It's surprising how quickly He Xuan accepts his explanation, but not unpleasantly so. Perhaps Shen Yuan himself is also getting better at explaining it.

"Partially," he admits, watching the line now for any sign of movement and missing entirely He Xuan's indecision about where to rest his gaze. "This body is sort of a mixture of traits, half my original body and half the master cultivator's. I suppose I should be grateful; my original body was somewhat shorter, which would have made retaining daozhang's swordmanship skills rather difficult. Xiu Ya belonged to him as well, and ever since she and I learned how to talk to each other, she's been invaluable in helping me stay alive."

"What about you?" he asks, sneaking a glance of his own at He Xuan. "Did shifu look like this before he came here?"