Dang Garyeong
Namgung Clan, once the unchallenged ruler of Anhui and one of the Six Great Clans.
Though it was now said to share Anhui with the Seomun Clan, that was only a convenient way of speaking, meant to preserve the Seomun Clan’s dignity.
Most martial artists knew there was a wall between the two clans far greater than anything the eye could see.
So what, then, was that wall built upon?
Some said it was the breadth of their business holdings, others the disparity in their martial arts. But none of those were the true answer.
Namgung Cheon, the head of the Namgung Clan.
Just that one name was a wall the Seomun Clan could not easily climb.
A martial genius little different from a body blessed by heaven itself.
A swordsman whose name had to be mentioned alongside Yu Baekheon whenever one spoke of the title Sword Emperor.
A man who, had tragedy not struck the Namgung Clan more than twenty years ago, would surely have set his sights on becoming the strongest man under heaven.
That man now sat before Dang Hyeongeuk, head of the Tang Clan.
"You must have had a hard journey, coming so far."
Namgung Cheon lowered his head slightly as he refilled Dang Hyeongeuk’s cup with tea, thin steam rising from it.
It was nothing more than pouring tea, yet there was a restrained elegance in every measured movement.
"There was no hardship. Thanks to the Clan Leader sending the Azure Heaven Unit, I arrived in comfort."
Dang Hyeongeuk also lowered his head in return.
For the leaders of two great clans, the greeting was unusually humble.
"It was the least I could do for my elder brother."
At Namgung Cheon’s words, a faint smile touched Dang Hyeongeuk’s lips.
"I wasn’t sure I’d still hear the Namgung Clan Leader call me that."
"It wouldn’t be proper in an official setting, but in private, I should call you as I ought. It would be best if you spoke more comfortably as well. Otherwise, Garyeong will surely be upset."
Dang Garyeong.
His younger sister, the child cherished by all of Sichuan.
As the image of her eyes curving prettily with her smile came to him, Dang Hyeongeuk closed his eyes.
"...Yes. You’re right. If it were Garyeong, she would indeed do that."
The two men fell silent for a time.
Instead, they drank the tea she had once loved and tried to gather up the past that had already slipped away.
No matter how hard one tried to hold on, the memories only scattered between the fingers.
To one man, she had been a precious younger sister so dear that he would have given his eyes for her.
To the other, she had been the woman he loved enough to give his life for.
In that way, one woman remained in the hearts of two men as a deep scar.
After a while, when the bottom of the cup came into view, Dang Hyeongeuk spoke first, carefully.
"I came here on clan business, but there’s something I have to say."
He knew the other man would not want to hear it, but he had to say it anyway.
A living person could not spend forever clutching the departed in his arms.
"You should let go and send her off now. This is more than enough respect. It’s no kind thing to your new wife or your young clan leader either."
But Namgung Cheon merely refilled the empty cup again.
"...When I close my eyes, her face still appears before me with perfect clarity. Even when I try to sleep, I wake at the sound of someone calling my name."
His face was layered with longing and regret as he gave a bitter smile.
"I would almost rather she cursed me, but she only kept telling me to protect our child."
At the mention of the child, Dang Hyeongeuk’s expression hardened.
"I’d be glad too if the child were still alive. But too many years have already passed, haven’t they? If that bastard had kept the child alive, then surely by now..."
Dang Hyeongeuk could not bring himself to finish.
Namgung Cheon’s reaction had been far too calm.
He probably knew as well that the child was most likely already gone from this world.
And yet, until one had confirmed it with their own eyes, how could a parent bury a child in their heart?
If the roles were reversed and he were in Namgung Cheon’s place, he too would never have given up searching.
Once again, silence settled heavily between them.
Perhaps it would have been better never to ask at all. Why, then, had he opened the gates and come here now?
He knew relations with the Seomun Clan were strained, but surely Namgung Cheon was not thinking of siding with the Alliance Leader.
He had come to the Namgung Clan to ask about all of that, but today was plainly not the time.
Just as he was thinking of rising from his seat, a Namgung Clan martial artist’s voice came from beyond the door.
"Clan Leader, a letter has arrived for Clan Leader Dang from the Tang Clan. One tied with a red knot, and one with a blue knot."
"Bring them in."
At the permission, the Namgung Clan martial artist entered and placed the letters on the table before withdrawing.
A red knot meant information that needed to be known at once.
A blue knot meant something of lower priority, but still worth checking.
Since the Namgung Clan used a similar system, Namgung Cheon immediately understood that something had happened in the Tang Clan.
Dang Hyeongeuk untied the letter marked with red first and read it, but strangely, his face remained perfectly calm.
Even so, while one could conceal expression, one could not hide the emotion in one’s eyes completely.
Setting the letter down, he loosened the blue knot next with eyes darkened by a faint, simmering anger.
Not long after, Dang Hyeongeuk sprang up from his seat.
His eyes were wide enough to split open, his hands shaking violently.
What could possibly be written in the letter tied with a blue knot to provoke such a reaction from a martial artist of his caliber?
Curious, Namgung Cheon glanced over, and their eyes met in midair.
By then, Dang Hyeongeuk looked as though the dead themselves had risen and stood before him.
"Is it truly such an urgent matter?"
At Namgung Cheon’s question, Dang Hyeongeuk nodded slowly.
"I must return immediately. You’re coming with me."
---
After a simple breakfast, Im Cheongwol was enjoying some rare quiet repose on his bed.
It was because Ak Seo-ah, who usually chattered incessantly at his side, had gone off to meet with the Tang Clan’s young clan leader.
Cheongwol found her adorable, of course, but even so, there had to be days like this.
He was just smiling to himself and thinking of going back to sleep when Seomun Hwi opened the door and strode in without asking permission.
"Cheongwol, get up and get ready. There’s somewhere I need to take you."
It was the same with Ak Seo-ah, and the same with Seomun Hwi.
Why were the friends around him all so determined to prevent him from resting?
And on top of that, they were just announcing it at him, not even bothering to ask?
Annoyed, Cheongwol glared at Seomun Hwi for a moment before turning his head away with a huff.
"I’m busy today. If you want to go somewhere, go by yourself."
Seomun Hwi gave a faint snort and came to sit beside the reclining Cheongwol.
"Tell me what you’re busy with. To my eyes, it looks like nothing more than lazing around."
"That’s the difference between a master and a lesser man. Rest well, eat well, train hard. Isn’t it true that only by sticking to the basics does one grow strong?"
Cheongwol spoke shamelessly with a perfectly serious expression, and Seomun Hwi’s hand slid through his black hair, smooth as silk.
"By your logic, it would be harder to find someone in the Central Plains who isn’t a master."
Every time Seomun Hwi brushed his hair like that, Cheongwol felt something strange.
...Did he somehow forget I’m a man?
However much his body had become that of a woman, what did that make this, between two men?
Still, each time Seomun Hwi’s gentle hand moved from crown to nape, Cheongwol could not honestly say it felt bad.
No, if he were pressed to it, he would have to admit it felt nice.
Warmth and drowsiness began to wash over him, and just as his eyes were about to close, Seomun Hwi’s voice drifted by his ear.
"Don’t fall asleep. Didn’t I say there was somewhere we were going together?"
If only he had a little longer, he might have drifted off very pleasantly.
In the end, Cheongwol let out a small sigh and sat up.
Then he tapped Seomun Hwi’s chest with one finger and frowned slightly.
"Looks like you’re pretty used to climbing into a woman’s bed when she’s alone, huh?"
It was a light jab meant to tease him for interrupting his rest and ruining his nap, but Seomun Hwi’s expression turned serious as he looked at Cheongwol.
"I’ve never cherished another woman."
Well, with a face like that and the Seomun Clan behind him, if he’d been fond of women there would have been a line of beauties waiting for him.
"Really? You were so natural about patting my hair that I thought you must be."
When Cheongwol teased him again, Seomun Hwi looked faintly flustered and lowered his head.
"That was an impulsive act. If it offended you..."
Cheongwol absently wound a strand of his disheveled hair around his finger.
"...It didn’t."
With him reacting like this, Cheongwol suddenly felt self-conscious and no longer knew where to put his eyes.
"But... is it true you’ve never met a woman?"
Why was he suddenly asking something like that?
Before he could even find the answer, Seomun Hwi replied first.
"I’ve never been this close to a woman before, nor spoken this much with one. Aside from my family, Seol, everything about you is my first."
---