Ruan Xue in particular seemed to have appointed herself as their unofficial junior disciple somewhere along the way, showing up at their cabin door most evenings with some excuse or another to spend time near them, and Chen Hao, though more reserved about it, clearly respected Mo Yuxin enough that he started quietly asking her sword technique questions whenever Ruan Xue was not around to overhear and tease him mercilessly for it.
One clear afternoon, with the sea calm enough that most passengers had come up on deck to enjoy the sunshine, Mo Yuxin found herself talked into giving Chen Hao a short sparring lesson, mostly because Ruan Xue would not stop pestering both of them about it until they agreed.
