I'd enjoyed myself to my heart's content with the sparring, received guidance from Seomun Hwa-rin, and even managed to grasp a thread of Intent—though I was still a bit dazed by it all. But that good mood lasted only a moment.
When I entered the room, Tang So-wol was breathing heavily, pinning Seol Ri-hyang down beneath her.
"…What are you two doing? And in my room, of all places."
"Wait, just hear me out! I can explain everything!"
"Is that so… I see."
"What exactly are you nodding along to?! I must look like some kind of weird woman right now!"
Tang So-wol, who had shouted almost as if she were screaming, rose from her spot and strode over with long steps. Then she grabbed my hand firmly.
"It was unavoidable—Hyang-i kept running away!"
"If she runs, you pounce on her first… So what would happen if I ran away from here?"
"I'd immediately sit down and start crying my eyes out."
"That would be a problem."
I let out a small laugh and sat down on the bed. Then I reached over and pulled the cheek of Seol Ri-hyang, who was still sitting beside me with a dazed expression, stroking her own arm. With just the right amount of force.
Squeak.
"…What was that for all of a sudden?"
"Jealousy."
"Why are you doing that to me?"
"Because I can't pinch Tang So-wol's cheeks."
As I said that and glanced toward Tang So-wol, she—who had been hesitating over whether to leave again while holding Seomun Hwa-rin's hand and pulling her along—stopped in her tracks.
After a moment of deliberation, Tang So-wol squeezed her eyes shut and thrust her face forward.
"I've finished preparing myself. A little bit is fine, right?"
"…"
I stared quietly at Tang So-wol's resolute expression, then reached out my hand. And then.
Squish.
I grabbed her nose instead of her cheek.
"Euek?"
Tang So-wol let out a nasally sound of surprise. I shrugged my shoulders at her and continued.
"Isn't it more fun to grab somewhere unexpected? Besides, I don't actually think anything really happened. There must be some reason, just like with me."
"Th-that's right. There really was no other way, so I had no choice but to subdue her roughly."
At that, I glanced toward Seol Ri-hyang, who seemed to sense something was off, shrinking her neck and stealing glances at us.
"There does seem to be something. At this point, I'm honestly curious. What happened?"
"Well, that is…"
Tang So-wol trailed off, then began to tell the story of what had happened that day.
***
While I was sparring with Seomun Hwa-rin, Tang So-wol had been out searching for Seol Ri-hyang, who had been avoiding us lately, determined to catch her even if it meant dragging her back by force.
She checked Seol Ri-hyang's room, visited every place she might have gone, and even questioned the servants in case she was hiding somewhere. The place she finally found her was, surprisingly, near the old training ground of the Eon Clan.
That training ground dated from the days when the Eon Clan still specialized in Corpse Puppetry Arts, so its structure was completely different from the training grounds used for martial arts now.
For that reason, it had been closed off, but since traces of the Eon Clan remained there intact, outsiders were not permitted to approach.
"And so, she was sitting alone in a corner a little ways off from the training ground. With a troubled-looking servant at her side."
"And what was that about?"
Bewildered, I turned to look at her, and she casually turned her head away. Avoiding my gaze, Seol Ri-hyang looked at the empty air and opened her mouth.
"It's just that before, my body wasn't in a normal state, so I didn't notice. But once I got better, I could tell. It's become ridiculously easier to circulate my internal energy than before."
Having said that, Seol Ri-hyang lifted the whip from her waist. A white heat haze shimmered over the whip, which had frozen white as if touched by frost.
The output was weak, but it was a stable flow of Sword Qi. It was clear she hadn't forced it out while half-stepping into the realm—she had fully reached the Peak Realm.
"I see. So that's why you've been avoiding us all this time, and why you've been seeking out places with lots of gwigi… or rather, Yin Energy. You needed time to consolidate your Enlightenment. If that was the case, you could have just said so. I myself spent the entire day sparring with Senior Seomun Hwa-rin for the same reason."
I nodded with a hint of admiration.
I already knew Seol Ri-hyang's talent better than anyone from my previous life.
With the right martial art and the right environment—and though it was a bit reckless, having gone through an experience that shattered her own limits—it wasn't all that surprising that she had leaped over the wall of the Peak Realm in one go.
Hadn't she reached the Peak Realm at a young age even with a martial art learned entirely on her own and a half-baked Mental Cultivation Method focused solely on inflating her internal energy?
Still, I couldn't help but be a little taken aback by what Seol Ri-hyang said next.
"What? I just woke up and could do it. I did go near the old training ground because I was drawn by the Yin Energy to do Qi Circulation Meditation, but I'd already sorted out my Enlightenment long ago."
"…"
Before the regression. What was it like the first time I reached the Peak Realm and ignited my Sword Qi?
I remember swinging my sword for three days and nights without eating properly, desperately trying to internalize that sensation before it slipped from my fingertips.
Thanks to that, I was able to reach a complete Peak Realm quickly, but it seemed even that process wasn't necessary for Seol Ri-hyang.
Constitutions really were something else. Feeling unfairly put out, I pinched Seol Ri-hyang's other cheek. This time, a little harder.
Squelch.
"Ow! Wh-what?!"
"Just because you're annoying."
"Wait, Cheon Hwi, you'd actually say something like that…?"
Seol Ri-hyang glared at me with an incredulous expression. Instead of answering, I shrugged and returned to the original topic.
"If it wasn't to organize your enlightenment, then why on earth were you avoiding me?"
"…I needed time to sort out something else."
I didn't need her to say what that was.
She might have thought she wasn't being obvious, but ever since the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, Seol Ri-hyang had been showing her favor toward me with considerable boldness.
But when I thought about the time we'd spent apart after the boat capsized, and what had happened after I took down the Blood Flame Fist Demon… maybe she was feeling guilty, thinking she'd been found out.
I wasn't the only one who thought so—Tang So-wol, seated beside me, continued in a serious tone.
"Hyang-a. I…"
"No."
Her words were cut off by Seol Ri-hyang's voice.
Seol Ri-hyang shook her head, then turned to look Tang So-wol straight in the eye.
"I can guess what you're about to say, Sister Tang. You've been hinting at it whenever we talked alone, even if you never said it outright. …But what I want to say is a little different."
With that, she let a thick, biting cold rise from her hand.
"When I was lying there organizing my enlightenment, I thought about what exactly had pushed me forward. The answer was simple."
Seol Ri-hyang clenched her fist, instantly gathering the fierce cold that had been swirling around her, and turned to look at me.
"It came to me when I saw Cheon Hwi being pushed back by the Blood Flame Fist Demon. I thought, at this rate, I might die."
As she spoke, a faint light flickered in Seol Ri-hyang's eyes. It was sharp as a drawn sword, cold as a frozen winter wind.
It was a look I knew all too well — the eyes of the Ghost Sound Witch.
"I was afraid of losing Cheon Hwi. Far more than I was afraid of dying myself."
"…"
"…"
"…"
Though her gaze was not aimed at anyone in particular, the momentary killing intent that flickered in Seol Ri-hyang's eyes made everyone in the room freeze.
Now I understood. I finally understood why Seol Ri-hyang had suddenly attained enlightenment, and why she carried an air so reminiscent of her pre-regression self.
Those who have stared into the very bottom of life once tend to carry a unique poison energy and malice within them.
And it seemed I occupied far more of Seol Ri-hyang's life than I had realized.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Seol Ri-hyang softened her icy expression and offered an awkward smile.
"Heh heh. Once I thought it through that far… I suppose I got a little scared. I felt the need to sort out my thoughts at least once, so I kept some distance for a while."
"So while all that was happening, you and Tang So-wol took turns coming after me, and this time you were trying to capture me by force, so I ran for my life?"
"Yeah. I'd gotten considerably stronger too, so Tang unni had to go all out. What you saw, Cheon Hwi, was me being dragged back after several chase-downs."
Seol Ri-hyang shrugged her shoulders with a self-deprecating smile.
Before the battle with the Blood Flame Fist Demon, when she had knocked down and subdued the Demonic Cultist he'd been keeping around, she had known she should kill him, yet she'd hesitated and asked again, hadn't she?
And now, that same woman had burned her life without hesitation, determined to kill someone.
She must have been startled by the depth of her own feelings, gotten scared, and wanted some time alone.
From Seol Ri-hyang's perspective, not only I but Tang So-wol as well would be her benefactor.
Tang So-wol, who had been listening quietly, opened her mouth in a low voice.
"Since Hyang-i shared her story, I suppose I should share a bit of mine as well."
"Sister Tang's…?"
Seol Ri-hyang looked at her with curiosity. But Tang So-wol, for whatever reason, seemed uneasy, glancing at me before taking a deep breath.
After a moment of steadying her breath, Tang So-wol spoke with a determined expression, as if she had made up her mind.
"Actually… I might have trouble conceiving."
"Wait. I thought we settled that matter long ago."
Three years ago. Remember the Oral Formula I taught you before I even became your fiancé?
The Oral Formula that the Poison Lady—Tang So-wol of her past life—had created, and that Tang Jincheon had personally verified in this life.
It should have the effect of alleviating the side effects of the Poison Spirit Constitution, where the deeper one's martial arts attainments, the stronger the poison energy in the body becomes, making it difficult to conceive a child.
At my words, Tang So-wol flinched like a child caught hiding a mistake, then spoke carefully.
"Actually, well. I didn't tell young hero Cheon, but a bit of a problem has arisen."
"What kind of problem?"
"It was fine at first, but the deeper my accomplishments grew, and the more I practiced the Oral Formula, the more I felt something was off."
"That can't be."
The Oral Formula I had given Tang So-wol was created by none other than Tang So-wol herself to fit her own body, so there was no way it could be wrong.
But at her next words, I found myself understanding everything.
"After absorbing the purple poison-nurturing herb, the poison energy in my body has grown so much stronger that the Oral Formula you taught me, young hero Cheon, is no longer enough to fully control it…"
"Ah."
The Oral Formula was sound. However, unlike Tang So-wol before the regression, the current Tang So-wol had absorbed the purple poison-nurturing herb, an herb so unique that it affected her entire Poison Spirit Constitution.
Even if she mastered the Oral Formula perfectly, there was a high chance the side effects would not be completely resolved.
Tang So-wol's lips moved hesitantly before she let out a slow sigh.
"It's not as if I don't want to keep my fiancé all to myself. But even though she's no longer in this world, there is someone you continue to make room for in your heart, young hero Cheon, and my own body's problems remain unresolved. How could I act on greed alone without any plan?"
"That's…"
"Fortunately, Hyang-i is a wonderful girl. That's why I brought this up with you the other day."
"…"
So that was the reason. I had no idea. I'd assumed the infertility issue had been resolved long ago.
Knowing full well how much this weighed on Tang So-wol, I was still mulling over what to say when she moved first.
She rose from her seat, then sat down in front of Seol Ri-hyang and clasped both of her hands.
No words passed between them, but the small gestures tickling each other's knuckles and the looks in their eyes carried a conversation all their own—Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang.
The atmosphere softened in an instant, and I was just wondering whether I should join in and hold someone's hand too.
"Th-this one…"
Seomun Hwa-rin, who truly had nothing to do with this matter but had nonetheless been forced to overhear a rather sensitive conversation, wore a look of dismay.
"Why am I here in this place…?"
Seomun Hwa-rin asked me with a look that said she wanted nothing more than to return to her own room. But what could be done — she had already heard everything.
I shrugged my shoulders and whispered quietly.
"You'll be allowed to leave only after you've finished your dinner."
"…!"
A look of betrayal welled up in Seomun Hwa-rin's eyes.
***
Three days after Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang had reconciled with each other.
Finally, the long-awaited Eon clan head and Peng clan head had arrived.
…And with them, Tang Jincheon, whose face looked ten years older.