Feng Xuan's body clock woke her up. When she sprang from the bed, the sun was just beginning to rise. She had to be running by now.
Qing Chen stirred. "Where are you going?"
"I have to go," Feng Xuan said and immediately slipped on her shoes. "I'll see you at breakfast," she smiled and went out the window.
The water was freezing cold when she showered. Fifteen minutes later, she was in front of the building and stretching her legs.
"Feng Xuan."
She froze and looked back to see Master. Oh no, he definitely knows that I didn't sleep in my ro—
"You should start taking your runs in the woods. Finish three laps this morning. Be back by breakfast."
Feng Xuan only nodded and stared really hard at the shadowed forest. She had been scared to go there because of her dreams. Well, here goes nothing, she whispered to her mind and started running in the woods.
**
It was as if Wuming could not really sleep the night before. He was on his bed just staring at the moon, his mind wondering. On nights like these, that was when he missed his Camille. It was a great thing he had been able to send her a message before he surrendered his phone earlier.
Only thing was, he didn't know how she reacted with his message. Was she mad? He was almost scared to check his phone.
He had not been able to visit her lately, what with all the things that was happening with Feng Xuan and his brother. He just didn't want for Camille to get caught up in all of that. He did not think he was ready to let her enter this part of his life.
He had just been twisting and turning until he finally saw the first light. He got in the shower and changed clothes before heading down for breakfast. When he saw Master, his mood immediately brightened. "Are we up for some sparring today?"
"Yes," answered Master at him with a tired look.
That did not discourage him and he ate enthusiastically. He did not eat much as he did not want his stomach churning while he was on a fight. He might vomit.
While the others had already began with their training, Wuming and Master had stepped into the mat outside. The sun was shining on both of them. "Let me know when you're ready, old man."
Master chuckled. "Won't it be fun if you will get to use some of our weapons?"
Wuming turned the weapon on his hands, it was a thick sword. He could tell that it was lighter than a normal sword and that the edges were blunt. "Not a fan of this, but let's go!"
Master beckoned him with his fingers and he did not wait for anything else and launched to attack. Wuming was being considerate at first, the old man might need to stretch his muscles first so he moved languidly. The last thing he wanted was for Master to break his h.i.p.s.
But he still got it, his arms and legs moved perfectly in sync. There was enough force that met Wuming's sword. He found himself avoiding and stopping mid-attack to defend. He put some space between them. "You're good," said Wuming.
"You talk too much," Master replied and came for him.
Wuming also attacked and their swords clashed together. It was a blurry of movements as they jumped, crouched, slashed, and probed one another. The metals made clanging and zinging noises.
Wuming pushed Master's sword away from his face and saw an opening. He went straight for the neck. He was heaving but his lips were showing a perfect smile. "I won."
"Oh, did you?" asked Master and he felt a blunt force on the side of his chest.
"Oh man," he groaned lightly.
Master was smiling at him and they lowered their swords. "Do not have too much fun fighting. You might forget that it was your life on the line." Master patted his head. "You're so well, Qing Wei. Keep up the good work. I want you to work on your other skills. Perhaps aiming? I'll check on it on two or three days."
Wuming only grinned. "Alright, then."
Now he could go to bed peacefully.
**
Qing Chen poked Feng Xuan's side with the wooden sword. "You're leaving your left side completely open. It's completely natural that you're leaning more on your dominant side. But you're gonna get killed on the other."
Feng Xuan let out an exasperated sound. "My arms are killing me," she said and let the wooden swords fall on her sides. "I can't believe I was a double-sword-wielding biatch."
She had always been ambitious since she was a child. She had wanted to exceed even her physical capacities because she believed that the capacity meter would adjust some more and there would always be room for improvement. But now, she did not know.
"You just need to build more muscle so it would not be so heavy," said Qing Chen. "You'd look really awesome when you fight."
To be honest, it was one of the things that Feng Xuan liked to think about when she felt like she couldn't take any more training. "I agree. Again?"
Qing Chen was merely letting her practice the attacks. She spun in the air, jumped, and stroke. He was mainly on defense and could only attack when she left a blind spot.
Qing Chen was just getting more and more amazed with his wife. She had never looked so beautiful with her hair up in a ponytail and her bare face showed. The look on her face in all seriousness was probably the thing that got him so mesmerized.
She really wanted this.
Qing Chen had not been sure at first. It was even hard to imagine that his sweet little wife was once an assassin prodigy.
But now he believed, this was really the world she belonged in.