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“Wahaha!” Yanqing squealed, some water spilling out of the buckets he was holding on each of his hands. The lieutenant gritted his teeth as a crooked smile took place in his lips. His gaze was focused on the distance while Jing Yuan walked around him.
“A Cloud Knight must never let slip their weapon, nor let slacken their form," Jing Yuan repeated, probably for the tenth time that afternoon, while watching his apprentice’s limbs tremble under all that struggle.
Yanqing inhaled sharply, squinting his eyes as he tried to maintain his shambling focus. “Y-yehes, general!”
The answer made Jing Yuan chuckle softly and nod, proud of Yanqing’s resolve. However, he still had to make sure that today’s lesson would stick to his apprentice’s mind. “Straighten your back,” the general commanded, using the tip of the wooden sword he was holding to deliver another poke to Yanqing’s side.
“AHAh!”
“And stop wasting water,” the general said, trying to sound angry as he delivered another poke, this time under Yanqing’s arm, somewhere between his armpit and his ribs. Of course, this only lead to another stream of giggles and more splashes of water falling to the ground. “How are we going to water the garden if you spill everything?”
“I-I’m tryhihing, general!” Yanqing groaned, shivering as some of the cold water spilled into his own clothes and stumbling a little before recovering his balance, or at least seeming to.
Yanqing could only blame himself for boasting in front of the general. When he asked for a harder, more intensive training, he expected more series of exercises or new opponents to spar with… not whatever this method that Jing Yuan decided to use was.
The buckets of water weren’t even that heavy anymore and the only thing keeping him from maintaining a good posture was the anticipation, the anxiety that came from not knowing when Jing Yuan would strike - or, better saying, tickle - him next.
Step after step, the general continued to slowly circle him, watching his form with ultimate attention. “Good, you’re learning rapidly, indeed,” Jing Yuan praised under his breath, tapping the back of Yanqing’s ankle with the wooden sword as a sign for him to fix his center of gravity.
“T-thank you, general,” Yanqing stuttered in a hurry, taking another huge gasp for air, “I think I-I’m getting the hand-AHAH!”
The lieutenant laughed, again, as Jing Yuan prodded against his stomach this time. “Your shoulders aren’t aligned. Remember: a Cloud Knight must never let slip their weapon-”
“N-nohoor let slahahacken their form!” The apprentice groaned, his cheeks a little red from all the effort and laughter in this training session.
And just like in any other training session, the longer it went on, the harder it was to achieve his goal. At this point, it would be a matter of seconds for Yanqing to drop one of the buckets - that is if they had any water left by that time.
“Should we take a break?” Jing Yuan suggested, thrusting the wooden sword on the ground as he stood before the lieutenant, a kind and warm smile in his lips.
Normally, Yanqing would still have the energy to run at least ten laps around the training ground. Today, however, Jing Yuan could tell that this new method took a toll on his endurance.
Yanqing sighed, lowering his arms and placing the buckets down shortly before throwing himself back, sitting on the floor. “Y-yes, please, general,” he sighed, lowering his head.
“Very well. Let me prepare some tea, then, we can play a round of Celestial Jade while you recover,” Jing Yuan muttered, noticing that Yanqing didn’t seem frustrated despite the tiredness. Well, maybe this recently-made-up method could, indeed, provide some growth to his apprentice, after all.