Geum Jongha's Bold Intrusion
I knew the Geum Family was participating in the Kyunghang Yunryeon, but I hadn't expected Geum Jongha to show up like this.
Yet without so much as a greeting, Geum Jongha shouted urgently and wedged himself between Ak So-hyeong and me.
"No, no, no!"
"What the... who are you?!"
Geum Jongha shot Ak So-hyeong a glare before turning to me and yelling, "Lady Ryeon! It's a great idea to train in martial arts even at the Kyunghang Yunryeon. If you need someone to study with, I'll join you!"
"Who do you think you are, barging in like this and acting all high and mighty?!"
Ak So-hyeong bellowed, shoving at Geum Jongha, but he flinched when he met the fierce, blazing intensity in Geum Jongha's eyes.
"I'm Geum Jongha of the Geum Family, a friend of Lady Ryeon! Of course I should join her if she needs a study partner."
It sounded like he was implying Ak So-hyeong obviously couldn't handle the task and that studying with him would be a chore anyway.
"Wh-what? Some no-name from who-knows-where...!"
"Young master, we can study just among ourselves, you know..."
Even Danmok Wan chimed in quietly, shooting Ak So-hyeong a sidelong glance with an expression that clearly said, 'Do we really have to include him?'
"Exactly. You're already busy overseeing us—there's no need to bring in outsiders..."
Seo Geuk-rim added in a small voice.
Of course, they weren't speaking quietly enough for Ak So-hyeong not to hear. His face flushed red and purple with rage.
He'd never had any intention of studying with them from the start, but hearing "You're out!" all of a sudden made him feel inexplicably indignant. It was as if missing out on these evening study sessions would be some huge loss!
"I never wanted to study with you guys anyway! Let's see how great you are—go on, show me from here to over there!"
I made a face like it was all the same to me and glanced at Mae Sin-yu.
Mae Sin-yu, who had been silent until now, furrowed his brow and stepped closer to me. "Are you really going to let him join?"
My jaw dropped. "Not you too?"
"But it's such a waste..."
His sidelong glance at Ak So-hyeong said it all as plain as day: 'Why give rice cakes to someone who doesn't want them?'
"Still, we're all righteous martial artists of the Baekdo Murim. It'd be great if we all got stronger together."
At those words, Danmok Wan's eyes sparkled with glistening emotion, shining with a purity like nothing else in the world—as if proclaiming she'd never seen such kindness before.
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I quickly averted my gaze.
I'm just doing this so it'll be easier to deal with Blood Valley later and to rack up some Haengun points. If these kids don't get stronger, we'll be in big trouble down the line.
"If that's what you wish, young master..."
Mae Sin-yu conceded with a step back and drew the wooden sword he'd brought.
But how did he know?
Mae Sin-yu stared at the tip of his wooden sword, lost in thought.
Among the three who'd come to the Kyunghang Yunryeon, he alone felt he'd earned his spot through cowardly trickery.
Danmok Ryeon and Danmok Hyeon-u had praised it as cleverness, talent, and hard work, but Mae Sin-yu couldn't see it that way so easily.
So right up until they departed for the Namgung Family estate, he'd drilled and drilled until he could move without leaving a single footprint.
Otherwise, he couldn't go with his head held high.
And now, the fruits of that effort unfolded before his eyes.
Ryeon and Danmok Hyeon-u had been right. With precise form and proper execution, even without a scrap of neigong, he could infuse his strikes with momentum.
Not to mention the stockpile of Heukgokdan that Danmok Ryeon had made and fed him over time.
His sword moved in perfect sync with each deliberate step forward.
It was a fluid motion, like clear water gliding smoothly over a rocky, gravel-strewn path.
A fierce sword wind rose in tandem, erasing his footprints.
By the time Mae Sin-yu reached the distant mark, everyone there had fallen silent.
I whipped my head around to look at Ak So-hyeong.
Ak So-hyeong, who had been staring blankly, noticed my gaze and shuddered.
"Th-this is cheating!"
"What's cheating?"
"You didn't fly from here to there!"
"No one said you had to fly. I asked if you could go without leaving footprints—from the start."
"But that's... that's..."
"Our Danmok Family mainly uses swords and sabers, but you guys use spears as your signature weapon. Shouldn't it be easier for you?"
Ak So-hyeong flinched at my words.
"Of... of course I can do it! Watch from right here."
Ak So-hyeong glared murderously at me, gripped the spear strapped to his back, and carefully gauged the distance with a serious expression.
If some branch family kid from another clan could do it, there was no way he couldn't.
He'd pierced the core of it: distance control, power control, harmony of footwork and path.
He might not nail it on the first try, but two or three attempts should do it easily.
If I fail, it's just because it's my first time...
But he was the heir of the Shandong Ak Family. He couldn't fail to match a branch family kid's practiced result on his first go.
Ak So-hyeong shot Mae Sin-yu another glare, took a deep breath, and readjusted his grip on the spear.
"Watch closely."
"Yeah! I'll watch hard."
For an instant, it looked like starlight twinkled over Danmok Ryeon's eyes, making Ak So-hyeong flinch and look away.
"Hup!"
Ever since the Kyunghang Yunryeon had been decided, Ak So-hyeong had been grilled relentlessly at home.
I can do this much!
He stepped forward carefully, one foot at a time, but without building speed, the weapon wouldn't generate enough wind to erase footprints.
He needed speed, yet without tangling his footwork and family spear style; he had to sweep the ground fiercely, advance forward, and...
Using spear forms while minding something other than the opponent ahead was a first, and in the moment his trance broke, his focus shattered.
Wh-what came next?
His foot caught, and he stumbled. In those few missteps, three or four footprints remained.
Ak So-hyeong froze, staring blankly at the messy trail he'd left, his face growing hotter and redder by the second.
"Th-this, th-this...!"
He wanted to hurl his weapon and bolt, but with all these eyes on him, he couldn't.
Ak So-hyeong's lips quivered.
That was when it happened.
"Wow! You're amazing. For your first try, you went more than halfway without leaving footprints!"
"Wh-what? Well, th-that much is... obvious, obviously."
Ak So-hyeong stared at me in bewilderment.
I continued with a smiling face. "Here, you swung the spear like this? That was assuming multiple opponents, right?"
"Y-yeah... W-we're a historic clan with tradition, so... lots of moves for war... war prep!"
"I see! Then this sweep from here to here—that's for a distant foe?"
"Uh? Y-yeah. Normally it's for throwing... but you can only use it effectively after mastering Void Grasp..."
As he answered my questions, Ak So-hyeong got into it midway, excitedly rambling about what his family's spear style aimed for, its profound principles, and the lofty ideals of the ancestors who created it.
He snapped out of it only when Paeng Ju-ran tugged him back from behind.
Realizing he'd talked too much, Ak So-hyeong clamped his mouth shut and gauged the mood.
Honestly, he wondered if he could just mumble an apology and let it slide, but when his eyes met Danmok Ryeon's—eyes that seemed to say 'I believe in you'—shame washed over him.
"Uh... sorry. That... sorry... I'm sorry..."
"..."
"..."
"Sorry about the branch family stuff. It's just... no, forget it... sorry..."
He started to make excuses, but decided that wasn't cool; plus, saying "our branch kids can't help it" stung his own pride unexpectedly, so he swallowed the words.
A brief awkward silence fell, then Seo Geuk-rim stepped forward under glances from Danmok Wan and Mae Sin-yu, saying curtly,
"It's fine."
Ak So-hyeong rolled his eyes toward me, as if asking if that settled it.
I beamed at him. "Don't say stuff like that next time if you don't know better!"
"O-okay. I won't..."
"You wanna study together in the evenings?"
"Y-you said to."
"If you don't want to, you don't have to. It was just a suggestion."
Should he? Ak So-hyeong hesitated for a moment.
"Young master..."
Seeing Mae Sin-yu call me with a still-scowling face made up Ak So-hyeong's mind.
How great could this studying be that they kept trying to hog it among themselves?
"No, I'll do it! We'll do it too."
But before he could finish, Paeng Ju-ran blurted it out first.
Ak So-hyeong whipped his head toward Paeng Ju-ran in surprise.