Hong Si-yeon
I held no ill will toward Hong Si-yeon or that woman called Geumran of Mount Hua.
I’d simply wanted to give Extreme Line some face.
After all, she’d done plenty for me so far.
So of course I had to help her check one thing off her bucket list.
There’s a thing called the five stages of death.
It’s a framework that breaks down the process of coming to terms with a death sentence into five stages.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance?
Something like that, I think. I wasn’t even sure I had the order right anymore.
But that kind of thing doesn’t just apply to death sentences.
Human thought tends to work in similar patterns, so even when something is absurd or unbelievable, the emotions still move through the same sort of progression.
"W-What nonsense is this! Something’s wrong! What is this!? What did you do!"
We’d only crossed swords once, and Hong Si-yeon’s blade had gone flying.
So there was no way Geumran could believe it. This had to be the denial stage.
"Tsk, tsk. The winner has already been decided, so why make such a disgrace of yourself? Have you no eyes?"
"N-No! Plum Blossom! What kind of sorcery did you use!? You didn’t teach her swordsmanship—you taught her some bizarre trick, didn’t you!?"
Hmm. Still denial? Though honestly, that looked like a mix of denial and anger to me.
"Enough. If you keep talking like that, I’ll be displeased."
At last, Extreme Line spoke, and Geumran must have realized she’d gone too far, because she bit her lip.
Then she strode over to me and said, "May I see your sword?"
I glanced at Extreme Line, and she gave a small nod.
Well, Geumran already seemed to have caught on, so it wasn’t exactly a secret anymore.
That was probably why Extreme Line had agreed so readily.
With proper manners, I held the sword out to her with both hands.
And when Geumran took it, she swayed slightly and looked startled.
She’d probably expected something unusual, but not this much.
That was why she was making that face.
"W-What is this? How can a sword be... How were you able to wield something like this so easily?"
She wasn’t really asking for an answer, so I simply smiled faintly and stayed silent.
Geumran looked deep in thought. In the meantime, Hong Si-yeon had fetched her sword from the ground.
"T-This isn’t fair! This is wrong! It doesn’t count! L-Let’s do it again!"
For a bargain, that was pretty clumsy.
No, this wasn’t bargaining. It was just throwing a tantrum.
No one hearing that would feel like doing a rematch for her. They’d just want to tease her more.
"Very well. Have it your way."
But Extreme Line only smiled serenely and let her have it.
If I had to describe her, she was a master at racking up wins with grace and dignity.
Of course, Geumran probably knew perfectly well that she looked pathetic.
But right now, that clearly wasn’t what she was worried about.
Geumran handed the sword back to me, then went over to Hong Si-yeon.
And the two of them began whispering seriously about something.
Hong Si-yeon listened with her eyes fixed on me the entire time, taking in every word with utmost seriousness.
"All right! Let’s go again!"
Geumran said that while looking at Extreme Line.
And Extreme Line, still overflowing with kindness, replied at her leisure, "A repeat match is no matter. However, since I am indulging such unreasonable demands of yours, there should be an appropriate price, should there not?"
"W-What are you trying to make me do!"
"That is not for me to say. That child will decide."
At that, both Geumran’s and Hong Si-yeon’s gazes swung toward me.
Huh? She’s dumping this on me?
I thought about it for a moment, but there was nothing I particularly wanted from them.
If I’d been a man, maybe something a little lewd and sparkly might have happened, but there was no way something like that would come easily here.
And I didn’t particularly want to go that far anyway.
Then, something suddenly came to mind. Right. That was a thing.
"I’ll ask just two things. First, was the sword Hong Si-yoen used just now the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique?"
"Yes. It was."
"Then what internal cultivation method did she learn?"
Geumran’s brows twitched.
Well, of course. In Murim, asking after someone’s sect so carelessly was poor manners.
But right now, the urgent party was them.
And for a prestigious sect like Mount Hua, things like that weren’t even hidden all that carefully.
Everybody already knew.
"It is the Purple Sunset Divine Art."
Yep, a major technique. Famous enough that just about everyone knew the name.
"Then could you recite the formula for the Purple Sunset Divine Art to me once, please?"
At my words, Geumran’s expression turned icy.
Well, it was an absurd request. Like hell would you casually teach an outsider a technique like the Purple Sunset Divine Art.
"Do you think that’s even remotely reasonable?"
"Just once. It’s a simple matter of curiosity on my part. Wouldn’t anyone in Murim be curious? It’s Mount Hua’s proud divine art, after all."
"Even so, there are limits!"
She really was stubborn. Still, I knew asking like that was incredibly rude.
If I’d brought this up to a stranger, they might’ve challenged me to a fight to the death on the spot.
That was how unacceptable what I’d said was. How brazen.
Still, I had backup on my side. Reliable backup, too.
"Would it truly be such a problem to recite it once? What difference would hearing the formula make to this child? And if this is merely a matter of trying to recover water already spilled, is that not a fairly mild condition? If you dislike it, then forget it. We shall end things here."
Extreme Line spoke as though it had nothing to do with her, wearing a perfectly innocent expression.
Coming from someone who knew everything, it was devilishly shameless.
Still, it was reassuring. She was also excellent at poking and prodding in the most exquisite way.
Geumran bit her lip again. She looked genuinely torn.
If she was debating it, that meant there was room to maneuver. If she’d truly refused, she’d already have slammed the door shut.
"But! Plum Blossom must not listen! And you! You must not pass even one line on to anyone else! Not to a soul!"
"I can swear on heaven and earth, and on my own name."
She still looked displeased. But she must have known there was no other option.
That said, she didn’t seem eager to hand it over willingly. Which, honestly, was only natural.
"And! If you duel again and Si-yeon defeats you this time, then I shall do it!"
"All right. That’s your promise, then?"
At my question, Geumran’s fire lit up all over again.
Good. I’d secured another chance. And if Hong Si-yeon beat me this time, there’d be no need for her to recite anything at all.
So Geumran took Hong Si-yeon away and talked at length about something else.
Probably telling her how to break me.
"Child."
"Yes, Senior Sister."
"Do you not need me to tell you anything?"
Extreme Line asked that casually, almost as if she found Geumran and Hong Si-yeon’s relationship a little enviable.
"I’ve already received more from Senior Sister than I could ever repay, so I’m fine."
"...I see."
An ambiguous answer. It was hard to tell whether she was satisfied or not.
Anyway, Geumran’s strategy session ended, and Hong Si-yeon returned to the center of the training ground.
"Ah, Senior Sister. I have something I’d like to ask."
"Speak."
"If I damage the floor of the training ground here, will I have to reimburse it?"
At my odd question, Extreme Line made a bizarre face, as though wondering what sort of question that was.
"You would, technically. But don’t concern yourself with such things. Who would dare demand reimbursement from me?"
Come to think of it, that made sense too.
Besides, she’d already received a fortune from the Ten-Thousand-Blessings Trading Company, so no one was likely to complain about this.
With that, I headed to the center of the training ground. As before, Hong Si-yeon and I exchanged polite bows.
Then the duel resumed. Unlike before, Hong Si-yeon was now terribly cautious.
There was no sign of carelessness from the outset. What was more, as if she’d poured all her skill into it, sword aura shimmered along her blade.
Wow, that was scary. How was this even a duel? It was a fight to the death.
So I, too, gave it everything I had.
Up until now, I’d never once unleashed my full ability.
There’d never been a situation that called for it.
So this was a good chance. A chance to find out exactly how strong I really was.
First, I pushed Ice Soul Divine Art to its fullest and poured it into Hanjunggeom.
Hanjunggeom readily accepted ice qi.
And so the sword was wrapped in chill, exhaling a biting cold.
Then my blade clashed with Hong Si-yeon’s again and again.
The sharp ring of metal rang out loud and clear.
But Hong Si-yeon seemed to have a solid answer to heavy sword techniques, because unlike before, she was taking every strike head-on.
The longer our exchanges went on, the brighter Hong Si-yeon’s and Geumran’s expressions became in real time.
They were probably getting a complete read on my ability.
Strictly speaking, I was inferior to Hong Si-yeon in skill. That much was certain.
No one could deny it.
I was only hanging in there thanks to my external arts.
So I decided to end the duel soon.
There was a way to win. I just had to use my strengths.
Clang! Our swords collided. Then, with the force carried in my blade, Hong Si-yeon was pushed back.
The moment I saw an opening, I didn’t hesitate. I drew Hanjunggeom far back, then hurled it forward with all my might.
Hanjunggeom flew with a terrifying whirring sound.
And Hong Si-yeon, shocked by the sight, leapt aside to avoid it.
With a deafening boom, the stone paving of the training ground shattered and fragments of rock burst into the air.
Hong Si-yeon was stricken dumb with horror and scrambled out of the way, while I grabbed the iron fan at my waist and charged her.
As I rushed in with a fan in hand, she looked a little flustered.
Iron fans were not common weapons. I didn’t think Hong Si-yeon would be able to handle one with any real ease.
That was the beauty of a hidden weapon. Until the opponent got used to it, you could keep pressing them hard.
And so the iron fan, steeped in cold qi, collided with Hong Si-yeon’s sword and left her thoroughly rattled.
"Tsk!"
Then Hong Si-yeon clicked her teeth and thrust her sword toward the opening in my defense.
And that was my chance too. The chance I’d been waiting for. A chance I could only use once.
With a hard crack, the back of my hand slapped her blade aside, and the tip of the iron fan was pressed against Hong Si-yeon’s throat.
"That’s enough, right?"
I came to a stop with Hong Si-yeon, both of us frozen there.
We wore dazed, empty expressions.
Geumran was probably making the same face.
Extreme Line would still be wearing her cool, impassive look, but the corners of her mouth would definitely be lifted.