Huh? ’Could it be that Hah’Er has a talent for Swordsmanship too?’ Shen Yibin forgot all about the pain in his hand and stared blankly at Hah’Er. He watched as Hah’Er, gripping a bamboo branch, let out a roar and charged toward Xiaoliu. And then... his feet tangled, and he fell to the ground with a loud THUD. Luckily, Maphario had already crawled out of his pocket; otherwise, he would have been flattened into a pancake.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!" Leaning on its bamboo branch for support, Xiaoliu laughed so hard that tears almost streamed from its eyes. From Hah’Er’s initial imposing manner, it thought he actually had some skills. Who would have thought he was even more of a klutz than Shen Yibin?
"Hmph!" Hah’Er climbed up from the ground and glared at Xiaoliu. But a glare was all it was. After that tumble, Hah’Er had lost all desire to spar with Xiaoliu. He tossed the bamboo branch to Shen Yibin, went back to his usual spot, sat down, and rejoined Maphario as a spectator.
’Sigh, what a shame.’ Shen Yibin felt both disappointed and a little relieved. ’It’s a shame Hah’Er really doesn’t seem to have any talent for this. But on the other hand, if Hah’Er learned faster than me, wouldn’t that be incredibly embarrassing? Now I can relax; I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’
"Let’s continue!" Shen Yibin rubbed the red mark on the back of his hand, tightened his grip on the bamboo branch, and slowly approached Xiaoliu again. This time, however, he had learned his lesson from the past two failures. He didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he stared intently at Xiaoliu’s bamboo branch, planning to counterattack. ’Xiaoliu is definitely not as strong as me,’ he thought. ’As long as I can seize an opportunity to clash my branch hard against its, Xiaoliu will be the one to lose out.’
’Heh heh, after training with Shi Gaofei for so long, my reflexes are pretty sharp.’ Brimming with confidence, Shen Yibin slowly shuffled his feet, closing the distance to Xiaoliu.
"Here it comes!" The green blur flashed for a third time. Shen Yibin saw Xiaoliu’s bamboo branch whipping toward the back of his hand like lightning. He reacted instantly, swinging his own branch in an arc to meet it, not forgetting to pretentiously shout, "Behold my Tai Chi Sword—White Crane Spreads Wings!"
After Dugu Qiubai and Lord Baiyun, Shen Yibin had now thoroughly disgraced Zhang Sanfeng as well. With a flick of its wrist, Xiaoliu retracted its branch just enough to dodge Shen Yibin’s counter, then struck the back of his hand once again. For the third time, the bamboo branch fell from Shen Yibin’s grasp to the ground.
’Damn, that really hurts!’ Tears were about to well up in Shen Yibin’s eyes. When he trained with Shi Gaofei, he only got tired and rarely suffered any injuries. He had only just started practicing with Xiaoliu, and the back of his hand was already swollen.
Three consecutive failures, each one so miserable and painful, made Shen Yibin want to back down. ’Technology is so advanced these days,’ he rationalized. ’Even if I master Swordsmanship, it’s not like it’d be very useful. Maybe I should just forget it?’ He retreated to the large rock by the pool and sat down, wincing as he rubbed the back of his hand, no longer feeling any desire to continue.
Hah’Er, Maphario, and Xiaoliu all looked over at the same time. What? Was he chickening out already? Maphario even scurried into the middle of the "arena," struggled to hoist the bamboo branch onto his shoulder, and began dragging it toward Shen Yibin, panting heavily. It seemed he was trying to urge him to hurry up and continue.
’What’s with you, kid? Have you no sense?’ Shen Yibin complained internally. ’Don’t you know Hah’Er likes to eat bamboo? Hurry up and carry it back for him to eat! What the hell are you bringing it to me for?’ Just a moment ago, Shen Yibin had been laughing at Hah’Er for chewing up Xiaoliu’s "precious sword," but now he was desperately hoping Hah’Er would come over and gobble his up too.
However, whether it was because he was full or because Shen Yibin’s bamboo branch was too old and unappetizing, Hah’Er showed no interest in it this time. He just sat there lazily, waiting for the show to continue.
’Sigh, I can’t let them look down on me,’ he thought. ’Alright, fine. Let’s just continue.’ Shen Yibin stood up with a resigned sigh, took the bamboo branch from Maphario, placed the little creature back in Hah’Er’s arms, and then went to face Xiaoliu again.
This time, Shen Yibin was even more cautious. He didn’t dare get too close to Xiaoliu, instead circling along the very edge of its attack range. ’I have to use my height and long reach to my advantage!’ he thought. ’From this position, Xiaoliu can’t hit me; it’ll be a sitting duck. But I can reach it just by extending my arm. This should put me in an invincible position, right?’
Xiaoliu didn’t seem to be in a hurry, either. It stood there lazily, holding its bamboo branch at a crooked angle, as if completely unconcerned by Shen Yibin’s threat. Shen Yibin was overjoyed. ’I’m almost behind you and you’re still not moving? Watch out, I’m going to whack you from the back! I refuse to believe you have eyes in the back of your head!’
Once he was directly behind Xiaoliu, certain that it couldn’t possibly see his movements, Shen Yibin finally swung the bamboo branch toward the monkey’s shoulder. He held back his strength, however, not intending to land a heavy blow.
Unfortunately, Shen Yibin had miscalculated once again. Just as the bamboo branch was about to land on Xiaoliu’s shoulder and a faint smile was appearing on Shen Yibin’s lips, Xiaoliu moved.
It took a small step to the right, neatly dodging Shen Yibin’s branch, and turned around to face him. Shen Yibin’s right hand was now completely exposed. The monkey bared its teeth and grinned at him. Before Shen Yibin could even cry for mercy, he heard a WHOOSH, followed by a sharp SMACK as the branch struck the back of his hand yet again.
Shen Yibin’s bamboo branch was knocked to the ground once more. The back of his hand was now swollen like a steamed bun—a truly tragic sight. Even Hah’Er covered its eyes, as if it couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
’Help me! I don’t want to practice anymore!’ Shen Yibin was on the verge of tears. ’Why the hell did I have to go looking for trouble? Wouldn’t it have been perfectly fine to just sit there and watch Xiaoliu tease Cheeky? Why did I have to ask for this? Somebody, please, come save me!’
"Boss, it’s time to go grocery shopping! The fridge is empty!" Just as he was despairing, Xia Shixuan’s voice called from outside. It was like a voice from heaven, rescuing Shen Yibin from his predicament.
"Okay, I’m coming right now!" Shen Yibin kicked the bamboo branch aside and said with feigned regret, "Oh, man. I’d love to practice a little longer, but we still need to buy groceries for dinner and get your fruit. How about we call it a day!"
’Call it a day today, and I’m not coming back tomorrow, either!’ he thought.
Shen Yibin quickly fled from the poolside. Having finally found an excuse, he had no intention of continuing his "practice." Hah’Er and Xiaoliu followed leisurely behind him, apparently planning to tag along for the shopping trip.
When he reached the front desk, he held out his hand to ask Xia Shixuan for the keys. But a look of horror washed over her face, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. It took her a moment to speak. "Bin, what happened to your girlfriend? Who beat her up like this?"
Huh? ’Girlfriend? What the hell?’