A Warm and Sweet Injury
Her own dantian, once warm and sweet, had been damaged. In the end, Cheon Yeon-hwa could no longer hide the truth she had tried to conceal. She confessed everything.
“When I cut down that thing called the Enemy’s Will, I exhausted every last bit of my internal energy. That wasn’t enough; I even consumed a small portion of my true qi. It must have been then that my dantian suffered damage. At first, since my internal energy had been completely depleted, I didn’t notice the change. But once it began to refill, I finally realized something was wrong.”
“That happened because of me…”
“What foolish nonsense.”
With a splash, she dumped the rest of the water over herself and squeezed the moisture from her drenched hair, pressing down firmly. Afterward, Cheon Yeon-hwa slowly reached a hand outside the tent. A towel was placed in her palm, and she used it to wipe the water from her body.
“You once told this seat that it seemed impossible to surpass the laws of the world. Yet this seat chose to shatter them. I did exactly as I wished, and I have paid the corresponding price. None of it is your fault, Hyeon-ah. This is simply this seat’s own karma.”
After setting aside her sweat-soaked clothes, she extended her hand once more. Namgung Hyeon’s hand offered her fresh garments. Cheon Yeon-hwa stared at that hand for a moment before taking the clothes with one hand and grasping her disciple’s hand with the other.
“I will say it again. Do not entertain such foolish thoughts. This is no one’s fault.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to apologize for. Pay it no mind. And do not worry. Who do you think this seat is? The one once called the Heavenly Demon—that is this seat. Soon enough, I will shake off an injury of this degree as if it were nothing and stand tall once more.”
The woman’s snow-white body vanished beneath her clothes. After tying the strings and roughly arranging her hair, Cheon Yeon-hwa threw the tent flap wide open. Namgung Hyeon stood right beside her, still guarding her like a shadow. He had his back to the tent, silently staring outward.
“Hyeon-ah.”
She called her disciple’s name, but no answer came. Cheon Yeon-hwa clicked her tongue, reached out, and grabbed his shoulder. She spun him around to face her and clicked her tongue again.
“I told you not to wear such a grief-stricken expression. This is the path this seat chose. Did you force me? Did you beg me? No. This seat—this I—did it of my own will. Your master chose this of her own accord. Therefore, do not make that face. This is an order from your master.”
“…Understood.”
At Namgung Hyeon’s reply, Cheon Yeon-hwa nodded in satisfaction.
“How refreshing. Very good indeed. Since you’ve already sweated, you should go get a proper night’s sleep.”
“It’s already dawn. Even if you go to bed now, you’ll only get a few hours.”
“That will be enough. More importantly, Hyeon-ah. It seems you never gave me an answer.”
“What answer?”
“About breaking the laws you spoke of. Do not do it.”
…
Cheon Yeon-hwa had naturally assumed her disciple would agree. She had explained it so clearly; a clever disciple would surely comply. After all, he had said himself that he could not cut it, could not reach it. She had simply been stubborn and forced the act. If she now told him not to, he would naturally accept it.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“Hmm?”
But the answer that came back was completely unexpected.
“What… what did you just say?”
“I want to learn how to break those laws. I want to know.”
“You fool! Have you not seen the state of your master? It is dangerous!”
Telling him the method would not be difficult. Guiding him along the path would be incredibly easy. Since he was a clever disciple, even the slightest hint would let him find his own way. The problem was that if he followed that path, he would surely fall off a cliff. Just like her, he would receive heavenly punishment for daring to defy the laws of the world. It might not end with a mere scratch on his dantian. In the worst case, the damage could be far more severe.
“Where have you been putting this master’s words all this time!”
“I listened carefully, Master. That’s why I want to know more. I want to reach further.”
“You wretch! Do you find your master’s words amusing?! Do you think my warning of danger is mere jest?! Your dantian could be ruined. Do you not understand what that means to someone who manipulates internal energy?!”
“I understand. It means being reduced to something no better than a living corpse.”
“And knowing that, you still insist on this stubbornness!”
Even in the face of Cheon Yeon-hwa’s fury, Namgung Hyeon remained unmoved. He continued to ask her to teach him that path. He said that he too wished to reach those beings, so he earnestly begged her. Thanks to that, Cheon Yeon-hwa had to pound her chest in frustration. Where had her brilliant disciple gone, and what kind of idiot had taken his place? If he would just wait a little longer, his master would find a more effective way. Now that she knew this method was flawed, she would search for another. She truly resented her disciple for being unable to endure and clinging to her like this.
“Why are you trying to stop me?”
“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?! I have said it over and over! It is dangerous! Do you think I can simply watch my disciple get hurt?! Where in the world is there a damned master like that?! Trust this seat and wait! Why are you trying to take the risk yourself?! What on earth for!”
“Master, that’s…”
“Just wait a little longer. After this master tries once more. After I reach a level where I can properly teach my disciple, I will tell you. You wicked disciple!”
“…That’s exactly why.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Right now, those words of yours are telling me to stand by and watch while you, Master, get hurt again. Am I wrong?”
At Namgung Hyeon’s question, Cheon Yeon-hwa found herself utterly speechless. The reasons she had given to dissuade him had now turned around and grabbed her by the ankle.
“Not now, but later, when I am more perfect, I will teach you. That statement ultimately means you, Master, will once again take on the risk of injury to do something, doesn’t it?”
“…That is only natural. There is no master who would teach their disciple something extremely dangerous.”
“And there is no disciple who wants to watch their master walk into danger.”
Their opinions clashed sharply. Neither of them was wrong in what they said. Cheon Yeon-hwa worried for Namgung Hyeon, and Namgung Hyeon worried for Cheon Yeon-hwa. Because she was his master, and he was her disciple. It was the natural feeling that arose from that. But was that truly all? Really? No. It couldn’t be. For both Cheon Yeon-hwa and Namgung Hyeon, it couldn’t be everything. There was surely something else inside those feelings, something more. They simply could not pull it out into the open. At least, the current Cheon Yeon-hwa could not.
“…Stop worrying about your master. This is an order. An order from your master.”
“…”
“It is natural for a disciple to worry about their master, but it is not more important than a master worrying about their disciple. Therefore, listen to this master, simply trust, and wait. Then…”
“If worrying about my master as her disciple… is not all there is.”
“…?”
“Then what will you do?”
The moment she heard Namgung Hyeon’s words, Cheon Yeon-hwa’s mind went blank. What on earth was this disciple saying?
“Hyeon-ah. What… what do you mean by that?”
Perhaps he himself realized he should not be saying this. Namgung Hyeon bit his lip, his face clouded with conflict. But the hesitation did not last long. The conflict of never having said it before, and the conflict of having already spoken it once. It was obvious which would crumble more easily.
“It is not simply because you are my master that I worry… No, that’s not all.”
“…”
“Before you are my master. I worry about you as a person. About the person named Cheon Yeon-hwa.”
With a low, sunken voice, Namgung Hyeon laid his heart bare. Even he probably did not fully understand what he was saying. His mind must have been completely tangled, a total mess. Nevertheless, he did not take his words back. He did not claim they had slipped out by mistake. Moreover, he did not avoid the gaze Cheon Yeon-hwa turned upon him.
“Don’t.”
A tight squeeze. The warm heat she felt from his hand. Namgung Hyeon, who had taken her hand, wore a face stiff with tension. Yet his tone was clear, as if he had no intention of regretting this.
“I will do it. I can accomplish it. So… you must not do it anymore.”
Thump. Thump.
Cheon Yeon-hwa learned for the first time that her heart could ache from nothing more than its own beating. That there could be something far more thrilling than facing any powerful enemy. The moment those words left Namgung Hyeon’s lips, she understood.
“Y-you wretch. T-to your m-master… w-what nonsense are you…”
Where had the pride of the master, of the Heavenly Demon, gone? Her tongue tangled mercilessly, and her words kept coming out wrong. Her hands and feet trembled, her face burned like fire, and her heart pounded violently.
Step.
Still holding her hand, Namgung Hyeon took one step closer. The distance, which had never been great to begin with, was now so close she could see the fine down on his face.
“I’m sorry. But… I don’t even know why I’m acting like this.”
“H-Hyeon-ah.”
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
There was no time to refuse. No chance to push him away. She was already being drawn to him, and neither her body nor her heart held any will to resist. No, perhaps deep down she had wanted this all along.
And so, beneath the moonlight, the man and woman who had been master and disciple shared their first kiss, carrying feelings even they could not be certain of. Their posture was awkward, and their hearts even more so, but none of that mattered anymore. It was no longer important.
It was incredibly warm, hot, and intense. Above all, it was so sweet that they could not possibly pull away. Only that, and the two people sharing that moment, held any importance.
Trembling faintly, Cheon Yeon-hwa decided to be just a little cowardly. She could not answer with words to the man who had come to her first. Instead, she gave his hand the tiniest tug and leaned against him just a little more. The first embrace she had ever felt—its warmth, its gentleness, its sweetness. She wanted to feel it a little longer, to hold onto it a little more. Afraid he might pull away at any second, she held Namgung Hyeon with a touch of desperate strength. Stay like this just a little longer. You started this, so don’t run away. That was the silent complaint she was making.