Chapter 200 Shaolin (6)
Jami Hall's inner garden.
A quaintly adorned garden.
The siblings, who had longed for each other even in their dreams, shared the unfinished tales of over a decade, holding hands warmly.
Most of it was Hwa-yeon's story.
The tale of how the girl from the cult's most noble bloodline ended up in the 6th Demon Realm, a place so lowly even the dregs of society pointed fingers at it.
How she created a "cradle" there and brought in abandoned children to survive together.
How she vowed revenge and volunteered for the Sado family's warrior recruitment.
How she endured training, trials, and brushes with death to ultimately become a direct guard of the Sado family.
And thus, how she was granted the name "Sa Wol" and came to serve Sado Hwan.
How she bided her time, watching for a chance to eliminate the loathsome Sado bloodline...
And finally, how she was saved.
It wasn't a story for tears or laughter.
Hwarang could only shed endless tears.
How much despair must his delicate little sister—who used to tear up over a scraped knee from chasing butterflies—have felt to recount such ordeals so calmly now?
"Oppa."
Hwa-yeon pulled a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to Hwarang.
It was a luxurious black handkerchief embroidered with an unfamiliar crest.
"Sorry. Have I cried too much?"
"You look weird enough without hair, but crying makes it even stranger."
"Heh. Yeah, I should stop."
Hwarang wiped his tears with the handkerchief.
"This is quite the fine handkerchief."
"Ah, it was a gift from the family head."
"...From the Sado family head?"
"Yes."
That man with his cold, arrogant demeanor—giving a handkerchief to her little sister?
Maybe he's not what he seems on the surface.
Well, that would explain why a Heavenly Demon Divine Cult member went out of their way to seek him out at Shaolin, hiding their identity.
"How's life treating you now...?"
"It's fine."
"Fine, my foot. Look at that stiff speech."
"W-well, it's become a habit."
Hwa-yeon's face flushed red as she waved her hands in denial.
Hwarang just gazed at her fondly, finding even that adorable.
"I'm kidding. Kidding. I get it, Oppa understands. I'm no different myself."
"You sound like Grandpa."
"What?"
"Kidding."
"You little rascal."
Hwarang ruffled Hwa-yeon's hair.
Ruffling a woman's hair was a grave discourtesy, but since it was her brother's touch, it only filled her with warmth.
Memories of childhood kept bubbling up, drawing smiles to her lips.
"Oppa."
"What is it?"
"Come with me."
Hwa-yeon's words made Hwarang's eyes widen in surprise.
"Where to?"
"Home."
The word "home" struck a raw ache deep in Hwarang's chest.
He had deliberately forgotten.
On that foggy day, their home burned, and their beloved family all perished.
The weight of being the surviving young master had crushed him, so he fled.
He fled and kept fleeing until he reached the place most opposed to the cult.
And became a monk.
Living to forget everything of the secular world.
But Hwarang had to admit it.
You can't escape your roots, after all.
He was unmistakably a child of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Just that one ordinary word—"home"—stirred such turmoil in him.
"If you speak to the family head, he'll arrange a place for you at headquarters. Maybe even give you a building from the Sado family."
Hwarang stared quietly at Hwa-yeon, who chattered on with flushed cheeks.
"—Then we can live together... Um, do I have something on my face?"
"No. Your swollen eyes from crying reminded me of the old days, that's all."
"Oppa!"
"Kidding."
Then Hwarang spoke.
"Hwa-yeon."
"Yes, Oppa?"
"Thank you. For surviving like this. For growing up so well."
Reading his tone, unease flickered across Hwa-yeon's face.
Why was he speaking like someone bidding farewell, right after their reunion?
"Oppa?"
"I can't go."
"Why... why not?"
"Because I have ties to Shaolin."
Shaolin had its rules.
When entering Shaolin, they accept anyone as long as they are not villains.
But to leave and return to the secular world, one had to forsake everything received from Shaolin.
That "everything" naturally included martial arts.
Since it wasn't for grave sins, they didn't sever the meridians, but the dantian was crippled, forcing a life as an ordinary mortal.
"Just sneak out. No one will find you at home. You know the cult already has Gwangbul."
"Gwangbul... Right. There was such a senior. But our cases differ."
With that, Hwarang extended his palm upward.
Hwa-yeon's eyes widened at the gesture.
Whenever Oppa did that, holy flames always danced above it...
But.
Nothing happened.
"I've lost the Holy Fire."
"!?"
What was the Holy Fire?
The sacred, true flame—the very soul of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
"To be precise, I offered it as the price for entering Shaolin. That's how a cult member like me could join."
"...!"
"Shaolin is a righteous and impartial sect. Selectively, that is."
Hwa-yeon ground her teeth.
"How could those hailed as the pillar of the murim stoop to such cowardice?"
"That's precisely why they're the pillar. They must be nobler than all, adhere to principles more strictly than any, and be more fastidious. Only then can Shaolin be the foundation of the murim."
Hwarang continued.
"In any case, I can't leave my Holy Fire at Shaolin and return home... to the cult. How could I face them without the cult's soul?"
"They'll understand."
"Understand?"
"I'll understand, and the family head will too."
"Even if the Sado family head understands, what changes?"
"Everything. His acknowledgment is the cult's acknowledgment."
Hwa-yeon pressed on.
"The family head has subdued all Six Demonic Families except the Tang Clan, using them as his limbs. He's stirring waves and earning the fervent support of young warriors. In a cult that reveres the strong, no one dares challenge his word."
"The Sado family head is that strong?"
Hwarang tilted his head.
He did vaguely recall something.
Back when the Sado family wasn't yet one of the Six Demonic Families.
There were rumors of their second son being a prodigious genius.
Then suddenly, all talk of him vanished, so he'd assumed the talent never bloomed.
"The Dao King himself acknowledged him as an expert."
"The Dao King... Acknowledged without that vicious sword of theirs?"
"Yes."
Hwa-yeon had defended her family head with fervor.
Hwarang watched with a smile, then dropped a casual remark.
"Hwa-yeon."
"Yes?"
"You like the Sado family head, don't you?"
"...Pardon?"
Her delayed response confirmed it for Hwarang.
His own flesh and blood harbored feelings beyond mere loyalty for her liege.
"O-of course I like him. He's a true cult member, an example to us all."
"Not that kind of like."
"I have no idea what you mean. I'm simply devoted to the family head."
"You're slipping back into your old speech when flustered."
"That's not..."
"Loyal retainers don't usually blush like schoolgirls."
Hwa-yeon nearly retorted, Tak Horak does, but remembered her brother didn't know him.
Besides, Tak Horak is... Tak Horak.
He didn't feel like a fitting example.
"See? At a loss for words."
"No, that's..."
"Hwa-yeon."
Hwarang's face turned serious.
"He's the brother of the man who exterminated our clan. Our enemy. Is that truly alright?"
"Oppa."
Hwa-yeon matched his gravity.
"The family head saved my life."
"Even though you resemble Sado Gwang enough to fool me at first glance?"
"Yet he's more different from Sado Gwang than anyone."
Her eyes brimmed with conviction.
The eyes of his Super Peak sister, whose mental image was strong enough to dispel even heart demons, shone with utter certainty.
Though she seemed oblivious to the nature of her feelings.
"Anyway, it's not like that, Oppa."
"Alright. If you say so."
"It's really not?"
Perhaps she was denying it to herself.
Anyone else might be fine, but the problem was that his fiancée was the Heavenly Demon.
Hwarang pitied his sister.
Yet she was no longer the girl chasing butterflies.
"Hwa-yeon. To be called Hwa-yeon proudly instead of Sa Wol, to restore the Seong family's honor—you'll need the Holy Fire."
"How will you...?"
"I swear it. I'll reclaim it honorably."
"Oppa."
Ordinary folk would beg him not to, citing the danger.
But Hwa-yeon was cult through and through. A cultist's oath meant unbreakable will, a vow to fulfill at all costs.
She didn't ask how. It would surely be an impossibly arduous path.
Hwa-yeon spoke.
"I swear too. I'll wait. I'm good at waiting. Just come back healthy."
"You."
Hwarang stroked her hair.
Then they both sensed a presence and turned.
Sado Hwan stood there.
His attire was slightly different from before, his hair a bit disheveled, for some reason.
"Have you resolved your reunion's regrets?"
"Yes, family head."
"It's getting late. The Dao King will arrive soon."
"It was enough."
"You'll be staying a few days anyway, so any unfinished tales can wait."
Hwa-yeon bowed lightly in response. Hwarang followed suit.
"I've heard much. My thanks for your grace."
"We'll speak separately later."
"I look forward to it."
Sado Hwan nodded as if to say he understood, then addressed Hwa-yeon.
"Sa Wol."
Hwarang's brow twitched at the title, but Hwa-yeon seemed unfazed.
"I'm retiring to rest. Let no one enter."
"Understood."
As Sado Hwan turned to leave at her reply,
"Sado family head."
Hwarang called out.
"Yes?"
"Take care of Hwa-yeon."
Those abyss-deep eyes fixed on Hwarang. Meeting that gaze up close felt like suffocating pressure.
Is this... the aura of one acknowledged by the Dao King?
Then Sado Hwan spoke.
"Requests are for the weak. You needn't make one. Moreover."
He glanced at Hwa-yeon, then turned away.
"Sa Wol is mine. No need for worry."
With that, Sado Hwan passed Hwarang and vanished.
Hwa-yeon—no, Sa Wol's ear tips flushed red.