Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Firm Ground After Rain (3)
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Having an unknown girl suddenly shove her head toward me was quite a disconcerting experience.
But since it wasn't particularly difficult, I stroked her hair as she wished.
The texture of her worn white hair was much softer than I'd imagined.
Seeming pleased as I stroked it, the girl closed her eyes and began to fully enjoy the sensation of my hand.
The way she shook her head side to side following my hand made her look just like a puppy fond of people.
Judging that I'd petted her enough, I withdrew my hand from atop her head.
However, she still seemed unsatisfied.
The girl looked back and forth between me and my hand with an obviously regretful expression.
She looked about Sua's age in appearance, but her behavior was a bit...
"Feels good, pet me a little more."
"Rude. Shouldn't you first express gratitude for saving your life?"
"Rude? Gratitude?"
"...Are you making fun of me right now?"
"Making fun? Of whom? Me?"
Even though Sua openly showed anger on her face, the girl's innocent head tilt and questioning made it clear she wasn't mocking or teasing anyone.
So I raised my hand to stop Sua, who seemed about to explode in anger.
Fortunately, Sua seemed to sense something off too, and obediently retreated behind me.
"By any chance, do you have a name?"
"What's a name?"
"...What did people call you?"
"They called me Number Three. Oh, is Number Three my name?"
"Master, this is..."
Sua looked at me gravely, and I nodded in response.
It seemed the girl had been trapped at a much younger age than we'd thought.
Locked away at an age when she should have been learning and growing, without even care or education.
Her body grew day by day, but her mind couldn't, inevitably leading to this.
I asked various things in case she remembered something, but it was too harsh for a girl who couldn't even remember her own name.
In the end, it was all for naught.
"It seems we'll have to show her to the physician again tomorrow."
"But even showing her to the physician might not bring much improvement..."
"Probably not. Still, at least we can get some advice."
As expected, early the next morning we went down to the village and showed her to Physician Yi Cheongu, but he only said it was beyond his abilities.
Teaching her from the beginning was the only way.
"Is there perhaps a place that could take this child?"
"Well, the villagers aren't destitute, but they don't have the spare means to take in a child who can't work..."
The village of Seochae at the foot of Geumhyeonsan wasn't impoverished, but neither was it affluent.
They might take a healthy child who could work, but...
No one would take in a freeloader who couldn't work and only ate without conditions.
They just clicked their tongues at the pitiful story. At least that cost nothing.
But I couldn't blame them for being heartless.
More mouths meant more burden.
Especially if that mouth couldn't even do a person's share of work.
"I'll take her."
"You're serious?"
Strictly speaking, there was one person willing to take her.
A man named An Tak from Seochae, infamous in the village as a drunkard and lecher.
"Yes, the child is plump and pretty... Ahem!! Nothing."
"...Introduce yourselves. This child's name is Fist."
"Fist? Unusual name for a girl."
"No, really Fist."
His excited gaze at the girl clinging to my leg like sticky rice cake didn't look normal at all.
So I introduced my fist to An Tak's face instead of the girl.
"Now even weird perverts are crawling out."
"Um, Master. If it's alright..."
"What is it?"
"They're refusing because they lack the means, so if we provide financial support..."
"That was my plan from the start."
Sua looked at me with startled rabbit eyes.
I'd thought of that too at first.
But if we offered money upfront, who would refuse?
"But if they only reluctantly accept because we pay upfront... the child wouldn't be happy there."
"Y-Yes, you're right. I'm sorry, Master. I failed to understand your profound intent."
"As long as you understand now. At least today's you is wiser than yesterday's you."
"Quite right!"
So it ends up like this?
I sighed and looked at the girl.
She was now sitting on the ground, chasing a nearby butterfly with all her might.
"Child."
"Why call?"
"But still...!!!"
"It's fine, Sua. From now on, we can teach her ourselves."
"Pardon? You mean..."
They say even brushing sleeves creates a bond.
Since our extraordinary encounter began with her floating down the river, this must be fate.
I stroked the girl's head.
"From now on, your name is Seolhwa."
Got it? Daebok... no, Seolhwa.
The righteous sects, rooted in Daoist or Buddhist traditions, valued scholarship and etiquette as much as martial prowess.
Truly worthy of being called prestigious families. Sua was no exception.
However, that didn't lead to her criticizing Master's decision to take in the girl—no, Seolhwa.
On the contrary, Sua approved of taking in a pitiful child with nowhere to go.
Especially since the scars and wounds on Seolhwa's body proved she'd lived a grueling life no less than Sua's own.
At first, it was just pity.
'She's such a pitiful child. I should take good care of her too.'
Besides, she was a fellow disciple under the same master.
Meaning Seolhwa was Sua's first little sister disciple.
In the Moyong Clan, Sua had always been the youngest.
But that thought didn't last even a fortnight, because Seolhwa's talent was far superior to what Sua had imagined.
If not for being locked away young without learning...
Her learning speed astonished even Sua.
In just a fortnight, she began reading and writing hanja a bit, and even perfectly mastered Master's Three Disasters Sword Art.
'Master's discernment is exceptional too. He saw her talent at a glance...'
Of course, objectively, her talent was still inferior to Sua's.
Sua could perform any form perfectly after seeing it once.
But Seolhwa, talented as she was, wasn't quite at that level.
So normally, Sua had no reason to envy her. Except regarding Master.
"You've grasped the feel in just three days."
"But I still can't do it well... yet."
"That's fast enough already. At this rate, you'll master the Azure Sword Heart Method perfectly within a month."
"..."
She'd never heard of the Azure Sword Heart Method before.
But the mere fact that it was the method Master used made its value inexpressible.
"I-I want to learn the Azure Sword Heart Method too! Master!!"
"Don't you already have the Moyong Clan's heart method?"
"..."
"Heart methods are rooted in breathing exercises. Suddenly changing to a different one from what you're used to could weaken you, or worse, lead to qi deviation."
It was sound logic.
Warriors usually built inner energy in their dantian through breathing from childhood; changing it overnight was extremely dangerous, risking qi deviation and more.
Worst case, conflicting energies could rupture the dantian, making martial arts impossible forever.
Sua knew this well.
She couldn't protest further and reluctantly nodded.
As the daughter of a prestigious righteous clan, how could she not know?
Yet...
'What is this emptiness?'
A sense of alienation, like walking a different path alone, dominated her heart.
Sua forgot to swing her sword and just watched Master teach Seolhwa.
"Swing harder."
"Got it!"
"Politeness later; focus fully on the form now."
"Yeah!!"
"Yes, like that!"
Seolhwa faithfully followed Master's words, and Master praised her new disciple's progress lavishly.
Watching this, Sua finally realized.
Ah, I see.
Why her heart felt so empty and pained.
Why wicked thoughts kept arising.
Now she understood.
"That spot was supposed to be mine alone..."
Master's praise, his eyes full of attention.
His hand stroking her head, saying well done.
The moment she finally realized that.
A flame called jealousy began to blaze fiercely in the girl's chest.