Elixirs Come and Go
Elixirs were there one moment and gone the next.
"No, what the hell is this punishment?"
It was cleaning, of course. Since it was already late, they slept that night, then the next day did eighteen thousand prostrations and ate that godawful plain noodle slop. Afterward, the Emei Sect folks pulled Sohee and me aside separately. They tossed a dry rag and a bucket onto the veranda of some building.
Of course, since reincarnating, I'd never even touched a rag. Making the family head's son clean? Even if it was the sect leader ordering it, was this okay?
"Sohee, you just sit tight! I'll handle it all!"
"But we're husband and wife—we're one body and soul..."
Even if Sohee had gotten pegged as the culprit from yesterday's chaos because of her bad judgment, how could I let her delicate hands grip a filthy rag? No way in hell. I pointed at the empty bucket.
"Then how about fetching the water instead?"
"Sure! I'll be right back!"
And so, on my knees scrubbing away, I hustled up and down the hallway. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over my head.
"You're scrubbing well."
"Father?"
It had been three days since I'd seen him, and he wasn't dressed as a coachman anymore. He'd ditched the human-skin mask for his real face, dressed in proper family head robes.
But isn't Emei Sect territory off-limits for men?
Well, better for Father to come personally than have Emei nuns show up in Tang Family Village—it drew less attention, at least. Standing beside him, arms crossed like a white-haired spider, was the brightly dressed Second Wife.
"Fifth Young Master, you caused trouble back in Tang Family Village, and now you've messed up here in Emei Sect too?"
Who do you think got me framed for that bullshit? I swallowed the retort and asked instead, "Second Wife? What brings you to Emei Sect?"
"To see my master, obviously. Oh, you didn't know I was an Emei disciple?"
Come to think of it, yeah, she had mentioned that. Recalling her fighting Dang Chehwan with Emei martial arts made my head throb.
Thud—Sohee, back before I knew it, slammed the bucket down hard and snapped at Second Wife.
"Auntie. Why should Yohwan have to know about that crap?"
"What? What did you say?"
No way she hadn't heard, but Second Wife asked again, feigning ignorance. Her picture-perfect smile started to crack ever so slightly.
"...Sohee?"
I was as shocked as the horrified Second Wife. Sohee glared straight at her and muttered softly.
"Is it something to brag about? A nun's disciple causing a scandal and marrying into the Tang family..."
Of course, any martial artist with sharp ears would've caught it.
"How dare you!"
What?
Whether Second Wife had seduced my dad back when she was an Emei disciple or gotten slapped for it wasn't my business. What bugged me was that Sohee had said it.
What the hell happened to my sweet Sohee? Did she awaken some mountain tiger spirit?
The changed variable—her sass?
It seemed most plausible that hanging around Moyong Young, who always had a rag in her mouth, had rubbed off on her. That was when Second Wife started showing her venomous true colors.
"Miss Sohee, you can't seem to tell what's appropriate to say yet..."
Unexpectedly, Father stepped in.
"You, tone it down."
"Pardon?"
"Yeah, don't take a kid's words too seriously."
"Bi Yeon Pavilion Master!"
I welcomed Sohee's master as she approached with hands behind her back.
"My disciple's words aren't wrong, are they?"
"Yes, Elder..."
Despite her obedient reply, Second Wife's hands trembled with rage. Her husband wasn't on her side, and an elder like a mother-in-law was defending a kid her junior's age. I glanced at Sohee.
"Yohwan, what?"
Staring her straight on made my heart pound too hard to hold back.
Come to think of it, did I hear about Second Wife's past from Bi Yeon Pavilion Master?
Suddenly, it hit me that Sohee's change wasn't just from Moyong Young.
"Nah, just... thanks."
Better bold than cowering like before, right? Seeing Bi Yeon Pavilion Master slip off her shoes and step onto the veranda suggested she and Father had business with the sect leader.
"Sohee, you head back now."
"Yes, Master."
I didn't forget to kick the bucket on the veranda. As I tried to head back to the lodging with her, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master grabbed me.
"Yohwan, you stay."
"Huh? Why?"
"Just stay if I say so."
She'd called Second Wife too—shouldn't she bring Jihwan hyung? Why was I the one meeting the Emei sect leader? It was baffling, but...
"Long time no see. Poison Insect, and even the Tang family head..."
"You think we'd come if we wanted to?"
Bi Yeon Pavilion Master cut her off bluntly. An attitude no guest would dare. Sandwiched in the middle, Second Wife fidgeted like a family traitor. I had no clue what was going on, but the mood was ice-cold. Quick on the uptake as a kid, I stepped in, changing the subject.
"By the way, Moyong Young noona said she wanted to see the sect leader..."
"This is that child."
Father suddenly pointed at me, interrupting.
"Ah, is that so? How pitiful."
Hearing that, the sect leader looked down at me with pity. Obvious what Father had just explained. Probably worse than my mom's death?
"Yes. I am pretty pitiful."
Making a poor motherless kid scrub floors, after all. The sect leader threw a curveball question.
"Have you been behaving in the Tang family all this time?"
"Pardon?"
Has this monk even seen me before to bring that up?
Something felt off. Glancing at where the sect leader's gaze ended, Second Wife was smiling awkwardly.
"Don't worry too much, Master."
"Haaa..."
The sect leader sighed at Second Wife, then turned to me with a kind smile.
"Fifth Young Master, try not to cause too much trouble."
I had to choke back a laugh more than answer. That "behave in the Tang family" bit earlier wasn't for me—it was a warning to Second Wife.
Second Wife must've been a handful back in her Emei days too.
No time for fun imaginings. Bi Yeon Pavilion Master's next words were too shocking.
"This stone girl, have you lost your mind? Can't even remember her own parents' faces, yet sticking your nose in someone else's precious family education."
"Then as Sakyamuni's disciple, you're a stone girl. Got some dream girl in mind or what?"
The Emei sect leader was as flustered as me.
"That poor kid who can't remember her own mother's face almost died because of your disciple!"
"My disciple didn't do it on purpo—"
"So leaving a child possessed by qi deviation was fine? Turn a motherless kid into a cripple? I'll write to the Murim Alliance lord right now saying Emei birthed the world's worst evil wife!"
"Please don't be angry—it's all this girl's fault!"
Second Wife prostrated and banged her forehead on the floor. Bi Yeon Pavilion Master turned to her immediately.
"No, it's all my fault! How did I let someone like you into the family— I can't even face my dead brother! When's that old hag gonna seal her lips? I oughta rip that ugly mug off her!"
It hit me anew: in wuxia tales, master-disciple bonds were thick as thieves. Like how a disciple avenges their master, the master covers for the disciple's flaws—that's the way of the jianghu.
"Elder, I'm sorry!"
More ferocious than Moyong Young's potty mouth by tenfold, and raging over me like some warlord—but my eyes went to Father. Calm as the eye of a storm, sipping tea amid the fury.
Why's this guy like that?
Come to think of it, he could've sided with his wife earlier, but didn't.
"That wench who barely scraped into the Yongbong Assembly! Thinks she's hot shit just 'cause she's aged and her disciples kiss ass!"
I sat and sipped tea too. Was Dang Jihwan really born from causing trouble, or who was fiercer—Father or Bi Yeon Pavilion Master? Finally, under the nonstop barrage, the Emei sect leader waved the white flag.
"Fine! How shall we compensate for my disciple's wrong?"
Like her tirade was a lie, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master sat calmly. Though she didn't forget to glare at Second Wife's disheveled hair.
"Compensation—for blocking elixir intake, an elixir would be good."
That was the goal!
Right, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master had coaxed Moyong Young to come here. She'd come to Emei to settle my grievance from the start! Noble clan daughters were proud and haughty. I'd overlooked, mocking her as a spinster ghost, that a sasspot like Moyong Young ended up single, unrefined, and powerful—as Bi Yeon Pavilion Master.
A chill of cathartic thrill shook me, like my guts had been scrubbed clean.
Yes! That's how a revenge ghost rolls, Tang style!
Father, silent till now, jumped in.
"Sect Leader, don't you have that Azure Clarity Oil from the Serim Clan a couple months back?"
"How did you..."
The sect leader's reaction suggested it was top secret. Bi Yeon Pavilion Master demanded.
"Ah, thirty years' worth? Hand that over."
Thirty years! My eyes lit up.
"...Still, isn't thirty years too much for a child?"
"Who else's disciple caused trouble in our family? Just hand it over!"
Father nodded in agreement. "I think it was about a jia when I was ten."
Whoa! Dick move from the gold-spoon jerk!
"I'll have my disciple bring it."
The dejected sect leader replied, and soon we got the elixir. Father left alone somewhere, Second Wife stayed with the sect leader, and I trailed after Bi Yeon Pavilion Master.
Finding out Second Wife was totally blacklisted by her after that incident was an unexpected bonus. Her vicious tongue wasn't just bad temper—it was calculated. The secret to Bi Yeon Pavilion Master yelling at the sect leader? Survival of the strongest. She's a powerhouse, so she bosses even the sect leader. She pushes through unreasonable demands. The motivation to get strong hit me hard—I needed power too.
"Yohwan, want help taking it now?"
"Nah. It's best after half a year for max effect, right?"
I'm an efficiency nut too. Plus, with my Tang Family Fist training focus, I didn't need inner power right away.
"You think Emei'll steal it back? It's not like they gave and took."
"True."
"Give it now. I'll take it home and consume it."
Of course, entrusting it to Bi Yeon Pavilion Master was safest—I knew that. Elixir trait: shareable! Husbands and wives split even a single bean, so once out of Emei, back home, I could split it with Sohee.
"That Second Wife thing too—you've been neglected. Sorry."
I had some tact. No way she'd let me share in this mood. If anyone's owing an apology, it's Father. Like she'd read my mind, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master brought him up.
"You saw earlier, but Minsuk isn't just cold to you. Thinking of you, wasn't I too harsh on Second Wife?"
After playing strict grandma herself, did that bug her? Father's demeanor didn't seem normal. Not heartless, not scolding an annoying wife—just detached, watching like a hypocrite. Even the Heavenly Demon Cult leader would seem more human. I'd never expected Dang Chehwan's dad to be decent, but coming for the elixir today kinda counted as fatherly.
"No, I'll do better from now on."
I had no clue what "better" meant—but saying "thanks" to family felt awkward anyway.
"Alright."
Bi Yeon Pavilion Master Dang Yeonhwa's reply seemed less relieved, more weighed down. Hands behind her back, she gazed wordlessly at the bright moon. She looked somehow lonely. Made sense—with no marriage her whole life, only the clan left, and the family head such a mess. I left the Tang ladies and ran back to the lodging.
"Gahhhhhhh!"
Ghosts did exist.
And they'd stolen my elixir.
"Emei Sect! You damn bitches!"