Dongfang Dum-Dum

The setting sun sank toward the west.

The pleasure boats on the river gradually dispersed, and a blush of red clouds stained the horizon.

Ye Jingtang stood in the Riverwatch Pavilion, using his fingers as a saber as he leisurely worked through the saber techniques his adoptive father had taught him.

Meanwhile, Niao Niao lay on the branches and leaves with claws pointing skyward, using a shrub as a rocking chair, swaying back and forth and humming a carefree little tune:

"Chirp-chirp~ Chirp-chirp~..."

He had arrived at noon to await Prince Jing's summons, thinking he would only have to wait a little while, as before. He had never expected that little wait to stretch from noon well into the afternoon.

Although it had taken quite a while, he had not been bored. Prince Jing had been very considerate, providing lunch and even assigning a beautiful palace maid to guide him around the scenery surrounding Jade Pool Manor.

Jade Pool Manor was a famous attraction in Yunzhou. Rumor had it that the Dragon-Washing Pool inside could even preserve youth and beauty, but anyone outside the imperial family had no chance of coming here.

Having been fortunate enough to visit, Ye Jingtang had wanted to take a look at the Dragon-Washing Pool, but his female guide had politely declined. He had no idea why.

As dusk approached, Ye Jingtang began feeling sorry for the palace maid who had accompanied him around for half the day, so he came to the Riverwatch Pavilion to rest and work on his saber techniques by himself.

He had only practiced for a short while when footsteps came from the manor behind him.

Looking back, he saw palace maids in colorful robes filing out, led by Prince Jing in a silver python robe.

Prince Jing had a supermodel's figure and stood a head taller than the gentle palace maids behind her. Her long legs naturally gave her a wide stride, forcing the accompanying maids to jog to keep up. As she walked, the exceptionally eye-catching fat-headed dragon gleamed in the sunset, its waves trembling. Coupled with a face that radiated authority without anger, she cut an imposing figure, like a noble, aloof young queen... No, not merely like one. She was a queen in every proper sense, just without a fief.

Ye Jingtang did not inspect her figure. Keeping his gaze straight, he stepped out of the stone pavilion and cupped his hands from a distance:

"Greetings... Get back here!"

Before he could finish his salute, Niao Niao, who had been lying among the flowers, flipped upright and flapped over to land in front of Dongfang Liren. The bird raised that little head, gazing up at Big Sister Fat-Headed Dragon with glossy black eyes, and opened that beak to beg for food. Upon hearing Ye Jingtang's voice, Niao Niao even performed a hundred-and-ten-degree head turn:

"Chirp~"

Dongfang Liren walked onto the lawn. Seeing Niao Niao blocking her path, she raised her hand and beckoned, letting the bird land on her arm. She tilted her head to examine Niao Niao as she walked:

"This snow eagle is beautiful. Its bloodline isn't pure, though, and it's a little fat. What's its name?"

Ye Jingtang approached, took Niao Niao back, and answered:

"It's called Free... Freeloading King. It likes mooching food and drink, so I just picked the name offhand."

Freeloading...

It was Dongfang Liren's first time hearing the term, but she inferred its meaning from the words and thought it meant "visiting a prostitute without paying her." Hardly a nice expression.

Still, Dongfang Liren did not criticize Ye Jingtang. She merely raised her hand and accepted a treasured saber with a jade-inlaid scabbard from a palace maid:

"That name is too vulgar. It does such a beautiful bird an injustice. How about calling it Snow Consort from now on?"

"Chirp!"

Niao Niao magnanimously declared-as long as you fed Niao Niao, even Kitchen God would do.

Ye Jingtang never called the bird by name anyway. He followed her toward the riverbank:

"As long as Your Highness is happy. This saber of yours looks..."

"This saber is called Green Garment. The old patriarch of the Watercloud Sword Pool forged it for me. Although it isn't among the ten famous sabers listed by the martial world, its craftsmanship surpasses theirs."

Dongfang Liren handed her saber to Ye Jingtang:

"You may borrow it for a closer look."

"..."

Honestly, Ye Jingtang did not know what to say. He had originally meant to say, "This saber looks flashy but impractical."

The saber reigned supreme among short weapons. Its strengths were its rugged durability and ease of carrying; its practicality far exceeded that of other short weapons.

When it came to beauty, there might not be another saber in the world that could rival Dongfang Liren's. In terms of practicality, however, its only use was probably ensuring that she looked like an aristocrat when committing suicide.

But Dongfang Liren had been born a princess, a golden branch and jade leaf of the imperial family. Neither in the past nor in the future would she ever have to personally fight anyone to the death. This saber really did suit her.

Ye Jingtang accepted the treasured saber, considered his words for a moment, and still offered praise:

"It really is beautiful. If I held it, I'd be reluctant to use it to cut anyone."

Dongfang Liren took the saber back and hung it at her waist. She stopped beside the river, poised and composed, and asked:

"How has your study of saber techniques gone these past few days?"

"I've learned a little of the basics. I came today precisely to teach Your Highness."

Ye Jingtang went straight to the point. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, he moved a little farther away, drew his saber, and began reproducing the moves Qiu Tianhe had taught him, flowing like drifting clouds and running water.

Dongfang Liren stood gracefully beside the river, carefully observing Ye Jingtang's movements. Just as she was about to say, "That looks quite convincing. You've practiced well," Ye Jingtang put away his saber and asked:

"Has Your Highness learned the Tianhe Blade?"

?

Dongfang Liren was baffled. "You've only just taught me. I haven't even memorized the moves yet. How could I possibly have learned it?"

Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, carefully taught her the sequence once more, and then said:

"How about now?"

???

Dongfang Liren assumed Ye Jingtang was asking whether she had memorized the moves. Somewhat speechless, she said no more, drew her treasured saber, and began repeating his movements, displaying her "extraordinary" memory.

Unfortunately, unlike the other old masters, Ye Jingtang did not marvel at her memory or praise her for it.

Ye Jingtang sheathed his saber and stood with his hands behind his back, carefully watching the female prince practice. He had intended to praise her, but immediately realized she was "drawing a cat from a tiger."

Had she memorized it? Yes, she had memorized the movements, but virtually none of the details. It merely looked similar.

Uh...

Discovering that the female prince was this dim yet this confident, Ye Jingtang felt half his heart turn cold.

Since she was a female prince, Ye Jingtang could hardly say anything. He simply nodded:

"Your Highness's memory is truly extraordinary. Hmm... I'll demonstrate it again. Please take another look."

With that, he demonstrated the moves once more.

Dongfang Liren could indeed be described as "diligent and eager to learn, unashamed to ask those beneath her." She carefully observed Ye Jingtang's movements.

After four or five rounds of back-and-forth, Dongfang Liren finally memorized the finer details of the physical movements.

In truth, that was already quite fast, enough to show considerable talent.

But in Ye Jingtang's eyes, he could only sigh inwardly-She finally remembered...

Ye Jingtang breathed a sigh of relief and once again stood to the side with his hands behind his back, waiting for Dongfang Liren to grasp the method of circulating qi hidden within the moves.

The result...

The sun sank into the river, clouds rose and fell, and the moon climbed above the branches...

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Dongfang Liren was utterly earnest. Holding her treasured saber, she methodically practiced on the grass, her movements accurate to the smallest degree, repeating them over and over without showing the slightest impatience.

Ye Jingtang's initial patient anticipation slowly turned to bewilderment, then to disbelief!

The way he saw Prince Jing also changed. The gifted, mature beauty with a supermodel's figure and a goddess's face became a dim-witted big sister with a huge chest who was trying very hard...

Good heavens, that's more than a hundred repetitions! You still haven't gotten anything out of it?

Did all your nutrition go into your chest...?

Seeing even the palace maids in the distance nodding off, Ye Jingtang finally could not help speaking up:

"Your Highness, with this Tianhe Blade, you can't cling rigidly to the moves and just force your way through them. Hmm... You have to find the feel..."

Dongfang Liren believed she was studying very seriously. Hearing his guidance, she asked in confusion:

"What feel?"

"You mustn't cling to the moves. Find the feel. It's that sort of... You strike however you think you should strike. Hmm... A feel for the saber!"

Ye Jingtang tried very hard to explain, but his words sounded rather like explaining "perfect pitch" to a tone-deaf man.

Dongfang Liren was accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, so she really did have an ear for music. But a feel for the saber? Without ten or twenty years of solid saber training, how could anyone develop that?

Seeing that Ye Jingtang even struggled to explain the technique, Dongfang Liren looked somewhat displeased. She put away her saber and shook her head:

"Forget it. Go consult Qiu Tianhe again and have him explain the ins and outs clearly. If you don't even know how to practice it, how can you teach me?"

But this is how I practiced it...

Still, the fact that Ye Jingtang himself had learned it was no help. His method simply could not teach Dongfang Dum-Dum.

Ye Jingtang reckoned he would have to break the moves into tiny pieces and feed them into the female prince's mouth for this to work. He stopped wasting his efforts:

"All right. I'll go to the dungeon tomorrow and have Qiu Tianhe explain the practice method clearly. In a couple of days, I also have some business matters to discuss for my family. I'll spend these next few days carefully figuring out how to practice the Tianhe Blade, then come back to teach Your Highness after a while."