Chapter CXVIII - Student

“Are you ready?” Arthur asked as soon as Irene walked into the living room, wearing nothing but his shirt and a pair of shorts after a shower.

“You sure about this?” Irene countered, crashing down on the couch next to him, placing her feet on his lap.

“You want to learn, and I wanna teach you. What’s not to be sure about?” He smiled, throwing a blanket over her legs. “But you need to be patient. I’m neither the best teacher nor do we know how long it’ll take you to get a feel for it.”

“Why’re you selling yourself short before we even started?” She gazed into his eyes, tilting her head slightly, allowing her hair to fall over her shoulder. “Now tell me, what’s first?”

“We’ll be going over a few things tonight since we’re alone.”

“Oh, is that so?” Irene playfully bit her lower lip while smirking, leaning to the side against the couch.

Arthur cleared his throat, caught getting flustered. “Yes. . . I was thinking of trying to explain to you what Qi is and how we’ll be training. You should ask as many questions as you feel like.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Irene’s teasing smirk shifted to a soft smile which enthralled Arthur for a brief moment, making him realize how easily distracted she made him. “Art?”

“Huh? Oh. Right.” Arthur took a deep breath, rubbing his palm against his face. “We should start by defining what Qi actually is. I might’ve said this before, but Qi is essentially circulating energy found in things. We all have it, and every living being is capable of feeling it with the right training. This is especially true for children, which is why starting at a young age is important.”

“Does that mean it’s already too late to do this?” Irene placed her elbow onto her knee, resting her chin against a gently formed fist while intently listening to Arthur’s explanation.

“Depends,” Arthur said, instinctively cupping the top of her foot with his right hand that hid under the blanket. “If your life goal was to reach the transcendent realms of martial arts, then yes. Even I’m late for that. However, that’s not exactly what we’re trying to do, now is it? So no, you’re not late.”

“You might’ve mentioned this before, but you’re not primarily a martial artist, right?”

“We’re getting a bit off-topic, but yeah. You’re right. I was a mage first who had the honor of learning from experienced martial artists.”

“Would’ve it been better to stick to just one?” Irene kept asking questions about his past rather than focusing on herself.

“Maybe. But if I did, magic was the way to go if I were to have any chance of fighting chaos.” His gaze lowered as his mind began to wander, but before he lost himself entirely to the void of questions left unanswered about his past, Irene nudged him with her feet.

“Mind telling me what you’re thinking about?” Irene didn’t like it whenever he kept quiet to himself, always worried something was bothering him.

“Pointless stuff,” Arthur admitted, looking at her again. “Let’s get back to what we were talking about.”

“Okay. . . So. Qi.”

“Right. I’ll try and keep it simple. Qi is energy that we cultivate within our bodies. There are two sources. Inner and outer Qi.” Irene made sure not to interrupt Arthur’s explanation despite already having questions. “Now, as you know, I’m using inner Qi to cure my grandfather, but as a martial artist, it’s important to cultivate both powers.”

“So if you’re exhausting inner Qi, does that mean you can still use outer even after treatment?”

“Pretty much, but using up your inner Qi strains your body, making it hard to keep going.”

“Didn’t stop you during PE. Two school records, huh?” Irene proudly smirked, tucking her hair behind her right ear.

“True, but that’s because, in the past, I could go on for days without rest. Now? I can probably push myself to keep active for about a full day, but later I’ll be sleeping it all off.”

“Does that mean you’re tired now?”

“Now? No.” Arthur shook his head. “Sure, I’d fall asleep the moment I laid down, but I’m feeling quite energetic for some reason.”

The reason was much more obvious to both, but they decided not to voice it and just enjoy each other’s company.

“That’s good, but then what’s the difference between inner and outer Qi?”

“There’s quite a few, but the main one is their source. Inner Qi is innate energy linked to your life energy, and outer Qi stems from the world around us. When we learn how to store that energy, we’re gathering outer Qi that is best for enhancing ourselves, which is what Tjay subconsciously does, and Moon trained to do. While you cultivate both, outer energy needs to be replenished through meditation, while inner gathers through sleep.”

“I’m guessing the link between life energy and Qi is what makes inner so dangerous to use?”

“That’s right. However, that’s what makes it stronger too. Inner Qi is significantly better for executing techniques.”

“Does that mean using inner Qi is too dangerous for me?”

“Right now? Yes. However, with time, things will be different.”

“Cool, but I got another question.”

“Shoot.”

“If inner Qi is for techniques, then did you use it to split the water at the beach?”

“No. That was outer Qi.” Arthur couldn’t help but smile after seeing Irene so absorbed by the topic. “Like I said, inner Qi is better, but it’s not a must. There are quite a few disadvantages to using it in a fight, so most stick to using outer.”

“You’d have a hard time continuously fighting, huh. . .”

“That’s right, and fighting never ends with just beating one opponent.”

What Arthur feared most was his words being true in case of his upcoming fight. While he was confident he’d win a straight-up one-on-one, many uncertainties could follow.

“And will I be learning any of these techniques?”

“Your potential to grow will be significantly crippled if you don’t, so I’ll teach you something badass.”

“Was hoping you’d say that.” Irene giggled, letting out a yawn.

“You tired?”

“If it’ll end our lesson, then no.”

“So you are. . .” Arthur chuckled, knowing she’d be stubborn if he insisted she rested first.

Luckily, she didn’t need to be for what they’d be doing, and in fact, it probably worked in their favor because she’d be naturally more relaxed.

“Anyway. . . What’s the deadliest technique you know?”

“Amm. . . You sure that’s something you wanna know?” Arthur furrowed his brows, caught off guard by the question.

“My man’s about to fight some criminal, and you’re asking me if I wanna know what you can do?” Irene extended her hand, grabbing his that rested over the blanket. “C’mon, tell me.”

“‘Kay then. . . Amm– There’s one technique in Kaisa, the martial arts I learned, that allows me to infuse Qi into someone else, sending vibrations that, at a snap of a finger, run wild inside the opponent’s body. The damage depends on the amount of Qi infused and can vary from minor injuries to regular humans, all the way to slaying demons from inside out.”

“Woah. . . Wicked.” Irene chuckled.

“Not the reaction I expected, but glad you find it fun.”

“Is that bad?” Irene asked, trying to catch his gaze. “Was I being insensitive?”

“No, no. . . I’d much rather you find all this exciting than be fearful.”

“Should I be afraid?” Her voice turned silvery as she pulled herself closer, still resting her feet in his lap while her hand that wasn’t holding him reached for his chin, forcing eye contact. “I know you’d never hurt me.”

“You know, if you keep seducing me like that, I won’t be able to teach you, right?” Arthur asked, never breaking eye contact.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, leaning in closer. Her lips barely parted as the distance between them became less and less. “I couldn’t help myself, Master.”

Arthur’s eyes went wide, and his pupils dilated before breaking away from their magnetic gaze.

“Maybe. . . we should focus on the lesson,” he suggested, but the reddish cheeks and inability to look her in the eyes gave away his thoughts.

“You’re right.” Irene slid her fingers that held his chin across his cheek, going all the way up to his ear before playing with his hair. “Where were we?”

“Well– Luckily for you, theory ain’t as important. . .” Arthur finally dared look at her again, still a bit flustered by her touch. “Want to get started?”

“Yes!” Irene pulled her legs back and stood up immediately. “How do we do that?”

“I was gonna tell you, but–” Arthur sighed, following in her footsteps by getting his ass off the couch. “First, we have to cleanse your body of impurities. Once we do that, you’ll be training to sense Qi.”

“Does everyone have impurities?”

“Yeah. No matter how hard you try, they’ll keep coming back. It’s important to cleanse them as they lead to a healthier lifestyle.”

“How do you cleanse them?”

“That’s where it gets a bit tricky, so you’ll have to trust me, okay?”

“Like I don’t already. . .” Irene nervously giggled, clenching her elbow.

“You okay?” Arthur asked, grabbing her shoulders and guiding her toward the center of the living room.

“Yeah. . . I’m fine.”

“You’re gonna have to try better than that.” Arthur sighed.

“Fine, fine. . . I’m just a bit embarrassed because it’s called impurity of all things, and I’m worried how much I have in my body.”

“If only you knew how many this body had when I took it over. . .” Arthur relived his horrifying day in the bathroom, puking blood everywhere. “Trust me. You’ll be fine, knowing your lifestyle.”

“Okay. . .” Irene mumbled, still sounding a bit reserved.

“Alright, sit down with your legs crossed.” Irene did as instructed. “Now, close your eyes, and empty your mind. Getting rid of impurities is much harder on your own and painful too. I’ll be helping you out, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Wait. You’re not gonna do the same thing with me as you do with Ryung, right? You’re not gonna risk your life, so I have it easier? Right?” Irene turned to look at him with worry.

“Calm down. It’s not the same.” Arthur smilingly sighed, planting a kiss on her forehead to distract her from her worry. “I’m not trying to restore your body the same way I’m doing with him. I might feel a bit tired afterward, but we don’t have to rush.”

“Rush? You better make sure we’re going at a snail's pace until you’re feeling better. . .” Irene sternly warned him.

“Sure.” Arthur couldn’t argue with her request. “Alright, but do as I asked, and let me just do all the work for now.”

“You got it.” Irene closed her eyes after turning back around, taking a deep breath. “So I just sit still?”

“Yeah. It might feel tingly, but just don’t move.”

“‘Kay. . .”

Arthur placed his hands on her back before beginning to infuse mana into her directly, similarly to what he did with Ryung.

It was unsurprising to find impurities within Irene’s body with everything that happened recently, but she still had significantly less than he expected. Stress was one of the primary causes of built-up impurities, so her carefree attitude helped immensely with dealing with it. Less than a few hours were needed for her to already feel a massive difference, but seeing as he had made a promise, he decided to take his time preparing her for what was to come. Luckily for him, unlike with Ryung, where one wrong move could cost him dearly, if Irene were to move suddenly, he’d be alright due to how little he needed to exert himself.

While helping cleanse her body, Arthur couldn’t help but smile, realizing he was doing the one thing he never expected he’d do after reincarnating.

Teaching someone something from his past.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.