The Lute That Found Its Master

Send it back out through the lute.

At those words, Namgung Rin's consciousness sharpened into clarity.

Yes.

Until now, she had regarded the demonic energy of Cheonwolhyeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as nothing but an enemy.

A monstrous wave threatening to swallow her whole, a venomous miasma gnawing at her mind. That was why she had fought desperately to hold it back.

But her brother's words were the exact opposite.

Let it flow. Then send it back out through the lute.

In that instant, the sound of the bamboo flute her master had once played for her flashed through her mind.

The flute never refused the wind that blew toward it. It accepted the wind into its hollow body, transformed its wild breath into sound, and released it back into the world.

My body is the flute, and the demonic energy is the wind.

Block the wind, and the flute makes no sound at all. But open a path for it, and it becomes melody.

Her task was not to obstruct the demonic energy — it was to become the channel that converted it into music.

Namgung Rin clenched her teeth.

I can do this.

If she collapsed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now, not only would she fall, but the brother who had trusted her and followed her all this way would be plunged into danger as well. Above all, she would lose forever the one chance to save her master.

She drew back all the internal energy threading through her body's meridians, gathering it into her dantian.

Then—

KWAAAAAH—!

The massive torrent of demonic energy surged wildly through her channels.

A bone-deep chill and a heat that seemed to scorch her flesh. In her dantian, her gentle internal energy and the ferocious demonic force collided, churning as if about to explode.

"Ngh…!"

A groan tore from between her lips. The pain was enough to scatter her consciousness.

It felt as if thousands of venomous serpents were coiling around her body, biting and tearing at her. Every single vein felt as though it were being probed with red-hot iron skewers.

Just as her awareness wavered on the edge of collapse, Namgung Cheon's voice reached her once more.

Focus your mind on the Danjung acupoint.

Namgung Rin obeyed the instruction instinctively. The moment she concentrated her mind on the center of her chest, the clashing energies whirled together into a great vortex and surged toward that point.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

A pressure as though her heart would burst. A colossal storm was raging inside her chest.

Her breath caught in her throat; it felt as if her heart would shatter through her ribs and burst free.

But the voice did not stop.

To the Jianyu acupoints on both shoulders.

Crack.

Namgung Rin bit her lip to hold on to her fading consciousness and followed his words. The great river of energy split in two, flowing down across her shoulders and into her arms.

Crunch.

Her joints screamed, and her veins swelled as if they would burst. Shoulder to elbow, elbow to wrist — wherever the energy passed, a searing agony followed, as if her skin were being torn apart.

Even with her whole body feeling sliced to ribbons, she did not stop.

No — she could not stop.

Because if she stopped here, everything would be over.

Through the Quchi, then into the Laogong at your palms — every last trace of it.

She gathered that explosive power into her fingertips. Her finger joints burned as though set aflame; dark crimson smoke threatened to rise from the very tips of her nails.

And then—

Now!

Namgung Cheon's command rang out. Namgung Rin poured everything she had gathered at her fingertips down onto the strings.

JAANG—!

A single resounding note.

JAANG—!

A magnificent resonance filled Munhyang Pavilion from wall to wall.

SWAAAAH—!

Beginning from that first ringing note, Namgung Rin's fingers began to dance like one possessed. The long-suppressed final movement of Ambush from Ten Sides swept through the hall like a raging storm.

DADADANG! KWANG! KWANG!

A ferocity like tens of thousands of warhorses charging the enemy lines with a war cry — the encirclement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on all four sides torn asunder, a grandeur as if the very heavens were splitting open.

It was a melody that had never existed in this world, forged by a demon rendered into perfect control.

As the performance climbed toward its climax, the music itself became a living force, filling every corner of Munhyang Pavilion.

And then—

"……!"

A blood-soaked battlefield. Crumbling fortress walls. Generals galloping across the ruins. The clang of spears striking swords pierced the ear, and the thunder of hooves shook the ground.

That vivid tableau unfolded before every eye in the hall. The audience, thrown into confusion by the sudden vision, found themselves utterly transfixed by its intensity, unable to look away.

Namgung Cheon, by contrast, simply watched the spectacle with his arms crossed.

The sight of her commanding Cheonwolhyeon completely and wielding its power as she pleased.

And then—

So this is the manifestation of mental imagery, the pinnacle of the sonic arts. Remarkable.

All he had given her was a small thread of a hint. Yet with that alone, she had shattered her own wall and stepped into an entirely new realm.

Demon and Righteousness. And woven together with them, a freedom of sound like her own — a path that only she could walk.

It was her very own Changcheon.

An unconscious, faint smile crossed Namgung Cheon's lips.

Doom doom doom—.

For a long while, Namgung Rin's performance continued.

KWANG—!

Suddenly, the doors of Munhyang Pavilion tore open like paper, and a man strode inside.

It was Namgung Hwi. His face was filled with urgent desperation.

"Rin!"

What met his eyes immediately was the figure of Namgung Rin at the center of the stage, playing the pipa while wreathed in dark crimson demonic energy.

"……!"

Judging that she had already lost her mind and been consumed by the demonic energy, azure sword energy erupted across Namgung Hwi's entire body. Without a moment's hesitation, he threw himself toward the stage to save his sister, resolving to shatter that monstrous lute first of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all.

At that moment—

Swish.

A black shadow blocked his path. Namgung Cheon.

"Stand aside."

Namgung Hwi barked at him, but Namgung Cheon did not move a muscle. He met his brother's frenzied eyes with calm ones.

"You mustn't interfere."

"Interfere? You can say that, seeing her like this? Move. Now."

The sword energy swirling around him grew fiercer still. His guilt at having arrived too late, and the terror of possibly losing his sister, were deadening his reason.

But Namgung Cheon remained composed as ever.

"Look."

He gestured toward the stage with his chin.

"Does that look like someone consumed by demonic energy to you?"

At those words, Namgung Hwi's gaze returned to Namgung Rin. True, her whole body was wreathed in demonic energy. But something was strange.

She was not writhing in agony. Rather, in a tranquility so profound it bordered on the eerie, her fingers flowed across the strings like running water — a strange harmony, as if she were dancing serenely at the heart of a storm.

"This is……."

Namgung Hwi found himself at a loss for words. The demonic energy he knew was destruction and madness incarnate. But what he saw in Namgung Rin now was far removed from any of that.

"Trust her."

Namgung Cheon took a single step forward.

"……."

At those words, the azure energy cloaking Namgung Hwi's body quietly subsided.

At that moment, the flow of the music changed.

JAANG—!

All the ferocity that had come before vanished as if it had been a lie, and an endlessly clear, crystalline tone rang out. The battle cries of the battlefield fell silent — a stillness like the first light of dawn breaking over the world. Across the bloodstained field of vision unfolded an illusion of flower petals raining down.

At that beautiful sight, the audience found their mouths falling open without their knowing.

And then, light shone into their eyes.

SWAAAAH—!

A brilliant azure radiance burst forth from Namgung Rin's entire body and from the Cheonwolhyeon she held. A clear, cool energy, as if moonlight itself had been melted down and poured out, filled Munhyang Pavilion to the brim.

Doom—.

At the same moment, her fingers came to rest upon the final string.

The last lingering resonance circled the room for a long moment, then slowly seeped into silence.

It was a complete performance.

"……."

Everyone gazed, spellbound, at the woman upon the stage. Wrapped still in azure light, she looked less like a human being than like a celestial maiden descended from the moon.

And then—

Thud.

Someone fell to their knees.

"At last……."

It was Taeak, the Master of Munhyang Pavilion. At some point he had come to stand before the stage, and he murmured in a trembling voice.

"It has found its master… it has found its master at last. Finally……."

For decades he had guarded Cheonwolhyeon, watching countless performers be driven mad by the instrument. Never once in his life had he seen that accursed thing bow its head as meekly as a lamb — until now.

Then, Namgung Rin slowly opened her eyes.

Her pupils were far deeper and clearer than before. She looked down at the Cheonwolhyeon cradled in her arms. The lute no longer spewed its malevolent energy. It rested obediently against her, as if it had been hers from the very beginning. The touch of the strings beneath her fingertips felt warm, like taking an old friend's hand.

"……Thank you."

Namgung Rin whispered softly. Having spoken words aimed at no one and everyone, she rose from her seat with the lute in her arms, and descended from the stage with the same confident stride she always carried.

Her steps led her to where Namgung Hwi and Namgung Cheon stood.

"Big brother."

Namgung Rin gave Namgung Hwi a faint smile. Only at the sight of that smile did he finally let out a breath of relief.

"Rin… are you all right?"

"Mm. I feel wonderful. I've never felt this good in my life. It's like every meridian in my body has been thrown wide open."

Namgung Hwi gazed at her for a moment, then turned his head to Namgung Cheon. Shame and embarrassment flickered across his face. His cheeks burned at the memory of how recklessly he had raged, refusing to trust his own sister.

"……I'm sorry. I was rash."

"It's quite all right."

Namgung Cheon answered briefly. Then Namgung Rin looked back and forth between the two of them and grinned mischievously.

"What's this, did you two have a fight? Big brother got put in his place by the baby of the family?"

At her teasing, Namgung Hwi's face reddened — and seeing it, a deep smile tugged at the corners of Namgung Rin's mouth as well.

"By the way……."

Her gaze shifted to Namgung Cheon.

"You saved my life. Thank you."

Namgung Cheon gave a silent nod.

"And you promised, didn't you?"

Namgung Rin gave a light, laughing glance and pointed at Namgung Cheon's chest.

"Let's go right now. I'm not about to be the only one who gets to see a whole new world."

Namgung Rin walked on ahead. Her footsteps were light as feathers.

Namgung Hwi watched his two siblings' backs for a moment, then let out a rueful chuckle.

There was never any need for me to worry.

The fragile younger siblings he remembered existed nowhere anymore. Instead, they had long since left him far behind, striding ahead into the distance — like phoenixes newly cracked from their eggs, beating their wings toward the sky.

"……That's good."

A sincere smile spread across Namgung Hwi's lips, and soon it bloomed fully in his heart.

When was the last time I ever felt something like this…

Chuckling softly, he followed behind his two younger siblings.

Night had deepened before they knew it. Warm moonlight shone down upon the three siblings walking side by side,

leaving behind the shadow of one.

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