What Are You Blushing About?

Only after Xia Xi had more or less finished his work did Tengen Uzui speak again.

"Junior Brother Kurumaji, those medical skills... that old woman Nikaido didn't teach you those, did she?"

He folded his arms, his tone casual, but his gaze rested on Xia Xi's hands.

Despite his easy manner, Uzui wasn't entirely indifferent to his Cultivator.

At least right now, if Xia Xi nodded and admitted it, he wouldn't resent him, but he would still feel a little jealous.

The god of festivals might have no use for medical skills...

But Master, why did you only pass all the good stuff on to our youngest junior brother?!

Xia Xi said, "I taught myself."

Uzui raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

After all, medicine wasn't something you could master on your own through talent alone.

Just then, rustling came from the dense woods in the distance.

A gentle-looking girl wearing a butterfly ornament emerged step by step, leaning on her Nichirin Blade.

It was Kanae Kocho, who had gritted her teeth and forced herself to come all this way.

"Hah... huff... huff." Panting heavily, the girl looked toward Xia Xi as he bandaged the civilians. "It looks like you made it in time."

Then she spotted the Kanoto-ranked swordsman lying on the ground, in pain but still alive, and her expression visibly relaxed.

Thank goodness. Kojiro was still alive, too.

"Sir, who... who is this?"

She looked at the tall Uzui beside him and asked softly.

Xia Xi had just finished bandaging a sniffling little girl, even tying the bandage into a shoelace-style bow.

"Tengen Uzui," he said without looking back. "A swordsman who came to provide support, like me. Probably [Hinoe] or [Hinoto] rank."

Uzui straightened his back and corrected him. "I'm [Kinoto] rank, you idiot junior brother!"

Xia Xi didn't respond. Instead, he asked the girl, "Didn't you say you were going to follow me? What took you so long?"

Kanae remembered how she had felt underestimated earlier.

A little embarrassed, she said, "Well, you're the one who was too fast... oh, right!"

"Aren't you a Thunder Breathing swordsman? How were you able to... use Water Breathing earlier?"

Uzui stared wide-eyed at Xia Xi.

Wait, sure, that old woman Nikaido had a bad temper, but that was no reason to betray your master!

Kanae also tilted her head, waiting for Xia Xi's answer.

As far as she knew, swordsmen taught by the same Cultivator almost always practiced the Breathing Style that Cultivator specialized in.

Even when swordsmen later switched to another style for various reasons.

It was usually a Breathing Style derived from the same school.

She herself was one example.

She practiced Flower Breathing, which branched off from Water Breathing, sacrificing some defense to specialize in agility and variations.

As for switching from Thunder Breathing to Water Breathing...

This was the first she'd ever heard of it.

Xia Xi said, "Has anyone ever said you can't practice Breathing Styles from different schools?"

Plenty of people earned two or three degrees. What was wrong with him learning a couple more professional skills?

Kanae opened her mouth, but didn't know where to begin.

Apparently, no one actually had said that you couldn't practice several Breathing Styles at once.

But normally, wasn't the biggest problem with practicing multiple Breathing Styles spreading yourself so thin that you ended up mastering none of them?

Spending three years thoroughly mastering one Breathing Style.

Or spending more than a decade barely learning the basics of two or three... she still knew which choice a normal person ought to make.

Unless...

"Could it be that Thunder Breathing suited you better, so you gave up on practicing Water Breathing?"

The girl thought she had found the answer.

But Xia Xi shot her down mercilessly. "Completely wrong."

He glared at Uzui's strange expression, then said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not your junior brother. And I haven't betrayed any master."

"Then..."

Xia Xi said, "I'm just practicing some other Breathing Styles, that's all. Besides, who said Water Breathing and Thunder Breathing were the first ones I learned?"

He brushed himself off and stepped away from one of the injured.

Raising his Nichirin Blade, Xia Xi began demonstrating his sword forms for the two of them.

The movements flowed together with effortless ease.

He began with wind.

In the night, the silver-white Nichirin Blade stirred a gentle evening breeze.

It carried the carefree lightness of the wind, yet concealed a cutting edge whose feints and true strikes were impossible to distinguish.

Before the evening breeze had faded.

Flowing water arrived in silence.

At times, it became dark waves surging through the woods; at others, it spread rings of ripples across the wild grass beneath his feet.

The onlookers almost seemed to hear the tides, even smell a damp sea breeze.

It was the scent of the ocean.

And when the tide receded, silent reefs emerged beneath the sea.

Or rather, after that gentle stillness rose the grandeur of mountains and the solidity of thick earth.

Merely watching, they could feel the supremely powerful, unyielding force contained in every one of Xia Xi's movements.

True mastery needed no ornament; a heavy sword needed no edge.

But it wasn't over yet.

Dense clouds swiftly gathered between those mountains, as though something world-shaking was brewing.

The next second, thunder descended.

A brilliant blaze of light slashed down from the sky.

Like the first spark of flame that split heaven and earth, it instantly illuminated the entire forest.

It was the ultimate speed.

And the ultimate slash.

"Um, Mr. Uzui, did you see that clearly...?"

Kanae stood stunned, only speaking softly after a long while.

The ninja was dumbfounded, too.

"Four. No, perhaps five Breathing Styles."

Only now did he understand that Xia Xi might have meant it when he said, [I'm not your junior brother].

Sheathing his Nichirin Blade, Xia Xi said, "No, just four."

The ninja asked, "How could someone as flashy as you not practice the last one, Flame Breathing?!"

Xia Xi said, "Who said I wasn't going to practice Firefire Breathing?"

"I just haven't had time yet. I was planning to go after leaving Nikaido's place."

"But then I took this support mission, changed my plans, and came here."

Uzui was momentarily speechless.

Kanae instinctively raised a hand, lightly touching her fingertips to her lips as she asked in disbelief, "So many Breathing Styles? Were you adopted by a Cultivator when you were little?"

Only those who began training from childhood.

Might have the time and energy to practice several styles.

Adopted?

Were you calling me an orphan?

Xia Xi's trash-talk radar, honed through years of gaming, instantly activated.

But then he reconsidered. His backstory... actually did make him an orphan, didn't it?

"A few months, more or less."

The ninja and the butterfly girl instantly felt utterly defeated.

So this was what a truly talented person looked like?

Damn it, I wasn't jealous at all.

Uzui went even further, wondering whether, if this kid Kurumaji collected all five basic Breathing Styles...

He might immediately ascend into the true god of flashiness.

His own flashiness would probably only qualify him to serve as the other boy's divine attendant.

He shook his head sharply.

No, I'd be the god of music instead. No... the god of melody.

Naturally, Xia Xi had no idea what was going through the ninja's mind.

He glanced at Kanae.

This girl wasn't as badly injured as that bot-like teammate earlier.

But she had still taken quite a few wounds.

"Come here, Kanae."

Xia Xi addressed the girl, who was still caught up in her envy.

Kanae tilted her head slightly, not understanding what Xia Xi wanted.

"I'll treat your injuries."

Lighter injuries would give him much less medical experience.

But something was better than nothing.

Seeing that the girl still hadn't caught on, Xia Xi couldn't be bothered to waste time and walked straight up to her.

For the first time, the girl also took a close look at the boy who had saved her from a hopeless situation.

His black hair fluttered freely in the breeze beneath the moonlight, its tips tinged with a deep ocean blue.

A pack patterned with wind motifs hung across his shoulder, while a string of pretty green knots was tied at his waist.

A goofy-looking Fox Mask and a wine gourd were attached to it, resting securely against his hip.

It should have been a carefree outfit, yet somehow it made him seem dependable.

Her gaze quietly traced the contours of his profile.

His sharp, youthful features carried a hint of calm detachment.

When she caught sight of an iron hammer's handle peeking out of his pack, Kanae paused.

He was a swordsman, yet he used such a crude tool, too?

Her curious gaze accidentally met Xia Xi's.

The girl's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

She hurriedly lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously twisting her cuff.

"The treatment... right here?"

The girl responded softly, a little dazed.

What nonsense was she saying?!

Hearing her own easily misunderstood words, Kanae felt so embarrassed that she wanted to cover her mouth.

And Xia Xi?

He hadn't thought that far at all.

He simply opened the system panel.

This girl's injuries were less severe than the Kanoto-ranked swordsman's... but he still couldn't make sense of them.

So it was time to demonstrate his medical achievements and accumulated expertise!

System! Begin treatment!

Xia Xi immediately got to work.

"H-huh?! Sir! Please don't..."

Select [Emergency treatment plan]

Select [Treatment strategy: aggressive]

Select [Treatment tools: locally sourced]

Select [Treatment time: short]

Then Xia Xi's consciousness detached again, and the world began passing rapidly, like an in-game cutscene.

Meanwhile, he began the tense, thrilling minigames of [Match-three] and [↑↓←→ click].

Yes, the faster and more accurately he hit these QTEs, the greater the execution bonus to the treatment's effectiveness.

When Xia Xi came back to his senses again.

The girl before him, previously covered in wounds, was now tightly wrapped in thick ointment and bandages.

The work was clean and efficient, almost professional.

Except...

"What are you blushing about?"