First Lesson

The three of them arrived at the school without further jokes or inquiries about Ku Lo's private life.

"Try to keep low," Feng Huling said as she passed Ku Lo and entered the classroom. "Maybe the teacher won't notice you."

"That's your best bet. Our teacher isn't the sanest person." Bo followed Feng Huling's lead.

"Got it," Ku Lo said, entering with their cover.

Inside the classroom, Ku Lo took a sharp turn away from the teacher. With his backside against the teacher, he hoped not to be recognised as he made his way towards the back row.

The trick worked. He got to the last row of hongmu tables and sat on the mat belonging to a free spot. Surely she won't spot me from here. He felt pretty confident about his chances of getting away with it and thus turned his attention to the exquisite carvings of the low hongmu table in front of him.

I could have never afforded one of these, he thought to himself. This kind of craftsmanship is almost—

Ku Lo's line of thinking crashed when his ears caught a particular laugh.

No, no, no! Even if he didn't want to believe in the possibility, his light-blue eyes still went for the door.

Through the door, amongst a flock of girls, entered his nemesis. Rin Tin Tin. And simply from stating her name in his mind did he jolt.

Still, having his eyes locked on her face, he could see her turn towards him.

She found him.

… Both of them were frozen in place as their eyes locked.

He could see confusion rise in her amber eyes as she kept on staring right back.

When Ku Lo finally regained control, he tried his best to avoid her gaze. He could also feel how a sweat drop had already formed in his neck. Fear? I fear her?

As his eyes sought to find an object to look at, they kept on noticing how Rin Tin Tin was pacing towards the back row. To make everything worse, she took a spot beside him.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, not too happy if judged by her snappy tone.

"W-what do y-you m-mean?" Ku Lo stuttered. "Isn't t-this a class I'm supposed to at-tend?" Knowing not why or how he did, however, noticed that during the short imprisonment the suggestion of fear towards Rin Tin Tin had been instilled deep within his core. He felt like a broken man around her oppressing aura squashing him.

"No. You should be at my place, waiting for me to teach you."

Ku Lo tried to look at her but couldn't. His muscles worked on their own to spin his head away from her. "Y-your g-grandfather appeared and freed me."

For twenty-odd seconds, there came no response from Rin Tin Tin.

This made him turn his head around.

The sight made him hastily revert the action.

As his head turned around once more, he noticed Feng Huling walking towards him.

"Here!" Ku Lo waved his arm, trying to attain Feng Huling's attention.

Feng Huling nodded and soon arrived next to Ku Lo, taking the spot on his other side.

"What's the matter?" Feng Huling asked. "Is this 'girl' annoying, perhaps threatening you?"

"Feng Huling," Rin Tin Tin muttered. "Go away, this is between him and me."

"I don't think so." Feng Huling didn't seem faced by Rin Tin Tin's demand. "To me, it seems as if he doesn't like to talk with you, let alone 'like like'."

"Nope, he likes me. And we're very 'compatible'."

Feng Huling shifted her black eyes to him, who was sitting between them. "Now does he?"

Of course, Ku Lo was about to disagree vehemently, but two matters forced him to rethink. One of them was a feeling as if someone was piercing his neck with a spear. The other was Rin Tin Tin's somewhat special position in the sect. Neither would've Sect Master Rin stood silent back there if…

"Our relationship hit a bump," he gave an answer taking into account all sides, except himself.

"Heard him?" Rin Tin Tin was the first one to speak up. "It's between me and him."

"I'll stay here, as a neutral side." Feng Huling still kept her ground and made her presence permanent.

Ku Lo presented a thankful smile for Feng Huling. A fairy. A vulgar one, but still a fairy. His hope in her had been, at least in part, reinstated.

Fairy Feng.

With Feng Huling's support, his fear for Rin Tin Tin began to lessen. In addition, the class had begun, so he could put her off his mind, for now at least.

"Good morning, class. Today, I will teach you the most basic arts of the Yin and Yang Sect: The Yang Hand and The Yin Paw. Of course, to teach these we'll head to the training grounds," she announced and stood up to leave.

Everyone else did the same a second or two later.

…

"Now, form into two groups. Those who want to practise The Yang Hand to the left and The Yin Paw to the right," Deacon Dai spoke when they arrived at the training grounds that was open space between tall buildings with hardened sand as ground.

Which one? Ku Lo didn't know which one to learn, and so he looked at the two groups. It seemed that almost every guy would train The Yang Hand and girls, with a few males, would train The Yin Paw.

Where did they go? he thought of his new friends.

The groups were forming fast, he was starting to stick out like a sore thumb. Not knowing better, Ku Lo picked the group Bo and Feng Huling had chosen.

"You want to learn The Yin Paw?" As he took steps towards the group, Deacon Dai asked him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, sure." Not wanting to draw any attention, he answered so before walking next to Bo.

When he turned around to wait for instructions, he could notice he had made a mistake. The Yang Hand group was snickering about the guys who had taken The Yin Paw.

Yang… Yin… Ku Lo pondered for a second before his eyes flared. Female and Male! He wanted to slap his stupid head.

"Bo," he whispered, yet the giant didn't answer.

"Watch carefully, I'll do this only once." Bo's silence might have something to do with Deacon Dai shouting instructions to their group. "You need to gather Yin Qi and channel it to your fingernails."

Yeah, this is pretty girly stuff, Ku Lo thought as he watched Deacon Dai gain a certain hue of pink which with time increased in density towards her hands and then fingernails.

"When you think there's enough of Yin Qi in your fingernails-" Deacon Dai presented her nails now radiating violet lights. "You will release it by mimicking the sharpness and precision of a lion's paw when it strikes its victim."

"Yin Paw, First Form!" She whirled around on her heels and lashed out her hands. These actions she performed were irrationally swift for Ku Lo, yet Deacon Dai blew apart a training dummy's head some twenty meters away!

"Superb skill!" a girl commented. "Let's clap for Deacon Dai!" one of the few men in the group started clapping, and many others joined him. Even Ku Lo began clapping his hands.

Deacon Dai didn't stop them. She basked in the glory as long as it lasted. "Remember not to rush it," she noted before leaving to teach the Yang Hand.

"What was it?" Bo asked Ku Lo the second Deacon Dai had turned her back to them.

"Why did you—"

"Ku Lo, I'll teach you!" Rin Tin Tin yanked him by his robes.

"Wait—"

"No buts," she cut him off. "I know you need some special help, and there's no better teacher here than me."

"What about me?" Feng Huling asked before Rin Tin Tin had dragged him too far.

She's such a fairy! Ku Lo's eyes glimmered when hearing Feng Huling once again coming to his aid.

Rin Tin Tin wasn't as excited. "Why are you coming in my way?" she questioned, halting her steps and turning around. "Our way?"

"What are you doing?" Feng Huling pointed at him. "Ku Lo seems rather uncomfortable."

"Right, he does," Bo agreed.

Ku Lo could hear a humph come from Rin Tin Tin, who was still behind his back. "How about a challenge? The one with better proficiency in The Yin Paw teaches him? That is if you want to help him." She glanced at the people around them. "Or are you just harassing me?"

What a silver tongue! Of course, this scene had garnered attention from the surrounding disciples, and Ku Lo understood that Rin Tin Tin's last sentence aimed to gain popular support.

Should I say something?

"Agreed." Before he could think of an answer, Feng Huling accepted the challenge. "Last I checked, I was number one in the entrance tests."