Chapter 125: Dancing Cherry Blossoms
These two short sentences were like a wake-up call to the turtledove's heart.
Years of obsession have shaken her will? Is that right?
Has the long-term assassination mission affected her original intention of holding the sword? Is that right?
Tasting defeat in kendo , it shattered the confidence she had built up all along, was that right?
Turtledove asked himself, maybe it is true? As he thought about it, the sword in his hand could not help but waver .
At this moment, Disper spoke again: "What's wrong? Are you shaken?"
Turtledove didn't respond, and Disper ignored her, just talking to himself: "I have been called a kendo genius since I was a child. Everyone who sees me use a sword says that I am the strongest swordsman they have ever seen. They say that I am self-taught and was born to become a kendo legend!"
Disper's words caught Turtledove's attention.
"But these talents they talk about are commonplace to me and not worth mentioning at all."
This statement was a bit Versailles, but Turtledove still listened patiently, wanting to hear what Disper had to say.
"Draw the sword, swing the sword, and sheath the sword. Until I was 12 years old, I always used these three moves to fight. At first, I used a branch that I broke, then a thick wooden stick I picked up, and then a harder iron rod and a broken sword... By the time I realized what was happening, they were calling me the best swordsman in the kingdom!"
"They make me sound like a god, but I don't know anything about swordsmanship. I just swing the weapon in my hand to survive!"
After hearing this, Banjiu remained silent. He thought to himself, no wonder this guy's swordsmanship was so unique, it turned out that it was honed through repeated life-and-death battles.
"The more I fought, the more confused I became. After every victory, I would ask myself, 'Why are you swinging your sword now?' At first it was to survive, and later it was for the title of 'First Swordsman', but is this really what I want? It seems not!"
“When I couldn’t get any answers from asking myself, I asked others, but they couldn’t answer my questions either. I could only keep searching and asking, searching as I asked…”
At this point, Disper suddenly became a little excited, and his whole body seemed to be filled with light: "It was not until I met those guys who were high and mighty and didn't treat people as human beings that I had some guesses. Maybe my sword exists for love and justice !"
turtledove:"……"
Isn't your thought changing too quickly? Also, love and justice, are you a child?
What she didn't know was that at that time, Disper was indeed in his middle school years.
"With this in mind, I taught those guys a lesson, even if I was punished for it. During that time when I had a goal to strive for, I could feel that my sword had become sharper!"
"Unfortunately, I soon lost my goal because I found that I was not the kind of person who wields a sword for protection and peace. So I came here to find the answer."
Turtle Dove: "Hey, you gave up too quickly! Also, which side is this?"
"The strong men here all use magic, and there are too few pure swordsmanship experts. However, this novel way of fighting makes me feel happy from the bottom of my heart, and even the speed of swinging the sword has become faster. It was not until that moment that I finally understood why !"
The turtledove asked, "What is it?"
She felt that the person in front of her said so much just for the next words.
"There's no special reason, I just think swordplay is fun!"
Banjiu fell silent again after hearing this. Swordplay is fun? Is that why he is still swinging the sword? What a mess!
"Do you find it incredible? Or do you think this reason is not sufficient?" Disper laughed, "But it is indeed just that simple."
"It's not a means of survival, it's not for a resounding reputation, it's not for love and justice, and it's not to leave a legend in the way of the sword. I just think it's fun, so I continue to use the sword."
"I laughed at my own thought at the time, but then I thought, isn't this what those guys always talk about, the original intention of kendo?"
Banjiu seemed to understand, and murmured to himself: "Is this the original intention of kendo?"
Does this person want to use his own experience to tell himself that he has lost the original intention of using the sword?
"I don't know either!" Disper said, "Anyway, after that, I felt that my strength had improved significantly. I enjoyed every battle. It was like I had let go, figured it out, pulled it out, and broken free. It made me feel comfortable all over."
"Wait, did something weird sneak in just now?"
Without noticing the strange look from Turtledove, Disper was still immersed in his speech. "In order to show off... no, to respect my opponent, I started giving my sword-swinging skills one name after another, such as Infinite, Endless, Silent, Sun Mark, Moon Broken, Star Falling, and Fire Refining, Water Chaos, Wind Soul. But in fact, these names are not fixed. I just shout out whichever one comes to mind during the battle."
turtledove:"……"
"By the way, your sword move names are not random, right? Up to now, it seems that everyone except me has a single move name corresponding to a single move. I don't know why they would spend that much brainpower to think of which move to use in battle."
Ignoring the second half of the sentence, Banjiu replied, "Yes, each sword technique of the Wu Yue Style has its own name. These sword techniques were created after hundreds of battles and learned after hard work. Therefore, remembering the name of each technique is both a respect for the predecessors and a responsibility to oneself."
"Hmm...I understand - so, after all I've said, have you found your original intention now?"
Turtle Dove closed his eyes, held his breath, and said, "No! Not at all!"
Disper: “…”
What a waste of saliva!
"But... now, I can face the upcoming failure calmly!"
When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with determination and openness, a completely different look from before!
Disper praised: "This is the look a swordsman should have!"
The turtledove walked forward, no longer with the graceful gait it had when it first appeared, and completely gave up the pride it had held until then.
"Why am I swinging my sword now? My deceased mentor? The mission of the Moonless School? My years of perseverance? Or the sword in my hand? It seems to be none of these reasons..."
Seeing the opponent approaching, Kira slowly put the sword in his hand back into the scabbard, and the two made a clear friction sound.
"Moonless Flow..."
"I see!"
"Sakura Slash!"
As if they had traveled through space, the three-meter distance jumped in an instant. The two figures were facing each other in the previous moment, and they exchanged positions in the next moment.
Turtledove had his back to Disper, and was leaning forward in a chopping position, the sword in his hand seeming to chop out countless cherry blossoms.
Disper had his back to Turtle Dove, his movements remained unchanged, as if he had not moved a single step from beginning to end. The long sword was completely retracted into the scabbard, and the guard and scabbard made a crisp collision sound, which was the last step of "drawing the sword, swinging the sword, and putting the sword away".
"One sword style, Iai, kill everyone!"
Swish!
A sword mark appeared on Banjiu's body, from her left shoulder to her right abdomen, more than two inches long, cutting through her chest-length kimono, leaving a brutal wound on her snow-white skin, and blood spurting out.
"Beautiful cherry blossoms!" Disper praised, then walked forward without looking back. The book says that a real man never looks back at the results of his battle.
"Thank you for the compliment! Uh-huh-"
Banjiu fell to the ground with a thud. Before she fainted, a scene from many years ago flashed in her eyes. That was her first day of learning sword.
In spring, cherry blossoms are flying.
