What the Third One Gave — 2
Sa Yun sighed as she looked down at the box in her hands. All she had done was help out for a little while, and yet here she was, walking away with this much again.
"Is it really all right to accept all this?"
"Th-that's what I was wondering, too."
According to the teachings of the Hongseong Sect, those with power were never to demand payment from the powerless when wielding it. But did accepting this actually go against those teachings? To that question, neither of them could give a clear answer.
Yu Wol was, first of all, a wealthy man—and one who always paid what he owed. Besides, helping to expand his inn meant helping him earn more money, so it could hardly be called aiding the helpless. Which meant there was nothing wrong with taking compensation for the favor.
Yu Hui shook her head, recalling the logic he had laid out.
"Ugh, this sort of thing is too complicated for me... But even the Eldest Senior Sister said there's nothing wrong with accepting things from Innkeeper Yu... so it should be fine, right?"
"You... think so? I feel like I'm forever in his debt, and I honestly don't know where to put myself."
"Hmm. Let's just keep it simple. Everyone loves mooncakes and sweets, right? And the innkeeper works with our Hongseong Sect. If we helped him, can't we think of it as helping with Hongseong business? It's not as if we took anything from a stranger..."
"D-do you think so?"
Flimsy logic, to be sure—but what else could they do? They had already carried everything this far; turning back now was out of the question. And so, making their way toward the mountain gate, Sa Yun and Yu Hui resolved to simply set their hearts at ease.
"Oh my, there you are."
The woman stationed at the mountain gate greeted the pair with a smile. Hyeonju—a disciple of the Hongseong Sect, and senior martial sister to both Yu Hui and Sa Yun.
"What's all that?"
"Ah, well, you see..."
When they explained what had happened earlier, Hyeonju smiled knowingly. If that was how it was, then there was no problem at all.
Earning a reward through honest labor was something the other disciples had done plenty of times, after all.
Relieved by her words, the two handed over their share of the load—and then Hyeonju spoke up, as though something had just occurred to her.
"Come to think of it, Sa Yun. Something arrived for you earlier."
"What?! Really?! Is it from my Uncle?"
"Hehe. There was no sender's name on it, so I would say yes."
Sa Yun's face lit up on the spot.
And small wonder—by now, there was not a soul in the Hongseong Sect who did not know that the person sending her those letters was Sa Yun's 'Uncle.'
Hyeonju smiled gently and gave her a little wink.
"Someone's happy, I see."
"Yes!!"
Just as Hyeonju had said, Sa Yun—brimming over with joy—answered brightly.
It was Hong Ryeon who called for Sa Yun once she had returned to the sect. She had apparently already set aside the letter from 'Uncle.' At her summons, Sa Yun hurried to Hong Ryeon's room, and sure enough, there sat the unopened box on her desk.
"Oh! Were you doing embroidery?"
Spotting the embroidery bundle lying beside the box, Sa Yun asked with a smile. Hong Ryeon glanced at it and gave a light nod.
"I work on it whenever I find a spare moment."
"As it happens, the innkeeper gave us mooncakes and sweets as a gift today."
"Hmm. Did you simply take them?"
"Not exactly."
Hearing the whole story, Hong Ryeon chuckled and nodded. If that was how it was, there was nothing to worry about.
"May I open it now?"
"It's yours, so do as you please. If you'd rather look at it later, later is fine too."
"Hmm... Then I'd like to open it when Master is with us."
"Shall we, then? Let's look at it together after dinner."
Hong Ryeon ruffled Sa Yun's hair, and the girl nodded with a bright smile.
And so, after dinner, everyone with an interest gathered together.
The Sword Saint, Hong Ryeon, Ryu Hyeon, Yu Hui, and Sa Yun.
It was not that none of the others were curious—but there was a chance they would be entering another secret realm like last time, and they needed to keep their bodies limber. So off went those who had been chattering about gaining enlightenment this time, or about how they would outshine everyone else, leaving to train; and the Sword Saint looked at Sa Yun with a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
"Will you open it?"
"Yes."
Her heart tight with nerves, Sa Yun opened the box. Inside, as always, lay a single nyang of silver. And a bundle of letters.
Sa Yun swallowed hard and unfolded them. The bundle was quite thick—perhaps there was a map inside again this time.
Sure enough, one of the pages was a map. The location lay around the middle slopes of Mount Hongseong—inside a valley a little further on, east of Dragon Head Rock.
While Hong Ryeon studied it, picturing the terrain of a region where ghosts were known to appear in droves, one even the Hongseong disciples rarely visited, Sa Yun unfolded the other letter.
I received what you sent, safe and sound. Thank you—as always.
"H-hehe..."
Goodness!! Uncle said thank you! What do I do?!
Cheering inwardly, Sa Yun fought to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching. Then she turned her eyes to the next line.
I know how hard you toil, always. I know you are striving, too. But run too fast for too long, and you will wear yourself thin.
"...You're right...?"
Do not try to shoulder everything alone. You are not the only one in this world—there are many who will hold you up, and many who will watch over you. And.
Sa Yun tilted her head, letter in hand.
Your master is the same. A master need not always be the pillar, nor must a disciple always be the one who leans. Remember: the character for 'person' can stand only because its two strokes support one another.
"...Ah."
The Sword Saint, who had drifted up beside her, stole a glance at the letter and let out a murmur of admiration. When Sa Yun smiled awkwardly up at her, the Sword Saint stroked her hair, just a little more firmly than before.
"You little scamp. So you have been writing of me to your 'Uncle,' have you?"
"You've seemed so down lately, Master. I thought maybe Uncle would know some way to help... And he knows so much about the Hongseong Sect, so he didn't seem like a stranger... And, um..."
"I told her to ask on your behalf, too."
"...Even you?"
At Hong Ryeon's interjection, the Sword Saint's eyes went wide. She had heard that Sa Yun passed along a remark or two when writing to her Uncle, or had her check for mistakes—but she had not expected it to come out like this.
"Well, it is only because Sa Yun worried about you that much, Master. And as expected of 'Uncle.' He has written out such profoundly right, obvious truths. You may lean on us from time to time, you know. Even I have a little more breathing room these days."
It was no lie. The Hongseong Sect of today was not the Hongseong Sect of old. The Sword Saint gazed at her disciples and chuckled softly.
"One of these days, I shall be sure to. In any case... shall we pay a visit to this secret realm? Hong Ryeon—once we have confirmed the location today, how about you take the children and go?"
"Why not go in with us this time? You did not enter last time, after all. And the sect has the spare strength to raise a barrier now."
"That is... true."
Hesitation crept into her voice. A fear had taken root in her heart—could she, still so lacking as the Sect Leader of Hongseong, rightfully enter a secret realm meant for the sect's sake? Seeing it, Sa Yun seized the Sword Saint's hand tight.
"If it gets hard for you, we'll be right there beside you, so don't worry! No matter what anyone says, you're our Master!"
At those words, the Sword Saint found herself smiling before she knew it.
"Very well. Then I shall go and inform the disciples."
"Ah—wait just a moment. There's one more line left."
One more line was written on the final page. At Sa Yun's words, everyone's attention fixed itself on the letter.
"'As for what you gain this time, how you use it is for you to decide...'"
Before they could go to the secret realm, they would first have to find the path leading there.
Worse, the place the map marked was one where ghosts appeared more often than anywhere else on Mount Hongseong. Of course, to those who had mastered the Hongseong Divine Art, mere ghosts could hardly pose much of a threat—but it was still only right to come prepared.
"Shall we give this a try?"
However much work still remained, this was for her junior sisters' sake—she could not simply stand by. Hong Ryeon, who had volunteered for the secret realm survey party, climbed Dragon Head Rock and drew a small bell from her pouch.
"Ah! That's it!"
"Hm? That is... the Ghost Bell, is it not?"
"Oh? You know it too, Master?"
"Of course. That is quite a rare treasure—however did you come by it?"
"We took it off a Demonic Cultist we defeated at Changungwan a while back. But this... how do you use it, again...?"
"You're supposed to infuse it with inner power and shake it!"
Sa Yun, recalling what Nam Tae-hyeon had explained back at Changungwan, thrust her hand up and called out.
Hong Ryeon nodded and poured her inner power into the bell. Perhaps it was thanks to the robust force of the Hongseong Divine Art—
Dooooooong...!!!
She was only shaking a tiny bell, and yet it tolled like a great temple bell. The peal spread in an instant, swallowing the surroundings whole, and the wispy pale shapes that had settled nearby scattered in every direction as though fleeing for their lives.
"Wow. This thing really works."
"Hm. There are even old tales of the Ghost Bell driving back the wandering dead—the little ghosts of the netherworld, so to speak."
"We really must thank Innkeeper Yu."
Murmuring briefly, Hong Ryeon walked on ahead. Only after ringing the Ghost Bell several more times to drive out the ghosts did they finally find it: the mouth of a valley veiled in pale mist.
It sat a little uneasily with her, setting foot in a place she would never have gone under ordinary circumstances.
"Shall I go first?"
"Huh? No—let's go together. Master, please watch our rear."
"Very well."
Taking Sa Yun's hand, Hong Ryeon stepped inside. A vicious yin energy lingered deep within the gorge, but the Ghost Bell and the Hongseong Divine Art made short work of it.
How far in had they come? By the time they reached the deepest reaches of the pitch-black gorge, Sa Yun—catching sight of something through a sliver of moonlight—cried out.
"There's a spot over there where we can light a torch!"
"Let's see..."
She stirred her inner power, and with a fwoosh the torch mounted on the wall burst into flame. And in that instant—
"Just as I thought... another secret realm. How on earth does that man keep knowing about these places?"
Facing it, Sa Yun nodded and stepped forward, and just as before, the procedure began—confirming whether each of them wielded the Hongseong Divine Art.
"Hooo..."
With the thoroughly nervous Sword Saint going last, every one of them was granted entry.
As the crimson aura faded and the secret realm's gate swung open, the Sword Saint turned to Hong Ryeon.
"Then it would be best to bring the disciples now, yes? I shall go and fetch them."
"Yes. Please do."
The moment the words left her mouth, the Sword Saint's figure vanished. In her absence, Sa Yun gazed at the secret realm in silence.
"What is it?"
"Nothing... I just find myself thinking, sometimes. What it would have been like, if not for my Uncle."
"Hmm... Fair enough, I suppose."
If not for Uncle... yes. If it had not been for him, so very much would never have come to pass.
He would never have gone searching for that elixir for Sa Yun's sake—and then she would never have met him at all.
No—had they not prepared against the Iron Blood Dan as he had warned them, could the Hongseong Sect have remained standing like this, whole and unbroken?
Hong Ryeon stroked Sa Yun's hair.
"Huh?"
"We truly must stay grateful to that man, must we not?"
"Ehehe. Right? Once we've cleared this secret realm, I'm going to send Uncle another letter."
A brief silence settled over them. Gazing at Sa Yun as she thought of her Uncle, Hong Ryeon sat down and voiced what had been on her mind of late.
"They say fate is a bond that arrives with no omen and no ceremony, tying itself to you before you know it. Perhaps... that 'Uncle' of yours is one of your fates. Something inescapable—someone you were always meant to meet."
"Hmm... you think so?"
"I've been having thoughts like that a lot lately. Just forget I said anything. It was only talk."
Hong Ryeon fanned at her flushed face, as though embarrassed by her own words, and Sa Yun beamed at her.
"I hope it really is so. That I met my Uncle. That I met you, Master. That I came to the Hongseong Sect at all..."
Then, gazing slowly up at the secret realm, she took Hong Ryeon's hand.
"And that every single time, I get to feel a happiness more than I deserve."