The Prodigy's Dexterity Test
Left hand, right hand—Dang Sohee asked me.
"But who's the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master?"
"Hey, you don't even know who the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master is?"
Come to think of it, had Sohee ever had a reason to meet her? These days, my routine was playing with Sohee to my heart's content on my two days off a month, and dropping by Bi Yeon Pavilion in the evenings. I'd tried dragging Dang Jihwan along once, but he said his mom told him not to get mixed up in such dangerous stuff. Without a mom to nag me, I ransacked Bi Yeon Pavilion even harder.
"The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master is Poison Insect Dang Yeonhwa, right? That elder lady?"
"Well, the elders are only obsessed with the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master anyway."
"Tsk! Ma'am Bi Yeon Pavilion Master!"
"Huh?"
"Yohwan, you're five now too. You have to use polite speech with adults. And shouldn't you at least know the other elders?"
I realized Dang Sohee's nagging felt like a familiar routine. This was straight-up mom scolding. In my previous life, my mom had passed suddenly from cancer when I was in middle school. For some reason, in this life, her presence had just evaporated. No one around me would say if she was dead or alive and kicked out. What kind of Schrödinger's mom bullshit was this?
If someone asked how I could reincarnate and not remember my mom, I'd say my awareness only kicked in after two or three. "I'll just live however. What's it matter?"
At five, worrying about face already sounded exhausting. Just because I was an adult in my past life didn't mean I had to play the precocious genius. No one around here would appreciate it anyway. Becoming a spoiled brat was always an open option.
"But I don't want you acting all sloppy and getting looked down on!"
I was baffled. 'No way—is this kid actually worrying about me?'
Her abusive dad was the abuser, not me, yet here she was frowning over me. I widened my eyes and shouted with gusto.
"Alright, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master! Let's go see the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master!"
Thinking about it now, Dang Sohee didn't really need to follow me. I would've ignored any other kid yelling, "Hey, come on!" No telling what trouble they'd drag you into.
But that meant, no matter how much she'd nitpicked my manners, she trusted me in the end. 'I can use polite speech for Sohee if she's gonna trust and follow me like this!'
Leaving the noisy mirror behind cleared my chest. 'Screw the mirror—hopefully it was all my imagination, and nothing happens to Sohee.'
But annoyingly, the wound on Dang Sohee's neck was still there. Tiny as a grain of rice, but way too visible. I had to rescue her from that hell ASAP.
"Alright, Bi Yeon Pavilion Master! Let's go see the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master!"
Confirming her "destined one" had obeyed, Dang Sohee's furrowed brow relaxed in satisfaction.
Why the shift in expectations? Sohee's perception had changed. Until yesterday, Dang Yohwan was just a goofy but fun playmate. Of course, friends had been precious to her even then—precious enough to lend her favorite toys without expecting them back.
But now the situation was different. With her bomb declaration of "destined one," she'd pegged Dang Yohwan as her future husband, and he no longer looked unworthy in her eyes. The possessiveness of wanting her man to be better!
Of course, instincts like that had limits. Overdo it, and it turned into hysteria that crushed a man's pride—hello, shrewish wife. Done wisely, it tamed a husband into a model spouse. Dang Sohee was the latter type. Even before fixing on a husband prospect, the wise wife had been little Sohee's dream.
'The youngest prince Yohwan needs to prepare now if he wants a real place in the clan...'
We entered Myeong Gyeong Hall. The usually quiet place was bustling for some reason. Five or six martial artists were coming and going.
'Gasp—that's the Deep Shadow Squad uniform!'
The Deep Shadow Squad was directly under the elders' council. Ranking-wise, it was one of the top two or three elite units in the Tang Clan.
"Yohwan, aren't you coming in?"
"Why's the Deep Shadow Squad here?"
"You've arrived?"
To my surprise, the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master approached us without a care.
"Hello, Ma'am Bi Yeon Pavilion Master. Thank you for inviting us."
"Hello."
Sohee bowed a perfect ninety degrees from the waist—it looked incredibly polite. I fumbled through a copycat version.
As we stood side by side after greetings, Sohee fidgeted, twiddling her fingers restlessly.
"Y-Yohwan?"
'Is she uncomfortable with that granny?'
She whispered in my ear like it was a problem.
"...No, it's your hand."
'What's wrong with my hand?'
I had no clue what Dang Sohee was pointing out.
She continued anyway. "I'm a girl, so right hand on top. For boys, left hand goes on top."
"What? You nitpick hand position for a bow?"
Shwick, shwick! It wasn't like I'd bowed thoughtlessly. Recalling why I'd put my right hand on top, I remembered mimicking the adults at a family event last time.
"And I'm right—last time we bowed, the adult men definitely had right hand on top."
"Men left hand! Women right hand!"
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master jumped into our debate.
"At ancestral rites tables, it's reversed."
"Ahh!"
I'd unintentionally treated the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master like a corpse. Even an elder wouldn't like that. Luckily, instead of calling me out, she addressed Sohee.
"You're Sohee, right?"
"Yes."
"Young as you are, you deserve the reputation for being capable. You know your etiquette well. Come on, then."
Positive thoughts, positive thoughts! It wasn't that I was ignorant—my Sohee was just that capable!
Following the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master through the sliding doors into Myeong Gyeong Hall, we saw them scrubbing floors, sweeping the courtyard, hauling stuff outside from the neglected building.
"Um, what are the Deep Shadow Squad doing?"
"Nothing much. Just called them to restore Myeong Gyeong Hall to its original state."
Nothing much? Elders cleaned differently. Even public-service me thought, 'Is this a division commander's aura?'
Seeing the clan's top talents turned into an elder's dogs, slaving over chores, was pitiful just to watch. 'Hang in there, uncles!'
Truth be told, the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master launching a big cleanup and garden remodel was out of character. That granny didn't blink at dust.
Only one reason for the tidying: 'She's buttering up the Mirror Ghost.'
Going this far meant the Mirror Ghost hadn't been some nobody in life.
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master stopped before the name plaque.
"Can you read it?"
"Myeong as in clear... but the middle character, I don't know. I see the radical is gold, though."
"The middle is gyeong as in mirror. Myeong Gyeong Hall."
"Ah, mirror gyeong!"
Meeting her for the first time today, the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master clicked with Sohee. Though it was my plan, entering the once-neglected rear garden felt bittersweet at being sidelined. The pitifully empty pond now brimmed with water, looking decent.
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master led us to a gazebo overlooking the pond.
"Ma'am Bi Yeon Pavilion Master, I've never seen wooden floors this shiny!"
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master shrugged proudly.
"No big deal. Infuse qi while polishing, and it gleams like this."
"You can use internal energy like that...!"
'This isn't just cleaning—it's unfair!'
Unable to forgive the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master's antics, I demolished the snacks piled before me.
We three sat in the gazebo with its tea spread. Low table culture meant a big tray with full tea-and-snack set.
Before I could butt in, they enjoyed tea time happily. Mostly Sohee asking about the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master's work, her answering. Soon, the topic turned to Myeong Gyeong Hall itself.
"...My thought, but the name Myeong Gyeong Hall might come from 'myeong gyeong ji su.' Clear mirror, still water."
It felt like I was trapped in a Hanja-learning comic disguised as wuxia.
"Um, Ma'am Bi Yeon Pavilion Master. I have a question."
...No, kid's books wouldn't have dark stuff like domestic abuse.
"How can water just stop still?"
"Sohee, why ask something so dumb?"
"No, good question."
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master launched into abstractions.
"No matter how clear a mirror, it can't match reality. Water's nature is motion—rarely still."
The modern man in me scoffed inwardly. 'Yeah, science marches on.'
In the future, mirrors? Cloaking tech exists, holograms projected in thin air. I wasn't swayed by this era's old-timers' mental victories.
"Yet a mirror must be clear to be useful—like observing without your heart's sway."
Sohee tilted her head. "But flowing water has uses too, right? Washing hands or things. Even a foggy old mirror could find the right purpose."
No way—were these strangers diving into high philosophy already?
"Your point has merit too. Yohwan, what do you think?"
"Huh, me?"
Sohee looked too.
"A mountain's a mountain, water's water."
The auto-translate from my Korean brain supplied the heroic line.
"Yohwan, did you come up with that?"
Unlike Sohee, the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master's reaction was subtle.
"Qingyuan Weixin—that monk's words, borrowed."
Wait, wasn't that a 20th-century Korean monk? I'd planned to claim creative genius, but I backpedaled fast.
"Y-yeah, it was such a great saying."
Sohee's gaze turned complicated, unlike before.
~ Explanation ~
Koreans know it from a 20th-century monk, but a Song Dynasty monk said it first!
Original: "At first, seeing mountains as mountains, water as water. Then seeing mountains not as mountains, water not as water. Finally, seeing mountains just as mountains, water just as water."
A dharma talk emphasizing confusions in mid-cultivation.
By then, the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master had stood and started clearing tea and snacks.
"Ah, let me help!"
Sohee jumping to assist—truly such a good kid.
"Want to play a fun game?"
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master scattered raw grains on the tablecloth. Unmilled: four types—millet, barley, wheat, rice. No big beans.
She spread them out. "Can you pick out just the wheat?"
"Yes!"
Grinning happily as she followed instructions, I was floored.
"Um, Ma'am, Sohee's five? She knows some letters. She's not dumb!"
'This isn't some IQ test.'
But ignoring my jab, the "game" continued.
"Done."
"Good."
The Bi Yeon Pavilion Master dumped all grains back on her palm, scattered them again. Watching closely, I realized it wasn't easy.
"Don't touch the others."
Conditions got stricter.
"Try with your left hand."
Prep time sped up per round. Her scattering grew too fast to follow.
"Just your ring finger."
Sohee naturally sped up too.
"Just middle finger."
Even small hands picking tiny grains with one finger? No easy feat. Unlike weighted Go stones, grains were light.
"Just thumb."
Fearing to distract, I held my breath.
"Right hand pinky only."
Sohee didn't err.
"While doing it, draw a square in the air with your left hand."
'No, that's...'
The next demand was the aptitude test I knew. Drawing shapes with both hands separately was tough, right? In past-life novels, pure-hearted heroines aced it.
Sure enough, Sohee drew a perfect square. Free control of both hands—success.
"Sohee, you did it!"
I shot up shouting. No clue why the Bi Yeon Pavilion Master tested her talent, but in this filthy world, Sohee needed to prove her worth for protection. Wuxia worlds prized martial prowess.
'Sohee has martial talent—unlike me.'
Born the Tang Clan's youngest son, this body lacked it. Even Tang Family Fist would've been fun with daily progress, but no such compliments, not even empty ones. Sure, "smart kid," but that was past-life memory; no cosplay-genius level.
'Maybe Sohee's the protagonist of this world...'
I recalled occasional women-led wuxia webtoons. If Sohee was the heroine, the abuse and her beauty made sense.
Whoosh—Sohee turned to me. Facing her unfamiliar blank expression, I sensed something wrong.
"S-Sohee?"
Charging straight at me fiercely, Sohee yanked off my sleeve without hesitation.