Over the next few weeks, Xuelei did light exercises to help his body recover. The Swordman's Dance as what he had come to call the martial arts sequence the mysterious man had shown him was driving him mad.

He had gone through it a thousand times in his mind. The glaring flaws to the perfect steps taunted him endlessly. He was missing something obvious. He wanted to practice, positive he would find the answers to the riddle once he went through the steps physically, but his body would not cooperate.

If he could not try it out soon, he was positive he would go stark raving mad.

It was on a bright clear day when he finally deemed himself well enough to try the Swordsman's Dance. His brothers were all out on various missions. He had the training ground all to himself.

Perfect.

Xuelei had dressed in a simple light grey outfit. It was slightly loose and comfortable to accommodate the tight bandages under his clothes.

He walked out to the middle of the spacious training ground and took a deep breath, clearing his mind. He stretched his muscles and warmed up his body with some light exercises.

Then he started.

Xuelei stilled himself, running the sequence in his mind once more, then he gripped his saber and positioned himself in the starting stance. It was a pleasure to go through the motions, controlled body movements, attack, hand block, twirl and kick. The swordsman's dance was an intricate and powerful mix of attack and defence where the body and weapon merged together in deadly harmony.

He had to stop several times as he puzzled out certain moves. Some which had seemed simple actually required a fine sense of balance and posture. The control and discipline required in the combinations almost twisted his body parts as he simulated the steps. The brilliance of the moves dazzled his mind, certain obscure positions made sudden sense as he paced his body carefully through the motions getting a feel of what the man had shown him.

The saber was drawn only on the 15th move, striking, blocking and defending was with the undrawn weapon until then. It became an extension of the body. The weapon was kept close to the body in defence, lashing out only when attacking. He stumbled on the 23rd step, the awkward position of his blade throwing him off balance.

He froze, hands flailed out for balance, feet wide apart maintaining stability and checked his stance. He frowned, he was doing it right. So why did it feel so off? He righted his weapon and continued. This was the first time he was physically doing the Swordman's Dance.

"Arrrghh!!"

He cried in frustration as he faltered at the 47th move. His saber clattered noisily onto the ground as he tried instinctively to counter the illogical step and lost his balance again. The move required full attack but he was too anxious, aware of the opening the move created to his middle and side. It left him vulnerable and almost guaranteed the enemy a successful disembowelling move.

Xuelei picked up his saber and continued. At last he completed the whole sequence, coming down from a high jump to deal the final blow, blade extended slicing the unseen enemy in half. He allowed himself a moment before he pulled back his stance.

He was breathing heavily. He was disappointed in himself, dissatisfied with his performance. The flaws were even more glaring when put into practice, but how did the man do the routine so fluidly? It was a piece of art when the man had practiced it over and over again. There was no flaw when he did it. It had been perfect, elegant and deadly.

Over the next few days, Xuelei practiced again and again trying to work out the flaws. He broke it down into parts and pieced it back again together. He changed up the sequence, doubling up the attacks, then doubling up the defence. The effects were awesome. It was very flexible. If one understood it, mastered it, the Swordman's Dance was lethal. The more he practiced, the more he discovered.

The only problem was those two frustrating steps. It became the bane of his every waking hour.

Xuelei was deep in thought, meditating at the side of the training room when Li and Ren came in. They had returned the day before from a mission. They grinned when they saw their youngest brother. If he was up and about, it meant that he was recovering. He was not one to stay in bed if he could help it. The two proceeded with their sparring, they knew better than to disturb someone in meditation.

The clanging of swords took on a rhythmical tempo. By the sounds of the shuffling, grunts and curses, Xuelei could tell Li was winning as usual. His mouth turned up as he opened his eyes. Ren was putting up a good fight.

Li was using his favourite double edged straight sword, Ren his own light blade. There was no doubt that Li was the better swordsman but everyone had to practice the sword. It was the basic weapon that they all had to be proficient in. An assassin who did not know how to handle a sword was a dead one. Ren would beat Li later when it came to knives. No one could match Ren's accuracy with his daggers.

Xuelei watched his brothers spar. They went back and forth, Li had better technique and experience but Ren was more agile and was quick to exploit even the smallest opportunities.

Something nagged at him as he noted how the swords clashed against each other. In one instance, Li jumped and twisted, flicking his sword at Ren, then swung back in the opposite direction without pause. Something clicked in his mind. Xuelei stared open-mouthed.

"Of course! Oh my God, sometimes I am so dense!" Xuelei exclaimed.

That was it! It was so obvious, he had missed it. The man had used a double-edge sword just like Li and Ren were using now. On the other-hand, he used a saber, a single-edge blade. That's why it felt so awkward, he had to reverse his saber to complete the move effectively wasting precious seconds that could mean life or death. The man only had to swing back the double-edged sword without wasting any time.

Now he laughed at himself for agonizing over a simple fact. All he had to do was adjust the moves ... hmm, he will have to think on that. Change it up to suit his single-edged saber. It was either that or use a double edged sword. Nope, he dismissed the thought immediately. He was not going to give up his beloved saber for a sword.

His brothers had stopped at Xuelei's outburst. Now they exchanged amused looks as they lowered their weapons.

"You okay little brother?" Ren called out.

"Thank you!"

Xuelei flashed them a brilliant smile. He went up to hug his two brothers before rushing off muttering to himself

"Emm, you're welcome?"

"What was that all about?" Li asked.

"I'm brilliant?"

"Ha, ha, you wish. Seriously, what was he thanking us for?"

"Don't know. Maybe he has finally lost it."

Ren shrugged and suddenly attacked Li, taking the opportunity to get a point. Li barely managed to block Ren's blade and went on the defence, cursing his brother. Ren laughed in glee. He might just win this round.

Xuelei rushed back to his room and went immediately to his weapon's wall. His hand touched his saber lovingly, tracing the rough black leather bound scabbard before he reached for the other weapon below it, his double edged straight sword. His bow and full quiver of arrows hung on a nearby peg. His collection of knives lay in the top two drawers of the chest underneath it.

The young assassin hefted the sword and drew the blade. It gleamed brightly, reflecting his image clearly in its polished surface. Xuelei slammed it back into it's sheath and headed out to the small grotto. Since Li and Ren were in the training room, he would use the small clearing. It was a peaceful place with planted trees and a small space he could use.

Once there, he wasted no time. Positioning his body in the opening stance, he cleared his mind. He went through the steps effortlessly but tensed when he came to the damning step. Step number 23 was no problem! The double-edge sword did the trick. With it, he was not exposed to attacks at all as he could simply swing back in the opposite direction. His had to adjust himself physically and mentally though. He corrected his stance and was grinning as he continued.

The frustrating 47th step was also a breeze. As he came to the end of the sequence, he jumped high and slashed down with the sword at the invisible enemy, staying in position for a second before laughing out loud. He did it! It was perfect, well almost. He had to correct his stance on those two steps slightly but he had figured it out.

He laughed out in euphoria. What a glorious feeling! Awesome! He felt so alive. Again! He must perfect it!

Xuelei took a deep breath to calm himself. Emotions must be controlled during practice as it could affect a person's performance. He focused and started, this time with force and inner energy extending to the sword. He was one with the weapon.

Xuelei's exuberant laughter had drawn Mei Ling. She now peeked at him as he practiced. Hidden behind a tree, she watched him longingly, her heart aching. He was so beautiful in motion, his dark eyes intense in concentration, his long black hair flying out behind him, his body moving with such grace as he attacked and dodged hidden foes. He had almost regained his health fully. Now, he leapt and jumped with ease, his healing wounds no longer holding him back.

He was happy and so she was too. Mei Ling watched him for almost an hour until he was done. By the time Xuelei was satisfied with his practice session, he was smiling broadly to himself. She had never seen him so happy before. Unconsciously she smiled too. She watched as he wiped sweat off his brow and left. She waited a few minutes before emerging from her hiding place. Then she sighed and quietly left the grotto.