The Allure of the Plum Flower Sword
Whether it was the spirit beast of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream or the Blood Demon, none of that mattered to me right now. '...I just want to try it.' All I could think about was testing out the 24 Plum Flower Sword Forms right in front of me.
It was breathtakingly beautiful. A sword art that adorned the barren, flowerless stone peaks of Mount Hua with blossoms. Watching it conjure flowers from nothingness, drawing gasps of awe from any onlooker—it made me itch to try it immediately.
"Ryeon-ah, don't you want to give it a try right now?"
The family head would summon me soon enough. Even after dinner, I wouldn't have much free time. There were mountains of testimonies to give, and I still needed his official acknowledgment as a benefactor of the Tang family. So, before anyone showed up, heading to the training grounds for a lesson didn't seem like a bad idea. Sure, it'd be borrowing the place without permission, but...
'Whatever.' I'd saved all of Sichuan—what's a little training ground in comparison?
Grinning, I tucked the manual into my bosom and pulled my deathcap hat low over my eyes.
"Master, Hwa Ryeon hasn't even answered yet."
Ji Yeon said that, but there was no stopping my excitement.
"We're going, right?"
I asked Ryeon, who usually wore that dazed expression. She lifted the corner of her mouth ever so slightly.
"Yes, Master."
"...I don't think we've gotten permission to use the training grounds."
Ji Yeon pointed out, but Ryeon smiled brightly in response.
"I wouldn't know about that, but I'm on good terms with the Thousand Poison Demon Lord."
"...Pardon?"
"They won't mind if we use the training grounds."
Ryeon declared it so confidently. 'Come to think of it, she came with the family head.' I'd forgotten she had trailed behind him when he came to see us.
"Then there's no problem. Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
"Wait, hold on a second!"
Ji Yeon shot to her feet. And so, the three of us—
[Heh heh... what a willful bunch.]
"Quiet, Seol Mang. Ryeon said yes."
—no, the four of us headed to the training grounds.
The vast training grounds of the Tang family. Soldiers trained there diligently, preparing for what lay ahead. From a high vantage point, the young heir Dang Sohyeok watched them intently, committing every movement to memory with a serious expression.
He was still young enough to be learning. Eager to catch up to his big sister. Recognized as a late-generation prodigy at such a tender age, he'd followed in her footsteps—hoping to surpass her fame. Brashly, he'd entered the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering for just that reason.
But...
'...Hwa Ryeon.'
He'd been utterly crushed by the Plum Sword Seal who pinned his sister down. Returning empty-handed.
His little sister Dang Sorin had fared no better. It was like facing a natural disaster—something he had to accept. But acceptance didn't come easy.
How patient could a hot-blooded seven-year-old boy be, really? Even if he'd been seated as young heir and poison expert early on, wearing the mask of an adult while his heart remained that of a childish boy—that was Sohyeok.
Still, it wasn't as if he'd gained nothing from that Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. He'd witnessed it too: the magnificent bloom of plum blossoms in a floral spectacle.
Plume-like sword qi sprouting from the blade's tip.
Blossoming with a single swing.
Scattering with the next slash—a beautiful sword dance that Sohyeok had etched into his eyes.
"......"
It was the kind of strike that naturally drew words of awe. But it ended with Hwa Ryeon collapsing, and Sohyeok blacked out right after.
'Was that a dream?'
That sword dance was so vivid. The woman moving gracefully amid the plums. It didn't feel like something he could have imagined, so he'd told his father—but it was dismissed as a funny dream. Common knowledge held that no sword art wielding true plum blossoms (plum flower) existed anywhere in the jianghu.
Mount Hua (fire mountain) did handle coal flowers (soot flower), but those were just flames mimicking plum blossoms at best.
Sohyeok sighed, frustration blooming like the flowers he couldn't forget.
"...The Plum Sword Seal visited."
She'd wanted to stay while waiting for someone. His father hadn't turned away the family's benefactor. Sohyeok resolved to ask her questions over dinner, shaking off his worries.
'She sparred with me directly, so she'll surely remember.'
With a lighter heart, he turned back to watch the soldiers—
"...!!"
—when three women caught his eye.
One was the familiar Little Sword Princess.
Another was the Heavenly Mountain Wanderer Seal, who had lost to her through clever tactics and design rather than collapsing pathetically like he had—but even she didn't hold his gaze.
He'd heard plenty about the Zhuge girl being close to the socially awkward Little Sword Princess.
What drew Sohyeok's eyes was one person alone.
A petite woman hiding her hair under a deathcap hat and her face behind a veil.
No inner energy detectable. But that impression was deeply etched in his heart.
'It's that master.'
The master who blanketed a thousand li in plum blossoms, shattered Mount Hua's sword, and vanished gracefully. She'd appeared at the Tang family.
That fact alone made Sohyeok nod.
'Even though I passed out, that master was real.'
The proof that such a beautiful sword art existed in reality made his eyes sparkle.
A gaze from somewhere. I looked up.
'...Definitely the Tang young heir. He was at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering too.'
The boy who'd made such a fine sandbag for Ryeon. Fourteen, was it? Too young, really. Even Ryeon and Yeon were just sixteen when they entered—far too early.
'Hope he's not beating himself up too much over not earning a title. Don't let it turn into heart demons.'
Smiling at the thought, I turned away. Ryeon was coming back after talking to the instructor.
"Master, permission granted. But... they want to observe."
"Observe?"
"Your name isn't known, so they probably just want to see a bout between the Heavenly Mountain Wanderer Seal and the Plum Sword Seal."
Ji Yeon chimed in from the side with a grin. The girl was getting bolder by the minute.
"What a pain."
"Y-Yes...?"
Ji Yeon looked flustered. Hwa Ryeon shot her a weary glance too.
"Even so, that's no way to speak to your senior."
"......"
"Acting like that tarnishes not just the Zhuge name, but Master's reputation too."
I stifled a laugh as Ryeon scolded her with that blank expression.
"Enough. No time for scoldings—I'll handle it. Isn't it against etiquette for a junior sister to talk back to her senior brother like that?"
"S-Sorry, Master."
Ryeon apologized. I patted Ji Yeon's puffed-up head, telling her it was fine, and drew my wooden sword.
"Real swords are too dangerous, so I'll demonstrate with this."
"I'll step back."
Ji Yeon moved to a safe distance. Nodding, I recalled the manual's passages in my mind.
First Form: Plum Flower by the Roadside (Meihua Lu Pang).
Plum blossoms line the path. Fallen, they lie still—but scattered everywhere along the way. Unnoticed, they scatter on the wind, engulfing the foe.
From a static stance, it links straight into a thrust—the opening of the 24 Plum Flower Sword Forms. A technique befitting Huashan, aiming for ultimate speed and illusions.
"I'll demonstrate first, so watch closely and burn it into your eyes. Got it?"
"...Yes, understood."
Hwa Ryeon, a touch tense, drew her sword.
Having forgotten Huashan (fire mountain) arts, she was ready for true Huashan (flower mountain). Even this world's degraded version retained base Huashan essences in its fundamentals.
Even Fire Arrow was just chained quick-draws.
'She hasn't erased everything completely.'
With her solid basics and talent intact, she'd keep up. Grinning, I began the form.
Sohyeok's eyes went wide.
'Wh-What is this?'
The training grounds bloomed full with plum blossoms. Restraint amid flashy motion, beauty bursting forth—it captivated him utterly.
He couldn't look away. Facing that sword art himself, he'd be frozen after one glance, unable to chain even a single exchange. It was that threatening.
Yet the woman wielding it danced her blade, hiding all danger and killing intent within the blossoms' beauty.
'Beautiful.'
Beautiful. Her fluttering robes evoked a butterfly's wings caught in the plums.
'The butterfly of Zhuangzi's dream.'
It was the one from his dream. He couldn't see her face, but he knew—the veil hid beauty rivaling the Jang clan's.
"Ahh......"
Sohyeok let out an entranced sigh.
And watching him from behind...
'...Aigoo, Sohyeok.'
...Soso just gazed at him pitifully.
'Eyes all lovestruck...'
She smacked her forehead.