The third time, the culprit finally revealed itself. Xiaoliu was squatting on a branch, chittering with laughter, a bamboo twig of unknown origin clutched in its paw. It was Xiaoliu who had interfered those last few times, helping Maphario by stopping Cheeky’s harassment. It was, after all, counting on Maphario to grow fruit soon so it could brew wine.
If it were anyone else—even Hah’Er or Shen Yibin—treating it this way, Cheeky would have already launched a barrage of insults. But against Xiaoliu, it was helpless. It was still hoping to get a taste of that Monkey Wine. Besides, even if it wasn’t thinking of itself, it had to consider Sun Qian. Every time Sun Qian drank Monkey Wine, her condition improved dramatically, allowing her to perform at her absolute peak, whether in composition or singing. This, in turn, brought Cheeky an exquisitely beautiful experience.
So, Cheeky could only squat on the branch, puffing its chest out and glaring at Xiaoliu, not daring to say a word. Its usually formidable verbal skills were useless now.
"Alright, Xiaoliu was just joking with you. Don’t be mad. There’s some fruit on the table upstairs, I got it for you." Shen Yibin stepped in to defuse the situation. It wouldn’t do for it to just sit here sulking.
"Hmph!" Cheeky took the olive branch, fluttering its wings and flying up to the second floor to enjoy the treat without another word. Xiaoliu also jumped down from the tree and squatted down, chittering away at Maphario about something.
Shen Yibin quickly walked over. Xiaoliu’s movements with the bamboo twig just now had been so clean and sharp. It reminded him of certain legends, like the white ape that taught Yue Girl Aqing Swordsmanship in Mr. Zha’s novel, *Yue Girl’s Sword*, or Lord Yuan from the *Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue*, who was skilled in Swordsmanship. ’Could Xiaoliu know this art, too? Who would have thought Xiaoliu was a Sword Hero?’
And when he remembered that Xiaoliu came from Emei Mountain, his imagination ran even wilder. ’Could Xiaoliu have learned its Swordsmanship from a master of the Emei Sect? I wonder if it could teach me a thing or two?’ Shen Yibin’s generation had grown up reading wuxia novels; who among them didn’t have a martial arts dream?
Training with Shi Gaofei before had been tough, but the rewards were just as great. In such a short time, Shen Yibin’s skills had far surpassed those of an average person. After showing off a few moves on the film set, Murong Li, Fang Yun, and the others couldn’t stop praising his impressive kung fu. ’If I could learn this technique from Xiaoliu, wouldn’t I be even more amazing?’
"Hey, Xiaoliu, who taught you that move?" Shen Yibin imitated the way it had waved the bamboo twig, making a couple of gestures. This, however, only earned him a round of mocking chitters from Xiaoliu. Apparently, his movements were far too clumsy. Shen Yibin blushed but didn’t back down. ’In wuxia novels, you have to pass tests to learn kung fu. What’s a little mockery?’ He stepped forward again. "Xiaoliu, can you teach me? I’ll take you to buy fruit later, and then we can go play in the forest tomorrow!"
Shen Yibin was trying to bribe Xiaoliu. ’I’ll buy you whatever fruit you want. What’s a little money if it means learning this skill? Besides, I’ve been away for so long, Xiaoliu and Maphario must be getting stir-crazy in the store, right? I have time now, so it’s a good chance to take them out for some fun.’
"CHITTER! CHITTER!" The moment it heard about fruit and getting to go out and play, Xiaoliu got excited. It bared its teeth in a silly grin, then reached out its paw to pick up the bamboo twig and give Shen Yibin a demonstration.
And then... it reached for the ground, pawing left and right, but couldn’t find the bamboo twig. It turned its head to look, and was instantly dumbfounded.
There was Hah’Er, sitting comfortably against a large tree, happily gnawing on that very bamboo twig. In just that short moment, Hah’Er had already chewed through half of it. Seeing Xiaoliu’s frustrated expression, Hah’Er was a bit confused. ’What’s wrong with you?’
"AHAHAHAHA!" Shen Yibin was dying of laughter. He often came across the wuxia saying, "The sword lives with the swordsman, and dies with the swordsman." He never thought Xiaoliu would encounter the same situation today. It’s just that in those wuxia novels, the characters’ swords were either sliced apart by divine weapons or broken by masters... he had never seen one get chewed up and eaten before.
"Hm?" Hah’Er looked at Xiaoliu and Shen Yibin with a puzzled expression. ’What’s so strange about a panda eating bamboo? It’s not like you haven’t seen it before. Why are you both acting like this?’
"CHITTER!" Seeing this, Xiaoliu couldn’t even stay mad. Fortunately, there was plenty of bamboo here. It hobbled into the bamboo grove and broke off two more twigs of similar length and thickness. It chirped twice at Shen Yibin, then hobbled away toward the area behind the pond. There was a small clearing there, hidden from the outside by the bamboo grove and large trees, making it a perfect spot to play with Shen Yibin—oh, no, to teach Shen Yibin Swordsmanship.
’Whoa, is this some kind of secret technique that can’t be taught to outsiders? Do I have to formally become your disciple?’ Shen Yibin quickly followed. Hah’Er paused for a moment, then put Maphario into its chest pocket and wobbled after them. The two of them were planning to watch the show.
"CHITTER!" When they arrived, Xiaoliu tossed him a bamboo twig, holding the other one limply in its paw. It looked as if it was holding it with no strength at all. It pointed at the twig on the ground, then at Shen Yibin.
"Er, you want us to practice?" Shen Yibin seemed to understand what Xiaoliu meant. He quickly picked up the bamboo twig from the ground, struck what he thought was a dashing pose based on his memory of wuxia films, and charged at Xiaoliu. "Behold, my Dugu Nine Swords!"
A green flash flickered before his eyes, and a sharp pain shot through the back of his hand. CLATTER. The bamboo twig fell to the ground. Before Shen Yibin could even see what happened, he had been utterly dominated by Xiaoliu.
"CHITTER!" Xiaoliu was still standing in that same slouching posture. It pointed to the twig again, signaling for Shen Yibin to try again.
’Seems even faster than Shi Gaofei, huh?’ Shen Yibin grimaced, rubbing the back of his hand, where a red welt was already swelling up.
"Again!" ’Sigh, it’s not like I haven’t been thrashed before. No pain, no gain when it comes to learning new skills! Shi Gaofei tormented me horribly back then, too, and that’s how I got the skills I have now.’ Shen Yibin did have some perseverance. He picked up the bamboo twig again and charged at Xiaoliu. "Behold, my Celestial Flying Immortal!"
Lord Baiyun and Dugu Qiubai would probably roll over in their graves from anger. Once again, he was struck on the back of his hand before he could even touch a single hair on Xiaoliu. Another red welt appeared on his hand as the bamboo twig flew in an arc and landed in front of Hah’Er.
Hah’Er scratched its head, picked up the bamboo twig from the ground, and held it clumsily in its paw. Then, it started to imitate the moves Shen Yibin had just made.