Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Audience
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"Huh?"
Hwangbo Yun blinked her large eyes.
Comfortable.
Of course it was.
She was lying spread-eagled on the ground, her entire body pressed against the earth.
"Did I lose?"
Me?
The next head of the Hwangbo family, bearer of the Heavenly King Body, Hwangbo Yun?
Lying right there, Hwangbo Yun used the Hwangbo family's secret eye technique, Benevolent Insight, to check on Wi Sowol.
The girl was sitting casually on a rock.
Not even out of breath, no sign of fatigue.
'I got completely played.'
A total defeat.
And Wi Sowol hadn't even drawn her sword.
The Hwangbo family's martial arts centered on fist and leg techniques.
Meanwhile, Wi Sowol had a sword at her side but hadn't touched it.
A bare-handed fighter losing to a swordsman in fisticuffs.
'No excuses.'
This is the jianghu.
How narrow was that cage called the Hwangbo family?
Was I bragging that I was the best in such a tiny well?
"Haha…!"
Refreshing.
So damn refreshing.
Her stuffy, bound heart was finally freed upon meeting the vast world.
"Sowol! How did you do that move just now? My Thunderclap Divine Fist seemed faster!"
Hwangbo Yun shouted, using the Iron Plate Bridge technique in reverse to lift her upper body without rebound.
Wi Sowol tossed out her usual curt phrase.
"Thought without action."
A thought devoid of application.
Having lived in the temple for just half a year, she spouted Zen-like answers like a lifelong monk—it was utterly absurd.
But there was no helping it.
Interacting with others was still uncharted territory for Wi Sowol.
Though she had built bonds with Bang Elder, Deung Hwa, the Weird Physician, Jang Rok, Seon Ye, and others, other people remained something hard to empathize with.
Especially if they were kids like Hwangbo Yun.
So she threw out a vague answer, hoping it'd keep her pondering and sweating for a while, but the correct response popped out unexpectedly.
"The Treasure Samadhi Scripture of the Limitless?"
"Huh?"
"Right? One who realizes thought without action can decisively cut through all great thoughts."
Wi Sowol blinked in surprise at Hwangbo Yun reciting the exact passage she'd quoted.
"You know it?"
"...? Of course?"
"Why?"
"Why? Because my family are Buddhists."
As Wi Sowol fell silent at the clear answer,
Hwangbo Yun pondered deeply on her own, stroking her chin, then nodded as if understanding.
"Ah... I see. My thoughts were too rigid on each individual technique. I couldn't see the whole fight, got caught up in single moves, and lost the flow. To decisively cut through with great thoughts, each technique must move with thought without action? It's like the no-mind, no-form state."
"...Your intent was too thick, so your moves were predictable. No real combat experience, just sparring."
"I see!"
Yes.
This was what she wanted.
'This is it!'
This kind of stimulation.
The vastness of the jianghu, the depths of martial arts.
How narrow and shallow was that Hwangbo family well!
Losing even to a 15-year-old kid using some nameless art—what Heavenly King's genius or prodigy was that!
'The world is so vast!'
Even a girl met by chance on the roadside had this kind of talent.
How many more amazing people must fill the world!
Hwangbo Yun laughed freely, relieved and joyful despite the clean defeat.
As she reviewed the exchange with animated hand gestures, interspersed with gasps of realization.
"Thanks. That was a huge enlightenment. Ah... does that count as two now?"
"Forget it. I didn't teach you anything."
Wi Sowol had deliberately tested Hwangbo Yun.
She felt some resistance to being called "little sister" sincerely, but her excuse to herself was assessing her companion's skills.
No matter that she was a peak expert from the Hwangbo family, heading into enemy territory without knowing her true capabilities was unwise.
Her conclusion?
'A bit lacking as immediate combat asset.'
She had skill, certainly.
But too straightforward.
Her lack of real combat polish was the flaw, as mentioned.
'However.'
She had the talent to overcome such shortcomings quickly.
"You've got talent."
"Huh? Pfft. Says the one who twisted my wrist like a kid's. I'm three years older than you."
"Not as much as me."
Hmm, true enough.
Wi Sowol was just objectively stating that Hwangbo Yun's talent was excellent.
"On the way, I'll attack you anytime. Dodge, counter if you can. Strike first if you spot an opening."
"Huh?"
"We might have to fight. Can't have you dragging us down."
So she'd teach her how to fight.
Hwangbo Yun grasped the meaning half a beat late, then grinned slyly.
'Not honest at all.'
But seemed nice.
She really was lucky.
Her first encounter after running away—or rather, leaving home—was with someone like this.
"Yeah! Sounds good!"
Hwangbo Yun dusted off her butt and stood.
Then subtly tensed her firm thighs.
"Opening...!"
Suddenly, Heavenly Wind Leg!
Thud, whoosh, boom!
"Kek!"
Failure.
Two days after leaving Nanju.
Wi Sowol arrived at Baek Eun County.
"Ooh... so this is Baek Eun County."
With one companion.
In front of Baek Eun County's walls, the cross-dressed girl Hwangbo Yun whistled in admiration.
Wi Sowol placed a hand on her forehead and poked a finger into Hwangbo Yun's exposed side.
Then.
"Eek!"
Hwangbo Yun twisted her waist with a pop and grabbed Wi Sowol's wrist.
"Hmph, hng~ How was that?"
She shook the captured wrist proudly as she asked.
Wi Sowol shook her head slowly.
"Couldn't block it."
"Huh? Oh."
Acupoint struck.
Her side felt numb.
'I had protective qi up?'
She definitely had her protective qi active—why the acupoint strike?
"Your protective qi is sloppy."
"Sloppy?"
That couldn't be.
The protective art Hwangbo Yun practiced was the Hwangbo family's ultimate technique, combining internal and external training: Vajra Heavenly Citadel Body.
It encompassed even qi reinforcement—the pride of the Hwangbo family—yet sloppy?
"The art itself is good. The user is the problem."
"Ugh…."
Hwangbo Yun's expression twisted subtly.
She wanted to argue, but after that clean loss, she had no ground to stand on.
'It wasn't bad, actually.'
Not flattery—Hwangbo Yun's protective qi was quite solid.
Wi Sowol had to use the subtleties of Dazed Haze Hand plus Great White Light True Qi to break it.
But deliberately, Wi Sowol prodded her.
In these two short days, she'd read that Hwangbo Yun got more fired up with a little teasing.
"For a bare-handed fighter, protective qi is your lifeline. If you hate it, pick up a sword like me. The Hwangbo family has sword arts too, right?"
"Not into swords."
"Really?"
Even knowing I'm a swordswoman?
Wi Sowol's eyes seemed to say, but Hwangbo Yun calmly voiced her thoughts.
"Doesn't feel right using my body properly? I prefer fist and leg work."
"Then focus more on protective qi. Or train external arts harder."
Bare-handed fighters were prime targets for blind blades.
Unless armored like soldiers, but in the jianghu, armor screamed rebel.
Even a great clan nearly kingly in its domain would face extermination if branded traitors.
Thus, fist and leg experts devoted more practice to defense than offense.
"Train your protective qi more."
"...Got it."
Hwangbo Yun looked somewhat deflated.
'Did I overdo it?'
In two days, Wi Sowol had ambushed her 17 times.
All successes, naturally.
Hwangbo Yun had tried for openings 6 times.
All failures, naturally.
'If I stop here, that's it.'
Their relationship was just temporary companions.
Not master and disciple—no need to coddle feelings.
"Wait a sec."
Just before entering Baek Eun County.
Hwangbo Yun hurriedly straightened her clothes and fixed her hair.
'Still not giving up?'
For two days, Hwangbo Yun kept up the male disguise.
Wi Sowol had seen through it at first glance, but Hwangbo Yun thought she'd hidden it well.
'Real men don't do that.'
Ridiculous.
Utterly laughable.
A woman trying to act like the world's only true man—Wi Sowol, who embodied it—found the amateur disguise hilarious.
'Guess I should give some advice here.'
This was more her true expertise than martial arts.
"Ditch the hat. Men don't wear those lady hats. Wear a hu mao."
"Huh?"
"And your walk's all wrong. Shift your center of gravity to your upper body. Keep straight, tense up, move linearly. Lower body stable, propel with upper body."
"Mm, uh... but Sowol."
"What?"
Finally realizing her disguise was busted?
Dense.
"Um... Sowol, you were a courtesan after all?"
You know men so well?
"...Go back to the Hwangbo family."
Hwangbo Yun didn't return to the Hwangbo family.
She apologized profusely, barely earning forgiveness to keep her companion status.
In the process, she confessed to the disguise.
"But was my disguise that obvious?"
"Eh, not really?"
While wandering Baek Eun County to find an inn for the night, Wi Sowol decided to share a bit of her past life experience with this curious jianghu newbie.
"Fashion trends mostly start in Jiangnan."
"Yeah, my nanny told me."
"Men in Jiangnan wear makeup and dress like ladies. Women wear pants like warriors."
"Huh?"
Hwangbo Yun wondered if Wi Sowol had it backwards.
"Did I hear wrong? Did you hit my ear acupoint?"
"Said it right, heard it right. That's daily life in Jiangnan. Scholar prodigies rouge their lips, and ladies there act more manly than men."
"Hoo...?"
Hwangbo Yun recoiled at men in women's clothes but perked up at the rest.
"Wanna visit Jiangnan sometime?"
"Over 3,000 li away."
A full traverse of the Central Plains.
"Maybe someday?"
"Who knows."
Given the Hwangbo family background, it seemed unlikely.
But Wi Sowol decided not to predict the future anymore.
Even turning from man to woman happened—who cared about Jiangnan.
"Anyway, we'll stay here tonight and move tomorrow."
"To your hometown?"
Yes. She had to go.
Home.
The place where she might uncover traces of her mother.