Piandao used the first break in the chattering of the teenaged boy in front of him about his skill with the sword and travels by pointing at his forehead with the scabbard of his sword.

"Do enemies of mine give out prompts to everyone who has ever held a sword and crosses my threshold? You hit every mark. You mentioned my undefeated streak in battle, beating one-hundred Fire Nation soldiers after I left the military, you even somehow shoehorned in that I was an orphan. Bravo."

Under normal circumstances the famed swordsman of the Fire Nation prided himself on his calm demeanor and kept his snide comments to a minumum. He took a deep, calming breath he had studied from Firebenders in his travels around the world after his desertion from the army. When it wasn't enough to relax him he tempted himself into performing waterbending forms as he found them ideal for stretching and relaxing.
Instead he sighed and resisted the urge to poke the intimidated young man ahead of him.

"Do you know how swords are made? Don't answer. It's a rhetorical question. It's made with metals with two different levels of carbon. One his flexible. It bends but won't break. The other is strong. One won't keep an edge and the other will snap the first time you apply too much pressure. To make a sword you take the flexible, malleable metal and use that as the core. The strong metal is folded over that. Strength and flexibilty...a sword requires both of these things. So do people. Too much strength leads to stubborness and inhibits growth. Too much flexibility will leave you directionless. I see a strong, rigid sword in front of me. I will not train you, but I'll give you some advice. Travel. See the world, study something...anything other than the sword. Try metalworking. Make me a bracelet or something."

The master swordsman left the young man to contemplate his words and shot a glare at his cook and butler Fat who had let the boy in. "Next time ask them to provide something to prove their worth. That should scare a few off."

Piandao looked again at the former student whose cooking skills and loyalty made up for his average ability with the sword. "Fat, you know what to do while I'm gone. If someone wants to learn and isn't annoyingly pompous teach them the basics until I return. If a decent student won't come to me I'll find one." He paused and considered his membership in the Order of the White Lotus. While Fat knew of his membership and could be trusted Pian feared for his friend's safety. As more of an inside joke than hard and fast rule they never mentioned the secret society by name. "If you notice any strange insects buzzing around the flowers leave Shu Jing." Although the Golgari were more dangerous than his metaphor allowed, the enemies of the White Lotus seemed to fit the profile of insects.

The aging ex-soldier packed a yellow-trimmed, black robe identical to the one he wore only smaller in size for the person he deemed worthy enough to train. Mostly out of a kind of meditation rather than grooming, he took out the yellow band in his black hair and let his top knot fall to his shoulders only to comb and tie his hair up once again.

After packing his clothes and other necessities Piandao unrolled a large, dark brown cloth with pouches he used to sheath a variety of his homemade swords as a means of paying for his travels and hopefully train his next student.

As he left, Piandao looked at the town of Shu Jing with new eyes as he had not left since he had settled more than ten years prior. He gave a thought to the Fire Nation once again coming after him, but only an idle one. Once again he would have to face the war he abandoned what seemed like a lifetime ago hiding in the relative safety of Shu Jing. Even approaching middle-age the prospect of teaching a new student eclipsed any misgivings he might have had and looked to the future stretching out before him.