Future Pet Shop

"Again!" Mr. Liu Sheng hadn’t yet figured out how he’d just lost, and he wasn’t one to give up so easily. If he were, he wouldn’t have become one of Japan’s top Swordsmanship Masters. He rubbed his aching wrist, bent down to pick up the bamboo sword, and assumed his stance once more. The bamboo swords used for Sword Way practice had specially treated, blunted tips that couldn’t cause serious injury. The pain would subside after a moment.

"Squeak squeak!" Xiaoliu still looked listless and even let out a yawn. ’Mr. Liu Sheng’s Swordsmanship isn’t even as good as Shen Yibin’s. Sparring with him is so boring.’

"Please instruct me!" Mr. Liu Sheng gave another deep bow, then gripped the bamboo sword with both hands. This time, he didn’t dare hold back, adjusting his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to their peak condition. He began circling Xiaoliu, searching for an opening. Xiaoliu didn’t even put up a guard, just standing there lazily and letting Mr. Liu Sheng circle behind it, seemingly completely defenseless.

"Kasaya Slash!" Mr. Liu Sheng roared, the bamboo sword whistling through the air as he chopped toward Xiaoliu’s shoulder. He still had some face to save, so he called out the name of his move before striking instead of launching a silent sneak attack. Not that it made any difference. The moment his mouth opened, before the sound even came out, Xiaoliu—without even looking back—thrust its own bamboo sword back under its armpit. Just like before, the tip of the sword struck Mr. Liu Sheng’s wrist, and his bamboo sword fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

"Hiss..." Mr. Liu Sheng sucked in a sharp breath. This one was much worse than the last; the more force he used, the more he suffered. Clutching his wrist, he took a long moment to recover. Fortunately, it was just a superficial injury and hadn’t damaged any bones or sinews. After rubbing it vigorously for a bit, Mr. Liu Sheng recovered once more, picked up his bamboo sword, and issued another challenge.

After watching for a while, Shen Yibin couldn’t bear it anymore and looked away. Sakai Kaori clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes filled with worry. Sun Qian couldn’t make sense of the techniques, but she couldn’t help but shudder every time Mr. Liu Sheng was hit. ’That must hurt so much.’ Mr. Liu Sheng attacked Xiaoliu countless times, but no matter which direction he came from or what move he used, Xiaoliu’s response was always the same. It would extend its bamboo sword and hold it in place, and Mr. Liu Sheng’s wrist would automatically smash into it. If Mr. Liu Sheng hadn’t been wearing an extra-thick wrist guard, his wrist would have probably been broken long ago!

"I admit defeat. Thank you for your instruction, Master Xiaoliu!" Mr. Liu Sheng’s form of address for Xiaoliu had changed from "sir" to "master," but this was only natural. Mr. Liu Sheng himself was one of Japan’s renowned Swordsmanship Masters; it was only fitting that Xiaoliu, who could so thoroughly dominate him, be called a master as well. After having his bamboo sword knocked away for the umpteenth time, Mr. Liu Sheng finally lost the courage to continue. Xiaoliu was like a hedgehog, giving him no angle of attack, and he was the only one getting hurt every time.

"Mr. Bin, may I please try sparring with Xiaoliu?" Sakai Kaori’s interest was piqued, and she was eager to have a go. ’Sparring with Xiaoliu would surely help me improve my own Sword Way, right?’

"Of course. Let me go have a word with Xiaoliu!" Shen Yibin walked into the center of the training area and showered Xiaoliu with praise, persuading it to go a little easy on Sakai Kaori. ’A scruffy uncle and a beautiful young girl should definitely be treated differently.’

"Huh?" Hah’Er and Egg were both confused. ’Who are we supposed to cheer for now?’

"Master Xiaoliu, please instruct me!" Sakai Kaori entered the sparring area with her bamboo sword. This time, Xiaoliu finally used different moves, clashing with Sakai Kaori in a flurry of CLACKS. Logically, even though Sakai Kaori was a young woman, she was much taller than Xiaoliu and certainly had much more strength. In a head-on clash, Xiaoliu’s sword should have been sent flying.

But the more Sakai Kaori fought, the more awkward she felt. Every one of Xiaoliu’s strikes landed precisely on the part of her bamboo sword where it was hardest to apply force, leaving her unable to leverage her superior strength. Not only did she fail to knock Xiaoliu’s sword away, but after more than ten exchanges, her own sword was sent flying into the air. And this was the result of Xiaoliu listening to Shen Yibin’s instructions and deliberately letting her save face.

"You’ve worked hard, Master Xiaoliu. Thank you for the lesson!" After her bamboo sword was sent flying for the third time, a sweat-drenched Sakai Kaori also gave up. Everyone then returned to their rooms to rest.

When they woke up in the morning, Shen Yibin personally cooked Winter Bamboo Shoots for Sakai Kaori and Egg. Mr. Liu Sheng also got to enjoy a large portion, and the meal was so delicious they practically swallowed their own tongues.

"After returning to Japan, the thing I missed most was Hah’Er’s and Mr. Bin’s cooking. I’m so happy I finally get to eat it again!" Sakai Kaori and Egg wolfed down their food.

"Aha, no wonder Sakai gained so much weight after her last trip," Mr. Liu Sheng teased, not missing the opportunity. "Looking back, gaining only five pounds was quite remarkable."

After the meal, they went to the tea room to relax and enjoy some tea. Sakai Kaori finally asked Shen Yibin about the purpose of his visit. "Mr. Bin, what brings you to Japan this time? Are you here to promote the new movie, or something else?"

"Neither. I’m just here to travel for a few days," Shen Yibin replied with a cheerful smile. "I heard the scenery in the Kantou region is nice, so I wanted to check it out!" His true purpose, however, was not something he could easily say out loud.

"Eh? What’s so fun about Kantou? It’s full of pretentious phonies you can’t stand the sight of," Sakai Kaori urged with a look of disdain. "Mr. Bin, you should come visit us in Kansai instead!" Mr. Liu Sheng nodded eagerly in agreement. "A bold and free-spirited person like Mr. Bin would fit in much better in Kansai!"

’Whoa, this regional rivalry in Japan is intense! I just mentioned Kantou, there’s no need for such a big reaction, is there?’ Shen Yibin sweat-dropped. "I’ve already been to Kansai before," he said. "This time, I want to go somewhere new. After I’m done with Kantou, I’ll come visit you at the Shrine!" ’Even if I do find that Mutant Animal, I’ll probably still need Sakai Kaori’s help to get it out of the country without a hitch,’ he mused. ’A trip to the Shrine is going to be unavoidable.’

"Since Mr. Bin has already made up his mind, then I’ll go with you to Kantou!" Although Sakai Kaori disliked the region, she was willing to put up with the inconvenience since Shen Yibin was so insistent. "Uncle Liu Sheng can drive us there!"

"No problem! Where in Kantou does Mr. Bin want to go? I can be your guide. In my youth, I wandered far and wide challenging Swordsmanship experts, so I’ve been all over Japan. I even have a few old friends in Kantou." ’Hey, when you say "old friends," you probably mean people you completely dominated, right?’

"Let’s go to Saitama Prefecture first. I haven’t decided on a specific place yet; we’ll figure it out when we get there. Are there any places with beautiful scenery?" Besides looking for the animal, he also needed to take Sun Qian to find inspiration. ’A place with beautiful scenery would probably be more inspiring, right?’