Ever since meeting Sushang, Qin Shaoqing became the opposite of slow and quiet. From day to evening, he taught Sushang swordsmanship, and when she was done, he had to set up a stall for Aurum Alley, leaving only a quarter of the day to himself.
Yet this life was pleasant for Qin Shaoqing. Though he wanted a quiet, eventless life, life had given him something to do.
'The four winds bring forth unexpected situations. Only by enjoying them can one truly be fulfilled.'
~~
On the second day of their master-disciple relationship, Qin Shaoqing had to sit Sushang down for the theory of his swordsmanship.
"What I'm teaching you is a style of swordsmanship that is hard to master. Are you still sure you want to learn it?"
"Yes, Teacher!" Sushang said firmly, and now with a longsword issued by the Cloud Knight Commission, they could truly start with the technique he created overnight.
From what he had realized when he tried making a flawless sword was that there is no technique that is truly flawless. Like rock-paper-scissors, a fast sword cannot cut through a flawless defense, yet a heavy sword that can cut mountains cannot outspeed a fast sword, which left him one option.
Create a sword that is ever-changing. If one cannot be the rock, paper, and scissors at the same time, then become clay that can mold into them at will.
After watching several different types of sword styles on the internet, he used them as inspiration to create the technique. Using the help of Absolute Sword Sense, he combined, created bridges between, and refined them.
Countless sword swings played in his head, each slightly more different than the last, and little by little, he crafted the foundation of his own technique. Before he knew it, the sun had risen.
Now facing Sushang, he handed her a thick book.
At first glance, the book looked perfectly ordinary, something she might find on any store shelf. Its cover was fresh and untouched, the title embossed in neat letters: "Ever-Flowing Sword."
At first, Qin Shaoqing wanted to call this book "Rock-Paper-Scissor Sword," but his pride couldn't allow his mischievous self to prevail.
"This technique, yawnnn." Qin Shaoqing, after opening his mouth, couldn't help but yawn. "Sigh, I just didn't get much sleep, Little Sushang. You don't mind, do you?"
"N-No, I don't mind, ha ha." Sushang, who saw the large bags under her teacher's eyes, felt like asking what had happened but didn't get the chance to.
"Nevertheless, this technique, in its simplest form, is a union between fast, heavy, and parry styles." Faced with Qin Shaoqing's explanation Sushang felt a bit confused and decided to open the book.
On the first page, it detailed a stance and how to hold a sword, something she felt familiar with but after turning to the next page, it detailed how another completely different stance should be done. "?????"
"T-Teacher, did you accidentally misremember two different things…" Looking at the serious expression of her teacher, her face suddenly paled as she realized something from his previous words.
Rapidly flipping through the pages, many words flowed into her head, yet one stood out the most:
"How to switch between Heavy Stance and Parry Stance."
"As you have most likely figured out, you will be learning three different styles at the same time, and the most crucial part is how to change them in the middle of battle."
"Y-you're joking, right?"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"C-Can I learn something different?"
"No."
~~
Sushang, who had exited from her teacher's house, felt tired.
Without realizing it, she had spent half of her day listening to her teacher berating her while she constantly tried to switch between stances.
"Wrong! Your right foot is placed incorrectly!" and "Wrong! Your hip moved too late!"
Hearing her teacher's words in her mind, her legs and arms could give out at any moment.
"Ping!" Suddenly, Sushang's phone buzzed in her pocket.
"LilGuiGuinevere: Hey Shangwu, wanna come to Aurum Alley and hang out >:D"
"ShangshangOfficial: Sure! I'm actually nearby."
"LilGuiGuinevere: Shocked.gif"
"LilGuiGuinevere: Why are you in the area?"
"ShangshangOfficial: I'll tell you when we meet."
"LilGuiGuinevere: Oooh oke, I'll be waiting in our usual spot!"
"LilGuiGuinevere: OK.gif"
Seeing her ever-energetic friend, Sushang couldn't help but smile while making her way to Aurum Alley.
"Ah! Sushang! This way!" A familiar shout called her out.
Turning around, she saw the energetic Guinaifen racing toward her at light speed.
"Wai—Wait!" Before she could stop Guinaifen, she jumped into Sushang's arms, which made both of them fall to the ground.
"Ow ow ow ow, Guin Guin, I'm really weak right now." Sushang looked at Guinaifen, who was on top of her.
"Gasp! Oh my Aeon, I'm so sorry." Guinaifen quickly got up and helped Sushang.
"Hehe, it's alright."
"Has the Cloud Knight Commission overworked you today?" Guinaifen curiously asked.
"No… it's a long story." Sushang started recounting what had happened today.
"What! You found a teacher!?!" Guinaifen shouted, attracting nearby eyes.
"Calm down, Guin Guin, you're attracting attention."
"Right! Right." Guinaifen, who realized her mistake, quieted down. "So? You didn't get scammed, right? There are a lot of bad people these days, it's hard to trust any strangers you just met."
"But, Guin Guin, I truly felt like I've encountered a hidden master this time." Sushang recounted all the amazing stuff she saw, from the ghost-like movements and taking down a big guy with one strike, to him teaching her the Ever-Flowing Sword.
"Wow, it seems you truly found a hidden master from the looks of it," Guinaifen commented. If someone could take down the leader of a Sanctus Medicus Sect, he seemed truly skilled, but she still couldn't help but worry about her naïve best friend. She knew that Sushang would put filters in her eyes every time she thought she saw a 'hidden master.'
"Yeah, isn't Master amazing! I feel like I'm seeing him everywhere now, like that guy!" Sushang pointed at a man running a stall… wait.
"Uh? Oh, Little Sushang, what a coincidence." Qin Shaoqing, who was playing on his phone, heard his name and looked up to see his disciple with a friend of hers.
"W-What are you doing here, M-Master?" The image that Sushang had built for her master couldn't help but crumble.
"Me? Making money, of course. Taxes can even weigh on the minds of General Jing Yuan, after all." Qin Shaoqing's words seemed not to have affected the frozen Sushang.
Guinaifen who feared the worst for her friend guessed right about her so called 'hidden master'
"So you're the scammer that tricked my best friend!" Guinaifen, who seemed furious, shouted, attracting nearby vendors and customers.
"He was a scammer?"
"No wonder he could laze while manning a stall, he's been getting dirty money on the side."
Countless murmurs erupted, which made Qin Shaoqing's mouth twitch.
"Calm down, there is some misunderstanding-" He tried to defend himself, but Guinaifen quickly interrupted him.
"Nuh-uh, I'm pretty sure I'm correct! How dare you trick my dear Sushang! I'll report you to the Cloud Knights!" she threatened. "What kind of master are you, running a stall in the middle of the street? Hpf, I knew something was suspicious when she started rambling about getting a new master. I knew you were just a pretender street performer, trying to swindle her out of her family money."
Guinaifen, who had realized something, made a terrified face. "Wait! Y-You're not trying to steal Sushang hersel-"
As if snapping the last straw, Qin Shaoqing's aura burst forth. Combined with his steady demeanor, his entire vibe had dramatically shifted.
Sushang, who had snapped out of her shock, quickly stopped Guinaifen.
Seeing the commotion had stopped, many customers went about their day but avoided staying near Qin Shaoqing's vicinity, and stalls near him moved to another space, not wanting to be near a criminal. Even Bai Ming looked at him with disgust. 'Handsome men are inherently evil.'
"Sighhh, there goes my business." Qin Shaoqing, who clearly saw the atmosphere, was sure he wouldn't get any more customers in the future.
Qin Shaoqing quickly accepted the situation and lazily grabbed one of the candied sticks.
Sushang, who felt extremely guilty, could only keep her head down while Guinaifen tried to cheer her up.
"Don't worry about it, Little Sushang, it's barely making it as it is." Qin Shaoqing bit down on the candied orange slice.
"But-"
"I said drop it. Besides, I believe your friend here is the one who should be apologizing." Qin Shaoqing shifted his gaze to Guinaifen.
"I-" She, who was ready to hurl insults again, remembered the terrifying aura Qin Shaoqing produced and swallowed her words.
He truly seemed like a skilled person, but due to her overprotectiveness, she had unintentionally ruined his business.
"I'm sorry." Seeing the two young girls being down, Qin Shaoqing couldn't help but sigh and smile.
'To give something without return, one must be ready to be called a scheming devil.' Qin Shaoqing accepted it was already over by now.
"Apology accepted." With a faint smile, Qin Shaoqing grabbed all of his products and closed down shop.
It was useless to man a dead business, so he decided to do something else.
"Here, I heard young girls these days can fix their mood by eating sweets." Both of them looked at the candied fruits offered to them. "What? Expect me to finish all of these? Impossible!"
Seeing Qin Shaoqing's mood remained unchanged, both accepted the candied fruits.
"There! Now eat up, looking at them is already giving me tooth decay as it is!" Qin Shaoqing's constant jokes eventually lifted their mood, and he decided to join their Aurum Alley adventure.
'Master is truly magnanimous. Even after ruining his quiet life, he still forgave us.' Sushang, who was staring at the candied apple her master gave, couldn't help but be touched.