Cleaning Kitchen Knives

“Xiao-er, don’t bully Xiao Shen too much,” Long Yinlian said, deciding to rein Lin Xiao so that he won’t go overboard. “And Xiao Shen, there are nothing wrong in practicing your stance. The better you are at basics, the more solid your forms would be,” he advised his younger disciple.

“Ah’Shen understand, Shizun. Later, Ah’Shen will practice his stance,” Xia Yushen replied and Long Yinlian nods his head in satisfaction.

“It is good if you understand. Now, try this one,” Long Yinlian said as he handed one of the sword to Xia Yushen.

Xia Yushen accepted the sword with care, looking at it with eyes filled with joy. He looked up at Long Yinlian, then at Lin Xiao, silently asking what he should be doing next.

“Sister Sun, is there a place for Xiao Shen to try the sword?” Lin Xiao asked Sun Chengmei.

“The space here is big enough. He can try them here,” Sun Chengmei replied, gesturing at the wide, open space that is the entrance of the shop.

“But won’t it hinder your business if Xiao Shen swings the weapon around?”

“Where do you think this shop is located?” Sun Chengmei asked back. “If someone here enters the shop and ends up getting hurt by a child who has yet to reach 5 chi tall can only blame themselves.”

Being assured by the shop owner herself, Lin Xiao finally turned to Xia Yushen.

“You heard what big sister Sun said. You can try swinging it a few times to get used to its feel and weight. Then you go showcase your first forms of Soaring Hawk Sword Style and see if its comfortable,” Lin Xiao asked.

It was only after Lin Xiao had said that did Xia Yushen jump down from his seat and walked over to the center of the open area. The length of the duan jian seems to be just right for him, and he had no trouble unsheathing the sword.

“Be careful, little brother. The edge is sharp,” Sun Chengmei warned.

“It’s alright. Handling sharp edges is also part of his training. He has helped cleaning and sharpening kitchen knives before,” Lin Xiao assured Sun Chengmei.

“But Lord Lin, kitchen knives and a proper jian are two different things,” Sun Chengmei retorted.

“Sister Sun, just watch,” Lin Xiao chuckled.

And with that, Sun Chengmei then focused on Xia Yushen’s small figure. The young boy had already placed the qiao down on the floor beside him as he swung the weapon in different directions. From his movements, Sun Chengmei could see that even though it was still amateurish, there was a sense of confidence in each swings.

After a while, Xia Yushen felt that he was ready and he had gotten used to the sword’s weight. He picked the qiao on the floor and sheathed the weapon back.

This action made Sun Chengmei raise an eyebrow before looking at Lin Xiao questioningly. Lin Xiao on the other hand, merely placed a finger on his lips, gesturing to Sun Chengmei that she should keep quiet.

Seeing this, Sun Chengmei turned her attention back to Xia Yushen and saw that the boy has already strapped the weapons to his waist. She had thought that Xia Yushen would now practice the first Taolu of the martial arts he practiced but his next action left Sun Chengmei flabbergasted.

Xia Yushen walked around, then proceeds to running, then jumping and even rolling on the floor. Sun Chengmei was unable to understand what was going on with Xia Yushen’s mind, so she turned to Lin Xiao again only to see the other serving more tea to Long Yinlian.

Knowing that her question won’t be answered, she turned to her cousin, Bai Chenyi, and gestured for him to come closer.

“Why is he doing those silly acts?” Sun Chengmei asked in a whisper once Bai Chenyi was close enough. “Don’t tell me the Taolu for Soaring Hawk Sword Style that was very renowned in Ruanyu is like this…”

Hearing this, Bai Chenyi was glad that he had practiced how to hide his expression from young age. Keeping his usual expression, Bai Chenyi then whispered back to Sun Chengmei. “Tangjie, he’s only trying to get used having the sword by his side and make sure there are no discomfort.”

“I see, that is indeed a good idea. I guess Lord Lin and his master is very good at guiding him. If it was father, he would just mindlessly tell him to swing the sword until his arm is sore that it’ll feel like it’ll fall off the next swing,” Sun Chengmei muttered in a soft voice.

“That indeed sounds more like Uncle Sun’s method.”

After their short conversation, Xia Yushen finally stopped what Sun Chengmei had referred to as ‘silly acts’. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, calming his heart, body and mind.

Slowly, he raised his hand over to the hilt. His movement of unsheathing the sword is not quick, but not slow either. Instead, the movement was fluid enough to exudes the air of gracefulness.

Soaring Hawk Sword Style’s first Taolu only consists of 5 moves. Quite short, but very helpful for a beginner. Xia Yushen had practiced this everyday, before finishing his training for the day. Even when Lin Xiao was not around to look after him, he would do so without fails.

For Xia Yushen, he remembered every moves like it was natural for him. So by the time he was finished, he didn’t even show a sign of being out of breath. After he sheathed his sword, he heard a clap coming from Sun Chengmei.

“Very beautifully done. Little brother, you look very good earlier. If any young lady sees it, they would have their heart stolen!” Sun Chengmei said as he showered Xia Yushen with praise.

“Thank you, big sister Sun!” Xia Yushen replied with a big smile on his face.

“Xiao Shen, answer honestly. Do you feel any discomfort while wielding it?” Long Yinlian asked.

“No. They feel just right. The grip on the hilt also feels comfortable,” Shen Jiayi replied.

“Xiao-er, what do you think?” Long Yinlian asked for Lin Xiao to give out his opinion.

“Xiao Shen didn’t show any discomfort earlier. In fact, it looks like he had been using it for a long time already. The sword also didn’t hinder him when walking, or doing movements, so I think it is good for him,” Lin Xiao replied.

Long Yinlian simply nods his head before he turned to Sun Chengmei. “Then, we will buy this one. Sister Sun, how much is it?”

Sun Chengmei was just about to answer when suddenly, a loud voice came from the entrance. “MeiMei-tangjie! Minghai is here for a visit!”