Invisible Undercurrent (4)
A chill wind, now quite brisk, swept across the quiet training ground.
Namgung Seonhwa stood at its center. The breeze was strong enough to make anyone shiver, but with her eyes closed and sword in hand, she felt instead a refreshing coolness. Thanks to it, the beads of sweat on her forehead began to dry slowly.
After keeping her eyes shut for a long while, she sensed the moment was right and swung her sword.
Whoosh.
A light, sharp strike—the signature sword art of the Namgung family. Cheonggungmu-ae.
A madly blue sword qi dominated the space.
The air was already cool with the blowing wind, but the instant Namgung Seonhwa's blade whipped through:
Shwaaaa—
It felt as if the surrounding air had frozen solid.
The blade slashed in all directions, cleaving even the wind itself.
It was a sword art that had reached a truly admirable realm, yet Namgung Seonhwa bit her lip hard for some reason.
"Tch."
She straightened her sword once more.
As if forgetting all her previous movements, she closed her eyes again and sank into deep meditation.
When she finally opened them:
Flash.
A glint like bloodlight flickered in her eyes.
Her sword swung again.
Shrrrrrrrrr.
A sword art similar to Cheonggungmu-ae, yet utterly different in feel. Cheonggungun-wi.
The refined version created by Cheongje Sword Immortal, the absolute master of his generation and head of the Namgung family, evolving their foundational art Cheonggungmu-ae.
It stripped away all superfluities while maximizing strengths. And it was a fact known only to direct Namgung descendants and a few collaterals that this was the shattering form of their core Cheonggungmu-ae Sword Art.
True to its pursuit of extreme efficiency, its sharpness rivaled even the black path's finest.
Shrrrrrrrrk.
The madly blue sword qi no longer carried coldness. Instead of chill, a bone-chilling keenness seeped out.
A ferocious sword qi that seemed to slice flesh at the slightest graze slashed through the surroundings.
Shrrrrrrrrk.
It cut space, rent the wind, scored the marble floor.
Shlack, shlaaack, shlaaack.
Wherever the blue sword qi passed, needle-thin sword scars remained.
And those thin scars densely filled the area, encircling Namgung Seonhwa like a silkworm cocoon.
Shlaaack, shlaaack, shlaaack.
Nearby, they were etched densely, as if refusing any foe or blade approach.
The radius of the scars gradually widened.
Shlaaack, shlaaack, shlaaack.
As the circle expanded, the once-tight net of scars grew slightly looser and patchier.
Namgung Seonhwa took a light step back, as if walking on air.
Shrrrrrrrrk.
Shlaaaack!
The Cheonggungun-wi Sword Art, blooming like a full flower, converged in an instant back into a peak.
The killing intent filling the training ground vanished without trace, and the chill wind, which hadn't dared encroach her space, now filled it again.
"Haa, haa, haa."
Her breath came in white puffs, perhaps from the rising heat. Without even wiping her sweat, Namgung Seonhwa began inspecting the sword scars surrounding her.
The moment she frowned deeply and brought a hand to her forehead:
"Impressive skill."
"……!"
A warm voice sounded.
"Who……."
Turning toward the voice, Namgung Seonhwa's eyes widened round like a rabbit's.
"……Captain Kang?"
Poking his head out was none other than Kang Seopyo.
"Captain!!!"
Overjoyed, Namgung Seonhwa rushed to him breathlessly and grabbed his hand. Kang Seopyo clasped hers in return, expressing his own delight.
"What brings you here? What's all this about coming this far? Did you have business at the Murim Alliance……."
"Miss!"
"……Ah, sorry. I've been talking only about myself."
Kang Seopyo put on a briefly solemn face, then broke into a playful grin.
"I'm not captain anymore. I'm party leader now."
"What?!"
"Hahaha! Call me the youngest party leader of the Namgung family."
The two briefly caught up, sharing stories they hadn't exchanged in some time.
Once their check-in ended, Kang Seopyo's gaze turned to the massive circular sword scars Namgung Seonhwa had carved.
"You've grown even sharper."
His expression was sincere. There were limits to how much someone her age could improve, after all.
He knew she was talented enough to enter the academy on her own merits, but the move she'd just shown deserved the title of prodigy or genius.
"……I'm still sorely lacking."
Yet the genius hung her head, not boasting.
"This level would hold up anywhere without shame, wouldn't it?"
"……."
He'd heard she was moping around like this, but seeing it firsthand felt odd. She seemed like a warrior who'd failed her duty on the battlefield, unable to lift her head.
"I…… couldn't help at all. People were dying, and yet…… I couldn't do anything."
The words tumbled without context, but Kang Seopyo, knowing the background, understood easily.
The Mukrim incident had spread across Anhui and beyond. On his way to the Murim Alliance, every inn echoed the same tales.
Even half the rumors true painted a desperate scene. And it made clear how miraculous it was that Namgung Seonhwa had survived.
Yet this plucky miss drooped like wilted grass.
"Neither my skill nor the Namgung name helped in the slightest."
On his way to meet her, he'd passed several academy training grounds. The end-of-term buzz should have loosened things, but a strange tension hung like a taut string.
Everyone filling the grounds swung weapons desperately, as if prepping for a life-or-death duel.
He'd seen academy students from the nearby inn the night before, drunk beyond reason. Those training and those drowning sorrows in taverns likely shared her mindset.
Hit the bottle or get sloshed—those were a warrior's only outlets for nightmare flashbacks.
It was a trial unavoidable for greenhouse flowers. No matter how fond Kang Seopyo was of her, he couldn't shoulder this burden for her.
"The family head…… said to relay a message if I found you swinging your sword."
"……Grandfather did?"
Namgung Seonhwa lifted her slumped shoulders.
Kang Seopyo cleared his throat twice, then mimicked Namgung Taeha's stern demeanor.
"'Instead of cowering, take one more step. Instead of bowing your head, swing your sword once more. That is the spirit of the Namgung family!' He asked me to pass that on."
"……!"
"He probably said it because death is the one word warriors like us can't escape……."
"I know. I get it."
Namgung Seonhwa nodded faintly.
"I've known since I was little. We've been taught it endlessly. When fear hits. When you want to run. 'Take one more step'—it's drilled into our ears."
She smiled bitterly.
"No paradise in running away, after all."
"Exactly, miss."
It wouldn't resolve overnight. Time was needed to blur the memories.
But in time, as recollections faded and her power grew, she'd improve. She'd train harder to avoid the same hell.
That's how people grew, wasn't it?
"……What else did he say?"
"Pardon? What……."
"'If you're swinging your sword……' you said?"
"Oh, that?"
Kang Seopyo grinned.
"If you're drinking, he said to leave more silver for the bill. If you're crying…… just come home."
"……."
"Something better suited than the sword, he said."
Namgung Seonhwa felt oddly like she'd been tested without realizing.
"Oh, right—is that young master doing well?"
Kang Seopyo asked as if it just popped into mind.
"Young master? You mean Gipyo oppa?"
"No, Young Master Jin."
"Ah……. Yeah. He's…… doing fine……."
Her trailing words matched her fading expression. She added abruptly:
"……Though he seems busy running around everywhere lately."
"Hmm?"
Kang Seopyo gave her a strange look at her reaction.
"Has Young Master Jin found a lover?"
"What kind of……."
"Or has the miss found someone else?"
"Whaaat?!"
His sharp jab pierced her core, leaving her dizzy.
"Wh-what are you saying right now???"
"Well, that the miss pines for Young Master Jin……."
"Aaaah!!!!! Party Leader Kang!!!"
Kang Seopyo flinched slightly but kept his smile.
"Miss Seonhwa, I've served you since you were little. I can't pretend not to know."
"……."
Her face flushed beet red.
"Besides, promising young men like Young Master Jin draw plenty of attention."
"Th-that's not it. It's just…… I've been confused lately."
"Confused?"
"Just…… he feels so distant now, like a far-off existence."
In Mukrim, Namgung Seonhwa had always followed Jin Sowoon's back.
He'd always been reliable, but in the forest, he seemed gigantic, immense.
Like an unyielding ancient tree pushing forward through any storm.
Each step he took, burning his life force, made her feel him drifting further away.
She'd reached out unwittingly, but each time, he pulled one step ahead.
Like smoke scattering into the distance. She even felt anxiety that he might vanish someday.
Kang Seopyo, listening quietly, nodded in understanding.
"I see. So you've fallen even harder for him."
"……Party Leader. Are you even listening to me?"
"Am I wrong?"
"……."
Namgung Seonhwa had no reply. Or rather, she didn't know herself.
"I just…… don't know. He seems like someone doomed to endure even more trials ahead, greater pain and suffering……."
"So you're even more attached."
"……."
Her own feelings, yet she couldn't express them precisely. She'd never felt anything like this before.
Gazing at the girl suffering growing pains from new emotions, Kang Seopyo smiled warmly.
"If he hurts, shouldn't you draw closer and comfort him?"
"Comfort him?"
Compared to him, her puny, tiny self—could she even comfort? Would he need her solace…….
"Didn't they say Young Master Jin has exceptional memory?"
"Yes."
"Then isn't he the one suffering most right now?"
"……!"
It hit her like a blow to the head.
She hadn't considered it, lost in her own grief, excusing it as him being busy.
"To me, Young Master Jin seems incredibly strong. But…… also with a tender heart."
"……."
"If you're unsure of your feelings yet, why not start by comforting him? Emotions…… can wait."
Emotions can wait.
Kang Seopyo's words lingered long with Namgung Seonhwa.
#
"Whew."
Standing before the door, Namgung Seonhwa let out a long sigh.
She'd thought seeing Jin Sowoon would take more time.
Yet here she was.
'Is this okay?'
Her jumbled thoughts only amplified her anxiety.
As she turned to leave, she recalled his likely greater pain and finally knocked.
Knock knock.
No response.
Knock knock.
The door slowly opened.
But the one emerging was utterly unexpected.
"What brings you here?"
"……Why are you, Senior Dang, here…… Um…… did I get the wrong place?"
"Who're you looking for?"
"Young Master Jin."
"Then you got it right."
"……."
No, why are you here?
Dang Seohui entered casually first and plopped at the table, munching candied fruit.
"……."
Her cheeks bulging like a squirrel's was oddly comical.
As Namgung Seonhwa stared, Dang Seohui's eyes flickered in confusion, then she offered the plate shyly.
"Uh, you can have some."
"……."
Can I really?
Her eyes say I'll regret it.
"I'm fine."
"Can't be helped then."
Dang Seohui snatched the plate back swiftly. For some reason, her munching slowed.
"……."
"……."
Awkward silence descended.
Namgung Seonhwa had rehearsed words for Jin Sowoon dozens of times, but never this scenario.
After the uncomfortable pause, she spoke first—lest the silence last forever.
"Where's Young Master Jin?"
"Called to Cheonmogak for consultation."
"Then why are you still here, Senior Dang?"
"Came to ask something. But Jin Sowoon's always swamped."
What could take days camping in his room to ask?
Namgung Seonhwa ventured carefully.
"What did you want to ask?"
She thought it might be too sensitive to share, but Dang Seohui opened up readily.
And then:
"Came to ask if he really has to succeed Tae-eul Gate."
The answer was beyond imagination.
Namgung Seonhwa gasped in shock.
"Pardon??"
Dang Seohui, as if bestowing a favor, explained in detail while munching.
"Ah! More precisely, if it's okay to marry in as a son-in-law."
"……."
Namgung Seonhwa felt whacked hard in the back of the head.