Dang Garyeong
Among the Six Great Clans stood the Namgung Clan, which had once reigned as kings over Anhui.
Though it was said they now shared the province with the Seomun Clan, that phrasing was little more than a courtesy offered to preserve the Seomun Clan's dignity. Most martial artists knew a far greater wall stood between the two houses than anything the eye could see.
And what was that wall built upon?
Some pointed to the number of business holdings, others to the gulf in martial prowess — yet none of those answers struck the true mark.
Namgung Cheon, Lord of the Namgung Clan.
Those three characters of his name were a wall the Seomun Clan could not easily surmount.
Martial talent bordering on the heavenly and peerless. A swordsman who, whenever the title of Sword King was discussed, could never be left out alongside Alliance Leader Yu Baekheon. A martial artist who would certainly have contended for the seat of the greatest under heaven — had it not been for the tragedy that struck the Namgung Clan some twenty years before.
And Dang Hyeongeuk, Lord of the Dang Clan, now sat before that very man.
"You've come a long way. Thank you for making the journey."
Namgung Cheon inclined his head slightly and filled Dang Hyeongeuk's cup with steaming tea. It was only the act of pouring, yet a refined elegance lived in every restrained motion.
"It was no hardship. Thanks to the Azure Sky Unit you sent to escort me, the road was comfortable."
Dang Hyeongeuk returned the bow. For the heads of two great clans, the exchange was remarkably humble.
"For my elder brother, it is only proper that I do so."
At Namgung Cheon's words, a faint smile touched Dang Hyeongeuk's lips.
"I did not expect to still hear the Lord of Namgung call me 'elder brother.'"
"In official settings it may be difficult, but in private it is only right that I address you so. You should speak more freely as well, Elder Brother. Otherwise Garyeong would surely be angry with us."
Dang Garyeong.
His younger sister — the child all of Sichuan had adored.
As the memory of her smile rose before him, eyes curving so prettily, Dang Hyeongeuk closed his eyes.
"…Yes. You're right. Garyeong would have done exactly that."
The two men said nothing for a time. Instead they drank the tea she had once loved, gathering up a past that had already slipped away — faint memories that, no matter how tightly one tried to hold them, inevitably scattered through the fingers.
To one man, a precious younger sister he would have cherished more than his own eyes. To the other, a beloved for whom he would have given his life. One woman remained as a deep scar in both men's hearts.
After a while, when the bottoms of their cups showed bare, Dang Hyeongeuk carefully spoke first.
"I came on clan business, but I must say this."
He knew the man would not listen — yet he had to be the one to say it. The living could not cling forever to those who had departed.
"Let her go now. Forget her. You've observed the proper rites long enough. It's unfair to your new wife and the young master as well."
But Namgung Cheon simply refilled the empty cup with tea.
"…When I close my eyes, her face still rises before me, clear as day. Even when I try to sleep, I start awake at the sound of her voice calling my name."
With a face layered in longing and regret, Namgung Cheon gave a bitter smile.
"I wish she would at least resent me. Instead she only keeps asking me to protect our child."
At the mention of the child, Dang Hyeongeuk's face hardened.
"I, too, wish the child were alive. But far too many years have passed, have they not? If that man had kept the child alive, he would have long since…"
Dang Hyeongeuk could not finish the sentence. Namgung Cheon's reaction was far too composed.
He, too, must know the child was most likely already dead. And yet — until one confirmed it with one's own eyes, a parent could not bury their child in their heart. Had Dang Hyeongeuk been in Namgung Cheon's place, he would not have given up the search either.
Silence settled heavily between them once more.
If only he had not asked. Why, after all this time, had the man reopened the sealed gates? He knew relations with the Seomun Clan were strained — but surely Namgung did not mean to take the Alliance Leader's side?
The purpose of his visit to the Namgung Clan had been to ask about all of this. But today, at least, was not the time.
Thinking so, he was about to rise from his seat when a Namgung Clan martial artist's voice came from outside the door.
"My Lord, a letter has arrived from the Dang Clan for Lord Dang. One bound with a red knot, and one bound with a blue knot."
"Enter."
At the permission, the martial artist came in, placed the letters on the table, and withdrew.
A red knot meant information that needed to be known urgently. A blue knot meant lower priority — but still information that required confirmation. The Namgung Clan used a similar system, so Namgung Cheon could easily tell that something had happened at the Dang Clan.
Dang Hyeongeuk first untied the red-knotted letter and read through it, yet his face remained surprisingly calm. But while one could hide an expression, one could not completely conceal the emotion that showed in the eyes. After setting down the letter he had been reading, he untied the blue knot with a gaze laced with quiet fury.
Not long after, Dang Hyeongeuk shot to his feet.
Eyes wide as if they might tear. Both hands trembling violently.
What on earth could be written in a letter bound with a mere blue knot to shake a martial artist of such lofty attainment so profoundly? Curious, Namgung Cheon glanced over — and their eyes met in midair.
Dang Hyeongeuk now wore the face of a man whose soul had left him, as if the dead had returned to life.
"Is the matter that urgent?"
When Namgung Cheon asked, Dang Hyeongeuk slowly nodded.
"I must return at once. And you with me."
After a simple breakfast, Cheongwol was enjoying a rare moment of quiet rest on the bed — a blessing granted by Ak Seo-a, who normally chattered away at her side but had left for an appointment with the young master of the Dang Clan.
Cheongwol was fond of Ak Seo-a, but even so, days like this were necessary now and then, were they not? A smile rose unbidden to her lips as she was about to try for more sleep — when Seomun Hwi threw open the door without so much as asking permission and walked in.
"Cheongwol, we have somewhere to go. Get up and prepare."
Ak Seo-a was one thing, and Seomun Hwi another. How was it that every last one of her friends couldn't stand to see her rest? And on top of that, delivering unilateral orders without even asking?
Feeling peevish, Cheongwol glared at Seomun Hwi for a moment, then whipped her head away.
"I'm busy today. If you want to go somewhere, go by yourself."
Seomun Hwi chuckled and came to sit beside the reclining Cheongwol.
"Tell me what you're so busy with. From where I sit, it looks like nothing more than laziness."
"That's the difference between a master and a novice. Rest well, eat well, train hard. You get stronger by staying true to the basics, don't you?"
When Cheongwol shamelessly delivered such a plausible-sounding line, Seomun Hwi's hand stroked down along her silk-soft black hair.
"By that logic, it would be harder to find someone in the Central Plains who isn't a master."
Each time Seomun Hwi gently stroked her hair, Cheongwol felt a strange sensation.
…Has he forgotten I used to be a man?
Even if she now had a woman's body, what was this between two men? And yet, each time his tender hand trailed from top to bottom, it didn't feel entirely bad. No — if she had to say, it was rather nice.
Affection and drowsiness washed over her together, and her eyes were about to close when Seomun Hwi's voice drifted by her ear.
"Don't fall asleep. I told you we have somewhere to go."
She could have drifted off so pleasantly if he'd just left her a little longer. In the end, Cheongwol let out a small sigh and sat up.
Then she poked Seomun Hwi's chest with a finger and furrowed her brow slightly.
"You climb onto a woman's bed so naturally — seems you've gotten rather used to it?"
It was a light jab meant to tease him for interrupting her rest and waking her, but Seomun Hwi looked at Cheongwol with a completely serious face.
"I have never once held another woman in my heart."
Well — with the Seomun Clan as his background and a face like that, beauties would have lined up if he'd ever shown interest in women.
"Is that so? The way you stroked my hair so naturally, I just assumed."
When Cheongwol teased him once more, this time Seomun Hwi lowered his head with a faintly flustered expression.
"That was an impulsive act. If it displeased you…"
Cheongwol idly wound a strand of her mussed hair around her finger.
"…It didn't."
Seeing him react like this, she somehow felt embarrassed and didn't know where to put her eyes.
"But… you've never been with a woman — is that really true?"
Why was she suddenly asking something like this? Before she could find the answer, Seomun Hwi replied first.
"I have never been this close to a woman, nor spoken with one at length. Aside from my sister Seol, everything is a first with you."