A Xianxia Tale (3)

Dai Yanmei quietly observed her student for a moment. The boy, he was growing at an astonishing rate. Anything that she taught him, he would learn at an incredible speed that sometimes left her baffled. There once was a time when she got curious and decided to test just how far ahead was the boy, and she would keep bringing increasingly advanced topics and subjects for them to discuss or for her to simply lecture him on. Often he would remain quiet, only listening to her and her words, stopping her lessons only to ask questions that would clarify something for him, and for all intents and purposes, it really seemed like he learned whatever it was that she taught about, even going so far as to seek books and scrolls on the subject at hand - even if they were restricted to only disciples, but as the guardian of the Thousand Method School library, Dai Yanmei could easily bend that restriction.

In other words, it was simply baffling how a nine years old boy could keep up with her in subjects that not even other elders could.

Stupendous.

Which was why she decided to teach him martial arts, or at least a foundation for it. His first task, "Ha!" Learn how to perfectly throw a punch.

Lowering her teacup, she casted a glance at her student.

He was really remarkable.

"Ha!"

Even though his hand was clearly bleeding, knuckles and skin busted, bones likely under a lot of stress and at risk of breaking; he still kept punching the wooden pole. It spoke a lot of his determination and drive, as well as discipline. He would sometimes flinch as his fist hit the wood, but that would rarely affect his stance.

"Ha!"

Willpower, that was always a good trait to have.

"Very well, that's enough for today, little cub," she declared from her seat and Bai Hu paused for a moment, glancing at her for a moment with a confused expression.

"But, teacher, I haven't finished with my series yet?" He said with a furrowed brow.

It was… quite cute.

"Indeed, but your hands are bleeding," she said, and the boy nodded as if that was common. And perhaps it was, for him. But it shouldn't be in the first place. Her eyes narrowed. "Both of them." She pointed out with a bit of a harsher tone, making the boy flinch. "Now, come here." She ordered.

Luckily for him, there were no microfractures on his bones or undue stress on his ligaments and tendons, so with the exception of the bleeding, his hands were fine.

"Ah!" He hissed, clenching his fists as Yanmei wrapped his hands in bandages anointed with medical herbs. "That stings." Bai Hu protested and she nodded.

"That means it's healing," she replied easily. "Speaking of which, how is your chest? Does it still hurt?"

"No, it doesn't," the boy shook his head. "It itches sometimes, but other than that it's fine."

"That's good to know," Dai Yanmei nodded, feeling somewhat pleased.

It had been a couple of years ever since the incident with the assassin and the Black Serpent Venom happened, and Bai Hu's recuperation had been very good. Of course, very good to his standards.

Black Serpent Venom was a powerful toxin that quite literally destroyed the body from inside. Using a pill to heal him had been a controlled risk since the boy was essentially unconscious at the time, making it easier for Yanmei to use her Qi on him; but that only meant the worst of the extensive damage his body suffered was repaired, not that he was completely healed. That was something that would happen and happened with time.

Still, that didn't mean sequels from the incident weren't left behind, one such case being the scar on his chest where the assassin meant to take Bai Hu's father's life, Bai Zhong, hit him. It was like a small star on his chest, where his skin felt too smooth and of a slightly lighter shade than the rest. Imperceptible by all means, unless one was attentive and looked specifically for it.

She frowned.

And he was getting very proficient at martial arts too. His punches, although basic, had sublime technique. They were fast and with a decent strength for a child's punch, and that spoke volumes to his potential.

Although… perhaps because of the intense focus on punching, Bai Hu didn't seem all that inclined to develop his kicking techniques. She would have to remedy that.

"You have a solid foundation now, little tiger," Yanmei hummed. "You've been watching the disciples train, haven't you?"

"Sometimes…" Bai Hu nodded, a faint tinge of red dusting his cheeks. "F-fairy sister Yejin spends some of her free time teaching me every once in a while…"

Ah, she nodded, stiffling the urge to sigh. Yejin, "I see…" the girl had really been taken by the boy.

Understandable, really. When a cute kid starts following you like a lost duckling, calling you 'big sister' or 'fairy sister' or 'senior sister', there are few but the coldest hearted women that would not feel endeared to such a child. And she spoils him too much…

Not that Yanmei herself was much better.

"Perhaps I should take a more… hands on approach to your foundation if that's the case," she continued. "I wouldn't want you to learn something wrong because a disciple couldn't teach you right." She said and Bai Hu shivered. Yanmei cocked an eyebrow. "Ho? You disapprove my decision, hm?"

"N-no, Mis- Lady Dai," the boy stammered. "I would never dare."

"Good," she smiled in turn. It might have been a pretty smile, but to Bai Hu it felt cold and cruel. "Your punches are good. Very good," she then proceeded relaying. "You would turn into an accomplished pungilist in time, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean you should lack on other areas, like kicks and grapples for example. From now on we will be focusing on that, along with your normal training, understood?"

"Yes!"

"Excellent. Also, do you fancy any weapons? It might be a good idea to start getting yourself accustomed to weapons."

Bai Hu paused for a moment then, adopting a pensive expression. "I… I don't think I have a weapon I like more than others." He said, a very surprising answer. And seeing her expression, the boy went to elaborate. "All weapons have their uses, their strengths and weaknesses and because of that I can't really pick one over the other."

"Wise words for one so young." She smirked approvingly. "But surely, little tiger, you must have one weapon you like a little bit more than the other, no?"

"Uh…" he looked around. "My… fists?"

Dai Yanmei sighed.