Small Talk
Though it had been a clear slight, the kind that might easily have rankled, Im Cheongwol paid it no mind and walked straight up beside Seomun Hwi.
"I'm Cheongwol. Im Cheongwol."
She looked up at him with open, eager eyes, and only then could Seomun Hwi no longer ignore her.
"Seomun Hwi."
But as if that were the extent of the conversation, Seomun Hwi turned and disappeared beyond the thicket.
"..."
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking with her, Cheongwol could not hide her disappointment as she stared at the bushes where he had vanished.
It was the first time she had ever met someone her own age, and she had been so excited. Yet now that she had been rejected so coldly, an unfamiliar feeling welled up in her chest.
"Ahem. The young clan leader is something else."
As if understanding her mood, Mo Wonpyeong approached with an awkward cough and gently patted her shoulder.
"It seems the young clan leader is wary of you."
"Of me...? Why?"
Cheongwol tilted her head and asked, and Mo Wonpyeong gave her a brief explanation of Seomun Hwi.
"I'm no martial artist, so I don't know the details, but even I have heard enough to be sick of it: the young clan leader is an exceptional warrior. Even among the most outstanding younger talents, he's said to be one of the very best. That should tell you plenty."
"Really? Well, I did kind of think that."
"Hm?"
"He was putting out enough force to make my hands and feet tingle. Though not quite as much as Grandfather."
"...Was he?"
Mo Wonpyeong was briefly taken aback by a response that was nothing like he had expected, but he quickly steadied himself and went on.
"In any case, a martial artist like that would naturally take great pride in his skills. And since you approached him so quietly that even he didn't notice, it's only natural that he'd be cautious."
Even after Mo Wonpyeong's explanation, Cheongwol still wore a baffled expression.
That made him chuckle, and he pointed toward the thicket where Seomun Hwi had disappeared.
"In other words, the young clan leader finds it suspicious that a martial artist like you appeared out of nowhere. So why not go directly to him and clear up the misunderstanding?"
"What?"
"You look like you could use a wash. Conveniently, there's a stream in the direction the young clan leader went, so why don't you head that way? Surely the young clan leader won't draw his sword over it, will he?"
"No, wait just a—"
Cheongwol was thrown off by the sudden turn the conversation had taken, but Mo Wonpyeong seemed utterly unconcerned.
"If you have any spare clothes, bring them over!"
"Yes!"
As if they had been waiting for the chance, one of the members brought over an outfit. Mo Wonpyeong took it and held it out to Cheongwol.
"There. I won't charge you for the clothes, so off you go."
Looking out over the quiet water that held the moonlight in its depths, Seomun Hwi silently reviewed the mistakes he had made that day.
Someone approached me, and I didn't sense even the slightest presence. Had I grown so complacent that I didn't even realize it myself?
Frowning, Seomun Hwi recalled the moment he had first met Cheongwol.
He had released his aura with the intent to suppress her, yet he had been utterly baffled to see her walking toward him as though it were nothing at all.
If she had meant to do them harm, they might have been able to resist, but the outcome would surely have been disastrous.
...I might have lost my life today.
There was the clan's support—medicinal pills, spirit elixirs, and countless other things whose value could not be measured in silver.
There was the sword path he had carved out through blood, wielding his blade hundreds of thousands of times.
There was the martial strength he had built upon that foundation.
And now he realized that all of it could have crumbled in an instant, with humiliating ease. Only then did Seomun Hwi truly understand what the jianghu was.
—A duel and a real battle are different.
So that's what that meant.
He had heard those words endlessly since taking up the sword, but only now had he understood their true meaning, and a faint smile touched his lips.
It was almost absurd, really—the fact that even keeping one's pride in check could itself be a form of pride.
"Um..."
Just as Seomun Hwi stood by the water, gazing at the moon reflected there and turning inward, a voice called out from behind him.
Today alone, someone had already come up behind him twice, but this time Seomun Hwi turned without much reaction to look at the owner of the voice.
"I came to wash up."
The voice belonged to Cheongwol, who stood there awkwardly with the clothes Mo Wonpyeong had given her in her arms.
Seomun Hwi looked at her in silence for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"I understand."
Thinking that he meant for her to make room so he could bathe, Seomun Hwi turned to head back to the camp, but Cheongwol found herself grabbing the edge of his sleeve before she could think better of it.
"...?"
When Seomun Hwi looked at her, faintly startled, Cheongwol forced out an awkward smile.
"If it's all right with you, do you want to talk for a bit?"
Why had he answered so readily, All right?
Seomun Hwi looked at Cheongwol, who sat beside him with sparkling, eager eyes fixed on his face.
"They say the people who uphold righteousness and chivalry are called knights-errant. Do you know any?"
Only a moment ago she had been talking about Sichuan cuisine and Dongting Lake, and now she was suddenly asking about knights-errant.
With the topic changing so wildly, Seomun Hwi felt as if his head might spin right off.
"Hard to say. There are many who call themselves knights-errant, but very few who truly deserve the name."
"Very few? So there are some?"
"The Central Plains are vast, and extraordinary people are as numerous as grains of sand. There may be one or two. But among those I know, none."
At Seomun Hwi's answer, Cheongwol's disappointment was plain to see.
"...Is that so? Then Grandfather was right."
"What did he say?"
"He said it wouldn't be easy to find a knight-errant in the Central Plains."
"...He sounds like a wise man."
Seomun Hwi said that, then looked at Cheongwol, who had lowered her head and seemed to have lost some of her shine.
"Then, may I ask you a few things now?"
"Hm?"
"You've been asking only what you wanted to ask since earlier. I have plenty of questions too."
"Ah... I did? I think I did. Sorry about that."
Cheongwol laughed sheepishly, remembering how excited she'd been as she chattered at him without pause.
"No need to apologize. I wasn't bored."
Seomun Hwi slowly shook his head, then regarded her with a serious look.
"Did you come from Mount Tianshan?"
"Tianshan...?"
It had been a question he had prepared himself to ask, and Seomun Hwi's hand quietly moved toward the sword scabbard resting beside him.
If Cheongwol truly was a spy of the Demonic Cult, her reaction from here on would be obvious.
She would deny it and continue pretending not to know anything of the world.
Or she would assume she had already aroused suspicion and strike first.
Whatever she did, if she wavered even for an instant, she could not hide it from him, the young clan leader of the Seomun Clan.
And yet Cheongwol's answer left all that resolve feeling ridiculous.
"Um... um... maybe? No, I think it is. Tianshan."
Watching her eyes dart around as she smiled awkwardly, Seomun Hwi somehow felt embarrassed on her behalf and deliberately averted his gaze.
"It's all right if you don't know. You can just say so."
At those words, Cheongwol's ears turned red.
She had not wanted to keep looking foolish, so she had answered with a lie, but how had he seen through her so instantly?
Unable to bear the embarrassment, Cheongwol sprang to her feet. Seomun Hwi looked up at her, slightly startled.
Her face was flushed with shame so plain that anyone could see it, and only then did Seomun Hwi realize he had been thoughtless.
"Wait..."
He rose as well, trying to stop her, but Cheongwol was already heading for the stream with the clothes Mo Wonpyeong had given her in hand.
"..."
He knew he had made a mistake, but he did not think he had done anything so terrible.
And yet why did it feel as though he had committed some great offense?
Seomun Hwi kept recalling Cheongwol's face, red as if it might burst, and returned alone to the camp where Jin O Sangdan was waiting.
"There she comes."
At Mo Wonpyeong's words, Seomun Hwi turned his head and looked toward the rustling bushes.
A moment later, Cheongwol emerged from between the branches, now changed into fresh clothes.
"...?"
Seeing her, most of the group—including Seomun Hwi—stared in surprise.
Mo Wonpyeong, too, looked dazed for a moment before he came back to his senses and broke into a quiet laugh.
"You look like a completely different person once you've cleaned up."
The other members nodded in agreement and chimed in one after another.
"The fact that those clothes look expensive proves it's true: face really is everything."
"What if she's actually some precious scion of a noble house?"
"Even before washing up, she practically glowed with refinement. The fools who couldn't tell were blind as moles."
Cheongwol did not really understand what was going on, but with the members seeming to praise her, she gave an awkward smile.
Seomun Hwi was just as speechless as the others.
He had never considered himself lacking in appearance, but compared to Cheongwol, it was a matter of entirely different degree.
He was just starting to wonder if she truly was a man when their eyes met in midair.
"..."
But this time, Cheongwol was the one who hastily turned away and broke eye contact.
Seeing that, Mo Wonpyeong leaned lightly toward Seomun Hwi and asked, "Did something happen down by the stream?"
Seomun Hwi, feeling a strange emotion he had never known before, slowly shook his head.
"Nothing happened."