Daehuandan
I give back exactly what I receive. That’s my rule.
Having been handed an unexpected prize in the form of the Shaolin Daehuandan, I did my best to teach Baekhwa Ryeon in return.
“So that’s what it was?”
As if she had just realized something, she smacked one fist into her palm and muttered to herself.
The mystery of Reverse Abyss Form.
The unique properties of the Sun and Moon Yin-Yang Divine Art were, of course, something I couldn’t exactly pass on as if they were a trick. But the method, the essential knack, could be taught.
Was she some kind of prodigy who’d reached Transcendent / Grandmaster at such a young age?
“Baek Sojeo.”
Before even a day had passed, Hwa Ryeon had already grasped the key point and surprised me.
“Mm… so the idea was to disperse force as much as possible and minimize the burden. To think you could use internal energy that way…”
I lowered my head so our eyes met.
In those bright, glittering pupils, I could see a flicker of confidence.
“……”
Of course, actually making it her own was another matter entirely.
By today, it was already the seventh day.
Between sessions, I’d been practicing the Sun and Moon Palm and the Sun and Moon Light Dragon Seal, but it was about time I started properly mastering the main forms.
Unlike I’d expected, Hwa Ryeon still hadn’t awakened to the underlying principle.
At this rate, I might have to keep teaching her periodically even after I left Myeongok Hall.
She looks like she’s working hard, but somehow she doesn’t seem that driven… and she looks anxious, too.
Strange, considering how desperately she had wanted to learn.
Wiping away the beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, she looked up at me with a tone that tried hard to sound confident, as if she were hiding her exhaustion.
“I’ve got it completely this time. This time really is different!”
You said that earlier too.
If she wanted to lie there on the floor and brag, all it did was make me want to laugh.
“Baek Sojeo, let’s rest for a bit.”
Sparring in a mock battle like this was the most effective way to train, but taking one of my palms while suppressing her internal energy had to be taking a heavy toll on her body.
“No! I’m fine! Let’s keep going right away. You don’t even have enough time for your own training… ah…”
She clapped a hand over her mouth in alarm.
“……”
Cheon Sojin and Baekhwa Ryeon were clearly the same age, but in the middle of conversation she would occasionally call me that.
“I’ve done it again. I told you already… when I’m with you, Young Master Sojin, it feels like I’m spending time with my late older brother.”
“It’s fine. I’m not picky about titles anyway. If anything, it’s an honor.”
“If he were alive, would it have felt like this? I was so young back then that I can hardly remember anymore… isn’t that strange?”
“It just means you cared deeply for him. Let’s take a break.”
“……Mm.”
I sat down first on the training ground floor, and Baekhwa Ryeon let out a faint, peculiar hum before flopping down beside me and stretching out.
The design of her clothes was similar to a qipao. The sweat-soaked cotton fabric clung to her skin, tracing every curve of her body.
That said, I didn’t turn my head away.
I was always a perfectly composed man.
That was me.
“……?”
But did she really need to lie down right in front of me?
With every breath she took, her chest rose and fell in a pronounced motion. Her body kept shifting as though the floor was uncomfortable.
Maybe that was why.
Under the hem of her cotton clothes, which had ridden up just a little, her soft thighs and pale, long legs moved back and forth as well.
This is a martial outfit?
While I was lost in thought, she lifted her head and drew her knees to her chest.
“...Young Master Cheon, am I being a nuisance?”
Then, like a kitten that knew it had done something wrong, she kept sneaking glances at me and asked softly.
“Sojeo, what are you talking about?”
“You’re teaching me so earnestly… but I’m not making any progress. I’m worried I’m just wasting your time.”
There wasn’t a trace of playfulness in her face now; she looked downright dispirited.
Was her self-esteem taking a hit?
Baekhwa Ryeon was one of the few martial artists who would survive until the war ended.
She’d keep growing from here on out, too.
And from the way she’d readily handed over the Shaolin Daehuandan, she didn’t seem like a bad person. Badgering someone who was already blaming herself would usually backfire.
In times like this—
“Baek Sojeo, you’re doing well. You understood the key point in less than a day, didn’t you? Even I couldn’t do that.”
—it was best to praise her.
Even if it looked simple at a glance, this was a high-level martial principle. Even for me, grasping it had taken about seven days.
“Really…?”
“Don’t rush yourself. Let’s try again slowly.”
“……”
Her expression brightened a little, but she still wasn’t as enthusiastic as before.
Was that still not enough?
Then…
“If you master the principle before I leave Myeongok Hall, I’ll give you a present.”
Rewards were another way to do it.
“A present? R-really?”
Her face melted instantly into a brilliant smile.
“I-I don’t mind at all!”
“Money would be fine, and so would an elixir. Sojeo, is there something you want?”
Had she wanted something? What on earth was it that made her react like that?
So I hurriedly added, “Of course, if it’s beyond my ability, that might be difficult… Please understand that I’m still only a student.”
As a reward, she probably wasn’t going to ask for something like Daehuandan, was she?
“Yes! I know! It’s not exactly something I want so much as something I’d like to ask you for.”
A favor?
So that wasn’t the end of the martial guidance after all?
I gave a light nod.
“Go ahead.”
Anyway, if dangling a reward could draw out her motivation, it was cheap at the price.
Training time mattered more.
After thinking hard for quite a while, Hwa Ryeon seemed to make up her mind. She clenched both fists tightly, trotted up to me, and lifted her chin.
“Would it be all right if I started treating you like an older brother?”
For a moment, I almost thought she was joking, but her eyes were full of sincerity as she stared at me.
Older brother, huh…
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
Given that she didn’t get along well with her parents or her older sister, she probably longed for some kind of family affection.
And it didn’t really cost me anything.
“Of course. But only if Baek Sojeo masters the principle. That’s when I’ll hear your request.”
“I know!”
Would it work?
I didn’t think much would change, but it was probably better than before.
*
That thought was rendered meaningless in no time at all.
As soon as the reward was on the table, she learned it.
Ridiculous.
Even now, thinking about it, it still pissed me off a little.
“Older brother. What are you thinking about? Does the tea not taste good?”
After that, she kept trailing after me, humming happily all the while.
“...It’s so good I was savoring it.”
“Really? I’m glad it suits your taste! I should prepare even more!!”
More importantly, wasn’t she getting a little too attached to me?
*
*
The reception room on the upper floor of Jeongdo Academy.
As a place where the sons and daughters of the great sects and noble families of the Central Plains gathered, there were as many people as stars in the sky who wanted a chance to meet the head of the academy, or at least make a connection through him.
And yet, this room was almost never used.
The academy head was busy, and he wasn’t the sort of man who liked this sort of thing in the first place.
“So then! At that moment, Young Master Sojin suddenly appeared, took down that vile Blood Cult bastard, and saved me!”
But today, at least, cheerful voices were spilling out of the reception room.
Watching the blood relative chirp like a fledgling bird, he smiled with contentment.
“……”
“I can’t tell you how disappointed I was not to have seen it. I’d already fainted by then.”
At the table sat carefully prepared tea and snacks.
He had lived his entire life as a martial artist, so sweets and tea weren’t exactly familiar to him, but seeing her munch away happily made him feel warm inside.
“Hahaha… what an astonishingly impressive student he is. In that case, I should go thank him in person.”
“W-what!? Grandfather? That would be a problem!”
As he set down his teacup and made as if to rise, the girl cried out in alarm and tried to stop him. Just looking at his one and only granddaughter was enough to put his heart at ease.
“He saved our Hyea. I can’t just sit still, can I?”
“B-but that wouldn’t be fair! Grandfather, you’re the head of Jeongdo Academy.”
Fairness, huh…
It wasn’t wrong, but the way she dug in her heels over something so strange was exactly like her mother.
“If I can’t even thank someone properly, then I should give up being academy head at once. I’ll send a letter to that alliance leader bastard first thing tomorrow.”
“W-wait, no!”
Of course, her protest wasn’t because she disliked it—it was because she was proud of him.
You’ve grown well, Hyea.
She was still a little rough around the edges, and her conduct could be immature at times, but with experience she would continue to mature.
She was a granddaughter anyone would be proud to present to the world.
He looked fondly at his flustered blood relative and patted her head.
“So that boy has caught your eye. Shall I arrange a marriage?”
“A-ah… well, right now that’s…”
The granddaughter couldn’t answer and lowered her head shyly.
Whether she was embarrassed or simply unprepared, it didn’t matter.
“Hahaha! Don’t worry. This old man will respect our Hyea’s choice.”
“……Yes.”
“Tell me when the time comes.”
To Baekli Jijeong, she was a precious treasure he’d protect even if it meant opening his own eyes and staring at it. But that didn’t mean he was going to say something as foolish as, I can’t give you my granddaughter.
Just live happily.
That was one of the few wishes left to him now.
As much as possible, he intended to give her whatever she asked for.
In the future, she’d make a name for herself as a successor to a Demi-Immortal, so as a match, he wasn’t lacking in confidence.
Of course, if someone made her cry… then that would be a different matter.
After a brief awkward pause, Namgung Hye, with sweets still in her mouth, continued her story.
“Last time, we invited him to come as an honored guest to the Namgung family, but…”
With a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth, she waved her hand happily.
“Hahaha, the more I hear, the more I like that boy.”
“Right? You think so too, Grandfather, don’t you?”
From the fact that she kept praising that boy, Cheon Sojin, right in front of him, it was probably obvious that she wanted him to like the young man too.
“I’m looking forward to this year’s martial competition. And so is someone else!”
Martial competition.
That troublesome term had finally come up.
This year, with factions from the Middle Path, the Eight Great Families, and the Nine Great Sects all expressing their intention to participate, it was going to be one of the most significant martial competitions in history.
The larger the scale, the more likely it was that incidents would occur.
“How’s your martial training going?”
And the responsibility for preparing for it rested entirely on his shoulders.
“Of course! I’ll show everyone what I can do at the martial competition, so you can look forward to it!”
The granddaughter thumped her chest with her fist, sounding utterly certain.
“Hahaha! That puts my mind at ease. I’ll wait for nothing but Hyea’s brilliance.”
“Yes! Oh, right… I shouldn’t be dawdling like this. I need to start checking on my final mission soon.”
Seeing that she’d prepared ahead of time made him feel pleasantly proud.
By now, the sun was sinking beyond the western ridge.
Happy moments always felt far too short.
“How many more does Sojin have left… was it five? That’s a little tight…”
As she sipped her tea, the granddaughter fell into thought and muttered softly to herself.
Only five more? That’s troublesome.
He had wanted to see the boy’s abilities together with his granddaughter.
Now there wasn’t much time left until the martial competition.
“……”
In that case, he’d have to issue an additional mission.
He knew it wasn’t ideal, but making this one small concession was fine.
And who would dare complain to him?
In the end, it was just a minimal device meant to weed out children who acted recklessly, so it wasn’t really unfair.
If they lacked skill, they’d be filtered out in the preliminaries anyway.
His gaze drifted to the stack of letters on the desk.
The up-and-coming figures of the Middle Path, huh…
Reclusive masters, heirs to old traditions, sects that had declared they would walk a path distinct from orthodox martial art.
Martial artists from every corner of the Central Plains were set to participate.
Grow stronger. Strong enough to protect yourself.
He didn’t know how far that boy and Hyea would climb, but the martial competition would be a valuable experience.
He looked forward to that day.
##
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