Nightmare
Snow that had piled up all over the mountains was melting away, sending rivulets winding through the cracks in the rock, and the tips of the branches were slowly beginning to blush with fresh green.
Though the air still hadn’t fully warmed and cold winds continued to blow, a gentler energy had begun to seep in between them, as if the mountain, silenced all winter long, was getting ready to stretch itself awake once more.
“It looks like the weather’s finally starting to turn. This winter was especially long.”
Listening to the birds twittering overhead, So Gayul finally realized that the first stirrings of spring had begun to settle over Mt. Kongdong as well.
“Really? I feel like I only looked up and suddenly it was over.”
Cheongwol loosened her body with a light stretch, thinking back on the days she had spent doing nothing but training with absolute focus.
Although she still hadn’t fully converted the yin energy in her dantian into true inner power, it was more than enough to let her roam the Central Plains without restraint.
“That’s what happens when you throw yourself into something. Now then, let’s see just how much you’ve improved. If you’ve only been paying lip service, I won’t let it slide.”
Despite the sternness of her words, So Gayul’s aura drifted gently around Cheongwol.
“Even if it’s you, Master, today won’t be easy.”
“How insolent.”
“Excessive modesty isn’t politeness.”
As the words left her mouth, a sharp crack like the air itself bursting exploded from where Cheongwol stood and echoed across the entire mountain.
There was no formal salute, not even the signal that announced the first move; it was the sort of duel only those of the demonic path would start. So Gayul didn’t care in the least.
-Boom!
Cheongwol’s single punch, laced with both yin and yang energies, was casually stopped by So Gayul’s palm.
At least, that was how it looked. The impact sent ripples surging through the puddles left behind by the melting snow.
“...You’ve already crossed the threshold of the Seven Stars?”
Looking down at the tingling palm of her hand, So Gayul wore a deliberately surprised expression.
It hadn’t even been half a year since she had taught Cheongwol the Yin-Yang Grind, and yet she had already reached the stage of the Seven Stars, where yin and yang were intentionally thrown into imbalance and detonated.
“It wasn’t exactly a smooth road. I blew up a few times trying to control the yin energy.”
“So failure piled up until it carried you into the next realm. Well done. The way people come to enlightenment differs, but not everyone can do it so easily.”
At So Gayul’s praise, Cheongwol was just beginning to smile awkwardly when rough energy began wrapping itself around the hand that had been seized.
“That said, don’t make failure your master. One master is enough for anyone, isn’t it?”
Instinctively, Cheongwol tried to wrench her arm free at the approaching threat, but it was already too late.
“Clench your mouth tight, so you don’t bite your tongue.”
Seeing the smile flicker at So Gayul’s lips, Cheongwol let out a single, startled cry.
“Wai—!”
But before the scream could even finish, Cheongwol found herself staring up at a cloudless sky.
“...?”
She had definitely been facing So Gayul only a moment ago, so why was she now lying on her back, looking at the heavens?
With a bewildered expression, Cheongwol pushed herself up, and So Gayul came to stand beside her.
“Not merely the explosion of yin and yang energies, but the level where you reverse the current into a swirling flow and transfer it whole to your opponent. The eighth star of the Yin-Yang Grind.”
“A swirling flow...”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“Roughly. So if I think of it like minor celestial circulation and turn the exploding energy around, that should do it?”
So Gayul made an uncertain face, then gave a slight nod.
“I never thought of it that way... well, it isn’t exactly wrong. In the end, the principle is the same, so work it out on your own.”
“Yes. Then shall we keep going?”
Cheongwol brushed the dust from her martial robes and resumed her stance, but So Gayul slowly shook her head.
“No, let’s stop here for today.”
“Already? We only exchanged one move.”
“I have something else to say, so stop talking and come with me.”
So Gayul turned and headed for her quarters, and Cheongwol had no choice but to follow after her.
“I’ll come with you, Master.”
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She brewed Longjing tea, but when she saw Cheongwol ignoring it completely and reaching for a candied snack instead, So Gayul clicked her tongue.
“You still don’t know the taste of tea? You’re not a child anymore. It’s time you broadened your palate.”
“It’s not that I hate tea. I just can’t drink anything hot.”
Staring at the steaming cup, Cheongwol popped the candy into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“I’ve heard there are places south of the Yangtze where people drink tea cold.”
“In Lanzhou, they’d give me chilled tea if I asked for it.”
“Was it an inn?”
“Yes.”
“Then that was no different from gulping down cold water.”
So Gayul laughed and took a sip from her teacup.
It was unmistakably Longjing tea, prized for its sweetness and refreshing fragrance, and yet today all that lingered on her tongue was a bitter aftertaste.
“Cheongwol.”
At her suddenly grave tone, Cheongwol set down the candy she had been holding.
“Go ahead, Master.”
So Gayul hesitated for a long moment, as if gathering her thoughts, before finally speaking.
“...Must you really have your revenge?”
“Master...”
Cheongwol’s expression stiffened, but So Gayul went on as though she had already made up her mind.
“The Central Plains may be vast, but there cannot be many who can stand beside you once you’ve mastered the Sunflower Manual. And if that is true now, then after a few more years, who in heaven’s name will dare stand before you?”
“...”
“It means you’d be able to have whatever you want, and do whatever you wish. If you just give up one thing, that’s how it will be. I can promise you that. So...”
So Gayul’s voice had never sounded so earnest, so pleading, as it did when she spoke again.
“It will be difficult, but forget everything and live here as an ordinary person. That is what your grandfather would have wanted, isn’t it?”
Cheongwol could not bring herself to answer.
Because she understood all too well what sort of heart So Gayul had spoken from.
So she only looked at her with a smile full of sorrow and longing.
Was that smile answer enough?
In the end, So Gayul gave a smile that seemed to accept defeat and let out a small sigh.
“...I’m sorry. As your master, I should be encouraging you as you walk a hard road ahead, and instead I’ve only shaken you. I’m clearly not fit to be a good teacher.”
Then Cheongwol carefully reached out and took So Gayul’s hand.
“The two years I spent with you, Master, were so fun and so happy. I even wondered if it would have felt like this if I’d had family other than Grandfather who was still alive.”
“Cheongwol...”
“I’m sorry for being so stubborn. And...”
Trying harder than ever to seem bright, Cheongwol smiled widely.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you, Master.”
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The night sky was pitch-black, as though someone had spilled ink across it, and a violent downpour battered the roof and the leaves with relentless force.
The moon had been swallowed by the clouds and vanished, leaving only sinners standing upon the earth.
-Crash!!
As a lightning bolt that seemed ready to split the ears from the head tore through the air, the light that flashed briefly across the world revealed the sinners’ faces.
One was a woman, the other a middle-aged man. The man’s entire body was covered in deep wounds.
“...Husband.”
“...So you still call me husband. When you left me behind and walked away alone, I thought I’d never hear that word again.”
At the man’s words, the woman felt her heart tear under the weight of her guilt, and tears spilled down her face.
“Your wounds are too deep. Please, hurry and...”
“Don’t come any closer.”
She tried to move toward him, but the man instead withdrew deeper into the darkness.
“I can no longer trust you.”
“Husband...”
The man, breathing harshly, let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
“...And yet, what a laughable thing this is. I knew I shouldn’t trust you, and still there was no one else I could believe in, so in the end it was always going to be you.”
As he said that, he took a book from within his robes and hurled it toward her as if throwing a knife.
“This is...”
“The secret manual of the Im family that those bastards wanted so badly. Even if I’m captured, I can’t allow them to have it, so I’m entrusting it to you.”
At the words that the book she had received was the secret manual of the Im family, the woman’s heart sank.
She knew all too well what it meant for a martial artist to entrust a secret manual to another person.
“What are you planning to do? The net has been cast over every corner of the Central Plains. Husband... please...”
Looking at the woman begging him as though her soul were being torn apart, the man turned his head away.
“...That is not for you to worry about.”
“Husband!”
When the man finally turned to leave, the woman cried out after him at the top of her lungs.
“...What a shameful sight, showing me nothing but disgrace when our bond is already broken.”
At the woman’s heartbreaking sobs, the man could endure no longer and revealed his true feelings.
“Forget my harsh words. On this last road of mine, I would at least like to part with a smile.”
-Crash!!
Once more lightning cut across the sky and lit both of their faces.
The woman was weeping with a face that looked as though she might collapse at any moment, but the man was smiling as if to say that all was well.
“I’m not leaving alone, so don’t worry too much.”
“...If there’s anyone helping you, then perhaps...”
“No, nothing like that. Look here.”
The man reached into his robes for a moment, then revealed to her a small child who looked as if he might stop breathing at any moment.
Though lightning had struck twice with ear-splitting force, the child slept as if dead.
“My grandson. Isn’t he beautiful? When this child grows up, he’ll avenge the Im family, so I intend to survive by whatever means I can.”
“A grandson...? What in the world do you mean by that...”
At the sight of the child, the woman’s tear-streaked face hardened, but the man drew the child back into his arms and held him firmly in place.
-Crash!!
Then, when the third bolt of lightning struck the earth, the smile on the man’s face before her was truly strange.
Rage.
Despair.
Regret.
And joy.
The man’s smile, in which emotions that could never coexist were all twisted together, was madness in its purest form.
“...!!”
The instant she met that madness, the woman was dragged out of the nightmare and back into reality.
Cold sweat poured over her entire body, and her heart pounded as though it might burst.
“Haa... haa...”
Overwhelmed by the guilt that once again tightened around her heart and the relief that she had returned to reality, the woman ran trembling fingers over her face.
“Haah...”
As if praying that even a little of her sin might be wiped away with it.
The woman murmured in regret.
“If only... if only you had come one day earlier...”
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