyes in front of her, she could still see her own appearance.

"Like this... it shouldn't be bitter anymore, right?"