The Disciple at Fifteen
The girl was now fifteen. The martial robes that had seemed so oversized just two years ago now fit her perfectly. She was growing up frighteningly fast.
"Hey, ajusshi, that young master from the Weiji Family was throwing a tantrum, saying everyone has to donate or join the Demon Extermination Corps now that it's formed. So I said no way, and suddenly he swings his fist at me..."
A memory from the past suddenly resurfaced. Whenever Cheon Yomyeong visited the secret chamber, he would unfailingly chatter on about trivial, gossipy matters. The taste of his morning meal, some family member's wedding, insights gained while training his martial arts... But one topic alone always made him fall silent.
So I had asked him.
"You never speak of your child's affairs, do you? Something must be rotting in your heart."
"How could that be? He's the son of none other than Cheon Yomyeong himself. A child is surely the most precious thing in the world..."
"Why do you trail off like that? Too ashamed to spin your lies to the end?"
I had smiled in satisfaction, expecting him to rage. But he didn't. He neither flew into a frenzy nor calmly denied it. He simply stared at me, his eyes brimming with that tiresome, nauseating pity, sympathy, and guilt.
"Ajusshi?"
A clear voice pierced through the recollection.
"......"
I tried to erase the expression Cheon Yomyeong had worn back then—the face of a man in his forties, twisted in agonizing torment, as if he couldn't fathom what monstrous deed I had committed.
"...What right do I have to speak to you of my child?"
I hadn't understood the meaning of those words at the time. I thought I never would in my lifetime. Why that man had made such a face...
"Ajusshi!"
"What is it?"
"I was just about to tell you how I shone today for once, and you're spacing out?"
Cheon Sohyang planted her dainty hands on her hips and pouted. Her aggrieved expression made her look just like a little chick.
"What's so great about that? Chasing empty fame at your young age will hinder true greatness."
"It's great because it's great, hmph. I gave a lesson to that guy who's always been picking on us."
"Did you draw your sword recklessly?"
"Absolutely not! He was causing a scene about the Demon Extermination Corps or whatever, so I challenged him to a spar and beat him silly!"
"I don't recall teaching you fist techniques of that caliber..."
I hadn't taught the girl any advanced fist methods. My own proficiency in them wasn't exceptional, and her talent was too precious to split across disciplines.
Yet she had beaten him soundly? The girl tilted her head quizzically.
"You taught me the Six Harmonies Fist, didn't you?"
"...You challenged the young master of that family to a spar and defeated him using only the Six Harmonies Fist?"
"Yep."
I sighed. There's a saying about a nail in a bag—it'll poke out no matter how you try to contain it. The girl's talent couldn't be hidden, even if her family had fallen.
And in a place like Seongdo, where rumors spread like wildfire, what then?
"That young master you beat is probably grinding his teeth in fury right now."
"Why? Losing in a fight happens sometimes, right?"
"Those people don't act without thought."
They never moved without pretext. It had likely been a show of force to bolster their family's prestige, backed by intricate schemes. They might have used the Demon Extermination Corps as an excuse to seize interests, gathering the younger generation from mid-tier families to control them easily. Or perhaps something even more sinister was at play.
But regardless, if word got out that the young master had been thoroughly thrashed by this little girl using the Six Harmonies Fist...
"It must have bruised his pride badly."
"Hmm... I didn't mean to go that far. Should I challenge him again and throw the match on purpose?"
"Your nature is viciously shrewd by birth. Now you plan to heap the humiliation of a deliberate loss on him too?"
"Agh, I don't know what to do then! You're the only one who's ever taught me about being the family head, ajusshi!"
"Just leave it be."
Families have their hierarchies. He wasn't from a completely ruined house, judging by the "young master" title, but bullying at their gate was no behavior for a prestigious clan. Probably some upstart nouveau riche with good fortune.
"You should worry less about such parvenus stealing your heart. You have enough to do tending your own house—why fret over them?"
"If they're that mad... won't they pull some dirty trick...?"
"Ignore the antics of the lowly. They're all the same. What you truly fear is the hypocrisy of those so-called prestigious great sects."
I decided to use this as a chance to warn the girl.
"The refined ones don't strike first with fists. They'll place you on their chessboard instead—not a game, but one played with real lives, land, and wealth. They'll slowly strip away what you cherish, one by one, until your house is cornered and forced into checkmate. That's their way."
This was what had happened to me, to my father. Why had I been away from home on the final day? Why couldn't I die alongside my parents and wife?
"Wh-what are they after, going that far?"
"Your people."
By then, everyone in the family had already turned their backs. Enticed by gambling, cowed by threats, seduced by sweet words and gold. Once it reached that point, no one could help—and none dared.
"A family is made of people. Remember that: without them, a house is nothing."
"Th-then what do I do..."
Oh, had I been too harsh? The girl's face was pale with fear. I softened my tone to admonish her.
"Don't worry too much. As I said, the lowly's schemes are all predictable."
"S-so... it's okay not to join that Demon Extermination Corps thing...?"
"No issue. Did that young master say he was joining?"
"No..."
"If it were so great, why would he push it on others instead of going himself? In the murim world, rallying people rarely ends well, and chasing such hollow glory young leads to an early grave."
I considered citing examples but realized they were all from my own life, so I held back. Instead, I offered her different words.
"It's fine. Be bolder. No matter your age, you're the family head. A head doesn't cower—they bear responsibility."
"...Yes!"
At last, her spirits lifted; her eyes sparkled clear again.
"We only have Uncle Jang and Uncle Park as retainers, but hehe."
She beamed, delighted by who knows what. The sight irked me enough to add,
"Still, a head is a head. Don't forget it."
"Yes!"
The chains' seal now had only its final barrier left. The meals the girl brought supplied ample innate true energy, and less than four years remained. And then, strange things began to happen.
"Uncle Jang's been going to the brothels more often than usual."
"Gambling dens pop up after the autumn harvest—it's common."
"He never did that kind of thing before, so..."
The man managing their fields was frequenting brothels, it seemed. At this season, farmers often gathered for gambling, so I dismissed it.
"Uncle Park's fallen ill. He needs to recover soon."
"That's serious. There's been talk of plague lately. You should be careful too."
"Winter's coming, and all these bad things piling up scare me."
Misfortunes often cluster in life. I tried viewing it from her perspective but stopped, revolted at myself for fretting over a descendant of the Cheon family.
And that winter came.
"The food tastes different. Is there trouble at home?"
"......"
The girl's mother hadn't endured six years of illness. Just before year's end, she breathed her last. Per her final words, her body was cremated at a nearby temple. Now, the sole blood kin left in the Cheon Family Manor was the girl alone.
I slowly ground away at the chains' seal, forcing my mind elsewhere.
The girl brought meals to my prison every day without fail. The household's decline meant more grains mixed in, but she never skipped. She didn't neglect her martial training either. Cheon Yomyeong's talent shone again in his descendant; despite her late start, she had become a proper 1st Rate expert.
"Your studies are at a level that won't shame your house. You'll go anywhere without scorn."
"Our family was never scorned, ajusshi. The man who came to see me said so too."
"Who came to meet you?"
The girl looked brighter than in ages, less gaunt after winter's toll.
"The young master from the Weiji Family—the one I taught a lesson last year—came to apologize."
"...The one who bullied you? He didn't seem the type."
"Why judge without seeing? This time he only praised our family."
"I told you, didn't I? Your ancestors made quite a name."
The Cheon family wouldn't crumble overnight. Many heads before her generation had faded into obscurity, but people still remembered them.
"He said we wouldn't have declined like this if not for the Demonic Cult."
"If it's about your family and the Demonic Cult, I have my suspicions..."
Cheon Yomyeong, you again. The aftertaste was bitter. In a way, I'd lost the revenge race to the Demonic Cult—a galling defeat for a central plains warrior like me.
"Mm... who knows what happened. Oh, and he asked again if you really won't join the Demon Extermination Corps."
"Persistent bastard. You refused, right?"
"Of course! Who'd tend the cows if I left?"
"Good. But why bring it up again just to apologize..."
An apology visit mentioning the Demon Extermination Corps again. Wait. Was this even an apology?
Why had I only now noticed things turning strange?
"The Cheon Family was once known throughout the murim, but to fall like this in the head's generation... how lamentable."
"Still no thought of joining the Demon Extermination Corps?"
"If even this young lady musters the courage, all will praise your righteousness..."
Tsk. Coming in person to feign praise while insulting, dredging up the past to prod, then stating demands. It was the final ultimatum after all the dirty work was done.
"Ajusshi? Why the sudden change?"
"That whelp... What exactly did the Weiji Family young master say? What's the Demon Extermination Corps after, clinging to you like this?"
"Gathering young murim talents from mid-tier sects to fight the Demonic Cult... something like that?"
"Yes. That's it."
A new armed force from the Alliance. A pretext uniting prestigious sects. The massive game that would follow. Tributes, interests, prestige... Reshaping the board needed a plausible cause. Something emotional enough to rally the entire murim.
Like righteous young murim warriors... nobly perishing at the vile Demonic Cult's hands. Perfect, no?
I gnashed my teeth. Those filthy lot wouldn't offer their own children, of course.
"Ajusshi...?"
Cheon Sohyang gazed up at me cautiously. The last descendant of a righteous prestigious family, brought low by the Demonic Cult.