Zhao Si and Old Man

"Who are you?" Zhao Si stepped back and reached for his waist, only to find no weapon there.

To make it easier to move around the town and the Academy, he had put away the weapons that might cause misunderstandings. If this strange warrior suddenly attacked, he would have to pull a weapon out of his Inventory first.

He had completely forgotten the lessons Blaidd? had taught him back then.

"Hmm, my name doesn't matter. Because of this mask, everyone likes to call me Old Man." The strange warrior who called himself Old Man jumped down from the tree. "I was looking for Blaidd?. I heard he was passing through here and hurried over, but it seems I still missed him."

"What do you want with him?" Zhao Si asked.

"What do I want?" Old Man chuckled. "He defeated me at Stormveil Castle. Hmm, I'd like to win this time. After learning he'd gone to the Roundtable Hold, I traveled the Lands Between to hone my skills. I never expected him to leave so soon, much less that I'd fail to catch him. But I remember you, boy."

Zhao Si touched his helmet. "You recognize me even with my face covered?"

"Of course." Old Man snickered. "Your voice and presence don't change. My senses are pretty sharp. I can pick you out."

He touched the katana at his waist. "Hmm, can you take me to Blaidd?? A challenge match wouldn't be appropriate inside Leyndell."

"I still have things to do here. I can't deliver your message." Zhao Si waved a hand, refusing him.

Old Man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, I see. Quite the busy man. By the way, how are you getting along at the Roundtable Hold? You only got tossed in there thanks to Godrick's mercy, after all."

Zhao Si flew into a rage at that. "It wasn't some handout from him! I got there through my own intelligence!"

"Oho." Old Man gave a quiet laugh. "So you're still a cub who doesn't understand his situation."

"You're the cub! Your whole family's a bunch of cubs!" Zhao Si's eyes all but spat fire.

"Angry already?" Old Man shook his head. "You've got a long way to go. A very long way. You lack the composure a warrior should have."

"Pah! Who'd want to be a warrior?" Zhao Si held nothing back in his mockery.

Old Man actually meant no harm. He used "warrior" as a general designation, much like "knight," "hero," or "king." But Zhao Si's arrogance had grown completely out of control. Not only had he insulted Helena, he even dared to provoke Old Man. His mind was a muddled mess.

Thops was deeply worried. "Be a little more polite to him. Mr. Old Man, please don't get upset. Let me calm him down first."

Old Man waved him off. "No need. For hotheaded youngsters, nothing cools them down better than a sword."

His left thumb rested against the katana's round guard and gently pushed. With a click, a sliver of the blade emerged. He gripped the hilt with his right hand and slowly drew it.

The gleaming katana reflected the Erdtree's golden light, enveloping Zhao Si in killing intent.

Whoosh.

A wind born of that killing intent swept over Zhao Si, cooling his overheated head a little. He reached behind his back with both hands and took out an Estoc and a parrying dagger. The same old pair, a classic combination.

"Ready?" Old Man offered the considerate reminder, though it also served to distract his opponent. Holding the katana in both hands at middle guard, he angled its point toward Zhao Si. The stance was simple, with nothing visibly ingenious about it.

Zhao Si answered carelessly, "Rea-"

The instant that first syllable left his mouth, Old Man struck. Driving forward into a lunge, he raised the blade above his head with both hands, then brought it down. A straight downward cut-something every novice swordsmanship student practiced, as basic as it got. Its purpose was to teach students proper posture, accustom them to applying force correctly, and keep the edge aligned so it would truly cut into the target.

Not to swing wildly through eight different curves and finally slap the target with the flat of the blade.

At such a simple move, a contemptuous smile curled Zhao Si's lips. The Flowing Sword would let him counter it effortlessly. First, he would parry with the Estoc, then rotate in an instant to redirect the force, and follow through with a thrust at Old Man's throat. One move would be enough to defeat him. He constructed the exchange in his mind, then acted accordingly.

Yet Old Man seemed to see right through his plan. He suddenly stepped back, drawing the katana away just as it looked about to fall. His target was the right wrist Zhao Si had raised to block.

Zhao Si panicked. His left hand hurriedly brought the parrying dagger over, trying to intercept the point.

Old Man's mask hid his expression, but his eyes showed that victory was already in his grasp. Zhao Si had no attention to spare for that. Old Man turned his wrists, pressing the katana's point down to evade the parrying dagger. The blade's spine slid forward along Zhao Si's left forearm, its point aimed straight at his throat.

He turned a downward cut into a thrust! How underhanded!

Zhao Si felt pain against the skin of his throat. His mind finally kicked into gear, and he abruptly twisted sideways and tilted his head.

Thud.

The katana's point flicked Zhao Si's helmet off. Old Man lowered his wrists, bringing the cold edge against Zhao Si's neck. A gentle pull would have sent blood spraying from his artery. But Old Man did no such thing-it was only a spar.

Utterly unwilling to accept defeat, Zhao Si knocked the katana aside with his Estoc and said, "That one doesn't count! Again!"

His head really was burning, and his eyes stung. But his clouded mind ignored those sensations.

This time, he gave Old Man no opening and chose an all-out assault instead. He unleashed the Flowing Sword in full, surging like furious waves that sought to swallow Old Man.

Old Man was like a rock in the water. Wind and rain could batter him, yet he remained unmoved. His flashing katana not only deflected Zhao Si's attacks, but also struck back. Using the blade's length and point, he read the paths of Zhao Si's attacks and placed the tip in the way of his hands before they arrived.

If Zhao Si insisted on attacking, he would only drive his wrists onto Old Man's point.

The longer they fought, the more awkward it became. Zhao Si felt as though he had a whole body's worth of skill he simply couldn't use. It was agonizing.

"Impossible! I could fight Blaidd? to a draw!" Zhao Si blurted out in desperation.

Old Man's eyes changed at those words. "That was only a spar, not a fight to the death, wasn't it?" He saw through Zhao Si's boasting. His katana swayed from side to side, baiting Zhao Si into attacking, then slipped around the Estoc like a phantom and cut upward.

Swish.

Zhao Si staggered back several steps. A cut opened on his chin, and threads of blood fell into the water.

Several beads of blood rolled off Old Man's katana, pattering against the surface and staining the lake red.

That cut carried killing intent. He had truly meant to kill Zhao Si, simply because he felt Zhao Si had insulted Blaidd?.

The White Wolf War-Witch was a warrior capable of defeating him. How could he possibly fight some arrogant, wet-behind-the-ears brat to a draw?

Zhao Si wiped the blood from his chin, shaken to his core. Suddenly, yellow flames seeped out of the wound along with the flowing blood.

The Frenzied Flame was too powerful. Even after the queen had cleansed him, some lingering corruption had remained hidden. As Zhao Si grew increasingly full of himself, it finally flared up and affected his mind, drastically changing his personality. He became especially irritable and suffered a degree of madness.

Old Man's cut had exposed it. The sword cut the body; the heart cut the soul. Once revealed, the Frenzied Flame triggered a counterattack from the Ghostflame, which traveled through Zhao Si's body to his head and burned away the last traces of corruption.

"Well? Have you cooled down?" Old Man rested the katana on his shoulder and looked at Zhao Si.

When Zhao Si said nothing, he continued on his own. "I heard you became White Wolf's student, but you haven't learned even the slightest fraction of his skills. Ah, he wasn't the one who taught you that Flowing Sword, was he? Your execution still falls short."

Zhao Si finally recovered enough to respond. "I..." Remembering his earlier behavior, he felt guilty.

"There's been a swordsman with a prosthetic arm in the Lands Between lately, who also uses the Flowing Sword. Strange. Why is everyone who uses that sword art half-crippled?" Old Man shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter, so long as they're strong. She's a swordswoman with a prosthetic arm, and she's been staying at the Shaded Castle lately."

"Th-thank you..." Zhao Si let out a long breath. Fortunately, he had met Old Man before doing anything worse. Old Man had discovered the problem and resolved it in time.

He was thanking Old Man both for his inadvertent help and for telling him where to find the swordswoman with the prosthetic arm.

"So, what about my request?" Old Man was quite pleased with Zhao Si's current attitude.

Zhao Si nodded. "I'll pass it on."

"Good. Tell White Wolf I'll be waiting for him at the Second Church of Marika outside Leyndell." With that, Old Man left.

Zhao Si truly wished he could slap himself across the face.

Thops asked, "Are you all right?"

Zhao Si shook his head. "Let's go back. I need to apologize to Helena."

Even if the Frenzied Flame was partly to blame, Zhao Si himself was still the one who had caused the harm, wasn't he?