Seomun Seol
Left alone in the room, Cheongwol let out a deep sigh.
Adapt to a woman’s body, she says.
Just as Soga-yul had put it, until mere days ago she had been a proper man—how was she supposed to manage such a thing overnight?
Nothing had felt familiar since she became a woman, yet the change hardest of all to accept was the one between her legs.
It had never been anything she could proudly flaunt before others, true—but neither had it been something to hang her head over.
And now it had vanished without a trace, leaving only emptiness behind.
Head bowed low, Cheongwol recalled a conversation she had once shared with her grandfather.
“Cheongwol, if you go to the Central Plains, you must be especially wary of women.”
“Wary of children, the elderly, and women? You’ve already told me that a dozen times.”
“Yes, you know it well. Children and the elderly are indeed to be watched carefully. But you, in particular, must be careful of women.”
“Why?”
“Because your looks as a man surpass even those of most women. They say beauty is a curse that shortens life, do they not? That saying makes no distinction between man and woman. Keep yourself proper so you do not get entangled in unsavory affairs.”
“So what Grandfather is saying is that I’m so handsome romantic troubles are bound to find me?”
“You never take anything seriously for even a moment. Yes, that’s right. And even if it isn’t romantic trouble, the world is full of all sorts of strange fellows, so you must be careful.”
“I understand. But wouldn’t it be a good thing if women flocked to me? Since I was born a man, three wives and four concubines or so…”
“…Good? What’s good about that! If you go around womanizing with that face of yours, you’ll be called a lecher and become a public enemy of the murim! So stop talking back and don’t even dream such empty dreams!”
To think he had fretted that his grandson might get into trouble because of women.
Looking back on it now, it was truly laughable.
Grandfather. You don’t have to worry anymore. Even if I wanted to… I no longer have a body that can do such things.
Throwing herself onto the bed, Cheongwol suddenly recalled a book she had once stayed up all night poring over.
Disguised as a martial manual, it had in truth been filled cover to cover with erotic paintings.
Because her grandfather had never once taught her such things in his lifetime, how intently she had burned every single page into her eyes as she turned them.
Well, even just looking at them had stolen my mind so thoroughly… if I had experienced them myself…
Swallowing dryly, Cheongwol shook her head, trying to drive those paintings from her thoughts.
Flawless, radiant skin.
Large, soft breasts.
A captivating smile that could bewitch anyone who saw it.
Her dream had once been to finish every last scrap of her revenge and live quietly, side by side with such a woman in some secluded place.
Yet she herself had become a woman, turning every one of those dreams to foam—from Cheongwol’s perspective, it was truly enough to leave one speechless.
My wife… my children…
Recalling those who had never even existed yet had vanished like a mirage, Cheongwol buried her face in the pillow.
“…”
A moment later the figure that had lain as if dead suddenly shot upright and flailed her hands in something like a fit.
-Thud!!
The innocent pillow went flying toward the wall, and on Cheongwol’s face was an inexplicable contempt and disgust.
“Never… never… If anyone so much as lays a hand on my body… I’ll kill them…”
Just what sort of imagination had she been entertaining alone to react so violently?
Whatever it was, it was clearly something she could never utter aloud in front of others.
Her face, flushed crimson with shame, looked ready to burst at any moment.
After barely calming her heart, Cheongwol settled into the lotus position and began circulating her energy and regulating her breath.
Closing her eyes and slowly focusing on her breathing, she soon felt an enormous quantity of yin energy near her dantian.
…
As if she had come face to face with a vast snow-capped mountain, Cheongwol furrowed her brow slightly in bewilderment.
Through her grandfather’s training she had long accumulated yin energy in her dantian, yet the yin energy she now confronted was so immense its end could not be seen.
Could this be…
She herself lacked the inner energy to generate this much yin energy, so it had to be the yin energy obtained through the great technique.
Even with such an opportunity right before her eyes, however, Cheongwol could not simply rejoice.
If she mishandled it, her body would be unable to bear the strain and her meridians would be torn to shreds.
Having a vast lake was all well and good, but in the end the water one could use was only as much as one could scoop up at a single time.
Force it and scoop recklessly, and the vessel holding the lake’s water would break first—that was the principle.
In the end, unable even to send inner energy through her meridians, let alone complete a small heavenly cycle, Cheongwol opened her eyes again.
Only recently had she fully made her grandfather’s inner energy her own, yet now there was yin energy that made even that seem small.
“It won’t be easy this time either…”
How much more effort would she have to pour in before she could fully command the yin energy?
Even as the thought came, a faint smile touched Cheongwol’s lips.
Better to have more than enough than to have none at all.
“Writing another letter that will never receive a reply, I see.”
As Seomun Hwi fretted over what to write this time, a woman approached and sat beside him.
Her name was Seomun Seol.
Her appearance and bearing were so similar to Seomun Hwi’s that some occasionally mistook them for twins, yet she was in truth his younger sister by two years.
“I’m not writing it in hopes of a reply, so it’s fine.”
“…Is that so.”
They exchanged the words calmly enough, but Seomun Seol knew it was not truly so.
The Seomun Hwi she knew might look blunt on the outside, yet in truth he was deep and full of quiet affection.
“What are you planning to write this time? You’ve already written everything that could go into a letter and then some.”
At Seomun Seol’s question, Seomun Hwi smiled awkwardly.
“I was just wondering what to put down. If you have a good idea, tell me.”
“…I’ll let you know if something comes to mind.”
Saying so, Seomun Seol sat with her back straight like her older brother’s and glanced at him.
Who was this person he had met two years ago when he left Anhui on clan business, that he would devote himself so completely?
She had asked casually any number of times, yet each time Seomun Hwi only brushed it off, saying it was the first friend with whom he had truly shared his heart.
Does he really think I’ll believe that?
Just what kind of person would keep sending letters to a friend without ever receiving a single reply?
Thus Seomun Seol was certain in her heart.
He had found a woman he held in his heart.
Whatever the circumstances, since he could not meet her, he was consoling himself by sending letters.
Her older brother, who under the crushing weight of the young master’s duties had been careful even with a single word, cautious even with a single smile.
In the end that excessive caution had left him without even one proper friend, and once he realized it, all that remained was the grand title of young master.
If only he would enjoy drinking and revelry like the scions of other martial families or merchant houses.
The sight of him foolishly shutting himself away in the training grounds, swinging his sword alone, pained the hearts of Seomun Seol and the rest of the Seomun Clan.
They knew the burden that ought to have been shared was borne solely on Seomun Hwi’s shoulders.
Yet Seomun Hwi was praised as the most gifted martial artist since the founding clan head, so there was nothing they could do about it.
Seomun Hwi knew this as well, and so he simply pressed silently forward for the sake of the clan.
A woman who had stolen the heart of such a Seomun Hwi.
Seomun Seol did not know who that woman was, but she was ready to take her older brother’s side without the slightest hesitation.
The only problem was that the opinions of the parties involved had not been reflected in the slightest.
Unaware of that, Seomun Seol gazed at Seomun Hwi with a resolute look.
“Do you have something else to say?”
“No.”
“…Alright.”
Thinking his peculiar little sister was even more peculiar than usual today, Seomun Hwi sank back into thought.
The matter of the young masters of the Hwangbo Clan and the Shandong Ak Clan quarreling… I wrote about that last time… Did I already write about the life-and-death duel that happened in the Four Absolute Alliance as well…
Just as Seomun Hwi’s eyes narrowed in concentration, Seomun Seol spoke to him again.
“Ah, come to think of it, I heard you’re going to Sichuan this time.”
“That’s right.”
Seomun Hwi simply nodded without further comment.
“You won’t tell me why even if I ask, will you?”
Yet contrary to Seomun Seol’s expectations, Seomun Hwi readily told her the reason for going to Sichuan.
“I heard talk of marriage has been exchanged with the Tang Clan. Since there are also clan matters to handle, Father told me to go and see their faces while I’m at it.”
“What? Marriage?”
As Seomun Seol shot up from her seat, Seomun Hwi looked at her with surprised eyes.
“I don’t know why you’re acting like that, but calm down first.”
“How can I calm down! You went ahead with things without a single word of consultation with me!”
She shouted as if her older brother could not possibly do such a thing, yet Seomun Hwi still wore an expression of pure incomprehension.
“I’m only going to meet the Tang Clan’s daughter and come back—what consultation is there to be had?”
“That’s exactly the problem…! Daughter…?”
Only then did Seomun Seol realize she had been laboring under a minor misunderstanding.
“Did you think it was your marriage?”
“Ah, well…”
As Seomun Seol blushed and averted her eyes, Seomun Hwi smirked as if he had expected as much.
“Didn’t you already receive Father’s promise? That you would find your own spouse.”
“…How embarrassing. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Wearing a smile that held both embarrassment and apology at once, Seomun Seol sat back down.
…Then is Older Brother planning to meet two women at once…?