>>5791396The old man smiles, raising his head once again. The sound of metal clanging draws his attention out the window, where you notice Shen and Ming sparring; Shen with his sword, Ming with a large two-handed hammer. It looks like Shen is trying to give his sister pointers.
"Looks like Ming's made up her mind after all. I suppose nothing I say to her now will sway her." Jin murmurs, glancing to you. "She hates the Honglang as much as her brother. The only reason she didn't run off herself was because Shen beat her to it. 'Someone has to make sure you're eating well', she said. Heaven's bless that child…I'm afraid she hasn't been taught to fight the way her brother was, though. She may end up getting in your way." Her grandfather admits.
"...No. No, I don't think she will." You remark, watching the girl's footwork. "Look closely, do you see how she moves? Strength in heavy weapons like that doesn't come from the arms, it comes from the feet. The technique is all in your stance; Keeping stable footing while stepping in to lend power to the swing." You point out, noticing how Ming's footwork seems better than you would expect from a total beginner. "Either she's been practicing in secret, or she has a natural talent for it. If she trained with the same people as Shen had, she would be better than her brother." You assess, remembering how Shen's sloppy footwork was what let you take him down so easily before.
"...You think so?" Jin remarks, astonished by your shining evaluation.
"You seem surprised. Didn't you say their father was a fighter of some kind?"
"He was a soldier. Not a martial artist, but still…Come to think of it, he <span class="mu-i">did</span> say he used a hammer back in those days."
"Sounds like she learned a few things from him. Or by watching him." You shrug, watching her knock her brother over with a shove, Shen sheepishly picking himself back up and clearing his throat. There was his sloppy footwork again.
Your eyes switch to the skies, seeing that it is approaching noon now. The medicine and poison was ready, if you leave now you should arrive in time to catch the Honglang by surprise. However…If you took a few hours to teach these two, you suspect they would be more formidable when you face the bandits in their swamp. If you do, though, you would only arrive by sunset, and the Honglang would likely be on guard and antsy that the ones they sent into town haven't returned yet.
>Depart now, surprise is a great equalizer in battle>Teach them a few things, that way you won't have to watch them too closely when the fighting breaks out. 