“Maybe. But it’s not our village,” Wu Ying said then clamped his mouth shut when the sergeant looked over the pair.
Since they were in the square, discipline had been relaxed. But even then, the sergeant disliked them speaking too loudly. As the sergeant glared at the group, the conscripts fell silent, watching the little drama play out. In time, the new conscripts regrouped and the now larger group marched toward the next village. Thankfully, the sergeant now had a new set of volunteers to abuse, giving the older conscripts some leeway to march.
In the evening, the group found an empty clearing in the forest that spread between the farms and villages, a place where everyone could rest. Even with the amount of land needed to ensure the populace was fed, there were still areas like this—no-man’s-land between villages. At this point, the conscripts learned new and interesting skills, including how to set up a camp the army way, how to dig a latrine the army way, and even how watches were to be set. In this wilderness, Spirit beasts and the occasional bandit group roamed.
“Of course Yin Xue gets his own tent,” Fa Hui muttered, shooting a look at where the lord’s son had his tent set up.
He and Wu Ying, along with a few others, were crouched over a boiling pot of water, waiting for the rice and vegetables to cook. Set over the pot was a small steamer where strips of meat and salted fish had been placed to cook.
Over the course of the day, Wu Ying had paid a little attention to Yin Xue, curious about the lord’s son’s position in the army. He was not part of the regular conscripts, evident by the fact that he was allowed to ride a horse. Yet he did not ride with the army personnel either. Even now, Yin Xue seemed to occupy a piece of land between the conscripts and the army personnel, who bunked in the center of the formation.
“Hush,” Wu Ying said. “You know better, Ah Hui. You’ll get us in trouble.”
“Bah. We’re not at home anymore. We’re in the army,” Fa Hui said. “The rules are different.”
“Not as different as you think, peasant,” Yin Xue said, speaking from behind the peasant. He set his hand on the sword hilt he carried, raising his voice. “Say that again.”
“The rules are different here,” Fa Hui said, standing as well.
With a wince, Wu Ying stood and put himself between his big friend and the lord’s son. “Yin Xue, Fa Hui’s only saying that we are all in the army now. We are just learning new rules and it’s likely the rules are different.” Wu Ying tried for a genial smile.
Ever since Yin Xue had gained Xia Jin’s favor at the last Qixi festival, Fa Hui had been looking for ways to antagonize Yin Xue. Of course, the difference in their statuses made it nearly impossible for Fa Hui to do so safely, but obviously Fa Hui felt safe now.
“That—”
Before Fa Hui could make it worse, Wu Ying elbowed his friend in the stomach, hard enough to force his friend to shut up. Yin Xue of course noticed the interaction, but chose to say nothing of it.
“Have you eaten, Yin Xue? Our rice should be ready soon,” Wu Ying said with a smile.
“No. I actually came by to speak with you, Long Wu Ying. I always heard from my father that yours was a good swordsman in the army. A man who achieved the Sense of the Sword with your Long family style. Someone who was on the cusp of the Heart of the Sword before his injury. He must have taught you a little,” Yin Xue said softly, a malicious look entering his eyes.
“No…” Wu Ying automatically began to deny the statement.
“No? He didn’t teach you anything?” Yin Xue said, eyes narrowing then looking over Wu Ying’s shoulder at Fa Hui.
Wu Ying could not help but sweat a little internally. After all, Yin Xue was Body Cleansing 4—three whole levels above Fa Hui. And while in the Body Cleansing stage, each open meridian provided benefits, those benefits could be overcome with skill and innate strength. Unfortunately, Yin Xue had both. Fa Hui only had his innate strength. If Yin Xue kept pushing, Wu Ying knew that his friend would likely be seriously injured.
“Yes, he did. I meant, no, I would never be so forthright and say he was good,” Wu Ying said, bowing his head slightly. Better to play meek and see where Yin Xue took this. If he wanted to lay down a beating, then Wu Ying would accept it. As one of the few villagers who could compete marginally with Yin Xue, Wu Ying often found himself matched with the other—in words or cultivation.
“Good, then you’ll practice with me,” Yin Xue said.
“I don’t think we should…” Wu Ying said, casting a glance at the army personnel. They barely paid any attention to the conscripts, a fact that made Yin Xue smirk.
“I do not believe they mind. After all, practice in the martial arts is important. As is discipline,” Yin Xue said, looking at Fa Hui at the end. There was even a light smirk on his face, making Wu Ying grimace.
“I don’t have a sword.”
“I can have one lent to you,” Yin Xue said.
While Yin Xue sent a nearby conscript to pull a sword from his roll, Fa Hui had grabbed Wu Ying’s arm.
“You cannot do this. He will beat you,” Fa Hui hissed at Wu Ying.
“Of course.” Wu Ying would not overestimate the training he had received. “But if I don’t, he’s going to challenge you. And you won’t stand any chance.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Fa Hui said again, but Wu Ying chuckled.
“I’ve been doing this since we were kids. It’s fine,” Wu Ying said with a wave. He nodded at the conscript who returned with the jian.
Wu Ying unsheathed the sword and did a quick check to ensure the weapon was sharp and straight before he twirled it around, gaining a feel for its weight. The jian—a double-edged straight sword—was of decent quality and weighed about a catty[3] and a half, being two and a half chi[4] long. Longer than Wu Ying was used to, but that could work in his favor in this instance.
Yin Xue watched Wu Ying’s preparations with a smirk, waving the other conscripts back.
“Are you ready?” Yin Xue said as he unsheathed his sword at his hip. The lord’s son took a relaxed guard, sword held just above his lead leg as he waited for Wu Ying to take position across from him.
“This is a practice session, right?” Wu Ying said as he mimicked Yin Xue’s motion.
“Of course. Just practice,” Yin Xue replied. Even as his words came to an end, Yin Xue lunged forward before cutting down. Willow strikes the swallow.
Wu Ying stepped aside, shifting forms as well. Greeting the rising sun. Dragon stretches in the morning. Dragon raises its wings. Each motion led to the next, each action flowing smoothly into the other. As much as Wu Ying might protest, he was certainly not a simple beginner at sword forms, having been taught since he was little. But while he had received the Long family sword forms from his father, their training happened late at night or early in the morning, in the gaps between taking care of the farm, cultivating, and schooling. Yin Xue, on the other hand, had learned from august tutors, day in and day out, without worry or concern about a hard winter or a heavy spring rainstorm. And of course, Yin Xue was two levels higher in Body Cleansing.
“Hsss…” Wu Ying gritted his teeth as a lunge that he had been too slow to stop cut across his arm. He managed to shift the blade enough that it only scored his arm, cutting flesh and leaving a bloody wound but not harming the muscle beneath.
“Enough, Yin Xue!” Fa Hui said upon seeing Wu Ying cut.
“We have just started. Wu Ying would not stop over such a small injury, would he?” Yin Xue replied, smirking. “Or else I will have to find someone else to keep training with.”
“It’s fine,” Wu Ying said, waving his friend down and raising the sword again. “It was just a mistake.”
“Good. Very good,” Yin Xue said. “Then I’ll keep coming.”
Yin Xue stepped forward immediately, speeding up his attacks. The pair spun and cut, thrust and blocked as they whirled around the small circle the conscripts had formed. All the conscripts watched, mouths slightly open as they exclaimed at the level of the fight before them. For the villagers, this level of fighting was an uncommon sight, even if the pair themselves knew that it was like the untrained swinging of swords in the eyes of the real experts.