Thunder Out of a Clear Sky
In the early morning, with birdsong drifting through the air and the damp scent of earth in his nose, Hong Chilsong stepped out of his room.
His gait still swayed from drink, unsteady and crooked, but what of it?
Long ago, when a beggar surnamed Baek was said to have devised the Drunken Eight Immortals Step, it must have begun much the same way.
After staggering a few more steps with an occasional hiccup, he soon spotted Dang Gangjin waiting for him outside the door.
"I am Dang Gangjin, young clan leader of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Today, at last, I am able to greet you properly."
Even with the thick stink of alcohol rolling off him, the young man did not so much as blink before offering a respectful salute.
How strange. To think a man from that foul-tempered Tang Clan could raise such an impeccable son...
Hong Chilsong studied Dang Gangjin from head to toe, curiosity deepening.
"So you're Hong Chilsong. I couldn't make you out in the dark, but now that I see you in the light, you cut a fine figure."
Dang Gangjin lowered his head slightly and opened the door himself.
"You flatter me. Please come in. I shall have the servants bring out some food that will help with your hangover."
---
"There is one thing I can say for certain."
Hong Chilsong bit into a rather spicy chicken dish, tearing at it with his hand.
"Someone deliberately left Qingcheng Sect martial arts at the scene. Look at this."
He wiped the grease from his fingers on his clothes, then took out a split pebble from his robes and set it on the table.
"Isn't the cut far too clean? I was in too much of a hurry to examine it properly then, but looking at it again now, Qingcheng's technique was only being imitated."
Without adding any further explanation, Dang Gangjin nodded as though he already understood.
"In fact, after hearing your words, senior, I went to the scene myself. The sword traces were a chaotic mix—some clearly concealed on purpose, some rather crude, and some laid out so openly it was as if they wanted them seen."
Though the traces had been carelessly wiped away, had this young young clan leader of the Tang Clan truly recognized all of it?
Hong Chilsong swallowed his surprise at Dang Gangjin's extraordinary powers of observation.
"Exactly. The traces were likely from the black-clad men, the woman, and the later black-clad man who appeared alone after a long while. Put that way, I suppose we've learned almost nothing after all."
Just as Hong Chilsong reached for his wine cup in frustration, Dang Gangjin spoke words no one had expected.
"I don't know who those men were that tried to hide their identities, but Qingcheng was involved in this matter."
A dangerous certainty that could, if mishandled, lead to a major conflict.
When Hong Chilsong stared at him in shock, Dang Gangjin put another piece of meat into his mouth and went on.
"There are those who said they encountered other black-clad men at that tavern not long ago. Not only were they in sloppy disguise, they even used Qingcheng martial arts."
Why did the food taste so bitter today?
"More precisely, they probably had no intention of hiding it. Though it was their own territory, they still tried to harm a man of the Tang Clan."
"...Young man."
"Whether the black-clad men Qingcheng sent and the ones you saw were the same people no longer matters, senior. What matters is that they were connected to this matter in one way or another."
Looking at Dang Gangjin's calm expression, Hong Chilsong realized he had made a grave mistake.
Beneath that indifferent face lay a mind that never forgot a grudge.
The man before him, Dang Gangjin, was every inch the son of his father, Dang Hyeongeuk.
"I'm not saying we should demand punishment from them this very instant. But Qingcheng, and those who harmed the Tang Clan's men, will both pay their dues someday."
Dang Gangjin, who rarely touched alcohol in ordinary times, naturally lifted his cup today.
Yama's Needle.
The hidden weapon that would one day be returned to those who had wronged the Tang Clan.
Praying that that hidden blade would never be turned toward Qingcheng, Hong Chilsong silently picked up the leftover meat.
For a while, only the clatter of chopsticks and the sound of chewing echoed through the room.
Then, for reasons Hong Chilsong himself did not seem to understand, he suddenly blurted something out.
"Come to think of it, I ran into an old acquaintance in the inner hall. I never imagined I'd be made to realize the saying that the world is vast, but the Jianghu is small, in a place like this."
There was someone in the Tang Clan's inner hall whom he knew from the Beggar Sect?
When Dang Gangjin looked at him closely, Hong Chilsong broke into a grin.
"It was a child I'd once helped arrange an engagement for myself. A child named Cheongwol."
---
Since the day Dang Sohye dragged him away, Seomun Hwi had found himself unable to see Cheongwol's face.
"Cheongwol is out of her room early this morning."
Ak Seo-ah leaned against the doorway with a face that still looked half-asleep as she answered.
"Did she say where she was going...?"
He asked anyway, but the answer that came back was the same as he expected.
"I don't know."
It was obviously a lie, but he could hardly seize her by the shoulders and shake the truth out of her.
Seomun Hwi let out a short sigh and looked past her toward Cheongwol's bedchamber.
"If Cheongwol returns, could you tell her that I was looking for her?"
There was such earnestness in his request that even Ak Seo-ah could only nod reluctantly.
"I will. If she returns before I fall asleep."
"...Thank you."
Watching Seomun Hwi trudge away with his shoulders slumped, Ak Seo-ah clicked her tongue inwardly.
It would be easier if they simply admitted they loved each other.
But because they refused to do even that, they ended up looking like this.
Then again, she could hardly blame only him, because Cheongwol was being just as foolish.
...It's not as if it's possible for me to feel anything romantic toward Hwi in the first place.
Did he truly not realize how clearly longing was dripping from his own eyes?
Though she herself was in love, she had never once failed to feel frustrated with Dang Gangjin.
And now there were two more people around her exactly like that.
Worse yet, both of them were in love with each other.
If that's not fate, I don't know what is.
Carefully closing the door, Ak Seo-ah walked back toward her own bed.
"..."
On the bed, the one Seomun Hwi had so desperately wanted to see was already sleeping, breathing softly in her dreams.
Cheongwol had solved a long-standing problem, and Ak Seo-ah wanted to help however she could in return.
She lightly brushed the girl’s smooth cheek with the back of her hand, her expression full of pity.
If they keep holding back like this, it'll make them sick. Neither of them has any sense when it comes to this sort of thing...
---
By the third day of still not seeing Cheongwol, a sigh rose from the depths of his chest.
"Haa..."
They were in the same place, so why did she feel so impossibly far away?
Even over the past two years, when he had received no reply at all, he had still been certain that he would one day meet Cheongwol again.
And yet now, the moment he opened his eyes, he found himself worrying she might have slipped out of the Tang Clan during the night.
...I'm not normal either, am I.
Seomun Hwi gave a self-mocking laugh.
Once again, he was making excuses—telling himself he was worried about a friend—just so he could find a reason to be near her.
If he truly regarded Cheongwol as an ordinary friend, then being apart for a few days should not have bothered him at all.
But the image of Cheongwol wearing the clothes Mo Wonpyeong, the merchant caravan leader, had gifted her, smiling so beautifully, kept intruding on his thoughts until his head ached.
Cheongwol was suffering, trapped in a woman's body while still carrying a man's mind.
And yet instead of helping her as a friend, he was allowing himself these shameful desires.
Just as he was desperately trying to steady his heart and rubbing his face with one hand, Dang Sohye's voice drifted over from not far away.
She was chatting and laughing with the people beside her. The one walking on her left was Dang Gangjin, and the one on her right, by the look of his clothing, seemed to be a Beggar Sect elder.
What were they talking about to look so cheerful?
The question barely had time to arise before Dang Sohye spotted Seomun Hwi and came toward him.
"Young Master Seomun. I was just on my way to find you. Ah, this is an elder from the Beggar Sect."
At her introduction, Seomun Hwi quickly brought his hands together and saluted.
"I am Seomun Hwi, young clan leader of the Seomun Clan. I greet you, senior of the Beggar Sect."
"...The Law Enforcer of the Beggar Sect. Hong Chilsong, they call me."
Hong Chilsong's expression, which had only moments ago been smiling, stiffened ever so slightly.
So it's him. The fellow who's making that child suffer so much.
When he first heard the name Seomun Hwi from Cheongwol, even Hong Chilsong had been taken aback.
He had been told the man had a fiancee, and yet it turned out to be the young clan leader of the Seomun Clan, a house exchanging marriage talks with a daughter of the Tang Clan.
More than that, how had Cheongwol from Qinghai even come to know a man in Anhui like him?
One wrong step, and this could become something that would humiliate not only Cheongwol but also the Seomun Clan and the Tang Clan alike.
But once one was a beggar of the Beggar Sect, one could not speak out of both sides of his mouth.
...Maybe it isn't a bad thing to make my mind up now, once and for all.
Thinking of Cheongwol, Hong Chilsong swallowed the bitter aftertaste rising in his throat.
She was indeed beautiful enough to turn heads anywhere in all of the Central Plains, but since this involved the alliances of two great houses, there was no room for mere private affection.
He had once proposed bringing the pair together; now it looked more like that proposal would be the very thing to end whatever remained between them.
As Hong Chilsong frowned in guilt, Seomun Hwi, too, seemed lost, swallowing a dry lump in his throat.
At that moment, Dang Gangjin, who had only been watching from the side, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Young Master Seomun, I think I may owe you an apology for a misunderstanding I had some time ago."
"...?"
Seomun Hwi looked at him in confusion, and a faint smile spread across Dang Gangjin's lips.
"It's embarrassing to say it now, but I was certain you were in love with Cheongwol. You should have told her she already had a fiancee. If you had, I wouldn't have made such a ridiculous mistake."