Chapter 23: The Basic Defend Lesson

"... Where am I?"

Another strange dream. Ai Lie is standing on one of the fluffy cloud, floating in the middle of the golden sky.

"Poor child.", A loud voice echoing through the sky.

"Wh-who's there?", She is scanning her surrounding. There was nothing but a river of white clouds.

"My poor child.", It was a man's voice.

"Who... Are you?"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!", She fell from the cloud she was standing.

'GASP!', "Hosh... Hosh...", She is forcely awake from her deep sleep. It's too early for her to wake, the sun hasn't even arise yet.

"What... Was that... Was it a nightmare? But the place was so beautiful...", Her heart is pounding.

"... I should go back to sleep.", She curled her small body inside the thick white blanket.

The sun has been arise, and now it's the time for her to take another physical training with Xin Suan. But she is tired, different from yesterday. Today, her mood isn't really good. The two, as always, travel to the empty lot by their feet. They were leaving earlier than yesterday. Ai Lie didn't even take a break or drink a water. She kept walking without speaking a word.

"You lost your usual vigor today.", Xin Suan noticed something's wrong with her.

"...", She keeps walking.

"Hey, Ai.", He pats her shoulder.

"... Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry...", She regained her consciousness back.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?", He puts his palm on her forehead, checking if she's having fever.

"O-oh, I'm fine. I'm so sorry. My mind is at something else..."

"You look pale and tired. Let's have a rest today, I'll deliver you to your room."

"Oh there's no need. I'm really fine... I just can't sleep enough yesterday..."

"Why? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I can't tell whether it was bad or good. I was floating in somewhere... Like a paradise. The golden sky was beautiful, and I was standing in the middle of the clouds. Someone is trying to talk to me, but whenever I tried to reply his words, I always fell from where I stand... I already have the same dream twice. But this time, I don't know why I couldn't continue to sleep. My heart feels... unease. That dream is... Somehow affecting my mind."

"Hmm... I see. Why don't you take a nap for a while?"

"Oh.. N-no, I don't need to..."

"Don't be stubborn, I don't want you to get sick. Let's find a shady place.", He grabs her wrist away.

The two sitting under a big tree. Ai Lie is actually doesn't feel too tired, but her head is dizzy because she didn't sleep enough. She laid her back on the tree.

"Come.", He pats his lap.

"H-huh?? N-no, that will be improper for me..."

"That's an order. Just put your head here, it will be more comfortable to lay all of your body on the ground."

"U-uh...", She feels hesitate, "Then, e-excuse me....", She laid her head on his lap.

"Take a rest. I'll be waiting for you.", He strokes her head softly.

"O-okay... I'm sorry, Ge Ge...", She shuts her eyes.

Even after five minutes closing her eyes, she still can't fall asleep. Her heart feels uneasy. Something is bothering her mind, but she doesn't know what.

"Still can't sleep?"

"U-uh, yeah.. I'm sorry..."

"Close your eyes. I'll put you in a deep sleep."

He raised his hand above her face. In an instant, she lose her consciousness. He keeps stroking her head to make her calmer. He is staring at her sleeping face. Her skin is fair and fresh, it's obvious that she is an alive creature, different than his pale silverish skin that has no blood inside it. She has some tiny moles on her cheek.

"How cute...", He brushes her cheek.

Then, he stares at her thin pinkish lips. The more he stares at her dry lips, the more his desire to moist it with his own is being triggered, but he didn't even dare to lower his face closer to her. He tried to control his mind, and resist the temptation that placed on his lap.

"Since when did I became weak....", He talks to himself.

"Shit. I really am a pervert. If only I know kissing her would taste so addictive, I will never done that... I need to meditate more..."

Ai Lie is in her deep sleep. Thanks to Xin Suan's power, she sleeps without having any dream, and her body gradually regain the energy. She sleeps for about 15 minutes, until something in her mind calling her to wake up and prepare for the training before the sun sets.

"Hmm...", She opens her eyes.

"Wake up already?", He keeps stroking her head for 15 minutes without a pause.

"Yeah...", She gets up from her firm pillow.

"How do you feel?"

"Yawn... I feel better...", She rubbed her eyes, "... Thank you, Ge Ge..."

"You are still sleepy, aren't you? Here, have some drink.", He summons the drinking container.

"Ah... Thank you."

The two are continuing their journey to the empty lot. Ai Lie feels fresh, but her mood is not as happy as yesterday.

"Today we will learn the basic defend skill. But before we begin, you have to warm up by practicing the dance. Yesterday, I only show you the opening part of the dance. Now I'll show you a bit of the middle part. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

He summons his large blade and begin to dance. He spins around while his hand that carry the large blade thrusting and slashing through the air beautifully. The movement became more difficult as he starts to walking around to the entire empty lot while swinging his blade without a pause. His pace of movements getting faster.

"Okay, until right here. This is the pivotal moment of the dance, this part represents the battle between the Sword Maiden and the darkness became more intense than before. It must be hard for you for the first time, but I'll try to help.", He stops his movement.

"O-okay!", She become nervous, afraid if she make somw mistakes in the process.

"Remember to swing your sword powerfully. Imagine like you are in a battle with a preta."

"Okay! Huft... I'll try my best!!"

She tried to memorize every of Xin Suan's movements. However, she is still not used to swing the sword while spinning around like what Xin Suan did. She was pretty good at ballet, but this dance is far different from it. She keeps making mistakes, and she is aware of them. Until finally, her concentration is broke.

"Wah!", She is slipped and her sword is thrown away, but Xin Suan immediately catch her.

"Be careful.", He helps her to stand correctly.

"S-Sorry..."

"That's okay. Practice makes perfect. What you did was right. Keep going.", He strokes her head.

"Thank you, Ge Ge.", She stares at his blade that he thrusted into the ground.

"Ge Ge... Your sword looks like very heavy."

"Not really. Want to take a look of it?", He pulls his large blade.

"Wow. This is stunning. I wonder how it feels to swing this blade.", She is amazed by the silver dragon sculpture that twining the hilt of his blade, and it has crimson serpents eyes, similar to Xin Suan's. The steel has a crimson blood color with skull shaped emboss at the central bottom of the thick iron. Ai Lie can see her face reflecting from it. This whole blade represents how powerful and merciless Xin Suan is.

"Want to touch it?"

"... May I?"

"Of course. Here, try to use this too.", He hands over his blade.

"Okay... Excuse me.", She holds the hilt with both of her hands.

'CLATTER!', her hands aren't strong enough to lift the blade up, let alone to try swinging the blade.

"WHOAA THIS IS TOO HEAVY!!", She drops the edge of the blade to the ground.

"Oh is it?", He teased her.

"H-how can you use this sword with one hand!? This is even heavier than the rusty axe in the backroom!", What she meant was the rusty axe she used to slain the illusions of zombies.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel heavy at all for me."

"... Right. We are different in the first place... How could I forget that?", Her arms are still struggling to lift the blade, "H-here! I can't hold it anymore!"

"Then, I'll take it back."

"Whoa my arms feel sore!"

"Hehehehe....", He chuckles.

"W-what?"

"Nothing, you are really cute. Your height is almost the same as this whole blade.", Actually, Ai Lie is a little shorter than the blade, but she didn't realized it until he said so.

'Blush!', Her cheeks are boiling red, "D-Does that mean that I am short!?"

"I didn't say that.", He smirks mischievously.

"But your words mean that I am short!!", She feels insulted. She doesn't want to admit that she is obviously short. Her height is only 150 cm.

"Pfftt hahahaha!", He laughs so hard.

"You!! Don't tease me just because you are taller than me!!"

"I'm not, I didn't say anything!"

"Hmph!", She begin to be mad at him.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I'm just kidding, don't be angry to me, okay? We haven't even begin the practice yet."

"Fine. Whatever. Let's begin the practice.", She replied it coldly.

"Ooh... So scary...", He lowers his voice.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing! Let's begin."

'Swoosh', He summons the wooden human dummy with wooden sword at its hand, "Now I'll teach you how to defend yourself from your enemies's attacks. As I told you before, not all of your enemies are swordsmen, so I'll give you an example how to block simple random attacks."

"Phew... Okay.", She feels nervous.

"This will be more challenging than yesterday, but I will teach you step by step. Go take your sword."

"O-okay...."

The terror inside her mind begin to control her. She is haunted by the question 'what if I get injured?'. But she knows that if she shows him her true feeling, he will get upset of her just like yesterday. Beside, Ai Lie needs to believe in him if she wants his blessing to work.

"First.", He takes wooden sword from the dummy's hand, "Try to attack me. I'll block your attack with this toy."

'Toy... Of course it's just a toy for him...', Somehow, she feels insulted.

"Okay...", She stands in front of him. She points her sword at him hesitately, "W-what should I do next?"

"Try to target an open spot at me. But don't tell me which point you will attack, keep it as a secret."

"O-okay.... Before we begin, I'm sorry for being impolite...", She is reluctant to strike him, but she already chose what point she is going to attack, and it's his chest.

"Don't be, I'm the one who ordered you. Just think of me as an enemy."

"Okay... Huft...", She shuts her eyes, collecting her courage.

"Hyah!", 'Knock!', Her attack is easily blocked by him, as if he is already know what point she has locked before.

"That's it. Usually we will choose the easiest vital point that we thought we could strike. This have a similar theory just like what I teached you yesterday, but the point of view is reversed. Right now, you are the human dummy who is trying to defend yourself, and your enemy is you who is trying to land one kill shot."

"Oh I see..."

"Now, try to attack another point of me."

"Okay...", Now, she is targetting his head.

"Hyah!", 'knock!', Her sword is crashed with the wooden sword.

"The easiest vital points to kill your enemy in one blow are the head and the chest, specifically are the heart and the brain. Humans and demons share the same vital points. So the first thing your enemy will have in their mind is to strike one of those vital spots. Are you following me?"

"Hmm!", She nodded a few times.

"Good. Then, if they failed to launch their attacks to those two vital spots, they will start to attack another parts that could hinder your movements, such as your arms, your belly, or your legs. The more you experience it by yourself, the more you can easily read their movements."

"Okay! I understand!"

"Now, it's the time for you to practicing it.", He puts the wooden sword back to the dummy's grip.

"Phew! O-okay!", Her heart beating faster than before.

"Try to block its attack."

'Drap drap drap!', The dummy runs in a high speed readily to smack Ai Lie's head with its sword.

"KYAAAA!", She runs away, and the dummy keeps chasing her. They are circling around the empty lot.

"...", Xin Suan can't comment anything. This is far from what he expected. He doesn't know whether she is actually smart or stupid.

"Halt.", The dummy stops running.

"Hiiiyyy!!", She keeps running around, and when she checks behind her back, "Ouch!!!", her head crashes to Xin Suan's lower chest that is suddenly appears in front of her.

"...", He is staring at her sharply. A part of him feels upset, and she noticed that.

"I-I-I-I'M SORRYY!!", She immediately bows to him.

"Very well. My pace is too fast for you. You aren't use to this kind of training. I will lend you a hand.", He walks behind her. He circles his arms, and leading her little hands to hold the hilt with both of her hands.

"I will teach you step by step, so don't be afraid of getting hurt.", He speaks softly beside her ear.

'Gulp!', "O-o-okay...."

"Try to concentrate. Imagine, the one standing in front of you is the fire ghost. The one who kidnapped you back then. You must be hating him so much, aren't you?", He holds her grip tighter.

"Uh... Maybe?"

"Ah, right. You are kind as a goddess, of course you will not harbor any hatred towards him. But whatever, just pretend like the dummy in front of us is that useless trash. He is readily to attack you, to eat you because he thinks that you are only a weakling mortal that can't fight back. Make him understand that he is wrong underistimating you."

"O-okay..."

"I'll make the dummy moves. We are going to block its attack together, understand?"

"Hmm!", She nodded. However, she is still scared.

'Drap drap drap!', the wooden dummy runs forward once more. The dummy lifts its sword, targetting Ai Lie's head.

"Ugh!", She shuts her eyes, readily to receive its attack.

"Open your eyes, you need to learn it by yourself."

"O-okay..."

The wooden sword is being swung to the direction of her head. Xin Suan controlled her arms to move the sword to block the attack.

"Ah!", She immediately closes her eyes when the sword is getting closer to her, 'knock!'

"You are fine. Look."

"O-oh... Right."

"See? It's that simple."

'Simple my ass...', She is internally crying.

"If your enemy tries to attack your head just like this, you can block it the way we did. Just lift your sword in reverse direction with your enemy's sword. If he lifts it vertically just like this, put your sword horizontally. This is the simplest way to keep yourself safe from any injury. Do you understand?"

"Okay."

"Now try to block this one."

'Swoosh!', the wooden sword swings to horizontally, ready to land it on Ai Lie's chest.

"Ugh!!", She unconsciously controlled both her and Xin Suan's hands to block vertically. Her hands are trembling.

"That's it! That's what I meant! You really are a fast learner!"

"O-okay! I'll try my best!"

"Keep going, after this practice done I'll give you a reward."

'Reward...?', She is blushing.

"Now block this attack! I'll make the movement slower."

'Swoosh!', The dummy tried to attack her belly.

"Hyah!", She blocked it.

"Good. I'm not going to help you after this.", He released his hands.

"Now!"

'Knock! Knock! Knock!', Ai Lie is getting better. Now she can read the dummy's attack. She knows really well which part of her that will be attacked by the dummy. But Xin Suan tests her more, he makes the pace of the dummy's attack faster. Ai Lie is getting nervous, but she keeps blocking the attacks without a miss at all. Feeling triggered, finally Ai Lie ends the battle by stabbing the chest of the dummy when she gets the chance. Xin Suan can't believe his pupil is actually change in one blink, from a scaredy girl who keeps running away everytime the dummy tried to attack her, become the one who bravely 'killed' her enemy by her own hands.

'Clap clap clap!', "You did it!! You really are getting better!"

"Hosh... Hosh... Did I do good, Ge Ge?", She feels exhausted.

"You did the best! That's my girl!", He hugs her tightly.

"All of it... Because of you... Thank you Ge Ge... If only my tutor is still Ge Ge Yin Ling... Maybe I will quit two days ago... Hahaha...", She rests her head on his chest. She is sweaty and tired.

"... So that makes me a good tutor, huh?"

"Definitely... Hahaha..."

"Now it's time for your reward. Tell me your wish."

"..."

"Is there anything you want or you need?"

"There is."

"Then, tell me."

"You know exactly what I want...", She raised her head and closed her eyes.

"...", It took him a second to understand what she wants, "Oh... Hahaha. You become more naughty, do you realize it?"

"... If you don't want to give me, let it be then.", She feels embarrased. She hides her face away, hoping that she really could die because of embarrasment.

"Who said? I'm longing to taste your tongue too."

"H-HUH!? H-H-HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT BLUNTLY!?", Her face is boiling red.

"So what?", He lands a blow on her lips, "We are alone now. No one will heard what I said."

"... You are shameless, Ge Ge..."

"I am, and I don't care. I didn't get the chance to kiss you properly yesterday. Now, open your mouth."

The two enjoying their quality time until the sun sets.