The Command to Wait
Before dawn, the Cheongseong Sect was already awake. The morning bell had not yet rung. On any ordinary day, the first sounds would have been the swish of bamboo brooms sweeping the courtyard, followed by the younger disciples fetching water. But this dawn, different noises filled the air first—soft footsteps, doors opening and closing, hushed reports exchanged in low voices, and the calm questions of interrogators drifting from deeper within the sect.
The four men connected to the Black Wood Bandits had been held separately through the night. Three were caught inside the inn at the foot of the mountain, and one was seized by Elder Ungak while trying to flee outside. All four had their hands and feet bound. Their mouths reeked of blood, dirt, and alcohol, but what they reeked of most was fear. The bravado they had shown when they first mocked Seoryeong at the inn was gone. Especially the man whose crude energy had been pressed down by the wooden halberd until his knees buckled—he had not once met Seoryeong’s eyes on the way up the mountain.
Seoryeong felt that gaze. The way it avoided her. The way his breath trembled with dread. The way he flinched whenever she moved. It was a strange sensation. She had defeated people before—beasts near the village, a bandit whose arm she broke on a mountain path, Cheongmu on the training ground, and the disciples during the protection test. But this was different. That man was afraid of her. Not only because she was strong, but because of something deeper. He remembered the moment his crude energy had sunk beneath the halberd’s pressure. It had not been cut or burned—only pressed down until his knees touched the ground. That memory lingered in his eyes.
Seoryeong found those eyes unsettling. She had not meant to frighten him. She had only needed to stop him, to press him down, to hold him still. Yet the result was fear. And Cheongmu had said it too—he had been afraid. But less afraid because she stopped. A little less. Those words had stayed with her through the night.
When Seoryeong opened her eyes at dawn, the wooden halberd was the first thing she saw. She had not intended to look at it, yet there it was. Yesterday she had used it to press down a man’s blade. The fire seed had gone out—just a little. Only as much as needed. Then it returned. But had it truly been only as much as needed? The question refused to fade.
Hwarin had said it was dangerous, and that she had done well. Elder Ungak had said the same. So it must have been the right thing. Yet somewhere deep inside, the moment kept replaying—the crude energy gathered at the man’s blade tip, the blade sinking beneath her pressure, the sound of knees hitting the ground, the halberd stopping a hair’s breadth from his shoulder. Beneath that hair’s breadth, something would have broken. Seoryeong had known it. Knowing it, she had stopped. Was that fortunate? Or should she remember that she had wanted to go just one hair further? Both, probably. Hwarin had said exactly that—dangerous, and well done. Both.
Seoryeong sat on her blanket and let out a breath. The fire seed was still inside her, clearer than yesterday. It had not exactly grown, but it felt as though she had learned a path. A path through the halberd. A path that pressed down the energy at a blade’s tip. And a path that returned. Seoryeong recalled that path and clenched her fist. Do not seek it. Do not press it. Do not let it leak. Contain it in the vessel. That came first, today as well.
Hwarin’s presence appeared outside the door. Unlike yesterday, she did not open it immediately. She paused. Seoryeong looked at the door.
“You can come in.”
The door opened. Hwarin looked more tired than usual. She had probably not slept properly. Seoryeong spoke after seeing her face.
“Hwarin, you’re tired.”
Hwarin smiled faintly. “You look tired too.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“Your hands.”
Seoryeong held out her hands. Hwarin touched her fingertips. They were not hot, only carrying a trace of tension. Hwarin released them and said, “You’re fine.”
Seoryeong nodded. “What are we doing today?”
“There will be no training at the training ground today.”
Seoryeong blinked. “Why?”
“Investigation and meetings come first. We’ve gotten statements from the men we caught yesterday.”
Seoryeong’s eyes changed at once. Hwarin did not miss the shift.
“Breathe.”
Seoryeong exhaled. “Yes.”
“No conclusion has been reached yet.”
“Am I going in too?”
“The Sect Leader has summoned you.”
Seoryeong nodded quietly. Cheongheo Hall again. A place where difficult words were exchanged. A place where people sat and thought instead of rushing out. Seoryeong found it a little stifling. But she had learned yesterday as well—stifling or not, she had to go. Waiting, too, was part of the fight.
As Hwarin tied Seoryeong’s hair, she said, “Today may be harder than yesterday.”
“Will we fight?”
“Probably not right away.”
“Then why will it be hard?”
Hwarin gathered the silver hair neatly and tied it. “Because you will likely hear the words ‘wait.’”
Seoryeong’s expression hardened at once. She did not like those words. Wait. She had waited when Yakdong returned covered in blood. She had waited for permission to descend from Cheongheo Hall. She had waited at the inn when Hwarin said not yet. Waiting had sometimes been the right choice. But what if someone got hurt while she waited? That thought rose immediately.
Hwarin finished tying the hair and spoke quietly. “Waiting is not always right.”
Seoryeong looked at her in surprise. Hwarin continued, “But not waiting is not always right either.”
“It’s difficult.”
“Yes. Today you will learn that.”
Seoryeong pressed her lips together. Today, too, was training. Even without holding the halberd, it was training.
The path to Cheongheo Hall was quieter than usual. Disciples saw Seoryeong but did not speak to her. Word of what had happened at the foot of the mountain yesterday had already begun to spread. This rumor had started inside the sect itself. The men who beat Yakdong had been caught at the inn below. Seoryeong had pressed down the energy at a blade’s tip. The man had fallen to his knees. Seoryeong had stopped without pressing further. The stories were already shifting slightly. Some would say Seoryeong had crushed the Black Wood ruffians in a single blow. Some would claim the inn floor had caved in. Some would speak of red flames. In truth, no red flames had appeared. But rumors created what did not exist.
Seoryeong frowned slightly at the thought. Hwarin asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Rumors.”
“Already annoyed?”
“Yeah.”
Hwarin gave a small laugh. “You won’t get used to them. But you will learn how to handle them.”
“Do we put rumors in the vessel too?”
“To some extent.”
Seoryeong nodded seriously. Rumors, too, went into the vessel. If they overflowed, they became anger. If pushed away entirely, one would know nothing. Listen only to what was necessary and let the rest flow past. What she had learned at the Cheongseong Sect strangely applied everywhere.
Cheongheo Hall was already filled with people. Cheonghyeonja sat at the head, with Elder Ungak and Elder Unso on either side. Dogyeom and Cheongmu were present as well. Cheongmyeong stood near the door. Perhaps because he had remained at the mountain gate yesterday to handle communications, he looked slightly resentful, though he did not show it outwardly.
Seoryeong took her seat. The halberd remained outside Cheongheo Hall. Leaving her weapon behind felt slightly less unsettling now. Only slightly.
After surveying everyone, Cheonghyeonja spoke. “I will report the results of last night’s interrogation.”
The hall fell silent. Elder Ungak spoke first.
“The four men we captured are not official members of the Black Wood Bandits. They are closer to peripheral agents who receive work from below the mountain. However, they knew the name of the Black Wood Bandits, and targeting Yakdong of the Medicine King Valley was no coincidence.”
Seoryeong listened quietly. Peripheral agents. Small things dangling at the end of a string. That meant someone else held the string.
Elder Unso continued, “Yakdong was followed on his way down from the Cheongseong Sect. They judged that he was connected to Master Gwakno and might have heard internal news from the sect.”
Hwarin’s gaze turned cold. “That means they even touched the Medicine King Valley.”
“Indeed.”
Cheonghyeonja spoke. “The problem is that they inquired about both the Hyeol-un-pal-sik and Seoryeong at the same time.”
Seoryeong raised her head. Cheonghyeonja’s gaze met hers.
“This incident may not be the work of those merely after the manual. Rumors about you are beginning to intertwine with the Hyeol-un-pal-sik.”
Seoryeong closed her mouth. The silver-haired child. The monster. The Hyeol-un-pal-sik. The Cheongseong Sect. The Medicine King Valley. The words were sticking together. She had not wanted them to, yet they were.
“Is the Black Wood Bandits the direct backer?” Dogyeom asked.
Elder Ungak shook his head. “No. The Black Wood Bandits are a mountain stronghold that moves for money. There is someone behind them.”
Cheongmu asked, “Who is it?”
Elder Ungak was silent for a moment. “No definite name has come out. However, there is one phrase all four men heard in common.”
“What phrase?”
Elder Ungak glanced once at Seoryeong before speaking. “While the silver-haired child remains in the Cheongseong Sect, it will be difficult to touch her. Draw her down the mountain.”
Seoryeong’s hands moved slightly on her knees. Hwarin saw it at once. Seoryeong exhaled. Draw her down. A hunter’s term. Used when luring a beast out of its den and driving it toward a trap. They did not see her as a person. She had known that yesterday as well. But hearing it again made heat rise within her.
Cheonghyeonja spoke quietly. “That is why I do not regret that you went down yesterday. If they intended to draw you out eventually, it is better that we knew and went down ourselves.”
Seoryeong looked at Cheonghyeonja. The words were somewhat unexpected. Cheonghyeonja had used her as bait. But he had not discarded her. He had moved with knowledge. Seoryeong thought she vaguely understood the difference.
Hwarin spoke. “The problem is what comes next. If the backer learns that they failed, they may move more openly.”
Elder Unso nodded. “We have sent word to the Medicine King Valley. Master Gwakno will move as well. However, the issue of the Hyeol-un-pal-sik will most likely continue to point toward the Cheongseong Sect.”
Cheongmu clenched his teeth slightly. “Then we should strike the Black Wood Bandits.”
Seoryeong looked at Cheongmu. It sounded like a good idea. The names of the men who had beaten someone had come out. The Black Wood Bandits. Strike there, and it would be done.
Elder Ungak looked at Cheongmu. “It is not that simple.”
“Why not?”
“There are rumors that the Black Wood Bandits secretly trade with several sects along the northern roads of Sichuan, but evidence is lacking. If we attack the stronghold without justification, those behind the Black Wood Bandits will instead claim that the Cheongseong Sect is hiding the manual and silencing people.”
Cheongmu spoke in frustration, “They struck Yakdong first.”
“We have captured those four peripheral agents. However, that is insufficient justification for attacking the entire stronghold.”
Seoryeong frowned. Insufficient. She did not like that word. Was Yakdong’s blood insufficient? Was the broken medicine box insufficient? Was the note demanding the silver-haired child insufficient? Seoryeong was about to speak when Hwarin said very softly, “Breathe.”
Seoryeong stopped. She exhaled. Still, she wanted to speak.
Cheonghyeonja looked at her. “You may speak.”
Seoryeong raised her head. “What more is needed?”
The hall fell silent. Seoryeong continued, “Yakdong was beaten. There is the note. They spoke. The name of the Black Wood Bandits came out. Yet it is still insufficient?”
Elder Ungak regarded Seoryeong calmly. “It will not seem insufficient to you.”
“Does it seem insufficient to you, Elder?”
“In the martial world, it does.”
Seoryeong grew more frustrated at those words. The martial world. The term was too large, too slow, too troublesome. In the martial world, it was so. Then in the martial world, must one wait even after being struck? Must there be more evidence even when blood flows? If one does not know who ordered it, must the one who was struck simply endure? Seoryeong clenched her fists. The fire seed stirred slightly.
Cheonghyeonja spoke quietly. “Seoryeong. I am not saying your words are wrong.”
Seoryeong looked at him.
“Then why are we not going?”
“If we strike the Black Wood Bandits now, they will place us on the board they have prepared.”
“Board?”
“Yes. They tried to draw you out. They may have hoped the Cheongseong Sect would move in agitation. If we move without justification, they will then have justification.”
“What justification?”
Cheonghyeonja spoke slowly. “That the Cheongseong Sect destroyed a mountain stronghold to seize the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. That the Cheongseong Sect killed people to hide the silver-haired child’s monstrous strength. That the Cheongseong Sect conspired with the Medicine King Valley to conceal the manual. In the martial world, words sometimes move before blades.”
Seoryeong fell silent. Words move before blades. Rumors. Again, rumors. Rumors could not be cut down or killed. Even when pressed, they slipped from the mouth. Troublesome. So very troublesome.
Cheonghyeonja continued, “That is why we wait.”
Those words had come. We wait. What Hwarin had said in the morning. The moment Seoryeong heard them, her chest grew tight.
“How long?”
“We will not wait long. However, we will not attack the stronghold today.”
“What if someone else gets hurt in the meantime?”
Cheonghyeonja’s gaze grew slightly heavier. “To prevent that, we will send people. They will guard the paths below the mountain, protect the inns and herb gatherers, and watch the routes connected to the Black Wood Bandits. We will wait, but we will not remain idle.”
We will wait, but we will not remain idle. Seoryeong chewed on the words. It was a little better. Yet still frustrating.
Cheongmu wore a similar expression. Dogyeom appeared calm, but his fingertips moved slightly. He, too, was not unaffected.
Hwarin looked at Seoryeong. Her eyes said, This is the martial world. This is the way of the orthodox sects. It is too slow, sometimes frustrating, but not without reason.
Seoryeong lowered her head. “Yes.”
She had answered, but her heart had not fully accepted it. Cheonghyeonja knew this.
“There is something I must entrust to you as well.”
Seoryeong raised her head. “What is it?”
“Protect Yakdong in the Uiyak Hall.”
Seoryeong’s eyes widened slightly. “The Uiyak Hall?”
“Yes. They have already touched Yakdong. When he wakes, he may have more to say. There is also the possibility that someone will try to silence him again.”
Hwarin nodded. “There is that possibility.”
Seoryeong looked down at her hands. Protect. Not descend and strike the Black Wood Bandits. Not rush down the mountain. Remain in the Uiyak Hall and guard the injured child. Was that also something she must do? It was. Yet a corner of her heart still looked toward the foot of the mountain.
Cheonghyeonja spoke. “Hwarin, guard the Uiyak Hall together with Seoryeong. Dogyeom and Cheongmu will watch the paths below the mountain. Cheongmyeong will handle communications. Elder Ungak will check the inns and the official roads.”
Everyone cupped their fists. “Yes.”
Seoryeong bowed her head a moment later. “Yes.”
On the way out of Cheongheo Hall, Cheongmu spoke first. “This is frustrating.”
Dogyeom looked at him. “Watch your words.”
“It is not wrong.”
Dogyeom was silent for a moment, then said, “It is not wrong.”
Cheongmu looked at Dogyeom in slight surprise. Dogyeom continued, “But if we move immediately just because it is frustrating, we may end up giving them what they want.”
“I know that.”
“Knowing and enduring are different.”
Cheongmu closed his mouth. Seoryeong heard those words. Knowing and enduring are different. It was true. Seoryeong knew it too—that she must not descend right now. But enduring was difficult.
Dogyeom looked at Seoryeong and said, “You are the same.”
Seoryeong raised her head. “Me?”
“I know you want to strike the Black Wood Bandits. But guarding the Uiyak Hall is also fighting.”
“Hwarin said that too.”
“Then you have heard it twice, so remember it.”
Seoryeong nodded. “Yes.”
Cheongmu muttered quietly from the side, “Even in this situation, Senior Brother Dogyeom sounds like an elder.”
Dogyeom’s eyebrows moved almost imperceptibly. “Do not start with me either.”
Seoryeong smiled faintly at that. The frustration in her chest eased a little. But it did not disappear completely.
On the way to the Uiyak Hall, Seoryeong looked toward the mountain gate. The path leading down the mountain was visible. The dirt road. The road that still carried the scent of blood from yesterday. The road leading to the inn. The road bearing the name of the Black Wood Bandits. It felt as though that road was calling to her.
No. Right now it was the Uiyak Hall. Seoryeong deliberately turned her gaze away.
Hwarin saw this and said, “Well done.”
Seoryeong answered shortly. “It’s difficult.”
“You did it anyway.”
“Yeah.”
This time she did not bother correcting herself to “yes.” Hwarin did not point it out either.
The Uiyak Hall was filled with the scent of medicine. Yakdong still lay on the bed. His face looked slightly better than yesterday, but he was still pale. Bandages wrapped his side and shoulder. The physician was checking a decoction pot, and Yu Soha sat on a chair inside the hall. When she saw Seoryeong, she bowed quietly.
“You have arrived.”
Seoryeong looked at her. “Why are you here?”
“I was helping a little with Yakdong’s care. The physician allowed it as long as I did not overexert myself.”
“You are a patient too.”
Yu Soha smiled faintly. “So I am only helping a very little.”
Seoryeong examined Yu Soha’s face. She had a bit more color than before. Still, standing for long would be difficult. Seoryeong pointed to the chair.
“Sit.”
“I am already sitting.”
“Keep sitting.”
Yu Soha laughed. “Yes.”
The physician spoke to Seoryeong. “Yakdong is still in a deep sleep. When he wakes, give him a little water, but do not ask too many questions right away.”
Seoryeong nodded. “Yes.”
“And do not cause a commotion.”
Seoryeong paused slightly. The physician looked at her directly.
“This is not a training ground or an inn. This is the Uiyak Hall.”
Seoryeong liked those words. They were precise. This was a place for healing people. Not a place for swinging halberds. Not a place for letting the fire seed out.
“I will not cause a commotion.”
The physician gave her a slightly doubtful look. Hwarin spoke instead. “I will watch her.”
The physician finally nodded. Seoryeong sat at one side of the Uiyak Hall. The halberd stood by the door. Close, but out of reach. That distance felt right.
Yakdong was asleep. His breathing was thin but regular. Seoryeong listened to it. Just as she had heard Cheongmyeong’s breath, she heard Yakdong’s as well. But she could not let it flow past. It was a breath she had to protect. Seoryeong decided in her heart. She would keep it. Yakdong’s breath would stay. Hwarin’s presence would stay. The physician’s movements would stay. Yu Soha’s footsteps would stay, but her worries would flow a little. Thoughts of the mountain gate would flow. The name Black Wood Bandits could not be completely let go, so she kept it at a distance. Close enough to grasp if needed. That, too, was the vessel.
For a long while, it was quiet. Disciples passed outside the Uiyak Hall, but inside it remained still. Steam rose from the decoction pot, and the scent of medicinal herbs filled the room. Yu Soha slowly sorted herbs. Seoryeong sat still at first. But before long, her hands grew restless. She wanted to hold the halberd. Or go down the mountain. Or at least do something. Guarding in stillness was difficult. Seoryeong opened and closed her fists.
Yu Soha saw this. “Are you frustrated?”
Seoryeong answered at once. “Yeah.”
The physician raised an eyebrow. Seoryeong corrected herself a moment later. “Yes.”
Yu Soha held back a laugh. “I was the same at first.”
“You too?”
“Yes. When they told me to only lie down, it was not my body but my mind that tried to rise first. But when my body would not follow, I grew angry.”
Seoryeong looked at Yu Soha. Yu Soha carefully divided the dried herbs in her hands.
“Waiting seems like doing nothing, but in truth one is constantly doing something. It is the act of holding the mind so it does not leap out.”
Seoryeong thought for a moment. Holding rather than containing. But the direction of the words was similar.
“Vessel.”
Yu Soha nodded. “Yes. Perhaps it is the vessel.”
Seoryeong listened to Yakdong’s breath. He had not woken yet. When he woke, he might say more. To hear those words, he had to remain alive now. So she had to protect him. Protecting was not the same as not moving. Protecting was waiting while preparing. Seoryeong thought she understood the difference a little.
Around midday, Yakdong woke. First came a small groan. Then his eyelids trembled. Seoryeong rose at once. The physician stopped her with a hand.
“Slowly.”
Seoryeong stopped. Slowly. She had heard that word many times today.
Yakdong opened his eyes. His gaze wandered across the ceiling, then saw the physician beside him, then Hwarin, and finally Seoryeong. At that moment, Yakdong’s pupils shook greatly.
“Se… Seoryeong… young lady…”
Seoryeong approached the bed. This time she held no halberd. Her hands were empty.
“Yeah.”
The physician said, “Speak only briefly.”
Yakdong nodded very slightly. Seoryeong spoke first.
“We caught them.”
Yakdong’s eyes widened a little. “Those… people…”
“Yeah. The ones at the inn.”
Yakdong let out a labored breath. Somehow, relief mixed into that breath.
“That is… fortunate…”
Seoryeong looked at Yakdong. He had been the one beaten, yet he said it was fortunate. Strange, yet somehow understandable.
Yakdong closed his eyes slightly before opening them again.
“There was… one more person…”
Hwarin’s and Seoryeong’s gazes changed at the same time. The physician spoke. “Do not overexert yourself.”
Yakdong shook his head. “I must… say it…”
Hwarin asked quietly, “Was there someone besides the four we captured?”
Yakdong nodded very slightly. “The ones who struck directly… were four… but from afar… there was someone… watching…”
Seoryeong placed her hands on her knees. Another one. Besides the four captured, another. Then the string was longer.
“What did he look like?”
Yakdong struggled to recall. His pupils trembled. It was not a face he remembered clearly. Yet it was the face of someone searching for a fragment that had remained especially vivid even in fear.
“I could not… see his face well… He wore his hat pulled low… and in his hand…”
He gasped for breath. The physician gave him a little medicine. Yakdong barely continued.
“He was holding… something like a black wooden plaque…”
Hwarin’s gaze hardened. “A wooden plaque?”
“Yes… wood… black wood… and on it… two white lines…”
Yu Soha’s hands stopped. The dried herbs rustled at her fingertips. Seoryeong heard the sound. Yu Soha seemed to know something. Hwarin looked at her as well.
“Yu Soha.”
Yu Soha’s face had gone pale. “It may be a Heukmokpae.”
“Heukmokpae?” Seoryeong asked.
Yu Soha spoke slowly. “Before I fled with the Hyeol-un-pal-sik, one of the men tracking my master carried such a plaque. A black wooden plaque engraved with two white lines.”
Yu Soha caught her breath for a moment. “While fleeing, my master taught me several ways to distinguish the trackers’ marks. She said to memorize the marks of those after the manual before memorizing the manual itself.”
Hwarin’s expression grew colder. “Is it the mark of the Black Wood Bandits?”
Yu Soha shook her head. “I did not know at the time. But my master once said that black wood with two white lines may not be the official mark of a mountain stronghold, but rather a mark indicating a commission from a client.”
“Commission?”
“Yes. She said they use an intermediary mark so that no one knows who paid. I do not know the exact details. But my master said that if such a mark appears, one should be more wary of the unseen client than the visible enemies.”
Seoryeong listened quietly. Mark. Commission. Intermediary. The string was longer. There were more hands. Behind the men who beat Yakdong stood the Black Wood Bandits, and behind the Black Wood Bandits stood someone else. That someone had worn a hat and watched from afar. He had not struck directly. But he had watched. Seoryeong disliked that even more. She disliked the ones who struck, but she disliked the one who watched from afar and gave orders even more. The one who dirtied others’ hands instead of his own to have Yakdong beaten. How should one press down someone like that? How should one deal with someone the halberd could not reach?
Seoryeong’s fire seed stirred. Hwarin spoke at once. “Seoryeong.”
Seoryeong exhaled. “Yes.”
Yakdong tried to close his eyes again. The physician told him not to speak further. But Yakdong added one last thing.
“That person… said…”
“What did he say?” Seoryeong asked.
Yakdong’s voice was barely audible. “Not… ripe enough yet…”
The room grew cold.
“What is not ripe enough?” Hwarin asked.
Yakdong barely opened his eyes. “The silver-haired child… is not ripe enough yet… If shaken more… she will come out on her own…”
Seoryeong did not move. But the air in the room grew slightly heavier. The physician might not have felt it. Hwarin did. Yu Soha did as well. The fire seed inside Seoryeong knocked against the vessel’s walls. Not ripe enough. Shake her and she will come out. As though speaking of her like fruit or a beast or medicinal herbs. Checking whether she is ripe or not, shaking her, making her come out. Seoryeong drew in a slow breath. Then let it out very slowly. The halberd was by the door. Not in her hands. Perhaps that was fortunate.
Hwarin spoke quietly. “Look at me.”
Seoryeong looked at Hwarin. Hwarin’s eyes did not waver.
“Those words are meant to shake you.”
Seoryeong pressed her lips together.
“I was shaken.”
“It is enough to know that.”
“They said they would make me come out.”
“Yes.”
“Then should I not come out?”
Hwarin was silent for a moment. It was a difficult question. Seoryeong waited for that silence. Hwarin spoke.
“They must not make you come out when they want.”
Seoryeong heard those words.
“Then when should I come out?”
“When you choose.”
Those words settled quietly in the room. Seoryeong nodded slowly. It was not coming out when they shook her. Not coming out when they called. Not leaping out when they laid a trap. Coming out when she chose. Then it would be a little different. Perhaps very different.
The physician gave Yakdong medicine and laid him down again. Yakdong soon fell into a deep sleep. Hwarin had to go report to Cheongheo Hall at once. Seoryeong tried to follow, but Hwarin shook her head.
“You stay.”
“Why?”
“Your task is to protect Yakdong.”
Seoryeong closed her mouth. Correct. Waiting again. But this time it felt a little different. Yakdong had just said something more important. People would hold another meeting with those words. She wanted to go. But Yakdong still lay there. Someone might come again to silence him. Seoryeong nodded.
“I will protect him.”
Hwarin placed a hand on Seoryeong’s shoulder. “You are doing well.”
Seoryeong placed those words into her vessel.
After Hwarin left, the Uiyak Hall grew quiet again. Yu Soha set down the herbs and looked at Seoryeong.
“Are you all right?”
Seoryeong was looking at Yakdong’s sleeping face. “No.”
Yu Soha immediately closed her mouth. Seoryeong continued, “But I am staying all right.”
Yu Soha nodded quietly after a moment. “That, too, must be training.”
“Yeah.”
Seoryeong looked at the halberd standing by the door. The halberd was quiet. She would not hold it today. At least not now.
Yu Soha spoke quietly. “My master once said something similar.”
“What did she say?”
“If one grows angry on a board set by others, that anger no longer belongs to oneself.”
Seoryeong tried to understand those words. A board set by others. The opponent lays traps, shakes with words, deliberately strikes the weak, and tries to draw one out. If one grows angry there, that anger feels like one’s own, but in truth it becomes the anger they want. She did not like that. Her fire was her own. Seoryeong felt that thought very strongly.
“My fire is mine.”
Yu Soha spoke quietly. “Yes. So you must not hand it over just because others shake it.”
Seoryeong nodded. She liked those words. Her fire was her own. She would not let it out just because others shook it. She had to choose. The afternoon passed. The Cheongseong Sect moved busily, but time inside the Uiyak Hall flowed slowly. Seoryeong listened to Yakdong’s breath, listened to footsteps outside the door, and sensed movements from the distant mountain gate. Once, an unfamiliar presence passed near the Uiyak Hall. Seoryeong rose at once. She did not reach for the halberd by the door. She listened to the presence first. The footsteps were cautious, but carried no killing intent. A moment later, a young disciple who had come with Cheongmyeong set down medicinal herbs outside the door. Only then did Seoryeong sit again.
Cheongmyeong looked at her and spoke quietly. “You have become quite sensitive.”
Seoryeong nodded. “I am guarding.”
“Yes. I know.”
Cheongmyeong handed the herbs to the physician and said quietly to Seoryeong, “The Sect Leader may summon you again soon. He says Yakdong’s words are important.”
Seoryeong looked up. “The Heukmokpae?”
“Yes. It seems Elder Ungak knows that mark.”
“What is it?”
Cheongmyeong shook his head. “I do not know the details either. But it does not seem to be a good thing.”
Not a good thing. Seoryeong could tell that much. Cheongmyeong hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“And…”
“And?”
“Strange rumors have begun circulating below the mountain.”
Seoryeong’s face hardened. “What rumors?”
Cheongmyeong spoke carefully. “That the silver-haired child of the Cheongseong Sect made a Black Wood Bandits member kneel at the inn…”
“That is true.”
“Yes. But there is more attached to it.”
“What?”
Cheongmyeong spoke with a troubled expression. “That the child is the true successor of the Hyeol-un-pal-sik, and that the Cheongseong Sect is hiding it.”
The room fell silent. Seoryeong said nothing for a moment. Successor of the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. That was not true. Seoryeong had not learned the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. Yu Soha had carried the manual, and Cheonghyeonja now kept it. Seoryeong’s fire seed was not the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. But the rumor had already attached itself. Just as Cheonghyeonja had said. The Cheongseong Sect was hiding the manual. The silver-haired child had learned the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. The Cheongseong Sect and the Medicine King Valley were conspiring. Words moved before blades.
Seoryeong exhaled. “It is not true.”
Cheongmyeong nodded. “I know.”
“But the words are spreading.”
“Yes.”
“Troublesome.”
Cheongmyeong almost smiled faintly, but did not. “Yes. It is truly troublesome.”
Seoryeong looked at Yu Soha. Yu Soha’s face had gone pale. Whenever the name Hyeol-un-pal-sik appeared, Yu Soha seemed to shrink. She had lost her master because of that manual, been chased, and come to the Cheongseong Sect. And now the rumor was attaching itself to Seoryeong. Yu Soha spoke quietly.
“I am sorry.”
Seoryeong spoke at once. “Why?”
Yu Soha bit her lip. “Because of the Hyeol-un-pal-sik…”
“Did you beat him?”
“No.”
“Did you spread the rumor?”
“No.”
“Then why are you sorry?”
Yu Soha could not answer. Seoryeong grew a little frustrated. Yakdong had apologized too. Yu Soha was apologizing too. The ones who were beaten and chased kept apologizing. The ones who struck laughed, and the ones who ordered hid. Strange. The martial world was strange.
Seoryeong spoke quietly. “Do not be sorry.”
Yu Soha lowered her head. Seoryeong continued, “The ones who should be sorry are elsewhere.”
At those words, Yu Soha slowly raised her head. Seoryeong’s eyes were red. But the fire seed did not come out. It only burned quietly inside. Yu Soha saw those eyes and nodded very slightly.
“Yes.”
As the sun began to set, a summons came from Cheonghyeonja. The message was for Seoryeong, Hwarin, and even Yu Soha to come to Cheongheo Hall. Since Yu Soha still could not walk far, the physician accompanied her. Seoryeong had tried to support Yu Soha at first, but withdrew her hand immediately. She knew Yu Soha wanted to walk as much as she could on her own. Instead, she walked slowly beside her. Close enough to catch her if she swayed. But not reaching out first. That, too, was the vessel.
When they entered Cheongheo Hall, the air was heavy. Cheonghyeonja explained the Heukmokpae.
“Black wood with two white lines. That is not the official mark of the Black Wood Bandits. It is an intermediary plaque connecting the Black Wood Bandits to an external client.”
Elder Ungak continued, “The Black Wood Bandits have long taken on work that is difficult to do under their own name. However, the Heukmokpae is even more secretive. Even the lower members of the stronghold do not know who commissioned it.”
Dogyeom spoke. “Then even if we strike the Black Wood Bandits, the backer can escape.”
“That is correct.”
Cheongmu clenched his teeth. “This is truly troublesome.”
This time, Dogyeom did not scold him. Cheonghyeonja looked at Yu Soha.
“Did your master say anything more about this mark?”
Yu Soha bowed her head carefully. “My master said that if it is black wood with two white lines, the commission is more likely mixed with grudge rather than mere money.”
“Grudge?”
“Yes. She said that for simple assassination work done for money, they use a different mark. Two white lines… ”
Yu Soha chose her words for a moment. “She said it is closer to meaning ‘draw the opponent out and bring them down.’”
Seoryeong heard those words. Draw out and bring down. The same words she had heard earlier. The silver-haired child is not ripe enough yet. If shaken more, she will come out on her own. The backer did not only want to kill her. They wanted her to come out. To shake her, anger her, make her charge, make her do something. What would that be? Seoryeong did not know. But she disliked it.
Cheonghyeonja spoke. “Then it is certain. They are testing Seoryeong.”
Hwarin’s voice lowered. “What is their purpose?”
“One of two things. Either to confirm whether Seoryeong’s power is related to the Hyeol-un-pal-sik, or to make it appear so.”
The air in Cheongheo Hall grew heavier. Make it appear so. In other words, the truth did not matter. If Seoryeong used her power below the mountain, if people saw it, if rumors spread, that would suffice. Even if the Cheongseong Sect denied it, the words would already have spread. The Cheongseong Sect hiding the silver-haired child. The monster wielding the power of the Hyeol-un-pal-sik. If such words circulated, the martial world’s attention would turn toward the Cheongseong Sect.
Cheonghyeonja looked at Seoryeong. “That is why you must be even more careful.”
Seoryeong nodded. “Yes.”
“And you must not only hide.”
Seoryeong raised her head again. Cheonghyeonja spoke quietly.
“If you hide, the words will say you hid. If you move, the words will say you moved. What matters is choosing what we hide and what we reveal.”
Seoryeong recalled Hwarin’s words. Not coming out when they wanted, but when she chose. Cheonghyeonja’s words were similar. Choose what to reveal and what to hide.
Cheonghyeonja spoke. “Tomorrow, the Cheongseong Sect will officially send out patrols to protect the herb gatherers and innkeepers below the mountain. There is sufficient justification. A guest of the Medicine King Valley was attacked, and ruffians sent threatening notes below the Cheongseong mountain gate.”
Cheongmu’s eyes brightened. “Then we will strike the Black Wood Bandits?”
“No. For now, it is only patrols.”
Cheongmu’s face grew frustrated again. Cheonghyeonja continued.
“But if they move again, then it will be different.”
Seoryeong heard those words. Wait, but do not remain idle. Move, but do not step onto their board. Difficult. Yet she thought she understood a little.
Cheonghyeonja spoke one last time. “Seoryeong.”
“Yes.”
“You will not go on tomorrow’s patrol.”
Seoryeong’s body stiffened. “Why?”
Hwarin looked at Cheonghyeonja as well. Cheonghyeonja spoke calmly.
“They want you. So we will hide you during the first patrol.”
Seoryeong closed her mouth. Hide. Wait again.
“Instead, the day after tomorrow, you will go.”
Seoryeong blinked. “The day after tomorrow?”
“Yes. Tomorrow we will show them our movements. The day after tomorrow, we will show them your movements. We will see where they react.”
Dogyeom spoke quietly. “Throwing the bait twice. The first time an empty hook, the second time the real bait.”
Cheongmu looked at Dogyeom. “Must you phrase it that way?”
Dogyeom spoke plainly. “It is an accurate metaphor.”
Seoryeong thought for a moment. Tomorrow she would wait. The day after tomorrow she would go. Not when they wanted, but when the Cheongseong Sect chose. Her heart settled a little. It was not only waiting. It was waiting in order to choose.
“I understand.”
Cheonghyeonja nodded in satisfaction. “Good.”
After the meeting ended, Yu Soha had to return to the Uiyak Hall. Seoryeong walked slowly beside her again. Yu Soha was silent for a long while before speaking.
“I will not say I am sorry.”
Seoryeong looked at her. Yu Soha looked a little tired, but her eyes were clearer than before.
“Instead, I will say thank you.”
Seoryeong tilted her head. “For what?”
“For telling me that the ones who should be sorry are elsewhere.”
Seoryeong thought for a moment. That had simply been the correct thing to say. “Yeah.”
“And I will recover further.”
“Why?”
“Because someday I will have to speak directly about my own matters as well.”
Seoryeong looked at Yu Soha. Yu Soha was still weak. But today she looked a little different. She, too, was walking while carrying her own vessel. Carrying impatience, carrying fear, setting down guilt, carrying gratitude.
Seoryeong spoke. “Take it slowly.”
Yu Soha smiled. “Yes. I will take it slowly.”
Night fell. Seoryeong returned to her quarters. The halberd stood in one corner of the room. She had barely held it today. She had not gone down the mountain. She had not fought. Yet she was tired. It had been a day of listening in Cheongheo Hall, waiting in the Uiyak Hall, hearing Yakdong’s words, meeting again, and waiting once more.
Seoryeong sat before the halberd.
“I did not go today.”
The halberd did not answer.
“But they said I will go the day after tomorrow.”
The broken tip remained quiet. Seoryeong held the tip in her hand.
“Waiting is difficult.”
The tip still did not answer. Seoryeong looked down at it and spoke.
“But they said I must not come out when others shake me.”
Those words remained in her heart. Her fire was her own. She would not let it out just because others shook it. She had to choose. Then waiting was not simply being bound. It was choosing the moment to choose. Seoryeong thought she rather liked that idea. Yet it was still difficult.
As night deepened, a dream came. A red battlefield. This battlefield had no gate. Instead, many strings lay across a wide plain. Black strings. White strings. Red strings. The strings crawled across the ground. Some led toward the mountain gate, some toward the inn, some beneath the bed in the Uiyak Hall. Seoryeong looked at the strings. At their ends were people. Yakdong. Yu Soha. Cheongmu. Hwarin. And someone whose face was hidden. A shadow wearing a hat pulled low stood in the distance. In his hand was a black wooden plaque. A plaque engraved with two white lines. The shadow grasped one string and shook it. Then Yakdong’s shadow swayed. Seoryeong’s fire seed rose. The shadow shook another string. This time Yu Soha’s shadow bled. Seoryeong wanted to grasp the halberd. But her hands held nothing. The shadow laughed. Come out. You are not ripe enough yet. If shaken more, you will come out on your own. The words flowed like wind. Seoryeong tried to step forward. Then there was a vessel at her feet. Inside the vessel was the fire seed. The fire seed trembled. Whenever the strings shook, the fire seed moved with them. Seoryeong realized. They were not only shaking the strings. They were shaking her fire seed as well. To make her come out. To make it spill. To make it flow to the place they wanted. Seoryeong did not clench her teeth. She exhaled. The shadow shook the strings again. This time Hwarin’s shadow swayed. Seoryeong’s eyes grew cold. She wanted to go out. She wanted to press down that shadow’s wrist right now. But Hwarin’s voice sounded in the dream. You must not come out when they want. Seoryeong stopped. The shadow laughed again. Are you afraid? Seoryeong did not answer. Instead, she looked at the strings. One black string reached all the way to her feet. That string was pulling her. Seoryeong stepped on that string. She did not press it. She did not cut it. She only stepped on it to keep it from moving. Then the fire seed settled a little. The shadow’s laughter stopped. Seoryeong spoke quietly.
“When I go, I decide.”
Those words fell across the battlefield. The strings paused for a moment. There was no gate. But far away, very faintly, the sound of a door handle could be heard. A gate not yet visible seemed to move slightly somewhere. Seoryeong opened her eyes. It was before dawn. Her fingertips were not hot. But the fire seed inside her chest burned quietly. She had not gone out today. But it had not disappeared either. Seoryeong let out a slow breath. Tomorrow she would wait. The day after tomorrow she would go. Not because they shook her, but because she chose. Carrying that thought, she closed her eyes again. The room was quiet. The halberd was quiet as well. But below the mountain, someone was already shaking the strings.