A Journey to the North Sea
Normally, Ryeon would have picked at Hwaryun's suspicious attitude, but today she seemed a bit dazed, almost dreamy.
"I had no idea... my grandmother's in the North Sea Binggung."
"Your... grandmother?"
"She was sick for a long time, but she's doing much better now. So she's sending elixirs as thanks to the people who helped with my Balsa Sesu."
"Oh."
"So we're going. After Kyunghang Yunryeon ends."
"Pardon?"
With that, Ryeon grabbed Hwaryun's hand tightly, her face brimming with enthusiasm.
"It's super far, but it'll be fun! We can sightsee the North Sea. It's cold, so we gotta pack winter clothes, right? How about roast duck on the way?"
"Pardon? Roast duck? Out of nowhere?"
"What do you... Woo Hwaryun!"
Ryeon shrieked, and only after Hwaryun's hair was practically a bird's nest did the two finally calm down. Ryeon continued as if she'd completely forgotten their earlier exchange.
"Ha... I should've expanded the escort agency sooner. I'm a bit late."
"Escort agency?"
Hwaryun asked, tugging at his disheveled hair with his fingertips.
Ryeon nodded.
"I have this grand dream. Grow the escort agency so big that when our escorts find an amazing restaurant on their routes, they jot it down. Then we publish a little booklet. That way, other escorts can head straight for the good eats when they pass through."
"Seniors would share that kind of thing anyway."
"...Not always, though... And making a full map of inns across the murim would be meaningful too... We could sell it to other agencies and merchant groups!"
"Right, so roast duck."
"Yeah! Roast duck and other yummy stuff. The flowers and trees will be different too."
"Probably... yeah..."
"But you have to come back with me."
"Pardon?"
"Even if North Sea Binggung sees how smart Woo Hwaryun is and offers gold and jewels, you can't stay. You have to come home with me."
"Making up nonsense again? Who'd give gold and jewels?"
Hwaryun waved it off half-heartedly, but Ryeon didn't budge an inch. She pinched both his cheeks firmly.
"You know what they say—a gem in my eyes is a gem in everyone's."
"..."
"This big sis worries so much. What if someone spots our Ryeon out there and snatches him up?"
"...I said I'm not going anywhere."
"Right? I even offered to adopt you as my little brother, and you turned it down. Running off somewhere else would be total betrayal."
"Betrayal's a strong word..."
"It's betrayal. Traitors get summary execution. Got it?"
"How's that summary execution?"
"You eat a hundred of the nutrient balls I make."
Hwaryun's face went pale in an instant.
"That's seriously harsh, isn't it?"
"You always find a way to weasel out. Why is that? Little old Danmok Ryeon is curious. Is it some inner rebellion against keeping promises?"
"Argh, fine. No betrayal, okay?"
Hwaryun grumbled as he pried her hands off, responding to her stern words. Ryeon beamed right away and kept going.
"So let's go together and come back together. They say there's ice skating in the North Sea. You know ice skating? The lake freezes solid, and you play on top of it..."
Ryeon chattered on excitedly. Hwaryun pretended to listen while sneaking glances at her complexion. No sickly pallor lingered on her face, so instead of his usual "Not interested" or "You can find that in Beijing," he asked, "What if the ice breaks?"
"That won't happen, but if it does, big sis will save you. No worries!"
Ryeon grinned wide. The starry shimmer in her eyes tucked neatly between her lashes. Hwaryun buried his face in his arm and mumbled, "Promise."
Night fell softly.
* * *
They'd arrived at the Moyong Family Residence, the grand welcome banquet had ended, and now it was time for the true purpose of Kyunghang Yunryeon.
The first lecturer was Haibei Paeng Family head Paeng Mu-hyeok.
Paeng Mu-hyeok had a sturdy build and bulging eyes, a far cry from his son Paeng Ju-ran's somewhat gentle demeanor.
The Righteous Blood Blade, Paeng Mu-hyeok. It wasn't easy for a Baekdo figure's moniker to include "blood." It spoke volumes about his bold personality—direction aside.
"What matters is real combat."
With all the children lined up in the training grounds, Paeng Mu-hyeok skipped greetings and formalities, jumping straight in. In his right hand, a saber as wide as a man's thigh; in his left, an iron bell.
What's with that bell?
The children glanced up at him curiously, rolling their eyes.
"Alright! Eight at a time, come fight me."
"Pardon?"
"What..."
"N-no way. Haha."
Some even laughed. Fighting a clan head with a real blade was absurd.
"Sigh..."
Amid it all, only Paeng Ju-ran let out a quiet sigh—knowing his father's temperament all too well. And before the kids could react, Paeng Mu-hyeok divided them into groups of eight on sight.
"Lucky for you, this generous soul will give you exactly one gak—fifteen minutes—to discuss your attack plan. Then come at me! Begin!"
With that, he rang the iron bell in his left hand deafeningly. The piercing clang made the children instinctively face their assigned groups.
"Mm."
Ryeon eyed her teammates. Somehow grouped with those nearby, her team was Ryeon, Danmok Bi, Mae Sin-yu, Moyong Family's Moyong Seol-ho, Geum Jongha, Paeng Ju-ran, Ak So-hyeong, and Seo Geuk-rim.
Danmok Seong and Danmok Wan, off in another group, shot Ryeon wistful glances. Danmok Wan's eyes were especially forlorn.
"How does the Righteous Blood Blade senior's attack style work?"
But one gak was a blink. Ryeon asked Paeng Ju-ran without delay.
Paeng Ju-ran stared at her in disbelief.
"You're asking me my father's weaknesses right now?"
"Not weaknesses—his attack tendencies. We need to know to counter even a little, right? And since you're on our team, we have to outperform the others."
"But... I'm..."
"Hurry!"
Moyong Seol-ho urged. Paeng Ju-ran gawked at them, then stammered.
"Uh, Dad's..."
Memories of "training" sessions where his father beat him senseless flashed by. Paeng Ju-ran shrugged involuntarily.
"He likes smashing weaknesses in one strike..."
Ryeon knew this wasn't getting real answers.
"No, doesn't your family train like this? From start to finish, how does it go?"
"Uh, Dad... usually takes half a gak, starts with attacks I can handle, then crushes me with moves I can't."
Ryeon swallowed dryly.
"Just show your basic saber form once..."
"Show your saber form."
Ryeon turned to Moyong Seol-ho, who'd spoken simultaneously. He blinked in surprise, then looked back at Paeng Ju-ran.
Paeng Ju-ran glanced at his father—arms crossed, eyes shut, bell in hand—shook his head vigorously, and stood.
"It's not hard, but... this intense...?"
Other groups murmured too, but it was just "Let's try hard"—nothing more. Feeling overly eager alone was embarrassing.
"Of course! Even if we meet the Righteous Blood Blade senior again years from now, we gotta learn what we can now!"
And Kyunghang Yunryeon rewards the top performers with Moyong elixirs. Those are mine!
She didn't need them herself—meant for the clan kids. Plus, elixirs boosted neigong with side benefits like purifying the body or preventing neigong loss.
Not just from the spiritual energy in them, but special refining methods too.
Examining types would help her make elixirs later. Her eyes sparkled at the thought, and Paeng Ju-ran awkwardly gripped his saber, unable to back out under that starry, fervent gaze.
"Mm, it's called Geon-gon Yeon-hwan Tal-baek Saber. Uh... here goes."
"Yes, go!"
As everyone focused intently like Ryeon, Paeng Ju-ran felt like a clown but swung silently without complaint. In Ryeon's eyes, the starry light sharpened.
Her Divine Eye gleamed within.