The Scent of Azure Clouds
Yeon-woo stared intently at Woon-hyeon.
“The Central Plains?”
“Indeed.”
The rot entrenched within the Demonic Cult could not be stopped. Yet, could he not at least rescue a single innocent child caught in its toxic gears?
“Did your mother not tell you? That the Central Plains is brimming with delicious things to eat.”
“…!”
Yeon-woo’s eyes widened like saucers.
“That’s right! You mean we can go there?”
“Aye. I shall treat you to every delicacy the Central Plains has to offer. You are bound to love them.”
“I’m going!”
Yeon-woo had no reason to refuse. When someone offered to whisk her away to a land overflowing with mouthwatering food, why on earth would she say no?
“When do we leave? Tomorrow? Right now?”
At the mere mention of delicious food, a thrilled Yeon-woo tugged eagerly at the hem of Woon-hyeon’s robe.
“Now? Huh? Can we go right now?”
Woon-hyeon let out a hearty chuckle and gently patted her head.
“Right this moment is impossible. My body has yet to heal, so even crossing the mountains would prove too steep a trial.”
“Aww…”
Yeon-woo pouted, her lower lip thrust out. But the journey to the Central Plains was long and arduous; throwing a tantrum would solve nothing.
“We shall set forth once I have recovered. The road is treacherous and far, so I will need some time to mend.”
Yeon-woo’s expression brightened at once, and she nodded vigorously.
“Got it! Then I’ll go pick tons of healthy herbs for you, Grandfather! Eat them up and get better fast, okay?”
“Very well, very well,” Woon-hyeon chuckled softly.
The following day, the two slipped out of the house before the first light of dawn broke across the horizon.
At the fork in the forest trail, they waved each other farewell and parted ways. Yeon-woo set off to forage medicinal herbs for Woon-hyeon, while Woon-hyeon ventured in search of a quiet sanctuary suitable for circulating his internal energy.
From that day forward, Woon-hyeon devoted himself entirely to healing his internal injuries and restoring his qi. True to her word, Yeon-woo plucked fresh herbs day after day and brought them to him, and Woon-hyeon nursed his broken body back to health with them.
Occasionally, to his utter astonishment, the bundles she dragged home contained genuine spirit herbs.
Judged by their intrinsic worth, they were low-grade specimens that were dime a dozen back at the Namgoong Clan; nonetheless, a spirit herb was a rare treasure that commoners might never lay eyes upon in an entire lifetime. Yet a mere child was casually hauling them back.
“Where did you find such a thing?!”
Whenever an astonished Woon-hyeon pressed her, her reply was always the same:
“Just picked it up on the way.”
Yeon-woo treated it like nothing at all. Woon-hyeon toyed with the thought of tailing her to see where she went, but ultimately thought better of it. Instead, he concentrated on healing his internal wounds and recovering his cultivation with the spirit herbs she provided.
In this manner, three days drifted by.
“Hmm.”
Tap, tap, tap.
A tiny foot tapped restlessly against the earth.
Towering before Yeon-woo was a sheer, dizzying wall of rock. Her gaze remained glued to a small blossom perched precariously halfway up the precipice.
“It smells so ridiculously good, though…”
She had known for quite some time that this particular plant possessed a fragrance incomparable to anything she had ever sniffed before. However, scaling such an impossibly sheer cliff was a daunting feat. She was now face-to-face with a difficult chore she had long put off.
“If Grandfather eats that, he’ll get better even faster, won’t he?”
And if his health returned, they could set off for the Central Plains that much sooner. And once they reached the Central Plains, there would be so much mouthwatering food waiting for them!
“He promised he’d let me eat all kinds of delicious things.”
So she had made the trek here, but… just how was she supposed to climb up there?
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Cupping her chin in her hands, she was lost in deep contemplation when—
“What are you up to over here?”
A sudden, unfamiliar voice drifted into her right ear.
Before she knew it, a man was standing at her right side. Bending down to match the child’s height, he cradled his own chin in mimicry of Yeon-woo. A white half-mask obscured his eyes and the bridge of his nose.
His jet-black hair shimmered with a silvery sheen whenever the sunlight caught it. He possessed flawlessly clear, porcelain skin, a straight nose, and a smile dancing with mischief. Although the mask hid much of his countenance, it could not conceal his striking elegance.
“I’m trying to figure out how to climb up there.”
“Why do you want to go up there?”
“Because there’s a really good herb up top.”
“A really good herb?”
Hmm.
The man peered up the cliffside with keen interest. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a low chuckle escaped his lips.
“Well, look at that. I really do sense a peculiar energy.”
Yeon-woo whipped around, yelling fiercely, “It’s mine!”
Behind the mask, his eyes widened slightly before curving into an amused crescent. Lowering himself into a full squat, he rested his chin on his palm and met Yeon-woo’s stern, sharp glare.
“Of course. Finders keepers. You found it first, so it belongs to you. I have no intention of stealing it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then help me.”
The man chuckled at her lightning-fast change in attitude.
“All right!”
In a flash, a fierce gale whipped across the ground—whoosh!
Blinded by the swirl of flying dust and dirt, Yeon-woo quickly shielded her face with her arms. Presently, the dust settled and the sudden tempest died away.
Lowering her arms, Yeon-woo blinked.
“Here.”
Right before her eyes was the very blossom that had been clinging to the cliff face just moments ago.
“…!”
Yeon-woo’s eyes instantly sparkled. She snatched the spirit herb from his outstretched hand.
“Whoa!”
To pick it so easily! Yay!
“Nothing to say to me?”
Having willingly surrendered the spirit herb as promised, the man rolled his shoulders in a grandiose, self-satisfied shrug.
Yeon-woo looked up at him, her eyes shining bright.
“Thank you, Grandfather!”
With that, she spun on her heels and dashed off toward home. She wanted to feed the plant to Woon-hyeon without wasting a single second.
Meanwhile, watching the child’s retreating figure, the man’s brows twitched into a crooked line.
“Grandfather…?”
That evening, Woon-hyeon returned home with notably lighter footsteps. Slung limp at his waist was a freshly caught pheasant.
‘To catch a pheasant… Fortune favors me today.’
Yeon-woo loved pheasant meat more than anything. Would she be thrilled this time as well? Just picturing the child jumping for joy warmed his heart.
‘Once we reach the Central Plains, there will be dishes far more exquisite than this.’
What kind of face would she make when he treated her to all those delicacies? Knowing Yeon-woo, she might even cry tears of sheer wonder.
Smiling at the thought, he dressed the game and gathered firewood for a hearth fire. While he coaxed the flames to life, the sun dipped below the horizon, draping the surroundings in dusky twilight.
“Yeon-woo is late.”
It was just as the campfire flared bright that Yeon-woo finally arrived.
Woon-hyeon lifted his gaze toward the distance. Past the threshold and at the far end of the darkened trail, a tiny presence was plodding through the gloom.
Rising to his feet, Woon-hyeon stepped out to greet her. Just as he picked up a torch to light the way, the child’s footsteps broke into a brisk, cheerful patter—patter, patter, patter!
A warm smile graced Woon-hyeon’s lips.
‘Is she that happy that I came out to meet her?’
A child was truly a child after all. With a light step, Woon-hyeon walked toward the gate. Clasping one hand behind his back, he turned to face the sprinting Yeon-woo, wondering if she would like a warm embrace as he reached out his arm with a fond smile.
“You are terribly late to—”
“Something smells amazing—!”
A gust of wind whipped past Woon-hyeon—whoosh!
It was Yeon-woo.
“Whoa! Bird meat! Bird meat!!”
A lonely breeze rustled the hems of Woon-hyeon’s robes.
Standing frozen for a moment with his arm outstretched awkwardly in empty air, Woon-hyeon soon clasped both hands behind his back as though nothing had happened and turned back toward Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo had clutched both fists tight, stomping her feet in sheer excitement in front of the roasting pheasant.
“You returned very late today.”
“Yeah! I went really far away!”
“Just what on earth were you gathering to take so long…?”
At that moment, Woon-hyeon froze mid-stride as he glanced toward the wicker basket Yeon-woo had tossed carelessly onto the ground.
From inside the basket seeped an aura far more extraordinary than anything he had ever felt before.
‘This is…’
He did not even need to look inside to know. What rested within that basket was a priceless spirit herb so rare that even his home clan, the great Namgoong Clan, might possess only one—if that!
Woon-hyeon’s hand trembled violently as he lifted the basket. Gently parting the lid to peer inside, the breath caught in his throat.
‘C-Could this be…?!’
Was this not… the Azure Cloud Grass?!
A legendary herb that grew exclusively on inaccessible, sheer cliff faces unreachable by human hands—one that purified one’s internal cultivation and bestowed the equivalent of a full One Jia of energy when consumed! A miraculous spirit herb that even renowned masters of prominent sects and noble clans could scarcely hope to lay eyes on in their entire lifetimes!
“Wh-Wh-Where did you find this…?”
This was hardly something one could brush off with an excuse like ‘I just picked it up on the way’!
Yeon-woo, whose eyes had remained glued to the sizzling pheasant meat, finally glanced over at Woon-hyeon.
“Oh, that—”
Just as she pointed toward the basket to answer:
“…!”
In an instant, Woon-hyeon’s expression hardened into stone.
In a flash, he closed the distance to Yeon-woo’s side, softly clamping a hand over her mouth.
“…?”
“Yeon-woo.”
Yeon-woo blinked up at him in bewilderment.
“Go inside for a moment.”
“Why?”
“It will only take a moment. Do not come out until I call for you.”
Woon-hyeon gripped both of her shoulders, holding her gaze firmly.
“Do you understand?”
“Uh, well…”
Faced with his heavy, solemn gaze—so unlike his usual gentle self—Yeon-woo hesitated. She did not want to go inside. She wanted to eat the bird meat.
“If you do as I say, I will give you both pheasant legs.”
“Deal!”
Yeon-woo scampered straight into the house.
After watching the door click shut, Woon-hyeon rose to his feet.
‘Two. No, three.’