Dodging a jab to her side, Jinhua twisted her waist in a fluid moment and connected her blade just as swiftly as she slid her wooden sword down to her opponent's hand.
Mei stumbled back in surprise at the sudden counter attack and caught her bearings as she jumped back to gain distance.
"Remember, Mei. Keep her legs squared and your dominant foot in front." Jinhua called out and showed her the position more comfortably, "Once you get your stance down, it'll be hard for your opponents to break it and trip you up because of your loose center balance."
"Oh! Okay!" Mei did as told but her feet were placed wobbly as she tried to stay relaxed, "Bring it, Master!" She called out with a determined look.
"Remember to keep your grip loose so you can block an attack or counter when ready!" Jinhua stated just as she sprinted forward and strike downward at the girl's back leg.
Mei with her quick reflexes caught the attack with her blade and slid her wooden sword up to Jinhua handle to try and make her discard her weapon.
But Mei was surprised to see Jinhua high kick the wooden sword into the sky on just reflex.
Mei stood there with no weapon in hand as Jinhua pointed her blade down at Mei and bopped her on the head with the face of the wooden sword.
"Now what did you learn today and and what do you need to practice on?" Jinhua caught the wooden sword in her free hand that went flying a minute ago.
Mei sighed and stood up with the help of Jinhua as she grabbed the handle of the wooden sword.
"I need to work on my core balance and footwork... But I also learned that quick reflexes mean nothing if you aren't prepared to counter them just as fast." Mei stated, putting down a finger at each statement.
Jinhua smiled proudly and ruffled her hair softly with a soft chuckle, "It would also be helpful if you worked on your endurance.. I noticed that you were slowing down midway in the matches." She stated with a finger on her chin.
"Endurance, Balance, Reflexes... Uh.. Am I forgetting anything..?" Mei tilted her head in thought.
"We could try your flexibility after we finish those core exercises."
"Flexibility?"
Jinhua nodded as she demonstrated a swing of her wooden blade and continued to twist her body and somersault into a front split like she was dodging an attack at an impossible angle.
"Wow..." Mei gasped in awe, leaning on her resting wooden sword to observe.
"The sword dance isn't just about making your attacks look beautiful. It's a technique that allows one to have an immense stronghold in defense when defending against an attack. It might look beautiful to an outsider's view but it'll get annoying real fast for your enemies."
Mei nodded slowly as she watched with sparkling eyes. It was almost like a dancer had taken the stage and stole the whole spotlight when fighting the main character. Her movements too alluring to look away and too entrancing to stop watching. Mei then remembered the grand war that flashed through her mind as she noticed how Jinhua brought down the soldiers and Huli Jing's that were in her path of rage.
'A Goddess of War dancing on the battlefield like a stage of her own to compete for the spotlight....'
"Mei..?"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Mei noticed how close the demoness was to her face and backed away with flushed cheeks of embarrassment, "S-Sorry bout that, Master! I was just too entranced by your performance— I mean! Your demonstration!"
'Your performance was too enticing to look away, my Jewel...'
Jinhua chuckled silently at the flushed expression of her student, "It's fine. It's fine. I've been told the exact same thing by someone else."
"Someone else? Were you close to this person...?" Mei stepped closer as she noticed her teacher's dazed look.
Jinhua unconsciously rubbed her fingers across the bells that hung from the red ribbon, "Yeah... You could almost say we were lovers for just a hot minute." She strained a smile.
Mei was about to speak up again at the sudden drop of news that crashed over her head, but she was cut off by Jinhua who sensed her curiosity a mile away.
"Now come, you best get washed up and go catch up to Qi. He's probably done with his deliveries by now." Jinhua grabbed the wooden sword from Mei's grasp and hurried her inside into the cool cabin that hid them from the overbearing heat that radiated from the tall sky scrapers from the city over yonder.
Mei hesitantly left the demoness alone to wash off the dirt and grim from her skin and clothes.
Jinhua turned her back and slowly closed her eyes to listen.
Swerving to the left, she threw her wooden sword off to the side directly at a branch a colorful bird was perching on.
The bird made a terrible squawk of a feeble attempt to catch itself but it ended up failing and falling flat on his face.
"Enough of your disguises, Sun Wukong." Jinhua opened her eyes to a flashing gold as she glared down at the slightly terrified bird.
Letting out a sigh, the bird swiftly spiraled in a bright bronze colored cloud and out stood the glorified Monkey King himself, "Jinhua.. I don't know how you've broken out of your prison but just know that it was an accident—." He was cut off in his sentence by Jinhua pointing her other wooden sword at his throat in an instant at the last word.
"An accident?? Ha!" She barked out an angry laugh, "Is that what you called it-! An accident-!?" She hissed with her Nekomata ears pinned back in utter annoyance.
"Please Jinhua... Let me explain myself-!"Wukong tried to redirect the wooden sword away but Jinhua whipped the wooden sword across his hand and rested it by her waist.
"Hold your breathe, Wukong! Im done and tired of trying to see reason with you... Because clearly that didn't work with you on that day when I had asked for an explanation." She turned her back on him as her two tails lashed out viciously, "And do you know what you did?"
Wukong looked down at his feet, trying to think of something to say.
"You did this to me!" She held her hands out and trailed her fingers down her face and blue markings, "You ran—!" Jinhua laughed humorless, "The irony in that of the Great and Courageous Monkey King Equal to Heaven-!!" She spat in venom, "He RAN when he couldn't find the heart to face reality of what he had done to his friend! And then! He proceeds to turn his back on his OTHER leaving them confused and heartbroken!"
Wukong whipped his head up to meet Jinhua's fiery gaze upon him as he took a gulp of air trying to steady his breathing.
"I'm done trying to listen to you and your weak ploys and tricks. It's time you faced the consequences of not listening to a friend's advice when you had the chance..." She began to stalk her way back up the porch and opened the door before stoping in her tracks.
"I'm only fighting back the urge to tear you limb from limb this very second because I have found something far more precious than an old grudge..." She glanced over her shoulder to meet Wukong's puzzled yet grief stricken expression.
"Be glad the one your waiting for to be your apprentice is now bonded with me. He and along another are the only things holding me back."
With that she stalked into her house and slammed the door shut.