"Ally with me."
"I could also just kill you, and increase my own Shendao, don't push it you are no longer my rival."
"You are mistaken." Vienna half turned his face, a dark expression living upon as if it his face had no other manner of being.
It was at that moment that Nufu realized he had been cut, very slightly, he was clearly still stronger than Vienna, but!
He was not guaranteed a victory.
Nufu's gaze turned dark as it did in the chaos and he smiled, his skin cracking at the edges as though a demon were trying to escape his body.
A long cackling laugh scaring the tree's to death, their leaves falling.
His arms spread wide.
"Fine then, Vienna! I will ally with you, but if I become too incomparably strong, then I will kill you and save you from falling into the abyss!" Nufu's insane eyes and crooked smile made Vienna feel nostalgic as he gazed at him with a sinister look.
"Watch out. I will not be down for long, Wobbly Blade."
"Keh-! Who's the Wobbly Blade? Your a fucking Wobbly Blade! Not even, your the Broken Blade!"
"Che. Broken Blade is your whole damned mountain."
The two cursed at each other the entire way down the mountain.
----------
A white ceiling, a familiar young girl, several guards everywhere.
He flexed his hand, the Sea Spring Sword still tightly gripped within, quietly he checked his ring and within was the Sword Stone, still safe and sound.
He slowly laid up, his body screaming as he grunted slightly.
The young girl and guards all moved out of his way, watching him curiously.
He quietly released some of his turbulent Sanguine Sword Qi which made them all tense slightly, yet, it felt probing.
It bounced back to him once it touched a wall, allowing him to map out the room, including them.
"What a morning, surrounded by beauties." He smiled wryly, "So, what's the catch?"
He sat back down on the bed, his Sanguine Sword Qi going away.
"Mister!" The young girl rushed him, "How did you do that? Who taught you it?"
He glanced at her with his empty eyes, "Did you know that asking such things is taboo?"
"But, Mister is kind!" She smiled brightly.
He frowned.
"Strong is not stiff."
The young girl immediately narrowed her eyes, a weak qi flowing out into the surroundings, immediately once she tried it, she understood the underlying principals.
Damned genius'.
"It's like a field, but instead of focusing on strength, it focuses on size!"
"Wrong." He tapped her forehead, "Just because it's size is great, doesn't mean it's weak."
Once again, his qi flew out from his body, yet this time as it reached the guards, it became extremely fast on it's return, cutting the swords from the straps on their hips.
"So? What do you want, brat."
"...be my master!"
"I refuse."
"Why?!"
She felt angered instantly at his deadpan response.
"Your giant friend, Feng Wuting, over there is more qualified to teach." He said casually, "Besides, if she is a bodyguard, it's clear your family is quite well off, enough so that someone a few times her strength teaching you isn't out of the question, someone probably already is."
His breakdown of the situation shocked the girl.
'He was able to get all of that from a single clue?'
"No! You will be my master!"
This time, he flat out ignored her.
Sensing the condition in his soul, he estimated it would take at least a month before it would be fully healed enough that he could even move his arm again.
"...Ha, then, can you promise that for one full month, I will be taken care of?"
"Yes!"
He nodded.
"Alright. Here is your first lesson," He flicked her forehead again this time sending her off balance without hardly any force, "Control your sway."
Shou Xin quietly got up and felt the morning sun beat down on his skin, he sighed comfortably.
Walking forward he passed the girl whose name he still did not know, using his Sanguine Sword Qi he managed to successfully fool everyone into believing that despite being 'blind', he could still 'see'.
Soon enough, they arrived at the courtyard of the large residence.
Finding a neat place underneath a willow tree, he sat upon a large boulder the Sea Spring Sword which had been sheathed now held close to his chest.
"Practice standing." Were his words, before he closed his eyes to try and help his body recover.
Everyone who heard it, from the servants to the warriors felt dumbfounded and angry, some killing intent was even sent at him.
All but one person.
Feng Luoyan, the little miss of the feng clan, stood quietly in the middle of the courtyard amidst the stares of the guards, servants and warriors who passed by.
"Miss, you don't have to do this. He's just wasting time freeloading!" Tai Li said seriously, "How is just standing supposed to help?"
"I will tell after I've tried it." She replied gently.
And then, with no one else brave enough to stop the young lady once she'd made up her mind, hours passed.
She simply stood still.
However, something began to change after the second hour, it was as though a mirage, those servants and warriors who were doing their duties had come back after completing some of them, only to see her sweating, her breathing hard.
Her body swayed ever so slightly, this became apparent the more she tried to stay still until eventually she was shaking terribly and fell.
Immediately those guards who had been watching anxiously rushed forward.
"What is happening?" Feng Wuting held a sword to Shou Xin's throat.
He opened one eye and glanced down at Feng Luoyan coldly.
"Stop!" Feng Luoyan shouted, "I said I would do it! He has no blame!"
Shou Xin closed his one eye, "Feel free to ask a question."
"Ah!" Her little eyes sparkled, "Then, is the swaying innate? The moment I focused on myself I realized that I was swaying! Everyone is swaying!"
"It is not."
"Then, what is it?!" She wished for the answer so dearly, but got no response.
It was then she realized she'd already asked a question.
Shou Xin sighed, and slowly stood up.
Feng Luoyan's pupils shrank, "How?!"
Shou Xin who stood before her, did not sway at all as though every piece of himself was rooted to the ground by invisible chains.
He then raised a hand, and lightly pushed the person directly to his right, causing them to be thrown off balance, the entire right side of their body stiffening to offset it.
"That is your answer."