Soak Up All the Sunlight You Please

The next morning, while Yi Yeok was basking in the sun, Sect Master So Cheon-jeon and Vice Sect Master Baengni Hae came looking for him—visitors he had not expected.

"Sunbathing, I see."

"Yes."

Yi Yeok answered without so much as opening his eyes, flat as still water. Baengni Hae cleared his throat.

"A little courtesy wouldn't go amiss."

Yi Yeok gave no sign he had heard. So Cheon-jeon let out a short breath of a laugh.

"You did a great deal for us yesterday."

"It was nothing. I only untied what I had tied. The one who knots the rope is the one who loosens it—you clean up the trouble you yourself set loose."

"From this day, Nokhyeon Sect will hold an unshakable place as the foremost power in this region."

Yi Yeok could not have cared less. Fame and authority had never interested him.

So Cheon-jeon hesitated, then cleared his throat.

"If there is anything you need, name it."

"My only request is that you not stand in the sunlight."

And what made a sect master any different? In the end they meant to sell him off to some middle-rank immortal sect. He had no reason to make himself agreeable.

So Cheon-jeon laughed as if he hardly knew what else to do. Baengni Hae laughed with him.

"Honest to the bone, this one. Not a word wasted circling the point. Senior Brother, you would do better to speak plainly."

So Cheon-jeon's tone turned grave.

"I will not pry into your past. But I would have your future lie with Nokhyeon Sect."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"I wish to offer you the seat of honorary elder of Nokhyeon Sect."

When Yi Yeok still showed no sign of understanding, Baengni Hae, at the sect master's side, explained.

"In plain words, we want your name on the rolls and nothing more. You need not meddle in sect affairs, and you owe us no missions. Your standing and your privileges, of course, will be the same as any inner elder's."

"A post that sweet actually exists?"

"We would only ask that you lend a hand when the sect requests it. When we stand in true crisis, or face something we cannot resolve ourselves. And if you choose not to help, that is the end of it. There are no bindings on you."

So Cheon-jeon took it up.

"Such requests will be rare. What I want far more is that you keep a good relationship with us."

He went on, and there was nothing false in it.

"When the Immortal Selection opens next spring, you will leave this place, will you not? The honorary elder's seat is a way of leaving your trace. So that you do not forget our sect—and so that we do not forget you."

Yi Yeok narrowed his eyes and sank into thought.

So Cheon-jeon was quick to produce a pair of shoes.

"A gift. For you."

Yi Yeok took them.

"Giving a man shoes means you want him gone in a hurry, doesn't it?"

"That... is not quite the meaning..."

Baengni Hae laughed, broad and easy.

"A misunderstanding. A gift of shoes means may the road ahead run smooth."

"The Vice Sect Master has it right. That is the intent."

Yi Yeok turned the shoes over in his hands and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sounded, at last, satisfied.

"Not bad at all."

They seemed wrought of silver-white metal—neither silk nor leather, but something weighty and hard.

"They are called Flowing Silver Flight. A low-grade spirit artifact. A formation is etched within that binds a cultivator's qi to his blood. Pour spirit energy into the Bubbling Spring point and you may run swift as the wind; take to the air, and they lend you thrust besides. For their grade, they are remarkably practical."

Baengni Hae added the last of it.

"Best of all, a purification art keeps them clean as new, always."

Yi Yeok laughed out loud.

"Now that I like. I hate polishing shoes more than anything."

He had shown scarcely a flicker of interest until now, and here he was delighted for the most absurd of reasons. So Cheon-jeon looked at Baengni Hae with open pleasure. The younger man understood a youth's heart far better than he did.

Yi Yeok put the shoes on. The instant they touched his feet they sized themselves to a perfect fit. He took a short run and came back looking satisfied.

"These are genuinely good. Faster than I expected, and the step is light."

He glanced down at them once more and nodded.

"All right. I'll take the honorary elder's seat."

So Cheon-jeon drew a token from his pouch and held it out.

"The honorary elder's plaque."

Yi Yeok snickered.

"Am I that impressive? Outer disciple to honorary elder, and in no time at all."

So Cheon-jeon laughed and met him halfway.

"You are. From the day you entered, I knew you were no ordinary man. I thought, someday this one will rise into the high sky."

"Pleasant to hear. Even if you're only repeating the facts."

"Thank you for accepting. We will take our leave."

Yi Yeok rose into the air at once, and the current beneath his feet boiled up hard. Leaving him rejoicing like a child, So Cheon-jeon let out a breath of relief.

"Good that he accepted. A refusal would have cost us a great deal of face."

He thought a moment, then turned to Baengni Hae.

"Why shoes, and not a weapon?"

"He is already at home with that strange weapon of his. Hand him another and he will scarcely glance at it. If a thing isn't practical, he might well sell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it."

So Cheon-jeon nodded.

"I truly look forward to seeing how he grows."

"That, no one can know. Countless prodigies of tremendous potential end up lingering in perfectly ordinary places. It happens all the time."

Baengni Hae's face was grave as he answered.

"But one thing is certain. That boy does not even fit inside the usual measure of a prodigy. His words and his manner look light, yet when it matters he is colder and more decisive than anyone. There is every chance he will one day stand at the very top."

Three days after Yi Yeok became honorary elder, the disciples of Nokhyeon Sect watched his sudden rise with something close to awe.

"I still can't believe it. Outer disciple to honorary elder in a single bound."

The girls, in particular, made no effort to hide their excitement.

"Handsome, and strong besides. Bring him home and Father would faint dead away."

"Wake up. The pretty inner disciples have surely already set their sights on him."

That morning, stepping out of his quarters, Yi Yeok was mildly startled. Gifts heaped before the door made it nearly impossible to open.

"Well now, Senior Brother. What is all this?"

Bang Cheon clicked his tongue.

"An honorary elder really is different. You're absurdly popular."

"So this is them congratulating me?"

"Of course. These days all anyone talks about is you, Senior Brother."

Yi Yeok opened one of the boxes. Inside lay a pair of brilliant red undergarments. He unfolded them, thrown.

"These... women's underthings?"

"Looks like it."

"I become an honorary elder, and someone gifts me women's drawers? Don't tell me these were already worn."

Bang Cheon examined them with a look every bit as dumbfounded, then tilted his head.

"Yeah... that's strange."

"Could they be some kind of treasure?"

Yi Yeok turned the garment this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way and that and found nothing out of the ordinary. In the end he tossed it to Bang Cheon.

"You take it. I don't need it."

Bang Cheon accepted the undergarment. He looked, somehow, pleased.

The two of them opened every box after that, but most held nothing but hairpins and ornaments.

"A jade pendant I could understand. Hairpins and underwear—what is this supposed to be?"

"There's a handkerchief, too."

Bang Cheon held it out.

"The pattern's unusual."

Yi Yeok took the handkerchief and studied the design.

His brow creased, just slightly. For a while he stared at the pattern and said nothing.

"Something wrong?"

"I may need to be away for a few days."

He swept a hand across the cloth, and the pattern vanished in an instant.

"If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm occupied."

Bang Cheon asked, startled.

"How many days will you be gone?"

Instead of answering, Yi Yeok indicated the gifts.

"All of this is yours. Handle it as you like."

Before the words had even finished, he was gone.

A short while later he was beyond the gates of Nokhyeon Sect, walking a mile or so into the trees. He stopped and spoke quietly.

"When did you get back?"

A woman stepped out from behind a tree. Black clothes clung to her body, and her long hair was bound high. Pale skin, red lips, and large, bright eyes caught the light at once.

"I've been back a while. How did you end up inside an immortal sect?"

"No reason."

"Because of Yeogwi and that little she-cat?"

Yi Yeok answered, indifferent.

"You know me. I only do what I want to do."

"Which is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly why I don't understand it."

He was silent a moment, then asked.

"The others?"

"They're all here."

From the shadows of the wood, two young men appeared, dressed much as she was, their faces covered.

"Been a while. A year, and you've changed a lot."

"If it weren't for Sister Hwan Mong, I'd have had a hard time believing you really joined a sect."

Yi Yeok answered evenly.

"Hwan Rang. Hwan Do. It's been a while."

Hwan Do—the tall youth, thin as a blade—grinned.

"It's a big score. Recon's done."

"The target?"

Hwan Mong answered, voice low.

"Sarira."