"You're not allowed to help out anymore." Shu Haolin said, not leaving a sliver of space for her little brother to protest. "I can't let you go on in this kind of hostile environment."
Shu Haoyang's gray, pale face twisted, and his mouth was pressed into a tight line. "A-jie..." He said quietly. "I'm really okay."
"You passed out for several hours." Her tone was unrelenting. "You're not suited for this kind of work, at least until your curse is cured."
"A-jie, if you can thrive in the Yu Sect and fight your way up the ranks, so can I. Why don't you trust me?"
Shu Haolin took in a breath and tried to soften her voice. "Yang-er, I know that you're upset, and I know that you like medicine, but I can't feel at ease if this kind of thing is happening. I'm trying to protect you. Just stay in our dormitories from now on, okay?"
Shu Haoyang did his best to sit up, leaning against the back of the bed. "A-jie, you don't trust me enough. You need to trust that I have the ability to conquer my own obstacles and challenges on my own. I know you want to protect me, but I am an entire living person. You can't live my entire life on my behalf. You have to let me go and be independent at some point." His voice shook a little, but the way his skinny chin lifted showed strength.
Shu Haolin stared at her little brother for a long while. Now she thought about it, it had been a long time since she'd seen her little brother cower behind her back when meeting strangers and hold her hand tightly when they walked through crowds. How old was he now? Twelve? No, he was already thirteen.
While she was lost in thought, a pair of gentle hands closed around her shoulders. She jumped and turned around quickly, only to find Chen Linfeng standing behind her. "You need to rest, too. You can't be walking around, or else your wounds might open up again." He rested a firm hand on Shu Haolin's shoulder, and guided her away before she was able to say anything else.
A tight feeling curled inside of Shu Haolin's chest, one of nostalgia, one of regret, as she realized that her timid little brother no longer needed the shelter of her wings. Like a butterfly released from its cocoon, would it fly away, never to return to its old home?
***
Shu Haolin's month of reflection was basically staying in her isolated dormitory, practicing the sword with a branch she had picked up from the forest. Like so, the month swiftly passed, and for the first time, Shu Haolin showed up to the door of Yu Jielan's residence.
A brass knocker with a slender-necked crane stared her in the face as she carefully proceeded up the smooth stone steps. She knocked once and stood outside the steps. A feeling washed over her, making her excessively aware of how empty-handed she was. After a minute, still no one opened the door, so she raised her hand to knock again. Before she could knock, though, the door was slowly pushed open, revealing Yu Jielan's calm expression.
"Please enter."
Shu Haolin stepped over the threshold, and Yu Jielan led her all the way to an airy study, the paper windows propped open, letting the sunshine stream into the room. Two low desks were set with paper, brushes, ink, and a stack of books, and an elderly man sat on the chair in front of the two desks.
"This is Sir Mu, a wandering teacher that the Yu Sect invited to teach."
Shu Haolin made a respectful bow with cupped hands and sat down next to Yu Jielan. Mu Qianqing cleared his throat and stroked his beard, and then began speaking. It took only the time for the golden light of the sunrise to fade before Shu Haolin's eyes went dazed as she stared at Mu Qiangqing's wagging beard, words going in one ear and out the other. Yu Jielan's head was lightly bowed as she listened, but Shu Haolin felt her neck start to go stiff, and her legs felt itchy. After she shifted more than ten times in a single minute, Mu Qianqing finally stopped speaking and dismissed them with some homework. With a flick of his sleeves, he sat down on the chair, and silence fell over the study.
Shu Haolin blinked her eyes rapidly and smothered a yawn that threatened to slip out. Her hand picked up her brush and her eyes trained on the page, but none of the characters seemed to be able to seep into her brain. Her hand was still for so long that a drop of ink splattered onto the paper. Yu Jielan glanced over briefly, and then returned to her essay, which already filled up half of the page.
Like so, an entire day passed. That day, after the two of them were dismissed by Sir Mu, Shu Haolin called out to Yu Jielan before she left.
"Dashijie!"
"Yes?"
Shu Haolin hesitated. "Do you... do you..."
Yu Jielan waited impassively, waiting for the question.
"Do you ever practice martial arts? Or is it this... every day?"
A twinkle seemed to light up Yu Jielan's eyes for a brief second, but it was gone so quickly that Shu Haolin wondered if she'd imagined it. "Yes. But now that you are here, it seems we will have to make some changes."
The next day, Sir Mu was nowhere to be found. Instead, Yu Jielan waited for her outside, and then took her on a long, winding trail to a private training ground, equipped with many different weapons and tools. "Today, I will teach you the saber," said Yu Jielan.
First, Yu Jielan made Shu Haolin try different sabers. Once Shu Haolin found the perfect weight and length, Yu Jielan showed Shu Haolin a set of moves. After letting Shu Haolin try it on her own for a few times, Yu Jielan grabbed a wooden sword of her own and stood in front of Shu Haolin. "Do it again."
Shu Haolin glanced down at the sharp saber in her hand. It gleamed in the sun, cleanly reflecting her appearance. The quality of the sabers in this private training ground were really incomparable to the general training grounds—what if she accidentally hurt Yu Jielan?
But Yu Jielan herself seemed completely unworried as she raised her wooden sword at the ready. "Do it again," she repeated, waiting.
This time, Shu Haolin obeyed. She lunged forward and swung to the side, but before she got a good footing, Yu Jielan's wooden sword hit her hips then her knees, and Shu Haolin somehow ended up with Yu Jielan's sword at her throat.
Yu Jielan let her go, and Shu Haolin staggered a couple of steps forward, dumbfounded.
"Again," Yu Jielan repeated, looking completely unwinded.
"Dashijie..."
"Again!"
Shu Haolin lunged forward again, but this time, before she even completed her first move, Yu Jielan had gotten her in a different chokehold.
"No good. You're too predictable. Try again."
A few moments passed and Shu Haolin was thrown flat on the ground. She crawled back to her feet with difficulty.
"Again."
Yu Jielan's sword was pressed against Shu Haolin's neck.
"Again."
Shu Haolin didn't move immediately this time. "Dashijie..."
"You asked for this yourself." Yu Jielan said mildly. Then, seeing the helpless look in Shu Haolin's eyes, she sighed. "Don't forget to use your spiritual energy."
Shu Haolin nodded slowly to herself and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and feeling the circulation of the spiritual energy within her golden core. Once she felt it surging up into her fingertips, she blinked her eyes open and moved again, faster than any of her previous attempts. This time, she made it a couple more moves against Yu Jielan before her saber was knocked out of her hands. Continuing with her hands and feet, she made it another few moves before she was pressed against the ground with Yu Jielan's wooden sword.
A gleam of approval warmed Yu Jielan's cool eyes. "Very good. Again."
Shu Haolin picked up her saber, brushed off the dirt on her clothes, and went at it again, and again, and again, until she lunged forward and swung her saber to the left and met Yu Jielan's wooden sword head on. The wood cracked underneath the pressure of her saber, and Shu Haolin took a step forwards, and her saber cut off a strand of Yu Jielan's twirling hair. It landed on the ground in a small strip, which Shu Haolin bent down and picked up. She handed it to Yu Jielan, feeling slightly guilty in retrospect. However, there wasn't an ounce of blame on Yu Jielan's face. Instead, a warm smile met Shu Haolin's hesitant gaze. "As expected." Yu Jielan commented. "You are truly suited for the saber."
Yu Jielan's hand reached out to take the strand of hair in Shu Haolin's hands. Even though her fingertips were icy cold, the moment they accidentally stroked through Shu Haolin's palm, they ignited a spark of fire.