Why Rules Exist - 8
Once her disciples emerged from the secret realm, the Sword Saint released the power she had been holding.
The stream of water poured back down into the well, and once it was an ordinary well again, she looked over her disciples' faces. A single trip to the secret realm had been enough for the growth in some of them to show plainly to the eye.
"Review what you gained today, and sleep only once you have made it your own."
Weary as they must have been, the disciples did not take her advice lightly. When it came to the martial arts, the Sword Saint's words had never once been wrong.
Some withdrew to be alone, others paired off to spar, and one by one they drifted to their own places. Once the disciples had gone, the Sword Saint approached Sa Yun, who stood holding two swords.
"Was that the reward from this secret realm?"
"Yes."
"I should like to see it, just for a moment."
Sa Yun held out the sword she had obtained without a moment's hesitation. Taking it and drawing the blade from its sheath, the Sword Saint turned it in the moonlight. A long, unswerving blade, its balance true — as if to prove it had been properly made.
"Master?"
"A fine sword."
"Yes!"
She patted the beaming Sa Yun on the head and made for her own chamber. Following at her heels, as ever, was her eldest disciple, Hong Ryeon.
"Master."
"Hm?"
"Are you all right?"
At the worry in that voice, the Sword Saint stopped mid-step.
Am I all right, she asks.
"Of course I am. More to the point — did you gain anything from that secret realm?"
"I confirmed my junior sisters' growth. That was enough for me."
"Hehe. Yes. That is enough."
With light steps she drew near Hong Ryeon, patted her head, and walked on.
Into the darkness. Toward the place where she belonged.
Today was a day in which many things happened. A guest came to our Hongseong Gate — a male guest, at that.
He is someone who has given our Hongseong Gate a great deal of help. Not only I, but my senior sisters as well have received so much from him.
And this time, we received yet another great help from him. If all goes well, it may even lighten Eldest Senior Sister's burden considerably.
These days, every single day is one to be thankful for, and each day brims over with happiness.
And it isn't only me. The same goes for Yuhee, and for Ryu Hyeon. For Hyeon Hwi, and for O Sejin too.
Everyone has been smiling so much lately. Ah — of course, that isn't to say we never smiled before.
I found myself wondering when it had started, and it turns out it was after your letter arrived, Uncle. Ahaha. Isn't that something?
But I often think it really might be so. It isn't just me — my senior sisters feel much the same, so perhaps that is simply what it is. No... I have simply decided to think of it that way, that's all.
Yuhee once told me that the God of Happiness goes about with his face veiled. Because no one knows when or where he will appear, nor when he will vanish, he hides himself as he delivers happiness to people. Seen in that light, you seem so very like him, Uncle. After all, you are the one who brought happiness to us.
And yet, I will admit there is something that weighs on me. That because I do not know who you are, there is nothing at all I can do for you. It feels as though you only ever give, and I only ever receive — and that grieves me so. When, I wonder, will I ever be able to repay you?
P.S. — I went to the secret realm you told me of, and I obtained a sword. Together with the letters you have sent me, this sword will become one of my most precious treasures.
So, here is what I wished to ask. Might you perhaps give this sword a name?
"There. Finished."
On the old inkstone, drenched in moonlight, Sa Yun set down her brush. She read over the black characters inked onto the stiff paper one last time and gave a short nod, then set the letter out to dry in the night breeze while her gaze wandered about the room.
The faces of her senior sisters, asleep and worn out after seeing even the late-night training through, all looked at peace. Wishing that peace would last, she smiled, laid the letter on the table, and closed her eyes.
It was what she always did after writing a letter. She imagined 'Uncle.' Who could he be?
A familiar daydream — and yet nothing inside it but darkness. And so what took shape in her mind was only a vague imagining.
Back when she had lived in the gutters. Back when all she could do was gaze up at the world through dead eyes. There had been one being she envied above all others.
A girl dressed in old clothes, patched here and there. That girl had been, to Sa Yun, the very image of everything she longed for.
The reason was simple. He would meet the girl walking home from the village school and pat her head with a great hand full of affection, and on the way he would keep the rough men from coming near her — her father, whose face Sa Yun could no longer even remember. Because there had been a man who loved his daughter more than anyone else in the world, who cherished her above all things.
Gently opening her closed eyes, she took hold of the sword she had won earlier. A good sword. Some had said it seemed rather plain, for something gained by conquering a secret realm.
To Sa Yun, though, it was a sword more splendid and magnificent than anything else. Because it had come to her thanks to Uncle. Because it had come to her thanks to the Star.
Sa Yun closed her eyes again and hugged the sword to her chest. The blade was cold, but holding it, she felt as though she were at the side of the Uncle whose face she did not even know.
"...I miss him."
Missing an Uncle she had never met even once, Sa Yun lay down on her bed. What sort of person could he truly be? In her mind lived the Uncle of her imagination — the faceless Uncle stroking her hair — and picturing him, she drifted slowly into sleep.
The next day arrived. Perhaps because I could go to Hongseong Gate again today, it was a truly refreshing morning. It would have been even more refreshing if not for prying Chae Jin off of me — she'd latched on from dawn, insisting I take her along too.
When I finished my morning work and climbed Mount Hongseong, Sa Yun was waiting at the mountain gate.
"Hello!"
She greeted me looking quite full of energy. Hmm. Good. Somehow it felt like today would be another fine day.
"Um... you really could have come empty-handed. What did you bring with you this time?"
"They say it's poor manners to come empty-handed when visiting on official business."
A lie, of course. I had only brought them again because the sight of her enjoying the dang-gwa yesterday had been such a pleasure to watch.
"Don't feel burdened. Hongseong Gate and I are in the same boat now, business-wise."
"Oh... are we?"
Whether she simply hadn't known about that part, Sa Yun only tilted her head. But only for a moment before she was beaming that innocent smile of hers and leading me inside.
Crossing the mountain gate as I had yesterday, I found Ryu Hyeon and the disciples waiting. Having received the Guardian Star Formation once more, I held out the entire box of dang-gwa to Ryu Hyeon.
"You really could come empty-handed, you know..."
"I'm to be treated to lunch today — how could I possibly come empty-handed? Besides, we've agreed to go into business together, so unless your disciples serve me well, I won't be earning a thing."
"Oh. Well, if that's how it is."
In the end, Ryu Hyeon had nothing more to say and accepted the box. Told it would be brought out as dessert after the meal, I headed for the spot where I had buried the White Jade Plaque.
"Hmmmm..."
Fortunately, my luck hadn't run out. When I dug up the buried plaque, its pure-white surface was stained deep with demonic qi.
"Do you know what kind of demonic art it is?"
"Going by the letter I received from the Magistrate... let's see now. Traces of the White Bone Cult. And the Heavenly Yang Demonic Art as well. I had better check the other spots too."
In the course of examining the plaques, I found not only demonic arts I had seen in Cheonsang Myeongwol, but ones I didn't know as well. Still, I had no particular need to concern myself with that. Not for the time being, at any rate.
"Is this all of them?"
"Mm."
The last plaque seemed to have failed — no change at all. Even so, this much meant I wouldn't need to come back.
"Then shall we head straight to the meal? Everyone will be waiting."
A fair amount of time must have passed while I collected the plaques. I accepted Sa Yun's suggestion and made straight for the dining hall.
An old, worn-down hall, but they clearly kept it spotless. Following the savory smell of meat drifting on the breeze, I stepped inside to find every disciple already seated.
"Welcome. Have you finished all you needed to do?"
"Yes. This much should do for verifying the demonic arts."
"Haha. Then eat up. Everyone has been waiting for you, Innkeeper Yu. Ah — and as for the meat, I shall grill it—"
"I'll keep doing it."
"...I grill meat quite well myself, you know."
The sulking Sword Saint glanced at Ryu Hyeon once more, but she showed no intention of surrendering the tongs. In the end, it was Ryu Hyeon who grilled the meat over the great brazier.
"Eat it while it's hot!"
A piece of perfectly golden-brown meat was set down in front of me. I tried a bite — considerably tastier than I'd expected. At my surprise, Ryu Hyeon smiled.
"Hehe. Grilling meat truly is my specialty."
Well, how about that.
I was still working through the meat when the door of the dining hall opened. A red-haired woman strode in, carrying an enormous iron cauldron as though it weighed nothing at all.
"Kids! Bring the bowls—"
Hm? What was this? The red-haired woman's eyes met mine. Hong Ryeon, eldest disciple of Hongseong Gate, stopped mid-word — and began staring at me, unblinking. Under that unbroken gaze, I chewed down and swallowed the meat in my mouth and asked outright:
"Is something on my face?"
"Uh—um—ah—yeah! Uh!"
Utterly flustered, she was making the strangest sounds. Was something really on my face?
"N-no, it's not that. Ugh... why am I suddenly like this..."
Whipping her gaze away, she ladled rice into the old bowls — rice mixed with barley and assorted grains. Healthy, at least. While the disciples who received theirs dug in eagerly, Hong Ryeon edged a little closer to my side. But she couldn't meet my eyes even once.
Fumbling, flinching, hemming and hawing like a puppy that had done something wrong, she at last managed to speak in a tiny voice.
"...I hear I've ended up owing you again."
Ah. So that was why she'd been acting so strangely. Fair enough — this was Hong Ryeon, the eldest disciple who carried Hongseong Gate on her back. To think she had fallen short and the other disciples had to make up for it must have stung her pride. Her being flustered at the sight of me, tangled up in that whole affair, was understandable enough.
"Don't say such things. Besides, this is a fair transaction between me and Hongseong Gate, so you needn't feel burdened. So leave this side of things to me — why not focus on your training instead? I hear you've been receiving the Sword Saint's guidance lately."
No answer came. She only kept gazing at me, blank-faced. But that, too, lasted only a moment. Her face flushing red all over again, Hong Ryeon hastily backed away and called out to Yuhee:
"Yuhee! Make sure Innkeeper Yu eats plenty!"
"Huh? What about you, senior sister?"
"I picked at this and that earlier, so I'm not hungry! You all eat up! And don't leave a single scrap of meat!"
With that, Hong Ryeon bolted from the dining hall.
Ha. Truly a paragon of an eldest sister — yielding her meat to the other disciples in case there wasn't enough to go around.
Being treated to a meal at Hongseong Gate was quite an honor for me — more so still with Sa Yun seated right across from me. The meat, evidently cut from good stock, was delicious, and the soup and seasoned greens Hong Ryeon had made didn't clash at all with a palate long accustomed to nothing but heavily salted food. No — if anything, they were downright tasty...?
In any case, after the meal came talk of the contract, and when the hour came to leave, I dragged my unwilling feet along. Today, Sa Yun did not walk me down the mountain.
Trudging the whole way without even bothering to hide my disappointment, I reached the inn, saw the Hongseong disciple off, and was stepping into my room when—
A postman from the Courier Gate stood waiting at my door.
"What is it?"
In his hands were a single box, and a single letter. The letter... from the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild, then. Unfolding and reading it, I found they wished to meet briefly sometime next week. I'd been meaning to sit down with them over the Hongseong Gate business anyway, so the timing worked out well, I thought. Still, going alone felt a little—
"Lady Chae! Lady Chae!"
"Hm? What is it? At this hour? Don't tell me you want to train?"
"No. I have to make a trip to Yangwi Fortress nearby — could you come with me?"
"Nothing difficult about that. Let's go."
Having nothing in particular to do, Chae Jin agreed without a second thought. As she headed off, I turned my eyes to the box.
Something Sa Yun had sent? Or from somewhere else? Wondering, I checked the name written on it — and blinked. It was a name I could never have predicted.
"Hong Ryeon...?"
Why on earth would she send me this? I opened the box and found a single sheet of paper and one small bundle inside. Unwrapping the bundle revealed a slender bamboo pipe.
A thing for smoking tobacco — it existed in Cheonsang Myeongwol as well. But it was a little different from the one in my memory. Where those had been plain, without so much as a pattern, the engraving here — lotus blossoms carved in delicate detail, blooming in wild profusion — adorned the pipe as beautifully as a work of art.
Had Hong Ryeon carved it herself? Skilled hands, too, to make something like this. Hm? Could it be she'd realized she could craft goods like this and was asking me to stock them?
Turning the pipe over this way and that, I shifted my gaze to the paper.
"...Ha."
Not a request to sell her wares, then.
I fitted tobacco into the pipe and lit it. Hazy smoke curled up and filled the room. Drinking in the bitter fragrance laced through it, I tapped the paper Hong Ryeon had written.
Thank you. Always.
A smile rose at the single short line. Thankful, she says.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you."