Until We Meet

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As though a bomb stuck in my chest wants to explode, I clutch to my chest with my arms and shake my head continuously hearing a repeating set of words in my ears. After having enough of it, I quickly step forward and stretch my hand.

Perplexed by my abrupt set off, Zhao Yun runs after me in the woods until he hears the sharp unleash sound from my sword. As I take a deep breath, I firmly shut my eyes and begin the swordplay following the words I remember from the swordplay book.

Deep breaths. Shallow thinking while trapping your breath in your dantian.
Do not get distracted by the temptations of the world.
Retreat, breath out and embrace the cool breeze through to your lungs.

With those words lingering through my mind, the hoarse voice from earlier starts to fade in my ears. Grasping on to the edges of the sword, I take a swift turn following the direction of the wind. My legs swifty move back with the swish of a broken twig falling over me.

The sharp edge of my sword immediately breaks the approaching twig into two, smashing against the floor. The speed of its smash throws the pieces all over the floor around me, causing the wilting leaves to fall faster.

The grass over my feet slowly becomes covered in wilted leaves alongside with the broken twig pieces. When the sound of the creasing grass runs through my ears, my hands unconsciously move up, hesitating to move further before I open my eyes. The reflection of another sword blinds me forcing my eyes open.

While the sword gradually falls back in place, the blinding light over my eyes makes my eyes blurry for a moment. After blinking several times, I could finally see who disrupted my swordplay.

"S-Shifu?"

I couldn't tell which particular expression he had in his eyes at that moment. Staring at me for a while, my head falls down after I drop my sword on the floor. He slowly bends to pick it up and takes a keen glance at the sword.

Just when I thought he was going to scold me for earlier, he takes a step towards me.

"Are you okay?"

My feet retreat in shock as I stare into his eyes looking for an answer in them. Shifu asked me if I'm okay? Did I hear him right? He asked me i-if I'm okay?

Boiling with impatience, he pulls my left hand with his hand and rolls my hanfu's sleeve upward enough to check the cut wound properly. With a heavy sigh, he checks my other hand and looks up for another moment. My lips refused to respond no matter what how much I try to.

"Come with me." Although he said that, I still didn't have time to process what he said. He quickly grabs my arm and practically forces me to walk along with him. "S-Shifu," I manage to mutter but he doesn't stop until we get closer to the shed where Jing Yi and Zhen Lan were.

As it was getting darker, there wasn't any other place we could seek shelter than this building. The stories I heard about Yihua Palace got me curious but at the same time creeped out. Before I could settle my thoughts, I find an empty room in front of us when he bangs the door open. Zhen Lan and Jing Yi were already seated setting up fire for the night.

I suddenly feel some comfort when the illuminating heat from the burning firewood hits my chilly skin. I rub my arm with my free hand despite being pulled along by Zhao Yun.

He only stops when we get inside, around a place warm enough to warm us up. Jing Yi stands up surprised to see me back in such a situation. "Mr. Lu?" they both call out. After unleashing his grip on my hand, he pulls out a bottle from his hanfu and throws it over to me. I fidget in surprise for about a minute before being able to grasp onto it properly.