You Su rubbed his neck, which had already recovered as good as new, smoothed down his nightclothes, and calmly walked out of his room.
He was no longer as shocked as he had been when he first saw his monstrous junior sister. Setting aside her nauseating appearance, she was actually not much different from his junior sister—in fact, compared with the junior sister he knew, she was even more obvious in expressing her concern for him.
Perhaps being possessed by an evil spirit had made his junior sister more candid. That was what You Su thought.
Tonight, the starlight and moonlight shone brilliantly. The grotesque monster gripped a Wood Sword and repeated the same lifting stroke over and over. Its movements were stiff, far more awkward than those of his junior sister in human form.
When she saw You Su approach, his junior sister stopped practicing and said apologetically, "Senior Brother, did I wake you?"
"No. I just slept too long during my afternoon nap." You Su smiled faintly twice.
"Heehee, why don't you become a night owl like me?"
"That won't do. I can't sleep while you're asleep." You Su took the Wood Sword from the rack. His words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, but he immediately changed the subject. "What part are you having trouble with?"
At his words, all six of his junior sister's fish eyes drooped halfway, and her expression grew a little dejected. "Senior Brother, I just can't get the third form down."
Looking at his junior sister's extremely disproportionate, bulky body, You Su naturally understood the crux of the problem. But he did not say it outright. Instead, he began wielding the Wood Sword himself.
"I'll demonstrate it once."
You Su held the sword like a flute. With one thrust and one lifting stroke, he seemed like an immortal brushing against his robes, incomparably dashing.
"Senior Brother is amazing!"
His junior sister's eyes shone brilliantly. You Su did not practice the Mandarin Sword, but the Mandarin Sword and the paired sword technique shared many similarities. He had indeed brought out the spirit of the third form of the paired sword technique.
"Now you try."
His junior sister imitated him as best she could, but unfortunately, her figure limited her, and the actual result left much to be desired.
She seemed to understand that the reason she had failed was not that she could not comprehend the sword technique, but that her body was fundamentally unsuited to practicing the sword.
"I can't learn it..."
After saying that, she lowered her enormous head. The sores began secreting a viscous fluid, as though tears were falling from her despondency.
You Su pretended not to notice and said slowly, "Don't worry, Junior Sister. The key to this form isn't matching the sword manual down to the smallest detail. What matters is avoiding the enemy's weapon."
As he spoke, You Su swung the sword again. In only a moment, he had tailored a set of movements for his junior sister that closely resembled the third form. Unlike the immortal-like bearing he had shown before, these similar sword moves now gave off a broad, sweeping force.
"This third form is meant to be used after the second form has been broken by the enemy. You follow the sword's momentum as it wipes upward from below, bend your arm, and cradle the sword, sealing off the center line and avoiding the enemy's weapon. In swordsmanship, this is a sealing technique. As long as you achieve the sealing effect, the details aren't important."
As You Su swung the sword, he explained to his junior sister. After completing the sword technique, he put away the Wood Sword and carried it behind his back. "Repeat the movements I just showed you. If there's anything you don't remember, you can ask me."
"Mm!" His junior sister nodded hard. Even though she was a nonhuman monster, one could still feel her renewed vigor.
Unexpectedly, his junior sister's memory was truly inhuman. After watching just once, she handled the sword technique tailored for her as easily as a fish in water. No longer troubled by her bloated body, she performed these movements within her capabilities almost effortlessly.
You Su was not overly surprised. After all, Ji Lingruo's comprehension had never been poor. He continued pointing out flaws in his junior sister's movements and had her correct them, and she accepted every correction with humility. By the end, You Su was practically nitpicking, yet his junior sister listened to everything, as though, in her eyes, Senior Brother was the most infallible person in the entire world.
But the instruction did not end quickly. His junior sister seemed afraid of correcting herself too fast and would sometimes deliberately repeat mistakes. You Su could sense that compared with truly comprehending the sword technique, what his junior sister valued more was the act of having You Su teach her swordsmanship.
Realizing this, You Su felt something indescribable in his heart. Recalling the sword with which Mistress had sealed his throat in his dream, had she truly meant to take his life? If so, would he still be alive now? Perhaps, as his junior sister had said, there really had been a misunderstanding between them.
So far, he had dealt with the monstrous junior sister three times, and everything he had received from her had been goodwill. Based on that alone, he could even be certain that the piece of rotten flesh whose function was unknown would truly benefit him greatly.
Ironically, as a blind man, the greatest knot in his heart had actually come from his junior sister's hideous appearance.
Asking himself honestly, if he closed his eyes and could see nothing, would he still doubt that the thing before him was not his junior sister?
No, because she was my junior sister. She was merely ill, and I would cure her.
Having confirmed this, You Su gently blocked his junior sister's next opening move. "All right, Junior Sister. That's enough for today."
Disappointment flashed through his junior sister's fish eyes. You Su had not left, however, and instead raised his head to gaze toward the bright, pristine moon.
"Junior Sister, what does the moon look like?"
His junior sister also looked up at the moon and began describing it in detail. "It's round, with some dark patches on it, and it gives off a pale yellow light."
The corners of You Su's mouth curved upward. "Your description is certainly realistic, Junior Sister. It's almost as though I can see it with my own eyes."
His junior sister realized that You Su was teasing her. She wished she could hide all her greasy bulk in the darkness and no longer expose herself beneath the clear, bright moonlight.
She asked tentatively, "Do you really want to see?"
"Of course," You Su answered firmly.
"You definitely will. After you take the Spirit Solidifying Pill, everything will get better."
You Su remembered that when Mistress had made him eat that piece of rotten flesh, she had also hinted that it could restore his sight. His junior sister's description was even more exaggerated. Thinking of the flesh's origin, You Su grew even more curious about the evil spirit within his junior sister.
"Thank you for giving me such a precious pill, Junior Sister. Its effects are so powerful—does it have any side effects?"
"None." The monster's tone was full of confidence. Suddenly, as though she had thought of something, she added, "What if one day you can see, Senior Brother, and discover that the world isn't the way you imagined it?"
"There might be disappointment, but there'd be even more excitement. If the world were exactly the way you imagined it, wouldn't that be too boring?"
"That's true. Then... then what if I don't look the way you imagined?"
"Then would you no longer be my junior sister?" You Su asked in return, as though it were self-evident.
His junior sister was so stunned by his answer that she froze where she stood. Saliva streamed from her mouthparts. The opening and closing of her breathing pores and the swaying of her whiskers both quickened. She stared dreamily at You Su, as though completely entranced.
There was one part deliberate intent in You Su's words and nine parts heartfelt sincerity. His junior sister, Mistress, and Master were the only three people in this world who mattered most to him. No matter what they became, that fact could not be changed.
When his junior sister failed to respond for a long while, You Su turned to look at her, preparing to explain a few more things, only to find that she was no longer where she had been. Not only that, but everything around him had begun to distort. After a dizzying spin, darkness and mist once again enveloped his eyes.
At that moment, the familiar sound of knocking rang out. Ji Lingruo's lively voice came once more:
"Hey, You Su, get up! This young lady practiced swordsmanship all night and is starving to death. Hurry up and buy breakfast!"
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