Chapter 21: Victory and Defeat (Part 2)
Yedi abruptly leaned back, his body tilting past forty-five degrees. The hard shield, almost perfectly aligned with the angle of his body, rushed towards him, his hair fluttering in its wake. The bottom tip of the shield grazed Yedi’s knees, tearing his trousers.
As he was about to fall, Yedi, disregarding his balance, slashed at Qingruo.
Qingruo, realizing that Yedi had dodged her shield bash by a hair’s breadth, released the shield, gripping her longsword with both hands and swinging it back with increased force.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the swords clashed.
Yedi’s attack was so unorthodox, and Qingruo’s reaction was incredibly fast and perfectly executed, but her counterattack lacked power.
Yedi allowed himself to fall, sliding back a few steps to absorb the impact, while Qingruo was also pushed back several meters.
The students watching gasped.
“Not good!” Yedi thought.
He felt the sun about to set, which would be disastrous.
He had to attack, he couldn’t delay any longer.
Before fully getting up, Yedi rolled towards Qingruo, then leaped up mid-roll, thrusting his sword forward with lightning speed.
Qingruo, without her shield, gripped her sword with both hands, deflecting Yedi’s attack. She spun around, her long, shapely leg sweeping out in a kick.
Yedi slapped his palm on the ground, propelling himself upwards and sideways, dodging Qingruo’s kick.
Then, gripping his sword with both hands, he landed on one knee and, without fully rising, unleashed a horizontal slash. Qingruo, also turning, brought her sword down in a vertical strike.
Clang!
The swords collided again.
Using his kneeling position for support, Yedi managed to block Qingruo’s attack, but his arm absorbed the tremendous impact. However, Yedi’s naturally slender frame, never particularly strong, wasn’t any weaker in his female body. In fact, due to certain feminine physical characteristics, his resilience to impact had even slightly improved.
This exchange was a draw.
“Teacher, why aren’t you using your full strength? Are you mocking me?” Qingruo pressed her sword against Yedi’s, bringing them closer. Her alluring fragrance, which compelled anyone nearby to inhale deeply, wafted towards him.
She exuded a feminine aura, like bathing in a field of spring flowers, and during exercise, this scent intensified, a captivating mix of longing and untapped passion.
A chaste, exquisite rose, an incredible contradiction and fusion.
However, Yedi couldn’t afford to be distracted. He was running out of time!
“Qingruo, what bottleneck are you referring to?”
“If I could explain it, would I need to ask for your guidance, Teacher?”
Crack!
Their swords vibrated, and they separated.
Only a sliver of the sun remained above the horizon, like a fingernail at the edge of the valley. Time was up!
“It’s risky, but I have to end this match now!” Yedi decided.
He suddenly retreated, picking up Qingruo’s discarded shield.
“Teacher?” Qingruo looked slightly offended. Although Yedi was proficient with various weapons, he favored offense. His defense was through counterattacks! He never used a shield. Was he really trying to humiliate her today?
Her ample chest heaved noticeably, but her gentle nature seemed to temper her strong will. “No, this isn’t like Teacher. He must have a reason. I must always remain respectful towards Teacher, no matter how his actions appear…”
Yedi, to everyone’s bewilderment, approached with the shield, constantly shifting their relative positions through his footwork.
The students had never seen Teacher Yedi use a shield. They watched in confusion, wondering if he was going to demonstrate shield techniques to their senior sister.
Suddenly, Yedi threw the shield towards Qingruo. Though his strength was diminished compared to his prime, the shield still spun towards Qingruo with considerable force.
Qingruo almost instinctively swung her sword to deflect the shield.
“No!”
She raised her sword with both hands, not retreating but advancing towards the incoming shield. Just as her sword was about to strike, she abruptly reduced her force, letting the blade graze the curve of the shield, redirecting it while simultaneously executing a sharp turn.
Whoosh!
With the momentum of her spin and the power of her long legs, she unleashed a powerful slash behind the shield, without a clear target.
The last rays of sunlight illuminated Qingruo’s beautiful profile. If she had directly blocked the shield, she would have been blinded by the setting sun. And Yedi, as expected, was right where her sword landed.
As a teacher, perhaps he should be proud of this moment.
Yedi, with his significantly reduced strength and lack of practice with his transformed body, shouldn’t have rushed things. But pressured by time, he had to take a gamble.
However, Qingruo saw through him.
Yedi gave up on a meaningless attack, waiting for Qingruo’s sword, which would declare his defeat, to fall. Of course, whoever won would ultimately restrain their final blow.
However…
Crack!
Qingruo’s sword, though clearly in a position to strike Yedi from above, missed, striking the ground and kicking up dust. It seemed her footwork and the angle of her turn were slightly off.
“Teacher…”
At that moment, Yedi looked up at Qingruo, seeing an almost imperceptible hint in her eyes.
Feeling a surge of humiliation, Yedi adjusted his posture, dropping to one knee and thrusting his sword towards Qingruo. At the same time, Qingruo raised her sword and swung it diagonally downwards at Yedi.
Both their swords stopped short of their opponent.
The surrounding students were speechless.
It looked like a draw.
“A… a tie…” Hans, the tall, older student, shook his head in disbelief.
“For the first time, Senior Sister Qingruo actually tied with the legendary hero, Teacher Yedi! A tie! Senior Sister Qingruo is amazing…” The bespectacled boy’s eyes welled up with emotion.
The surrounding students were equally amazed.
Senior Sister Qingruo was so strong, and Teacher Yedi was also powerful!
Their battle exceeded their expectations, truly… unreachable.
A true, Imperial-level, pure swordsmanship duel!
Almost all the students present thought so.
However… Yedi’s heart was filled with an unusual despair, so much so that he remained kneeling before Qingruo, unable to rise.
He knew he had lost.
Regardless of the reason, in this match, he had indeed lost.
That last strike, Qingruo had deliberately missed. Otherwise, with her skill, at that distance, she couldn’t have possibly missed.
Their final exchange of blows was just for show.
An unspoken understanding.
Qingruo probably hadn’t expected to win, but when victory was within her grasp, she chose to spare her teacher’s pride, deliberately missing, letting the match end in a draw.
She was even more perceptive and considerate than Yedi had imagined.
Despite all the disadvantages, Yedi had still lost.
Lost to a woman.
Lost to the person he had admired, at a time when he no longer had the right to love a woman.
“It’s getting late. Today’s lesson ends here. Everyone, go back and rest… Qingruo, you were outstanding.”
Yedi managed to say these words, though with some difficulty. Thanks to Qingruo’s consideration, he had saved face, and the students still looked at him with admiration.
But, in reality…
This revered, legendary hero would soon transform back into a woman after sunset.
What face? Even if he had won against Qingruo today, so what?
He had already lost face long ago.
Because, in this world, the true him, Yedi, no longer existed. There was only her, Diye.
“Teacher…” Qingruo looked at Yedi’s slender, boyish figure in the evening breeze. For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness.
A hero in his twilight years. Under the last rays of the setting sun, Yedi walked silently up the mountain path, leaving the training grounds.
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