I hadn’t even slept a few hours before my whole body felt heavy. I dragged myself out of bed, changed clothes, and let out a long yawn as I stepped outside. The servants, including Hyangah, were already bustling about at dawn.
Sahyeon was nowhere to be seen. As Hyangah piled more food into my hands, I casually asked,
“Your subordinate—where is he? Don’t tell me he’s oversleeping.”
Hyangah beamed proudly.
“No way. I told him to split all the firewood piled up in the warehouse. That’s the only way we’ll clear out the place and get rid of the rats!”
Wait, was that the same warehouse from last night? When Hyangah went in to grab her club, I’d glimpsed it packed full of wood. He couldn’t even cheat with martial energy there without being noticed. That would be grueling.
Good job, Hyangah!
I happily patted her on the shoulder to praise her. Truly, Hyangah would’ve made an excellent villainous martial master.
By the time I arrived at the Choje Pavilion, yawning so wide my jaw ached, the old man was already standing in the center. Who knew when he even got up. I guess old people really didn’t sleep much.
“I’m here.”
“…”
“Master?”
Only then did his eyes turn to me. Was he waiting for me to call him that?
He kept a distance as he spoke.
“Sit there.”
Naturally there were no chairs or tables here—just a stone-paved floor. If this were the real Moyong Yeonhwa, she might’ve been flustered, but I’d slept on straw mats laid right over dirt. I plopped down on my butt and looked up at the old man.
“Sitting now, Master.”
“The start of training is cultivating your inner energy. I hear you’ve acquired a bit, but left untended, it’s bound to be impure. You’ll need to discard it and rebuild from scratch. Sit cross-legged.”
“What?”
Ah, this was bad. At that rate, how long would it take me to actually learn swordsmanship? And who said my energy was rotten? It was just rough and unstable because I’d begun using a villainous cultivation method, that’s all!
“I’ll handle building my energy. Just teach me swordsmanship. Preferably the strongest technique you know.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am your master. It’s my duty to guide my disciple down the right path.”
I wanted to annul this master-disciple contract right now. This was doomed from the start.
“So… if I build it up that ‘proper’ way, how long until I actually get stronger?”
“Training is a lifelong endeavor. The more impatient your heart, the harder it is to lay a solid foundation.”
Seriously, how could I not be impatient? Hearing him say that only made me more anxious. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
“I want a faster way.”
“No.”
Ah, why!
“Build it quickly, and it will collapse just as quickly.”
“But what if someone comes along and burns it all down while I’m taking my time?”
“Who’s going to do that?”
Well… me, in a past life, actually.
I wanted to scream. Clearly, there’d be no compromising on this. I almost found last night’s conversation with Sahyeon easier.
“Well, I mean… there might be someone chasing me, or I could be in danger of losing my life…”
I trailed off awkwardly, and my master let out a small sigh.
“I’ve already heard about your recent accident. But since you’ve chosen to learn martial arts, it’s my responsibility to help you lay a proper foundation.”
“But…”
“If you don’t build it right, you’ll forever be limited in how far you can go. Like trying to build a palace on weak ground, only to end up with a shack. Better not to learn at all than to learn wrong.”
What an extreme old man.
My mind was racing and my path felt blocked. For now, I decided to just do what he said and figure things out later on my own. Negotiating with orthodox sect types like this was pointless. I’d be better off finding some elixirs to force my energy growth.
With resignation, I settled into a cross-legged posture and began breathing deeply, observing my inner energy, now barely grown from a tiny grain to a rice grain, trying not to weep.
Ah, my precious little rice grain.
***
The sky was turning red. Even after training all day, my head was a mess. With my plans thrown off, it was only natural to be restless.
My body was worthless, my master was the embodiment of orthodoxy, time was slipping by.
Sighing heavily, I trudged along when I suddenly felt someone watching me from near the training grounds. I tensed, thinking it might be Sahyeon.
But it was someone I didn’t expect. What was his name again?
“Yeonhwa. Where are you coming from?”
“Dang…”
“Hm?”
“Young hero.”
Crap. Forgot his name.
I did remember he was my fiancé. But if I admitted I forgot his name, he’d probably think I had dementia. So I just attached the safe title, young hero. He looked almost shocked, his mouth hanging open.
“It feels so distant, hearing you call me that. Couldn’t you just say it like you used to?”
Ah, so now. The name was…
“Like I used to?”
“Yes. Call me Iheon. Weren’t we always going to be friends?”
Right. Iheon, that was it.
He looked like a big puppy who’d just been scolded. Whatever. I nodded. I just wanted to get back to my room and stew over everything.
But Dang Iheon didn’t seem ready to let me go.
“Since we’ve met like this, how about a walk? It’s been a while.”
“No. I’m tired.”
“I can carry you on my back halfway. Like before.”
I just stared at him, dumbfounded. For the first time, I felt a little sorry for Moyong Yeonhwa. Playing along with this kind of thing despite having no feelings… these Dang Clan types really were ruthless.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“If you keep saying that sort of thing without any feelings behind it, one day you’ll end up stabbed in an alley or poisoned. At the very least, expect a few slaps.”
Maybe being in an orthodox sect made me oddly inclined to give these kinds of warnings. I sighed and started walking. Dang Iheon followed at a gentle pace.
“Why are you following me? I said I’m not taking a walk.”
“Walking together is a walk.”
“Why aren’t you back home?”
“There’ve been people in the Guangdong area falsely using the Dang Clan’s name to trade poison. I’m investigating.”
Bold of them. Did they not know how terrifying the Dang Clan was? The most relentless of all the famous sects.
“Then shouldn’t you be doing that instead of bothering me?”
“Wanting to spend time with a friend is natural. Don’t you feel the same?”
No, I don’t. I thought you’d only show up at my funeral.
When I glared at him, Dang Iheon laughed and pointed toward the pond. The same pond where I’d nearly dislocated my arms tossing kids around recently.
“I brought something you like. Afterward, I’ll walk you back.”
Something I like? Alcohol? Meat?
Surely he wasn’t about to pull out a poisoned needle and say, ‘Here, enjoy!’ right?
He rummaged through his wide sleeve. I watched without blinking.
Thank goodness, what he pulled out was… candied fruits.
Those damned candied fruits. Just how much did Moyong Yeonhwa love them?
But it was late, and I was hungry, so I accepted it.
I did wonder if it was safe to eat something from the Dang Clan, but he probably wouldn’t be dumb enough to kill the Moyong family’s youngest daughter in the heart of their estate. Feeling slightly uneasy, I took a bite.
It was good. I took another.
“From that same shop? They’re mostly famous for wine.”
“Yes. But you don’t drink…”
“I like it.”
“…What?”
Dang Iheon flinched so hard it was comical. Did I mispronounce it? I looked him dead in the eyes and opened my mouth wide.
“I said I like alcohol. Next time, bring that.”
“Oh… you startled me.”
“Yeah, and bring braised pork belly too.”
Dang Iheon nodded readily. He looked oddly embarrassed, so I chewed my candy and stared. His neck seemed flushed in the evening light.
“You’ve really changed, huh. You wouldn’t touch alcohol before.”
“Wasted life. To have missed out on something so good.”
“Usually people drink because they’re troubled or hurting. Is that the case for you?”
Ugh. Why was he being so annoyingly gentle? I reminded myself not to trust these Dang Clan men and replied flatly.
“Who lives without trouble or pain? Life’s always a fight against misery. Same for you, right?”
Dang Iheon seemed surprised. What, was it so weird for Moyong Yeonhwa to say that? I didn’t know her well, but she surely had her own burdens. Starting with liking a man like Dang Iheon.
“So what’s the trouble weighing on you now?”
He held out another piece of candied fruit. I took it and chewed.
I had too many worries to count. I didn’t even know how I ended up in this mess.
But the biggest one right now… was obviously martial arts. Solving that would open up the path ahead.
I was still teetering on the edge of a cliff.
I glanced sideways at Dang Iheon. He was a martial artist too. Maybe he’d faced something similar.
I cautiously asked,
“Say you needed to go somewhere. As fast as possible.”
“Mm-hm.”
“There’s a fast road and a slow road.”
“You have to pick one?”
“Yeah. But the fast road’s a narrow bridge over a deep chasm. If you slip, you fall. The slow road’s safe but takes much longer.”
He was orthodox, so I expected him to choose the safe road.
Dang Iheon thought seriously for a moment, then said,
“If you can handle it, the fast road’s fine. Even if you fall, that’s on you.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. If it’s a road you walk alone, it’s your freedom. If you have to drag someone with you, that’s different. You’d be responsible for their fate too.”
Honestly, that was unexpected.
Yeah. It was my choice. I’d always been alone anyway. And now, reborn in someone else’s body—still just me. As long as I only had to answer for myself.
Maybe the fast road really was best.
I stared blankly for a moment, then tapped Dang Iheon on the shoulder.
“Thanks. Turns out you’re more open-minded than I thought.”
He just looked at me, startled again. The sun had mostly set, painting everything red. I gazed at the quiet pond.
Then Dang Iheon hesitated before speaking.
“Yeonhwa… about before, when you…”
“What?”
But before he could finish, someone approached. I instinctively frowned.
“Oh, what the hell. Annoying.”
It was Sahyeon. He shuffled over, hunched and wearing that scared look. Disgusting. I was the only one who knew what was really inside.
Polished, shameless, sly bastard.
“Young Lady. It’s… it’s time to eat, so I came to fetch you…”
Dang Iheon looked a bit disappointed at being interrupted but stood up.
“Come on. I’ll join you for dinner tonight.”
Ugh. Why even crash family dinners? Put on a Moyong surname first. But he’d helped me a bit today, so I let it slide.
Maybe the family thought he was helping me because we hadn’t officially broken off the engagement. I decided I’d make that clear soon and walked on.
While Dang Iheon glanced away for a moment, Sahyeon, walking ahead, suddenly looked back at me. Our eyes met. He winked.
Was he chopping too much wood and got dust in his eye? What the hell was that?
