Betrayal
The first winter she had ever faced alone, without her grandfather by her side.
The cold that came to the Kongdong Sect that year was especially brutal.
"Haa..."
The chill seeped all the way to her bones. Cheongwol rubbed her pale hands together and breathed warm air into them, but it scarcely helped.
The snow had begun falling at dawn and was already piled up to her ankles, yet, as on any other day, she still had to train beneath the waterfall.
For some reason, her lot in life felt especially wretched today.
Perhaps that was why, not even half an hour after she had started, Cheongwol stepped out from under the waterfall.
Then, without even bothering to slick back the water dripping from her hair, she sank down onto the ground.
"Grandfather, since it’s the first snow, can’t I rest today?"
Her softened heart, as if it had been waiting for the chance, dragged her back into the past.
Her grandfather, who had always been cruelly strict with her.
Especially after training under him and lying down to sleep, she would close her eyes wishing the next day would never come.
And she had been only five or six years old.
And yet, what was this?
The question she had uttered in a fit of useless rebellion came back with an answer she had never expected.
"Very well, then."
Cheongwol blinked in disbelief and asked again.
"...Really?"
With a gentle face she had never seen before, her grandfather smiled and patted his grandchild’s head.
"Of course. Since we’re on the subject, let’s rest for about half a month and do nothing but circulate our qi and eat."
Not half a day, not even a single day—he was saying she could go a full half month without training.
"Grandfather!"
Unable to contain her joy, Cheongwol practically flew into his arms.
"You’ll throw out my back, you little brat."
He said that, but his face, too, was brighter than ever as he held her close.
Looking back, those had been truly happy days, and that was why they were all the more precious now.
Because she could never go back to them again.
- plip
A droplet slid from the ends of her hair and struck the icy floor.
One drop, two drops, three.
As the floor darkened with moisture, Cheongwol’s face grew darker still, until—
"Tsk tsk. I wondered what you were doing instead of training, but you’ve just been sitting here looking miserable?"
So Gayul clicked her tongue as she approached her.
She had probably been watching Cheongwol from somewhere nearby.
"..."
So Gayul stopped at her feet, but Cheongwol still gave no reply.
"What are you doing? Hurry and use your inner energy to dry yourself off. Do you want to catch a cold?"
At So Gayul’s reprimand, Cheongwol flinched despite herself.
If she kept acting however she pleased, she might really be scolded hard this time.
"...All right."
At last, Cheongwol answered reluctantly and nodded slowly.
What else could she do?
She was the one who had asked to be taken in as a disciple so she could avenge her family.
But before Cheongwol could even gather her inner energy, something was draped over her head.
"Wipe off the water first."
Startled, she reached up and felt a soft piece of cloth that looked fairly expensive.
"I was thinking of having a set of clothes made from it for you, but it seems that’s not happening after all."
So Gayul chuckled and moved her hands, carefully drying the water left in Cheongwol’s hair.
"You little fool, if you didn’t want to do it, you should’ve said so. Why are you sitting alone in a place like this and crying? To anyone looking, it would seem as if I’m tormenting my disciple."
Now that she had been caught crying, Cheongwol’s cheeks turned faintly red.
"I wasn’t crying."
"Oh? Then I suppose I was mistaken."
At So Gayul’s laugh, Cheongwol grew even more embarrassed and dropped her gaze.
There was already a shade of yin inside her body stronger than any ordinary woman’s, but perhaps a man was still a man.
So Gayul felt a trace of pity for Cheongwol and withdrew her hands, which had been moving busily a moment before.
"There, that should do it. Let’s go. Unhak has prepared the meal and has been waiting for you."
Cheongwol’s eyes filled with curiosity.
"Unhak Daoist?"
"That boy once dreamed of being the cook at an inn. His food is quite good, so you can look forward to it."
Unhak, who looked like a bear, cooking personally?
She couldn’t quite imagine it, but somehow, it felt strangely fitting.
"Unhak Daoist is surprisingly good at everything, isn’t he? His martial skill is impressive too."
As if she had never cried at all, Cheongwol’s face brightened as she trailed after So Gayul.
"There’s a reason he’s trusted so much, even though he’s the youngest among the second-generation disciples. If he had been born into the third generation instead of the second, he might have become sect leader someday."
It was almost an extravagant compliment, but Cheongwol didn’t bother denying it.
After all, if there was anyone who ought to lead a sect, it was someone who carried the same gentle yet hard-to-approach aura as Unhak.
Of course, So Gayul was different from him.
"But why was Unhak Daoist the one preparing the meal?"
At Cheongwol’s question, So Gayul shrugged.
"Apparently, on the first snow, one should always eat with family. He said it was that way even before he entered the sect, so what could I do? It isn’t a difficult thing. We ought to indulge him."
Though she said it so casually, Cheongwol came to a sudden stop.
Family.
After her only blood relative, her grandfather, had died, she had thought she would never hear that word again.
Her chest ached faintly, and her eyes burned hot.
Because So Gayul had already guessed a little of what she was feeling, she deliberately did not turn back and only urged her on.
"Quit dawdling and come quickly! If the food gets cold, I’ll say it was your fault for dragging your feet."
Cheongwol bit her lower lip lightly, then lifted the corners of her mouth and kicked off the ground with all her strength.
"That’s not fair! Come on, let’s go together, Master!"
---
---
The memories she had shared with So Gayul, who was almost like a grandmother to her, began to churn through her mind.
She did not know what had been written in the will her grandfather left behind, but why had So Gayul said the Tang family jade pendant was her mother’s keepsake?
- See? Didn’t I tell you your master was suspicious?
- She wanted you to go to the Tang family and die by that brat’s hand. Otherwise, why would she have deceived you and given you the jade pendant under false pretenses?
- I don’t know exactly what happened, but one thing is certain. Your master intended to use you from the very beginning.
As her breathing grew ragged, the hallucination came again, just as it always had, whispering at the edge of her hearing.
Normally, she would have driven it off with inner energy, but this time she couldn’t.
"Master. Was it really like that? Why...?"
Her doubts swelled uncontrollably, and before long they began to collapse her heart from its very foundation.
The person she had considered family had betrayed her and used her.
"No, that can’t be..."
As Cheongwol clutched at her own hair and started speaking to the hallucination, Dang Hyeongeuk sprang to his feet and hurried over to her side.
Inner demons took root in the smallest of openings.
He placed his left hand on Cheongwol’s back and sent inner energy flowing into her acupuncture points.
"Calm yourself."
At once, the warm sensation spreading through her meridians began to drive the trembling from her body.
"Are you all right?"
Her breathing was still a little rough, but Cheongwol bit her cheek and nodded.
"...Yes. Thank you."
After patting her back a few more times, Dang Hyeongeuk did not return to his seat. Instead, he sat down beside her.
"Hah..."
Once Cheongwol seemed to have fully settled, Dang Hyeongeuk gave a faint smile and pointed at the jade pendant.
"You asked who the owner of this pendant was, didn’t you?"
Her mind, which had been tangled with thoughts of So Gayul, calmed with surprising speed.
The person whom her grandfather had wronged, the person who had once meant enough to Dang Hyeongeuk that he would give away the jade pendant.
Because she wanted to apologize, even if belatedly, Cheongwol nodded slowly.
Dang Hyeongeuk’s gaze turned distant as he brushed his fingers over the pendant, then he spoke with difficulty.
"The owner of this pendant was my younger sister. She was also the lady of the Namgung Clan estate."
Cheongwol’s expression twisted.
What Dang Hyeongeuk was saying meant that she, too, was an enemy of the Namgung Clan.
She had come to the martial world seeking revenge, only to find that she had already become a sworn enemy of two great clans.
Grandfather.
Did you really do that?
Choked by guilt and unable to say anything, Cheongwol remained silent as Dang Hyeongeuk reached out and took her hand.
"And she was also the mother of a child."
"..."
At last, a sharp crack seemed to split something deep inside Cheongwol’s heart.
If that child was still alive, then surely they would want vengeance for their mother.
When the blade she had once aimed at someone else was turned back toward her own throat, a heaviness filled her chest.
If she truly began to avenge the Im family in earnest, just how much more hatred would she have to bear in the days ahead?
Fear of a kind she had never felt in her life before began to consume her body.
Blood retribution.
She had once had the chance to cut it off, but she had instead tied it back together; now she would have no choice but to let herself be carried along by that current.
When Cheongwol still said nothing, Dang Hyeongeuk watched her for a moment to make sure she was all right, then let out a short sigh.
"But there is still something I haven’t told you."
"...Yes?"
Cheongwol, recovering her senses, looked at him, and he continued with a keen expression.
"I mean the person who gave you this jade pendant. You said it wasn’t received directly from your grandfather, didn’t you?"
Dang Hyeongeuk placed the pendant back in Cheongwol’s hand and asked,
"Who was it that told you this pendant belonged to someone precious to you and handed it over? If you are willing, tell me exactly how this happened."
Cheongwol hesitated, staring down at the pendant for a moment, then began to speak.
At the very least, Dang Hyeongeuk and Namgung Cheon were entitled to know the whole truth about the pendant.
"After my grandfather died, I found a hidden letter. It said to deliver his keepsake to the sect leader of the Kongdong Sect."
"The sect leader?"
When such an unexpected thing came out of Cheongwol’s mouth, Dang Hyeongeuk unconsciously furrowed his brow.
"Yes. More precisely, it said to give it to someone named So Gayul, not to the Kongdong Sect leader."
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