"Did you enjoy yourself last night?"
"…"
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
Was it because winter was slowly approaching? For some reason, the morning air felt especially chilly today.
But a person only grows stronger when backed into a corner. The lingering drowsiness vanished in an instant, and a concentration rivaling what I brought to a life-and-death duel found me an answer.
"Shaolin really is different, I'll admit. Great Monk Gakjeong may no longer be able to use his internal energy, but his enlightenment regarding the martial arts remains as profound as ever—"
"No. I'm talking about what you did with Hyang-i last night."
"…"
It cut.
If this had been a real life-and-death duel, I would have been deeply slashed across the chest by now.
A clear fatal wound. No way to survive… none.
Then all that was left was to calmly accept death.
"Wait, hear me out. I think there's a misunderstanding here. The thing you're worried about, Tang So-wol, never actually happened. Yes, I focused my meridian cleansing on your feet, but that was all—after it was done, we each went straight back to our own rooms…"
"Hmph!"
Far from calmly accepting it, Tang So-wol giggled at my pathetic flailing.
She poked my cheeks with her fingers, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
"Young hero Cheon. Young hero Cheon."
"…What is it?"
"Do you know? There are exactly two times when the usually cold young hero Cheon makes an exception."
"I wouldn't say I'm cold."
"You are cold, aren't you? If left alone, you quietly practice your sword, and when someone talks to you, you either answer flatly or sneer—one of the two."
"When you put it that way, I sound like someone with a personality problem."
It wasn't that I was flat—I was just being proper. And I wasn't sneering; it was just that one corner of my mouth happened to curl up. And even that was reserved only for my enemies.
Indignation rose to the tip of my chin, but if changing the subject this way was a stroke of luck, I swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.
Tang So-wol stretched out her other hand and lightly pressed both corners of my mouth with her index finger.
Whether she knew that the soft touch at the edge of my lips made me flinch or not, she returned with her usual bright smile and continued speaking.
"Look at this. Young hero Cheon is moving both corners of his mouth right now, not just one. They went down instead of up, but… anyway, this is proof that this is one of those exceptional situations."
"Exceptional? What exactly are you talking about?"
"Well, either when you're teasing us, or on the flip side, when we're teasing you. Isn't it one of those two?"
Having said that much, Tang So-wol pulled the corners of my mouth upward, forcing a smile onto my face.
"Haven't you caught on yet? I'm saying that was just a joke to tease young hero Cheon."
"Huh?"
"Hyang-i seems to have tried to keep quiet, but… it's not so late that we'd be asleep, so there's no way we wouldn't have noticed that commotion."
"Is that so. So that clattering I heard earlier wasn't the wind—it was you, Tang So-wol."
"What? I only listened and didn't peek, since I figured you two would be embarrassed. That would be a bit odd, wouldn't it? A little shady."
"?"
"?"
Tang So-wol and I tilted our heads at each other. Our gazes naturally drifted toward Seomun Hwa-rin's room, its door still firmly shut.
Perhaps… the words Seol Ri-hyang had occasionally brought up weren't slander against Seomun Hwa-rin, but the truth after all.
For a moment, memories of the past—including those from before my regression—flashed through my mind, but I barely managed to push them aside and spoke.
"Let's pretend we didn't just hear that, shall we?"
"Yes. Young hero Cheon, please pretend you didn't hear what I said either."
And so Seomun Hwa-rin's honor was preserved. Probably.
"Ahem. Normally, even for meridian cleansing, such close contact—and especially such enthusiastic handling of the feet—would be quite improper. However, since I was the one who permitted it, I don't intend to make a big issue of it, so rest assured."
"Thank you. …I think I can breathe a little easier now."
I let out a deep sigh of relief, my heart feeling lighter.
After all, I'd been told years ago that meridian cleansing itself was fine, and as for the rest—I'd heard it was acceptable as long as proper order was maintained.
Since Tang So-wol would link her arm through mine whenever she was bored, or casually touch my face or back for no particular reason, I figured this was within the bounds of what she considered acceptable.
"But is there really a need to emphasize the feet so much? They're not a particularly special part of the body."
"Hmm. These days, that's true. But did you know that in the old days, the feet were sometimes considered an intimate area?"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. When going out, doesn't everyone wear shoes? And with beoseon socks on underneath, there's usually no occasion to show one's bare feet. …Unless it's between a married couple."
"Ah."
The feet themselves weren't anything special, but since there was so little occasion to show them, they had come to hold a special meaning.
As I nodded, Tang So-wol this time used her own toes to gently tickle the top of my foot as she continued speaking.
"So, in the past, people avoided showing their feet as much as possible, and since small feet were considered beautiful, there was even a practice called foot binding, where feet were tightly wrapped from childhood to keep them small…"
"It was a thing?"
"The trend died out in less than half a century. If your feet are small, it's hard to move, and if it's hard to move, it's hard to learn martial arts."
"Indeed. I understand."
Footwork is the foundation of any martial art. And even the high and mighty learn at least the basics of martial arts for their health and self-defense.
It might have been popular at first, but since it interfered with martial arts, it must have faded away quickly.
"And so it's a custom that has disappeared now… but in old families, the notion of treating feet as something a little special still remains."
"People's minds don't change that quickly."
"Yes, well. It's not exactly a part that must never be shown to others, but it's something that should be hidden whenever possible… How should I put it? Like the feeling of young hero Cheon's upper body?"
"Why does my upper body come into this?"
"It's not like that now that the weather has turned cool, but in the summer, you often trained in front of us with your shirt off."
"Well, that's unavoidable when you're sweating."
"I trained in full attire even in the heat, you know?"
"…You and I are different."
"But even young hero Cheon only goes around stripping off in front of us—when you go outside, you dress properly, don't you?"
As she said this, Tang So-wol made a motion of tugging at her own garment.
That sight somehow gave her the feeling that someday, she too would be in front of me like that… and her face flushed hot for a moment.
I subtly averted my gaze, and only then did Tang So-wol nod her head in satisfaction.
"Anyway, the point is that in families with long histories, feet are still considered a somewhat delicate part of the body. So that means young hero Cheon should do something even more impressive for me next time."
"…Why does it turn out that way?"
"What would be nice… Ah! How about I lay my head on young hero Cheon's lap, and you comb my hair for me?"
"Are you not going to listen to what I say?"
"But you'll do it anyway, won't you?"
"…"
It was a truly shameless statement, but not an incorrect one.
If Tang So-wol shoved her head and a comb into my lap, I would reluctantly nod along.
"Heh heh. You've seen the light. Stop resisting and just pamper me."
"You're speaking of your Betrothed, who is five years your senior?"
"Then I'll just pamper young hero Cheon, who flails about with clumsy hands while trying to comb my hair."
"Either way, the outcome is the same…"
I shook my head and continued.
"Well, let's do that, then. For now, let's head over to the training ground."
"You promised, didn't you? If you forget, from now on I'll mix the scent of ginkgo fruit into the Crane Spirit Grass essence that young hero Cheon drinks."
"Is something like that even possible…?"
"Ginkgo does have a bit of toxicity, and there's no way you've lived your whole life without ever trying one. Anyway, are you heading to the training ground this early in the morning?"
Tang So-wol casually brushed past the fact that she could force the scent of autumn onto everything she fed me.
Unlike Seomun Hwa-rin, who might even now be secretly stealing glances this way, Seol Ri-hyang was still in the hazy early morning, barely awake.
Going to the training ground this early was a bit hasty, but…
"Yesterday I was summoned by the Venerable Gakjeong and couldn't get a sparring bout in, right? I plan to exchange a few light blows with the diligent martial monks who, like me, rose early."
"…And after that?"
"I'll spar with the monks who woke up at the proper time."
"And after that?"
"I'll spar with the lazier monks."
"…"
"…"
A brief silence. At its end, Tang So-wol carefully spoke up.
"Um… young hero Cheon? You do realize this isn't some plaque-breaking contest, right?"
"Don't worry. I'll take it as easy as I can."
No matter how formidable Shaolin was, there was no rising talent who could match me on equal footing.
In the end, a proper sparring bout would require someone of a higher rank to step forward… but if such a person were to lose to a rising talent, it would be a tremendous humiliation, and even if they won, it would only be expected of them, so there was nothing to gain.
That was also why Seomun Hwa-rin was sparring not with the abbot, a Martial Artist of the same Harmony Realm, but with one of the Vajra Guardians who had achieved the Indestructible Vajra Body yet still remained at the Transcendent Peak.
The Shaolin Temple was not a place that placed extreme importance on face like the other clans, but still, a rumor that they had been thoroughly thrashed by a rising talent would be a bit much, wouldn't it?
I understood completely. Above all, the mere existence of the Shaolin Temple kept quite a few Martial Artists of the Unorthodox Sects away from Henan, so this was necessary to maintain their unbroken tranquility.
But it seemed Tang So-wol didn't trust me in the slightest.
"You really will take it easy, right? You promised?"
"Oh, come on. I told you not to worry."
I shrugged and headed to the training ground with Tang So-wol.
***
To put it simply, Tang So-wol's insight was correct.
"Ugh…! I knew I still had a long way to go, but I didn't think it would be this bad."
One monk clasped his hands with a frustrated expression and walked off.
"How can this be! Is martial art truly nothing but a means to kill people, incapable of holding the Buddha's mercy!"
A monk who had been struck by a slight Simma, apparently shocked by the killing intent and overwhelming gap in skill of the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art, was a bonus.
"I suppose I'm just not suited for martial arts. Shaolin may be famous for its martial arts, but wouldn't it be better to become a scholar monk, to understand the Buddha's words and walk the path of enlightenment together with all living beings?"
A monk pondering his future in a voice that pretended to be resolute but was thick with tears. And then.
"Amitabha… Amitabha…"
Even the monk who was the top rising talent of Shaolin and had taken second place at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering was chanting the Buddha's name over and over with a complicated expression on his face.
As I scratched my head awkwardly in embarrassment, Tang So-wol, hands on her hips, glared at me.
"Young hero Cheon?"
"…I tried."
What was I supposed to do when they were the ones who asked me to go all out in the first place?