The future looked so bright that Taohua felt a little uneasy. A sudden timidity crept over her. She stared pitifully at Guan Fusha and asked,
“Senior Sister, this pill is so precious… is it really okay to just give it to me to eat like this?”
Guan Fusha was amused by her expression and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t worry, there are still several more stored here.”
The moment Taohua heard that, she instantly regretted it so much she wanted to turn around and slap herself.
If she’d known, she would have asked for another one!
But at least now she understood why the defenses around this pill-refining room were so strict.
Tilting her head back, Taohua swallowed the pill. Before long, she felt a warm heat rise from her dantian. A primordial flood of power surged out from deep within her core and spread through her entire body. Her whole being felt invigorated; her waist no longer ached, her legs no longer hurt. Forget climbing to the fifth floor—she felt like even the fiftieth wouldn’t be a problem!
“How do you feel?” Guan Fusha asked.
“Great. Really great.”
Taohua swung her arm through the air, feeling like her muscles were about to pop out.
Guan Fusha smiled gracefully.
“All right then, come with me.”
After leaving the pill-refining room, Guan Fusha led Taohua to the training grounds.
The spacious martial arena was completely empty. Weapon racks lined both sides in neat rows, filled with all sorts of weapons, dazzling to the eye. Beside the racks stood an old willow tree. It was a blazing, windless afternoon; the lush green willow leaves drooped listlessly.
Guan Fusha walked up to the weapon rack, looked over it, and picked out a longsword for Taohua.
“Try using the first move of the Flying Dragon Sword Manual.”
Taohua took the sword and froze for a moment, slowly recalling the moves from the manual. She adjusted her stance, gripped the hilt tightly, channeled the power from her dantian into the blade, then pointed the tip at the willow leaves and slashed hard—
She had only intended to slice the leaves off. She hadn’t expected a deep sword mark to appear on the trunk. Her blade hadn’t even touched the tree. That meant it was just the sword qi alone that had such power!
Staring wide-eyed at the old willow tree, Taohua couldn’t tear her gaze away.
At this level… wasn’t she already a master?
“Senior Sister, th-this this this…”
“Mm. Passable, I suppose.”
Compared to Taohua’s shock, Guan Fusha looked rather dissatisfied.
The Life-Extending Great Tonic Pill should have boosted her junior sister’s cultivation enough that her sword qi could cut the entire tree down. But Taohua’s constitution was weak to begin with, so it was probably already decent that she could display this much power.
Taohua looked at Guan Fusha in disbelief.
This was only “passable”? This was practically a miracle!
“Continue. Use the entire Flying Dragon Sword technique.”
Taohua steadied her mind, recalling the movements from the manual as she executed them.
The first few moves she managed to perform somewhat decently, but by the later ones, all form and spirit had scattered. By the time she finished the entire set, a fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and her breathing had grown heavy.
She had never held a sword before, so she focused too much on the weapon itself and neglected her own body. On top of that, her physical constitution had just undergone a huge change; there was no way she could fully adjust in such a short time.
She searched Guan Fusha’s expression, nervous and uneasy, and asked cautiously,
“Senior Sister, did I… do really badly?”
“No. You did very well.”
Guan Fusha knew how hard things were for Taohua and smiled gently to comfort her.
She stepped forward and took Taohua’s sword hand, then used her other hand to slowly pry open Taohua’s fingers one by one, teaching her the correct way to grip the hilt.
“Look, if you hold the sword like this, it won’t feel so tiring.”
The two of them were extremely close. Taohua could not only smell the fragrance on her body, she could clearly see the necklace at her neck. A playful breeze lifted a wisp of Guan Fusha’s hair and brushed it against Taohua’s neck, making it unbearably itchy and making her instinctively want to lean away. But Guan Fusha was holding her hand so tightly she couldn’t move at all.
“Junior Sister?”
Guan Fusha looked at Taohua in puzzlement, not understanding why she kept fidgeting.
Taohua’s cheeks flushed red. Embarrassed, she muttered,
“Senior Sister, your hair is tickling my neck…”
“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll change my position.”
Guan Fusha moved behind Taohua, took her hand again, and guided her through the proper motion of drawing the sword.
The two were now even closer. Two soft, springy mounds kept brushing against Taohua’s back. Her face instantly burned like fire. She hurriedly tried to pull away and stammered,
“Senior Sister, c-could you… not stand s-so close?”
At first, Guan Fusha didn’t understand, but she quickly caught on and couldn’t help the playful urge that rose in her heart. She tightened her grip on Taohua’s sword hand and leaned her body right back against her.
“If I don’t get close, how am I supposed to correct your posture?”
She sounded perfectly justified, which only made Taohua more self-conscious. Even the tips of her ears turned red.
Her senior sister was earnestly teaching her martial arts, and she was having such indecent thoughts. It was absolutely shameful!
“I’m sorry, Senior Sister.”
At that moment, Taohua truly wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
“It’s fine. Let’s continue practicing.”
Guan Fusha held back her laughter and deliberately leaned in even closer than before. Her graceful figure was outlined perfectly against Taohua’s back.
“Yes, just like that. Imagine your arm and the sword becoming one…”
Taohua’s cheeks were burning hot; she couldn’t hear a single word Guan Fusha was saying. All of her attention was on the warm, supple body pressed against her back. Her entire body was as stiff as a wooden stake, not daring to move.
Guan Fusha’s hand slid up along Taohua’s back to her shoulder, where she gently kneaded.
“Junior Sister, your body is far too tense. You can’t practice the sword like this. Come on, relax a little.”
Unfortunately, the two were so close that when Guan Fusha spoke, her warm breath spilled directly against Taohua’s most sensitive ear. Coupled with the tingling sensation on her shoulders, it was more than Taohua could bear. She finally bolted away.
Her small face was beet-red, her breathing slightly uneven. She looked at Guan Fusha’s innocent expression and felt like crying inside.
Why was learning martial arts so difficult?
If Guan Fusha were a man, she was one hundred percent sure she’d call this sexual harassment. But she was a woman! And she was just earnestly, sincerely teaching her swordsmanship, yet…
Taohua bit her lower lip in defeat, feeling utterly humiliated.
“Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”
Guan Fusha deliberately put on an innocent face, but when she saw Taohua on the verge of tears, she couldn’t help blaming herself for going a bit too far.
“It’s nothing, I…”
Taohua suddenly trailed off, not knowing how to explain. She hastily grabbed at an excuse.
“I just feel a little… uncomfortable…”
Guan Fusha had no intention of exposing her lie, and simply followed along.
“If you’re not feeling well, then we’ll stop here for today.”
