The Dance That Blooms Eternal
The narrow path leading to Jangwon Manor. Mu Yun and Gong Ya-seong walked slowly.
Clop, clop! Suddenly, a quaint flower path unfolding neatly beside the wall caught their eyes more vividly than usual today. Sunlight filtering through the trees pierced his chest with a poignant ache.
As they left the lush flower path behind, a modest garden came into view. And with it, her dance.
Swish! The floral scent carried on a gentle breeze tickled their nostrils. Amid the softly falling sunlight, the pale face of the woman unfurling her movements came into sight. A faint blush colored her earlobes, and a subtle smile graced her lips.
A slender breeze brushed past her body. Swish! Her movements were majestic yet weightless, rippling her arms like waves. Her knees and waist swayed playfully, lifting her shoulders in rhythm. Divinity dwelled in her fingertips as they softly caressed the air.
Whirl! Rustle! Jin Seo-yeon, who had been watching Yusun's fluid dance, held her breath. A growing heat burned in her eyes, mingled with mounting bewilderment.
It couldn't be helped.
She's different today. Something's off.
For nearly a month now, the familiar form of the dance was the same. Yet it felt utterly changed.
Since reuniting that day, she'd called her "sister." The smile Yusun had given at those words, the single tear tracing down her cheek—they remained vivid in her mind. The thought that she'd done so well still brought an involuntary smile.
Thus passed a month as sisters. The first time Yusun danced, Jin Seo-yeon had considered averting her eyes from the embarrassing parts—but she couldn't.
Yusun's resolute expression held not a trace of shame. To avoid facing it would mock her, and etch another limit onto herself.
Then, not long ago, realization dawned.
Just accept it as it is.
The vivid, primal feel hadn't changed. Even now, seeing those motions flushed her face. But things had shifted. The blush no longer felt shameful. Her heart had embraced it wholly.
Only then could she confront the dance's form head-on. Through it, she revealed everything within—no more, no less.
Her longing and yearning for rationality, her carnal desires—they were merely facets of the heart. She saw how obsession with conventions and propriety had blinded her to the essence, chasing worldly facades instead.
After that, she met the dance with open eyes, and danced her own the same way.
Yet the dance of the sister who enabled this change had transformed.
Jin Seo-yeon's gaze deepened.
She's channeling far more inner energy today. Why?
Her puzzled eyes gleamed brighter.
They'd lived and danced together for a month. As a martial artist, she couldn't miss that Yusun was cultivating a heart method.
At first, she'd thought it mere breathing exercises for health. But recently, Yusun had shared something.
"You know I've been cultivating a heart method, right?"
"Ah! ……Yes."
It wasn't something she'd pried into.
"I figured. Someone like you would notice. Surprised a non-martial artist like me is doing it?"
"A bit. But breathing techniques are common. It suits your dance—you've mastered it well."
"It's not just breathing. Feels like a precious heart method."
"Huh? How?"
"Who do you think taught me?"
"……The Bangju?"
"Yeah. There's a story behind it."
Yusun had briefly shared only her own circumstances, skimping on details about Mu Yun.
Jin Seo-yeon's eyes widened gradually. She now knew Gong Ya-seong was an extraordinary physician. And what damjeokgoe—liver cancer—entailed.
Given only six months at most, yet three years sustained by this heart method? She had to ask.
"Maybe there's another reason? I've never heard of such a heart method."
"No! I know my own body."
"……Then it truly is precious."
"Yes. He gave it freely. Though it was meant for someone else."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Oops! I'm rambling. Pretend you didn't hear that."
"……?"
Even now, thinking of the Bangju left her baffled. From their first meeting, to reuniting after three years, to now—he remained a mystery.
Curious, but she didn't pry. Yusun skimmed over him too, mentioning only that she'd entrust So-ryeo to him later.
But one thing was clear.
He's no villain.
So-ryeo, now calling her "auntie" and following her devotedly. Yet her smile for the Bangju differed vastly from that for herself. A three-year-old's discernment meant he'd shown his true self.
No wicked man could earn that. Nor orchestrate the recent events at the execution ground.
The heart method from such a man now exuded a profound aura.
Yusun's graceful steps quickened. As one foot stamped and lifted, her entire body rippled, her flung hands churning the air.
Swish! Her whirling dance scattered her loosened hair skyward. The increasingly vigorous wing-like sweeps of her arms surged with growing energy.
Then, suddenly, her whole body shimmered, releasing a subtle wave of pure qi that poured forth intangible force.
Wooong! Whiiiing!
In that instant, Jin Seo-yeon sprang to her feet.
Thud!
Her wide eyes and gaping mouth lingered frozen. An impossible reality scrambled her mind.
Balgyeong!
Nothing else came to mind.
Followed by bewilderment.
……How?
All her martial knowledge turned topsy-turvy.
Balgyeong—emitting qi externally—came in myriad forms. Standard inner arts progressed from sensing qi, to accumulating it in the lower dantian, to emission.
Typically grasped vaguely at first-rate, weaponized as fist or sword qi at Jeoljeong peak.
She knew Yusun had formed a lower dantian—tiny, but accumulated to second-rate entry. Balgyeong from there was shocking enough.
But the amazement went further.
It's gushing from her entire body like external art energy. And ceaseless, like Jeonsa-gyeong.
Not a momentary burst—it flowed endlessly, myeonmyeonbujeol. Detectable even from several paces away.
"Ha! Haa!"
Yusun's ragged breaths neared exhaustion. She'd summoned every ounce of inner energy.
The Baratanaati Am Simbeop accumulation over three years—the lifeline sustaining her. Hitherto, only enough to aid her dance.
But today demanded a martial artist, not a dancer.
Yusun knew her time was short. This was her final act—what she wanted, what she must do.
I want to pass it to Seo-yeon.
Her now-heart-accepted little sister, Jin Seo-yeon—to impart the dance's essence.
She'd shown her the dance, danced together days later. Thus began their month together, opening hearts, truly knowing each other.
Understanding Seo-yeon's character solidified her resolve.
Seo-yeon can carry it on.
Her final wish.
If So-ryeo feels it! What kind of dance her mother danced.
Should So-ryeo see and learn this, she'd feel it. That her mother's life held meaning.
Only Seo-yeon could show So-ryeo this essence she'd glimpsed. Not Mu Yun—he could teach, but as a man, couldn't convey what she'd achieved.
And another revelation, over two years into the heart method.
Channeling accumulated energy beyond the dance could make her a martial artist. An unimaginable power erupted.
The next day, she showed Mu Yun and asked.
"I can't believe I achieved this."
"Indeed. Didn't expect Balgyeong. Pity—you'd be a famed heroine in the jianghu."
"Hoho! It's the heart method's excellence, not me. I know that much."
"True. Made by my friend—a remarkable guy."
Suddenly, a long-unthought thought struck Yusun. Why his friend made a women's heart method—she now intuited.
Having witnessed the power of his solo dance, she envisioned female martial artists of similar realm dancing in tandem.
"Who was it meant for, that his friend made this?"
"What a funny guy. Can't even fend for himself."
Yusun's eyes moistened slightly.
"……He gave something like this to me?"
"Don't worry. It doesn't wear out—give it when the time comes."
Yusun smirked. The obvious image sparked mischief.
"When?"
"Huh?"
"When exactly? You don't even plan to meet her, do you?"
"……I've got things to do now."
"And after? You'll meet then?"
"Why this! I'm a man too."
"Your kind of man. Like an old geezer with women. Won't even let So-ryeo marry at this rate. Worrying."
"Nonsense! Even if I can't, Yeon—cough!"
"Ouch! What's with the stuttering? Lucky if you snag one."
"Just watch! You'll see."
"Not till then—obvious!"
"……!"
A heart method meant for a lover, passed to her. To repay Mu Yun's immense grace, however small, she sought a way.
His martial knowledge was unmatched. Yet even he couldn't do everything alone. The paired male-female sections.
She wanted to help. But realized her inadequacy—no mutual qi exchange.
Seo-yeon is different.
With the heart method, a Sword Princess candidate like her could handle it.
Besides, Mu Yun's nature—he'd live like an old man forever otherwise. Though the end was unknown, she wanted to forge even a small bond.
That was her role.
Now, with the changed light in Jin Seo-yeon's eyes, she must push harder. Awaken her passion as a martial artist.
As her arms flung skyward once more—
Gong Ya-seong murmured urgently, softly.
"Shouldn't we stop her?"
Mu Yun simply shook his head.
Yusun's expression, gasping as if her lungs would burst—that blazing gaze stayed him.
No. Let her be.
"……!"
Gong Ya-seong fell silent. Even as a non-martial artist, he felt it.
She wants to leave something behind. Her dance. ……Her life.
Stars adorning the night sky not yet fully dark. Her movements approached with brilliance surpassing their gathered light.
Not mere motion—a struggle. A desperate wish to blaze her final flame brightly, birthing new embers.
Thus, they must watch. Even if she scattered like falling petals.
Now was the time. Even if this moment of scattering her wish was the end.
They must silently witness it. Those sharing precious bonds owed her that much.
The flame illuminating the garden gradually shrank. Its world-warming glow spilled outward.
Soon after.
The fading blaze flickered and dimmed.
Plop!
"Sister!"
Jin Seo-yeon's form sliced through the air.
Whish!