Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Finally Arrived at Wudang Mountain
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She was an overwhelmingly massive figure.
The Hebei Peng Clan's signature martial arts were said to crush boulders barehanded like walnuts.
Yet even a woman's body could be this intimidating?
Peng Soyeon's enormous shadow swallowed me whole as it loomed over.
I had to crane my neck way back just to meet her gaze.
It went beyond mere difference in height—it was the instinctive pressure of a predator looking down on its prey.
"Junior Disciple Yi Yi... offers his greetings."
I awkwardly clasped my hands in greeting, but my voice shrank into a pitiful squeak.
Before I could even finish, she grinned and took another step forward.
What hit me wasn't a woman's fragrance, but the thick stench of iron and scorching heat.
"Hah, Yi Yi! I've heard so much about you from my sister. She wouldn't shut up about you even out in the world. I told her to bring you to one of these gatherings, and now here you are! You're just coming of age, right? Call me big sis, make yourself at home!"
"Y-Yes...? B-Big sis?"
Her booming voice jolted a dumbstruck noise out of me, and she crossed her arms.
That made the chest of her already straining martial robes swell even heavier.
The two massive fruits trapped beneath the thin fabric pressed against each other, asserting their weighty presence.
She scanned me from head to toe.
It was a sharp, brazen gaze, like a swordsmith appraising a famed blade.
"Honestly, though, I'm a bit disappointed. Sis praised you so much I figured you'd be some mountain of a man carrying around a qi mountain or something."
"W-Was I ever...?"
Senior Disciple flushed and gave an embarrassed smile beside me.
Peng Soyeon snorted and shot her a glance.
"Sis was my idol. That frail little body of hers brushing off all those brutish men like it was nothing—I'll never forget it."
Peng Soyeon's eyes locked onto me again.
This time, it wasn't simple curiosity.
Like a beast facing its quarry, her fierce glare burned with intensity.
"So how could I not be curious about her junior disciple?"
She suddenly bent at the waist, matching my eye level.
Her enormous bosom filled my vision, swaying heavily.
I flinched back in shock, but her iron grip clamped my shoulder just in time.
Rock-hard strength dug in, threatening to crush my shoulder blade.
"Let's see that skill she treasures so much at this gathering. You aren't just some pretty-boy monk, are you?"
The curve of her smile deepened.
A wild, scorching aura—utterly unlike Senior Disciple's plum blossom scent—tightened around my throat.
Senior Disciple stepped in front of me, as if cowed by Peng Soyeon's overwhelming presence.
Her soft yet firm hand wrapped around my back.
"Soyeon, you'll scare the kid. He's tired from the long trip—let's catch up later."
"Tch, seeing that overprotectiveness up close for once. Fine, sis. Catch you later, pipsqueak."
Leaving Peng Soyeon's hearty laugh behind, Senior Disciple led me through the crowd.
Her gaze stabbed into my back like a red-hot poker, making my nape prickle.
Outside the bustling venue where Wudang Sect Taoists hurried about, a young boy in blue robes awaited us.
"Plum Blossom Yeon of Mount Hua Sect, yes? You must be weary from the journey. Allow me to guide you to your lodgings."
The path following the young Taoist wound through Wudang Mountain's serene vistas.
Mist curled around jagged peaks, majestic halls nestled among them—a true spectacle befitting a famed mountain of the world.
But my mind was a jumble of Peng Soyeon's lingering giant shadow and the tension it brought.
Our quarters were an annex to the Purple Cloud Pavilion. Fitting for honored guests of the Wudang Sect, it was neat and elegant inside.
A faint agarwood scent tickled the nose.
"Here you are. Call if you need anything."
The young Taoist departed and the door shut, finally muffling the world's clamor.
Only Senior Disciple and I remained, along with a heavy silence.
Even the faint footsteps of Taoists beyond the paper screens faded, turning this small space into our isolated island.
Senior Disciple set down her luggage and slowly turned to me.
Her eyes, unlike the boldness she'd shown Peng Soyeon, brimmed with a deep, secretive wetness.
"Tough journey, huh? Let's rest now, Yi Yi."
That low voice didn't ease my tension—instead, my shoulders stiffened further.
I swallowed dryly and managed a reply.
"I had no idea you were this famous, Senior Disciple. I'd only heard rumors..."
"I run into the same folks at these Dragon-Phoenix Tournaments all the time. It's nothing special."
Senior Disciple smiled softly and perched lightly on the edge of the bed beside me.
With her movement came a whiff of plum blossom scent.
Her loosened collar revealed the white nape of her neck as she undid her robes to unwind.
Normally, that vulnerable skin alone would stir the beast inside me.
But now my head was filled with Peng Soyeon's savage dominance and the auras of countless experts gathered on this mountain.
Would my skills hold up? Would I tarnish Mount Hua's name? Anxiety coiled like a snake.
Senior Disciple pressed close, subtly rubbing her thigh against my leg.
The dull warmth through the thin fabric was a clear signal.
Like in the carriage, like that inn night—a wordless temptation to pounce like a beast and ravage her.
But my loins stayed cold.
The crushing pressure in my mind had devoured even instinct.
I just fiddled blankly with the rim of my teacup.
"Yi Yi? You feeling unwell?"
Senior Disciple's hand grazed the inside of my thigh as she asked.
A touch that would've launched me skyward before.
But I only shook my head weakly.
"N-No. Just... a bit tense."
At my curt reply, her hand hovering on my thigh froze midair.
Perhaps my vacant stare at nothing—replacing the fiery gaze that once devoured her—felt alien.
The lazy smile on her lips stiffened faintly.
She casually withdrew her hand to straighten her robes, but the shadow under her downcast lashes looked somehow lonely.
"Right... you must be exhausted. The tournament starts tomorrow."
S crick, s crick.
In the silent room, only the steady rasp of whetstone on blade echoed.
Senior Disciple sat by the lamp, meticulously tending my sword.
Her hands wiped the blade with oiled cloth as tenderly as caressing a lover's skin.
Her profile in the lamplight was purity itself.
As if that subtle discord never happened, she was once more the benevolent Senior Disciple.
Yet a faint tension lingered at her fingertips gliding over the edge.
"A sword mirrors its master's heart, Yi Yi."
Senior Disciple spoke softly.
She lifted the blade to the light.
Flames danced along the razor edge.
"If you're anxious, the sword trembles. If you hesitate, it dulls. That pressure you felt today... don't let it cling to the tip. Shake it off."
She turned to look at me.
Her gaze was deep and still, piercing straight to my inner turmoil.
"Even if the Peng Clan's young lady's aura is ferocious, she trusts her saber, and you trust your sword—that's all. Don't be overwhelmed by her giant frame. Look to the core beyond it."
Senior Disciple sheathed the honed blade.
A clear ching filled the room.
She held the scabbard out to me.
"This sword will bloom Mount Hua's plum blossoms. And..."
Her gaze brushed my hand for a fleeting moment.
In that instant, I saw the damp heat stirring within her eyes again.
"It's the sword of my most cherished junior disciple. So don't lose heart. I'll always have your back."
The scabbard she handed me was still warm with her body heat.
That warmth seeped into my palm, making a frozen corner of my chest tingle.
"Senior Disciple."
I stroked the received sword and hesitantly spoke.
"How did you... endure it, Senior Disciple? The Dragon-Phoenix Tournament eight years ago. You were as young as me then—how did you overcome this immense pressure and claim runner-up?"
She rested her chin on her hand with a faint smile.
The flickering shadow deepened her alluring eyes.
"You think I didn't tremble? The moment I set foot on Wudang Mountain, it felt like I couldn't breathe. My hand shook on the hilt from the auras of those titans."
Her gaze drifted, as if tracing some distant memory.
"But there was one thing I trusted."
Strength entered her voice.
"The weight of wooden swords swung thousands of times in dawn dew, Master's scoldings, sweat shed with my senior brothers... I believed those fierce days on Mount Hua weren't in vain. I wanted to prove the martial arts I learned, Mount Hua's teachings, weren't wasted."
Senior Disciple leaned toward me.
Her eyes stared straight into mine.
Unshakable conviction shone there.
"Yi Yi. Do you distrust the Sect Leader and Elders?"
"N-No! Of course not!"
"Then do you distrust your Senior Uncles who taught you, or the Senior Brothers who stood by your side?"
"Th-That's not it either."
"Then trust yourself. The time you spent on Mount Hua won't betray you. Trust the Mount Hua sword etched into your body. You have every right to."
Her firm words unlocked the bolt on my sealed heart.
The boulder crushing my chest crumbled like sand.
I gripped the scabbard tight and drew a deep breath.
For the first time, plum blossom scent mingled with the air filling my lungs.
"...Thank you, Senior Disciple. I feel like I can breathe now."