Cheonniwa (4)
As their fight dragged on, Baekri Sohyeon had slipped away at some point.
Thwack.
"You...!"
Thud!
"Just... go down alreadyyy!"
At first it had been a proper spar, each trading techniques in turn. When Dokgo Ryeong unleashed a move, Eun Gwanyeong would counter it. When Eun Gwanyeong struck, Dokgo Ryeong would return the favor. A very proper sparring match.
But as time wore on, the fight steadily devolved into a messy brawl.
"Aagh...!! Don't grab my hairrr!!"
"You...! Kyaaaah!!! You grabbed mine first!!"
Eun Gwanyeong, with her loosened waist, possessed better basic stamina than Dokgo Ryeong, yet allowing that first solid hit had cost her dearly. She was simply enduring the early domination through superior endurance. Dokgo Ryeong, never having had much stamina to begin with, was gritting her teeth and hanging on through sheer force of will.
Watching the two of them stagger about, flinging feeble punches at each other, passersby began gathering one by one, and before long a betting pool had even opened.
"Two taels on the red young lady!"
"Three taels on the little one!"
And as the crowd grew noisy, even Wi Ilcheong, who had been resting in his room, heard the commotion and stepped out to witness the spectacle of the two of them fighting.
"Wh... what in the world..."
"Kyaaah! Dieee!!"
"Just...! Go down alreadyyy!!"
Watching them clutch each other's hair and trade punches, the onlookers cheered.
"These young ladies are way more manly than most guys!!"
"Looking good, red young lady!! Don't you lose!!"
"Size isn't everything!! Push with the force of a mountain!!"
Wi Ilcheong was thrown into confusion.
No... I clearly left Miss Dokgo in Miss Eun's care. Why are the two of them fighting like it's a life-or-death duel...
Thinking that if left alone one of them might actually die, Wi Ilcheong was about to intervene when someone blocked his path.
"...No."
It was Baekri Sohyeon.
"...Miss Baekri. What on earth is going on here?"
"Mm.... Gwanyeong and Ryeong Mae are sparring."
"And the passersby?"
"...I don't really know either. Here, I bought some herbs from the apothecary."
"Haa... Miss Baekri. We should stop them even now..."
"No."
Baekri Sohyeon shook her head. She spoke to Wi Ilcheong with stubborn eyes.
"...We can't stop them now. Better to let them see it through to the end."
"..."
"Otherwise they'll just keep fighting, right?"
"Haa...."
Just then, Dokgo Ryeong's body swayed.
"Guh...."
Her collapsing form suggested her legs had given out. Seizing the opportunity, Eun Gwanyeong swung her fist upward, aiming for the chin.
"This ends it...!"
But even as she fell, Dokgo Ryeong seized Eun Gwanyeong's collar and drove her own head forward.
Crack!
"Ghk...."
That blow sent Eun Gwanyeong toppling backward, and at the same moment her fist lightly grazed Dokgo Ryeong's chin.
"Kehk...."
Dokgo Ryeong slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Seeing neither of them rise, the onlookers began murmuring.
"Wh... who won?"
"Doesn't this count as a draw?"
"Hey, bookie! Where's the bookie?!"
"What happens if there's no winner!!"
The passersby who had gathered upon hearing of the betting started clamoring for the organizer.
"Phew... it's been a while since I saw a fight that got the blood pumping."
"Indeed. Makes the blood boil."
"I used to fight like that once. Though they're girls, their spirits surpass most men!"
The fishermen nodded with shining eyes, deeply moved, and some even applauded the fallen Dokgo Ryeong and Eun Gwanyeong as they departed.
Watching it all, Wi Ilcheong covered his face with both hands.
"...Miss Baekri."
"...Yeah."
"...Let's gather them both up and go upstairs."
"...Yeah."
Wi Ilcheong could not lift his head.
"Ugh...."
Her whole body ached. A metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and her swollen eyes blurred her vision.
"Ah... ugh...."
As Dokgo Ryeong tried to sit up, someone gently pressed her forehead.
"...You're awake?"
"...Dunce."
"Stay lying down a bit. Your external injuries are really bad...."
"..."
Only then did Dokgo Ryeong remember.
"...Who won?"
"Hm?"
"I won, right?"
"...It was a draw."
"What... ahhh...."
Dokgo Ryeong, who had tried to spring up in a fit, felt the pain and lay back down. Watching her, Baekri Sohyeon lit some incense.
"...It's incense that calms the mind. Just stay still for now."
"Fuck...."
"Hehe... you're so pretty when you're this quiet."
"Wanna try running wild?"
"Can you?"
"...Fuck."
"Heehee, Ryeong Mae swears when she has nothing to say."
"Shut up."
"See, there you go again."
As Baekri Sohyeon chuckled softly, another voice came from the side.
"...With that damn personality of hers, of course."
Eun Gwanyeong suddenly popped into Dokgo Ryeong's field of vision.
"...Why push yourself so hard when your body's so weak?"
"Ah... no. Why are you still alive and walking around?"
"...Were you trying to kill me?"
"That's why I hit you. You think I go easy when I beat someone up?"
"Ugh, the way you talk is so annoying."
Eun Gwanyeong snorted a laugh. Her face was bruised here and there too, but she looked far better than Dokgo Ryeong, who could not even move properly while lying down.
"Did you think a martial artist who can circulate energy would be the same as Miss Dokgo suffering from severed meridians?"
"...Fuck."
"Again. You start with swearing when you've got nothing to say."
"Your nose is bleeding."
"Ah!"
Eun Gwanyeong dabbed her nose with a finger to check, then made a pouty face.
"Hiiing.... Sohyeon Unnieee...."
"Come here, Gwanyeong."
"Sniff sniff...."
"Bullshit, pure bullshit. Ahhh...."
Baekri Sohyeon wiped Eun Gwanyeong's nose with her sleeve. Just then, the guest room door opened.
"...You're awake?"
"Y-you, Lust Demon."
"Haa... really.... Miss Dokgo, are you perhaps a vengeful ghost?"
"What, you bastard?"
"Leave you alone for a moment and you cause trouble somewhere."
"I...! Ahhh..., fuck. It wasn't me—the Hao Sect came at me."
"Haa...."
Wi Ilcheong pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head.
"A bit... haa.... Never mind."
"What, you bastard?"
"...Miss Eun, let's talk for a moment. Miss Baekri, please look after Miss Dokgo."
"Yeah."
"Yes, Wi Oppa."
Watching Eun Gwanyeong rise and follow Wi Ilcheong out, Dokgo Ryeong asked.
"Hey, Dunce."
"...Yeah?"
"...I won, right?"
"Is that important?"
"...Fair enough."
A smile bloomed on Dokgo Ryeong's lips.
"That brat, she was pretty good."
"...Hehehe."
"Why are you laughing?"
Baekri Sohyeon giggled and lay down beside Dokgo Ryeong.
"...Ryeong Mae. You can't move right now, can you?"
"What now..."
"I'll hug you so you get better faster."
"Ah, stop...! Ahhh..., it hurts. Hurts hurts hurts."
"Hehehe, get better soon. Get better soon~."
Baekri Sohyeon stroked Dokgo Ryeong's head while laughing continuously beside her. Thinking this scene would probably appear in her dreams, Dokgo Ryeong sighed.
"...I'm sorryyy."
"Haa... it's fine."
Entering Wi Ilcheong's guest room, Eun Gwanyeong first knelt and apologized.
"...What happened? No... more than that. Was there a reason for the two of you to go at it so violently?"
"Miss Dokgooo... kept provoking meee...."
"Haa...."
Wi Ilcheong's head throbbed.
"...Are you going to keep fighting from now on?"
"That's not ittt...."
Eun Gwanyeong glanced at Wi Ilcheong's expression and added a quiet line.
"...As long as Miss Dokgo doesn't pick another fighttt...."
"...She's a young lady who hasn't even learned martial arts."
"Th-that's impossible! Look at this!"
Eun Gwanyeong pointed to her wounds.
"No... her fists came in aiming exactly! Right at the pressure points?!"
"...And she's a woman suffering from severed meridians."
"Since when did severed meridians become a disease that people that lively catchhh...."
"Haa... tell me about it."
Wi Ilcheong was curious too. In his life he had met a total of three patients with severed meridians. One was Baekri Sohyeon, the second was the Sword Queen's disciple at Botamun, and the third and last was Dokgo Ryeong. When he first met Baekri Sohyeon, she had struggled even to support her own body. In the case of the Sword Queen's disciple at Botamun, swinging her sword more than three times would leave her exhausted and breaking out in cold sweat.
But....
Why is Miss Dokgo like that?
Wondering if he had misdiagnosed the illness, Wi Ilcheong fell into thought. But unaware of his inner musings, Eun Gwanyeong was fretting inside.
Is he disappointed? He must be disappointed.
He had trusted her and asked her, yet instead of keeping that trust she had brawled with the one she was supposed to teach. Even to Eun Gwanyeong herself, it was too absurd.
...Will I be abandoned?
Even knowing Wi Ilcheong was not that kind of person, worry that he might be disappointed by this incident began to grow. And that worry swelled larger, squeezing Eun Gwanyeong's chest. Eventually tears began to drop one by one from her eyes.
"Hic... sob...."
"Miss Eun...?"
"I'm sorryyy... I was wronggg...."
"...I'm not angry, Miss Eun."
"B-buttt...."
"...Come here."
Wi Ilcheong beckoned to Eun Gwanyeong. Seeing her hesitate even at the gesture, the frustrated Wi Ilcheong took her hand and pulled her into a hug.
"Haa... Miss Eun. Why are you crying...."
"...I'm sorryyy."
"...What is there to be sorry for. You just punched each other out, right."
"...You're not disappointed?"
"Why would I be disappointed in Miss Eun. How much have you helped all this time."
Wi Ilcheong patted Eun Gwanyeong's back soothingly.
"...Miss Dokgo is a bit eccentric, but she's not a person without affection."
"Hic... her?"
"You saw her get angry when Miss Baekri was missing before, didn't you. She's someone who gets attached to people she's only just met. She's just a bit clumsy at making friends."
"..."
"I hope Miss Eun becomes close with Miss Dokgo as well. That's why I asked you to look after Miss Dokgo."
"...I'm sorryyy."
"What are you sorry for? Do you think you can't get close?"
"...It's not thattt... Miss Dokgo just hates me so much...."
"..."
Hearing that, Wi Ilcheong sighed once more.
"Haa.... Is that really so?"
"...No."
Baekri Sohyeon opened the door and came in.
"Where's Miss Dokgo?"
"...I put her to sleep. Otherwise she'd keep thrashing about."
"Well done."
Eun Gwanyeong, still in Wi Ilcheong's arms, turned her head.
"Sohyeon Unnieee...."
"...Why are you crying, Gwanyeong."
"Hiiing...."
"Stop."
Baekri Sohyeon hugged Eun Gwanyeong together with Wi Ilcheong and patted her head.
"...Ryeong Mae just seemed to want to beat Gwanyeong, that was all. And now she doesn't seem that hung up on it either."
"Yes...?"
"Before sleeping she was talking about Gwanyeong and laughing. Said she fights well."
"Ha... what...."
Eun Gwanyeong let out a hollow laugh. Wasn't that tone like Dokgo Ryeong looking down from above? She was still a martial artist who had trained fist techniques for ten years. If anything, the one who fought her evenly was the more impressive one.
"...Miss Dokgo fights well too."
"See, it's good when you acknowledge each other like this."
"...I don't want to."
"Then Wi Oppa will hate it, though?"
"..."
When Eun Gwanyeong looked at Wi Ilcheong, he put on a playfully stern expression and said,
"That's right. If you two keep fighting, I think I'd dislike it."
"...Hiiing."
Eun Gwanyeong made a whining sound, then finally opened her mouth.
"...Okayyy.... I'll crawl around on my ownnn...."
"...Hm?"
"It was a draw anywayyy.... If I just treat Miss Dokgo a bit more respectfully.... That much is nothing. If I set my mind to it I can do ittt...."
Eun Gwanyeong glanced at Wi Ilcheong and added,
"...As long as she doesn't talk trash to Wi Oppa."
"...It looks tough. But don't worry, Miss Eun. I'll teach Miss Dokgo some manners while we head to Shandong as well."
"...Okayyy...."
Watching the slightly dejected Eun Gwanyeong, Baekri Sohyeon said with a smile.
"Hehe... then Miss Dokgo will have to grant Gwanyeong's wish too?"
"Ah, right! Since it was a draw we can grant each other's!"
"...Did you two make a bet?"
"Yes! If I lost I'd crawl around for Miss Dokgo on my own."
"...And Miss Eun?"
Then Baekri Sohyeon answered.
"...She'd call me Unnie and accept Gwanyeong's teachings."
"Ah... the dual cultivation techniques you asked for."
"Yes, that's right!"
Eun Gwanyeong answered with a smile.
"I'll make her skilled enough that Wi Oppa won't be uncomfortable! Just like what I learned from Sohyeon Unnie!"
"Hehe.... I'll help too, Gwanyeong."
"Heheh. Yes, Unnie."
Watching Eun Gwanyeong and Baekri Sohyeon smile, Wi Ilcheong smiled as well.
"Yes, please take good care of it, you two. After all, before receiving a virgin, it's priority that Miss Dokgo gets somewhat used to sex."
"...Yeah."
"Yes! This time I absolutely won't disappoint youuu!"
And so, without Dokgo Ryeong knowing, two women who would become her teachers were born.