Garden Swordsmanship

Madame Falan returned, and not long after arriving home, she learned of the contract Xilutaiya had signed a few days earlier. "You only sold three hundred bottles? I thought you would be a bit bolder." She did not mind in the least, instead teasing Xilutaiya playfully. To a seasoned third-order gardener like her, what was truly valuable were rare treasures of the third order or higher. As for things like Sunseed Oil, they were merely the casual harvest of sunflowers she planted in her spare time. Even within sunflower seed oils, her cellar held far finer collections of the second-order Blazing Sun attribute, so she cared little for unused first-order surplus. The day Xilutaiya became her formal student, Madame Falan had handed the young girl the key to the first-floor storeroom—not out of careless neglect, but because she genuinely had no use for those items anymore. "Since you have learned to negotiate business now, I will leave all such matters to you in the future." Her teacher truly seemed too lazy to bother with such mundane chores. "As long as you do not take too great a loss, it is fine. Occasionally, you do not even need to take coin; you can trade for things you want instead," she advised Xilutaiya. "Yes, Teacher." Xilutaiya then mentioned the three chests of gold coins collected that day. "Gold coins? I see. Just leave them in the storeroom; they are of little use for now anyway," the madame said after a moment's thought. "As for that Tree Jade Spirit Sword you mentioned, I will likely need to find a suitable craftsman to forge it for you. However, anyone with such skill is not in Burnt Stone City. "Years ago, I thought about acquiring a similar weapon myself, but after advancing to the third order, I no longer needed to risk my life in close combat, so I stopped looking," Madame Falan recalled. "At your current stage, many abilities of the Emerald Honey attribute are still beyond your reach, so making do with external tools is your only option. "Since you chose a sword as your weapon for self-defense, let Lining teach you some swordsmanship. She is very skilled at it." With that, Madame Falan summoned the maid. "Lining, do you remember the Garden Swordsmanship I taught you years ago? Tiya wants to learn it as well, so you will instruct her." "Yes, Madame." Lining bowed respectfully and complied. ... In the afternoon, Madame Falan attended a friend's tea party, leaving Xilutaiya and Lining to look after the house. Lining took the opportunity to instruct Xilutaiya in Garden Swordsmanship. "This sword technique is a heritage of gardeners, meant for pruning redundant branches and foliage in gardens. It can also complement certain Emerald Honey abilities for self-defense. "Overall, it is a sword art geared toward defense and counterattacks; it is not very aggressive." Lining drew a black longsword and demonstrated before Xilutaiya. Her movements were not fast, often gripping the sword with two hands. The overall style was smooth and fluid, devoid of clunky hitches or glaring openings in form. ('Garden Swordsmanship' proficiency +16) Garden Swordsmanship lv.0: A technique still being learned; current progress (16/100) After watching the full routine for the first time, Xilutaiya gripped her wooden sword and followed along. The sword style was balanced and steady. Exactly as Lining had said, it possessed very few flaws but lacked aggression, markedly different from the military swordsmanship meant for slaughtering foes on the battlefield. While observing Lining's movements, Xilutaiya could not help turning her attention toward the maid herself. Truth be told, Lining's strength was likely greater than that of the drillmaster at the training grounds. Xilutaiya even felt that if a third-order knight came, they might not hold much of an advantage over this maid. Name: Lining Race: Human (mortal body) Status: Healthy (no abnormalities) Talent: High Speed [Superior Grade] — Your reflexes and movements are exceptionally rapid, beyond the reach of ordinary people. Destiny Card: [Sword-Wielding Maid] (second-order Blood Law) 'A maid wielding a blade, caretaker of the estate, a dashing and swift attendant.' - Effect [Agile Body lv.4]: Through conditioning from the Breathing Method and Strength Burst, your body has substantially adapted to the circulation of Blood Law, granting greater speed and reflexes. - Effect [Demon-Breaking Blade lv.2]: A special ability achieved by fusing the two abilities 'Steel Sharp Blade' and 'Demon-Breaking Blood.' It can be imbued onto weapons to breach barriers formed by supernatural power. Ability Cards: [Breathing Method lv.5], [Swift Shadow Footwork lv.4], [Wind-Listening Position Detection lv.3] Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship lv.6], [Blood Leech Swordsmanship lv.5], [Maid Skill lv.5], [Garden Swordsmanship lv.4], [Secret History Knowledge lv.4], [Gardening Skill lv.4] —— No wonder Madame left the house with such peace of mind every time, never worrying about bandits or intruders. With this maid guarding the house, ordinary people stood no chance at all. In fact, in all of Burnt Stone City, few could defeat her. A fifth-tier Breathing Method... Now Xilutaiya understood why she had never seen the maid sweat or gasp for breath. Her daily chores were probably as effortless as child's play. Under Lining's guidance, Xilutaiya spent most of the day acquiring a basic grasp of the sword art's execution. Lining was somewhat surprised by this, looking her up and down for a good while. "You might have quite a talent for the sword." Even she had taken three days to learn it back then, which had already earned Madame Falan's praise. Tending the fields, familiarizing herself with the Bloom Art, and practicing swordsmanship made Xilutaiya's daily life both fulfilling and orderly, and the days flew by. Time reached the end of December, and a few flurries of snow finally drifted from the sky. Unfortunately, the snow melted the moment it touched the ground, never accumulating into vast winter drifts. In other Wind Seasons past, heavy snow would have blocked the mountain paths by this time, making travel and transit exceedingly difficult. "Tiya, I want to go home for a visit," Taliel mentioned one day. Because Madame Falan was often away, Xilutaiya was essentially running the household. "It feels like nearly half a year has passed since we left, hasn't it?" Xilutaiya suddenly recalled waking up in the forest. "My sister asked me to bring back some winter supplies, and I also want to see how Grandfather is doing." Taliel was referring to the old village chief. At that, Xilutaiya felt tempted as well. She had stayed inside the estate for almost the entire past month without stepping outside, and she wanted to go out for a change. "I will ask Lining. When the time comes, we can go back together." It was a good chance to visit the old man, and perhaps search for clues at the place where she had awakened. Xilutaiya soon brought her request to Lining, who nodded in assent. "Of course you may go out, Miss Tiya. However, I hope you can return within a week. If you stay away too long, issues might arise with the fields and the plants you are directly cultivating." "All right, I understand." A week was plenty of time; she did not plan to stay long in Linden Village anyway. Having decided on the trip back to the village, Xilutaiya and Taliel went to the market first to buy supplies. Following the list Wenni had prepared, they purchased smoked meat, smoked sausages, salt, and jam, along with thick winter clothing, blankets, everyday soap, candles, medicinal liquor, and gauze. With everything prepared, the two hired a carriage and set off.