We Can't Just Do Nothing!
"So... that doesn't mean we can just do nothing because the outcome is set in stone, Father!"
"Can't you still not understand that strengthening our foundations comes first?"
Danmok Hyeon-yo wanted to shout, What are we even lacking?, but she bowed her head under her father's stern gaze.
"...I'm planning to take on new disciples."
At those words, Danmok Hyeon-yo, who had been hanging her head with a resentful expression, snapped her head up. Her eyes instantly sparkled with eager anticipation.
"Didn't you say you weren't taking any disciples for a while?"
"The situation has changed. We'll need to send out announcements to the branch families now and make preparations. Can you handle that?"
"Of course!"
Danmok Hyeon-yo's face lit up as she cried out. Danmok Cheon-gi clicked his tongue, but she paid it no mind, springing to her feet with enthusiasm—only to plop back down as something occurred to her.
"If you're done, then go!"
"I have one more thing to ask."
"You're just going to ask something useless again."
"It's useful. The rumors have spread all over Zhejiang Province—that you've attained a new enlightenment..."
Danmok Cheon-gi shook his head at his daughter, who was asking if it was true.
"You're only asking now?"
"Is it... really true?"
"Can't you tell by looking?"
"If I could tell just by looking, I'd be the leader of the Death Envoy Unit by now!"
"How well you know your own limits."
Undeterred by Danmok Cheon-gi's words, Danmok Hyeon-yo pressed on with what she wanted to say.
"Did you really attain enlightenment? Are you going to be the world's greatest again—?"
"That title was given to the Murim Alliance Lord, so leave it be. Power without substance is like wind rustling reeds."
Danmok Hyeon-yo clamped a hand over her own mouth.
"Father! Don't tell me you've gotten even stronger than before? And your old injury—?"
"It's hard work putting up with that immature girl of yours."
"N-no, Father-in-law."
Seok Ban-an quickly shook his head with a gentle smile, but Danmok Hyeon-yo read affirmation in her father's offhand rebuke and let her joy show openly.
"We're going back to the Geum Gajang, Father."
"...What did you say?"
"We'll go back and smash those bastards flat, show them with our own eyes who rules Hangzhou—"
Half-excited, Danmok Hyeon-yo babbled on until her father's piercing gaze made her sink back down, though the light in her eyes didn't fade.
"Dear... even in front of Father-in-law, tone it down a bit..."
"It's because you've never seen those bastards' faces. We should've crushed them long ago."
"That matter is settled—never bring it up again!"
"Fatherrrr."
* * *
The whole family was gathered together for the first time in ages. Danmok Hyeon-yo looked brighter after her talk with Danmok Cheon-gi. Ryeon fanned herself lightly from the corner.
Hmm.
Ryeon's eyes widened round. It was a bit unexpected.
Paired Wings Bird...
This trait she'd seen on several people before. It only appeared on those who spent their lives with one spouse.
She'd thought it was just a marriage for the family's glory, but surprisingly, there seemed to be deep trust between husband and wife.
Anyway, what's this Death Envoy Unit position? Oh, around this time, the Murim Alliance was forming the Death Envoy Unit, right?
Danmok Hyeon-yo had tried everything to secure a spot for the Danmok Clan, but it hadn't worked out.
"Ryeon, Bi. It's been a while."
Danmok Hyeon-yo looked down at the siblings with a slightly awkward expression. Beside her, Danmok Seong stared at them with a haughty, aloof look before being nudged forward by her father Seok Ban-an's hand.
She was a girl with long, sleek straight hair tied up high without a single stray strand, her impression cool at first glance.
Danmok Hyeon-yo cleared her throat softly.
"Seong was born in the first month, Ryeon in the second, so you're almost the same age. Get along well."
Danmok Seong gave a curt nod with her proud, cat-like eyes.
"...Hello, Ryeon. Hello, Bi."
"Ryeon, Bi. Go play with Seong."
Seok Ban-an smiled warmly and handed each sibling a good-luck charm. Ryeon's was a rare piece of amber—opaque and yellow—carved into the shape of an Unsa fruit.
◈ Spiritual Energy Capacity: 9
◈ Can now store Spiritual Energy.
It wasn't huge, but a Spiritual Energy capacity of 9 made it an exceptional top-grade item. Seok Ban-an's home clan was Pungrim Jeonjang, where IOUs outnumbered weeds, but even there, this wasn't something to casually give a distant niece.
"Uncle, this is..."
Ryeon might flip at anything that could hold Spiritual Energy, but accepting this felt burdensome. As her sister hesitated, Danmok Bi clutched his own charm and paused too.
Noticing Ryeon had appraised its value, Seok Ban-an looked mildly surprised before smiling kindly.
"Seong picked it out with me, so don't worry—just take it."
With that, Seok Ban-an headed toward where the adults were gathered. Ryeon glanced at Danmok Seong, who stood silently. Sure enough, a small charm dangled from her waist too—the same amber one.
When Ryeon stared openly, Danmok Seong whipped her head away, avoiding eye contact. An awkward silence settled among the children.
Danmok Seong...
Ryeon examined her cousin, whom she hadn't seen in ages, as if peering deep. The proud eyes brimming with self-esteem, the straight nose—they evoked how she'd look grown up.
Ryeon recalled the future, after death.
—You're not denying that Danmok Bi is your brother too, are you!
Amid torrential rain, blood-streaked hills dyed red, as Blood Valley fiends closed in. Danmok Seong swept back rain-soaked—or blood-soaked—hair, one eye nearly swollen shut.
Lightning flashed; she staggered. As startled Danmok Bi reached to support her, she struck his pressure point in the opening.
Her wide eyes softened as her body crumpled. Clan warriors caught Danmok Bi.
Danmok Seong shouted firmly.
—Take the young master and go. Hurry!
—But, miss...
—I've never beaten the rain in my life, but today I finally did. That's enough. Go.
Blood Valley's horde surged again through the unrelenting downpour. All Ryeon saw was red.
Ryeon halted her thoughts, hesitated, then spoke first.
"Um... you came from Henan Province, right? Was it fun? What's the Murim Alliance like?"
Danmok Seong smoothed her skirt, glanced at Ryeon and Bi, then replied.
"Eh, this and that. All big, tall, shiny."
"This and that?"
"The markets, the Alliance—huge. So many people, lines everywhere every day."
Danmok Seong briefly described the Murim Alliance scenes she'd frequented in Henan. Ryeon nodded, listening intently. Seong started with short replies, reluctant to chat, but as Ryeon listened quietly, adding nods and murmurs, her words grew longer. Her cheeks even flushed slightly by the end.
As Ryeon listened silently, something felt off.
No friends there either, huh?
Henan's biggest, most famed sect was Shaolin; the most populous, the Beggars' Clan. Neither had many peers Seong's age.
"So there's this amazing mooncake shop that sells them in boxes of eight. Best right when they come out..."
Gesturing with arms wide, Danmok Seong trailed off, noticing their rapt attention.
"Uh, next time... I mean, next time I can buy some. You've probably never had them, so I'll get you some."
She finished and turned away again, as if done talking. The still-childish Danmok Seong clearly had no idea how much money Ryeon was raking in.
Ryeon found her innocent youth a bit unfamiliar but didn't show it. Before dying and returning to this time, they hadn't talked much. Thinking Seong pitied her frail self, Ryeon rarely initiated.
Seong's occasional dutiful visits brought snippets of outside trends, but they never turned into real conversation.